UConn Called 'Major Player' For Five-Star SG: 'Perfect Guard For Dan Hurley'

Reports of the Huskies falling out of favor with the guard may have been overblown
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The UConn Huskies still have a strong chance to land one of the most talented scorers in the 2025 class.

Reports recently surfaced that Dan Hurley and Co.’s recruitment of five-star shooting guard Meleek Thomas had taken a wrong turn for UConn, but now such notions are being refuted.

According to new revelations, Thomas is very much considering the Huskies, with Hurley’s hardcore personality playing a key role in UConn’s allure.

On Thursday, Locked On UConn’s Mark Zanetto — who had previously leaked news about Thomas’s courtship going awry — acknowledged his own sources’ tidings about Thomas as potentially dubious.

“I got some reports … that there’s been a little hiccup with Meleek Thomas … I don’t know if that’s true,” Zanetto said.

While it might appear that Zanetto is backtracking on his own reporting, one must understand the nature of covering high-major recruiting — there are always conflicting reports about players floating around in the ether, not all of which are necessarily mutually exclusive in their veracity.

It was responsible reporting from Zanetto to offer a different perspective on Thomas’s recruitment, for which he also brought in Zagsblog’s Sam Lance to the podcast to discuss Thomas.

Lance asserted that Thomas-to-UConn is still a distinct possibility.

“I don’t think UConn’s putting in all that energy into Meleek Thomas unless they really think they’re a major player,” Lance said. “I don’t really buy into the rumors that UConn kind of isn’t in the picture anymore. He’s the perfect guard for Dan Hurley.”

Thomas’s recruitment promises to fascinate in the weeks to come.

Zanetto relayed that Thomas and Hurley reportedly have developed a good rapport with one another, which UConn hopes becomes an advantage as Arkansas makes an aggressive play for the NBA prospect.

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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