The Connecticut Huskies and coach Dan Hurley are back on the board In 2025 with one of the best shooters In the 2025 class. Five-star shooting guard Braylon Mullins, the No. 16-ranked player In the 2025 class, committed to UConn on Wednesday, picking the Huskies over a trio of finalists that Included North Carolina and in-state Indiana.
Mullins gives Hurley his third commitment for this cycle, all three are ranked among the top 30.
Four-star shooting guard Darius Adams, No. 22 in the class, was the first domino to fall at the end of September. Last week it was four-star big man Eric Reibe, No. 27, who followed suit.
Mullins picked UConn because of a strong relationship with the coaching staff and because the Huskies provided the best fit for him on the basketball court.
“I think (Hurley) knows how to win and he knows how to coach you to win,” Mullins told 247Sports National Basketball Analyst Travis Branham. “Whenever I talked to Coach Hurley I felt wanted and he said that he needed me. Their style of play fit me the best.”
“He was just showing me a lot of what I was capable of doing in that offense,” Mullins added about UConn’s style of play. “He showed a lot of Cam Spencer highlights, a lot of off-ball, on-ball and ball-screen actions He brings a lot of defense to the table too. You got to play hard and you got to work hard and I wanted to be coached like that. He definitely pitched that to me and I liked the pitch.”
While it was inevitable that back-to-back national champions would continue to elevate the power of the UConn brand on the recruiting trail, what we’ve seen so far this cycle is that Hurley has essentially had his choice of recruits. They’ve hosted six players for official visits and are widely believed to have had their choice of who to take.
With offensive skill and feel being clear points of emphasis for the Huskies’ class, what separates Mullins is his ability to thrive on both ends of the floor. He’s one of the very best shooters in the national class and likely to be weaponized similarly to how we saw Jordan Hawkins utilized in his two seasons under Hurley. Simultaneously though, he’s going to be able to compete and move his feet in ways that should make him a real weapon on the defensive end of the floor as well. In short, they’re able to get an elite offensive player without sacrificing anything defensively.
The other important factor is his size, and the collective size of he and Adams in the backcourt. Much of UConn’s success in recent years has come by playing multiple big guards and initiators together – Tristen Newton with Andre Jackson or Steph Castle for example. The need for one primary point guard hasn’t been a necessity, especially with high-feel frontcourt players like Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban who can help facilitate.
Scouting Mullins
Mullins proved himself to be one of the best long-range shooters in the country this spring and summer. He knocked down 47% of his attempts from three in 3SSB play, even on high volume, making 6+ threes per game. He has a fairly low, but still quick, release, that he doesn’t even always fully extend on. He’s a threat to make tough shots in transition, off screens, or the dribble. He also has very deep range, well beyond the college arc.
Mullins complements his shooting ability with a good overall feel for the game. He’s a solid passer within the flow of the offense, increasingly dangerous cutter, and the type of off-ball weapon that coaches will run plays for at the next level. While his niche is behind the arc, he was extremely efficient around the lane too, shooting 60% on 2-point field goals, and yet could get more aggressive punishing defenders for running him off the line.
Mullins has good positional size at right around 6-foot-5. He’s a solid enough athlete to get up and dunk hard with only a step or two of separation. Physically, his shoulders are a bit narrow, but he’s just starting to fill out his frame and already has clear toughness and confidence about him.
The other area of the game in which Mullins is a true standout is on the defensive end. He’s quick laterally, very active with his hands (1.4 steals per game), and competitive with a scrappy mentality. He’s also not afraid to stick his nose into traffic and pull out rebounds, on both ends of the floor (3.6 rebounds per game).
The bottom line is that when you have an elite shooter, capable of getting hot at any point, who is also a standout defender, with positional size, solid athleticism, and a competitive mentality….you have an elite national prospect.
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