A great deal has transpired since the UConn basketball team suffered its second straight first round exit in the NCAA tournament last March after enjoying a successful regular season.

There’s been a massive roster makeover.

The Huskies lost four of their top five scorers, including the team’s heart and soul – in Tyrese Martin and R.J. Cole – and saw three players transfer.

Just five players, including two who saw limited action, return for the 2022-2023 season and eight newcomers join the program. Only junior Adama Sango, the Big East preseason player of the year, averaged more than seven points last season.

For the first time in his tenure, fifth-year coach Dan Hurley recruited every player on the roster.

Hurley admits it’s a bit nerve-racking going into Monday’s season opener against Stonehill College in Hartford with so many new faces.

“This is probably the scariest (season) for me going into an opener because you have incredibly high expectations but you also don’t have a lot of people that have proven they can do it for you on a game night,” Hurley said. “You find some sleep because your scrimmages, you felt pretty good about how those went.

“But now the lights come on and there’s a different level of pressure and excitement and juice when you put on a UConn uniform and you’ve got to carry that history with you out onto the court.”

There’s enough talent and depth for the Huskies to qualify for the postseason and live up to their contender status in the Big East. They were picked fourth in the league coaches’ preseason poll.

“I want to win a championship and go deep in March Madness,” Sanogo said. “The last two years, we lost our first game in March Madness so this year I’m not trying to do that again. … I think we have a good team. We have a good offensive team. We just need to be a little bit tougher. We’re not as tough as the team from last year because we’ve got new guys.”

Here’s some key storylines to watch heading into the season:

• Can the Huskies take the next step under Hurley?

After building the program back to contender status, Hurley’s goal is to compete for regular season and league tournament championships and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

“I’ve got to find a way to get the program over the hump, to go from contending to a championship team in our league and then I’ve got to go from a team that’s having a really strong successful regular season to getting on a run in March,” he said.

“But that’s not something that I spend a lot of time thinking about. I’m thinking about recruiting at a high level. I think about today’s practice. I think about my confidence in what I’ve been able to do as a coach the last several years with my team.”

It is something that will be on the minds of the UConn fan base and will be a topic of conversation this season.

• Taking the next step also applies to junior Andre Jackson and sophomore Jordan Hawkins, two talented players that Hurley believes can develop into NBA first-round draft picks this season.

To live up to Hurley’s expectations, both players will need to have breakout seasons. The versatile Jackson averaged just 6.8 points last season while Hawkins scored 5.8. Both players showed flashes of greatness.

Hurley has raved about Hawkins and the sophomore’s smooth, deadly jump shot.

Jackson, whose impact goes beyond statistics, is expected to be out with a broken pinky finger until UConn plays in the Phil Knight Invitational on Nov. 24.

The Huskies will only go as far this season as Jackson, Hawkins and Sanogo, the team’s top returning scorer and rebounder, will carry them.

“I feel like those guys are that talented and they’re coming into their prime as players at UConn,” Hurley said. “Jordan has got this star potential and has a chance to make a big, big jump in year two. .. This is a year where Andre is going to become a huge name in college basketball and has a chance to become a star in college basketball.

“Then you’ve got Adama, who is the best player in our league returning and one of the best big guys in the country. He’s truly a great player and a special player.”

• The Huskies will have a new point guard this season after losing Cole, who not only was the team’s leading scorer and playmaker but also a respected leader.

Two transfers, Tristen Newton and Hassan Diarra, are battling for the starting role but both will likely play significant minutes. Jackson, who ranked second on the team in assists last season, is another possibility.

Newton and Diarra offer different skill sets, with the former being more scorer, averaging 17.7 points last season at East Carolina, and the latter supplying a swagger and an aggressive attack dog mentality.

“The collective between (Hassan) and Tristen Newton, although I don’t know if either one of them will necessarily get the numbers that R.J. got on an individual basis, maybe the collective between the two we get the production our point guard spot got in totality last year,” Hurley said.

“Tristen plays at a much different pace than Hassan plays at, a lot more measured pace. He’s a guy that’s had a ton of production. I think he does a couple things for us that I think are important, he’s going to provide much-needed scoring punch with the loss of R.J. and Tyrese.”

• Of the eight newcomers, who will be impact players and will the team be as deep as Hurley projects?

Hurley restocked the roster with four veteran transfers – guards Newton, Diarra, Joey Calcaterra, Nahiem Alleyne – as well as newcomers Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan. Two others – international players Yarin Hasson and Apostolos Roumoglou – will basically be practice players this season.

Count on Newton and Diarra, who averaged 6.2 points at Texas A&M last season, being reliable contributors. Alleyne, a Virginia Tech transfer, has potential to help out while Calcaterra, a perimeter weapon during his playing days at San Diego, could be effective of the bench.

Karaban, who sat out last year as a redshirt and has a reputation as a sharpshooter, is competing with promising sophomore Samson Johnson for the starting power forward spot.

Clingan, a 7-foot-2 center and former all-state standout at Bristol Central, will allow Hurley to give Sanogo more rest to prevent a repeat of last season when the junior forward wore down.

All of those additions will allow Hurley some lineup flexibility as well as being able to lengthen the rotation.

The newcomers are still learning what it takes to play the relentless, intense style that Hurley demands.

“Most of the transfers are older and have some years under their belt at other programs,” Jackson said. “I think they’ve definitely been doing well on the offensive side of the ball. The biggest thing is learning how to play coach Hurley’s defense. It’s an aggressive defense. ... Just being always energetic and being in attack mode on defense, that’s the biggest adjustment.”

g.keefe@theday.com