Alex Karaban is Already a Rotation Player in the NBA, and Here’s Why

The redshirt sophomore forward recently declared for the NBA Draft, and has a long, successful career ahead of him.

UConn players with the national championship trophy. From left, Jaylin Stewart, Alex Karaban, / Connor Linskey/Norwich Bulletin / USA

After two national championships in three years, forward Alex Karaban has really accomplished all that can be accomplished in college basketball, playing a pivotal role not just in both. 

In his redshirt sophomore season, he put up 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 49.5% from the field and 37.9% from beyond the arc en route to a championship. 

While he had similar efficiency numbers in each season, he made very legitimate improvements from his freshman to his sophomore season – for example, he increased his rebounding from 4.5 per game to 5.1 per game, his stocks from 1.2 to 1.7, his points per game from 9.3 to 13.3, and lowered both his personal foul count and turnover count. 

As a starter in every game but one in his 78 total college games, Karaban was an integral part of the UConn system – a sharpshooting combo forward that could also defend on the perimeter in college. 

Whether he’s able to defend on the perimeter or not in the NBA is still a bit of a question, because he’s not an extremely athletic guy as far as explosiveness, speed, and agility go. 

Standing at 6-foot-8 and playing both forward spots adeptly, Karaban is the type of player with a higher floor than higher ceiling. In other words, the things that Karaban is good at are things he’s demonstrated over time already. 

This is opposed to players that are “projects,” who are a bit more raw but possess, at least at the NBA level, high-level athleticism. Karaban is no project, and is in fact the type of rookie to make an impact immediately as a rotational player. 

His role at the next level is pretty much the same as it was at Connecticut. As far as ideal landing spots, the place that would fit Karaban best would be Denver, Boston, or some other place with established veterans. 

Of course, you could say “Denver is the best landing spot” about a lot of players, but it especially adds up for Karaban given his projected draft range, age, and maturity. 

Overall, Alex Karaban is a player that showed real improvement over time, some of which of course is due to Dan Hurley. Playing for the best in the business typically helps your bottom line.

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