Nik Khamenia leaves UConn’s victory with a leg injury

STORRS, CT – NOVEMBER 09: UConn Huskies forward Nik Khamenia (4) sustains an injury during the game as the Wagner Seahawks take on the UConn Huskies on November 9, 2026 at Peoples Bank Arena in Storrs, CT.(Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

STORRS — To see Nik Khamenia depart UConn’s 83-41 victory over Wagner Monday night with a lower leg injury was a reminder that college basketball seasons, even the most promising ones, are exceedingly fragile.

There will be an MRI on Tuesday, coach Dan Hurley said. X-Rays, too, and whatever else comprises the battery of tests. This was not the desired postgame topic of conversation, of course, basketball happenstance wedged into a sport’s well-laid plans.

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Rosters are built with millions of dollars and the most careful consideration. And then, poof, a player hobbles and goes down and heads off, as Khamenia did Monday, never to return to the court. He’s already in a boot. Who knows what follows?

“For a guy like that, if he missed extended time — weeks, months, whatever it would be — devastation to the person,” Hurley said, describing a worst-case scenario. “Soul ripped out. And not every athlete feels that way when they go down. Some of them, it bothers them a little bit. That guy, it would be devastating for him — and, obviously, it would hurt us.”

The bulk of Colben Landrew’s UConn men’s basketball experience remains the grind of practices, without 18,000 people watching but with coach Dan Hurley’s voice echoing off the gym walls in about that many directions. Plenty of highly-touted freshman arrive at college with the talent to impact games the way Landrew did Friday night in the Huskies’ 85-77 victory over Michigan at eardrum-shattering TD Garden. Not everyone is able to apply it with such authority, so early, in such a high-profile spot, columnist Mike Anthony writes.

Mike Anthony, Hearst Connecticut Media

Khamenia, who spent last season at Duke, was injured during a play that was whistled dead with 10:04 remaining in the half after moving without the ball on defense. He got up, hopped around and stayed in the game — until the next whistle, 4 seconds later. He was out of sight the rest of the way, down a tunnel, a behind-the-scenes mystery that mattered more than anything taking place on the court.

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“I didn’t see what happened, but Nik’s such a gamer and a tough guy,” Hurley said. “We kind of yelled over at him because he stayed down a little longer than he normally would. I just yelled over to him, ‘Hey, Nik, are you good?’ Because I think we had Colben [Landrew] or somebody running over to get him at the scorer’s table. And credit to Nik. He then was guarding a guy running off a stagger screen into the corner. He sprinted over there with whatever he’s got going on.”

UConn, like most teams, has been down this road before. Donovan Clingan and Steph Castle, for example, missed time early in 2023-24. That team went on to win the national title and is regarded as one of the best in college basketball history.

Last season, Tarris Reed Jr. missed time and/or was limited for key games early in the season. Silas Demary Jr. and Solo Ball played through significant injuries late, and the Huskies still played into final day, losing the national championship game to Michigan.

Overall, UConn has been fortunate to avoid catastrophic injuries or, for the most part, have the most complicated ones take place with time to heal.

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UConn’s Nik Khamenia sits on the court after an injury during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wagner, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Jessica Hill/AP Photo/Jessica Hill

Hopefully, that is the case with Khamenia, who lit up Wagner early on Monday, making three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points in just seven minutes. He’s been a perfect fit in a seemingly impossible spot, recruited and contracted to fill some roles previously occupied by Alex Karaban.

And he’s been tremendous so far, starting three high-profile exhibitions and three regular season games.

Monday’s was the type — national title contender versus low-major — for the Huskies to get in and out of with a show, and maybe a little sweat, packed into the middle. It looked, as it should, kind of like Dream Team-Angola 1992, lopsided and silly from the get-go.

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You just want to race through something like this with suffocating defense and a bunch of layups and then walk away unscathed. This was not an event scheduled to truly impact a season the way others were.

UConn plays Ohio State Friday in Hartford. Then, on consecutive Wednesdays, the Huskies play at Arizona and against Duke in Las Vegas. Before November expires, UConn will be deep into its aggressive nonconference schedule, and still further into its resume building by early December with games against Illinois and Kansas.

Will Khamenia play any of them?

It’s impossible to know.

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It’s clear that his absence, should it come to that, would put a deep, young team in a trying spot.

“Perfect guy to play for us, UConn,” Hurley said. “Skills. Obsession with basketball. He’s a Karaban. He’s a Cam Spencer. He’s got like that mold between the two men in terms of skills and mentality. Just an awesome player. You hope it’s not too much time. You hope it’s a couple weeks or a week, or whatever. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for him.”

UConn’s Nik Khamenia (4) shoots as Wagner’s Taj Bryant (1) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Jessica Hill/AP Photo/Jessica Hill

Landrew, a freshman of such promise who didn’t play great on Monday, and Egor Amosov, recruited out of Russia and lesser known, would see their roles increase if Khamenia misses time.

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“Our margin for error would be thinner,” Hurley said. “But it’s not like we’ve got scrubs.”

Nope. The Huskies are loaded, really — even with Solo Ball in street clothes, recovering from wrist surgery. Ball initially planned to skip the entire season but he could be worked back into the mix over the coming weeks or months. His presence would feel like a bonus. Khamenia’s presence was depended upon. It was part of the blueprint for this entire season.

Already, the Huskies have Solo Ball in street clothes, recovering from wrist surgery. Ball initially planned to skip the entire season but he could be worked back into the mix over the coming weeks or months.

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His presence would feel like a bonus. Khamenia’s presence was depended upon. It was part of the season’s blueprint.

“I feel confident in the players we have,” senior Jayden Ross said. “Obviously nobody knows what’s going on with Nik. We know Nik’s going to do whatever he can to get back on the court because he loves basketball and that’s just the type of person he is. But whatever the situation, we’re going to hold it down for him. Everybody got in the game today and a lot of them played significant minutes, and we’re all super confident in the depth we have the this year. I’m sure, whatever the situation is, we’ll be in a good spot.”