After three straight years, it’s finally become the norm for a UConn player to get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. The only other schools with that distinction, the last three years? Purported NBA daycares Duke and Baylor.
I still remember the delight of hearing James Bouknight’s name called.
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But for the Huskies to take that streak another year, they’ll need teams to fall in love with Tarris Reed Jr and/or Alex Karaban. Both are projected fringe first rounders, and as we saw with Liam McNeeley last year, draft night brings a whole lot of variance and uncertainty.
I’m going to pretend NBA front offices read TheUConnBlog and put on my best sales pitch for Tarris and Alex. First up is Captain America.
Initially this was a tough task, because UConn listed him at 6-foot-8, and the comparisons were lacking. There were tons of 6-foot-8 floor spacers in the NBA, but not many in Karaban’s mold. Then the combine measurements came out, and he checked in at basically 6 -7, and the answer was clear.
Be Sam Hauser 2.0.
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I mean, look at this:
Sam Hauser
Height (Barefoot): 6’6.75″
Weight: 217.4 lbs
Wingspan: 6’9.25″
Standing Reach: 8’6.0″
Alex Karaban
Height (w/o shoes): 6′ 6.75″
Weight: 225.2 lbs
Wingspan: 6’11”
Standing Reach: 8′ 8.50″
Alex is actually a little longer and heavier. Hauser went undrafted in 2021 after four years in college, but he broke through with the Celtics in 2022-23, and was a key figure in their 2024 title run, averaging nine points per game and shooting 42% from three.He averaged 25 minutes per game last year, a career high.
Hauser might be the better pure shooter, but Alex has more intangibles, physicality, and playmaking chops. Finding an organization that can imbue those traits — not make him just a ‘stand in the corner and stretch the floor’ guy — will be the key.
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Hauser’s shooting shows that doing one thing at an elite level can make you stick in the NBA. But Alex has a chance to be a wholly unique player, one with Hauser’s shooting but with a little more to offer.
But heading into draft day, it’s nice to know there’s a blueprint out there for Alex, a path forward where he can break out with the right team.
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