UConn star Alex Karaban posted a farewell message to Huskies’ fans on social media over the weekend.
Karaban, the program’s all-time winningest player and the first active men’s player ever to be inducted into the Huskies’ of Honor, is in Chicago working out with his agency ahead of the NBA Draft Combine, which will take place from May 10-17 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
The Huskies’ captain is projected to hear his name called early in the second round of the NBA Draft, which will take place on June 23 and 24 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“UConn,” he wrote on Instagram as a caption for a gallery of 15 photos he collected as a four-year starter in the program. “Words can’t describe how much this place means to me so all I can say is, thank you. Over the past 4 years, I have gained unforgettable memories, experiences and relationships that I will have forever. I learned so much about myself that wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for UConn. Thank you to all the great teammates and coaches I’ve had. Through all of the ups and downs, we stuck together and accomplished our dreams. As this chapter for me ends, Storrs will always be home for me. Thank you UConn, it’s always Bleed Blue.”
Karaban, a two-time national champion, finished his UConn career as the program’s all-time leader in games played (151), started (150) and won (127). He made the most 3-pointers in program history with 292, has the highest true shooting percentage of all-time at .598, just ahead of Ray Allen, and is sixth on the all-time scoring leaderboard with 1,880 career points.
Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin O’Connor has the Southborough, Mass. native going No. 31 overall to the New York Knicks in his latest mock draft, while ESPN had Karaban at No. 35 overall to join former teammate Stephon Castle with the San Antonio Spurs prior to March Madness and NBADraft.net had him going No. 40 overall to the Boston Celtics earlier this month.
Karaban was ranked the 32nd-best NBA Draft prospect in this year’s draft, according to ESPN. Fellow Husky Tarris Reed Jr. came in just behind him as the No. 37 overall prospect and is also likely to hear his name called in the second round.
UConn’s Alex Karaban returns to host camp in Connecticut amidst NBA Draft prep