PITTSBURGH — The Stars of Storrs are perfectly aligned.
A team mostly consisting of UConn men’s basketball alumni will compete in The Basketball Tournament, beginning with the opening round this Saturday on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
Featuring a 12-man roster, the Stars of Storrs is one of 64 teams competing in this year’s single-elimination TBT for a $1 million prize. For UConn men’s basketball fans, the team’s final roster is like a dream come true, as Husky greats from multiple eras are set to share the court.
The roster full of fan favorites includes multiple national championship winners and even more former NBA players. Head Coach Chris Smith is UConn men’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer with 2,145 collegiate points. He’ll lead a talented group into Pittsburg’s Peterson Events Center, home of a former rival that gave multiple generations of Huskies headaches.
The 2014 national champion and four-year Husky will lead the Stars of Storrs into battle this weekend and hopefully beyond. As a member of the 2014 All-Final Four Team, Boatright’s defense played a key role in bringing UConn’s fourth national championship back to Storrs. In 2015, Boatright was unanimously named to the All-American Athletic Conference First Team.
After going undrafted in 2015, Boatright played briefly in the NBA’s Developmental League before embarking on a successful career overseas, which is still ongoing.
The gritty point guard could be the leading candidate to bring the ball up the court for the Stars of Storrs. Cole spent the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons with UConn after transferring from Howard. With UConn, Cole eclipsed 2,000 career points. UConn fans grew to love Cole for the relentless effort he displayed on a nightly basis. And who can forget his game-winner against No. 8 Villanova in February 2022?
After going undrafted in 2022, Cole established himself overseas. He won the Lithuanian League championship with Rytas Vilnius in 2024.
Another pivotal piece of the 2014 national championship, Daniels played for UConn from 2011-2014. On that magical run 10 years ago, Daniels was named to the NCAA All-Tournament East Region Team and scored 20 points on the top overall seed Florida Gators in the Final Four. Everything clicked for Daniels that March, as he scored from all three levels – the post, the perimeter and beyond the arc.
After declaring for the 2014 NBA Draft, Daniels was selected 37th overall. He never broke through with the Raptors, however, and bounced around the NBA G League before continuing his professional career in the NBL North.
A feared low post presence and four-year Husky, Adrien was a critical component of the 2009 Huskies team that reached the Final Four. During his collegiate career, Adrien scored over 1,600 points and grabbed more than 1,100 rebounds en route to being named to the All-Big East First Team in 2008 and 2009. Known for his leadership, rebounding and toughness, Adrien helped steer one of Jim Calhoun’s last great UConn teams.
Adrien was undrafted in 2009, but that didn’t deter him from making an NBA roster. He caught on with the Golden State Warriors in 2010-2011. In 2011-2012, Adrien played for the Houston Rockets alongside former Husky teammate Hasheem Thabeet. In 2012-2013, he played alongside another former UConn teammate, Kemba Walker, with the Charlotte Hornets. In 2014-2015, Adrien played with the Minnesota Timberwolves before continuing his career overseas.
Another UConn legend, the four-year Husky is remembered as one of the most dynamic scorers and dunkers in program history. “What if” questions still linger after Dyson tore his lateral meniscus in 2009 – the Huskies would fall short that season in the Final Four to Michigan State. The following season, he returned from injury during his senior year and averaged 17.7 points, becoming Sporting News’ 2010 Comeback Player of the Year.
After going undrafted in 2010, Dyson spent several years in the NBA Developmental League before making his way onto the New Orleans Hornets roster in 2010. He appeared in nine NBA games before eventually playing overseas.
The most recent Husky to be named to the Stars of Storrs’ final roster is Calcaterra, or "Joey California", who starred in his role off the bench for the 2022-2023 national champions. After playing for the University of San Diego, Calcaterra transferred to UConn in the summer of 2022. He made an immediate impact. While his stats don’t jump off the page, Calcaterra hit several big shots during UConn’s dominant tournament run, including two big three-pointers in the national championship game.
Last season, Calcaterra played several stints with the South Bay Lakers, the G-League affiliate of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.
An electric athlete who played for UConn for three seasons in the mid-2010’s, Purvis most notably helped the Huskies reach the Round of 32 in 2016. Known for his tenacious defense and ability to shoot from deep, Purvis also mixed in a posterizing dunk every now and then. Purvis averaged a career high 13.8 points in his final season at UConn in 2016-2017.
Although he was undrafted, Purvis impressed in the NBA’s G League, where he was named to the league’s 2018 All-Rookie Team. In March 2018, Purvis signed with the NBA’s Orlando Magic for the remainder of the season. He returned to the G League for a season before playing overseas.
Majok played just one season in Storrs, 2009-2010, and left many wondering what might have been had he not left the school before the 2010-2011 season. In his one season with UConn, he scored 2.3 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and registered 1.6 blocks per game. It appeared he had potential to evolve into a larger role, but it was never meant to be.
Majok was drafted 58th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft but never appeared on an NBA roster. He has had a successful international career, however, and currently plays with US Monastir, a Tunisian professional basketball club.
The Anchorage, Alaska product played for UConn in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. He never averaged more than 1.4 points per game in limited action but did captivate the nation with his high-profile dunks in workouts and practice.
The other guys
The Starrs of Storrs roster features several other players that aren’t connected to UConn. These include Seth Maxwell, 7-foot center who played collegiately for Indiana Wesleyan University, Terry “TJ” Maston, a 6-foot-9 power forward who played for Baylor, and Elijah Thomas, a 6-foot-9 power forward who played for Texas A&M and Clemson.
What is The Basketball Tournament
Established in 2014, TBT is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament that is played in the United States each summer. In recent years, the field has evolved to 64 teams, and the prize has risen to $1 million, to be split among the entire roster of the winning teams. Many of the teams that compete consist of alumni of Division I college basketball programs across the country. This is the first year that the Stars of Storrs will compete in TBT.
Stars of Storrs first opponent/gametime
The Stars of Storrs begins TBT in the Pittsburgh Region on Saturday at 6 p.m. Games will be played on the FOX Sports family of networks. The Starrs of Storrs first game is against the Herkimer Originals, a minor league basketball team playing in the East Region of the American Basketball Association.
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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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