The back-to-back defense of national champion Uconn Huskies has not yet been done.
Former Saint Mary’s Gaels guard and All-WCC 1st teamer Aidan Mahaney announced on his instagram Monday morning that he would be committing to Uconn. He averaged 13.9 points in both his freshman and sophomore year for the Gaels.
Mahaney put his name in the transfer portal a couple weeks ago and was visiting different campuses around the country since then. Getting Mahaney is a huge addition for the Huskies and will boost their chances for a three-peat.
What Mahaney Brings to the Uconn Huskies
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Aidan Mahaney‘s talent level has flown under the radar across the country. Playing in the WCC for Saint Mary’s, a lot of their games weren’t nationally televised or at prime-time viewing spots for East Coast viewers.
Being in the Bay Area most of my life, I have been familiar with Mahaney since his days playing at nearby Campolindo High School. This season, I made it to Moraga for 5 Saint Mary’s games and watched countless others on TV. Mahaney is the real deal and an NBA talent in my mind.
He is a player you trust with the ball in his hands at all times. Mahaney can create offense for himself and is great at finding the open man when the defense collapses on him.
Saint Mary’s loved running the pick-n’ roll with Mahaney and big man Mitchell Saxen, and they had a lot of success doing it. I see Uconn Huskies coach Danny Hurley being able to get the most out of Mahaney and him moving up on NBA draft boards at this time next time.
Uconn Huskies Reloading
The Uconn Huskies are coming off a dominating 2023-24 season, which ended in them blowing the doors off every team they played in the NCAA tournament en route to their 2nd straight national title. Just like the last offseason, Uconn will be losing many key contributors from a national championship team.
As of now, the Huskies will likely be without 4 of their top 5 scorers from a season ago. The only issue with your team being so good every year is that you have to keep adding new guys to replace the ones going to the NBA draft.
Uconn did a great job of that this past season, and they look to do it again this year. Adding Aidan Mahaney to go along with a star-studded freshman recruiting class of Liam McNeeley, Ahmad Nowell, and Isaiah Abraham, the Huskies are still going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Can the Uconn Huskies Get the Three-Peat?
The simple answer to this question is yes. There is no reason to think that this era of Dan Hurley and Uconn dominating college basketball is coming to an end anytime soon.
Hurley is a fairly young coach. They kill the portal year in and year out, and their recruiting classes are getting better and better. This year’s team is going to need some time to mesh all the new transfers and recruits, but I wouldn’t bet against them.
In all likelihood, the 2024-25 team will be entering the NCAA tournament as a 1 or 2 seed and as one of the favorites to win the whole thing. The Uconn Huskies are not going anywhere.
About the Author
Cory is an Oregon Duck alumni and has been following college basketball closely for years. He has attended over 30 games across the country this season alone. Follow Cory on X @cory_pappas1 for more breaking stories.
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