MASHANTUCKET – Former UConn men’s basketball star Alex Karaban was a top-ranked swimmer in Massachusetts before he turned his attention to hoops.
On Wednesday, the pool was his court.
Karaban took a quick break from his NBA Draft prep in Chicago to fly back to Connecticut and appear as the special guest for the one-year anniversary celebration of the Great Wolf Lodge in Mashantucket on Wednesday morning. He was tasked with putting up shots from a pool about three feet deep with kids from the Make-A-Wish foundation helping out as rebounders. Then they all got together on a tube to experience the indoor water park’s River Canyon Run slide.
Every made shot, of increasing distances, came with a specific dollar amount to be donated to Make-A-Wish.
“This is more pressure than the national championship game,” Karaban said as he dipped into the water, surrounded by kids and families.
It took some time for the two-time national champion and former Huskies captain to adjust to the wet basketballs and the thigh-high kids pool, but just over a week removed from performing as the top shooter (74%) at the NBA Draft Combine in the Windy City, he found a rhythm and made 29 of 40 shots, raising $11,550 for the kids fighting critical illnesses.
“Shooting shots in the pool was way harder (than at the combine),” he said from an indoor cabana after presenting the large check and cutting an even larger slice of cake. “I was unprepared, the balls got slippery so it was hard to shoot. I wasn’t communicating with the kids on rebounding so I got the basketballs thrown at me, but it was a lot of fun. I’m glad I made a good amount to raise money for Make-A-Wish.”
Karaban boarded a plane back to Chicago shortly after the event to continue working out with his agency ahead of the draft. He is expected to hear his name called anywhere from the later part of the first round on June 23 to middle of the second round the next day.
“I thought I had a great combine, really helped myself out. Just wanted to prove that I am the best shooter in this draft class and I felt like I did that,” he said. “I know my agency said I’m in a great position. I’m hoping first round definitely, but I feel like I’m in a great position and my agency does, too. So really just trying to ride the momentum of how I finished up the season at UConn, how I did at the Combine, my pro day, just continue to ride that momentum.”
“I want to be a lock for the first round and just push toward that every single day. Hopefully I can throw a draft party and it won’t be awkward if I don’t get called on night one.”
The 6-foot-8 forward didn’t participate in the five-on-five scrimmages at the Combine but was there to support teammate Tarris Reed Jr., who has seen his stock rise significantly since his dominant performance throughout the NCAA Tournament.
Karaban, who previously took part in the Combine and shot even better in 2024, saw Reed when he was back in Storrs for his girlfriend’s graduation the weekend before the Combine and offered some advice for his big man.
“He just asked me a bunch of questions: ‘What are we doing at the Combine? What do I need to do? What do I need to get ready for? What do I have to wear at the interviews?’ Really I just want to help him out. I love that kid and I just want to see him succeed, he’s always going to be by my side. We’re both gonna be rookies heading into next year which is new for both of us, so we can lean on each other, whether we’re on the same team or not,” Karaban said. “It’s crazy that we’re both in probably the same target range and I think that’s special, having a teammate like that. We’re both in the same position where we could be called on night one or early night two so just being by each other’s side and trying to get the nerves out of the system.”
Karaban has a number of workouts set up with NBA teams beginning next week. The list, so far, includes the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks and his hometown Boston Celtics.
“I’ve been selling to teams that I’ll be a connector, somewhat like a glue guy. I want to make the lives of superstars easier out there and really become an elite knock-down shooter, space out the floor, crash the offensive glass, work my butt off defensively and really just be a connector out there,” he said. “I want to help the team win, I have that winning pedigree and really just bring that from Day One, knowing what it takes to win, how hard it is and really just trying to make superstars’ lives out there on the basketball court easier.”
