STORRS, Conn. — Less than a month removed from the program’s sixth national title, it’s already been an eventful offseason for UConn Men’s Basketball.
Offseason recap to date
With the departures of Cam Spencer, Tristen Newton, Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan and possibly Alex Karaban, UConn found itself needing to replace its entire starting five. Well, the rebuilding process has begun, and then some.
Almost immediately, the program jumped into the transfer portal by landing 6-foot-10 center Tarris Reed Jr. from Michigan, a former top-35 prospect out of St. Louis. The incoming junior is expected to split time with Samson Johnson, UConn’s returning 6-foot-10 center, who will be a senior next season.
Next, the Huskies added 6-foot-8 small forward Liam McNeeley, an incoming five-star freshman rated No. 9 in the Class of 2024 by ESPN. McNeeley, a Richardson, Texas product, is considered the best shooter in his class and is known for making the right decisions on the court. He should be prepared to start right away.
McNeeley joins incoming freshmen Ahmad Nowell, a guard, and Isaiah Abraham, a forward, both four-star recruits.
Then on Monday, UConn added 6-foot-3 guard Aidan Mahaney, a transfer from St. Mary’s College in California. The Lafayette, Calif. native will cross the country to play for head coach Dan Hurley and his talented coaching staff. Landing Mahaney, an incoming junior, over teams such as Virginia, Creighton, and Kentucky cements what has already been a highly productive offseason for the Huskies.
“Aidan is one of the better guards in college basketball, and we are very excited to welcome him to Storrs,” Hurley told the UConn Division of Athletics. “Aidan is coming from a terrific program at Saint Mary’s that has experienced a great deal of success, and we welcome his championship background. He can really shoot it and score, but we’re equally excited about what he can bring as a playmaker. We expect big things from him this year.”
Mahaney’s production
After establishing himself as one of the Bay Area’s most accomplished high school basketball players, Mahaney traveled a short distance to Saint Mary’s and made an immediate impact. In both of his seasons at Saint Mary’s, Mahaney earned First Team All-West Coast Conference honors.
Mahaney averaged 13.9 points per game at St. Mary's. As a sophomore, he secured 2.6 rebounds per game and dished out 2.6 assists per contest while shooting 81.3% from the free-throw line. Last season, Mahaney shot 35.5% from three-point distance and 38.6% from the field while playing 33.2 minutes per game.
Mahaney captured the country’s attention in the WCC Conference Tournament Championship Game against No. 17 Gonzaga, leading Saint Mary’s to victory with 24 points. Mahaney was the only player on the floor to hit multiple triples in the game. He scored 10 straight points in clutch time and scored or assisted on 19 of 21 points during an eight-minute stretch at the end of regulation and in overtime to lead Saint Mary’s to the come-from-behind win.
Earlier in the season, Mahaney scored 20 points in another victory over Gonzaga, a perennial contender. He reached his season high of 25 points three times; the first came against New Mexico, he did it again versus San Diego and then one more time against Portland.
As a freshman, playing 30.6 minutes per game, Mahaney shot even better; his field goal percentage in 2022-2023 was 42.8% while his three-point percentage registered at 40%. In two games against Loyola Marymount that season, he scored 25 and 24 points. In a win against eventual national runner-up San Diego State, Mahaney scored 20 points, and in another victory over Oral Roberts, he scored 25 points.
Mahaney’s intangibles
As UConn evaluated and hosted numerous talented transfer prospects, Hurley chose Mahaney for more than his production – Mahaney’s attention to detail, love of the game and willingness to be coached made him a player the coaching staff felt it had to land.
Mahaney’s competitiveness is also noteworthy. In an interview with ESPN, he made it clear he came to UConn because he wants to “compete for national championships.”
“UConn is a place that keeps the main thing the main thing. The coaching staff has proven themselves to be the best in the country the last two years," Mahaney told ESPN. “Offensively, with Luke Marray, I’ll be in a different system that should allow my game to grow even more. And defensively, with Kimani Young, I’ll be challenged to become the best I can be. Coach Hurley will push me to be the best player I can be, and I can’t wait to pick his brain and the rest of the staff.”
Mahaney told ESPN that every subsection of the program, from managers to grad assistants and DOBOs, all work incredibly hard and are detailed with everything they do.
“I chose UConn to be pushed, and to be part of something bigger than myself, to compete for a national championship and to become a pro,” Mahaney told ESPN.
According to an article from the Hartford Courant, Mahaney’s entire family was impressed by the intense approach UConn takes to basketball. The Hartford Courant quoted Mahaney’s father Mark praising the team’s culture and commitment to success.
“On that coaching staff, there’s nobody who’s laid back,” Mark said. “And we talked with some other programs where the coaches prided themselves on being laid back. UConn was the opposite of that. Those guys are just – I don’t know how much caffeine they drink.”
Mark noted that his son’s hands were getting sweaty because of how excited he was during a session with the coaching staff.
While Mahaney is known for his scoring, his ability to pass cannot be underscored. Mahaney is not a ball dominant player and should fit well into UConn’s system, possibly inheriting the role left open by Spencer’s departure.
Regardless of his role, Mahaney appears to be all in.
In the interview with ESPN, Mahaney said that UConn’s coaching staff doesn’t rebuild – they reload.
“There is no tiptoeing around the fact that the program is going for it all again, and I am ready to be part of that journey towards continued greatness. One game at a time, obviously, but the goals at UConn are set the moment you walk into the facilities. National champs,” Mahaney told ESPN.
In his interview with the Hartford Courant, Mark spoke about his son’s willingness to win above all else. Being part of a championship team is Mahaney’s mindset.
“He doesn’t want to go someplace and be the star player on a team that doesn’t make it to the NCAAs or bows out in the first or second round,” Mark told the Courant. “He wants to be a contributor on a team that goes all the way. That would matter to him more than anything. That’s his dream right now.”
Mahaney and the entire UConn Men’s Basketball program share the same dream – hanging a seventh national championship banner in Gampel Pavilion.
With the offseason additions they’ve made so far, Hurley and his coaching staff have positioned themselves well to compete for a threepeat, something that hasn’t been accomplished in men’s college basketball since John Wooden’s legendary UCLA teams won seven straight from 1967-1973.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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