Always good to give some positive press to a local kid -- and this one just happens to have an offer to play at UConn.

New Haven's Tremont Waters (on the far left of this photo) was one of five South Kent School students who earned high honors for the 2013-14 academic year. 

The five honorees earned framed certificates from Head of School Andrew Vadnais and associate Head of School Richard Chavka.

Waters, a sophomore, is also one of the top point guards in the Class of 2017 and earned an offer from the Huskies back in May.

ESPN will tip off the 2014-15 college basketball season with Midnight Madness coverage from 11 campuses, including seven men’s programs in ESPN.com’s early top 25, on Friday, Oct. 17.ESPNU Midnight Madness (6 p.m. ET) will combine studio and remote coverage to bring fans a three-hour start of the season celebration which involves six schools, including the 2014 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division I National Champion UConn Huskies. The ESPNU special will also involve five more teams from the 2014 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship: Arizona, Florida, Gonzaga, Kentucky, and San Diego State. This is the ninth year ESPNU Midnight Madness has provided coverage of the annual college basketball tradition.

ESPN3 will also provide Midnight Madness coverage on Friday, Oct. 17, carrying six college basketball programs’ Midnight Madness celebrations in their entirety. In addition to UConn’s “First Night” at 7 p.m., ESPN3 will have Harvard’s “Crimson Madness” (6 p.m.), Mercer’s “Mercer Madness” (6:10 p.m.), Kentucky’s “Big Blue Madness” (7 p.m.), NC State’s “Throwback with the Pack” (8 p.m.) and Florida Gulf Coast’s “Dunk City after Dark” (9 p.m.). A week prior, ESPN3 will also carry Kansas’ “Late Night in the Phog” on Friday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

SEC Network’s SEC Now (9 p.m.) will show portions of Kentucky’s “Big Blue Madness”. ESPNU Midnight Madness will re-air at midnight on Friday, Oct. 17, and all of ESPN3’s content is available on-demand.

Additional schools Midnight Madness programs may be added at a later date

ESPNU Midnight Madness Highlights:

Studio Coverage: Andy Katz, host of Katz Korner, will anchor studio coverage along with college basketball analysts Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams. The studio team will preview the 2014-15 season and interview various head coaches throughout the telecast.

Head Coach Perspective: Katz, Greenberg and Williams will be joined in-studio by Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who has led the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament in nine of the last 10 seasons.

All-Access: ESPN commentators and analysts will be on-location, providing viewers a first-hand insight into the various Midnight Madness activities:
Arizona: Miles Simon (analyst), won the 1997 National Championship at Arizona and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player
Kentucky: Sean Farnham, former UCLA basketball player, Kara Lawson, former Tennessee standout, WNBA Champion and 2008 Olympic gold medalist (analysts), along with Dave O’Brien (host)
UConn: Rebecca Lobo, won the 1995 National Championship at UConn, 1996 Olympic gold medalist and was a standout player in the WNBA, Tim Welsh, earned more than 200 wins as a head coach (analysts) along with Kevin Connors (host) and Jeff Goodman (reporter)
Florida, Gonzaga and San Diego State: Coach Donovan (Florida), Coach Few (Gonzaga) and Coach Fisher (San Diego State) will be wired for sound

Social Media: Fans can join the conversation throughout the night by tagging tweets with#MidnightMadness.

Programming Details: ESPNU’s Midnight Madness (October 17 at 6 p.m. ET)

Location	Commentators
ESPNU’s Studio Coverage	Andy Katz (Host), Seth Greenberg & Jay Williams (analysts), Villanova head coach Jay Wright (guest)
Arizona	Miles Simon (analyst)
Kentucky	Dave O’Brien (host), Sean Farnham & Kara Lawson (analysts)
UConn	Kevin Connors (host), Rebecca Lobo & Tim Welsh (analysts), Jeff Goodman (reporter)
Florida, Gonzaga, San Diego State	Coach Donovan, Few and Fisher will be wired for sound to brings fans unique perspective

The UConn Alumni Association will host “An Evening With Champions” featuring women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma and men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Conn.

The event will be hosted by former women’s basketball All-American and National Player of the Year Rebecca Lobo, who is now a broadcaster for ESPN and a member of the UConn Board of Trustees.

This event will offer a rare glimpse into the Basketball Capital of the World as Ollie and Auriemma will give a behind-the-scenes look at UConn’s historic dual championships and their perspectives into the upcoming season.

Attendees will enjoy dinner and a cash bar prior to an “Inside the Actor’s Studio”-style question and answer session moderated by Lobo.

Tickets are $85 per person and table sponsorships are available. Net proceeds will support scholarships for UConn students.

“This is an exciting and unique opportunity for true blue Husky fans,” said Mo Cotton Kelly, executive director of the UConn Alumni Association. “Through the support of loyal Huskies, the UConn Alumni Association continues to provide scholarships to UConn students in need. What better way to celebrate our dual championships than enjoying a night of camaraderie while helping other Huskies? It’s a winning combination.”

For more information, please call the Alumni Association at 860.486.2240, or email Debra Crary at debra.crary@uconn.edu. You can also RSVP at UConnAlumni.com/EveningWithChampions.

*** Meanwhile, here's my story on UConn commit Jalen Adams, who'll be prepping as a postgrad this season up at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

 A new documentary on Jim Calhoun will premier at the Bushnell Theater on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Born to Lead: Jim Calhoun chronicles Calhoun's life, from childhood through his 26 seasons as UConn's head coach, and all its successes. Here's a preview clip of the documentary.

"It's surreal, in the sense of seeing your life being depicted," Calhoun said in a conference call Thursday morning. "It's something different. As (UConn soccer coach) Ray Reid said, 'Who plays you?' It's a documentary. They had to use me, because they couldn't use Sean Connery at the time. I think it's kind of fun."

Calhoun said there were some particularly poignant, surprising moments in the film, including one where Jake Voskuhl said he very nearly left the program. He said he had never really thought about having a documentary made on his life, but had been approached by film makers shortly after he had retired in September, 2012. After a while, he eventually caved in.

"I thought it would be good to talk about leadership, maybe be inspirational to some people," he said. "We have different parts of our lives -- we used to call  it a Polaroid, now we call it a selfie -- different snapshots of our lives. If you look at me as a stone-cutter from Quincy, Massachusetts at 18, or on the podium getting a national championship ring, or the Final Four or Hall of Fame, all those things are a positive picture."

*** Meanwhile, Calhoun also announced that he has signed a contract to do in-studio work for ESPN this college basketball season. It remains to be seen just how much work he'll do.

"I look forward to it. Seth Greenberg is a good friend, Rece Davis is a good friend. I'll be talking about something I love."

Here's a statement from Jim Calhoun on the passing of John Toner:

“John Toner’s decision in May of 1979 to leave his New England neighbors and move Connecticut into what would become the Big East Conference changed UConn Athletics forever. John’s vision 35 years ago paved the path for the University of Connecticut to win 18 NCAA Championships in four sports during the past four decades.

John Toner was a transformational figure on the national collegiate stage, including being a driving force in the late 1970s and early 1980s to add women’s athletics under the NCAA umbrella.

Personally, John gave me a great start as head basketball coach at Connecticut and through the years he was always available to me for wise counsel and friendship.”

As expected, Steve Enoch has committed to UConn. The 6-foot-10 power forward from Norwalk announced his commitment on Twitter on Saturday night.

I will be playing College Basketball at The University of Connecticut as of next season #UConn #Huskies
— • Steven Enoch • (@Tallflow) September 14, 2014

Enoch, who starred at Norwalk High the past few years but will be playing this season at St. Thomas More, grew up a UConn fan. 

“Growing up in Connecticut I was surrounded by a major amount of Huskies fans, including my parents, so the team has always been in the atmosphere,” Enoch told the Register back in July. “Yes, I’ve been a fan of UConn and glad for the entire organization’s success.”

He really burst on the scene back in early June at the Pangos Camp out in Long Beach, California, where Enoch more than held his own against one of the top Class of 2015 big men in the country, Stephen Zimmerman. While out on that visit, Enoch stayed with Drummond, who had been coached by Enoch’s AAU coach, George Matthews, since he was 9 years old. 

“He’s someone I look up to,” Enoch said of Drummond, back in July. “I don’t get to see him often because he’s always on the grind but every time I see him it’s like family. I make the most of every time we hang out, whether it’s him giving me good tips and mentoring on and off the court, or getting scraped in a 1-on-1.”

Enoch made an unofficial visit to UConn in late June. He battled a thigh injury later in the summer after taking a knee to the thigh during a game, causing a contusion that kept him from playing in some of other top camps.

Enoch had been coveted by programs like Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia, Providence, UCLA, Seton Hall and URI, but it seemed a near-lock all along that he would eventually take his talents to Storrs.

Enoch joins Roxbury, Massachusetts point guard Jalen Adams as the Huskies’ two Class of 2015 commits so far. UConn will have at least one more scholarship to fill for next season.

UConn's players were at the football game on Saturday morning, signing autographs prior to the game during FanFest festivities (yeah, those are my kids getting autographs and posing for a picture with Ryan Boatright above). Here's some of what we got.

*** Had a chance to speak with Rakim Lubin for the first time today. Impressive young man, and certainly an impressive physical specimen.

"I'm here to grab at least double-digit rebounds -- at least," he said. "If I don't do anything else, I've got to grab double-digit rebounds. That's all that matters right now, doing what the team needs."

"That's what I'm looking to bring, as far as my whole package right now. As of right now, I'm not looking to score the basketball or do anything else, but get rebounds and assists. That's all."

Assists?

"Yeah, I gotta get assists to my big men down low. But right now, just straight rebounding."

Lubin says he checks in at 6-foot-8, 265 pounds, which is where he's trying to stay for the season.

*** Steve Enoch was at the game and is in the midst of his official visit to UConn. He didn't want to speak with reporters, saying good-naturedly, "I'm just here to enjoy the game."

*** Wrote a Sunday feature on Daniel Hamilton, who had a tumultuous (and ultimately triumphant) senior season at St. John Bosco High in California that went through mass player and coach exodus and lots of controversy, but ended with a Division II state championship.

Asked Ryan Boatright how much of an impact Hamilton can have this season.

"Huge. Like I said, he's a natural-born scorer. He can score in all aspects of the game -- mid-range, he's tall, he can finish at the rim, he has a great 3-point shot. He's got to stay confident. He has some off days where he puts his head down. I just told him to stay confident, and we need him to be that scorer."

Boatright also talked about the basic tenor of practices and pick-up games so far.

"Extremely, extremely, extremely competitive," he said. "We probably fight almost every day. It's just real competitive, man. Everybody wants to win, everybody wants to get better, we're pushing each other."

"I tell them all the time, everybody's chasing us, we have a target on our backs. But we're chasing something bigger than us. We're chasing history. To win back-to-back, it's only been done one time, and that was Florida."

(OK, so his history lesson doesn't extend past the late 2000's and forgets UCLA. But you get the point)

Asked Boatright if he's ready to be our go-to guy this season -- meaning the media's go-to guys for quotes.

"You know I'm ready, I've been waiting on it for three years."

He may have thought I meant go-to guy, as in the guy to get the ball to in crunch time on the court. Either way, hope he remembers all that when we're still asking him questions come February.

UConn lost out on a highly-touted big man Djery Baptiste, a 7-footer who pledged to Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

But the Huskies are likely to get much better news this weekend when Norwalk's Steve Enoch makes his official visit to Storrs.

Enoch, a 6-foot-10 Class of 2015 center, is expected to commit to UConn during the visit, according to a source. And it's very possible he may not even wait around until Monday to make his pledge.

UConn has long been Enoch's "dream school." His family is UConn fans. He was slated to make some trips out West and to some other major programs, but put them off. He was slated to visit URI, but that's been cancelled, as well. The Rams, apparently, don't want to waste an official visit on a kid who almost certainly is heading to UConn.

So, UConn fans can expect some good news by Monday. Or even Sunday. Or Saturday.

Elsewhere, it appears Kevin Ollie had a good in-home visit with Derrick Jones on Thursday. And UConn is apparently back in the Isaiah Briscoe sweepstakes now. Briscoe, who broke his foot out in Las Vegas in July and missed the rest of the summer AAU season, is expected to make an official visit to Storrs on Sept. 26, per Adam Zagoria.

UConn has announced the sites of its 15 home games this season.

The Huskies will host Texas and Memphis, as well as Bryant, Yale, UCF, East Carolina and Tulane in Storrs. In Hartford, UConn will host Cincinnati and SMU, as well as Coppin State, Central Connecticut, Temple (New Year's Eve, at a time to be determined), USF and Tulsa. 

UConn will play Columbia at Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena on Dec. 22.

Here's the press release:

The UConn men's basketball team will play 15 home games during the 2014-15 regular season, bringing national powers Texas and Memphis to Gampel Pavilion in Storrs and Cincinnati and SMU to the XL Center in Hartford.


The 2014 National Champion Huskies will play seven home games on campus at Gampel Pavilion and seven home games at the XL Center, as well as an exhibition game at each venue. In addition, UConn will return to Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport for the second straight season to play one home game.

The home schedule will begin at Gampel with an exhibition game against Southern Connecticut on Nov. 4, followed by a second exhibition game on Nov. 9 against Assumption College at the XL Center. The first regular-season game is slated for Gampel Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 14, against Bryant University.

Texas will visit Gampel Pavilion on Sunday, Nov. 30, marking the Longhorns' first trip to Storrs since Jan. 23, 2010, when they were ranked No. 1 in the country, only to be upset by the Huskies, 88-74. Memphis comes to Gampel for an American Athletic Conference faceoff on March 5, UConn's final home game of the regular season.

American power Cincinnati will be at the XL Center to face the Huskies on Saturday, Jan. 10, while SMU makes its first-ever appearance in the XL Center on Sunday, March 1. UConn will also have a New Year's Eve game at the XL Center, facing AAC opponent Temple at a time to be determined.

UConn, which defeated Eastern Washington at Webster Bank Arena last year, will play host to Columbia this season in Bridgeport on Dec. 22.

The American Athletic Conference Championship will be held at the XL Center from March 12-15.

Remember Ater Majok, the kid from Sudan via Australia who was supposed to be the next big star at UConn, wasn't, eventually was drafted by the Lakers and has since more or less fallen into oblivion?

Remember his guardian/handler named Ed Smith, who seemed to be trouble? Well, he's certainly proven to be just that, and now it's Thon Maker, some say the most talented 16-year-old out there right now, that seems to be getting some less-than-stellar advice from Smith. Here's a story from the Sydney Morning-Herald in Australia that talks about the negative effects Smith seems to have on young, African basketball prospects. Majok and UConn are featured prominently.

*** Meanwhile, as we had reported back on Aug. 8, it appears Jim Calhoun will be doing studio work for ESPN this college basketball season.

Source tells me Jim Calhoun may do some work for ESPN this season. Calhoun says been offered, nothing finalized.
— David Borges (@DaveBorges) August 8, 2014

Now, it's The Big Lead that's reporting Calhoun will be joining ESPN. If this happens, it sure will be entertaining television.

*** Lastly, had a brief conversation with Terrell Myers, the New Haven product who coached Derrick Jones's AAU team this past summer. Myers said Jones, who will be getting an in-home visit from UConn next week, had a "great summer. His outside shot was a bit more consistent, he had confidence in handling the ball. He was maturing as the summer went on, learning how to be a leader."

Myers, who knows Kevin Ollie very well, said that he might be at the in-home visit on Tuesday.