Every team needs a player who, in clutch moments, has the ability to deliver when they’re given the ball. UConn Huskies had that presence until 2024 in Tristan Newton, a consensus first-team All-American. That was his final run with the Huskies as he got drafted in the NBA by the Indiana Pacers.
The search for another player of that caliber has been going on since then. As per analyst Rob Dauster, Aidan Mahaney was expected to fill in that role when he was at UConn, but he couldn’t live up to the expectations.
After Mahaney, Dauster believes Dan Hurley has found his next star in Silas Demary, who transferred in April from the University of Connecticut to play for the Huskies.
“Tristan Newton was an All-American when he played that role because he could get to the basket, draw fouls, make threes, and create for others,” Dauster said on The Field of 68: After Dark. “And I think Silas Demary is the guy that can do that again.” (5:53)
Dauster believes that the pressure that was put on Mahaney due to the expectations wasn’t ideal for him, which is why it didn’t work out. However, Demary is tailor-made for that role.
“I think that changes this year with Silar Demary. I think that he is the most important addition. I would make the argument, of all the transfers that committed this year, he is as good of a fit for what UConn needs as anybody else in college basketball when it comes to the pieces that were added.”
Hurley and his team have been on quite a run in recent years. They won back-to-back NCAA Division I tournaments in 2023 and 2024, Big East tournament in 2024. Hurley, on the other hand, bagged Naismith Coach of the Year, Sporting News National Coach of the Year, and Big East Coach of the Year in 2024.
So, with new additions, a more balanced core, and a capable player like Demary to take over games, the expectations from UConn this season are high.
John Fanta outlined an underappreciated UConn trait
College basketball has long been competitive. With a plethora of young talent, different divisions, and an aim of making it in the big league, it has pushed young athletes for a long time. But with the introduction of NIL, players have started hopping teams in search of better deals.
Amid all the unregulated chaos, UConn has remained one of the very few exceptions. Fanta, during his conversation with Dauster, outlined that.
“What’s interesting is that their kids have stuck around to the degree that they have. And that’s a really big thing in college basketball that needs to get talked about more…When you look at a Jaden Ross or a Jaylin Stewart, those guys could be elsewhere.” (7:20)
Fanta noted that it’s common to see players of their caliber try out new programs. But UConn has a special connection with its players, and as a result, we see them sticking around longer than usual.
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