New UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball GM Hints at Changes

Now at the helm behind-the-scenes of the UConn Huskies’ men’s basketball program, general manager Tom Moore is taking a fresh look to the team’s freshmen.

UConn had resisted the temptation of the transfer portal as the NIL era continues to take over college basketball but Moore hinted that it is set to play a larger role in the Huskies’ talent acquisition on the road ahead.

“It does feel like we may get away from bringing in huge freshmen classes,” Moore said in some of his first comments in the position, per David Borges of CT Insider. “It’ll probably be a few more elite high school prospects that have the potential to be one-and-dones, and maybe less guys that will fill out a class.”

UConn has often avoided the one-and-done types though they became a bit more prevalent in recent seasons: newly-minted NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle used a national title run to thrust himself into the reach of Draft Lottery teams while Liam McNeeley is moving onto the pros after a Freshman of the Year campaign in Storrs.

Moore moved onto the UConn general manager’s role after stints as an assistant coach under both Jim Calhoun and Dan Hurley. The former Qunnipiac men’s basketball coach, who earned four national championship rings as a Huskies assistant coach, mentioned that he had slowly slowly been “weaned off” his on-floor duties and embraced a full-time managing and fundraising role.

“It hasn’t been a drastic cut-off, emotionally, for me where it’s just all of the sudden over,” Moore said, per Mike Anthony of CT Insider. “As we go forward, [Hurley] and I have talked quite a bit about how it would be best served here at UConn and what the role will look like.”

Moore takes on the position as the transfer portal begins to make sweeping changes upon Storrs: the Huskies picked up Silas Demary Jr. (Georgia) and Malachi Smith (Dayton) but lost former prized recruits like Isaiah Abraham, Ahmad Nowell, and Youssouf Singare, as well as veteran Aidan Mahaney, who has since committed to UC Santa Barbara.

The potential departure from the norm, Moore explained, partly stemmed from this past season, where homegrown recruits like Abraham and Nowell struggled to fulfill the roles discussed upon first contact with Storrs.

“They’re going to look drastically different than maybe any other recruits that have come through UConn, in terms of who they’re being recruited by and what their profile is,” Moore noted, per Borges. “The profile coming in of these next three or four guys may be really different than the profile of guys we’ve had over the years.”

In addition to the arrivals from the portal, UConn still anticipates having an attractive freshman class, one set to features guards Jacob Furphy and Braylon Mullins, as well as center Eric Reibe.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags