After a busy offseason for the UConn men’s basketball team, here are some potential lineups for the 2022-23 season

The UConn men’s basketball team began summer training sessions this week with a sea of new faces.

Eight players are gone from the 2021-22 team. Starting forward Isaiah Whaley and key bench forward Tyler Polley exhausted their eligibility, while guards R.J Cole and Tyrese Martin declared their intentions to go pro. In addition, UConn had four players enter the NCAA transfer portal: Redshirt junior forward Akok Akok is headed to Georgetown, freshman guard Rahsool Diggins to UMass, junior guard Jalen Gaffney to Florida Atlantic and freshman guard Corey Floyd Jr. to Providence.

The Huskies only return 36.4 percent of their minutes played last season, which ranks ninth in the Big East, according to Barttorvik.com.

UConn added three guards from the transfer portal in Texas A&M sophomore Hassan Diarra, East Carolina junior Tristen Newton and Virginia Tech junior Nahiem Alleyne. The Huskies also have four-star recruit Donovan Clingan from Bristol Central (ranked 45th overall in the Class of 2022 by 247) and forward Alex Karaban, who spent the past season as a redshirt freshman with the Huskies.

Currently, the roster sits at 10 scholarship players, with UConn coach Dan Hurley hoping to bring in one or two other players. However, Hurley doesn’t anticipate those players playing big minutes next season.

Hurley plans to implement the four-out, one-in motion offense, which creates spacing throughout the court with four players on the perimeter and one inside.

According to net rating, which measures the team’s point differential per 100 possessions, UConn’s best lineup last season was a good exampleof how the four-out, one-in offense would look. The lineup of Cole, Martin, Polley, sophomore guard Andre Jackson and sophomore center Adama Sanogo posted a team-high +31.6 net rating, according to evanmiya.com, while being the eighth-ranked five-man lineup in the Big East. The regular starting lineup of Cole, Martin, Jackson, Whaley and Sanogo had a +19.7 net rating but didn’t play four-out, one-in.

The only players returning from both lineups this season are Jackson and Sanogo. These two appear to be locked in as starters, with Sanogo starting in 29 games and Jackson 33 during the 2021-22 season. The most significant focus for the starting lineup will be maximizing the duo’s strengths.

Sanogo comes off a season where he was named All-Big East first team after averaging 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds. He looks to be the Huskies’ No. 1 option on offense with the departure of Cole. Sanogo’s biggest weakness is his inability to shoot, but it is a skill he’s working on. It would add a new dimension to the offense if he can get a serviceable midrange shot.

Jackson averaged 6.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while shooting a career-high 36.1% from the 3. While his shooting form is unorthodox, he has made a point this summer to work on his shot and make it quicker as he plans on taking more 3s. Jackson has also focused on improving his ability to drive to the rim and finish more. He has said he anticipates being the leader of this team and is ready for the challenge.

With the departure of Cole and Martin, the Huskies lost a combined 29.4 points per game, which accounted for 39.3% of UConn’s total points per game (74.8) last season. Look for newcomer Newton to slot in the starting lineup for Cole. Newton has experience running an offense and can score in bunches. As a sophomore at East Carolina he averaged 17.7 points and five assists while shooting 33.3% from the 3. With UConn’s overall talent, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his 3-point percentage increase, as he won’t be the focal point on offense.

In Martin’s spot, freshman Jordan Hawkins looks to be the ideal replacement. He made the Big East All-Freshman team averaging 5.8 points and 33.3% from the 3. Hawkins is expected to have a much bigger offensive role this upcoming season. He came into his freshman year known as a shooter, so look for his 3-point percentage to go up. The UConn staff is high on his potential and believe he will increase his scoring in the double-digits

The fifth starting spot is perhaps the most contentious. Last season, Alleyne started 36 games for Virginia Tech and averaged 9.6 points while shooting 37.3% from the 3. His skills fit in well with the other four players, so he looks to be the natural choice.

A lineup of Newton, Alleyne, Hawkins, Jackson and Sanogo would be the ideal fit for the four-out, one-in offense. The first four players shot a combined average of 35% beyond the arc last season, which bodes well for Sanogo. It would allow him to control the inside and pass out to shooters if he is double-teamed.

Hurley’s calling card over the years has been his team’s defense. If that ends up being the starting lineup, the shortest player would be Alleyne, who is 6 feet 4. Last season, it was the 6-foot-1 Cole. It would be much harder to hunt mismatches on the Huskies because of their overall height and length.

Last season, Gaffney was the primary backup for Cole off the bench. With Gaffney gone, Diarra appears to be the backup point guard for Newton and UConn’s first player off the bench. According to KenPom, Diarra played point guard 32% of the time over his final five games as an Aggie.

As a sophomore at Texas A&M, Diarra averaged 6.2 points in 15.4 minutes per game. He came to UConn for a more significant opportunity, so look for him to average more minutes and showcase his toughness on both ends.

Freshman Samson Johnson is a wild card. Last season he barely saw the floor, averaging 5.2 minutes per game. With Akok Akok hurt and Sanogo in foul trouble, Johnson was thrown into the fire in the Feb. 5 loss to Villanova and was quickly subbed out after four minutes as he struggled to contain the Wildcats’ Eric Dixon.

The UConn coaching staff is still high on Johnson’s potential. He can run the floor as a big, defend the rim and even pop a 3. The biggest thing keeping Johnson from seeing consistent minutes is the mistakes he commits on the floor. If he can limit his mistakes, he could challenge Clingan for the opportunity to back up Sanogo.

During Richie Springs’ three years at UConn, he has rarely seen the floor. He played in just eight games last season for an average of 3.5 minutes. However, he could potentially see spot minutes if the big-man trio of Sanogo, Clingan and Johnson get in foul trouble.

That leaves the incoming freshmen, who are always the hardest to project. Last season, only Hawkins saw significant playing time.

Both Clingan and Karaban bring essential skills that should allow them to see the court.

After redshirting last season, Karaban is ready to help UConn with his impressive shooting and ability to play multiple positions. The 6-foot-8 forward from Massachusetts heads into his first year of athletic eligibility ready to make his mark.

UConn assistant coach Tom Moore said there isn’t pressure on Karaban to contribute right away. Moore thinks the biggest factors for Karaban to see the court will be if his shooting will translate in games and if he has improved his foot speed on defense.

Clingan is a 7-2 center with a polished offensive post game and the ability to create offense out of the post with his elite passing ability. He can also defend the rim on the defensive end. Over the summer, Clingan has worked hard to lose weight and now weighs 265 pounds after starting at 285 in March. The things that could keep Clingan off the court are a lack of lateral quickness on defense and endurance, which have been his focal points for training this summer.

Hurley anticipates Clingan playing a backup role to Sanogo to prevent the latter from getting too tired during games.

It’s a role that Clingan expects, as he told The Courant in May.

”I know nothing is going to be handed to me and nothing is going to be easy. I am going to have to work for everything,” he said.