UConn men’s basketball trio strives for a banner of their own

STORRS — It doesn’t happen much in college basketball today. It doesn’t happen enough, actually. The days of fab fives, core fours moving together, sharing experiences in the same program have been lost in this era of revenue sharing and easy transfer rules.

At UConn, there is a threesome that has stuck around. Solo Ball, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross have been in this fight together, learning what it takes in apprentice roles as freshmen in 2024, now driving hard as juniors to make a mark of their own.

“We talk a lot with Coach about this, kind of getting our own,” Stewart said. “We were part of the team in 2024, but obviously there were players who had a lot to do with it, a lot more to do with it, so it’s sticking to that and showing the young guys you’ve got to come out here every day and give it your all.”

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The 2023-24 Huskies, who finished 37-3 and repeated as national champs, were so good, Stephon Castle, who came in with Stewart, Ross and Ball as a freshman, and Donovan Clingan, both eventual NBA lottery picks and now big scorers in the league, were the fourth and fifth highest scorers on that team. They were pushed hard by coach Dan Hurley and his assistants, so they they were rarely challenged by opponents, ultimately rolling through the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

Ball (11.5 minutes per game), Stewart (8.9) and Ross (4.4) were in the background, waiting and working for their time. In the modern scheme of things, players like that usually transfer if their time doesn’t come right on schedule, or are encouraged to transfer if their progress doesn’t come right on schedule. But at UConn this trio has been an outlier, a throwback to the days of patience as a two-way road.

“Listen, if we could be a no-portal team and keep the program at a championship level we would love to do that,” Hurley said. “We would love to exclusively build relationships with players in high school, get to know their families, they believe in us, we believe in them, go through the process together, the ups and downs, it’s what really makes college basketball special, especially the age the players are at.”

Castle rose above and beyond and did so quickly. He was considered a one-and-done prospect and by the end of the season, it was obvious that he was not only destined to be drafted, but he was ready for the NBA. That’s rare, too. And he was Rookie of the Year, and now even better in Year 2 with the Spurs.

The fifth member of that incoming group, big man Youssouf Singare, never found his niche at UConn and is now playing at High Point.

Hurley has used the portal to fill specific needs at specific times, and has had more hits than misses. Silas Demary Jr. and Malachi Smith have solidified the backcourt this season, for example.

But when the season began, Hurley noted the UConn roster was “screaming” for Ball, Stewart and Ross to make those big jumps. The trio, with the rest of the team, came up short in the quest for a three-peat last season, the Huskies winning 24 games but losing in the second round. The growth expected between freshman and sophomore seasons was there, with Ball breaking into the starting lineup, but uneven. This season, with senior Alex Karaban the captain, they form the core of lieutenants that has helped UConn claw back into the championship conversation. The Huskies (14-1), ranked fourth in the AP poll, were set to play at Providence in another Big East street battle Wednesday night.

At this midseason checkpoint, it is clear retention at UConn has mattered.

“They’ve gotten better and better every single year,” Karaban said. “Ever since they stepped in, they had great attitudes, wanting to learn. Defensively, all three have gotten better, their confidence, all three, has really shown, willing to step up when someone’s out. All of them have big-time moments, big-time roles and are really making an impact now.”

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Ball is the Huskies’ leading scorer, 15.6 points per game. He’s started 14 of 15 games, missing one with an injury, and has room to grow at both ends; his 3-point shooting, 29.7 percent, figures to get much better in the second half. Stewart stepped up to start while freshmen star Braylon Mullins was injured, then resumed coming off the bench and provides a lot of energy, a little bit of everything else when he’s out there, 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds in 21 minutes. Hurley paid him a huge compliment after one December victory, calling Stewart “an incredible UConn guy.” Ross (19 minutes, 5.7 points, 3.0 rebounds), who is working back from a leg injury, has shown flashes in his increased role.

“J-Ross has to recreate that momentum, getting back on the court now,” Hurley said. “You miss a couple of Big East games, he’s got to get himself back in that rhythm. I like how J-Stew has played. I think there’s another level of aggression and activity, another step to take. He’s taken a step, J-Ross has taken a step to get us in the spot we’re in, which is a pretty good spot, but there’s another level for both players. And then Solo, there’s areas where he has improved a lot, defensively, rim-finishing.”

The trio represents and keeps alive a vestige of what this was all once supposed to be all about– players developing behind the scenes, then taking the stage, learning from the older players around them, then becoming the teachers and leaders and passing on the culture. Ball, Stewart and Ross have rings, but now chase a championships they could call their own. When they’re together, that’s where the conversation gravitates.

“We’ve been here three years,” Stewart said, “so it would be fun to go two out of three.”