It has meant everything for a UConn attack that has struggled with consistency. Bouknight is the most talented player on the court almost every time out and his scoring, dunking and general playmaking ability are major gamechangers for UConn. When he's on, wing man Tyler Polley has space to knock down threes and transfers RJ Cole and Tyrese Martin have space to make plays in the offense as well. When Bouk is down or out, those guys have had trouble running the offense on their own.
Tyrese Martin. He's a transfer from URI who was eligible immediately and has been immediately productive and important. If he has a good game, the Huskies are usually doing well.
3) How has the Howard U transfer playing?
RJ Cole has played well, been a key starter and a good perimeter defender. Offensively, he's had some off games and sometimes has been prone to forcing it but overall has been an important contributor to the team.
This is not my area of expertise, but as you can imagine they run a lot of iso with Bouknight, without him it's not the most sophisticated half-court offense. Adama Sanogo is a freshman big who they can run plays for, which is a new development for the Huskies. Only other thing they try to do regularly is get Polley some three point attempts. He had a hot streak in the middle of the season but has been more erratic since.
Short answer: yes
Long answer: Absolutely. UConn's recruiting has picked up since the announcement, so it already paid dividends on their roster for this year. Being able to play a much better schedule and do the conference tournament at MSG is music to Husky fans' ears. And just being back in a relevant place for basketball, playing big games on FOX and CBS, it's all great for UConn fans. It's not the old Big East but it's way, way better than the AAC, which was a football move anyway.
He's the head coach of a D3 program in Connecticut, so his official role at UConn is an advisory/consultant capacity ... he probably makes some appearances for events and fundraising. His former longtime assistant, Tom Moore, is on Hurley's staff, so I'm sure he's got tabs on the team but in no official way.