Where Does Alex Karaban Rank Among UConn's Top Performers This Season?

UConn's junior forward has been even better than advertised this year
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Ranking the top performers for the UConn Huskies men's basketball team so far this season...

2. Alex Karaban

Karaban entered this season with heightened expectations and a brand new burden as team leader, ingredients that seemed destined to overwhelm him.

Amazingly, Karaban has burst through all of the aforementioned pressures and performed like one of the nation’s best players. He’s the Huskies’ leading scorer at 16.5 points per game on a team-high 42.1 percent from three.

The junior forward and two-time national champ has improved in every facet of his all-around game, especially as a shot-blocker and overall defender. His basketball IQ might be higher than any player’s in the entire country, and probably a good amount of coaches, too.

You can feel Karaban’s leadership emanating from the court during UConn games. He’s dialed into every single possession defensively, and no one can remember the last time he made the wrong read as a ball handler. He’s stepped up as a vocal coach-on-the-court in between possessions, which is exactly what Dan Hurley needs from him.

Whatever Karaban lacks athletically, he makes up for with strength, awareness, and a desire to win that is rarely seen on any level.

Karaban is the ultimate team guy, and when you’re (arguably) best player is also your most selfless player, there’s no ceiling to how good of a basketball team you can become.

But who tops Karaban on this list as UConn’s No. 1 performer so far this season? Find out below.

More NCAA: UConn’s No. 1 performer so far this season


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Colin Keane
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