UConn’s national champions greeted by 45,000 fans during parade, rally in Hartford

HARTFORD — The UConn men’s basketball team rolled through downtown Hartford, past an estimated 45,000 fans and gathered on Trumbull Street in front of the XL Center to celebrate national title No. 5 on Saturday.

The crowd stood shoulder-to-shoulder as Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont opened with remarks, then passed the spotlight to head coach Dan Hurley and players Jordan Hawkins, Adama Sanogo, Andre Jackson and Bristol native Donovan Clingan – all of whom were sure to thank the massive crowd for its support as they barreled through the tournament, winning every game by double-digits.

After Hurley addressed the sea of support, saying the Huskies had to remind the sports world where the basketball capital of the world is on Monday night, Hawkins was pampered with chants of “One more year!” and the budding freshman star Clingan announced he’ll remain with the program for the pursuit of No. 6.

“That was a lot more people than I expected,” said Jackson, who experienced his own shower of “One more year!” pleas after exciting the crowd. “A few turns, I thought it was gonna be over and it just kept going. That’s the most people I’ve ever seen in one setting.”

“I knew UConn fans were crazy, I knew they loved us, but I was surprised a little bit seeing that many UConn fans out like that,” Sanogo said, telling fans to enjoy the moment until the time comes for another parade.

Saturday’s victory lap capped off a busy week that started with beating San Diego State in front of more than 70,000 at the title game in Houston Monday, 76-59. The Huskies returned to campus Tuesday and were welcomed home at a rally inside Gampel Pavilion, then on Wednesday coaches were back in their offices and meetings began with players, families and agents.

Hawkins’ decision for his future was expected. The sophomore star projected to be a first-round pick announced Friday on ESPN’s NBA Today that he would be declaring for the NBA Draft.

But for others, especially Sanogo and Jackson, the decision is a bit more complicated.

“For Jordan it was a bit more clear cut,” Hurley said after the parade, “I think for some of the other guys it makes more sense for them to return here, for some other guys it’s probably gonna take a little bit more time to weigh the pros and cons.”

Players are able to, and will be encouraged to, test their professional prospects while maintaining college eligibility.

“We want as many players to return, not in a selfish way, if it makes sense for somebody to leave and their value is greater somewhere else then they go take advantage of some of those opportunities like Jordan,” Hurley said. “But you obviously want as many guys returning from a national championship team as you can return that makes sense in terms of roles and how you still see things for them, that doesn’t change. But in order for us to put ourselves back in the mix for No. 6 we’ve got to continue to get better.”

For Sanogo, who averaged nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds throughout UConn’s six tournament games and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, the decision is a bit more complicated. A center who thrives in the low post at 6-foot-9 isn’t necessarily what shoots to the top of today’s NBA draft boards.

Understanding that reality, Sanogo worked on developing his 3-point shot over the summer heading into this season and shot at a 36.5% clip this year, making good on 19 of his 52 attempts. He only shot the 3 four times in the tournament, making two in a row at the start of UConn’s Final Four matchup with Miami.

His decision is expected to come weeks down the line, but the preliminary answer to the question on everyone’s mind Saturday was, “Why not?” he said. “I’m definitely talking to my family right now, my agency and stuff, so we’re gonna make the best decision soon, for sure. Next couple weeks.”

Hurley, who’s routinely boosted up his players as NBA draft prospects throughout the season, thinks Sanogo should be considered by an NBA team and going through workouts will help him prove it.

“Adama is one of the best players in the country,” Hurley said. “How he’s not an NBA draft pick, how he can’t immediately be on the 15-man roster of an NBA team – he’s a special, special player, he’s one of the greatest players in UConn history. His skill level’s gone up every year to where he was making 3s and driving the ball this year. I think by the time his draft process is over, his workouts, he’ll prove himself to be an NBA player.

“I think he’s earned a right to go through that process because he’s one of the best players in the country and obviously keep his options open.”

Jackson, who will undoubtedly impress scouts when he goes through the workouts, expressed a desire to come back and try for another national title directly after the game Monday night, saying the only way he wouldn’t return is if Hurley told him not to.

But Saturday, after a series of conversations, Jackson’s mind wasn’t made up quite yet.

“I’m just going over it with coaches, my family and friends and just talking about it,” he said after the parade, “really considering any options.”

“We’re having those conversations,” Hurley said. “We don’t want to do something that’s great for UConn and not great for Andre Jackson, because Andre has given everything to us. We’re getting all the information, we’re talking to all the right people, but it’s a UConn and an Andre decision because we’re very connected. And sometimes it’s not like that with players but his is a different situation.”

UConn is set to bring in five freshmen in one of the top recruiting classes in the country and the national champions are already searching the transfer portal to fill any areas of future need for their pursuit of another parade through Hartford.

“Who wouldn’t want to play at UConn?” Hurley said. “We’ve proven that we can compete and win a national championship, every year we’re putting players in the NBA Draft, we don’t hold our players back. We get our young players on the court, we develop them, we get them to the NBA quickly and we win big while we’re doing that. And everyone loves watching our team play – because of how hard we play, how unselfish we are, and the culture and the camaraderie. So unless there’s something else going on in recruiting, why wouldn’t you want to come here?”