Head coach Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies looks on during the National Semifinal game of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Head coach Dan Hurley of the UConn Huskies looks on after being defeated by the Michigan Wolverines 69-63 in the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 06, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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ALBANY, NEW YORK – MARCH 16: Assistant Coach Tom Moore of the Connecticut Huskies looks on during a practice session ahead of the first round of the NCAA Menâs Basketball Tournament at MVP Arena on March 16, 2023 in Albany, New York. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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The three R’s take on a different meaning at this time of year for the UConn men’s basketball team.
Retention. Replacement. Rebuilding.
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Or, perhaps more accurately: Retention. Replacement. Reloading.
Call it whatever else you’d like — “Me Season,” “Tom Moore Time” — but the past couple of weeks since the Huskies’ national championship game loss to Michigan have been as hectic as ever. And the chaos will continue in the upcoming weeks as UConn puts the finishing touches on a roster for the 2026-27 season.
At least the Huskies now have full clarity moving forward. Solo Ball will undergo wrist surgery and is out for the season. Jaylin Stewart and (somewhat surprisingly) Eric Reibe have hit the transfer portal, looking for more playing time (Reibe wound up at USC). Little used international players Jacob Furphy, Rrezon Elezaj and Uros Paunovic have joined them in the portal.
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Silas Demary Jr. is back, and could be in contention with fellow returnee Braylon Mullins (and Marquette’s Nigel James Jr.) for Big East preseason Player of the Year. Jayden Ross also returns and should either start or play major minutes off the bench. UConn has a pair of very nice portal pickups in Najai Hines (Seton Hall) and Nik Khamenia (Duke), who figure to be the starting center and power forward, respectively. And a pair of incoming freshmen, Colben Landrew and Junior County, are poised to be big contributors off the bat.
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Jacob Ross, Jayden’s younger brother, is also back after sitting out his freshman season as a redshirt, but probably won’t figure into the Huskies’ rotation just yet.
So, that’s seven key rotational pieces set. UConn would like to get that to 10, even if the team’s rotation is usually cut down to seven or eight by mid-February.
UConn knows exactly what it’s looking for, either out of the portal or via the international route: A backup center. A backup power forward. And a backup guard, though not necessarily a point guard. The Huskies are comfortable with County handling backup duties behind Demary.
After that, the Huskies will fill out the bottom of their roster with a few players, with one likely another guard. Think the Alec Millenders and Dwayne Koromas of the world.
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Let’s take a look at what the roster could look like. We’ve morphed the two and three positions into one (wings) because of the versatility of UConn’s current roster:
Point guard: Silas Demary Jr., Junior County
Demary should be one of the country’s best point guards next season. And while there’s typically a learning curve for freshmen, especially those that aren’t national top-25-type recruits, County has the staff’s trust that he’ll handle the backup role.
UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. controls for the Huskies in the second half of the NCAA National Championship Game against Michigan at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., Monday, April 6, 2026.
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Whoever UConn brings in through the portal (or internationally), it will be someone who can handle the ball, as well as bring firepower, energy, defense and some shooting off the bench. And don’t forget, Mullins will work this summer on his ballhandling and distribution skills.
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Wings: Braylon Mullins, Jayden Ross, Colben Landrew, Jacob Ross, transfer
With his shooting skills and size (6-foot-6), Mullins is more of a natural shooting guard, particularly at the next level. But he can play 1 through 3 as he diversifies his skillset in the offseason.
Ross is more of a three but can play the two as well (shooting 39.1 percent from 3 this past season). Landrew, a top-25 recruit, will vie for starters’ minutes right off the bat, just like Mullins and Liam McNeeley have the past two seasons.
College Basketball: NCAA Finals: UConn Braylon Mullins (24) looks on vs Michigan at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis, IN 4/6/2026 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164879 TK1)
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The Huskies have had great success finding diamonds in the rough out of the portal as backups: Nahiem Alleyne, Hassan Diarra, Joey California. Name, image and likeness money wasn’t a major factor with those players (though it was still in its infancy at the time), and shouldn’t be with whomever UConn picks up.
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Jacob Ross is an athlete who can drive to the hole, pass and defend (sound familiar?). But he needs to keep developing as a shooter and likely won’t see much time next season.
Power forward: Nik Khamenia, transfer
Really, we could have included Khamenia among the wings. He was brought in to be the starting four, but he’s always been more of a big wing. The 6-8 Duke transfer is a real Swiss Army knife who can handle, shoot and pass. Sort of like the man he replaces, Alex Karaban.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Nikolas Khamenia #14 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts against the UConn Huskies during the second half of a game in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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His backup, through the portal, might be more of a traditional power forward.
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Center: Najai Hines, transfer
Hines is a major get out of the portal. He may not have Tarris Reed Jr.’s offensive skills (yet), but he might already be more of a rim-protector than Reed was. His backup will be brought in through the portal, someone who could start at many other programs but will understand the Huskies’ championship track record of splitting time between a pair of bigs and is content to play 15 minutes off the bench … but could play 25 or more if the situation calls for it. Or perhaps more of a younger Eric Reibe-type, like Oskar Giltay, who hit the portal following his freshman season at Stanford and has drawn interest from UConn.
Najai Hines, 25, stands at the free throw line for the Seton Hall Pirates during an NCAA basketball game at Prudential Center in Newark, United States, on November 4, 2025.
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Retention, replacement and rebuilding? Or retention, replacement, reloading? There’s plenty of work to do, but as things stand now, UConn’s roster could be as strong as any team’s in the country when the 2026-27 season tips off in November.
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