Enosch Wolf Earns Praise, DeAndre Daniels' Back Bothering Him, Harvard No Pushover

Some quick notes and quotes from UConn today, prior to its practice at Gampel:

*** DeAndre Daniels suffered back spasms at the begining of Tuesday night's NC State game and it affected his performance.

"It was hard for me to move around, bend down, do all types of other stuff," Daniels reported. "I couldn't play as hard as I could, move as fast or go 100 percent."

Daniels said his back is still tightening up on him, but overall feels better. Still, Kevin Ollie was going to wait to see how Daniels responded in today's 3 p.m. practice before he commits to starting him vs. Harvard Friday night.

*** Ollie didn't say who'd start in Daniels' place if he couldn't go. Enosch Wolf would seem a candidate. Wolf, who was a popular subject today, has certainly earned more playing time. It would be a boon for both him and struggling Tyler Olander, in my opinion, if the two shared the court more often. That would free up Olander to play his natural, face-up power forward position more often.

Ollie on Wolf's 12-point, nine-rebound effort vs. NC State: “I’m very encouraged about it … That’s what I want from him. He’s had some glimpses, but I want it more on a consistent basis. He had a great practice yesterday, and hopefully he’ll continue that performance. I’m not asking for 12 and nine every night, that would be a lot, but he’s proven he’s capable of it. He’s 7-1, we need some of that girth down low.”

Wolf is shooting 68 percent (17-for-25) from the floor.

“We’re not shooting particularly well as a team," Ollie noted, "but I look at his stats and I get a smile on my face.”

Here's what Wolf had to say about his improved play this season:

"I just worked a lot on my conditioning (over the summer). When I got tired, I’d start making bad decisions. And just my overall game, a lot of reps.”


“(Ollie) just told me, ‘Don’t rest on it.’ That’s what I’m going to do. I’m just going to keep working, keep grinding, and good things will happen.”

*** Harvard lost its two co-captains (including top scorer Kyle Casey) to the school's cheating scandal back in September, but it's no pushover. The Crimson are 4-3, fresh off a 16-point win over Boston College Tuesday night. Of course, Harvard has beaten the Eagles five straight years and, in fact, is 12-0 vs. Boston-area teams (BC, BU, MIT) since 2008.

That's all we've got for now. Check back for more later ...