During his search for a new college basketball home, Hassan Diarra built a strong connection with the UConn basketball coaching staff.

“I just felt a good vibe from the coaches and built a good relationship with them,” Diarra said.

Diarra, a 6-foot-2 guard from Queens, N.Y., announced on his Twitter account on Wednesday that he’s transferring to UConn. He spent two seasons at Texas A&M before entering his name in the transfer portal.

Diarra is returning to familiar territory.

He spent three years at Putnam Science Academy where he starred for one of the top prep school basketball programs in the country and left as the school’s all-time leading scorer.

His older brother, Mamadou, was a graduate assistant on UConn coach Dan Hurley’s staff the last few seasons. Mamadou had his playing career at UConn cut short by knee issues.

Mamadou didn’t try to sell Hassan on coming to UConn.

“He said he would just support me whatever decision I would make,” Hassan Diarra said.

Diarra is the third transfer to commit to UConn during the spring recruiting period. The Huskies also added 6-5 guard Tristen Newton and 6-4 guard Nahiem Alleyne, who previously played at East Carolina and Virginia Tech, respectively.

All three newcomers have a similar skill set, according to Diarra.

“Tristen is a very good player and he can play on and off the ball,” Diarra said. “Nahiem is a very good player as well that can play on and off the ball and can shoot it and score it and pass it, just like I can.”

They are part of a rebuilt backcourt that lost five guards from last year’s team. Starters R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin graduated and decided to pursue pro careers while reserves Rahsool Diggins, Jalen Gaffney and Corey Floyd, Jr., all transferred.

Diarra is looking forward to joining a team that returns Adama Sanogo, Andre Jackson, Jordan Hawkins, Richie Springs and Samson Johnson and also adds Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan.

“I feel like it’s a good mesh,” Diarra said.

Last season as a sophomore at Texas A&M, Diarra averaged 6.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 40 games, including three starts. He played 15.4 minutes per game and shot 37 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from 3-point range and 71.8 percent from the foul line.

Diarra had a knack for hitting big shots, sinking game winners versus Florida and Abilene Christian and also drained a game-tying 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds at Arkansas. His season high of 17 points came against Notre Dame. He had 12 points for the Aggies, who went 27-13 overall, in an NIT championship game loss to Xavier.

But he came to the decision that it was time to move on.

“I wanted to see if there’s better opportunities out there for me, which I found at UConn,” Diarra said. “I will bring to the team my leadership, my unselfishness, my work ethic and my toughness. Ultimately, I feel that will help the guys and myself included if we’re mentally focused and tough and playing together.”

g.keefe@theday.com