UConn Getting Crucial Spark From Freshman Guard
In this story:
The UConn Huskies 7-1 start has featured plenty of impressive moments, but nothing shifted the Huskies’ energy quite like what happened in Lawrence. In the match against Kansas, a freshman who had barely logged double-digit college minutes turned the Huskies around to secure a 61-56 win.
Dan Hurley has long awaited the return of Braylon Mullins. Pretty much every post-game and pre-game since the season began has included a mention of Mullins and a brief discussion about how he would elevate the Huskies' ceiling.
And at that point, it seemed questionable, considering Mullins is a freshman who got sidelined right after the first exhibition against Boston College, where he scored 12 points. Now, after the Kansas match, Hurley yet again had something to say about Mullins, and this time, no questions asked.
“There’s been a lot of impressive freshman performances. Obviously, this is a special freshman class. But to miss six weeks with the type of injury he had to the knee and to the ankle, and for this to be his second college game, and in a game where the team, you know, we were down, he sparked us. He sparked us. He put us in a position to win this game,” said Hurley.
When a head coach repeats a phrase twice, you know he means it. Mullins truly did turn the game around. This was only Mullins’ second college outing, and that, too, he played in the loudest arena of them all, Allen Fieldhouse.
Mullins went on to make 17 points off the bench, a team-best +13, five rebounds, and the two clutch free throws that sealed UConn’s first-ever win at Allen Fieldhouse. Every time Kansas threatened to stretch the lead, Mullins punched right back.
UConn freshman Braylon Mullins just played in his second college game and put up a career-high off the bench 🔥
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) December 3, 2025
17 PTS | 6-12 FG | 5 REB | 23 MINS pic.twitter.com/7LqNYOVTC1
At first it was with threes, then came a personal 5-0 burst, and finally with the calmest pair of pressure-free throws. For a rookie who missed six weeks, that is unbelievable production. However, Hurley saw this coming.
“So, you know, obviously this was a first step for him, and I think he’s going to make our team a lot better moving forward,” added Hurley.
And that’s perhaps because one, look at Mullins’ pedigree, and it all makes sense. Mullins is a McDonald’s All-American, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, a consensus five-star scorer who once dropped 52 in a single high school game.
Now, after watching him swing the outcome in Kansas, it feels impossible not to lean forward and ask: If this is just the beginning, what does the rest look like?
Next up, December Gauntlet Awaits Dan Hurley and Braylon Mullins
Now comes the fun part: letting Mullins settle into who he already looks ready to be. His history says he is a star in the making. Mullins, after all, is also a Greenfield-Central legend who led his team to a 23-4 record while averaging 32.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.7 steals per game.
And now Mullins steps into a December stretch where UConn needs every ounce of that edge. The Huskies face East Texas A&M at home, then head to Madison Square Garden for Florida, return to Hartford for Texas and Butler, and hit the road for DePaul and Xavier.
This is where Hurley will learn how much his new freshman can shoulder. This is where Mullins’ return after injury transitions from storyline to identity.
-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.