Storrs – UConn’s returning players from the 2023 national championship team gathered near mid-court during an emotional pregame title banner ceremony on Monday.

They soaked in the applause from a Gampel Pavilion record crowd of 10,299 on the season opening night and watched video messages from former teammates Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, Adama Sanogo and Joey Calcaterra.

Their thoughts turned from the past to this season and the future.

“It was definitely cool to see and finally put a cap on last year’s success,” sophomore Donovan Clingan said. “It was a great feeling. We were just in the middle of the court with our arms around each other, just talking about trying to go win another one.

“The (women’s) side has 11 of them. We’ve got five, so we’ve just got to keep adding more. We’ve got to keep working.”

Ranked sixth in the Associated Press preseason poll, the Huskies are off to a terrific start.

They gave their fans plenty to be excited about in a convincing 95-52 win over Northern Arizona.

They never trailed against their overmatched Big Sky Conference opponent, leading by double digits for the final 33 and a half minutes of the non-conference game.

“Happy to get that first one under our belts,” coach Dan Hurley said.

As expected, UConn’s new big three of Alex Karaban (a career-high 22 points, seven rebounds), Tristen Newton (14 points, seven rebounds) and Clingan (12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) led the way. Clingan, who returned to practice last week after missing a month due to a foot injury, moved well and looked healthy in his 15 minutes of action.

“We need big jumps from our returners to be a program that’s going for the big things this year,” Hurley said.

It was a night of firsts for several Huskies – first games in a UConn uniform for a highly-regarded freshmen class and graduate transfer Cam Spencer, first career start for newcomer Stephon Castle and Clingan, first time scoring in more than double figures for junior Samson Johnson.

Johnson’s athleticism was eye-opening. Most of the 6-foot-10 junior forward’s career-high 11 points came from dunks, including one off an impressive move after grabbing an offensive rebound. He equaled his point total from last season when he missed all but 12 games with a foot injury.

Hurley was most impressed with Spencer, who took an unselfish approach and elevated the play of his teammates. He fired up just three shots and finished with a team-best five assists to go with eight points.

“To me, that was like the story of the night,” Hurley said. “This team has tremendous depth in terms of the amount of people that can beat you offensively. A willingness for players on this team to allow others to eat, others to have big nights when the match-ups dictate that, I think is going to go along with the team. He set a great tone for our season with the way he approached things tonight.”

The Huskies put on a show after the pre-game show, playing for the first time since April 3 when they knocked off San Diego State, 76-59, in the national title game in Houston.

With a starting five of Newton, Spencer, Karaban, Clingan and Castle, the Huskies surged in front and built a 47-30 lead by halftime.

Right off, UConn fed the ball inside into the 7-foot-2 Clingan, who had nine of his team’s first 21 points on the way to an 11-point lead. Due to a minutes restriction, he played roughly five minutes in the second half.

“The 15 minutes that he played was a good start for him,” Hurley said. “He was obviously a little rusty. He did that tonight on just a handful of live practices. So I thought he was impressive, all things considered.”

The Huskies didn’t miss a beat with Johnson, who had five rebounds and three blocks, filling in for Clingan on the frontcourt.

“Samson has been doing everything he can to get better and better every day,” Clingan said. “He had a great summer. He came off the bench and had a lot of lob dunks, was a threat in the paint and blocked a lot of shots and rebounded very well. He’s going to be a very important factor this year.”

UConn’s defense improved as the game went on. The Huskies had an overwhelming edge in talent, muscle and length all over the court. Northern Arizona shot just 34 percent overall.

The high-powered Huskies converted 56 percent from the field.

“I thought we played very well,” Karaban said. “Offensively, we looked really good out there. We have to continue to get better on the defensive end and just continue to rebound at a higher level and just continue to tighten up. “

And, of course, there were plenty of freshmen moments. Castle got in early foul trouble and finished with 12 points. At times, he dazzled the crowd with his talent.

Overall, the season opener was a beneficial learning experience for the first-year players. Jaylin Stewart (five) and Solo Ball (two) also scored their first career points while Jayden Ross played nine minutes and Youssouf Singare saw some action at the end of the game.

“Second half, those guys settled in better,” Hurley said.

With the banner unveiling behind them, the Huskies can start to settle into the season and chase championships again.

“Every time we look up at those banners, that’s always going to be something that you’re proud of,” Hurley said. “It’s something that you’re never going to forget about. But we’ve been working so hard since June to get this team ready to play. No one is really thinking about that.

“But it was cool.”

g.keefe@theday.com