INDIANAPOLIS — Alex Karaban’s voice cracked. It was starting to settle in.
He had just finished his memorable Connecticut career on the wrong side of a 69-63 result on the final night of the college basketball season.
“I’m just reminding myself right now that when I came into UConn, how much I’ve grown, and I’m ultimately leaving UConn in a better place right now from where I started,” the two-time national champion from Southborough, Mass., said. “I gave it everything I got. I gave it my heart. I gave everything. All I thought about was UConn basketball every single day.”
Karaban’s final game was a terrific 17-point, 11-rebound effort. He played all 40 minutes. The ball was in his hands when the final buzzer sounded, with Karaban sprinting into the backcourt for a loose ball.
“I figured, let me play him into the ground one more time, just one more 40-minute game for Alex,” coach Dan Hurley said. “He deserved to play 40 minutes.”
As Michigan players celebrated and confetti fell, Karaban slowly walked to the bench. After experiencing the joy of two championships, he found himself on the losing end of a title game. Still, he chose to focus on the positives.
“I’m blessed that I’ve been able to wear this jersey for the longest amount of time possible, the max amount, the max amount of minutes, the max amount of games this season,” he said. “I came back ultimately to win. Fell short, so it hurts right now. It hurts a lot right now.”
Karaban completes his career with an 18-2 NCAA Tournament record, having appeared in 151 games at Connecticut. His 126 wins are the most by any Husky, and his 292 3-pointers rank first, too.
“This guy changed my life, the staff’s lives, the joy he’s brought to the university, the fan base,” Hurley said. “He’s helped to make UConn … probably the premier program in college basketball right now, having been to three out of four national championship games, having won two of them. He’s put UConn in that rarefied place in college basketball.”
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