Know the draft prospect: Alex Karaban

As we inch closer and closer to the 2026 NBA Draft, we continue our series looking at potential draft prospects. In this edition, could the Knicks take a swing at another older, two-time national champion from the Big East with their second-round pick?

The Basics

Age: 23 (Born November 11, 2002)

2025-26 Stats: 13.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.8 BLK, 0.8 STL, 46.4% FG, 37.4% 3PT, 85.1% FT

Projected Draft Range: Early second round (30–40)

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The Numbers

Karaban grew up in Massachusetts, but only spent his freshman year of high school at Algonquin Regional in Northborough before transferring to New Hampton School in New Hampshire, where he won New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior. With plenty of collegiate interest, he transferred again to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year.

As a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022, he earned dozens of offers and made official visits to Northwestern, Penn State, and UConn. In the end, he chose Dan Hurley and the Huskies, who were playing just their second season back in the Big East after a forgettable seven years in the AAC. He was even able to graduate high school a semester early, enrolling for the Spring 2022 semester and redshirting.

Right out of the gate, Karaban was a starter for UConn, ultimately finishing with 150 career starts in 151 games played over four years. He would go on to be named to the Big East All-Freshman Team in 2022-23, be named to two All-Big East teams, win two national championships, and go out being named to the All-NCAA Tournament team in 2026.

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Throughout his career, he was known as a great shooter, shooting 37.4% from three on over five attempts a game while being one of the best free-throw shooters in college basketball (84.4%). He was never overly impressive defensively, but averaged 1.5 blocks a game as a junior in 2024-25. He also routinely led the Huskies in minutes and even led the entire Big East in 2025-26.

Skills That Pay the Bills

Three-Point Shooting: Karaban has been an above-average shooter in three of his four collegiate seasons. The ability to knock down open jumpers will always be valuable