For one last time, UConn will celebrate the men’s basketball program’s fifth national championship on Monday with a banner ceremony before the 2023-23 season opener.

The Huskies turned the page a few months ago and began focusing on the arduous road ahead.

As past champions have discovered, it’s extremely difficult to repeat.

Florida is the last college basketball team to accomplish the feat, raising the trophy in 2006 and 2007. Prior to that, it was Duke in 1991 and 1992, featuring point guard Bobby Hurley, the brother of UConn coach Dan Hurley.

UConn starts off at No. 6 in the Associated Press preseason poll.

“We were unranked last year (at the start) and obviously we are ranked fairly high this year,” Hurley said. “The chance to make history? … To have a potentially legendary career at a legendary place and be a back-to-back champion is something worth putting everything into.”

The Huskies are clearly a different team from last season.

There’s a new big three in graduate guard Tristen Newton, redshirt sophomore forward Alex Karaban and sophomore center Donovan Clingan, who are all capable of All-Big East level type seasons. The departure of Andre Jackson, Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo, who averaged a combined 40.1 points and 17.7 rebounds, leaves a sizable hole that needs to be filled.

There’s the addition of a top five nationally ranked recruiting class and graduate transfer Cam Spencer, a lethal perimeter shooter.

There are challenges around every corner for the Huskies.

Let’s take a look at some of the key questions about this year’s team:

• Where will the leadership come from?

It’s quieter around the basketball program ever since Jackson, one of the most respected leaders in program history, left for the NBA. His voice carried weight on the court and in the locker room. He wasn’t afraid to challenge his teammates and also was a unifying presence.

Sanogo and Hawkins also set a great example with their relentless work ethic.

There’s no one with Jackson’s magnetic personality on this team. His competitive edge rubbed off on everyone.

Hurley regularly encourages Newton, Karaban and Clingan to take on a leadership role. While all three are hard workers, they tend to be on the quieter side. Veteran Hassan Diara also can help in that department.

Right now, it appears leadership will come from several sources.

“(Andre) always demanded 110% from everybody, every day,” Karaban said. “We just need to replicate that. … I think everyone has to do it collectively. He was special enough to do it by himself. On this team, we need everyone to chip in and use their voice.”

• Can bench players be as productive as last season?

Reserves greatly contributed to UConn’s national championship season, especially during March Madness. Transfers Joey Calcaterra and Nahiem Alleyne provided valuable sparks and Clingan excelled in a limited but effective back-up role to Sanogo. Diarra brought energy and confidence to the floor.

Hurley will mostly rely on freshmen and inexperienced players to come off the bench this season. Junior forward Samson Johnson, who missed most of last season with a foot injury, is poised to have a breakout year. He’s impressed during preseason.

For his team to play its intensity style, Hurley has to have a deep, reliable bench.

“This whole season for us is going to come down to the bench,” Hurley said. “My best teams always have depth, that go nine deep. You saw how fresh we were in March last year because of the depth. I just think our starting five is going to be as good as anyone’s. Can we get the bench?”

• Will the hunger still be there coming off a national championship?

Winning a national championship has potential to dull UConn’s competitive edge. Since summer workouts began in June, Hurley has been hyper vigilant about searching for any signs of complacency.

The Huskies better be ready.

Every opponent will be on a mission to knock off the reigning national champion.

To prepare them, Hurley has coached them hard during the preseason, the hardest that he’s ever coached a team.

“We have to prove a lot for sure coming off a national championship,” freshman Jayden Ross said. “We have a big target on our backs so it is going to be a bit harder than last year to do, because everybody is looking at us. Everybody has our game marked on their schedule.

“Having to play against these teams every game knowing they are going to give their best means a lot of preparation and being able to come out and play 100% every day.”

• Do the Huskies possess the “secret sauce” to be successful?

Hurley has concerns about two areas — offensive rebounding and toughness — that he considers to be part of his program’s “secret sauce.

UConn was a terrific rebounding team last season especially on the offensive end where it ranked first in the country last season. The Huskies kept possessions alive, leading to a ton of second chance points, demoralizing for opponents. They finished third in the nation in rebounding margin.

But the Huskies lost their two leading rebounders. And they also lost some of their physically and mentally toughest players.

“These guys had an incredible competitive will about them,” Hurley said about last year’s group. They were dogs. That’s a question about this team.”

• Will the highly-regarded freshman class live up to the hype?

Major Division I college basketball is a tough environment to adjust to for any freshmen.

UConn’s first-year players will quickly find out they’re not in high school anymore.

It will be interesting to see how the newcomers react to the ups and downs of a typical season.

Stephon Castle, one of the highest rated recruits to come to Storrs, appears to be the real deal. Ball has impressed the coaching staff during workouts. Ross has been a pleasant surprise and expected to be a regular in the rotation. Jaylin Stewart is a skilled wing with loads of potential. This will be a learning season for Youssouf Singare, a promising big man.

We’ll find out more about the Fab Five, a label given to them during their recruiting visit, as the season progresses.

One thing for sure, the Huskies will need them to live up to their advanced billing if they want to challenge for the Big East regular season and league tournament finals and make another deep run in the NCAA tournament.

“We feel great about where all the freshmen are right now,” Hurley said. “They all have to play important roles on the team.”

The journey begins on Monday against Northern Arizona.

g.keefe@theday.com