STORRS – Alex Karaban said he didn’t see it, like someone trying to act surprised at a surprise birthday party.
The black curtain did blend in with the navy blue background on UConn’s Huskies of Honor wall up above the 200-level in Gampel Pavilion. From the court, with the angle he had during warm ups, it would be hard to see. He looked that way during practice, but the new decoration with his name and number wasn’t put up until after.
He was the 25th individual player inducted into the program’s hall of fame and the first to experience the moment with games still to play.
“I think maybe a month ago, maybe six weeks ago, we were like, ‘Do you think he’d be able to handle it?’” Coach Dan Hurley said. “And he’s the most mature person you’ll ever coach, so we felt like he could handle it. And then he went out and went 8-for-11 (for 23 points) versus a top-10 defense.”
A four-year starter and a two-time national champion, the program’s all-time winningest player, Karaban was emotional before the Senior Day ceremony began. He walked out last of the five seniors to a rousing ovation with tears already streaming down both his face and Hurley’s.
“I was confused at first, because they made me stand in the circle once the whole celebration happened,” Karaban said. A second tribute video started playing and the spotlight turned toward the west corner of the building, illuminating the curtain for all to see it fall.
“To see my name up there in the Huskies of Honor, it’s a blessing,” said the 6-foot-8 forward from Southborough, Mass. “When I first came to UConn, I never thought that’d happen. Just to have the career that I’m having and to look up there and see my name and my legacy up there forever, it’s special. Just overwhelmed with emotion, overwhelmed just with how blessed I am to be in this position. That’s something that can’t be taken away from you.”
Eventually, the emotion had to be turned off and the game face put on.
He handled it as well, if not better than Hurley imagined he would, coming through in the clutch moments as he has his whole career, leading the team to a gritty, 71-67 comeback victory.
“In the starting lineup (announcements) I kept turning my head back and I was hugging all the coaches after it went up and I never really got a good look at it,” Karaban said. “During the game, and I know the coaches won’t be happy with me, I was just looking. It was special.”
Huskies look forward to break: Hurley left Karaban in for all 40 minutes on Saturday, not because it was Senior Day, though he claimed to The Courant that the staff did “kick around” the idea of starting all five seniors – Karaban, Tarris Reed Jr., Malachi Smith, Dwayne Koroma and Alec Millender.
But because the game was so tight, with a week until the season finale at Marquette, his legs could afford it. A win in Milwaukee, unless St. John’s takes another loss, would clinch at least a share of the Big East regular season title.
“It’s right there in front of us, so we have to be able to take next week, make sure our bodies are good, pour into the scouting report and get ready for Marquette,” Reed said.
Foul (shot) trouble: UConn went just 20-for-29 (69%) from the free throw line, but made 7 of 8 in the final minute to escape with the win, similar to their first matchup with the Pirates in Newark.
“It’s demoralizing when you miss those free throws. At home it almost becomes worse because then the fans usually moan when the home team misses a free throw,” Hurley said. “I understand the position of fans, what are you gonna do, cheer when a guy misses a free throw? I get it… These guys are working hard to fix it. Today turnovers (15) got us, but we made the clutch free throws… We looked like a 27-win team down the stretch when we needed to just find a way to win the game.”
Shaheen Holloway, Coach of the Year?: Seton Hall was picked to finish last in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll. It sits in fourth at 19-10 overall and 9-9 in league play with a week left in the regular season.
“The quality of what Seton Hall brought to this arena today, that’s where it’s gonna be hard for me to go in any other direction with Coach of the Year in this league,” Hurley said. “Obviously Chris Holtmann’s had a great year, Kevin Williard’s had a great year, but just what Shaheen did.. You have to take into account what happened in the nonconference, because that affects the league.”
