Kentan Facey Kicks a Chair, Smell of Popcorn in the Air, UConn Ready to Go

Some notes and quotes from Gampel today, as UConn is set for its exhibition opener Wednesday night against Southern Connecticut.

NIELS GIFFEY:

"I’m more relaxed about it, because I know what’s going to come. I know how to approach certain things, certain situations. In my freshman year, I didn’t know how to get my body right for that type of a season. The whole summer, I’ve worked so hard, I know I’m mentally and physically ready.”

KEVIN OLLIE:

(on how excited Kentan Facey was to learn he was ruled eligible to play for the next four years):

“He kicked a chair, he took it out on a chair, so if you call that excitement, I guess so. I just told him, ‘The chair didn’t do anything to you. Take it out on an opponent Wednesday night.’ He was excited when I told him the news. Compliance did a great job … everybody upstairs did a wonderful job.”

Ollie said he has no set rotation yet, only that he'll probably start all veterans Wednesday night, per tradition. He said Shabazz Napier had his best day of practice Monday, and that Tyler Olander and Omar Calhoun, each coming off off-season surgeries, have no physical limitations. 

Asked if he's interested in the World Series game that will be going on at the same time as UConn's game Wednesday, he said:

“Not really, no. I like the Red Sox, I like them to win it. I wish the Dodgers were in it, I’d definitely be at Fenway one of these games. Since they’re not, the games are a little late, I’m not staying up watching them.”

KENTAN FACEY:

“There weren’t any doubts in my mind, I was just hoping it would work out pretty soon.”

"Everyone was really supportive, they were telling me to keep my head up, keep working hard, because you never know what the outcome will be. If I get to play, I need to be in the best shape I can be in. If I don’t, I have an extra year to prepare myself for next year.”

“I was real happy. That day I came out with a little bit of extra effort. We always go hard, but that was something different. I felt like, finally this is over with and I can focus on what I need to for the season.”

(on the "chair-kicking incident")

“The chair was in the way ... I doubt it'll ever happen again."

“When I first got here, I started watching college basketball a little bit. That year I came over, UConn won the national championship, so I started paying a lot of attention to them from then on. Eventually, I started developing that love. It was a ‘first-come, first-serve’ type of thing. I knew nothing about college basketball coming in from Jamaica. It was the first school I found out about, I started to research about it a little bit, I fell in love with it and I wanted to come here from that point.”

DeANDRE DANIELS:

“(I'm) trying to be a leader, talking more on defense and just helping the young guys out, because there’s going to be days when they get down, so I’m going to be there, tell them to get through it and just keep working hard.”

“I’m quiet. I was talking to K.O. the other day, he was talking about, when you step through the lines, you’ve just got to be a totally different person – talking to your teammates and just trying to be more vocal. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

(on Facey)

“He walked into the locker room very happy, joking around, and everybody was like, ‘What’s up with you?’He told everybody, and everybody jumped on him, tackled him. Everybody was excited for him.”

“He’s very athletic, he plays hard, he can rebound and he plays defense. He’s going to play a great role in us winning games.”

(on him flying under the radar nationally as the season starts)

“I’m not gonna lie, it bothers me a little bit. But I have no control over what people think of me or what people say. I just control what I can do, so I go out every day, work hard and try to be a better player.”

Incidentally, DeAndre may not be the last Daniels to make his name in the hoops world. His brother Jonathan, 13, is a good young player in Manchester who particpated in a Pangos All-East camp in New Jersey this past weekend. 

The kid already has some pretty impressive handle, too: