The UConn men’s basketball team is set to arrive on campus this week, but incoming freshman Colben Landrew will be a bit delayed.
Landrew was selected to play for the USA Basketball U18 National Team at the 2026 FIBA U18 AmeriCup, which will take place from June 1-7 in Leon, Mexico. The new Husky was one of 12 selected by the committee from a group of 32 players who participated in a six-day training camp at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
The team will be led by head coach Anthony Grant (University of Dayton) and assistant coaches Matt Langel (Colgate University) and Nate Oats (University of Alabama).
Summer classes are set to begin at UConn on June 1, likely along with summer workouts.
A 6-foot-6, 235-pound wing from Alabaster, Alabama, Landrew was ranked No. 25 in his class by 247Sports and No. 32 by ESPN as he wrapped up his senior season at Wheeler High in Georgia. He missed out on a nod to the McDonald’s All-America game, though he was named Georgia’s Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 23.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game, leading Wheeler to back-to-back state championships this past season.
One of two incoming freshmen along with Junior County, Landrew could compete for a starting spot once he returns from Mexico.
Team USA, in Group A, will begin its run in the AmeriCup with a game against Argentina at 7:30 p.m. on June 1, and then face Mexico at 10 p.m. on June 2. Group A play will conclude with a game against Brazil at 5 p.m. on June 4. The winners of both groups – with Group B made up of Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Canada – will advance to the semifinal round on June 6 with the medal games scheduled for June 7.
The tournament will be live streamed on FIBA’s YouTube channel.
New job opening
Not only will the Huskies continue to look to replace assistant coach Luke Murray, who took the head coaching job at Boston College this spring, they will also be hiring a full-time Director of Strength and Conditioning for the men’s basketball program this offseason.
According to the job posting, responsibilities will include: “The development and administration of the strength/conditioning program for the UConn men’s basketball team; assistance with practice and game-day duties including pre-game/practice warm-ups; collaboration with Athletic Training staff as to the monitoring and rehabilitation of student-athletes with injuries; assistance with communication of strength program organization to prospective student-athletes and parents; and strict compliance with NCAA regulations and policies of the University and the BIG EAST Conference.”
Castle, Spurs facing elimination in NBA playoffs
Former UConn star Stephon Castle and the San Antonio Spurs are facing elimination in the Western Conference Finals after going down 3-2 in the thrilling series with the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
Head coach Mark Daigneault, a former UConn student manager, and the Thunder can close the series and advance to their second straight NBA Finals with a win in Game Six on Thursday night (8:30 p.m. on NBC/Peacock) in San Antonio.
Castle had a team-high 24 points on 7-for-11 shooting, along with six assists, five rebounds and three steals in the 127-114 loss for the Spurs on Tuesday. He is averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game throughout the playoffs.
The winner of the series will meet the New York Knicks with a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
NBA Draft update
UConn’s frontcourt duo of Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. remains projected to be off the board early in the second round of the NBA Draft, which will take place on June 23 and 24 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
ESPN has Karaban going with the first pick in the second round, No. 31 overall, to the Knicks, with Reed following as the No. 37 overall pick of the Thunder. Bleacher Report has the pair of Huskies going one after another with Karaban headed to the Spurs as the No. 35 overall pick and Reed to the Los Angeles Clippers at No. 36, while NBADraft.net has Reed off the board first at No. 34 to the Sacramento Kings, followed by Karaban at No. 36 to the Clippers.
