It soon will be over.

Probably not Friday. Maybe not Sunday.

But the UConn career of Alex Karaban has an expiration date and place: April 6, Indianapolis.

That’s the night of the NCAA national championship game, and Karaban enters this year’s NCAA Tournament seeking his third title in four seasons. It’s one of the reasons why he bypassed entering the NBA draft the past two seasons – the chance to cut down the nets one more time. He is projected as a second-round pick this June.

As a basketball-loving youngster from Worcester County, Mass., Karaban grew up following the Huskies, with Storrs, Conn., just about 70 miles away. He started his high school career at Algonquin Regional High in Northborough, Mass., then played two years at New Hampton (N.H.) School and one semester at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

The 247Sports composite listed him as the No. 19 power forward in the Class of 2022, and he took official visits to Northwestern and Penn State before committing to UConn. He skipped his second semester at IMG Academy and joined the Huskies in January 2022, taking part in team activities and traveling with them as a redshirt.

A little more than a year later, in April 2023, he was cutting down the nets with the team in Houston, having beaten San Diego State. As a freshman, he led the Huskies in minutes played in that championship season.

Fast forward three years, and Karaban is preparing for his final NCAA Tournament. The Huskies are the No. 2 seed in the East Region and open play Friday night against No. 15 Furman in Philadelphia.

The East Region is brutal, filled with historic programs and Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coaches. The Huskies share the region with No. 1 seed Duke, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Kansas, No. 5 St. John’s, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 7 UCLA.

Should the Huskies defeat Furman, they will face the winner of the game between UCLA and UCF.

It’s conceivable UConn won’t advance out of the Round of 32 and Philadelphia. If the Huskies do move on, given the strength of the East Region, they could be out next weekend in Washington, D.C.

But whenever the career of Alex Karaban ends, he will have left his mark.

Karaban’s name now occupies the UConn record book, alongside those of the legends he grew up watching.

He’s been part of more wins than any UConn player. The team’s record in his tenure is 121-27.

He’s started more games than any player: 144

He’s appeared in more games than any player: 145

His 1,783 career points tie him for ninth place all-time on the UConn scoring list with the great Kemba Walker. Should the Huskies’ tournament run last long enough, Karaban could vault over Ryan Boatright (1,786), Ben Gordon (1,795) and Corny Thompson (1,810) to land at No. 6 all-time behind Hall of Fame member Ray Allen (1,922).

Will a future UConn player eclipse Karaban on these lists? If he were to, he’d need to play four seasons on a team that has achieved what these Huskies have. That could be unlikely, given the era of the transfer portal.

“I’ll never coach another player like him again. I’ll certainly never coach another player like him for four straight years,” head coach Dan Hurley told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports recently.

Hurley cried alongside Karaban on Senior Day – Feb. 28 – when Karaban became the first active player to see his name and jersey number added to the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion.

“There’s a closeness that develops, especially over a four-year career,” Hurley said. “We’ve experienced so much together, and he’s such a special player.

The crowd at Gampel Pavilion cheered wildly for Karaban that day, clearly thanking him for four years of hard work.

“Having a legacy at UConn, doing everything you can for four years, having the fan support, having Coach Hurley and the coaching staff's support, just building all these relationships with great teammates that I've had for four years -- it's something I wouldn't trade for,” Karaban, 23, said.

“I know being here for four years, I can come back to UConn and it's always a home for me. No matter how good or how bad my life's going, I know Storrs is always a home for me.

"That's something you don't find often now with college basketball, where players are jumping around all the time, but if you want your legacy to be made and you want to have special moments and a special career and build a relationship, not just with the coaches and teammates but with the fans, you want to stay four years.”

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