Fresh off back-to-back national titles, the UConn sharpshooter arrives in Sacramento ready to translate elite floor-spacing and a relentless championship pedigree into a long-awaited culture shift.
Since Darius Acuff Jr., Alex Karaban, and Emanuel Sharp have been drafted, the three have all expressed one common focus: getting the Sacramento Kings turned around and playing winning basketball.
This past week, Sacramento's rookies held their introductory press conferences and meetings, with each player talking about the importance of shifting the culture and mystique around the franchise's recent struggles.
Karaban, who was the most accomplished collegiate player in this year's class, talked to ABC10's Kevin John about bringing winning pedigree with him to the next level.
"The fans deserve to see great basketball out there. They deserve to see a winning culture," Karaban said. "That's something I can bring. I know what it takes to win. I know how hard it is, especially at the next level. But, just being disciplined, getting better every day, holding each other accountable and really creating a foundation we can lean on through the good and bad times."
Karaban is one of the winningest four-year players in recent college basketball history, posting an absurd 116-24 record, losing less games than some teams drop in a single season.
Karaban helped jumpstart UConn's resurgence as a powerhouse program, leading the Huskies to two National Championships and three Final Four appearances.
Following their loss in the National Championship, Karaban and head coach Danny Hurley had an emotional embrace before exiting to the locker room.
In the postgame pressers, Hurley gave Karaban the ultimate compliment.
"This guy changed my life, the staff's lives, the joy he's brought to the university, the fan base," Hurley said. "His decision to come to UConn has made us ... we're probably the premier program in college basketball right now, having been to three out of four national championship games, having won two of them. He's put UConn in that rarefied place in college basketball."
With John, Karaban credited Hurley for giving him transferrable skills for the next level.
"When you put the team first, you're going to get what you want at the end of the day. When the team succeeds, everyone is going to get what they want," Karaban said. "And just the beauty of being uncomfortable, being pushed every single day and knowing that you're capable of so much more."
The intangibles are definitely there for Karaban, but let's not glaze over his shooting ability on the court as well.
Karaban never had a season shooting less than 34.7-percent from deep, while constantly giving maximum effort on the defensive end.
At the recent NBA Draft Combine, Karaban shot the lights out, with the UConn sharpshooter leading all participants in the spot shooting drill (74.8-percent).
In the 3-point star shooting drill, Karaban made 14 deep balls in a row en route to a 21/25 performance.
Karaban, alongside Sharp, will bring experience from two of the toughest places to play in college basketball, providing leadership and 3-point shooting to the Kings' locker room.
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