Storrs — Over three years ago, they arrived at UConn with great fanfare, ready to conquer the college basketball world.

The five-member recruiting class ranked in the top 10 nationally. They talked about winning championships.

Husky fans breathlessly awaited their debuts.

Now only two of those players remain as UConn begins its 2019-20 season on Friday night against Sacred Heart at Gampel Pavilion.

It's certainly not what Christian Vital and Alterique Gilbert expected when they gathered for a photo with their three other new basketball brothers at the Werth Center in July of 2016. A beaming Vital held up five fingers while standing with Gilbert, Juwan Durham, Mamadou Diarra and Vance Jackson.

They gave themselves a nickname: Top Five.

Vital and Gilbert will anchor the starting backcourt in their final season playing for the Huskies. The other three have either transferred or taken on a different role with the program.

"It's just crazy and just tells you that life is not what you expected," Vital said. "We had a really big class. We came in with five of us. We were all freshmen, wide-eyed, just ready to get this thing going.

"As you see in life, things play out in different ways that you have no idea how it's going to play out. It's just interesting. It just tells you that life isn't guaranteed or anything and makes you appreciate every opportunity that you get.

"We're the last two. But I'm glad to have one brother with me. But those are still our brothers to this day. That wasn't a hype thing or media thing. We actually connected and jelled with each other. It would have been nice to play and have all five of us out there. Like I said, in life things happen and people have to go their own way."

Diarra is still on campus, too. He's serving as a student assistant coach after chronic knee problems prematurely ended his career.

Jackson and Durham are long gone, transferring to New Mexico and Notre Dame, respectively, following their freshman season. They're chasing their different dreams now.

"Everybody has their own story," Diarra said. "It didn't work out how we expected or how we envisioned at the time. Everybody is in their own lane trying to make the best of what they've got going on. At the end of the day, we're still brothers."

When the Top Five, which was taken from a line in a Drake song called "Grammys," arrived in 2016, they expected to spent their college years together. They quickly formed a tight bond.

The year before, UConn won 25 games overall, captured its first American Athletic Conference tournament title and advanced to the NCAA tournament second round.

With the influx of new talent, the 2016-17 Huskies were set to soar.

But bad luck seemed to dog the Top Five, which was considered at the time one of the best recruiting classes in program history.

Gilbert suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the third game. Diarra's knee injuries kept him sidelined for the season and he ended up appearing in just 33 career games. Slow to recover from a knee injury that prevented him from playing his senior season in high school, Durham saw limited action in 28 games, averaging 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game.

Only Vital, who played at St. Thomas More, and Jackson made an impact in their first seasons.

Vital appeared in 31 games, starting 10, and averaged 9.1 points and 3.5 rebounds.

Jackson was one of the team's top 3-point shooters and averaged 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 32 appearances, including 21 starts. He made the AAC All-Rookie team.

The Huskies staggered to a 16-17 overall record, the program's first losing season in 30 years. It was just the start of a downward spiral for the program and led into a tumultuous period that eventually saw head coach Kevin Ollie being fired in 2018.

Jackson and Durham announced plans to transfer a few days apart in 2017.

At times during his career, Vital also has had his moments of doubt. He admitted to having "one foot out the door" when he tested the NBA Draft waters following his sophomore season before deciding to stay at UConn.

But Vital decided he wanted to be part of the solution at UConn.

"For me, personally, I just didn't want to leave," Vital said. "I understood what the tradition was. I used watch UConn as a young basketball fan. I wanted to be part of the reason why UConn got back up top. I didn't want to leave and try to go rebuild somewhere else. I wanted to try to fix what was going on and be part of the reason why it got fixed."

"Hopefully, my senior year I can do that. I know I have teammates behind me as well who are willing to help me. I think with our team, that goal is definitely possible."

Now Vital and Gilbert, the marquee recruits in the Top Five, have one last chance to leave their mark on the program in UConn's final AAC season. They're the backbone of the team, inspirational team leaders and top returning scorers.

The Huskies will go as far as the dynamic backcourt duo will take them.

Their teammates and coaching staff are determined to give Vital and Gilbert a proper sendoff.

"We haven't fared well the last couple of years in this conference," coach Dan Hurley said. "We've got some older players in Christian and Alterique that we desperately want them to feel what it feels like to have a great season in college and the excitement that surrounds being on a good team, where the crowds get bigger every game and each game carries more meaning and there's excitement and not despair and frustration and sadness, which is what the last couple of years has been like."

Vital, who has scored 1,228 points in 96 career games, has yet to experience competing in either the NCAA tournament or NIT. The last four-year UConn player to not play in the postseason was Gerry Besselink (1983-87).

It's a big year for Gilbert, who's finally entering a season in good health after enduring an injury-plagued career. He's played in only 34 games in three seasons.

Diarra hopes to do what he can to help Vital and Gilbert experience a successful season. He sees a future in coaching. He hopes to return next season as a graduate assistant.

As far as the former members of the Top Five, Jackson, a redshirt junior forward at New Mexico, is expected to build on last season's success. He averaged 13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his first season of eligibility for the Lobos.

Durham has continued to battle injuries at Notre Dame. He looks to improve on last season's averages of 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. He led the team with 63 blocks.

While the Top Five broke up a few years ago, they've stayed in contact and followed each other's careers.

But Vital and Gilbert are focused on the present and not the past.

"It was great for the moment," Gilbert said of the Top Five. "Just to get some energy going. I wish those guys the best who did transfer. We're just looking to build and win."

g.keefe@theday.com