INDIANAPOLIS – Alec Millender and Dwayne Koroma committed to UConn the same week in May. Most Husky fans had no idea who they were, but they were both looking for the same thing.
Millender, who played for IU Indy last season as a senior for more than 30 minutes per game, sent Koroma a direct message asking when he would arrive on campus, and the rest is history. The two have become incredibly close, going from mid-level starters to benching a Final Four team, and it was all intentional. And they are not the only ones either.
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Arizona’s Evan Nelson graduated from Harvard and decided it was worth passing up the opportunity to start at a mid-career program to return to Tucson and chase a title with the Wildcats.
In a situation where many players would choose to play big minutes for a mid-level program in their final year of eligibility, these guys are totally fine sitting on the sidelines while their five-star McDonald’s All-American teammates lead the team to new heights. But they are also a big part of it.
UConn has been to three of the last four Final Fours, but Millender didn’t miss the one the Huskies made. A year ago, Millender flew to San Antonio to cover the Final Four as part of his graduate journalism program at IU Indianapolis.
Now he’s back in the Final Four as a player.
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“UConn was my dream school,” Millender said Friday. “Getting to the Final Four wasn’t really a priority. It was just how I wanted my senior year to be. When UConn came into the fold, I knew I wanted this experience.”
Millender has only played 58 minutes all season and is averaging less than a point per game, but he’s not mad about any of it.
“There are those moments where you think, ‘I wish I could have come and played here,'” Millender said in an interview with CT Insider. “And I see some friends playing 30 minutes a game (with lower-level programs), but I always felt that comparison is the thief of joy. Even when I went DII and saw all these other players doing DI, I thought, ‘Never compare. Just focus on what you’re doing.'”
He appreciates the experience of playing in the Big East and the NCAA Tournament. He mentions having the opportunity to play Madison Square Garden and other iconic venues, taking charter planes, and playing with some of the most talented players in the country.
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Millender played three seasons at Division II Wayne State before moving up to IU Indy last year, so everything about major college basketball is new to him and he loved every minute of it.
“I’ll be able to get better at basketball,” Millender said. “Learning basketball, being coached by legendary coaches, playing with some top talent among my teammates. I may not have gotten the minutes I wanted, but I got the experience. I got to meet new people. I got connections. I just wanted this experience.”
One of those new people, Koroma, has been one of his closest friends, as they share the experience of sitting on the UConn bench as a senior, but find a way to contribute.
Koroma got some minutes early in the year when Tarris Reed was injured, and Millender had to step in for some important minutes against Furman in the NCAA Tournament when Silas Demary was injured. But most of the two have been relegated to the bench.
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It has strengthened their bond.
“I love (Dwayne) to death,” Millender said. “I’m going to invite him to my wedding. We’ve been able to talk about it. On the bad days, we talk to each other. We’ve been there for each other.”
Koroma began his career at Iona in 2020-21 before playing JUCO in Salt Lake. He then jumped from UT Arlington to Le Moyne, and with the Dolphins he averaged double figures. But the Dolphins weren’t very good, struggling to a 4-12 record in the NEC.
The team battled a host of injuries, but failed to advance late in the season and finished tied for last place in the conference. Koroma was hurt.
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“Dwayne doesn’t like to lose at all,” Le Moyne head coach Nate Champion said. Major medium madness. “He came into the portal and was looking for a situation that would give him the opportunity to play in meaningful games. And when UConn called and asked about him, what they described to him was what he was looking for.”
“We had a conversation about entering the portal and (Champion) was very supportive,” Koroma said. Major medium madness. “It was important to me, during my last year of college, to go somewhere where I could actually earn something.”
Going through a losing season at Le Moyne made it even clearer in Koroma’s head that he wanted to find a place where he could win, no matter how much he played.
He still sometimes elbows Millender when the Huskies are on a charter flight or in a big game, like two guys who come from a much lower level of the game, to express disbelief.
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“We looked at each other like ‘man, we can’t believe this is our reality now,’” Koroma said. “This is what we pray for. I feel like, out of everyone, he relates the most.”
But they are not only traveling. To reach a Final Four, everyone has to go in the same direction. And for a program to have two players with as much college experience as those two, to put all ego aside and find their place on the sled is a great example for younger players.
Freshman big man Eric Reibe hails from Germany, as does Koroma, and the two talk every day. Although Reibe was already in the United States playing baseball at Bullis in high school, having another German on the roster helped him adjust.
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Both Millender and Koroma leave a strong impression on their teammates with their ability to lead by example.
“It’s hard to be on this type of championship team and in the fourth or fifth year not play,” Reibe said. Major medium madness. “But the fact that they practice every day and give it their all is also very inspiring. They’re like the kids that hit around here.”
They have helped Reibe with his mental strength, keeping him moving forward when things don’t go his way.
Reibe was UConn’s leading scorer in a successful November matchup against Arizona, but the Wildcats prevailed, 71-67. On the Wildcats’ bench, Nelson saw a monumental victory for the program he grew up rooting for.
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Nelson, a native of Tucson, had to leave Harvard, since graduate students are not allowed to play in the Ivy League. Wearing a medical redshirt for an injury that kept him out of the 2023-24 season, Nelson had some options.
he said Major Half Madness that he was going to visit Furman, but that “he wasn’t doing much thinking” in the transfer portal. He knew he probably wouldn’t be the next TJ McConnell, but he wanted to wear that same shirt.
“It’s easier to come back here and be a part of (getting the program back) to where I think it should be,” Nelson said. “I loved the show growing up and saw the success we had. It was a no-brainer for me to have the opportunity to be a part of it and join it.”
Nelson has played just 5.4% of Arizona’s minutes, a far cry from the 29 and 27 minutes per game he played in his last two healthy seasons at Harvard, but he has learned a lot in his time with the Wildcats.
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“At Harvard, I received a really excellent education in the classroom,” he said. “Here I feel like I learned a lot on the court. Call it a doctorate in basketball.”
“I have a well-rounded basketball background,” Nelson said. “Hopefully, if I decide to continue playing or coach, I’ll have a better perspective.”
Nelson is a wildcat through and through. He loved Rawle Alkins, Derrick Williams and Kyle Fogg.
But now he’s part of a team that’s gone further than any of them.
From the perspective of mid-level programs, it’s already difficult to retain your best players, but when high-level programs even claim some potential stars or role players in the portal, hiding them on the bench, it can be even more challenging.
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But you need the right child.
“When those scholars call,” Champion said. “And you have a legitimate opportunity to play in meaningful games, I think it’s hard for some of these kids to pass up. But it depends on what your goal is. If you’re set on playing, you’re probably not going to take on a role like that.”
As for Nelson, Koroma and Millender, they are Final Four stars who know their role.
They knew what they were getting into and they’ve basically gotten everything there is to get out of this up to this point. And these shows need guys like that.
“When you look at Elite Eight and Sweet 16 teams overall,” Champion said. “I think identifying roles and having full acceptance of roles is really important. When you understand what you’re looking for and how to go after it, it doesn’t always mean you’re looking for the highest-rated player.”
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But even if they don’t see the word on Saturday or Monday, all three agree that their decision has been validated.
“It’s worth the sacrifice,” Nelson said.
“This season has been amazing,” Millender said.
“When I made my visit, (making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament) was what the staff was talking about,” Koroma said. “They say, ‘We’re not here to go to the Final Four, we’re here to win national championships.’ We’re not done yet, but it’s an amazing feeling.”