Here's Jim Calhoun's review of most of the newcomers on this year's team. As usual, there is undoubtedly some hyperbole here. But it's also clear that Calhoun really likes this bunch.
***Jeremy Lamb is "in the mold of Ray and Rip when they came. He could lead us in scoring."
***Shabazz Napier and junior captain Kemba Walker could share the backcourt a lot this winter, despite their relative lack of height.
"They're just so good, we can't keep them off the floor," Calhoun said. "(Napier is) quick and fast. Those two don't always go together, but he is quick and fast."
***Tyler Olander could "make a real big splash for us. In four days of practice, he's been our best shooter and second-leading rebounder. He's far and away the biggest surprise … absolutely sensational."
Calhoun isn't the only one singing Olander's praises.
"He might be the leading scorer out of all our freshmen," said Walker, "just because he's such a match-up problem and he shoots the ball so well."
***Roscoe Smith "can get to the rim," and may be the key player of this frosh group.
***Niels Giffey is "much more athletic than you think," and will play both the two and the three.
***Michael Bradley "may take a little bit of time," according to Calhoun.
***And 7-foot-1 German import Enosch Wolf is eligible to play this fall at Wilbraham & Monson and will be eligible to join the Huskies on Dec. 17.
***Austin Freeman may be a somewhat surprising choice as Big East preseason player of the year, but not to UConn fans.
Who could forget last January at Georgetown, when Freeman scored 28 of his career-high 33 points in the latter half to help the Hoyas bounce back from a 17-point halftime deficit and beat the Huskies.
Was that the breakout game of Freeman's career?
"I think it was," Freeman said, "because we were down, and just me taking the initiative to try to take over a game also helped me out. Just doing whatever I had to do to help my team win a game. It's probably one of my better games."
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