Alex Karaban's last journey with UConn through March Madness can take him into rare company

Alex Karaban's last journey with UConn through March Madness can take him into rare company originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . As the 2026 edition of March Madness begins, there are two ways to look at the possibilities confronting Connecticut power forward Alex Karaban.

He could be six wins away from joining one of the most exclusive fraternities in college basketball. Or he could be six wins away from starting his own. It depends on how one does the accounting.

Of around 30,000 men who have competed in the NCAA Tournament, there have been 15 who claimed three championships during their careers. All of them played for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins. Which means by the night of April 6, Karaban could be in a league of his own.

It would be an astounding accomplishment to join those Bruins, considering the company he would keep; among that group are Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, Lynn Shackelford, Henry Bibby and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. To be the only one who got there outside the Wooden dynasty, though, would make it even more extraordinary. “That’s crazy,” Karaban told The Sporting News.