Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies are ticking the right boxes in their quest for their three-peat. Though they have lost their main stars from last season, nonetheless, Hurley opines that the team can make up for the loss, if their players assume new roles. And one such star should adjust to the transition while also making sure he doesn’t spend too much time on one social media platform to stop his distractions.

On Wednesday’s episode of the Connecticut Scoreboard Podcast, Hurley revealed that one of his 2X NCAA Champions can benefit the team by assuming a new role while also avoiding a social media platform.

“Oh, no TikToks. That would be cringe with Alex. He no, he’s got to stay ball player. But this, you know, like the things that we’re banking on this season like we need Alex to be bringing this group in and like ‘hey, guys, you know… I’m a back-to-back champ. You know, until you got figure it out, I got you, you know. And, like you know, just like keep listening to coach. You know we know what to do here. We’re UConn, and just follow my lead, boys. I got it, you know. And that’s it.'” Hurley stated.

With Tristen Newton, Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer, and Donovan Clingan leaving the Huskies, only Alex Karaban is left as one of the most experienced players on the team. Starting his college career in 2022-23 with the Huskies, Karaban was a part of the team that lifted the Championship title that year. While he scored a decent 9.3 points with 4.5 rebounds per game, one cannot ignore his contributions.

“And I, and obviously with support from Samson and support from Hassan that way, but Alex is going into a year where he could maybe say at the end of the year, ‘I’ve had the greatest college career of anyone in the history of UConn and, and I’ve had the greatest college basketball career in the last 25-30 years of any player with what I’ve won.’ He should be walking around like he owns everything,” Hurley added on the Podcast. 

Then, the following year, Karaban took up more responsibility for the team. As a result, the Huskies became back-to-back Champions, a feat that was last accomplished by the University of Florida in 2006 and 07. Therefore, if Karaban takes up the new role, then he can surely lead the pack that consists of new stars such as Isaiah Abraham, Ahmad Nowell, and Liam McNeeley and have the chance to script history by registering a three-peat. However, previously, as well, Hurley had left a comment regarding Karaban’s TikTok.

Dan Hurley subtly asks Alex Karaban to make TikToks

When Karaban wasn’t listed in the AP Preseason All-American team last week, Hurley did not seem too pleased with the decision. According to him, the Big East All-Freshman team star deserved a place in the All-American team and hence, the 51-year-old questioned the ranking process. “Alex does a s—ty job of drawing attention to himself… Maybe if he did more TikToks, he’d have solidified his All-American status. We value the wrong things in sports. We don’t value champions, but maybe that’s a societal issue,” Hurley said.

Karaban is decently popular on social media, if not the most attention-grabbing star. He has 24K followers on social media and occupies 17th place on the NIL college basketball rankings. Plus, Karaban withdrew from the NBA draft this year which once again proves that he has an attachment to UConn and Hurley, who is a caring mentor.

As for his TikToks, if Hurley stands correct, then they might come in handy when he tries to get into the All-American if he plays his senior year with the Huskies. As of now, Karaban should concentrate on the upcoming season and bagging the three-peat.