UConn Men’s Basketball Recruiting: Grad Transfer Tarin Smith Commits to Huskies

UConn men’s basketball picked up their second commit of the day on Sunday as Duquesne grad transfer Tarin Smith committed to the Huskies, according to Rivals’ Corey Evans. He joins Brendan Adams as the second guard Dan Hurley has brought to Storrs.

Smith has plenty of experience around UConn’s staff throughout his career. He played for Hurley’s father at St. Anthony’s before committing to Nebraska — where assistant Kenya Hunter coached. However, he transferred to Duquesne after his freshman year, where he faced Dan Hurley’s URI squad twice and averaged 9.5 points and 3.0 assists.

Overall, Smith averaged 12.4 points, 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds last season in 28.5 minutes per game for the Dukes. He can play both point guard and off the ball, giving Hurley added flexibility in his backcourt and allowing Jalen Adams more freedom to score if he decides to come back for his senior season, something he has been unable to do throughout his career.

Like Brendan Adams, Smith took his official visit to UConn this weekend along with St. John’s grad transfer Kassoum Yakwe. With his commitment, the Huskies now have solid depth behind Jalen Adams and Christian Vital, along with any healthy contributions from Alterique Gilbert. Ideally, Smith will be the fourth or fifth guard and won’t play nearly as many minutes as Antwoine Anderson did this past season.

With one scholarship now remaining for next season, Hurley will likely look to add a forward or center with the guard position shored up and fill out the remaining open scholarships for the 2018-19 squad.