NEW YORK — On Tuesday night, Connecticut fans got a glimpse of what could’ve been.

Before center Diamond Stone committed to the Terrapins men’s basketball team in March, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native was heavily recruited by the Huskies. But the five-star recruit ultimately decided to latch on with coach Mark Turgeon, spurning the 2014 national champions.

Stone failed to match the sky-high expectations attached to him early in the season. He turned in a few notable performances — he scored 15 points against Cleveland State and 16 points against St. Francis (PA) — but hadn’t put together the dominant showing against a hoops power befitting of his national reputation.

Playing under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden against Connecticut, Stone chipped away at that narrative one gaudy post move at a time. He wowed the New York City crowd with a mixed bag of hook shots, a jumper and a thunderous dunk.

He often concluded his offensive exploits with head bobs, shouts and mean glares. Tuesday was Stone’s coming-out party, and he knew it.

“Diamond played well. He played aggressive. He loved the moment,” Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie said. “They did a good job … getting some post-ups.”

READ MORE: Terps display depth in win over UConn

After going into the half with 12 points, Stone slowed a bit over the final 20 minutes. He played like the freshman he is, converting two of his seven shots from the floor after intermission.

But he still finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. And after coming off the bench less than two minutes into the game, Stone took over.

About a minute after entering, the 6-foot-11 center corralled guard Melo Trimble’s miss while surrounded by Huskies defenders. Stone came down with more rebounds before getting fouled and sinking both free throws.

The sequence served as a precursor for the rest of the half. With a bevy of NBA scouts in attendance, Stone made easy work of Connecticut’s frontcourt.

On the Terps’ next trip down the floor, Trimble found Stone down low. Stone finished the layup between two defenders before slapping his point guard with a high-five.

The center helped Trimble out, too. At one point in the first half, Stone recovered a ball headed out of bounds and flipped it to Trimble, who buried the 3-pointer.

And after the game, Turgeon said Stone’s first half was his “best defensive effort” yet.

“Diamond’s one of those guys — he’s like Melo — the brighter the lights, the better they play,” Turgeon said. “He was fired up. UConn recruited him really hard. So he was fired up to play the game. He was good. He’s coming.”

Turgeon still acknowledged Stone has room to grow. Some late defensive lapses landed him on the bench as the Terps fended off a late Huskies rally. At one point, Connecticut trimmed the Terps’ lead to three points.

But for much of the first half, Stone lived up to his Twitter name — All Eyes On Me. As he continually outmuscled Connecticut’s frontcourt, hordes of pro scouts, the announced 19,812 fans in attendance and millions watching on ESPN’s broadcast were hanging on his every move.

And after working around a pick from Trimble with about nine minutes left in the first period, Stone received a pass and skied above the rim for all to see.

He finished the thunderous dunk, let out a roar and sprinted back onto defense, leaving Ollie to ponder how the game would’ve unfolded had the colossal freshman been donning a Huskies uniform.