Ever since the beginning of the season, Tarris Reed Jr. had been on and off helping the UConn men’s basketball team. Still, the Huskies are 4–1 in games he has missed, and that includes a historic first-ever win over Kansas. Yet Dan Hurley isn’t celebrating that. He’s locked in on the update on Reed as it could completely alter UConn’s fate.

The Huskies are preparing to face the defending national champion Florida in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. And, they might just have him back when they need him the most. 

According to Hurley, Reed will be a game-time decision, but he has practiced with the team for the past two days. “We’ll see how he feels Tuesday in the shootaround and see what that looks like for Tarris,” Hurley said on a Monday Zoom call with CT Insider.

This marks the first time Reed has been back at practice since hurting his ankle. This is already the second time he’s been out this season. He missed the opener due to a hamstring issue. Then, returned to the game versus the River Hawks, wherein he exploded for 20 points. Over the next two games, he scored 19 points and more.

However, his momentum was halted by an ankle injury he sustained on November 19 during a win over BYU. That led him to miss two more contests. Then, he returned for the game versus Illinois, but he clearly wasn’t himself. 

Reed finished with just two points on 0-for-3 shooting and played only 15 minutes as Hurley eased him back in. Soon after, the program announced, “Tarris remains game-to-game and is out tonight.”

Ten days since then, and now he might finally be on the verge of a real comeback. He’s leading Huskies as a scorer and a rebounder with his 15.5 points with 8.3 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. His return could add to the chances of winning as Huskies go against Florida, which isn’t the same team that crushed UConn’s hopes of a three-peat last March on the way to a national title.

They no longer have the dynamic backcourt trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, and Alijah Martin. Instead, the Gators brought in Kentucky transfer Boogie Fland and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee. Both have struggled with the jump from the Ivy League to a high-major. But the Gators do have most of their size returning up front.

They’ve got Alex Condon with 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Thomas Haugh, the team’s leading scorer, is putting up 18.6 points and grabbing 7.6 boards. Center Rueben Chinyelu adds 10.2 points and a team-best 11.2 rebounds. So, in stopping all of them, Reed’s physicality and interior presence could be essential. However, UConn is prepared for every possible scenario!

How do the Huskies look without Reed?

In the win over Kansas, UConn was led by Eric Reibe and Braylon Mullins. Reibe delivered 12 points and eight rebounds while staying mostly out of foul trouble. Mullins added 17 points to help UConn overcome a seven-point deficit in the second half to beat the Jawhawks.

So with Solo Ball, Mullins, Karaban and Reibe, Huskies got the pack. Their only loss without Reed came against Arizona, now ranked No. 1 in the nation. That too came as Huskies were without both Reed and Braylon Mullins. So yes, UConn has survived. But the future remains uncertain. Reibe and Mullins are both freshmen, and relying on them every night is risky.

“Eric has played great,” Hurley said. “That being said, we’ve had the success we’ve had here because of a two-big system.”

So once Reed returns, he would share the floor with Reibe more often than UConn bigs have in the past, as per Dan. Still, the focus is now on Huskies. Will they be able to grab a win against Florida? The Gators’ averaging 47.6 rebounds per game-second in the nation and first among Power Four programs?