UConn's Hurley looking to add depth through the transfer portal
Apr. 15—It's been a stormy start to the off-season for the UConn basketball team.
The Huskies lost four players to the college basketball transfer portal.
As expected, four others, including three starters, are pursuing professional careers.
Counting East Carolina transfer Tristen Newton, who committed to UConn on Wednesday, and newcomers Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan, the Huskies have eight scholarship players for next year's roster.
Meanwhile, coach Dan Hurley has kept his focus on building a competitive team for next season.
"We don't have a lot of players, as many as you need to start a season," Hurley told reporters on campus Thursday. "But the ones we have are really good. We like the one that we just got and we like the core that we're bringing back.
"It will be exciting for Alex, Samson (Johnson) and Donovan. These are high-level recruits for us that are going to get a chance to go out there and play. We've got work to do on the roster to fill it out and get guys that can help us, especially on the perimeter. Just like last season, we're going to have a better team than we did last year."
To be a better team than last season when the Huskies won 23 games, placed third in the Big East and earned a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, Hurley will need to continue to add to the talent on the roster.
That means dipping into the transfer portal.
Expect more additions in the upcoming weeks.
"I don't want you to hold me to a number, "Hurley said. "I think we're looking for a combination right now of a couple guys that will help us on the perimeter and then some developmental players."
Throughout his coaching career, Hurley has built successful programs by developing players and, in recent years, bringing in a limited number of transfers. R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin are prime examples of transfer success stories in Storrs.
Hurley has had to adapt and adjust his approach in this active transfer world.
But it's a tricky business.
Transfers have to fit into a program's culture and be able to bond with their new teammates.
"The portal is risky," Hurley said. "It hurts continuity. You might not always get exactly what you're looking for, especially if you're trying to play at this level."
Newton, a 6-foot-5 point guard with two years of eligibility left, appears to be a great fit for the Huskies. He's a proven scorer and playmaker and the only true point guard on the roster.
Returning players like guards Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins should benefit from Newton's veteran presence.
Hurley called Newton a "big-time point guard."
"I just love the way he fits in with Jordan and Andre," Hurley said. "Obviously Andre has got this tremendous ability to facilitate. We need more scoring out of him. We need him to attack the rim more. We need him to be more offensive-minded as a scorer. But it was important that the point guard we brought in could facilitate because we think Jordan's got an explosive year ahead of him. But that point guard also needed to be able to score from all three levels.
"He's got great size. The ability to switch on the perimeter and the athletic ability and the length, that's exciting. It allows you to do more things, maybe play more zone."
It will take time for Hurley to complete his roster for next season.
Statistically speaking, the four players that decided to transfer shouldn't be difficult to replace. Reserves Akok Akok, Jalen Gaffney and Rahsool Diggons averaged a combined 8.2 points while Corey Floyd Jr. sat out as a redshirt.
Hurley, who stresses building a strong and honest relationship with his players, was hit the hardest by Akok's departure. Akok spent three seasons with the Huskies.
"Some exit interviews or exit conversations are brief and some of them are emotional," Hurley said. "That was emotional for me. His growth as a young man from when he stepped on the campus was just amazing. ... That one hit me."
Eventually, the storm will pass this off-season.
But the transfer portal will remain active.
Just about every day, new names are added to the transfer list.
"It's the reality that we're all dealing with now in college basketball with the portal and (Name, Image and Likeness)," Hurley said. "It's almost like a different type of sport in terms of your program and how you've got to adapt.
"You've got to be even more brutally honest during the recruiting process about expectations. And you have to identify freshmen that are either going to make an immediate impact and you know they're going to play as much as they want, or you've got to recruit incoming players that understand they're developmental."
