STORRS – Alex Karaban threw an entry pass to a cutting Liam McNeeley in the first half of UConn’s 92-56 season-opening win over Sacred Heart on Saturday night. McNeeley had a lane to the basket with the defender committing on Samson Johnson, but the freshman deferred and made a split-second decision to lob the ball up where Johnson wasn’t in position to receive it.
It was one of a handful of miscommunications, bad reads, the Huskies made on opening night.
As the ball hit out of bounds and the whistle blew, Karaban gestured with his right arm to tell McNeeley he should’ve laid it in. The freshman knew, nodded his head and high-fived his captain. He looked to the coaches on the bench, patted his chest to take accountability and mocked a layup with his right arm, just as Karaban had.
“I’m like a Padawan,” said McNeeley, a huge Star Wars fan, after the game. “He’s the Master Jedi, I’m the Padawan.”
The Luke Skywalker to Karaban’s Yoda, McNeeley settled in and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, a double-double in his debut. The duo was one with the force as they combined for 38 points on 13 of 20 shooting from the field, 8-for-13 from a galaxy far, far away.
Alex Karaban, Liam McNeeley lead UConn men to 92-56 win over Sacred Heart in season-opener
“Every day I learn so much how to be a better player and I mean, he’s a great character, a better person as well,” McNeeley said. “I think we do a good job of holding each other accountable. He probably has to hold me accountable a little bit more than I have to do him. A lot of years in college.”
“That’s better than uncle, like you said earlier,” Karaban told McNeeley under his breath, accepting the Jedi Master title. “Uncle, too. Uncle Alex,” McNeeley responded.
UConn has been college basketball’s Empire. And the Karaban-McNeeley combo will be a major factor in whether it can strike back-to-back-to-back.
“(McNeeley) is probably a young version of Alex Karaban,” Sacred Heart coach Anthony Latina said. “He’s probably not at that level of savvy yet, I mean Karaban has to be one of the smartest players in the country. His IQ is, for what they do offensively, I mean there’s not a better fit for how Coach Hurley runs his offense and I think McNeeley will be in that mold. He’s talented, he’s a big perimeter play who will make 3s, he’s got good feel and I think you’ll see Alex Karaban-type progression and production going forward.”
The Padawan impressed his master as UConn landed knockout blows in the second half.
"CALL ME!"
18 points
9 rebounds
2 assists
1 steal pic.twitter.com/o2As1CfTry— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) November 7, 2024
McNeeley caught a pass from Karaban on the wing in transition and nailed his third 3-pointer of the game. The crowd erupted as the Huskies’ lead extended to 32 points and Latina called a timeout. McNeeley raised both hands to his ears for a double phone call celebration, and Karaban stood feet away mirroring him. They chest-bumped and Hurley walked onto the court to egg on the crowd.
“I think (McNeeley) can do everything even at a higher level when we reach January and Big East play,” Karaban said. “Obviously offensively he’s such a great player and defensively is always something he can improve on to where, once January hits, he can be a lock-down wing for us, too… But what he did today was really no surprise to anybody just with his approach ever since he stepped on campus.
“He’s a special player, he’s one of the best freshmen – I think he’s the best freshman in the country, and he’s gonna continue to prove that.”
First D1 player with 20 points, 7 assists and 7 blocks in a game since 2003
(via @ESPNStatsInfo)
What a night for @AlexKaraban pic.twitter.com/GTz5y8hjgZ
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) November 7, 2024
(via Karaban did just about everything on Wednesday night, taking the lead as many of his new teammates made their debut in Gampel Pavilion. He made the right plays as a distributor, assisting on Tarris Reed Jr.’s first basket as a Husky, and swatted away shot-after-shot inside. His second block of the game, on Sacred Heart’s second shot attempt, caromed off the backboard to Solo Ball, who advanced the ball to McNeeley for his first college bucket.
It was the first time since 2003 that a Division I player finished a game with 20 points, seven assists and seven blocks. Karaban also had six rebounds, three on each end.
“I’m just super happy that, for my performance, just being able to get all the guys involved,” Karaban said. “It’s opening night, so just seeing all the guys celebrate and really just have so much joy out there, we waited a while to play a game. It was just super exciting and you saw the energy was contagious through everybody.”
“A leader like AK, he’s the captain for a reason,” said Reed, who had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double in his UConn debut. “We call him, ‘Cap,’ so whatever he needs done, we’ve got to do it.”
