NCAA analysts hope Alex Karaban can make “a lot of money” in the NBA; compare UConn star with Boston Celtics forward

UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban finished his third year at UConn this past season. He helped the team win the national championship in 2023 and 2024, and although the team did not win it all in 2025, he had his best season statistically. He averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. This led to Karaban declaring for the 2025 NBA draft after the season.

However, after some deliberation, Karaban eventually decided to pull out of the NBA draft and return to UConn for his senior season. He made this decision on April 29. Doing so should allow him to raise his draft stock for the 2026 NBA draft.

On Tuesday, a new episode of 'The Field of 68: After Dark' was released. In the episode, analyst Jeff Goodman spoke about Karaban, saying he hopes he can become an NBA draft pick next season (starts at 3:10).

"Listen I hope Alex Karaban I hope he works his way back into a guaranteed you know early second round deal where he can make a lot of money because that kid is awesome. He's awesome. I fell for him last year."

Rob Dauster then responded, comparing Karaban to Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser.

"All right, so the comparison I'll make, and this is like completely tangent. I don't know how I ended up here. I always end up on Uconn stuff, but I don't see how Alex Karaban can't have the same career that Sam Hauser is having when he gets to the NBA. Like that's just kind of the, you see what that role is like, you know exactly who he's gonna end up being."

Alex Karaban's return to the UConn Huskies should help them contend for another national championship

Although it is unclear whether Karaban would have been drafted if he stayed in the 2025 NBA draft, there is no doubt that he is an effective college basketball player. He was part of two teams that won national championships, playing a big role on both teams.

So, his return to the Huskies should help the team have a bounce-back season. Insider Jeff Borzello thinks the Huskies are contenders in 2026.

"Alex Karaban is back and UConn is a 2025-26 national championship contender. Silas Demary Jr. Solo Ball Braylon Mullins Alex Karaban Tarris Reed Loaded lineup."

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If Karaban can win another national championship with the Huskies while playing a big role, it is hard to imagine NBA teams passing on him in the draft next year.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

Know More

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Edited by Alexander O'Reilly