In March, after UConn beat San Diego State to advance to the Elite Eight, Solo Ball sat alone in his locker while most of his teammates entertained the media.
He didn’t say much, just sat there in the corner listening as veteran point guard Tristen Newton answered questions, embracing the whole experience as a freshman who made an early impact but fell out of the rotation once the roster got healthy.
“They’re playing tremendous,” he told The Courant at the time. “I’m just waiting my turn. We have three, four great guards in line.”
Once the season ended and Newton, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle departed for the draft, Ball saw an opening and doubled down on his development. He was touted as one of the most improved players on the roster all summer and on Monday, when he got the chance to put it on display for the fans, he was in the starting lineup and took full advantage.
“What you saw from Solo, we’ve been seeing it every day,” coach Dan Hurley said on the dais following the Huskies’ 102-75 win over Rhode Island in the inaugural Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Game, an exhibition benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Ball was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. He made the Huskies’ first 3-pointer from the corner less than a minute in and crashed for an offensive rebound and a layup to end a scoring drought minutes later. His first five minutes of the second half included a layup, a 3-pointer, a block and two steals, earning a rousing ovation when he was subbed out.
Ball finished the game with five rebounds, an assist, two steals and two blocks.
“Just credit to my teammates and my coaches just for believing in me and just giving me confidence, I think that’s what kept me going,” he said on the dais at the postgame presser. “I just trust in my work and make sure I continue to trust the process.”
“We’re not surprised,” Hurley said. “We looked at some of the things he did freshman year that were reminiscent of what Hawk (Jordan Hawkins) did for us his freshman year. So we anticipate those types of performances from him.”
Ball said the loss of four starters, and the coaches’ investment to make sure he stayed with the program, made him work “10 times harder.” He highlighted the defensive end as a focus in the offseason while also working on his all-around game, knowing that would be required to solidify his spot.
As far as the comparison to Hawkins, who was picked 14th overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2023 NBA Draft, Hurley pointed out the similarities between Hawkins’ performance against Auburn in the 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis and Ball’s in last year’s Jimmy V Classic against North Carolina.
Hawkins scored 16 points in 15 minutes to help the Huskies to a double-overtime win over the Tigers in 2021, hitting five of his seven shot attempts and all three from beyond the arc. Ball made three 3-pointers in the second half to help establish a comfortable lead against the Tar Heels and finished that game with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, 3-for-6 from deep.
Ball finished his freshman season shooting just 31.9% from deep with limited opportunities. Hurley consistently spoke of his 3-point efficiency in practice, but now it needs to translate into games the way it did in Monday’s exhibition.
“He had those high-end moments. The way he’s shooting the ball, his confidence level, you see it on a daily basis that he looks primed to be a sophomore that takes a really big step,” Hurley said. “We’ve coached him hard and just on a daily basis he’s been doing what you saw tonight.”
Bouknight gets a second chance
Former UConn guard James Bouknight, Hurley’s first lottery pick, signed an Exhibit 10 contract to join rookie Donovan Clingan and the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. According to Trail Blazers reporter Sean Highkin, Bouknight is expected to ultimately be waived with the Blazers securing his G League rights for the Rip City Remix.
Bouknight was drafted 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets following his sophomore season in 2021, and played 79 games for Charlotte before being waived in February. He has stayed close with Hurley and the coaching staff at UConn, who allowed him to come back and use the facilities to work out as he looked for a second chance. Bouknight was also in the locker room with the Huskies during the 2024 Final Four in Phoenix.
UConn will have a walk-on
A new player was added to the online UConn roster on Tuesday. Souleymane Diaby, a junior from Springfield, Mass. who spent his sophomore season playing at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois, is joining the team as a walk-on. Diaby played in high school at Sabis International Charter School in Springfield, where he helped win a Massachusetts Div. III state title before taking a post-grad year at The MacDuffie School in Granby, Mass.
