UConn senior Hassan Diarra shares heartfelt reaction to last home game at XL Center: "The rims are soft here"

UConn senior guard Hassan Diarra spoke about his final home game at the XL Center in Hartford after the Huskies beat Georgetown 93-79 on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-2 senior saved his best for last, scoring 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

He also contributed four rebounds, seven assists and two steals for Dan Hurley's squad, which put themselves back to the winning column after they were beaten by No. 10 St. John's on Sunday.

When reporters asked him about his thoughts on his last game at the facility, Diarra gave a short but meaningful reply that would further cement his status as an all-time favorite in the university.

"I love playing at XL for the past three years. It has been amazing. The rims are soft here. We make a lot of shots as we did today," Diarra said. "I'm going to definitely going to miss playing here."

The guard transferred to UConn in 2022 after playing two seasons at Texas A&M. Diarra was an important part of the Huskies' back-to-back championship runs, providing valuable minutes for the club. This season, he was promoted to the starting lineup, and in 28 games, he averaged 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals.

Hassan Diarra and UConn will play their final two home games at the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. They'll host Marquette on Mar. 4 and Seton Hall in UConn's final game of the Big East regular season on Mar. 8.

---

Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. admire Hassan Diarra's determination to play despite knee issue

Hassan Diarra's teammates Solo Ball and Tarris Reed hailed the fifth-year for playing on despite a knee injury. Diarra's injury was first reported in the first week of February and Huskies coach Dan Hurley said the injury would affect the point guard's movement for the rest of the season.

Ball noted that Diarra's situation has given the team extra inspiration to play despite their current ranking.

"He definitely gives us a big lift," Ball said. "For the most part he just gives us a lot of motivation just to see that he's playing literally like some games that he was playing on one leg and limping. Without Has, it would be a lot harder to be playing in these games."

Solo Ball and Tarris Reed were the vital contributors for the Huskies in their win against Georgetown, scoring 20 points each. Reed had a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.

Freshman Liam McNeeley and junior forward Alex Karaban combined for 30 points for UConn who would likely need to win the Big East Tournament to get an outright bid for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.