Dan Hurley Predicts UConn Center as NBA Draft Pick
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In their last matchup, the UConn Huskies faced off against Illinois and controlled the game from start to finish in a 74–61 win. Malachi Smith, coming off the bench, went on to make 14 points and a game-high nine assists.
The Huskies’ defense was absolutely brilliant and smothered the Illini offense that usually averages 95 points a night. However, the news that was more exciting than the match itself was the return of two Huskies after they had been injured earlier this season.
Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins are both easing back from ankle injuries. Reed, even in limited minutes, showed what UConn has been missing. The senior big man, still recovering from a painful stretch of injuries, including a preseason hamstring, then an ankle that sidelined him, played for 15 minutes and had five boards.
Reed is usually the kind of player who has been averaging 20 points and 9.3 rebounds this season; his presence alone shifted UConn’s rotations and rhythm. Soon after the game, Hurley spoke to the press about having the star player of his roster back on he hardcourt. He had a lot to say about Reed, despite his stop-and-start season.
“I think short term, with the schedule that we’re playing, it was very dangerous for us to face the level of opponents we’re playing without a healthy team, especially a guy like Tarris Reed, who is one of the most impactful players in the country. He’s one of the best big guys in the country, and he’s going to be an NBA Draft pick this year. The guy changes everything about our offense and defense,” said Hurley.
Hurley, of course, is not wrong. Before the ankle setback, Reed played against BYU and scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while grabbing eight rebounds. In fact, Bleacher Report’s early mock draft has put Reed at No. 60 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, they were one of the few places to do the same.
Reed seems to be missing from a lot of mock drafts. To be fair, it is only November, and the predictions are bound to change. However, the reason he may be missing is perhaps due to inconsistency resulting from injuries.
However, Hurley, who sees a silver lining, added, “But that being said, his situation health-wise has been great for Eric. It’s giving us two centers who I think are going to be able to play at a high level, and that’s been the key to a lot of our success in ’23 and ’24.”
With Reed sidelined, Eric Reibe stepped in. Reibe got the opportunity to play more minutes and even scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting against Bryant, and 15 points with two blocks against Arizona. The two bigs remind the Husky Nation and Hurley of the Donovan Clingan and Adama Sanogo dynamic.
Dan Hurley Details Boost Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins Bring UConn
If Reed is the anchor, Mullins is the quintessential spark. Hurley made it clear that Reed and Mullins, combined, can change the ceiling for the Huskies.
“I just think Tarris changes so much, and you saw it negatively as the game wore on today. Not having Tarris as a guy we could really use offensively today put us in a tough spot…His presence alone, his physicality, his size, just occupying some minutes so that Eric didn’t have to play 30-plus, matters a lot,” said Hurley. “He changes us offensively and defensively. We start playing in a donut when we’re running around the three-point line too much because we don’t have enough diversity on offense. He solves a lot of that because you're talking about a guy who’s a 70% shooter when we throw him the ball around the block area.”
As UConn awaits the most challenging gauntlet, the Huskies will need both Reibe and Reed to play. Next up, the Huskies will face Kansas. They bring another NBA Draft pick, who most outlets have at No. 1, Darryn Peterson.
To make things more interesting, UConn’s history against Kansas is short but challenging, and so far, entirely one-sided in the Jayhawks’ favor. The Huskies are 0-4 all-time against Kansas, with the series going back to a home-and-home series played in Kansas City and Hartford in 1995 and 1997. Now, with Peterson on the roster, things are not going to be easy for the Huskies.
As Hurley sees it, “So just getting Tarris back healthy, hopefully a lot healthier for the Kansas game, and then obviously Braylon, we want to get these guys to the point where maybe going into Tuesday, you’re not talking about minutes restrictions. Those two guys are going to change our team a lot.”
Mullins’ 10-minute debut saw him make two points and two rebounds. However, that is only the beginning. In the exhibition match against Boston College, Mullins scored 12 points. Let's also not forget that he is one of the most touted freshmen this season, who sits above Reed in multiple 2026 mock drafts.
In fact, ESPN has Mullins at No.13 going to the Chicago Bulls. Pair that with Reed working his way back to full strength, and suddenly the Huskies’ upside looks like a team that could make it deep in March.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.