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Alex Karaban

Alex Karaban (born November 11, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference.

Early life and high school career

Karaban was born to Alexi and Olga Karaban, immigrants from Belarus and Ukraine respectively. He has two siblings, younger sister Ana and younger brother Andrew. He grew up in Northborough and Southborough, Massachusetts, and initially attended Algonquin Regional High School. He transferred to the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire after his freshman year. Karaban was named the New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 25.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game. After the end of the school year, he transferred a second time to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Karaban was rated a four-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for UConn over offers from Stanford, Iowa, and Creighton.

College career

Karaban accelerated his graduation at IMG Academy and enrolled at UConn in January 2022. He practiced with the team for the rest of the 2021–2022 season and redshirted the year. Karaban was a unanimous selection to the Big East Conference's All-Freshman team at the end of his redshirt freshman season. He started the 2023 national championship game and scored five points with five rebounds and three blocked shots as the Huskies won 76–59.

Karaban entered his sophomore year on the watchlist for the Karl Malone Award. He scored a career-high 22 points in the Huskies' season-opener against Northern Arizona as UConn won 95–52. Karaban averaged 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as UConn repeated as national champions. He initially declared for the 2024 NBA draft but ultimately decided to return for his redshirt junior season.