Here are the 4 New England Natives on UCONN’s Championship Team
Players frp, Mali, Israel, Greece, Togo, New York, Texas, California, Georgia, and Maryland make up the 2023 U Conn men’s basketball roster. There’s also four players from the New England…
HOUSTON, TEXAS – APRIL 03: Andrew Hurley #20 of the Connecticut Huskies reacts after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs 76-59 during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament National Championship game at NRG Stadium on April 03, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesPlayers frp, Mali, Israel, Greece, Togo, New York, Texas, California, Georgia, and Maryland make up the 2023 U Conn men's basketball roster. There's also four players from the New England region. That makes up what was the official 2023 UConn men's basketball roster. The Huskies won their fifth championship last night. This means we can crown four local athletes college basketball champions. Here is a look at the four UConn New England natives.
With time running out in last night's NCAA men's final, you saw a UConn Husky guard dripple the ball around the court. #20 then slams the ball in excitement as the clock hits zero. This player was Andrew Hurley. He's the son of head coach, Dan Hurley. Andrew and three of his teammates are Connecticut natives.
Dan Hurley has been the UConn head coach since 2018. Prior to that, he ran the show at the University of Rhode Island from 2012 - 2018. Hurley has called New England home for 11 years now. Fellow in-staters include Donovan Clingan, and Andre Johnson Jr. Both are from Bristol, CT.
Redshirt freshman, Alex Karaban is from Southborough, MA, which is about an hour up I-84. The four New England Huskies cover the court's guard, forward, and center positions. More importantly, each have years of college basketball eligibility left.
The 2023 march madness tournaments were a riveting display of the best of college basketball. Ultimately, the most well-rounded teams came out on top. For UConn, their roster covered a lot of ground. Coach Hurley did an an amazing job getting his players to all buy into one common goal. As they collectively celebrate their title, we pay tribute to the four UConn New England natives who are now college basketball national champions.
#11 Alex Karaban, Southborough, MA
Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesAlex Karaban of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates with actor Bill Murray after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs 76-59 during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship game at NRG Stadium on April 03, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Karaban is a six-foot-eight, starting forward. He attended Algonquin high school in Northborough, MA before transferring to the New Hampton School in New Hampshire.
#32 Donovan Clingan, Bristol, CT
Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesDonovan Clingan of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs. Clingan is a seven-foot-two, freshman center. He was one of three true scholarship freshmen on the 2022-23 roster. Clingan scored 2,268 career points for Bristol Central high school, and was twice the Gatorade Player of the Year.
#40 Andre Johson Jr., Bristol CT
photo via UConn athleticsJohnson Jr. is a six-foot-four freshman guard who was a preferred walk-on. He played for both The Master's School and South Kent high school in CT before joining the Huskies.
#20 Andrew Hurley, Glastonbury, CT
Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesHurley, the son of coach Dan Hurley (who he is hugging here), is a six-foot-one, junior guard. He joined the team is 2020 as a walk-on. He played for Bishop Hendricken high school in Warwick, RI before transferring to East Catholic in Manchester, CT where he won a state championship as a junior.
