While UConn looks every bit the part of a defending champion, a critical flaw is starting to show in Dan Hurley’s backcourt. A 9-1 record and players like Solo Ball (15.0 average points), Tarris Reed Jr (14.8 average points), and Alex Karaban (13.4 average points) leading the fray. At this rate, UConn might very well replicate its 2023-24 NCAA Championship win. Yet beneath the winning margins, one key piece of Hurley’s guard rotation isn’t clicking the way it was supposed to.

Apparently, their high-profile transfer guard, Silas Demary Jr, isn’t delivering the way he was expected to, and that has become quite a concern. For a guard carrying an NIL valuation of about $10,400, that kind of early-season return has drawn even more scrutiny from fans and analysts. On the “Field of 68: After Dark” podcast, hosts Terrence Oglesby, Rob Dauster, and Basketball Insider Jeff Goodman dissected the situation.

“Someone said that Silas Demary was going to be the best portal was the best portal addition of the offseason. I don’t know who the hell that was, but right now they are looking like a complete jackass,” said Goodman, not shying away from calling a spade a spade.

You see, when Silas joined Dan Hurley’s UConn, he came in as a high-profile transfer. Across two seasons at Georgia, he scored 804 points 359 in 2023–24 and 445 in 2024–25. Last year alone, he shot 37.4% from three and 80.4% at the line, but at UConn so far those numbers are down to 23.1% from deep and 75.8% on free throws, with 100 total points through 10 games.

“I think the issue right now with Silas Demary is that he is having trouble processing where he is supposed to be making his reads, if that makes sense. Like, there’s going to be you run all this stuff for UConn, and I think Dan said this to us the other night when we had him on it was after the Kansas game, where he doesn’t know where his eyes are supposed to be yet.”

“And I think his head is spinning a little bit when it comes to picking up this offence,” went on Dauster, on how Demary has looked somewhat out of sorts on the court. Take a look at his last four games, and it tells you the story. His box scores from the last four games tell the story: Illinois (9 points), Kansas (2 points), Texas A&M–Commerce (8 points), and Florida (6 points) are what a player of his caliber has to show right now, which naturally raises questions., which raises questions. He is unable to dictate the offense and make reads, which is slowing him down compared to his usual standards.

Hurley’s Pursuit of Demary Last Season

UConn was walking down a murky road last year with a point guard situation, and that is exactly where Silas came in. Tristan Newton was on his way out, and they desperately needed a replacement as his team lacked the punch in that department.

Ironically enough, Newton himself needed time to settle in after transferring from East Carolina before evolving into a national-title-winning floor general, a reminder that Hurley’s system can be tough early on but rewarding once guards figure it out.

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“He’s got [the ability to produce] a Tristan type of game where it was bordering on double-figure assists, six rebounds,” Hurley said. “This is what we brought him in to do.”

Hurley, too, was going through the motions after coming short against teams like Memphis, giving away their turf to Colorado, and collapsing hard against Dayton. Obviously, he doesn’t want those same mistakes again, and he’s doing his best to avoid them with this season’s string of dominant performances, but he’d still like to see more from his roster.

Demary knows what he has signed up for, and he by now also knows what a hard taskmaster Hurley is, who will push him to reach his absolute best. Hurley had said that he wanted to see Demary as the “quarterback” of his team, and that speaks volumes about the faith he has in the Raleigh-born star.