UConn loses Aidan Mahaney to transfer portal after 1 season
04/01/2025 04:44 PM
Hours after Liam McNeeley announced he would enter the NBA Draft, the UConn men’s basketball program lost another player from its 2024-25 squad as Aidan Mahaney entered the transfer portal.
Mahaney, a reserve guard for the Huskies, came to Storrs after two seasons with Saint Mary’s. He never quite fit in at UConn, however, struggling defensively in the non-conference and then with the physicality of Big East play. Head coach Dan Hurley also tried to use Mahaney as a point guard but it was never his natural position and as his confidence waned, his decision making suffered with it.
That’s not to say it was all bad at UConn. After all, the two-time defending national champions wanted him for a reason and Mahaney was a two-time all-West Coast Conference first teamer. Mahaney’s on-ball defense showed real improvement as the season progressed and, though he was a streaky three-point shooter, was unafraid to take a big shot.
Overall, Mahaney averaged just over 12 minutes per game, compared to the 32 he played per contest with the Gaels. In limited action as a Husky, he posted 4.5 points and 1.3 assists per game, shooting 36% from three-point range.
UConn men’s basketball will have to retool its backcourt next year
Mahaney isn’t the only Husky guard leaving the team. Starting point guard Hassan Diarra, a member of both the 2023 and 2024 championship teams, exhausted his eligibility, while freshman guard Ahmad Nowell also entered the transfer portal.
It’s a lot to absorb, but each player came with his own asterisks attached. Apart from Mahaney’s documented struggles, Diarra played much of the second half of the season through a knee injury that severely limited his availability, while Nowell struggled to see the court at all.
We already know who two of the incoming backcourt replacements will be; the Huskies have commits from McDonald’s All-Americans Braylon Mullins and Darius Adams. They’ll also bring in wing Jacob Furphy from Australia.
Mullins is the highest-ranked recruit of the bunch (including seven-footer Eric Reibe). He’s known as one of the best shooters in his class and led the state of Indiana in scoring last season at 32.9 points per game.
Hurley and his staff are also active in the transfer portal. They’re set to host Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr., the Bulldogs’ point guard who posted 13.4 points and 3.1 assists per game in 2024-25. They’re also connected to James Madison transfer Bryce Lindsay, who scored in double figures and shot better than 40% from three last year.
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