Why Solo Ball Could Join UConn Teammate Alex Karaban on the NBA Path

CHICAGO— University of Connecticut Men’s Basketball Players do their best work at Wintrust Arena. And not just against DePaul.

Last May, the five starters of the Huskies’ 2024 national championship team participated in the NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust. They all had varying degrees of success, helping four of them get selected a couple of months later in the draft, two of them in the lottery.

Despite perhaps being the most impressive of them all, Alex Karaban was the only one of the five to return to chase a third straight national title at UConn.

On New Year’s Day, Karaban picked up right where he left off last May at Wintrust, hitting four 3-pointers, two of which came after DePaul had overcome a 22-9 second-half deficit and appeared to be taking the lead. control of the game. The junior captain finished with 18 points, second behind the sophomore. Solo ballwho scored a career-high seven 3-pointers to match his career-high 22 points to lead the Huskies victory 81-68.

“I like this course, there’s something special about it,” Karaban said of Wintrust. “The hoops are nice, I think it’s a gym for shooters, for sure. Being able to find the 3-point shot, for Solo to have the game he had from 3, I think the shooters just come out firing here.”

In May, Karaban became a 3-point display during shooting drills. He finished first among more than 70 NBA prospects who participated in three different shooting drills, making a remarkable 69 of 81 three-pointers in those respective drills.

In a 5-on-5 scrimmage the next day, Karaban missed all four of his 3-pointers. But he bounced back the next day, scoring 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a 3-pointer and a nifty jumper for a left-handed layup.

He will likely return to Wintrust Arena in May for another opportunity at the combine. He’ll be aiming for his stated goal of being a first-round pick, and there appears to be little to no chance he’ll decide to return to UConn afterward.

Karaban probably won’t be the only current Husky at the combine either. Liam McNeeley is viewed as a potential lottery pick, certainly a first-round candidate, who looks like he will be UConn’s second straight freshman after Stephon Castle last season.

Obviously, a lot of that depends on his health, and McNeeley had a scare Tuesday night. About six minutes into the second half, the 6-foot-7 winger sprained his ankle and He collapsed to the ground in obvious pain.. He was helped off the court, then limped back to the locker room, largely under his own power, and returned to the bench in the final seconds of the game sporting a walking boot on his right foot.

Dan Hurley He had no information after the game other than that McNeeley will undergo an MRI on Thursday in hopes that it is “just a sprain.” Initial thinking from team sources seemed to indicate that the injury was not a worst-case scenario, but Hurley noted that McNeeley will almost certainly not play against Providence on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion and will likely miss “some time.”

Karaban had no real report on McNeeley after the game.

“He just wants to come back full force,” the 6-foot-8 forward said.

While UConn won’t have all of its starting five at next May’s NBA combine, could the Huskies have more than just Karaban and McNeeley there? Is Ball playing on the periphery of the NBA draft?

Ball has scored 22 points in two of his last three games. He’s shooting an impressive 44.7 percent from 3-point range and is also starting to become a more well-rounded player. Ball has brought the ball up the court as a point guard more often in recent games. His six rebounds on Wednesday were also a career-high, and his defense is…getting there.

“I think I’m going to see some things (on film) on defense where he got beat off the dribble,” Hurley warned. “I’m a coach, man. A lot of what we’re going to become is based on how these sophomores develop. You’re just going to have games where they hit five, six, seven 3-pointers like this. That’s not surprising.”

Ball’s career arc is taking on the appearance of Jordan Hawkins, whom he inadvertently imitated Wednesday by hitting a 3-pointer while being fouled. Both Ball and Hawkins had similar freshman seasons: occasional brilliance, but more ups than downs. As a sophomore, Hawkins became a breakout star that made him a lottery pick that summer.

No one is saying Ball will be picked in the lottery this June. He is, at best, a second-round pick right now, and even that may be a huge stretch.

But Ball’s continued improvement could be a major factor in UConn achieving a third straight national title. Could Wintrust return at the NBA combine in May? Probably. But right now all thoughts within the program are on March and possibly April.

“We need to develop him as a guy who can put him on the court, play with his shot fake, with a live dribble,” Hurley said. “People will run at him at the lane. As a straight-line driver, he has the athleticism to start attacking the rim hard.”