"Heart and soul of this team": Liam McNeeley, Dan Hurley and other UConn stars give Alex Karaban his flowers 

UConn junior Alex Karaban has become an integral part of the Huskies this season, and his teammates and coaches have taken notice. He is a leading scorer for the team with an average of 16.5 points per game.

No. 11 UConn coach Dan Hurley is never short on superlatives when it comes to describing Karaban's impact. In the season 3 premiere of the Huskies' YouTube series "Marching On," released Sunday, Hurley had nothing but praise for the forward.

"Alex is our confidence that returns from the back to back teams," Hurley said (4:38). "He kind of forces everyone around him to get to his level."

Freshman forward Liam McNeeley, who is averaging 13.9 ppg so far this campaign, echoed Hurley's sentiments.

"Alex Karaban is the heart and soul of this UConn team," Liam said (4:52). "He's been a great mentor, a great leader for the whole team, especially me."

Hassan Diarra, a senior guard who played alongside Alex Karaban for three seasons, provided his insight into who Karaban is as a player.

"He's everything. I mean, he scores the ball, he leads, guard, he rebounds. He does it all," Diarra said (5:02).

Karaban had back-to-back 20-point games against Marquette and Butler in the first two games of Big East play and also scored 21 points in the Huskies' win over Texas on Dec. 8.

Alex Karaban stresses his role of leadership in team success

According to Dan Hurley, the whole system changes when Alex Karaban hits the floor. He has been a key cog in the defending champion Huskies, acting as a veteran presence who has elevated the play of the entire team

"I got to be an All-American every single night and play at that All-American level that the coaching staff believes in me and I believe in myself that I can do as well," Alex said (5:17).

"And if I play at that level and be the leader that the coaches expect me to do every single day, then I think we got a really great chance at doing what we want to do."

Alex Karaban has emerged as the foundation on which the Huskies (10-3) are building their pursuit of another national title. He is the only starter back from last season's championship team. The other four starters — Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer, Stephon Castle and Tristen Newton — went on to the NBA draft.

UConn will travel to Chicago, Illinois to face DePaul on New Year's day in their next Big East matchup.