Tarris Reed Jr. talks about playing at UConn like he’s found basketball heaven.

He sort of has, considering he joined the back-to-back reigning national champions after transferring from Michigan, which won only eight games last season.

“I’m here at the best college basketball program in the country and just thankful for coach Hurley for choosing me to play on this team,” Reed, a junior, said after contributing 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s season-opening win over Sacred Heart.

Reed is adapting quite well to new home, thanks to his new teammates.

The Huskies quickly embrace any new member of the basketball family.

Reed’s mother may need a bit more time to get used to her son wearing UConn across his chest instead of Michigan where he spent the last two seasons and appeared in 66 games.

“That was the first thing my mom said, she was like, ‘It’s different seeing you in a new jersey,’” Reed said.

A skilled 6-foot-10, 260-pound center, Reed quickly found out upon his arrival in Storrs that basketball life is more demanding than in Ann Arbor.

Veterans Samson Johnson, Alex Karaban and Hassan Diarra helped Reed learn the UConn way.

“That was probably the hardest thing for me,” Reed said. “Coming from not the best season the past two years in college to freaking back-to-back national championships, I just went from the bottom straight to the top.

“But AK, Sammy, Hass, those guys especially when I first got to practice, I was asking so many questions. They were helping me with everything. So a leader like AK, he’s the captain for a reason. We call him ‘Cap’. So whatever he needs done, we gotta do it.”

After a strong performance in his UConn debut, Reed and the third-ranked Huskies return to action at 8 p.m. Saturday, hosting New Hampshire (1-1) at the XL Center in Hartford. UConn is easing into the season by playing four considerably weaker opponents at home.

Reed will face more difficult matchups down the road.

This stretch is a good runway for Reed to establish his role as a productive backup to Johnson.

After a quiet first half on Wednesday, Reed had a few dominating stretches. He powered inside for baskets, scoring 13 of his 15 points after intermission, battled for rebounds and drew fouls. He went to the foul line a team-high seven times and made five. He also had nine rebounds in the second half.

It was the fourth double-double of Reed’s career. He averaged 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 31 starts last season at Michigan.

If Reed can consistently deliver for the Huskies, the odds of UConn enjoying another championship-level season will improve. Reed also provides regular insurance if, and usually when, Johnson gets into foul trouble. Johnson fouled out on Wednesday.

With the loss of NBA lottery pick Donovan Clingan and Johnson shifting to a starting role, the center spot was one of the team’s biggest question marks entering the season.

“Tarris is obviously a huge ‘X’ factor in the year,” Hurley said. “You see the physical abilities. This is a guy who can do things for us that Adama (Sanogo) did for us in terms of an around the basket presence. You see the mobility and the physical strength.

“... He got caught a little bit not being as aggressive or as high as we want him to be in ball screens. … But he’s buying into what we’re asking him to do. I imagine that’s one of the more efficient performances of his career.”

UConn fans will likely see a more aggressive Aidan Mahaney, a transfer guard, in game two. He took a backseat to his teammates against Sacred Heart, only firing up three shots in a scoreless 23 minutes.

The rotation will be a bit deeper tonight if sophomore forward Jayden Ross, who sat out the opener with an ankle injury, returns.

“Jayden Ross has been just a rocket ship for the past two weeks,” Hurley said. “This guy has looked like our best player at times. He just changes things for us. Just a 6-7 athlete making 3s and on the glass, getting to the rim. It’s going to be interesting when he’s healthy where we go that way.”

The Huskies are loaded at the wing position, a team strength.

And with the duo of Reed and Johnson at the center spot, UConn appears in great shape there as well.

“I think the Samson and Tarris combo at center is going to be really interesting and exciting,” Hurley said.

g.keefe@theday.com

No. 3 UConn vs. New Hampshire

Location: XL Center, Hartford

Tip time: 8 p.m. (FS2)

Records: UConn 1-0, New Hampshire 1-1

Last game: UConn beat Sacred Heart, 92-56, New Hampshire defeated UMass Boston, 99-69, Wednesday

Series: UConn leads, 95-25, winning last meeting 84-64 on Nov. 27, 2023.

Probable starters, UConn, 6-3 so. guard Solo Ball (16 pts, 3 assists), 6-3 grad guard Aidan Mahaney (0 pts, 3 assists), 6-7 fr. forward Liam McNeeley (18 pts, 10 rebs), 6-8 r-jr. Alex Karaban (20 pts, 6 rebs, 7 assists, 7 blks), 6-10 sr. center Samson Johnson (9 pts, 3 rebs)

New Hampshire, 6-3 jr. guard Anthony McComb III (16.5 pts), 6-3 jr. guard Sami Pissis (16.5 pts, 8 rebs), 6-8 so. forward Dylan Saunders (10.5 pts), 6-6 sr. forward Trey Woodyard (4.5 pts, 4 rebs), 6-9 grad forward Emmanuel Okpomo (6.5 pts, 5.5 rebs)

Noteworthy: The Huskies own a 28-game home winning streak vs. nonconference foes and won 21 straight overall at home. … They’ve won 12 straight in the series vs. UNH, suffering their last loss in 1983 by a 76-72 score. … Wildcats average 86.5 points, allowing 86.0. Lost season opener to UMass, 103-74. … Top reserve: 6-4 jr. guard Rex Sutherland (8 pts, 5 rebs, 6 assists). … UNH jr. Jawarie Hamelin, a junior college transfer, is a Westerly High School graduate. Freshman Khalil Badru is from New Britain. … Wildcats have an international flavor, with players from Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Dominican Republic and France. … Karaban and McNeeley were named to the Wooden Award watch list. … McNeeley is the first UConn freshman since Emeka Okafor to post a double-double in his debut. In the season opener, Karaban became the first player with 20 points, seven assists and seven blocks in a game since 2003. …. … UConn had 13 blocks in the opener after hitting double-digits in that category twice last season. … Up next: UConn hosts Le Moyne at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Hartford.

– Gavin Keefe