Tarris Reed Jr has had a positive outlook regarding his unfortunate preseason injury. Despite the setback, Reed is challenging himself in new ways and working hard for his return. He injured the hamstring in mid-October and has been sitting on the sidelines ever since, failing to appear in any of UConn’s preseason games. In the meantime, coach Dan Hurley has a positive update regarding their starting center as the season dawns on the Huskies. 

Tarris Reed is expected to have a breakout season as a senior with the Huskies. He was named in the prestigious Preseason Watch List for the 2026 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s top center. However, his injury woes to start the season could make it difficult for both Dan Hurley and the aspiring center. Fortunately, it seems Reed is slowly and surely getting back to full capacity. 

“Tara has been in practice for the last four days, so he’s making great progress. He’s going to fall into the game-time decision. We just want to see how he’s feeling after four straight days of being in it, but he looks good. He looks really good, so we’re excited about that,” Hurley said at the final preseason media availability before their opener against New Haven. 

Last season was Reed’s first at UConn after transferring from rivals Michigan, and he made an instant impact. Coming off the bench, he averaged 9.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 67.0 % from the floor. Playing just under 20 minutes a game, he won the Big East Sixth Man of the Year while playing behind Samson Johnson. Now that Johnson has graduated, Reed has an excellent opportunity to become the premier two-way big man for UConn. 

However, he will likely not start immediately after returning from injury. Dan Hurley could instead go with the size of 7-foot freshman Eric Reibe, since he occupied that position in exhibition games. Against Michigan State last week, Reibe grabbed seven rebounds while scoring five points, but went 2-6 from the field. 

Hurley can still choose to go with the experience of Dwayne Koroma to begin the season without any jitters. If Reed is unable to participate altogether, Rrezon Elezaj, the 7-foot-2 freshman from Turkey, could get some minutes. Either way, UConn’s star-studded lineup shouldn’t have a problem against Division 1 debutants New Haven. However, there is another catch for the lineup with one of their key backcourt pieces still recovering from his injury. 

Dan Hurley Still Waiting On Jacob Furphy Update

There is a reason this UConn side is once again in the running for the National Championship. This roster is deep. It was not only Tarris Reed Jr on the preseason watch list. Their other stars were named to the Naismith Hall of Fame’s Preseason Starting 5 Watchlist, too. Silas Demary Jr., Solo Ball, Braylon Mullin and Alex Karaban are all expected to be among the country’s top players.

“I think that just shows how deep our team is,” Ball said. “I mean, from one through five, and when you go on the bench, there’s no drop off, and it just shows how talented we are as a group.” However, that depth is slightly hampered to start the season as they will be without freshman Jacob Furphy in the opener. 

“Furphy sprained his ankle two days ago in the warmup drill, just kind of a freak thing. So he’s going to be down with an ankle. I haven’t gotten a timeline yet. So, probably get more tomorrow,” Dan Hurley said. The fact that someone like Jacob Furphy is so far down the rotation in this UConn side tells you how good this roster is. Furphy was balling at the FIBA U-19 Summit, averaging 16.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Along with Furphy, Braylon Mullins will also be sitting out with an ankle sprain. Mullins proved himself as one of the “best long-range shooters” in the country to Adam Finkelstein and could be a key piece for Dan Hurley as the season goes on. Mullins started the opening exhibition vs. Boston College. Despite some foul trouble, he scored 12 points, while going 2-7 from the three-point line and 4-9 from the field. 

While not at his high school efficiency, he displayed the three-level scoring that Hurley values. According to Jon Rothstein, Mullins will be out for six weeks. UConn is dealing with some pesky injury issues to start the season. While it’s not completely altering for Dan Hurley, it is affecting the progress of some of his talents.