UConn men’s basketball point guard Silas Demary Jr. missed his scheduled appearance at Big East Basketball Media Day in New York Thursday morning due to illness.
Demary, who was named preseason Big East Player of the Year at Thursday’s event, was one of three UConn players selected to represent the program. Senior Jayden Ross and sophomore Braylon Mullins attended media day, along with head coach Dan Hurley.
Silas Demary Jr. (illness) is not at Media Day.
– David Borges (@DaveBorges) October 1, 2026
The conference’s media day is held annually before each college basketball season and is headlined by the release of preseason polls and all-conference selections. UConn enters 2026-27 as a runaway favorite to win the Big East, with eight of the conference’s 11 coaches ranking the Huskies No. 1 in their preseason poll.
Mullins joined Demary on the preseason first-team All-Big East team, incoming Seton Hall transfer Najai Hies earned second-team all-conference honors, and high-four-star newcomer Colben Landrew was named Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year. Landrew is now the fourth consecutive UConn player to win the award, following Steph Castle, Liam McNeeley and Braylon Mullins.
Traditionally, the one-day event is held at Madison Square Garden, the famous home of the Big East Tournament. However, due to an ongoing Harry Styles concert residency at the New York arena, media day was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel near Times Square.
While Demary missed Thursday’s event, UConn fans will have an opportunity to see him on the floor in fewer than two weeks. The Huskies will face off against Syracuse in an exhibition game at Mohegan Sun Arena on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
This article originally published at Why UConn men’s basketball star Silas Demary Jr. is not at Big East Media Day.