Dan Hurley: UConn's New Players Want to Win CBB Title 'Like They Need Oxygen'

UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley doesn't believe complacency will be an issue as the program seeks a third straight national title.

"The new players we've brought in, they're seeing the back-to-back championship sweatshirts and banners, and they want that title like they need oxygen," he said to Fox Sports' John Fanta. "In a weird way, it's a perfect storm."

The Huskies had to overhaul their roster with multiple key players from 2023-24 moving on. Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan left early for the NBA draft and were lottery picks. Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer graduated.

That's four of UConn's five highest scorers and that kind of turnover is typically too large a hurdle to overcome for a defending national champion.

But Hurley and his staff added Saint Mary's guard Aidan Mahaney and Michigan center Tarris Reed Jr. through the transfer portal. Five-star center Liam McNeeley and a pair of 4-star recruits, Ahmad Nowell and Isaiah Abraham, signed on as well.

Alex Karaban, the best returning star from last year, made it clear to Fanta that he hasn't taken his eyes off the prize.

"I want to chase history," he said. "I want to be a part of history, and as a collective group, it's about chasing something that hasn't been done since the Wooden days and, individually, being one of the winningest college players of all time."

The Huskies opened the season third in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, which pretty much tells you all you need to know about how much talent they have.

UConn has a relatively straightforward slate of nonconference games before playing No. 8 Baylor, No. 19 Texas and No. 6 Gonzaga all in succession. That stretch will reveal a lot about whether a three-peat is possible.