Adams, No. 19 hoops recruit for ’25, picks UConn

Darius Adams, ranked No. 19 in the 2025 ESPN 100, announced his commitment to UConn on Monday, giving the two-time reigning national champions their first recruit in the class.

Adams chose the Huskies over Michigan State and Tennessee. He took official visits to each of those three schools, before canceling a scheduled trip to Alabama.

“It felt right. It felt like family,” Adams told ESPN. “After watching them practice, I wanted to go work out. When the visit was over, I did not want to leave.”

Adams developed a strong relationship with coach Dan Hurley, whose trademark sideline emotion was a plus in the Huskies’ column.

“Love his intensity,” Adams said. “He gets his shooters open. He gets you ready for the next level. He is relentless on the court. Hard on his players in a good way. Funny guy off the court in a little sarcastic way.”

A 6-foot-5 combo guard from New Jersey who attends La Lumiere School (Indiana), Adams is ranked as the fourth-best shooting guard in the country. He averaged 15.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 12 EYBL Scholastic games as a junior, shooting better than 40% from 3-point range. He also averaged 15.0 points on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring and 14.4 points in five games at the Nike Peach Jam this past summer.

Adams is one of the better shooters in the Class of 2025, possessing great positional size and is someone who scores with shotmaking, driving and finishing skills. He also has the awareness and ability to be a playmaker for others. A strength right now is his ability to spot up or be a movement shooter behind the arc.

He has also demonstrated the handle and court vision necessary to navigate the break in the open floor.

“Darius is a high-level guard who impacts the game in a variety of ways,” La Lumiere coach Pat Holmes said. “A true three-level scorer, Darius has the ability to score off the bounce and off the catch. His scoring prowess and shot creation does a great job of setting up his opportunities to facilitate for teammates. Defensively, Darius will compete with the best of them. He has an edge and toughness to his game that translates to every level of basketball, and I think it’s why teammates love playing with him.”

The Huskies are squarely in the mix for several high-level high school seniors to add to their class. Adams mentioned he wants Braylon Mullins (No. 24), Eric Reibe (No. 23), Acaden Lewis (No. 28) and Niko Bundalo (No. 25) to join him in Storrs, while UConn is also pursuing Nate Ament (No. 4).