UConn men’s basketball took care of business in the Huskies’ first of three exhibition games, defeating rival Syracuse 72-52. With a slew of new faces, Dan Hurley and the Huskies looked a little different top to bottom than when they took the floor at the national title game in April, but UConn still managed to pull out a win after an expectedly slow start. The blog staff got together for the first time this season to discuss some of the biggest takeaways from the Huskies’ exhibition win over the Orange.
Na’jai Hines Secures the Big Man Tree
Patrick Martin: The Sanogo-Clingan-Johnson-Reed big man bloodline will live on for another year. Despite not starting and only playing 20 minutes, the Seton Hall transfer Na’jai Hines showed enticing efficiency, going for 17 points, eight rebounds (three offensive), two blocks, and a steal. Syracuse had no answer for him. Sadiq White is no slouch and Tasman Goodrick will be serviceable ACC bigs, and Hines did whatever he wanted.
Sure he missed some bunnies and had some silly fouls setting screens. That’s to be expected for October hoops.
The sophomore showed bits and pieces of every UConn big these last four years; the mobility of Clingan, verticality of Johnson, Reed’s nose for the ball, and Sanogo’s footwork.
Tarris Reed Jr. had eight points and 10 rebounds in his exhibition debut vs. Rhode Island back in 2024, but I don’t remember him passing the eye test the way Hines did today. Everything was just so easy.
Stop the AK Comparisons With NK
Martin: There was always going to be some separation anxiety without Alex Karaban around to be Dan Hurley’s security blanket. In the first half, Duke transfer Nik Khamenia looked a little rushed, like he knew everyone was putting the ‘Alex Karaban replacement’ burden on him.
In the second half, the sophomore looked even less like Alex Karaban, and if anything, more like Braylon Mullins. The sophomore stuffed the box score as a secondary playmaking hub. With a statline of 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists (and could have had a few more), and two steals, the 6-foot-8 Duke transfer did a little bit of everything, whereas sophomore Karaban more fit in where he could. It’s probably time to put those comparisons to bed, because NK is an entirely different player than AK.
Khamenia showed an active, athletic dribble and an attacking mindset. He was smooth in pick-and-rolls, made some very advanced reads for October (that skip pass off a pindown for a County three was a thing of beauty), and more that held his own defensively. Sounds a lot like Braylon Mullins last year.
Mullins will draw even more attention from defenses when he gets back. Khamenia can be a real matchup nightmare at the four; too quick for bigger guys and too crafty for smaller bigs. He will no doubt get targeted by defenses, but he’s bulked up and does not back down from those matchups. With the length up and down the roster, Khamenia has the help around him to let his feel for the game mask any physical disadvantages.
Khamenia doesn’t need to be a superstar with the firepower around him, a la sophomore Alex or even freshman Braylon. He looked more than ready for that role in Uncasville, and might at the end of the day be ready to do more.
June-Yah!
Martin: The Junior County hype train got rolling in the summer, when Hurley — as he’s wont to do — heaped praise on a few players. Then Jon Rothstein blew expectations out of the water.
UConn fans have come to expect this sort of lip service. But in reality, all UConn needed out of County was to back up Silas Demary Jr. and serve as a secondary ball-handler in a pinch. Anything more than that was house money for year one. People forget how hard it is for freshman point guards to come in and pop.
Even with those curbed expectations in mind, County passed his first live action test with flying colors. In 17 minutes, County put up nine points on three triples, to go with seven rebounds. He looked in control running UConn’s screen-heavy, motion-centric offense and even flashed some off-ball ability knocking down those threes. Despite it being his first collegiate minutes, he never seemed rushed and used his size to handle the jump-up in athleticism.
If you want to pick nits, he almost looked too in control at times, borderline passive. That won’t fly against the St. John’s and Seton Halls of the world. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The freshman looks ready to be handed the backup minutes, and looks more like freshman year Shabazz Napier than Ahmad Nowell.
Giltay Looks Good
Dan Madigan: Oskar Giltay’s transfer to UConn might not have been as sexy as landing Hines, but the Stanford product will undoubtedly play a crucial role on this squad as the back up big man. Giltay earned the start Tuesday night and made his presence felt from the jump. He looked comfortable hedging hard on screens at the top of the perimeter, and still was able to alter shots and rebound down low. He finished the night with four points, two blocks, two rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes before fouling out. The foul trouble could become an issue with Hines having foul problems of his own, but given that it’s game one in mid-October, it was an impressive debut for Giltay. He looks more than competent on both ends and should be able to spell Hines for extended stretches if needed.
