UConn's 'Captain America' Leads Huskies To Huge Road Win Over Butler
UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley showcased a talent for coming up with excellent nicknames for his players on Saturday.
During the postgame presser following UConn’s 78-74 victory over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Hurley referred to Hassan Diarra as “General Hassan” and called Alex Karaban “Captain America” as Karaban left the press conference podium.
Karaban certainly embodied the nickname on Saturday, as the junior forward led the Huskies with 21 points and a game-high plus-18. Karaban was 4-for-9 from three on the day and also snagged six boards.
Karaban leads UConn in scoring average (16.5 points per game), blocks (1.8 per game), and three-point percentage (42.1 percent). He’s also leading the Huskies in minutes per game (34.3) with Liam McNeeley second at 31.0.
Notably, Karaban’s assist average right now (2.7 per game) is higher than it was in 2023-24 (1.5) and 2022-23 (1.7).
Captain America has improved steadily in all facets of the game since arriving in Storrs, and he’s become exactly the type of upperclassman leader that this UConn team needs.
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-6cddf44b9a81eadb9d1a4c19c1b3db49.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org