UConn Men's Basketball Blog

Boatright's Back: 'No Words to Describe It'

2012-01-28T17:07:00.005-05:00

Less than 24 hours before UConn played at Notre Dame two weeks ago, it received news that Ryan Boatright’s eligibility was again being questioned by the NCAA and suspended the freshman guard from action.

On Saturday, less than 24 hours before the Huskies were to host the Irish at the XL Center, they received much better news: Boatright has been reinstated and will be available to play tomorrow at noon (SNY).

"I don’t think there are any words to describe it," said Boatright's grandmother, Linda. "It’s been a trying of our faith. I had no doubt in God. We have strong faith and beliefs."

Linda said the family received the news around 4 p.m today.

"God’s timing is perfect timing," she said.

And apparently, the family harbors no ill will towards the NCAA.

"Even in a worst-case scenario," she said, "we believe something good will come out of it."

Boatright has missed nine games this season as the NCAA explored his eligibility. In November, college sports’ governing body handed Boatright a six-game suspension (he had already sat out four games) for allegedly accepting a plane ticket bought for him by his former AAU coach, Reggie Rose.

On Jan. 13, the eve of UConn’s bout with Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., the NCAA informed UConn that it was taking another look at Boatright. This time, according to a New York Times report, the NCAA questioned a sum of money deposited into the bank account of Tanesha Boatright, Ryan’s mother.

UConn beat the Irish on Jan. 14 but lost its next two games and has clearly missed the 6-foot guard.

“Having Ryan back, would it make a difference? A huge difference,” Jim Calhoun said on Friday, before Boatright’s latest issue had been resolved.

No Resolution on Ryan Boatright ... Yet

2012-01-27T17:13:00.005-05:00

Wish we could give you more info on Ryan Boatright's situation, but as of right now, there's really nothing new to report.

UConn's compliance staff has been working late hours (until 9 p.m. the other night) trying to get some sort of resolution from Indianapolis, but nothing ... yet.

Here's what Jim Calhoun had to say this afternoon:

"Everybody’s working like crazy, trying to get some resolution right now ... There’s no indication of (whether he'll come back at all), the only indication is we’re trying like crazy to get him back."

"One of the worst parts about it, it hangs there. Ryan has a great day of practice today, it hangs there. It hangs with the kids (saying), ‘If we had him.’ We don’t, right now."

“All of us want to have the best team possible. I think we all would admit – good, bad or indifferent – to not play, to play, to not play can wear on you. I know it wears on me. No one cares about that, nor should they.”

Boatright's teammates obviously want him back, as well.

“He’s the same person. He’s not letting it get him down," said Andre Drummond. "He’s still playing twice as hard in practice. He wants to come back really bad, and I just can’t wait for the day that he gets cleared.”

Elsewhere ...

*** DeAndre Daniels, after "probably the best week of practice of his career," will be back in the starting lineup Sunday, ahead of Niels Giffey.

*** Calhoun said Tyler Olander recently has been "logy. He’s looked logy in games, I don’t know why.”

*** Ex-Huskies Donny Marshall, Kevin Freeman, Kevin Ollie and Tony Robertson have been going against UConn in practice over the past week.

***UConn's Super Bowl predictions:

DRUMMOND: "Patriots. They’ve got Tom Brady, what more could you ask for? I’m from New York, I like the New York Giants, but I think the Patriots might get the best of them.”

JEREMY LAMB: “I kind of want the Giants to win. I don’t really watch too much football … I just want to see a good game. But I think the Giants might be able to pull it off.

CALHOUN: “The Patriots will win, I just can’t give you the (details) … Everybody talks about getting injuries from the Patriots, that’s not gonna happen. When Randy Edsall was here, you were much more likely to get a week in advance injury report from him than you would two hours before the Patriots kick off Super Bowl Sunday.”

Daniels Overcame Katrina, Now Fighting for Playing Time

2012-01-26T08:52:00.004-05:00

As we await word on Ryan Boatright's eligibility moving forward, here's a feature on DeAndre Daniels, who has had quite a path on his to UConn.

Daniels was forced to evacuate his home near New Orleans and move back to southern California after Hurricane Katrina hit in August, 2005. He still has lots of friends and family in the area who were severely affected by the storm.

Returning to New Orleans for this year's Final Four would be quite a homecoming for Daniels. (Yes, I know, ridiculously premature and, based on UConn's recent play, unrealistic). Still, it's always interesting to see what some of these kids go through before they become D-1 ballplayers.

Huskies Will Sport New Uniforms Sunday

2012-01-25T14:33:00.004-05:00

Here's a look at the new Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniform that UConn will wear Sunday against Notre Dame (the women will wear red-trimmed unis on Feb. 27 vs. the Irish).

UConn is the first team in the country to wear the uniforms in game action. Next month, other schools will also wear them: Baylor women, and Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Syracuse men.

The jersey, shorts, shoes, and warmup jacket will be available for purchase Feb. 4.

Lamb Will Get By on Character

2012-01-25T08:12:00.007-05:00

Talked to Jeremy Lamb's dad, Rolando, on Jeremy's recent "struggles."

Rolando isn't just the guy who knocked Jim Calhoun out of the 1984 NCAA tournament. He's "America's Character Coach," so he's helping his son get through a time when he's the focal point of UConn's offense and teams are making it very difficult for him to get open and score.

Calhoun Starts New Autism Event

2012-01-24T14:11:00.002-05:00

Jim Calhoun has launched a new event: The Jim Calhoun CardioRaiser – Workout for Autism Speaks, presented by Farmington Bank, to help raise important dollars for the autistic community. This family friendly fitness event will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 at Cardio Express in Manchester and Southington from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Participants will be able to choose from a variety of cardio activities including Zumba, spinning, running or walking on treadmills, stair climbing, elliptical training, or riding a stationary bike. No matter the fitness level – there will be an activity for everyone. Panera Bread will be on site at both locations providing breakfast during registration, lunch during the day and food for the closing celebration at 3 pm.

Said Calhoun: “I am deeply committed to the cause of helping families confronting the many challenges of autism. It is my hope that this event will bring Connecticut families together to raise dollars so important to all those facing this complex neurobiological disorder. I am extremely grateful for all of the community support we have received thus far – presenting sponsor Farmington Bank, Cardio Express, The River 105.9, Country 92.5 and Panera Bread."

The dollars raised will go to the Connecticut Chapter of Autism Speaks and be used to fund global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raise public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bring hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder here in Connecticut.

“With Autism becoming a world-wide epidemic and Connecticut statistics of 1 in every 99 children being diagnosed even higher than the national CDC average, it is more important than ever to spread awareness, education and raise funds for research and family services. Autism Speaks in CT is grateful to Coach Calhoun and Farmington Bank for their dedication to this mission. We are hopeful all Connecticut families will support this wonderful event”, said Lauren Joyce Autism Speaks Connecticut Director.

Registration is open to anyone 14 years of age or older. To find out more or to register visit: www.calhouncardioraiser.com or call the event office at 860-674-1500 today.

My Top 25 -- No UConn

2012-01-22T21:48:00.004-05:00

Sorry, but for the first time this season, UConn is out this week. While losses to Cincinnati and an improving, young Tennessee (on the road) doesn't comprise the worst week in the history of basketball ... well, you saw the same games I did. The Huskies aren't a very good team right now, for a variety of reasons.

Bottom line: there's too much parity in college basketball today to keep a team that's lost two straight and four of its last six in the Top 25 and keep out some burgeoning teams with lesser pedigree. So UConn is out (along with Indiana, Illinois, Cincinnati and New Mexico). I welcome in West Virginia, Kansas State, Dayton, Wichita State and Florida State.

Yeah, I know the Seminoles are only 12-6 overall. Yeah, I know UConn beat them in the Bahamas. But when you beat North Carolina so bad that Roy Williams drags his scholarship players off the court with 14 seconds to go one Saturday, then beat Duke at Cameron Indoor the next, you're worthy of a Top 25 vote.

1. Kentucky
2. Missouri
3. Ohio State
4. Syracuse
5. Kansas
6. North Carolina
7. Duke
8. Baylor
9. Michigan State
10. Georgetown
11. San Diego State
12. UNLV
13. Florida
14. Murray State
15. Creighton
16. St. Mary’s
17. Mississippi State
18. Marquette
19. Gonzaga
20. Virginia
21. West Virginia
22. Kansas State
23. Dayton
24. Wichita State
25. Florida State

Rocky Top, Rocky Times for UConn Right now

2012-01-21T20:29:00.012-05:00

Jim Calhoun heavily recruited both Cuonzo Martin and Jarnell Stokes, some 20 years apart.

He didn’t wind up with either. On Saturday, both helped lead Tennessee to a 60-57 victory over the Huskies at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Martin’s hard-nosed, defensive-minded work ethic is starting to rub off on the Vols in his first year at the helm, and it showed on Saturday.

“He was a great kid, he’s obviously evolved into a good coach,” Calhoun said of Martin, who was down to UConn and Purdue before choosing the Boilermakers as a prep recruit back in 1992. “He’s done something that we haven’t done – he’s gotten his team to play hard.”

He later added: “I don’t think Cuonzo needs my advice. I’m not in very much of a position to give advice about teams playing hard.”

UConn’s pursuit of Stokes was far more recent. UConn was one of the final six teams on Stokes’ final list of colleges last spring. Unfortunately for the Huskies, they were sixth.

Just a few days before UConn was slated to have an in-house visit with the Memphis native, Stokes dropped the Huskies from consideration. He wound up selecting Tennessee, and after graduating from high school in December, enrolling at Tennessee just before Christmas and receiving eligibility clearance on Jan. 12, he’s been a force already.

Stokes averaged 10 points in his first two games but easily had his best game against the Huskies, notching a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound Stokes just turned 18 two weeks ago.

“He’s a house. He’s huge, man,” said UConn frosh Andre Drummond. “He keeps playing the way he’s playing, he’s going to make some money in this game.”

Stokes was flattered by UConn’s interest, though he never did visit Storrs.

“I definitely love Coach Calhoun and Kevin Ollie,” he said. “I definitely liked their school. Any time you get recruited by the defending champions, you’ve got to pick up his calls, basically.”

Stokes recalled playing against Drummond one summer at the adidas Nation camp.
“We played against each other. I held my own,” he recalled. “I believe we got in a little tussle on the court, but that had nothing to do with this game right here.”

*** There’s not much more Calhoun can or will say about the Ryan Boatright situation. A New York Times report on Friday shed some more light on the issue, however.

The Huskies clearly miss Boatright, and Saturday provided another reason why: without him, UConn can't press nearly as much as it would like.

Trailing late, UConn was forced to press, and that seemed to rattle the Vols, leading to turnovers that helped fuel the Huskies’ comeback bid. But UConn couldn’t press earlier in the game for fear of losing Shabazz Napier or Jeremy Lamb to foul trouble.

“If we had another player who’s not here, we definitely would have,” Calhoun said. “We saw the Georgia game, the 20 turnovers … we have been, at times, a good pressure-type team. But I can’t afford to have either one of those guards out of the game at this particular point. I was in a quandary, to some degree … To lose them early would have been suicidal, I think.”

Some stats and quotes to chew on:

*** Lamb and Napier combined for 27 of UConn's 30 second-half points. Too often, the Huskies offensive sets were one-and-done possessions consisting entirely of Lamb or Napier taking off-balance jumpers late in the shot clock and the Vols grabbing the offensive board.

There are myriad reasons why, not the least of which is the ineffectiveness of the big men inside. Alex Oriakhi had five points before fouling out. Drummond had six points and nine rebounds (I missed most of the latter).

"You get bumped on a screen or set a screen, you either stay on it or you back off it," said Calhoun. "Those kind of plays, boxing out on a couple of foul shots. Not posting – who are you going to throw it to? Alex occasionally, maybe. Nobody else made a presence in there ... I'm disappointed, perplexed, why some of these guys aren’t growing."

It's also worth noting that Tyler Olander didn't put up a single shot in 18 minutes of action. In fact, UConn got zero points from its four players off the bench.

“In the final analysis of 40 minutes, we got outworked,” Calhoun said afterwards. “That’s something I hate, despise, I don’t sleep (after) saying that. But they outworked us.”

*** Don't blame the refs, either.

“It was a physical game, very well-officiated, in my opinion,” Calhoun noted. “I have no problem with the officiating whatsoever. They allowed the game to be physical, and they were more physical than us. Thus, they won the game.”

*** Napier's not going to get on the big men too much.

“I’m supposed to, but they’ve been getting yelled at all day," he said. "I’m not going to yell at them. I’m going to tell them the truth: they need to score more and rebound more. But there’s a lot of things I need to do better. I need to be a better leader, a better scorer, a better distributor. Just because they had two bad games, they’re going down there and working hard. Everybody has to play better.”

*** UConn doesn't play again until hosting Notre Dame on Jan. 29, giving it eight days to sit on this loss.

“It’s tough to sit on it for a day,” said Napier.

*** Calhoun still has faith in his big men.

“I love those kids, and I’m not giving up on them by any stretch of the imagination.”

*** Gotta seriously consider dropping UConn from my Top 25 this week. Had 'em at 13, so that's a big drop. Lots of other teams lost, and losing to Cincy and Tennessee on the road isn't the worst week ever. Still, can't imagine I'll have them any higher than 22-23, if at all.

We'll have some video a little later. Do come back ...

Huskies Back Pat

2012-01-21T13:31:00.007-05:00

Here's a look at the "We Back Pat" t-shirts UConn is wearing today during pregame warm-ups. On the front it says "I Bleed Blue and White, but I Wear Purple to Back Pat," and on the back it reads, "I Back Pat." It's all to show support for Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt, who went public with her diagnosis of early onset dementia, Alzheimer's this summer at the age of 59.

In fact, this was "We Back Pat" week in the SEC. During all 17 women's and 12 men's basketball games since Jan. 15, the home teams made various efforts to increase awareness of trhe Pat Summitt Foundation Fund.

*** Prior to heading over to Thompson-Boling Arena, had a nice lunch down the road with Dom Amore and Ed Daigneault. Name of the joint? Calhoun's. How ironic.

Jim Calhoun will not be a happy man if UConn loses today to Tennessee. The Vols have some talent, but they are 8-10 overall, 1-3 in the SEC, and have lost three in a row. They've beaten Florida at home and lost to Kentucky by three, and gotten a nice bump from recent addition Jarnell Stokes. But still.

Impressive young man, this Stokes: graduated from Southwind High in December and received final eligibility clearance to play at Tennessee about 10 days ago. Was a high school honors student and a chess enthusiast who has won multiple junior tournaments. Just turned 18 two weeks ago. He's 6-8, 250 wears a size 20 shoe (Shaq wore size 22, Wilt and Yao both wor 18), and averaging 10 points and six boards in his first two games.

Anyway, a loss today, with eight days before UConn's next game, would leave a bad taste in Calhoun's mouth.

*** A bunch of UConn donors will be making the trip to today's game, flying out of Hartford in the morning and returning by evening. Their charter plane has already logged plenty of miles.

Last night, with the UConn women's team's flights to Chicago cancelled, the donor plane was summoned to fly the Huskies to the Midwest. Due to weather, Indianapolis was as far as they could go, so they were dropped off there and bussed 2 1/2 hours to Chicago.

Live Chat today from Knoxville

2012-01-21T09:30:00.003-05:00

I'll be hosting a live chat from courtside at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville for today's UConn-Tennessee game. The chat starts at 3:30 p.m., game begins at 4.

Hope to see you there.

UConn men at Tennessee

UConn Supports Summitt, Still Missing Boatright

2012-01-20T16:36:00.012-05:00

Greeetings from Knoxville, where tomorrow's UConn-Tennessee game will unfold. Hotel's right next door to the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame.

In that vein, UConn will be supporting Tennessee's Hall of Fame women's coach Pat Summitt tomorrow by sporting "Back Pat" t-shirts during pregame warm-ups. The t-shirts will read: "I Bleed Blue and White, But Wear Purple to Back Pat."

Summitt, of course, went public with her diagnosis of dementia in late August and has formed a foundation in support of Alzheimer's programs.

“We’re more than happy to support Pat Summitt, whom I’ve been friendly with for a long period of time," Jim Calhoun said.

In other news:

*** Nothing new on Ryan Boatright, who didn't make the trip.

“Obviously we’ll miss him," Calhoun said. "We certainly could use Ryan, but we’ve really pushed Brendan (Allen).”

With that in mind, Calhoun got a kick the other day out of one of the rare e-mails he reads.

“I don’t see many e-mails because I don’t necessarily have a place you can get to me, but I did see one (which said) we should have taken Shabazz out when we got the lead for a little bit of rest," the coach said. "I felt like writing back, ‘You mean, so he could make three 3-pointers in a row from, like, 25 feet with 1:28 to go in the game, because he was so fatigued?’”

Enosch Wolf isn't here, either. He had to take two exams that he missed earlier while suffering from a concussion, but the second exam has yet to be posted, so he was left behind in Storrs.

*** Niels Giffey is back in the starting lineup, replacing DeAndre Daniels.

*** Jeremy Lamb is 3-for-19 on 3-pointers the last four games, and his patented floater so prevalent in last year's title run has been MIA.

Said Calhoun: “Jeremy’s just got to shake out of this, move quicker, come off screens better … They’re gapping him so he can’t drive, they’re muscling him low and on top of screens so he can’t quite get free. He’s got to find a way to get free.”

*** Michael Bradley won't play tomorrow (and maybe the rest of the season), but he'll have about a good amount of fans cheering him and UConn on.

Bradley spent much of his childhood at the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home, about 90 miles down the road in Chattanooga. Lynn Jordan, one of the home's organizers who has developed a close bond with Bradley over the years, will bring about 40 kids currently living at the home to see the game. The tickets were donated to the children's home by a couple from the Knoxville area.

"A lot of our churches around the area do things for us at Christmas," Jordan explained. "Several churches have met Michael and knew him when he was living here. They've kept track of him."

Most of the kids have never met Bradley, but are aware of his story. There is a plaque in Bradley's honor inside the home's gym, and the cottage he lived in still has his picture in it.

Jordan said she was happy that Bradley wound up not having to surrendering his scholarship so that Andre Drummond could play at UConn, but didn't offer any details.

"I think just it worked out that he didn't have to," she said.

Calhoun said Bradley (who fractured his ankle back in the fall) is still noticeably limping in practice.

“There’s a chance that ankle won’t be better for a year," Calhoun said. "He really had extensive surgery, he was out an incredibly long time, so there’s a chance he may not get into a game this year.”

*** UConn is 1-1 all-time against Tennessee, beating the Vols last season at Gampel, 72-61, in a game where Bruce Pearl emerged from his 8-game SEC suspension to coach the non-conference tilt. Pearl, of course, was fired after the season. His opinion is still highly valued by a local sports talk radio show, though (he's a regular guest, apparently).

The Vols are now coached by former Cuonzo Martin, who was heavily recruited by Calhoun in the early-1990's. Martin's final two choices, in fact, came down to Purdue and UConn.

*** This is the second time Tennessee has faced UConn with the Huskies as defending national champs. In a second-round NCAA tournament game on March 19, 2000, the Vols posted a 65-51 win in Birmingham, Ala. Khalid El-Amin was bothered by an ankle injury and held to just one basket.

*** Lucky 13? Tennessee's big home upset over Florida two weeks ago came when the Gators were ranked 13th nationally, as the Huskies are (for now).

*** One more note on Tennessee: I tuned into the Classic Rock radio station on the drive from Nashville to Knoxville (don't ask). Most of the standard fare: Zeppelin, Springsteen, etc., etc. Then came Black Oak Arkansas, a heavy-handed Southern rock band that (I think) was pretty big in the early 70's. You certainly don't hear them on the radio anymore, at last north of the Mason Dixon line.

Their front man was a wild guy named Jim Dandy, whom David Lee Roth has admitted to nicking parts of his act. Roth took it to a much higher, more entertaining level, of course. Unfortunately, Roth's voice now sounds like what Dandy's used to sound like.

And if you don't believe DLR took part of his act from Jim Dandy, watch Black Oak Arkansas's "Jim Dandy to the Rescue.", then watch Van Halen's "So This is Love."

Cincinnati Bungle

2012-01-18T22:48:00.006-05:00

Jim Calhoun didn't name names. He didn't have to.

“I just had a little talk with Kemba about a couple of players he played with, and he said, ‘It doesn’t look like them,'" Calhoun said following UConn's 70-67 loss to Cincinnati. "And that’s exactly how I feel, too ... I like what Kemba said ... 'Those aren’t the same guys I played with. Or at least they didn’t play that way tonight.'”

Specifically, he was referring to Alex Oriakhi and Jeremy Lamb, Walker's former teammates. And though he was never officially a teammate of Andre Drummond's, he may as well have mentioned him, as well.

Oriakhi had just two points, Drummond just four, along with three turnovers as he looked completely out of sort and made too many short interior passes, rather than taking the ball strong to the hole.

"I thought we had a great advantage inside, it didn’t look like that worked out very well," Calhoun said. "We were jumping and throwing one-foot passes inside. That’s very disappointing.

"When you start game the with a 6-10, 280-pound guy, and another guy who’s 6-9, 245 pounds, and they can’t rebound or you can’t throw them the ball … that was our game plan, and it didn’t work out very well for us.”

Lamb finished with 14 points, second only to Shabazz Napier's career-high 27. But Lamb hardly escaped Calhoun's wrath -- including once during a timeout, when the sophomore guard seemed to turn his head and ignore Calhoun's castigation.

What wasn't working for Lamb tonight?

“Total game package might be a good word," Calhoun said. "He’s a guy we want to go to, and he got 12 shots up, which is remarkable he even got that many up. He wasn’t very good.”

Calhoun said Napier "wasn’t great, but I thought he was gutty and competitive ... Roscoe played better the other night, but he worked hard. Niels gave us a pretty good effort."

Otherwise, he didn't have much good to say about anybody. Check that, there was one other player who got a compliment -- Brendan Allen, a walk-on. Allen came into the game a little over seven minutes into the action when Napier left with what appeared to be an injured knee. Allen made the most of his two minutes, scoring on a nice driving layup to give UConn a 15-14 lead before Napier returned.

“Maybe I should play Brandon Allen more minutes," Calhoun said, only half-kiddingly. "At least he had enough guts to take it to the rim, and didn’t look like he was gonna fumble it.”

*** Not to make excuses, but Drummond said yesterday he was battling a bad cold and after the game reported on Twitter that he was "sick as a dog." And certainly, the Huskies miss Ryan Boatright.

“Would Ryan have helped? Clearly," said Calhoun. "We didn’t have Ryan … stuff happens. The guys we had were good enough to win tonight’s game.”

*** Niels Giffey said his last-second, three-quarter court heave "felt good. It felt really good. But, that happens. You can’t win a game with a last shot like that … we had so many chances.”

*** I had a bit of trepidition voting for Cincy for the AP Top 25 on Sunday, but the Bearcats seem to have proven me right. Good, tough team. Seven straight Big East road wins. Very impressive. They've obviously got some size and strength in Yancy Gates, but they're 3-point shooting and ability to force turnovers gives them a whole new dimension.

*** DeAndre Daniels started but went scoreless in six minutes. He was in the gym, shooting and working out, long after the game had ended.

That's all we've got for now ...

Kemba's Mom in the House

2012-01-18T17:56:00.007-05:00

Kemba Walker's mom, Andrea, is at Gampel tonight, sporting here UConn, No. 15 jersey. Maybe that's not entirely surprising, as she's from New York (though now lives in Charlotte with Kemba).

"I'm a UConn fan for life!" she said.

What was more surprising was seeing Andrea at the Notre Dame game in South Bend on Saturday -- even though Kemba's Bobcats were hosting Golden State that night.

No fear -- Andrea flew out of South Bend after the 11 a.m. game and made it to Charlotte to cheer on her son, who she says is doing well and enjoying NBA life.

Perhaps we'll be able to ask him about it later -- Kemba is expected to be at tonight's game, as well.

Elsewhere:

*** Nothing new on Ryan Boatright to this point, though his Tweet about an hour ago was interesting: Lets get this W tonight Fellas. I hope i get dis leash of my neck soon and be back down. #FreeBoat

Both Boatright and Enosch Wolf are in civvies on the bench right now.

*** There are nine NBA scouts/GM's credentialed for tonight's game, including Danny Ferry of the Cavs.

New-Look Cincy Comes to Town

2012-01-17T17:23:00.014-05:00

I could be way off-base here, so give me a minute.

The Cincy-Xavier brawl back on Dec. 10 has been labeled one of college basketball's ugliest incidents in years. Yancy Gates' right hook to Kenny Frease's face certainly is an ugly lasting image of the whole situation. At 6-9, 260 pounds (at least), Gates is lucky he didn't cause further harm to Frease than just the nasty gash under his left eye.

“It was crazy," Jeremy Lamb recalled. "It was a competitive game and stuff got out of hand. I watched it a couple of times.”

Added Andre Drummond: “I heard one thing led to another and bad things happened. It’s a good thing they cleared that whole thing up.”

Oddly, both players were asked if they believed a similar incident could erupt tomorrow night.

“No, I don’t expect to see us fighting, no," a perplexed Lamb responded.

“We’re just going to go out and play basketball," added Drummond. "We’re not looking to fight anybody. We’re just trying to win the basketball game.”

Gates and numerous others were suspended (rightly so, some perhaps not as long as they should have been). It was an ugly incident that has no place in the game of college basketball.

But here's a question I really would appreciate some help on: Why do we get all up in arms about college basketball kids doing something that happens in NHL games every single night. Every. Single. Night.

In all seriousness, if anyone can answer this one, I'd appreciate it. I honestly can't understand why fighting in hockey is encouraged so much, but I could very well be missing something here.

Anyway, on to UConn:

*** Jim Calhoun wasn't overly happy with practice today, cursing and raising his voice at times. He was happier with Monday's practice, however.

*** Cincy has taken the negative of the Xavier brawl and turned it into a positive. With Gates suspended for six games, the Bearcats converted into a pressing, 3-point gunning team, with very positive results.

“They’re an open team now, they put four outside," said Calhoun. "They were forced into it, and by doing so, when you’re forced into a situation, it turns out to be good for you.”

The Bearcats are 14-4 overall and 4-1 in the Big East, their best start in conference play since joining the league in 2005. Cincinnati has won nine of its last 10 games overall and nine of its last 11 Big East regular season games.

Perhaps most impressively, the Bearcats have won six straight and eight of their last nine Big East road games.

Cincy has won five of its last seven regular-season games against ranked foes.

*** Calhoun on the Big East: "It's a league that makes no sense from 2 to 16 ... There’s a one, far and away, and no clear two as I can see it.”

*** DeAndre Daniels turned his ankle during practice and limped off the floor. After about 10 minutes, he rejoined the action and seemed fine. However, he was helped off the court by trainer James Doran and a teammate afterwards.

Also, Tyler Olander still isn't 100-percent but is better than he was Saturday, when he was limited to six minutes against Notre Dame. Calhoun fully expects him to play tomorrow night.

*** No word on Ryan Boatright, but it appears he won't be playing tomorrow. If Shabazz Napier and/or Jeremy Lamb get into foul trouble, would Calhoun have faith in walk-on Brendan Allen, who hasn't played in a month?

“I do have faith in him," the coach said, "he just hasn’t had the experience yet, so he’s hard to throw in the midst of a game. But if need be, we certainly will.”

*** Former UConn guard Tony Robertson played on the "Green Team" in practice today. He's on campus taking some classes in order to graduate.

Robertson looked pretty smooth burying some 3-pointers (though his defensive intensity was, shall we say, less than stellar).

*** Tomorrow night will be UConn's first game at Gampel since a Dec. 8 bout with Harvard. That's a span of some 41 days and eight games.

Lamb a Wooden Candidate

2012-01-17T17:00:00.001-05:00

UConn sophomore guard Jeremy Lamb has been named a Top-25 candidate for the Wooden Award, as announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club. Lamb is one of four BIG EAST Conference selections for one of the nation’s most prestigious awards.

The Huskies had two player selected to the preseason Wooden Award Watch List. Junior big man Alex Oriakhi (Lowell, Mass.) was not selected for the Midseason Top-25.

Joining Lamb from the BIG EAST are Marquette’s Darius Johnson-Odom, West Virginia’s Kevin Jones and Syracuse’s Kris Joseph. North Carolina led all teams with three players selected.

Here's the list:

Name Ht. Yr. Pos. University Conference
Harrison Barnes 6-8 So. F North Carolina ACC
Will Barton 6-6 So. G Memphis Conference USA
William Buford 6-6 Sr. G Ohio State Big Ten
Anthony Davis 6-10 Fr. F Kentucky SEC
Marcus Denmon 6-3 Sr. G Missouri Big 12
Draymond Green 6-7 Sr. F Michigan State Big Ten
John Henson 6-11 Jr. F North Carolina ACC
John Jenkins 6-4 Jr. G Vanderbilt SEC
Orlando Johnson 6-5 Sr. G UC Santa Barbara Big West
Darius Johnson-Odom 6-2 Sr. G Marquette Big East
Kevin Jones 6-8 Sr. F West Virginia Big East
Perry Jones III 6-11 So. F Baylor Big 12
Kris Joseph 6-7 Sr. F Syracuse Big East
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 6-7 Fr. F Kentucky SEC
Jeremy Lamb 6-5 So. G/F Connecticut Big East
Damian Lillard 6-3 Jr. G Weber State Big Sky
Scott Machado 6-1 Sr. G Iona MAAC
Doug McDermott 6-7 So. F Creighton Missouri Valley
Mike Moser 6-8 So. F UNLV Mountain West
Arnett Moultrie 6-11 Jr. F Mississippi State SEC
Thomas Robinson 6-10 Jr. F Kansas Big 12
Mike Scott 6-8 Sr. F Virginia ACC
Jared Sullinger* 6-9 So. F Ohio State Big Ten
Cody Zeller 6-11 Fr. F Indiana Big Ten

My Top 25 This Week

2012-01-16T11:25:00.004-05:00

Here's my AP Top 25 I submitted last night. Welcomed in Cincinnati, which comes to town Wednesday to play UConn. The Bearcats are 14-4 overall, 4-1 in the Big East, including a win at Georgetown a week ago. They've won nine of their last 10 and have won six straight Big East road games (dating back to last year, of course). They've obviously put that ugly brawl with Xavier behind them.

Ironic, though, that Yancy Gates will be playing Wednesday night and Ryan Boatright -- in all likelilhood -- won't be.

In adding Cincy, I wound up bouncing Louisville. I almost never drop a team from No. 12 to unranked, but I can't get that ugly loss at Providence last week out of my head. That was the Cardinals fourth loss in five games, and their win later over the week over DePaul wasn't enough to change my mind, either.

1. Syracuse

2. Kentucky

3. Baylor

4. Ohio State

5. Missouri

6. North Carolina

7. Duke

8. Kansas

9. Michigan State

10. Georgetown

11. San Diego State

12. UNLV

13. UConn

14. Florida

15. Indiana

16. Murray State

17. Mississippi State

18. Virginia

19. Creighton

20. St. Mary’s

21. Gonzaga

22. Illinois

23. Marquette

24. Cincinnati

25. New Mexico

No Irish Need Apply

2012-01-14T15:00:00.011-05:00

Nice win by UConn, eh? True, Notre Dame's just not that good, but still. UConn snaps Notre Dame's 29-game home winning streak. Three years earlier the Huskies had snapped Notre Dame's 45-game home streak, its longest ever. Impressive.

Lots of stuff to blog about today. Here we go:

Roscoe Smith insisted that his reduced role in recent times hasn't affected him, and that's believable. The 6-foot-8 sophomore always seems to have the same upbeat, devil-may-care demeanor -- even after going scoreless in three of his prior four games.

“It hasn’t been frustrating,” Smith insisted. “It’s just something I’ve been going through, it’s part of basketball. I went through it in high school and I went through it in middle school. I just love to be around the staff and the players. I just love to be out there and contribute any way I can.”

Smith really came up big for the Huskies today, coming off the bench for 10 points and six rebounds -- including a trio of key offensive boards in the latter half -- in just 15 minutes of action.

What is it that led to Roscoe -- a stalwart on last year's national title team -- to see a grand total of just 22 minutes in UConn's prior four games?

“(Lack of) a position," Jim Calhoun explained. "Before Tyler banged his heel up and maybe a little before that, Tyler was really, really valuable to us – and still is … For the past two days, (Smith) has been with the starting team. That rotation has worked well. He’s earned himself more playing time. It’s like everything else: sometimes, unless it really happens, you don’t believe it’s going to happen."

Smith's best sequence came early in the latter half. On consecutive possessions he grabbed tough offensive rebounds, putting one back for his first basket in three games (and second in five games), and getting fouled and converting both freebies on the other.

A short while later, Smith grabbed an offensive board to keep another possession alive. He wound up sinking a 15-footer on that possession.

"Roscoe, last year, played 25 minutes on a national championship team, started most of our games, and kind of just expected he was going to do that this year," Calhoun continued. "But Tyler had a good summer, and Tyler expected to start. They had a good battle.”

Smith's position this season has primarily been power forward, as opposed to small forward. He's fine with that.

“I just like being on the court," he said. "I’m a basketball player. I don’t really go by numbers. Anything I can do – rebound, play defense – I’m willing to do.”

Can Roscoe continue his good play moving forward?

“I plan on doing it … ‘we’ plan on doing it," he said. "Our new motto is ‘we.’ We plan on doing it.”

*** That's the kind of attitude Olander has always displayed. He was a real gamer today, as a game-time decision with a really sore, bruised right heel. In six short minutes, Olander squeezed in four points and four rebounds -- then plenty of encouragement from the bench.

“It’s the small, little things that make a coach happy,” said Calhoun. “The enthusiasm that Tyler had on the bench. He got into the game, made his two foul shots and twice made us break pressure. That’s what a team’s all about.”

*** Oh, and of course, Alex Oriakhi. Twelve points, seven rebounds. Very active defensively. We're not gonna give you the obligatory "Alex is back" stuff, but ... well, he just may be back after two strong games in a row.

“I never get too, too excited, because you’ve got a game in a few days, he said. "Anything can happen then. I’m just happy I was able to play, and we were able to win.”

Calhoun said Oriakhi looks "happier. He's one of the greatest kids in the world. He was very effective tonight, obviously.”

*** Ryan Boatright apparently really did have about 300 friends and family scattered throughout the building. Dennis Shamblin, a sports booster and graduate of East Aurora (Ill.) High (Boatright's alma mater), was one of them. Shamblin and his wife, Debbie, had dozens of UConn shirts with Boatright's name and number on the back made for the game by Spiritwear Wholesales in St. Charles, Ill., where Debbie is a sales consultant.

The Shamblins were obviously disappointed not to get to see Boatright play. They know about as much as we currently know about what the NCAA is looking into, only that it's something that happened long before he enrolled at UConn.

UConn got the news about Boatright at around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, shortly after arriving at its team hotel in South Bend. Calhoun pulled Boatright out of a team dinner to tell him he'd have to sit out the game -- and possibly many others.

“He was in my arms when I told him," the coach said. "He was in my arms, that’s all I can tell you … I’m not going to do anything that’s going to hurt Ryan Boatright. I feel a lot about it, but I have nothing to say about it.”

His teammates did.

“It’s kind of unfortunate that the NCAA would do that to him, especially a game where it’s close to home for him," said Oriakhi. "He had a lot of people come out to see him play. But we were able to get the win. Coach said guys are going to have to step up without Ryan, and we did that.”

Oriakhi added that Boatright was "upset, like anybody would be. But there’s not much you can do. He just has to wait it out and see what happens. He’s definitely upset, and he had every reason to be.”

Added Shabazz Napier: “It was kind of short notice. I really missed him a lot. He does a lot for this team. He comes out with that energy burst. We had to play without him today, but hopefully we won’t have to play without him at Cincinnati.”

Said Roscoe: "We dedicated this game to Ryan Boatright."

*** Napier played all 40 minutes (as did Jeremy Lamb) and may have to get used to that while Boatright is out.

"Me and Jeremy can’t be too aggressive on defense," he said. "It kinda takes away from our game."

Napier had a team-high 15 points but Lamb had a season-low six points on 3-for-11 shooting. UConn found a way to win, anyway.

“We’re not going to get used to that or anything," Oriakhi grinned. "We know Jeremy’s going to play like the old Jeremy. But it definitely gives us confidence. It shows guys can step up. To get a road win in the Big East is definitely hard.”

*** I showed up to Purcell Pavilion at about 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, and Mike Brey was already in the midst of leading his team through a pretty thorough pregame practice.

UConn showed up around 8:45 a.m. and definitely was vocal and spirited during its shootaround.

“We were energized," Calhoun said. "We had a pretty emotional talk about, ‘It’s about us.’ We can’t control the world, but we can control what we do.”

*** UConn held Notre Dame to 32-percent shooting. The Irish canned five 3-pointers in the first half ut were 1-for-15 from beyond the arc in the latter.

"We really, really defended," said Calhoun.

“When you’re a coach, that’s the biggest thing you want, when your team is thrown a challenge, as we were last night around 6:30, 7 p.m.,” said Calhoun. “I thought we responded great.”

*** An 11 a.m. start (and 6:50 a.m. wake-up call), the Boatright situation, and John Cahill on the whistle. This had the potential to be a cranky day for Calhoun. Instead, he was all smiles afterwards.

“When you’re a coach, that’s the biggest thing you want, when your team is thrown a challenge, as we were last night around 6:30, 7 p.m. I thought we responded great.”

Live Blog Right Now

2012-01-14T10:34:00.001-05:00

Please join me for a live blog/chat from courtside of Notre Dame-UConn game.

UConn at Notre Dame men's basketball

Boatright Out For Notre Dame Game

2012-01-13T21:13:00.007-05:00

Ryan Boatright said he expected some 400 friends and family to watch him play Saturday morning at Notre Dame. They won't be getting the chance.

Boatright will be held out of tomorrow's game as the NCAA and UConn reviews his eligibility. This development arises from additional information provided by the NCAA that pertains to conditions and events that pre-date UConn's relationship with Boatright.

Boatright will continue to practice with the team and may sit on the bench during games, but will not dress or see action while the joint review takes place.

He was suspended for UConn's first six games this season for receiving improper benefits dating back to his high school/AAU days.

Boatright hails from Aurora, Ill., just outside Chicago, and expected a whole lot of family and friends to make the 1 1/2-hour trip to South Bend.

UConn may also be without Tyler Olander, who participated in a good portion of practice Friday but will be a game-time decision tomorrow, depending on how his bruised right heel feels.

Live Blog Tomorrow from South Bend

2012-01-13T19:52:00.002-05:00

Please join me as a live blog from courtside of Saturday's UConn-Notre Dame game at the Joyce Center in South Bend. We'll start at 10:30 a.m. (game starts at 11 a.m.)

UConn at Notre Dame men's basketball

Calhoun, Boatright, Napier Talk Notre Dame

2012-01-12T20:57:00.004-05:00

Jim Calhoun talks about Notre Dame, the improvement of Irish forward Jack Cooley, and what the Huskies need to do to win Saturday. Also, Ryan Boatright talks about how he could have about 400 friends and family cheering him on at Purcell Pavilion, and Shabazz Napier talks about how Boatright must handle a hostile environment.

UConn Heads Straight into the Storm

2012-01-12T13:51:00.012-05:00

The nation's first real snowstorm of the new year appears to be brewing as we speak, and UConn (and the writers that cover it) will be heading straight into the teeth of it.

Some 10-16 inches of snow are expected to fall in South Bend over the next couple of days. It's supposed to be particularly brutal tonight through tomorrow.

UConn is slated to practice at Gampel tomorrow, then take a 2 p.m. flight out of Bradley straight to South Bend. We'll see.

Saturday's game, of course, is an 11 a.m. start, in an attempt by ESPN to avoid going up against NFL playoff games. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey doesn't see the early start as a big deal.

“I don’t really think it’s a factor," he said. "When you’re practicing preseason, you’re weekend practices are usually 10, 11 a.m."

Alex Oriakhi doesn't think much of it, either.

“You’re not used to playing so early, but we practice pretty early, too, so it’s really not an excuse," he said. "You’ve got to get used to it. We practice at 8 a.m., so it shouldn’t make a difference. It’s basketball.”

But guess who does have a big problem with the 11 a.m. start?

“I’m not crazy about it," said Jim Calhoun. "I continue to say it’s a bad idea for everybody involved. Nine o’clock (p.m.) games are bad for people, and I don’t think 11 a.m. games are good … It’s the way things are, I guess you’ve got to live with it.”

*** UConn may be without Tyler Olander on Saturday. He's sat out the last two practices with a bruised right heel that's hurting him pretty badly. It happened in the West Virginia game.

DeAndre Daniels is expected to reclaim his starting spot over Niels Giffey, and Roscoe Smith will be the first power forward off the bench if Olander can't go.

Said Oriakhi, of the possibility of Olander being out: “I’m just looking at it as an opportulnity to hopefully play more minutes. I’ve got to step in there if he’s not able to go.”

*** Ryan Boatright, who hails from Aurora, Ill., just outside Chicago (about 120 miles from South Bend), says he could have some 400 friends and family at Saturday's game. Yup, 400.

Boatright is most looking forward to seeing his brother, Deahjay McAllister, who's now starting at point guard for Aurora High.

"It’s been a while since I’ve seen my little brother. I haven’t seen him since I left in the summertime ... The fans back at home aren’t really used to seeing me lose.”

*** As always, Shabazz Napier had some interesting things to say:

(on going scoreless in the win over West Virginia)

“I don’t look at how much I score, I look at how much we score. I’m not worried about that ... All my shots, except for the last one, were wide-open. I shot too strong, sometimes too short … Lamb and Andre finished around the basket, so I’m not worried about my shots not going in.”

(on his team's biggest problem)

“We’d be undefeated if we didn’t turn the ball over a lot. That has to do with myself, with Ryan, some of my other teammates.”

(on his comments after the Rutgers game that he didn't feel his teammates viewed him as a leader)

“I’m not even worried about that anymore. If it happens, it happens. We’ll find (a leader) sooner or later. We’re going to win games and lose games without a leader. I feel as though if we play team basketball, we should be fine. Within that, we’ll find a leader.”

No Excuse for Hitting Players, Jim

2012-01-11T21:39:00.007-05:00

Although I was at the UConn-Rutgers game Saturday night, I didn't see Jim Calhoun's interaction with DeAndre Daniels during a late-game timeout. Too busy tweeting and writing a game story.

I hadn't even heard of the alleged incident until a few days later, and didn't see the video until this evening. After watching it, there is no doubt in my mind that Calhoun hit Daniels. There is also no doubt in my mind that it is not a fireable offense, in the vein of Bob Knight or Woody Hayes. Or, you could argue, past incidents by Calhoun, as detailed in this column by the Courant's Jeff Jacobs that needed to be written.

Two or three years ago, I saw Calhoun hit Stanley Robinson in the abdomen with both (open) hands, out near the middle of the floor after callling a timeout. Really whacked him hard. A collective gasp could be heard from the first 10 or so rows behind UConn's bench. Nothing was made of it by any writer -- myself included. Maybe I should have, maybe not. Just Jim being Jim, y'know?

But there's no room for that. I don't even believe there's room for Calhoun's in-your-face screaming at Ryan Boatright the other night. We laugh about it, tweet about it, and the players usually seem to be able to brush it off pretty quickly. But there's no need to embarass an 18-year-old kid like that before 15,000 people and on national TV. Why? Because he made you look bad, Jim?

Calhoun is a tremendous coach, even a bit underrated (you rarely hear his name mentioned in the same breath as Coach K, Adolph Rupp, Bob Knight and Dean Smith, even though he's got more national titles than Smith and as many as Knight). Perhaps no one in the history of the sport has done a better job at building a program from nothing than Calhoun.

But there's no room for making physical contact with kids, no matter how innocuous it may seem.

11 O'Clock Tick Tock

2012-01-11T11:59:00.008-05:00

So why is UConn's game at South Bend on Saturday an 11 a.m. start? Blame the NFL.

ESPN and the Big East want to avoid going head-to-head with NFL playoff games at any measure. With Saturday's NFL games at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., the UConn-Notre Dame game will be long over by the time people start tuning into NFL pregame shows and the like (though ESPN's own NFL Countdown runs from 10 a.m. to noon that day; the UConn game is on espn2).

And the game is an 11 a.m. local start, too. South Bend is on Eastern Standard Time. So it's not really that big a deal that the game starts at 11 a.m. rather than noon (even though the losing coach might gripe about it).

*** As for the game itself, while Notre Dame may be a bit down this season with the loss ot Farmington's Tim Abromaitis, it has won 29 straight home games, including last night's win over South Florida.

Remember, there is no such thing as an easy road game in the Big East -- unless your Cincinnati. Somehow, the Bearcats have won six straight Big East road games, including Monday night's upset of No. 11 Georgetown.

And, of course, UConn host Cincy next Wednesday at Gampel.

*** Finally, here's my story today about the maturation process of Andre Drummond.

A Tale of Two Coaches

2012-01-10T00:32:00.003-05:00

Jim Calhoun was in a relatively good mood after UConn's win over West Virginia Monday night. Predictably, Bob Huggins wasn't.

Also, Ryan Boatright talks about the ... ahem ... conversation that Jim Calhoun had with him at midcourt on Monday, as well as his big steal.

Calhoun: 'They May Throw Me Out, But I'm Gonna Fight'

2012-01-09T22:44:00.010-05:00

I'm not fully prepared to credit Jim Calhoun's technical foul for UConn's renewed vigor and intensity over the final 11 minutes or so Monday night.

Several players, after all, said they didn't even know Calhoun had been slapped with a 'T' by Pat Driscoll after arguing an Andre Drummond over-the-back foul during a timeout.

"We didn't even pay attention," claimed Ryan Boatright.

But some inspired talk by Calhoun at some point after that 'T' certainly did seem to light a fire under the Huskies, who suddenly started to rebound and defend with urgency. Drummond and Jeremy Lamb stepped up big-time, an effective zone press certainly helped as well, and UConn rallied to victory.

“I told them, ‘If we’re not going to fight, they might throw me out of here, but I’m going to fight,’” Calhoun said. “(The technical) wasn’t planned, but we just couldn’t keep them going the way we were going.”

Added Boatright: "Coach has got our back, he’s on the refs. If he sees something going on, he tells us not to say anything to the refs and he’ll take care of it.”

Ah, Boatright. A real trick-or-treat player, someone who is going to draw Calhoun's ire quite a bit over the next few years. He certainly did on Monday. With about 14 1/2 minutes left and UConn trailing by five, Boatright threw an inbounds pass over Tyler Olander's head that went out-of-bounds. The freshman seemed to be upset at Olander, and Calhoun yelled from the sidelines, "Don't blame your teammate!"

Boatright appeared to say something back, and Calhoun soon called a timeout, raced out to near midcourt and started screaming right in Boatright's grill.

“I don’t even really remember what he said," Boatright recalled. "It was just the heat of the moment. Coach is going to be Coach. That’s what he does all the time. He does it to everybody. I made a mistake, and you’ve just got to be culpable and be able to play through it.”

Indeed, Boatright later had one of the plays of the night when he stole the ball at midcourt and flew in for a dunk that tied the score at 48 and put a huge charge in the near-sellout crowd of 15,805.

“I just played ‘D’, like I always try to do – stay in front and not gamble," Boatright said. "Coach has been preaching to us not to gamble. He lost it by himself, he gave it to me, and once I got the steal, I was preparing for the contact. I thought he was going to jump and I just went up strong and tried to dunk it, and I got up high enough. That definitely fired the crowd up and fired the crowd up.”

Oh, and about that crowd -- Calhoun has rarely heaped so much praise on an XL Center gathering (even if it was a snooch short of a sellout).

“The crowd was more than special," the coach said. "We were down eight, we cut it to six and I thought we went ahead by four … just by the way the crowd reacted. In the past, we’ve had crowds waiting for us to do things … "

*** Andre Drummond was immense, particularly in the latter half. He followed Lamb in the scoring column with 20 points while also hauling in a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocks – including a Darryl Bryant 3-point attempt in the waning seconds that sealed the deal.

“Andre Drummond was special tonight,” said Calhoun. “He hasn’t been special all season – he’s been good – as you would expect from a freshman. But tonight, he was special.”

Drummond’s biggest play of the night came with 1:27 left and the Huskies clinging to a one-point (58-57) lead. Lamb misfired on a 3-pointer, but Drummond grabbed the rebound and hit a short baseline jumper – one of several such shots he made throughout the night in between rafter-shaking dunks.

I also thought Drummond did a decent job on Jones, the Big East scoring and rebounding leader who finished with 22 points but just five rebounds -- by far his lowest total of the season.

Jones, a 6-8 forward, is a tough guard for Drummond when he steps out to shoot the 3. He buried a trio of treys in the first half but none the rest of the way.

“I think I did a pretty good job of keeping him off the boards," Drummond said. "That’s what he really feeds off of, rebounds to get his points. I slipped up a little bit near the end of the half, letting him get three quick rebounds. Coach said you’ve got to stop letting him to that.”

WVU missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts in the latter half.

*** UConn didn't grab its first offensive rebound until late in the game, though it finished with six.

“I thought we might set the all-time record without getting an offensive rebound," Calhoun quipped afterwards.

He can quip about this after a win. Had UConn lost ... not so much.

*** Neither Drummond's 20 points or 11 boards were career-bests, but he matched his career-high with four fouls. He's starting to learn what Big East refs are going to call.

“Yeah, I mean, they were killing me," he said. "But they were great refs, man. I’m not going to complain or say anything bad, because they’re good refs. I did something wrong and they called it. I’m not going to argue with them. They’re the higher power, so, it was a good call by them.”

*** Bob Huggins didn't seem quite as enamored by the officiating crew.

"There's some things I'd like to say about that, but I can't, y'know what I mean?" he said, in reference to a fourth foul call on Deniz Kilicli.

*** Hate to nitpick, but UConn is really getting very little out of its small forwards -- DeAndre Daniels, Roscoe Smith and now Niels Giffey, who has yet to score a field goal in his two starts the last two games.

I think that's all I've got for now.

Is Bob Huggins Underrated?

2012-01-09T18:28:00.002-05:00

I’m not a big Bob Huggins fan. I’ve seen him behave far too boorishly with the media over the years. Tries to be too much of a bully, if you ask me.

But there’s no denying he’s an excellent basketball coach, as evidenced by his 703 career wins. Which raises the question: Why doesn’t Huggy Bear get more respect as a coach?

I don’t recall much of any fanfare surrounding Huggins’ 700th win, achieved a few days before practice. Only 19 other coaches have won more games than him, and only three of them active – Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. Huggins recently passed Denny Crum for 20th on the all-time list, but I remember Crum being a much bigger name in the coaching world than Huggins ever has been.

Then again, Crum won two national championships. Huggins has zero, with two trips to the Final Four and none to the national championship game.

Maybe I just answered my own question.

But here’s something else to consider: At age 58, Huggins would seem to have plenty of more years left as a coach. A lot could happen between now and then, of course, but if Huggins gets in 10 more years and averages 20 per year, we could be talking 900 wins – something only two coaches (Coach K and Bob Knight) have achieved to this point.

*** Bit of a different vantage point for me tonight, and from here on out, for games at the XL Center. Press seating has been scattered all about, with my seat moving from just a bit past midcourt across from the visitors’ bench to near the far corner, across from UConn’s bench. Not a bad vantage point. Certainly better than along the baseline, where we have to sit at Syracuse, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Pitt, DePaul, etc. Hard to get a good feel for the game from those seats.

There is no reason for you to care about where the media is sitting, of course, except for this: the reason for the move is that there are now high-priced, courtside seats for the well-heeled where much of press row used to be. More money into the program can only be good for UConn and its fans (if not so much for the media covering the game).

*** Celtics GM Danny Ainge is among the 11 NBA scouts/GM’s, etc. expected at tonight’s game.

My Top 25

2012-01-08T19:28:00.003-05:00

Tough one this week. I figured, driving home from UConn's loss to Rutgers on Saturday, that I'd have the Huskies drop considerably in this week's poll after losing to both Seton Hall and Rutgers. And they do, from No. 6 to No. 13. It likely would have been more, except that 12 of the 25 teams I had ranked last week lost at least once, and two others (Marquette and Wisconsin) lost twice.

So I'm comfortable with the Huskies at No. 13. I still think they have a good, deep and talented team. They're just a bit lost right now, and it'll be interesting to see if they can rediscover themselves. Jim Calhoun certainly started them on that track with a feisty practice this afternoon.

Elsewhere, I booted Wisconsin (five losses) and Harvard (Fordham? Really?) and introduced Virginia (belatedly) and Seton Hall. More than happy to vote for the Pirates, who certainly seem as capable as anyone else in the Big East whose uniform isn't orange.

Really wanted to include West Virginia this week, too, but just couldn't quite find a spot. They're my No. 26, for what it's worth, and that will certainly rise with a win over UConn tomorrow night.

1. Syracuse
2. Kentucky
3. North Carolina
4. Ohio State
5. Baylor
6. Michigan State
7. Indiana
8. Missouri
9. Georgetown
10. Duke
11. UNLV
12. Louisville
13. UConn
14. San Diego State
15. Gonzaga
16. Kansas
17. Virginia
18. Florida
19. Murray State
20. Kansas State
21. Mississippi State
22. Creighton
23. Marquette
24. Michigan
25. Seton Hall

Jim Calhoun Fired-Up Today at Practice

2012-01-08T14:46:00.011-05:00

Despite his in-game histrionics, Jim Calhoun is usually pretty reserved during practices. Not today.

Calhoun, quite simply, was as vocal and animated as I've ever seen him in a practice in my five years on the UConn beat. The F-bombs flowed like wine, and while he was as hands-on and engaged as I've ever seen him in terms of individual instruction, he was equally as critical.

At times, the team's effort was questioned, it's "softness" pointed out. At other times, poor execution was the focus.

No one was spared -- not even little-used Michael Bradley and Enosch Wolf, the latter of whom Calhoun chastised for essentially getting the perks of traveling with and being on the team while hurting the team in practice.

“Why would I come out dead-ass, if I expect them to respond?” Calhoun asked, rhetorically. “Life’s all about getting up in the morning,” Calhoun said afterwards. “Hopefully it’s a good morning … other times you get knocked on your ass. It’s now how you get knocked on your ass, it’s how you get up and what you do after that. We got knocked on our ass the last couple of games a little bit, and we’ve got to get back on.”

And then, the strangest thing happened. When the 90-minute practice was over, Calhoun seemed happy with the team's overall effort.

“I thought they worked incredibly hard today … we really went hard," he said. "Today it was very good, effort-wise."

But Coach, what about all those F-bombs and ... ah, never mind.

Was today the worst Andre Drummond has seen Calhoun in his brief UConn career? No.

“I’ve been to games before, I’ve seen worse," Drummond said. "He wants to win, you can’t blame him. Who doesn’t like to win?

*** Ryan Boatright won't find it awkward tomorrow night playing against West Virginia, the school from which he de-committed.

“I don’t even think about it, especially coming off two losses," he said. "Just thinking about winning, I don’t even think about that stuff.”

Boatright committed to the Mountaineers, but a few days later fellow point guard Jabarie Hinds did, as well, miffing Boatright and his family. Boatright re-opened his recruitement and soon settled on UConn.

He said he doesn't know Hinds and hasn't talked to him about it.

“It’s in the past," Boatright said. "I’m where I want to be, it’s just the way it went. I’m here. I’m where I wanted to be the whole time. It worked out best for both parties.”

*** Jeremy Lamb is finding that being a preseason first team All-American leads to special attention by opponents. Lamb seems to be getting grabbed and bumped a lot during games to keep him from getting the ball, but Jim Calhoun says he must adjust to it,“because I can guarantee the officials aren’t going to adjust to us.”

*** Niels Giffey gets another start despite going scoreless in 22 minutes vs. Rutgers. Roscoe Smith continues to struggle for playing time as Calhoun searches for a position for him. The coach would like Smith to play more at power forward.

*** Shabazz Napier is still banged up. He practiced Sunday and participated in most drills (though was on the stationary bike at times, as well), but had to be helped back to the locker room by trainer James Doran when practice was over.

*** Drummond was asked how the bus ride home from Pisacataway was last night.

“You heard a lot of crickets," he said. "You couldn’t really hear any talking at all. Everybody was pretty quiet.”

Calhoun's Postgame Reaction

2012-01-08T03:07:00.004-05:00

Jim Calhoun was rather calm and reserved after UConn's bad, 67-60 loss to Rutgers Saturday night. The apparent burst blood vessel in his right eye wasn't a result of screaming from the bench during the game; he had the redness in his eye the previous day at practice, as well.

But Calhoun certainly wasn't pleased by his team's performance, and that comes through in some of his terse, snippy responses to reporters' questions.

Leadership? 'There's None,' Says Jim Calhoun

2012-01-07T23:56:00.008-05:00

Jim Calhoun was asked if there is currently a lack of on-floor leadership with UConn right now.

"There's not a lack of it," he responded, curtly. "There's none."

Ouch!

With words like that, all eyes immediately turn to Shabazz Napier, the sophomore point guard and team co-captain (along with Alex Oriakhi). Napier had some very interesting words after Saturday's loss to Rutgers, acknowledging that Calhoun may have largely been centering the criticism on him.

“I took it a little personally, but I understand what he’s saying," Napier said.

He then went on to say how his teammates don't always respond to him the way he'd like.

"I try to tell the guys, I feel as if I’m their best leader. Sometimes they give me a chance, sometimes they don’t," Napier continued. "That’s just how it is. It’s just basketball, I guess. Losing like this, I’m not here to … be the captain because it gives you an ego boost. I’m here to win games. I hate losing games as much as anybody in the world. I try my best to be a leader, even though guys don’t give me a chance to be that person. It shows in the game, I can’t lie. When we have a tipped ball and big guys get the ball and I’m yelling for the ball back out, we’ve got a new shot clock and they go back up … that shows I’m not that much of a leader. When a play starts breaking down and I’m yelling, ‘Bring it out, bring it out,’ and Boat or Jeremy takes a shot, that just shows that I’m not a leader. It sucks, because we lose games like that. But I try my best. I’m just a human being, I try to do my best in helping my teammates out. If they don’t want me to do it, that’s on them, but I’m still going to be scratching and trying to do it, because I hate losing. That’s the worst thing ever.”

Napier added:

“I’m not saying (some players) have their own agenda, I just feel they don’t understand what’s going on. I feel as though I’m the closest to Coach. I feel as though I understand what Coach is thinking about. I understand how to play along with Coach, because I’m the point guard, so I have to be the coach on the court. Sometimes the guys don’t listen to me. It sucks, but hopefully this practice on Sunday and this game on Monday go well, because I don’t understand why we’re losing games. I feel we have one of the best teams in the country. You keep on losing games, you’re selling yourself short.”

Napier said he addressed the team in the locker room after the game, before Calhoun came in.

"I just was really focused on what we did last year as a group. I told them our problem, some players only have one identity. You score a lot in the previous game, you come to this game with that same identity. I told the guys, each game is different, you have differnet roles. You have to transform into that differnet role during the game. You score 30 points one game and come back, you’re not going to score 30 points the next game … these guys don’t understand that, they think if they score 30, they’re going to score 30 the next game. Or if you get 20 rebounds, they’re going to get 20 rebounds the next game. Once you have that one identity, you’re not as good as a team any more.”

Interesting stuff.

No one is trying to pin the lack of leadership solely on Shabazz, said Andre Drummond.

“It can’t be just one person," Drummond noted. "Everybody’s got to be a leader, you know? We’ve all got to step up and do our part, and everybody’s got to find their role.”

*** Calhoun noted that he feels his team is resting its laurels too much on last year's national title.

“I think there’s times the hangover continues," he said. "The hangover’s bad for us. Right now, we have guys who think they’re something they’re not. They’re good kids, but the game is won by the hungriness with which they approach the game. (Rutgers) stayed with it, and we didn’t do that.”

Indeed, this is the first time in 12 tries that Rutgers has defeated a defending national champ. Coupled with the Scarlet Knights' double-OT win over then-No. 10 Florida on Dec. 29, it's also the first time Rutgers has defeated top-10 opponents in consecutive opportunities.

Calhoun added: “We went through this last year. We were 9-9 and struggled at times. But we never struggled like this. It’s a lack of other things, it wasn’t a lack of putting forth our best effort and focus every night.”

*** That's it for now. Long ride home, fairly early open practice to get to tomorrow as UConn looks to rebound Monday night against tough West Virginia.

At least that game won't be played in New Jersey.

Giffey, Oriakhi in Starting Lineup

2012-01-07T18:51:00.004-05:00

As Jim Calhoun had announced yesterday, Niels Giffey is starting tonight for UConn. Calhoun also mentioned on Friday that he wasn't sure if he would start Alex Oriakhi or Tyler Olander at power forward.

The answer: Oriakhi. And here's why: the Huskies need Oriakhi, who has struggled badly this season, and don't want to lose him, so to speak. Moving him to the bench would hurt his confidence even more. Meanwhile, Olander really doesn't care if he starts or comes off the bench. For now, it makes sense to continue to start Oriakhi.

*** With Giffey in the starting five, UConn has now used six different starting lineups in 15 games this season. It also marked the eighth time the Huskies have used a different starting lineup from the previous game.

*** UConn likely won’t get back to campus until about 2 a.m. It will practice at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, in preparation for Monday night’s home bout with West Virginia, which beat Georgetown at home earlier today.

*** Seems Chris Obekpa, a 6-9 power forward out of Centereach, N.Y., has emerged as the Huskies' prime recruiting target from the Class of 2012.

Calhoun is Back

2012-01-06T12:16:00.013-05:00

Some interesting stuff from today's conference call with Jim Calhoun:

*** First off, Niels Giffey will start at small forward tomorrow night (for the first time this season) against Rutgers. Calhoun said Giffey has "great, great focus," and hopes he'll give the Huskies more production than what they've been getting from the 3-spot.

By my count, this will be the sixth different starting lineup UConn has used over its first 15 games. Not a stunning amount, but certainly a bit more unsettled than usual. It speaks to two things: the Huskies' depth, and the fact that they still haven't quite found the right rotation to this point.

Giffey will be the eighth different UConn player to start a game.

Also, Tyler Olander may start over Alex Oriakhi at power forward. Calhoun started Oriakhi in practice yesterday, but Olander had a "great practice," so a decision will likely be made after tonight's 6-8 p.m. practice at The RAC.

Shabazz Napier didn't practice yesterday and may not practice tonight. He should be able to play on Saturday night, however, according to Calhoun.

*** Now, this was really interesting: Calhoun said that a big part of his decision not to retire and to return as UConn's head coach for a 26th season stemmed from making sure he took the bullet, so to speak, for the NCAA violations and served his 3-game suspension.

“When I contemplated over the spring and summer about what I was going to do, I had (visions) of being Al Maguire … I always felt this was hanging out there, and we needed to get finality on it," he said. "My own personal opinions about the NCAA (decision) are my own personal feelings. The university, myself included, we were penalized, and I wanted to make sure that I was the guy that sat out, I was the guy that finalized it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s something in the past. What was done was done, it is what it is.”

“Trust me – part of my contemplation during the summer had to do with making sure that there was closure," he added. "As far as I’m concerned, it’s in the rear-view mirror … I love my university, I love my life there, I love my players. I always feel I need to be there when they need me to finish something that, like it or not – and I didn’t like it, necessarily – that I was part of, and let’s move on.”

*** And so, we move on to Rutgers Saturday night. Calhoun has a propensity to insist how difficult it is to play at The RAC -- and certainly, Florida's Billy Donovan would agree.

Still, Calhoun has won nine of the 10 games he's coached there at UConn. UConn has won its last five games at The RAC, its last four by totals of 18, 18, 10 and 22 points, respectively. That’s an average 17-point victory margin. The last time the Huskies were challenged in Piscataway was on Jan. 6, 2004, when they eked out a 75-74 win.

The last time UConn lost at The RAC was on Jan. 30, 2002, a 61-53 setback.
In fact, that’s the only time UConn has lost to the Scarlet Knights, home or away, in the 19 times they’ve met since Rutgers joined the Big East in 2005. The Huskies have won the last 10 meetings overall.

Of course, UConn had also won 11 straight and (eerily) 18 of its last 19 against Seton Hall before being tripped up Tuesday night in Newark.

Bottom line: there is no such thing as an easy road game in the Big East.

*** Forget all the chatter about Napier or Ryan Boatright needing to play better. UConn's biggest problem right now, offensively, is a lack of production from its bigs. Oriakhi's troubles have been well-chronicled -- the ungainly low post moves, the countless missed putbacks and bunnies -- but Andre Drummond hasn't exactly been Tim Duncan on the low post, either.

Drummond has very little offensive skill in the paint. He doesn't make spin moves, doesn't really have a hook shot (like Hasheem Thabeet was able to develop ... sorta) or any other signature low-post shot. Sure, he's made a couple of short baseline jumpers here and there, but his form is still very raw and I'm not convinced he's a real threat from more than a few feet out. Drummond's entire offensive arsenal has largely been slamming home alley-oops, to this point.

"If we have no inside game, we have no outside game," Calhoun surmised. "They're going to go out and play Jeremy's jump shot, they're going to try to take away the drive of Ryan and Shabazz. We can't play like that ... We have a terrific outside game. We’re probably the best 3-point shooting team in the league.”

(When's the last time you could have said that about a UConn team. It may be true, though).

Calhoun said about 75-percent of yesterday's practice focused on the inside game -- making the guards conscious of getting the ball inside, and getting the bigs to execute when they do get the rock.

*** Calhoun said, "If today was the NCAA tournament, we'd be a No. 2 seed."

I'm not so sure about that, but maybe.

*** As for watching the last three games at home on TV (with the volume off), Calhoun said: “I felt attached. I felt the same feelings in my stomach, the television did not … react. I didn’t get a ‘T’ from it … I can’t think of a positive, but it is what it is, and we’re moving on.”

“The price of being a little more refreshed doesn’t offset the anxiety you feel when you’re watching your team on TV … To me, personally, I don’t think you can be removed the way a ‘normal’ person can be removed.”

*** Oh, and apparently UConn is back in the mix for Darrick Wood, who just de-committed from St. John's.

Blaney, Not Calhoun, Gets the Wins

2012-01-05T20:29:00.004-05:00

Jim Calhoun's suspension hurts him in his neck-and-neck race with Jim Boeheim on the all-time wins list.

Calhoun will not get credit for UConn's two wins (or one loss) during his three-game suspension, according to the NCAA Committee on Infractions. George Blaney gets the 2-1 record.

Here’s the COI’s statement:

“The Committee on Infractions‘ expectation and mandate is that no coach serving a suspension be given credit for any wins or losses accrued by his/her team during the term of suspension. This is consistent with the complete removal of the coach from all aspects of game preparation (practices, film study, team meetings, etc.) from the time the last game the coach is allowed to be present for ends through the end of the final game of the suspension period.”

So Blaney’s coaching record is now 461-383 and Calhoun’s remains at 865-368.

Calhoun ranks sixth on the all-time list, six behind Boeheim. Both coaches can catch Adolph Rupp (876) and possibly Dean Smith (879) this season to move into third place all time. Neither will pass Bob Knight (902) for second all time this season.

Here's the all-time Top 10:

1. Mike Krzyzewski 911
2. Bob Knight 902
3. Dean Smith 879
4. Adolph Rupp 876
5. Jim Boeheim 871
6. Jim Calhoun 865
7. Jim Phelan 830
8. Eddie Sutton 804
9. Lefty Driesell 786
10. Lute Olson 780

From Jersey It Came

2012-01-03T22:35:00.012-05:00

Here are some of the grisly numbers from UConn's 75-63 loss to Seton Hall that wasn't nearly that close:

*** UConn committed 13 first-half turnovers. Just one in the second, but the damage had been done.

*** Seton Hall hit 10 of 20 3-pointers, 6 of 10 in the latter half -- including five during one four-minute stretch that pretty much salted the game away.

*** The Huskies shot just 35.1 percent from the floor, by far their worst of the season. Last time they shot worse? Last year's national championship game (34.5) -- which, you may recall, UConn won.

*** Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi combined for just six points. Oriakhi had just two points and two rebounds. Not sure what's going on there. Or with Roscoe Smith, for that matter.

*** Jeremy Lamb had a team-high 19 points, but none over the game's final 15 minutes.

*** Niels Giffey had 11 points -- six of them from the foul line.

*** Shabazz Napier had nearly as many turnovers (five) as points (six). Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said stopping Napier was the key going into the game.

"He really is a catalyst," Willard said of Napier. "He is a heck of a player and we knew it was tough to stop Lamb. He comes off so many screens, he's got such great range, and you kind of almost have to pick your poison. He was a much more important person to stop, because Lamb is going to get his. You have to try to stop one of them and we really tried to put two people on Napier at all times."

*** UConn's 35-22 halftime deficit was its first of the season.

*** UConn had won 11 straight over the Hall, 18 of its last 19 and 25 of its last 27.

*** George Blaney now has as many technical fouls this season as Jim Calhoun: one apiece. Funny, it takes a lot less for the refs to "T" up George than it does to get Calhoun.

Nothing against Blaney, but this is a game where the Huskies truly missed Calhoun. They still might not have won, but things would have been a lot different with his intensity on the sidelines.

*** Seton Hall's Jordan Theodore scored all 19 of his points in the second half and also finished with 11 assists and three steals. Herb Pope had 15 points and eight rebounds, Fuquan Edwin added 12 and 11 and Aaron Cosby netted 12 points.

And a few other things:

UConn fans may not care about this right now, but Willard is quite a character. He was awed by the fact that the Pirates got a postgame locker-room visit from Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz. And he didn't think his players understood the historical impact of finally beating UConn for the first time in 11 years.

“I’ve got three Europeans. They don’t know where New Jersey is," he said. "I didn’t know (about the 11-game losing streak), until I talked to (a writer) yesterday.”

Willard also called the Drummond-Pope controversy "one of the stupidest things" he's ever heard.

"Why would he know?" Willard asked. "He probably just knew who No. 15 was. That’s the way we do it. If I had told Freddie Wilson to go stop (Providence’s) Vincent Council, he’d be like, ‘Who’s that?’ We play so many games against so many great players, it’s just one of those things.”

Oh, and Seton Hall is good. I'll almost certainly be voting for them in my AP Top 25 poll on Sunday -- unless they blow it and lose at Providence (which is hardly out of the question in this wild and whacky Big East).

*** Curiously, Lamb seemed to place some of the blame of the loss on the game's officials.

“We couldn’t get (any) calls," he said afterwards.

When asked about UConn's 13 first-half turnovers, Lamb said: "Some of them we got fouled, didn’t get the call, and some of them we made bad passes. You’ve got to take care of the ball.”

Tyler Olander may have summed things up the best:

"They came back and kind of punched us in the mouth a little bit. We failed to punch back for the rest of the game, really.”

*** Jim Calhoun can return to coaching the team starting tomorrow. His first return to the sidelines will be Saturday at Rutgers.

"It’s always nice to have Coach back, because he tells us exactly what we need to do," Olander said. "He’s our leader, he’s our coach. When your leader goes down, it hurts a little bit, so it’s always good to get him back.”

Ready Freddie?

2012-01-03T18:23:00.002-05:00

Two-time Register MVP and All-State selection Freddie Wilson is a backup freshman guard for Seton Hall. He’s averaging just 1.3 points per game in limited playing time, but he’s getting good tutelage under Pirate senior Jordan Theodore.

“He’s learning from one of the best point guards in the league,” said Seton Hall associate head coach Shaheen Holloway, a pretty good point guard himself for the Pirates back in the late-1990’s. “He’s starting to understand what it takes to be a point guard in this league.”

Theodore, who leads the Big East in assists, plays over 36 minutes a game, so for Wilson to get more minutes, he’s starting to see some time at shooting guard, as well. Holloway says the thing that’s most impressed him about Wilson is his “ability to break people down and create his own shot. Other than Jordan Theodore, he’s the only other player we have who can do that.”

Wilson graduated from Hillhouse last year and stepped straight into Division 1 basketball and the Big East.

“It’s a different speed coming from high school to college,” Holloway said. “He’s playing well. He’s starting to feel more comfortable at both positions.”

*** UConn is still waiting for clarification from the NCAA on whether or not these three games count towards Jim Calhoun’s record. If Calhoun were missing these games due to illness or some other reason, the games would be his. But since he’s sitting out per NCAA suspension, it’s still not clear.

*** UConn won’t practice tomorrow after moving to a hotel closer to Piscataway. The Huskies will practice at a nearby high school on Thursday and at The RAC on Friday. The reason why UConn’s game with Rutgers on Saturday is an 8 p.m. start: there’s a Rutgers women’s game at The RAC at 2 p.m.

Sheesh!

Dissing the Pope?

2012-01-02T11:12:00.009-05:00

Andre Drummond was asked about going up against Seton Hall's Herb Pope tomorrow night in Newark.

"I don't even know who that is," Drummond replied. "I'm not interested in who that is."

This has the potential to become bulletin-board material. It sounds as if Drummond, the precocious freshman, is dissing Pope, the senior center who is fourth in the Big East in scoring and second in rebounding.

I'm here to tell you that, as bad as what Drummond said looks in print, I truly don't believe he meant any disrespect. Drummond is not -- repeat, not -- a cocky kid. He's actually very respectful. He's honestly just completely invested in his own team and not worried about his opponents.

"I haven’t seen any other team besides my own," Drummond said. "I’m not interested in any other team besides my own. I’m worried about UConn, not anybody we’re playing.”

Pope might take this all differently if he hears about Drummond's quotes, of course. But if Drummond doesn't know who Pope is, George Blaney sure does.

"Right now, he’s an all-Big East first team, the way he’s been playing," Blaney said of the 6-9 forward. "I’m really impressed with the defense he’s playing. He’s hedging out on the pick-and-roll and stealing the ball, even, on the pick-and-roll. He’s always been a great rebounder, and obviously he’s got scoring talents. We’re just going to have to be solid with him and keep him off the boards as much as we can.”

Jordan Theodore has also picked up his game this season for the Pirates, who are fourth in the latest RPI rankings (UConn is third).

"Theodore has become a really, really good point guard, from sort of a careless point guard," said Blaney. "He’s gotten to 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, he’s really pushing it, he’ll take it all the way or create for others."

Shabazz Napier will be going head-to-head against Theodore. He has a bit more knowledge of Theodore than Drummond does of Pope. Sorta.

“It should be fun, I guess, I’m not sure," Napier said. "I haven’t watched him play, besides (one game) … it was a Little League team, two weeks ago probably. He played real well in that game. Me and Ryan are going to do our best job to stop him. We know he’s the captain of that train. If we make sure he doesn’t do anything offensively, we should be alright.”

In truth, these players don't pay much attention to their Big East foes, for the most part, so Drummond's comments can be taken with a grain of salt.

“For myself, I don’t really," Napier said. "When I get my game data of who I’m playing, that’s when I really look at it and dig deep into it. I don’t follow anybody, really. It’s not like I have any friends on other teams. The people I root for are my AAU teammates, stuff like that. I don’t follow, unless they’re on ESPN and did something spectacular. When Marshon Brooks scored 52, I was like, ‘Wow.’ That’s really the only time I follow somebody. Other than that, I barely watch TV, to be honest.”

A few other items:

*** Roscoe Smith practiced on Monday and looked fine, even with his wrist still heavily taped. Blaney said Smith is still sore, but could see more than the four minutes he saw Saturday against St. John's.

Michael Bradley also had a full practice Monday and is "day-to-day," according to Blaney, who said Bradley's ankle is still bothering him a bit.

*** After tomorrow night's game, UConn will spend some quality time in New Jersey until the Rutgers game on Saturday. The Huskies will stay overnight in Newark tomorrow, then move to a hotel closer to Rutgers on Wednesday, where they will reunite with Jim Calhoun to prepare for Saturday's game.

Also on Wednesday, the Huskies will also venture into New York City for some sort of academic project.

*** Four players are currently averaging in double figures for UConn: Jeremy Lamb (18.9), Napier (14.7), Ryan Boatright (12.1) and Drummond (10.0). It's the first time UConn has had four since 2009-10, when Jereome Dyson (17.2), Kemba Walker (14.6), Stanley Robinson (14.5) and Gavin Edwards (10.6) were in doubles.

Who would have guessed that one of UConn's four double-figure scorers this year wouldn't have been Alex Oriakhi (7.0)?

*** Drummond may not know who Herb Pope is, but he does know Hall frosh point guard Freddie Wilson of New Haven. Why? They were AAU teammates on the Connecticut Basketball Club.

Wilson's playing time has been sparse (7.3 minutes per game in 12 contests), and he's averaging just 1.3 points. But word out of Orange, N.J. is that Wilson's toughness and grittiness has impressed the Pirates staff. As a true freshman, the Hillhouse product is still just a little green.

*** After practice, Drummond was practicing shooting free throws one-handed with assistant Glen Miller.

“It helps me get muscle memory and not have to rely on my left hand," Drummond said. "That’s really my problem, I had my left hand on the ball way too much.”

*** UConn is looking to start off 3-0 in Big East play for the first time since 2003-04.

How I Rank 'Em

2012-01-02T08:46:00.002-05:00

Here's my AP Top 25 ballot I submitted last night:

1. Syracuse
2. Kentucky
3. Duke
4. North Carolina
5. Ohio State
6. UConn
7. Baylor
8. Missouri
9. Georgetown
10. Michigan State
11. Louisville
12. UNLV
13. Indiana
14. Florida
15. San Diego State
16. Marquette
17. Wisconsin
18. Mississippi State
19. Murray State
20. Kansas State
21. Gonzaga
22. Kansas
23. Creighton
24. Harvard
25. Michigan

Giffey Finally Gets Some Run

2011-12-31T16:04:00.006-05:00

It seems there's always a player that gets a little more run than normal when George Blaney takes over for Jim Calhoun, and it appears that player this season is Niels Giffey.

Although Giffey played nary a second in UConn's Big East-opening win over South Florida on Wednesday, he got 14 minutes of run today and made the most of it with seven points and some effective overall play.

“He probably thought he was going to play (vs. USF) with me coaching, because I’ve always liked Niels, I like his game," Blaney said. "I just didn’t get a chance to get him in the last game. He had a good opportunity tonight. He gave us two 3’s, he gave us two steals, he even gave us a steal that he kicked the ball on that they didn’t call. He had a great box-out on another play and just played very, very well.”

"I was just happy that I had the chance to get involved, without playing down in Florida," the German sophomore said. "I used my minutes (well).”

Giffey had played exactly one total minute in UConn's prior two games and 12 total in the prior four contests. But you're not going to hear him complaining about PT.

"I don’t want to talk about minutes and stuff like that, that’s just not me," he said. "I would not complain about minutes or talk to coach about minutes. If the coaches think I deserve it, then I’ll be happy.”

Still, Giffey admitted he's been a bit disappointed with his playing time recently.

“Sure, because I was working hard over the whole summer. I had a great summer. That injury in the beginning of the season, that really threw me back. Now, I’ve got to just keep on sticking to it and keep working hard. Everybody’s supporting me.”

“I’m always working hard, working on my shots. It’s not always what’s on the court, but it’s what you do after the games, what you do in practice. That gave me a lot of confidence, and I could translate it to the court.”

Giffey figured to get some run today, not only because Blaney likes him but because Roscoe Smith was limited to just four minutes with a sprained wrist. DeAndre Daniels got the start and did some nice things with six points, three assists and decent defense on Red Storm leading scorer Moe Harkless.

Giffey also helped tag-team on Harkless.

“I think he’s a good matchup for me," he said. "I think he’s a harder matchup for some of the bigger guys.”

Giffey has another supporter in Shabazz Napier.

“Niels played well, which is a great deal for us, because we’ve got to fill that 3-spot," Napier said. "DeAndre, Roscoe and Niels, we’re tyring to figure out which one’s better to fit our offense. They’re all great players, but we’ve got to find out that one player. I think Niels got in there and played well.”

*** Napier's favorite baseball player must be Roy Halladay.

"A complete game is the best game for me," he said.

That's why he wasn't overly happy with UConn's 83-69 win over St. John's.

"I’m picky about how good we can play," Napier said. "If we had played 40 minutes straight and won by 25, I’d have been happy. But we played about 32 minutes good and eight minutes terrible."

One thing not lacking in UConn's game was the alley-oop. Napier connected with Andre Drummond for three dunks on lobs that no one else in the building (or the country) could have caught.

“The alley-oop is very important," Napier said. "It not only gets your team going, but it gets your crowd going. That sixth man, the crowd – that’s no joke. That gets you hyped. It gets you that second wind you’ve been dying for. It makes you want to work and work harder.”

Said Drummond: “We noticed in their zone, they put their shortest guy in the back, that’s going to be good for us. Me and Alex, they just throw the ball up, we’re going to get it, because that’s a 6-3 dude guarding a 6-10 and 6-9 power forward. There’s not much they can really do about that.”

Blaney was disappointed Drummond only had three alley-oop dunks.

“I would like to see them do it about 15 more times. I would like to see Andre get in position to do it about 15 more times. He’s still learning how to get in position. We’re trying to teach him how to offensive box out. That’s what he needs to do a little bit more, because he is so effortless about how he can rise up and catch it. He catches everything, he doesn’t miss anything when his hands are around it.”

*** Drummond's New Year's Eve plans? "Sleep."

That's all I've got for now.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Beat It, Phil

2011-12-31T10:40:00.003-05:00

Greetings from the XL Center, for today's St. John's-UConn battle.

First things first: Today marks the last day on the beat for Phil Chardis. Phil has been at the J-I for 39 years and been on the UConn beat for about 30. He's traveled from Hawaii to Israel to Morgantown, W.V. covering the team, and has done an excellent job. No one on the beat saw the in-game nuances of basketball better than Phil.

Now, he's going over to the dark side: Phil's taking over for Kyle Muncy as UConn's men's basketball sports information director. His knowledge of what the media wants and needs and his unique, close relationship with Jim Calhoun will surely help him excel in this venture (though we're a little worried about the first couple of times he runs a conference call).

More good news: taking over for Phil as the J-I's beat guy will be Neill Ostrout, the former Connecticut Post beat man. Neill's as solid as they get, and it'll be great to see him back on the beat, starting next week.

Napier, Roscoe Banged Up

2011-12-30T13:12:00.010-05:00

First off, some injury news to report:

Shabazz Napier sat out the latter part of today's practice as a precaution. He suffered a sprain to his left foot during Wednesday's win at South Florida and it's still nagging at him a bit. However, Napier -- who watched the last half of practice from the sidelines with an ice pack around his left knee -- should be OK for tomorrow's St. John's game, per George Blaney.

The news isn't as good on Roscoe Smith, who sprained his left wrist against USF and has sat out the last two practices. Smith's wrist is still a little swollen, though X-Rays have been inconclusive. He's "day-to-day," according to Blaney.

That could be a tough loss for UConn, as Smith would seem to be a strong candidate to guard St. John's fab frosh Moe Harkless. All Harkless did on Tuesday agianst Providence was go for 32 points and 14 rebounds. His scoring total was the most ever by a freshman in his Big East debut, surpassing a guy named Allen Iverson (1994) and Troy Murphy (1998).

“There’s been a lot of good players who have started in this league who haven’t put those numbers up," Blaney marvelled.

How good is Harkless (whose de-commitment from UConn has been well-chronicled on this blog)?

“I don’t think there’s anything that he doesn’t do,” Blaney said. “He’s big, he can handle, he can shoot it in or out, put it on the floor. And he rebounds – 14 rebounds (against Providence) shows me big-time stuff. Most importantly, he believes in himself.”

Added Andre Drummond, who played against Harkless in high school: “He’s like a Jeremy. He plays effortlessly, he just scores.”

*** UConn boasts significant size and depth advantages over the Johnnies, who have just eight scholarship players and don't dress a player over 6-8, and will make a concerted effort to get the ball down low to Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi.

*** St. John’s proved it can run and gun, with 91 points against Providence on Tuesday, but can also slow things down effectively.

“They want to run on your mistakes,” said Blaney, “so we need to take care of the ball and take good shots.”

The Red Storm certainly looked impressive in that win over Providence. But remember, it was Providence.

*** Surprisingly, UConn is looking to start off its Big East slate at 2-0 for the first time since 2003-04. It's also looking to end a two-game losing skid to the Storm, and the losses were ugly: 89-72 last year at MSG, and 73-51 two years ago in the Big East tournament.

Of course, the Johnnies have just one returning scholarship player (backup guard Malik Stith) back from last year's team.

Blaney still sees similarities between last year's St. John's team and this one.

“They play with the same energy," he said. "They’re an exceptionally confident, cocky group. After two wins against us in the last two years, I expect St. John’s to be good.”

*** Blaney said Jim Calhoun is going "berserk" not being able to coach these three games, but said he hasn't had any contact with him. As a matter of fact, he can't, per guidelines of the suspension.

Of course, there's a marked difference between when Blaney runs a practice or game and when Calhoun does.

"We're still running the same style," said Jeremy Lamb. "It's a little different not hearing him on the sidelines."

Blaney did, however, raise his voice a couple of times in practice today over UConn's lethargic defensive play.

Said Drummond: “Coach Blaney’s stepping up really well, he’s doing a great job. I really commend him for taking that position. He’s doing so well with it. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to take that role and do what he’s doing.”

*** Neither head coach will be on the sidelines tomorrow. Steve Lavin will miss his eighth straight game as he recovers from prostate cancer surgery.

Calhoun's Recruiting: 'Only Thing I Know is to Keep Going'

2011-12-29T17:22:00.008-05:00

Between Andre Drummond, Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels, UConn will be getting more contributions from its freshmen than most top-flight programs this season. Hard to believe that only about 18 months ago, some feared the Huskies would never be landing heralded recruits again.

Here's my story on how UConn and Jim Calhoun stayed the course, even as one top recruit after another was blowing them off back in the spring and summer of 2010.

"(The key thing was) losing a Josh Selby, losing some of the kids we did lose, and to not blink an eyelash, not panic," Calhoun told me. "Instead of moaning about who we didn’t get, what we got is pretty good. I think that’s what you’ve got to do. We stay involved."

Harkless: One That Got Away

2011-12-28T11:39:00.006-05:00

Did you see where Moe Harkless dumped 32 points on Providence last night, the most by a freshman in his first Big East game in league history?

Why can't UConn get players like that? Well, it did: Harkless, of course, committed to UConn back in December, 2009. However, in June, 2010, he de-committed. Why?

I asked Jim Calhoun about it last week, and here's what he had to say:

"It ran back and forth. He felt the moment Roscoe (Smith) committed, he said, ‘How can I play with him?’ Well, Roscoe’s going to be playing with different people himself, because we’re bringing in a kid from Germany. But he didn’t want to hear about it. But he’s doing well at St. John’s. I hope he does exceptionally well, he seems like a nice kid. And Roscoe’s got a national championship ring, so he’s done pretty well. Things have a way of working out."

While the arrival of Smith (who committed in January, 2010 ... Niels Giffey didn't commit until a few weeks after Harkless had de-committed) may have played a role in Harkless's departure, it's safe to say there was more to it than that. No doubt, the controversy swirling around the UConn program at the time played a role. Calhoun had missed seven games that season for undisclosed medical reasons, and there were questions about his future with the program (even though he had signed a new contract extension a few weeks before Harkless de-committed).

Plus, the program was found to have committed eight major violations, and the punishments weren't known yet. There was talk that the Huskies could receive some sort of postseason ban.

All of this played into Harkless' decision to de-commit, according to those close to the situation.

But Calhoun is right: these things have a way of working out. Same with Cleveland Melvin, who has found the perfect spot at DePaul. Both Harkless and Melvin are the focal points of their respective teams and are putting up big numbers. There is no way either would be putting up the same numbers if they were at UConn right now. Or do you think Melvin would have averaged 18 a game last year with Kemba Walker here? Or Harkless doing the same this year on a team with Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier and Andre Drummond?

No chance.

We'll have more on this in a story for the Register in another day or two ...

My Fearless Big East Forecast

2011-12-26T20:09:00.033-05:00

The Big East season officially kicks off tonight, with Pitt playing at Notre Dame and Providence at St. John’s. UConn’s conference season gets underway tomorrow night at South Florida.

As always, it’s going to be a fun couple of months keeping tabs on what I still think is the best conference in America. Some believe the Big East is a bit down this year, but I remember people saying that before last season, as well. The result: a record 11 teams invited to the Big Dance, with UConn, of course, emerging as national champion.

Not saying there will be 11 Big East invites this year, but the conference certainly has Final Four contenders in Syracuse, UConn, Louisville and possibly Marquette and Georgetown. Perennial contenders like Pitt and Villanova appear a little down, but we could see vast improvement from teams like Seton Hall, Providence and even DePaul.

And when it’s all said and done ... I like the Huskies to come out on top. Call me a homer, but I really like what I see here. They’re nine-deep (which is more than what you really need in college hoops), and that’s with Niels Giffey seeing sparse minutes lately and Michael Bradley yet to return from injury. They’ve got great size and athleticism up front (Alex Oriakhi really needs to step it up, however), they play suffocating defense and, more so than in years past, they can actually shoot the ball – fifth in the Big East at 49 percent, up from last year’s 43 percent. Heck, the Huskies lead the conference in 3-point shooting, as well, at 41 percent.

They’ve got a superstar (Jeremy Lamb) and a standout point guard (Shabazz Napier) to help make up for the loss of Kemba Walker. And they’ve got Andre Drummond, whose potential is limitless and who should only get better as the year progresses.

Anyway, here are my fearless predictions for the upcoming Big East season:

1. UConn (14-4) The potential to repeat is there, people. It really is.
2. Syracuse (14-4) I could tell you Syracuse isn’t a national title contender, but then Jim Boeheim might call me a liar who’s only out for money.

3. Louisville (13-5) Remember when Rick Pitino-Karen Sypher was the Big East’s most seedy scandal?
4. Marquette (13-5) Darius Johnson-Odom, Jae Crowder may be Big East’s best 1-2 punch.
5. Georgetown (12-6) Hoyas have won at Alabama, beaten Memphis twice already.
6. West Virginia (12-6) Think there’ll be some trash-talking when Jabari Hinds goes up against Ryan Boatright?
7. Seton Hall (10-8) New Haven’s Freddie Wilson (1.1 ppg) hasn’t had much of an impact thus far.
8. Pittsburgh (10-8) Remember when Pitt never lost at The Pete? It’s already lost there to Long Beach State and (gulp!) Wagner.
9. Cincinnati (9-9) If only Yancy Gates always played as hard as he punches.
10. Villanova (8-10) Wildcats still don’t have much up front. Now, even guard play is iffy.
11. Providence (7-11) People close to the program were bracing for the worst season in years this season. Looks like that won't happen.
12. South Florida (5-13) There’s some talent here, but it doesn’t seem to be coached very well.
13. DePaul (5-13) Who’s the better ex-UConn commit, Cleveland Melvin (18.5 ppg) …
14. St. John’s (5-13) … or Moe Harkless (14.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg)?
15. Notre Dame (4-14) Looks like loss of Tim Abromaitis for season is similar to Colts losing Peyton Manning.
16. Rutgers (3-15) Most non-descript team in Big East -- by far. But it does have the best team website in the conference, so there's that.

ALL-BIG EAST

FIRST TEAM
Jeremy Lamb, UConn
Darius Johson-Odom, Marquette
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh
Kris Joseph, Syracuse
Herb Pope, Seton Hall
Kevin Jones, West Virginia

SECOND TEAM
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Kyle Kuric, Louisville
Jae Crowder, Marquette
Shabazz Napier, UConn
Andre Drummond, UConn

THIRD TEAM
Jason Clark, Georgetown
Scoop Jardine, Syracuse
Dion Waiters, Syracuse
Cleveland Melvin, DePaul
Malik Wayns, Villanova

HONORABLE MENTION
Hollis Thompson, Georgetown
Vincent Council, Providence
Gorgui Dieng, Louisville

ALL-ROOKIE
Andre Drummond, UConn
Moe Harkless, St. John’s
LaDontae Henton, Providence
Chane Behanan, Louisville
Ryan Boatright, UConn
Jabari Hinds, West Virginia

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jeremy Lamb, UConn: I don’t see a candidate from either Syracuse or Louisville. West Virginia’s Kevin Jones and Seton Hall’s Herb Pope are 1-2 in the Big East in both scoring and rebounding, respectively, but let’s see if that lasts during conference play. Ashton Gibbs was the pre-season pick, but Pitt appears down this year. This could come down to Lamb and Johnson-Odom, and in the end, Lamb’s got the better team.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Kevin Willard, Seton Hall: We’ll find out fast if the Hall’s 11-1 start is legit (it opens at Syracuse, then home vs. West Virginia and UConn), but Willard certainly seems to have the Pirates on the right track. Cooley will win this award someday ... soon.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Andre Drummond, UConn: Yes, he’s still very raw in spots, but if he’s not the most gifted athletic specimen in the league, I don’t know who is. And here’s another thing: he just turned 18 in August, making him one of the youngest players in the entire conference!

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall: I wouldn’t completely rule out Drummond in this category, either, but we’ll go with this 6-foot-6 swingman who leads the Big East in steals.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Herb Pope, Seton Hall: After a near-fatal collapse in the summer of 2010, Pope never got back on track last season. But he’s been dominant so far this year and could be a shoo-in for this award. Nice story, really.

SIXTH MAN AWARD
Dion Waiters, Syracuse: There are some (Jim Calhoun included) who believe Waiters is the Orange’s best player. Only thing keeping him from this award is if Boeheim decides to put him in the starting lineup.

A few more things I think I think:

*** Syracuse and Louisville are both deep and talented, but I don't see that superstar player on either roster that's going to lead them to the promised land. Wouldn't be surprised to see either team get popped earlier than expected from the NCAA tournament.

*** With Steve Lavin back healthy and on the sidelines, and with Amir Garrett now eligible, St. John's will progressively get better, despite having just eight scholarship players. I could be very wrong about this, though.

*** Cincinnati is 4-0 since the brawl with Xavier and seems to be playing better without Gates. I wasn't too high on the Bearcats to begin with, however, and don't see them doing much this season after he returns on Jan. 4.

*** It's really too bad Farmington's Tim Abromaitis has to miss his final season after tearing his ACL. Can he still win the postseason Scholar-Athlete Award? (I'd say not, because I don't believe he's taking courses this year).

*** Another (sort of) local kid is also out for the season: Louisville's Mike Marra -- like myself, a native Rhode Islander. Can see why his family wanted him to play for Pitino.

*** As if there wasn't enough disinterest in South Florida already down in Tampa, the Bulls won't even play in their home gym this season as it's under repairs. USF is playing all its home games this season in the St. Pete Times Forum -- site of UConn's stunning first-round loss to No. 13 seed San Diego in 2008. I'm guessing there'll be as many if not more snow-bird UConn fans in the building Wednesday night than USF fans.

*** Why 14-4 for UConn? I see the Huskies losing at Syracuse and Louisville, and there'll probably be at least one home loss along the way -- maybe vs. Marquette on Feb. 19, or Syracuse on Feb. 25. Wouldn't be shocked to see them get upset at Seton Hall on Jan. 3 in their final game without Jim Calhoun, either.

Blaney Ready to Take Bulls by Horns

2011-12-26T14:40:00.004-05:00

Just got off a conference call with George Blaney, who’ll be coaching UConn in its first three Big East games, including Wednesday’s opener at South Florida.

Blaney said the fact that he’s known about Jim Calhoun’s three-game suspension since last February doesn’t make things any easier this time around.

“I don’t think ‘easy’ is a good word,” he said. “You knew about it, the other ones kind of came more as a surprise or much quicker. We’re just trying to keep things going the way Coach would like them to go.”

Blaney said Calhoun attended UConn’s practice last night, told them what he wanted from them and watched the rest of the short practice. The Huskies had a long practice today and will have another tomorrow morning before departing for Tampa.

“You just try to maintain what we do, and what we do well,” Blaney said. “You try to really talk to the team about giving the kind of effort that he would demand of them. The more competitive we’ll be, the more successful we’ll be. It’s never easy to try to simulate what Jim would do. I don’t do some of things he does, he wouldn’t some of the things I do. We just try to keep it in line with what we do in practice.”

Blaney isn’t worried as much about the team’s first true road game as he is 7-6 South Florida.

“I think South Florida’s really good,”he said. “They have really excellent players, big big’s that can score inside and pop out outside and shoot the ball well. They have a number of good, swing-type athletes, and I think they’re vastly improved from last year.”

Indeed, Augustus Gilchrist has been somewhat of a UConn-killer over the years. The Bulls took UConn to overtime before losing last year in Hartford, beat the Huskies in Tampa the year before and were slain by a Craig Austrie last-second shot in Tampa in 2008.

Blaney expects to have Roscoe Smith playing some power forward to counter USF’s versatile big men, and stressed UConn needs a big effort from Alex Oriakhi on the boards and on defense.

He’s also happy to have a supporting staff of Kevin Ollie, Glen Miller and Ben Wood with him for the next three games.

“They really have been through this before, they know how to help, so I’ll rely on them a great deal,” Blaney said. “Their energy will help us a lot, too … Sometimes as a head coach you don’t see things, where when you’re watching as an assistant, you see the overall picture a little bit more.”

Drummond Big East Rookie of the Week ... Again

2011-12-26T13:49:00.003-05:00

Andre Drummond is the Big East Rookie of the Week ... again.

Drummond had 16 points, nine boards, four steals and a pair of blocks in the Huskies' win Thursday over Fairfield.

This is the second straight week and third time this season Drummond has won the honor. West Virginia's Kevin Jones was named Player of the Week; Shabazz Napier made the Honor Roll.

My Top 25

2011-12-26T11:33:00.002-05:00

Here's the AP top 25 ballot I submitted last night. Goodbye, Xavier; welcome back, Gonzaga:

1. Syracuse
2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. Duke
5. North Carolina
6. UConn
7. Baylor
8. Louisville
9. Missouri
10. Georgetown
11. Florida
12. Michigan State
13. UNLV
14. Marquette
15. Wisconsin
16. Indiana
17. San Diego State
18. Mississippi State
19. Creighton
20. Pittsburgh
21. Saint Louis
22. Murray State
23. Kansas State
24. Gonzaga
25. Kansas

UConn Without Jim Calhoun

2011-12-23T13:17:00.010-05:00

It will be very interesting to see how UConn reacts without Jim Calhoun on the sidelines over its next three games -- especially with two of them on the road.

George Blaney is a more than competent replacement, a New England Basketball Hall of Famer and former Big East head coach in his own right. He is also extremely different on the sidelines than Calhoun, who constantly stomps and yells and pulls players at the drop of a dime for the slightest mistake.

Quite simply, Blaney's calmer, more reassuring style is seen as a boon if the Huskies win, and as a detriment when they lose. There's never been a better example of this than two years ago, while Calhoun was in the midst of missing six games for "stress-related" issues.

Blaney guided the Huskies to a shocking win over top-ranked Texas at Gampel, and everyone (myself included) believed UConn was playing much more relaxed and free without Calhoun breathing down their necks all game.

A few nights later, UConn lost at lowly Providence, and everyone (including Blaney) missed Calhoun's fire.

"(Calhoun) would have given them a jolt, I'll tell you that," Blaney said after that game. "I would have liked to have had him there, that's for sure."

A few games after that, UConn lost a tough game at Syracuse when the refs granted Jim Boeheim a timeout when replays showed the ball wasn't in a Syracuse player's possession and the timeout shouldn't have been granted.

Had Calhoun been there, he would have no doubt woofed and hollered at John Cahill for granting the timeout. It probably wouldn't have made any difference, but who knows -- maybe the Huskies get a make-up call because of it? Heck, maybe Cahill doesn't grant the timeout at all if Calhoun's there.

Last year, Calhoun missed a game vs. Marquette following the death of his sister-in-law. The Huskies lost in overtime, and Blaney admitted afterwards he could have coached better.

"I probably ran everybody too many minutes," Blaney confessed. "We needed to get a little bit more production, but some of the guys that came in and didn't get it done when they were asked to do it, so we stayed with the guys that were doing it."

This is not meant as a smear against Blaney. The man won 459 games in 30 seasons as a head coach. But there's no question things are very different under Blaney than they are under Calhoun. Sometimes that's a good thing; sometimes it's not.

Overall, UConn is 20-9 in games which Calhoun has either missed entirely or left early. It is 9-9 in games Calhoun has missed altogether, and Blaney is 7-8 at the helm in such games.

More strikingly, UConn has lost five of the last six games Calhoun has missed.

And remember when everyone scoffed at how easy UConn's schedule would be without Calhoun? Well, that's not entirely the case. South Florida is a traditional league doormat, but the Bulls (7-5) have some talent and have played UConn tough the last two times they’ve faced off in Tampa. USF beat the Huskies in March, 2010 and lost on a Craig Austrie last-second shot two seasons before that.

St. John’s (6-5) is a mess, with only eight scholarship players in tow, but Seton Hall may be the surprise of the league. The Pirates are 10-1 behind the superb play of Herb Pope, who leads the conference in both scoring and rebounding, and figure to give UConn all it can handle at the Prudential Center.

Here's the list of games which Calhoun has either missed entirely or left early from over the past 26 seasons. (Games he missed entirely are in bold):

1. Dec. 23, 1990 vs. Fairfield (HCC) W, 94-70 Chest-pain, flu-like symptoms
2. Feb. 22, 1993 vs. Maine (HCC) W, 108-72 Food related
3. Jan. 29, 1994 at Pittsburgh W, 88-67 pneumonia symptoms
4. Feb. 1, 1994 at Syracuse L, 108-95 pneumonia symptoms
5. Nov. 24, 1998 vs. Hartford (HCC) W, 95-58 intestinal virus
6. March 11, 1999 vs. UT-San Antonio W, 91-66 intestinal virus
7. Jan. 3, 2000 vs. Sacred Heart (HCC) W, 83-56 stomach cramps
8. Feb. 3, 2001 vs. Virginia Tech (GP) W, 85-72 light-headedness, flu-like symptoms
9. Feb. 5, 2002 vs. Providence (HCC) W, 67-56 food related
10. February 5, 2003 at Virginia Tech L, 95-74 prostate surgery
11. Feb. 8, 2003 at Providence W, 84-68 prostate surgery
12. Feb. 10, 2003 vs. Syracuse (HCC) W, 75-61 prostate surgery
13. Feb. 15, 2003 at Villanova L, 79-70 prostate surgery
14. Feb. 19, 2003 vs. Rutgers (HCC) W, 87-70 prostate surgery
15. March 20, 2004 vs. DePaul (left and returned) W, 72-55 flu-like symptoms
16. Jan. 16, 2006 at Syracuse W, 88-80 dehydration
17. Jan. 13, 2007 at St. John’s (msg) (left and returned) W, 68-59 flu-like symptoms
18. Jan. 8, 2008 vs. St. John’s (left game) W, 81-65 dehydration
19. Jan. 12, 2008 at Georgetown (missed game) L, 72-69 dehydration
20. Jan. 3, 2009 vs. Rutgers (GP) (left after halftime) W, 80-49 illness
21. March 19, 2009 vs. Chattanooga (missed game) W, 103-47
22. Jan. 20, 2010 vs. St. John's (stress), W, 75-59
23. Jan. 23, 2010 vs. Texas (stress), W, 88-74
24. Jan. 27, 2010 at Providence (stress), L, 81-66
25. Jan. 30, 2010 vs. Marquette (stress), L, 70-68
26. Feb. 1, 2010 at Louisville (stress), L, 82-69
27. Feb. 6, 2010 vs. DePaul (stress), W, 64-57
28. Feb. 10, 2010 at Syracuse (stress), L, 72-67
29. Feb. 24, 2011 vs. Marquette (death in family), L, 74-67 (OT)

Calhoun Goes on Christmas Break

2011-12-22T23:06:00.007-05:00

Leave it to Jim Calhoun to sum up Ryan Boatright's night as follows:

“He played awful tonight,” Calhoun said. “He made a big play (but) he was awful tonight. It’s the first game that I would say, for a really good player, he was awful … he was part of the problem when he came in. He read the scoreboard and thought it was time for us just to go. And he hurt us a little bit. But being the kind of competitor he is, he makes a big shot to put the game away.”

Boatright's 3-pointer was the big shot in UConn's 79-71 win over Fairfield. He followed by grabbing a rebound and hitting Jeremy Lamb with a long pass for a dunk, then hitting a pair of free throws to seal the deal.

“It was wide-open,” Boatright said. “The shot clock was going down, I was in rhythm. I just took it and knocked it down. I’ve been in a lot of pressure situations in my life. I know how to deal with them.”

But Calhoun wasn't pleased with the rest of Boatright's night. He wasn't pleased with watching his team squander a 22-point lead to to just three late in the game, either.

“We looked at the scoreboard and decided it was time to go home for Christmas,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun also was hit with his first technical of the season, by Michael Stephens with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half. And he was quite cranky after the game, particularly when asked about the Andre Drummond/Michael Bradley scholarship situation.

“We gave you the information at the time, which was correct," he said. "My first responsibility wasn’t to tell the press what was going on, because It’s none of your business. It’s a private matter between two young men.”

Perhaps Calhoun was most peeved about the fact that this is the last game he'll be able to coach until Jan. 7 at Rutgers. In fact, after a Christmas Night practice, he won't even be able to coach during practices until after the Jan. 3 Seton Hall game.

That's different than what happened last year to Bruce Pearl, who was suspended Tennessee's first eight SEC games for lying to the NCAA but was able to coach during practices -- and even coach a non-conference game vs. UConn in the middle of the penalty.

The difference is that Pearl's penalty was levied by the SEC; Calhoun's by the NCAA.

“Call Indianapolis," Calhoun shrugged. "They sent us an interpretation, telling me simply that I can’t coach the team."

Calhoun will meet back up with his team on Jan. 4 in New York, where the Huskies will be staying in between the Seton Hall and Rutgers games.

"I'm going to miss the team, obviously," he added. "It’ll be very difficult for me, but they’ll be in good hands. We're 10-0 ... and I'll see them in New York."

*** While Tyler Olander’s team got the victory, Ryan Olander got a lot of bragging rights in the battle between brothers. Both players went scoreless in the first half, but Ryan wound up with eight points and eight rebounds, including a powerful dunk late in the game that brought the Stags to within six.

Tyler finished with just two points and two boards.

Worse for Tyler, he was soundly rejected by his brother midway through the second half.

“They’ll be talking about that for a while,” said Stags coach Sydney Johnson.

Said Ryan about the sibling showdown: “It was exciting, but I’m glad it’s over now. It’s an experience not many people can say they’ve had. I’m lucky to share that with my family.”

The Olanders mother, Tracy, led the pregame Pledge of Allegiance, and the entire family wore t-shirts that said “FairConn” on the front.

The Bradley, Drummond Conundrum

2011-12-21T19:49:00.002-05:00

So why doesn’t Andre Drummond count against UConn’s scholarship count? The answer is simple: although he is a recruited athlete, he is not a “counter” because he is not receiving any sort of institutional financial aid – i.e., academic or need-based scholarships, etc.

Any basketball or football player who is recruited and given institutional financial aid that is unrelated to athletic ability becomes a “counter” the minute he plays in a game. That doesn’t include government or personal loans, which is apparently what Drummond has taken out in order to pay his own way this year.

If a men’s basketball program has the allotted 13 scholarship players (or in UConn’s case, 10, given its NCAA sanctions), it can’t have another recruited athlete as a walk-on if that player is receiving any kind of financial aid from the school.

So why doesn’t this happen more often? Well, for one, most players don’t wait until a few days before the first day of classes to announce their commitment. Plus, think about it: how many top-notch players are going to come to a school and pay their way when they could get a free ride anywhere else in the country?

What does it matter, you say, Drummond will be making millions in another year or two as a high NBA draft pick? Well, even likely lottery picks and/or potential one-and-done’s like Drummond would be taking a risk. Suppose their weaknesses are displayed in college and they wind up not being high draft picks? Million-dollar insurance policies only cover players when they suffer debilitating injuries, not disappointing play.

It also takes a good, special person to offer to give up their scholarship, and Drummond certainly fits the bill. I have never seen a kid with such lofty potential and ability who is so down-to-earth. He says he doesn’t read his press clippings, doesn’t care what good things (or bad things) people are saying about him, would rather see his teammates score than him, would rather win than have a great game – and I believe every word he says.

It is worth noting, however, that this may not have happened if the process of Bradley handing over his scholarship didn’t hit some sort of logistical snags. There’s no question the original intent was for Bradley to give Drummond his scholarship. Why that couldn’t work out is a private matter.

Still, this was always viewed as a possibility, even as far back as early October. When Drummond, Bradley and Jim Calhoun spoke about it at the Husky Run, none of them ever said, point-blank, that Bradley giving Drummond his scholarship was a done deal. In fact, Calhoun, at the time, said the school might have some “more information” on the situation in a short time, and seemed to indicate that info would be coming from UConn president Susan Herbst.

Bradley Kept Scholarship; Drummond a Walk-On

2011-12-20T22:23:00.009-05:00

Turns out, Michael Bradley didn't give up his scholarship to Andre Drummond, after all.

While it was widely reported that Bradley had offered Drummond his scholarship back in September, shortly after Drummond had announced he commitment to UConn, in fact the two sides were working to find a different solution.

Drummond and his family wound up taking out a bank loan to pay for his tuition this year, and Bradley kept his scholarship. That makes Drummond perhaps the most heralded walk-on in recent college basketball history.

As a recruited athlete, Drummond could not receive any institutional aid from UConn. But with the sizeable insurance policy he has taken out as a potential NBA lottery pick, coupled with the fact that the Middletown resident will be paying in-state tuition, it ends up not being as much of a financial burden on Drummond as it would on Bradley, a Tennessee resident.

The estimated in-state tuition at UConn is about $21,720, according to the school’s website. For out-of-state students, it's nearly $39,000.

The decision for Drummond to pay his own way was made back in late-October or early-November, according to UConn men’s basketball SID Kyle Muncy. At that point, it was up to Drummond to have the comfort level to let other people know.

Drummond told the news to Gavin Keefe of the New London Day on Tuesday after practice.

Bradley spent much of his childhood in the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, a sort of foster home, and UConn coach Jim Calhoun was widely criticized by the media (myself included) when it was reported back in September that Bradley would be giving up his scholarship to Drummond.

All parties -- Drummond, Bradley and Calhoun -- never negated the story, though obviously there was more to it all along.

Calhoun: 3-Game Suspension Will Be "Difficult"

2011-12-20T12:29:00.009-05:00

UConn was focusing squarely on Fairfield at its practice today at Gampel. The Huskies have great respect for the Stags, who have won four straight and have an NBA-type talent in Rakim Sanders.

“This won’t be the easiest team, personnel-wise, that we play the rest of the way," said Jim Calhoun. "I think, from a talent standpoint, they’re better than some of the teams we’ll be playing in the Big East.”

However, talk eventually drifted over to the Huskies' Big East season, which gets underway on Dec. 28 at South Florida. Of course, Calhoun won't be on the sidelines for that game -- or for St. John's on Dec. 31 and Seton Hall on Jan. 3 -- as he sits out an NCAA-imposed three-game suspension stemming from the Nate Miles mess.

Calhoun said sitting out the three games will be "difficult. It's something that, according to the NCAA, happened 5 ½ years ago, some of these kids were probably sophomores in high school. It’s for, I guess, an atmosphere. I’m sitting out three games because – for me, it’s probably an attitude, as opposed to an atmosphere ..."

He added that the school suggested some alternatives to the suspension, but the NCAA didn't want to hear it.

"That’s unfortunate," Calhoun said, "Because I just don’t think you should drag these things on, particularly in light of a lot of things going on in college athletics.”

Calhoun won't travel with the team for the South Florida game.

“You’ve got to start off with somebody running the team and make sure they have a practice and can spend some time down there with the kids," he explained. "It’s nothing that they don’t know, just a different voice. Same system, different voice.”

It's not known whose voice the Huskies will be listening to just yet. George Blaney, of course, has always filled in in the past. Blaney wasn't at practice today while tending to a personal issue. Assistants Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller were also on the road recruiting.

Calhoun said he'll meet Wednesday with compliance director Marielle VanGelde to iron out what he can and can't do during the suspension.

*** Andre Drummond, for one, can't wait to kick off his Big East career.

“I’ve been looking forward to this since the day I stepped on this campus," he said. "I can’t wait to play in the Big East. I can’t wait to play Syracuse, Louisville, Notre Dame … you go down the line of the teams.”

It will be "pretty weird" playing the first three games without Calhoun, he admitted.

"But I think we’re going to be fine. Coach Blaney is also a great coach. Coach Miller, Ollie … anybody can really coach us, it just depends on how we go out there and play.”

*** The big sidebar heading into Thursday's Fairfield game will be the battle of the Olander brothers: Tyler, UConn's sophomore foward, and Ryan, Fairfield's 7-foot senior center.

The two have never really played against each other before, other than in 1-on-1 games in the driveway -- which often got very chippy. So chippy, in fact, that it's impossible to tell who had the upper hand in terms of basketball in those games.

"We'd always get in fights because neither of us wanted to lose," Ryan said. "We never really finished any games, they were always so physical."

We'll have more on the Olanders in a feature story later today.

*** Shabazz Napier appeared to turn his ankle badly at the very end of practice. He was crumpled on the ground, writhing in pain for several moments. Trainer James Doran tended to him, and Napier eventually got up, walked around and appeared fine.

"He wanted to end the drill," joked Calhoun, who never looked concerned even while Napier was down.

Seth Davis's Naked Ambition

2011-12-20T09:52:00.005-05:00

This is actually pretty funny. The former New Haven Register writer was always dreaming big, even before landing at Sports Illustrated and CBS.

Where does Deadspin find this stuff?

Anyway, here's an archive Davis is hopefully more proud of -- a story I wrote on him for the Register back in April, 2010.

Huskies Help Out at Calhoun Food Drive

2011-12-19T18:39:00.006-05:00

Jim Calhoun is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. One thing I'll never question, however, is his dedication to charity.

Calhoun is involved in numerous different charities for numerous different causes -- cancer, autism, feeding the poor, etc. One of his most cherished and long-lasting charitable efforts is the Jim Calhoun Holiday Food Drive, which has benefitted tens of thousands of needy Connecticut families over the years.

The event, which started in 1999, was held again on Monday, with Calhoun and his players distributing holiday meals for hundreds of Hartford families at the Pope Park Recreation Center and St. Monica's Episcopal Church.

"It's a great thing," said Calhoun. "We started very small. We did run out of turkeys are first year. I think we had about 500 turkeys. Now, we have about three or four times that. It's incredibly gratifying."

Indeed, the line snaking out of the rec center numbered well over 300 people at the start of the event. It's a good chance for UConn's players to give back to the community. Even though they live on campus, some 25 miles away, and only tend to spend time in Hartford in the summer playing in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am, many of the players come from neighborhood similar to inner-city Hartford.

"This may be the most hard-hitting, in the sense that they recognize a lot of faces. They really do. It's not that they know the people, necessarily, but this is the neighborhood for them," Calhoun said. "This is the most tangible thing that we do every year. I go home, and it's a very good feeling."

Here's some video of Calhoun, Shabazz Napier, DeAndre Daniels and Andre Drummond handing out turkeys at the food drive:

Napier on Cousy List

2011-12-19T12:52:00.005-05:00

The 2012 Bob Cousy Award candidates list is a long one, but Shabazz Napier is on it. And he may even have precedence on his side: Kemba Walker won the award, given to the nation's top point guard, last season.

Here's the list:

Randy Davis, Ball State
Pierre Jackson, Baylor
Keegan Bell, Chattanooga
Andre Young, Clemson
Andrew Lawrence, College of Charleston
Brian Barbour, Columbia
Shabazz Napier, Connecticut
Chris Wroblewski, Cornell
Antoine Young, Creighton
JP Kuhlman, Davidson
Ray McCallum, Detroit
Seth Curry, Duke
TJ McConnell, Duquesne
Kenny Boynton, Florida
Erving Walker, Florida
Luke Loucks, Florida State
Jeff Peterson, Florida State
Tony Taylor, George Washington
James Fields, Georgia State
Brandyn Curry, Harvard
Scott Machado, Iona
Stephen Thomas, IUPUI
Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas
Marquis Teague, Kentucky
Tyreek Duren, La Salle
Mackey McKnight, Lehigh
Casper Ware, Long Beach State
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Damier Pitts, Marshall
Will Barton, Memphis
Joe Jackson, Memphis
Malcolm Grant, Miami
Trey Burke, Michigan
Kaylon Williams, Milwaukee
Dee Bost, Mississippi State
Mike Dixon, Missouri
Will Cherry, Montana
Kendall Williams, New Mexico
Kendall Marshall, North Carolina
Lorenzo Brown, NC State
Stallon Saldivar, Northern Arizona
Reggie Hamilton, Oakland
Aaron Craft, Ohio State
D.J. Cooper, Ohio University
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
Tim Frazier, Penn State
Zack Rosen, Pennsylvania
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh
Lewis Jackson, Purdue
Bryan Dougher, Stony Brook University
Scoop Jardine, Syracuse
Brandon Triche, Syracuse
Wil Peters, Tennessee State
Myck Kabongo, Texas
Dash Harris, Texas A&M
Hank Thorns, TCU
Will Weathers, Troy
Brad Tinsley, Vanderbilt
Maalik Wayns, Villanova
Erick Green, Virginia Tech
Abdul Gaddy, Washington
Tony Wroten, Washington
Trey Sumler, Western Carolina
Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin
Tu Holloway, Xavier

(Does Syracuse really have two point guards?)

My Top 25

2011-12-18T20:31:00.002-05:00

Here's my AP Top 25 ballot for this week. Not much changes. Xavier drops; Alabama and Texas A&M leave, Murray State and Kansas State join.

1. Syracuse
2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. Duke
5. North Carolina
6. UConn
7. Baylor
8. Louisville
9. Missouri
10. Marquette
11. Pittsburgh
12. Georgetown
13. Florida
14. Xavier
15. Kansas
16. Michigan State
17. Wisconsin
18. San Diego State
19. Mississippi State
20. Creighton
21. UNLV
22. Indiana
23. Saint Louis
24. Murray State
25. Kansas State

'He's Going to Have Jerry West on His Jersey'

2011-12-18T16:37:00.013-05:00

Andre Drummond didn't have a particularly good practice on Friday, according to Jim Calhoun.

"He said to me, ‘Coach, I’m saving it for Sunday,'" Calhoun recalled. "That’s nice to hear from your freshman center. There’s no saving around here, you get better on Friday to be better on Sunday.

"But, quite frankly, he was a lot better on Sunday than he was on Friday.”

He certainly was. Drummond had 24 points on 11-for-12 shooting (including four monster dunks), eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

His most impressive dunk came on an alley-oop from Shabazz Napier after Napier's steal with 6:47 left to play.

"It was just God’s gift," said Drummond, perhaps confusing his teammate with the St. John's player for a moment. "I was in the right place at the right time.”

As impressive as the dunks were, however, it was Drummond's all-around arsenal of offensive moves that stood out the most. He scored on low-post spin moves and some short-range jumpers that hadn't been a big part of his repertoire to this point.

"He made a couple of jump shots and post moves today that we definitely weren't expecting," said Holy Cross coach Milan Brown. "He's a good player. If he keeps working, he's going to have Jerry West on his jersey, for sure."

In other words, Drummond has an NBA future. We all know that. But even though it did come against an outmatched, outsized Holy Cross squad, this was by far the most NBA-ready Drummond has looked to date.

“I’m working on slowing my game down a little bit, so I can get myself more comfortable to get the right shot up,” Drummond said. “There’s always room for improvement. I think I had a good game today. It was a great team win, collectively.”

Added Alex Oriakhi: “His confidence has definitely grown. The guards are finding him. When you know your guards are looking for you as a big man, it definitely gives you confidence because it tells you they want to give you the ball.”

*** In truth, just about everybody contributed today. Oriakhi had his best game in a while, with 15 points and only a couple of scoldings by Calhoun. He got off to a good start with the team's first four points on a pair of dunks, but was still yanked quickly by the coach.

“I guess I do have to adjust to it," Oriakhi said. "I kind of expect it now. You kind of know when you’re going to come out. I’ve just got to make things happen early.”

Later in the game, Calhoun seemed to have some words for Oriakhi, then put his hands on the big man's cheeks as if to tell him everything was OK.

“I’ve been here for three years. If you get mad when he yells at you now, I don’t know what to tell you, because he’s going to yell at everybody. He’s going to yell at you, even if you weren’t in the play. I just don’t think about it, I just tell myself, ‘Next play.’”

A few numbers:

*** Napier doled out 13 assists.

*** All nine uniformed, scholarship players scored at least three points.

*** UConn had 10 dunks -- four by Drummond, three by Oriakhi and one apiece from Jeremy Lamb, Ryan Boatright and even Niels Giffey.

*** The Huskies outscored Cross 58-16 in the paint and 26-4 on fast breaks (16-0 in the latter half).

*** UConn had committed just one team foul well into the second half before a flurry of whistles in the waning minutes. Holy Cross took just two free throws.

“Good officiating, probably,” Calhoun explained.

*** Holy Cross guard R.J. Evans, a Salem native and Norwich Free Academy grad, led the Crusaders with 15 points and did a good job holding Lamb to 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting.

But Evans' day was not without some adversity. Just before taking the floor in the latter half, Evans had what Brown called the “dry heaves” and wound up throwing up into a trash can near the Holy Cross bench. He went straight into the game, anyway.

“That’s a Connecticut guy trying to play in Connecticut,” said Brown, who also noted that after watching his team lose by 37 points, “I wanted to throw up, too.”

*** Sickest move of the game, easily, was Boatright's ankle-breaking, baseline crossover move for a reverse layup, in the midst of UConn's 18-0 run late in the first half.

*** Calhoun said he and Napier had a "meeting of the minds" early in the game.

"That's an interesting place, his mind and my mind," the coach said. "I mean, you talk about confusion ..."

*** For some reason, Calhoun loves to use the word "logy" to describe lackadaisical play, and he broke the word out for the first time this season on Sunday in describing UConn's first 10 minutes of play.

Blaney to Face Alma Mater ... Finally!

2011-12-17T20:34:00.007-05:00

On Sunday, George Blaney will face Holy Cross, his alma mater and the school he coached for 22 seasons, for the first time since leaving the program in 1994 to take over the reins at Seton Hall.

Blaney, the Huskies’ associate head coach, said going up against the Crusaders will be uncomfortable.

“I'll try to blank out whose shirt it is we're playing against,” he told Gavin Keefe of the New London Day.

Of course, Blaney nearly got this out of the way four years ago. The Huskies could have faced Holy Cross in the second round of the 2k College Hoops Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer in November, 2007 at Gampel. However, according to then-Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, Jim Calhoun strong-armed the Gazelle Group, the tournament organizers, into moving the Crusaders out of UConn’s bracket so that the Huskies wouldn’t have to face them.

“I was told by the Gazelle Group we had to be moved, it wasn’t a choice, because Connecticut was adamant about not playing us,” Willard told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in September, 2007.

UConn, of course, had just come off a hugely disappointing 2006-07 season in which it failed to make a postseason tournament for the first time in some 20 years. The Huskies still had a sophomore-laden team, and the theory is that Calhoun didn’t want his young squad that needed some early-season confidence to go up against the Crusaders’ methodical, slow-down style. UConn would have played Holy Cross for the right to advance to the next round at Madison Square Garden, assuming both teams won their first-round games.

Instead, Buffalo agreed to replace Holy Cross in the bracket in exchange for UConn traveling up to Buffalo for a non-conference game the following season (which the Huskies did. Fun game – won by UConn, 68-64 – and fun trip).

Anyway, while Calhoun denied demanding that Holy Cross be switched, the Huskies took a brief P.R. hit. It is a bit unbecoming to think of mighty UConn being fearful of playing little ol’ Holy Cross – in Storrs, no less.

It wound up working out for the Huskies, who beat Morgan State (barely) then Buffalo to advance to the Garden, where they topped Gardner-Webb then lost to John Calipari, Derrick Rose and then No. 3 Memphis.

Willard is no longer at Holy Cross, replaced by two years ago by Milian Brown. This year’s Crusaders are 4-6, with a blowout win over Boston College and close losses to Harvard, Providence and Columbia. They are led by 6-foot-1 senior guard Devin Brown (14.7 ppg) and 6-3 junior R.J. Evans of Salem and Norwich Free Academy.

“He’s a really well-built kid, 6-3 ½, 6-4, (and) he can go,” said Calhoun. “He’s a really good straight-line player, a good athlete. They’re certainly improved over what they have been.”

Still, the ninth-ranked Huskies certainly don’t fear hosting Holy Cross as much as they did four years ago.

*** Incidentally, while this will be the 64th meeting between the two programs, it’s just first time since Feb. 4, 1988, when the Huskies eked out an 82-81 win in Worcester behind 23 points from Phil Gamble and 21 from Cliff Robinson. Blaney went 11-12 against Calhoun in his 22 seasons at Holy Cross – 3-2 while Calhoun was at Northeastern and 8-10 with Calhoun at UConn.

Blaney was Holy Cross's head coach from 1972-94, compililng 357 wins, three NCAA tourney berths and five trips to the NIT.

Blaney had been an All-New England standout at Holy Cross, scoring 1,012 career points and leading the Crusaders to consecutive 20-win seasons before graduating in 1961.

Do the Right Thing

2011-12-16T18:13:00.013-05:00

Do any major college coaches do the right thing anymore? Any of them?

Do any big-time head football or basketball coaches take the high ground, put the concerns and even well-being of human beings ahead of their beloved programs or legacies?

Seriously, if you can think of one, please throw me a bone, 'cuz I’m having a hard time coming up with one right now.

And it goes far beyond Joe Paterno turning a blind eye to Jerry Sandusky, who he knew, at the very least, was “fondling” a young boy in the Penn State locker room. It goes beyond Jim Boeheim labeling alleged child-rape victims as lying gold-diggers, then taking nearly two weeks and several public opportunities to apologize for those words by reading a written statement.

Those are the most egregious examples, but there are so many more. (And we won’t even get into conference realignment and all the ugly, hypocritical behavior embedded in that process).

It’s Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly allowing a 20-year-old videographer to tape the Irish practice from atop a 50-foot lift in the midst of 50-MPH winds. Because, God forbid, if you can’t watch the tape of one of your own early-season practices, you’re surely in for a winless season.

Well, the videographer fell off that lift to his death. Kelly is still coaching the Irish, screaming at any player who makes the slightest mistake. None of them will likely ever make a mistake as grave as that of Kelly, who shouldn’t still be allowed to coach.

It’s Jim Tressel being handed information that his players are trading championship rings and other memorabilia in exchanges for tattoos at a parlor run by a drug trafficker -- and doing absolutely nothing about it. Then lying about it. Similar to what he was alleged to have done years earlier while coaching at Youngstown State. This from a man who always preached morality. Hypocrite.

It’s UCLA’s Ben Howland allowing Reeves Nelson, the Steve Howe of college basketball (minus the drugs), to slip up one time after another before finally booting him off the team. Reeves had been indefinitely suspended by Howland, only to have it lifted after one game as the struggling Bruins went off to play a competitive field in Maui. Gotta win, baby.

Only Nelson missed the team bus and plane to Maui. But Howland still allowed Nelson, the Bruins’ top returning scorer and rebounder, to fly out to the tournament – and play! Think he would have let a walk-on do the same?

It’s Cincinnati and Xavier suspending their players from just one to six games for their roles in an ugly brawl last weekend. Xavier’s Tu Holloway, who by all accounts instigated the entire incident with his taunting behavior throughout the game, then proudly labeled his teammates “gangstas” afterwards, got one game. Teammate Landon Amos got four games.

Holloway is the star of the team; Amos has played exactly two minutes all season. How shocking.

Cincy’s Yancy Gates hit Xavier’s Kenny Frease with a sucker punch that might have killed a smaller man, and he got docked six games. Ryan Boatright got the same punishment for having a plane ticket purchased for him by an AAU coach.

And yes, sorry folks … it’s Jim Calhoun asking Michael Bradley to forfeit his scholarship so that Andre Drummond can play for the Huskies this season.

Now, I am in no way comparing this situation to what happened at Penn State. I’ll repeat: I am in no way comparing this situation to what happened at Penn State. The two situations are on opposite ends of the moral spectrum.

And as I reported back in September, Bradley and his mentor were both very much on board with surrendering the scholarship.

Still, there was a moral high ground to take here, and Calhoun didn’t take it.

But then, find me a major college football or basketball coach in this day and age who does. Please. I'm begging.

And so, as we put a wrap on a 2011 that so often showcased the ugliness of big-time college sports, let’s hope coaches learn from their own examples or the examples of their peers and start doing the right thing every now and then. Stop being so wrapped up in your wins and losses and show some accountability. Maybe it’ll cost you a win or even a seed or two in the NCAA tournament. But in the long run, you’ll be able to look at yourself in the mirror – and believe it or not, your program may be better off.

Just ask Joe Paterno.

Calhoun's Holiday Food Drive on Monday

2011-12-16T17:04:00.002-05:00

Jim Calhoun will be holding his annual holiday food drive on Monday in Hartford. Here are the details:

Coach Jim Calhoun, his family, coaches, players and Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra will join a team from the Hartford law firm of RisCassi and Davis, Price Chopper employees, Omar Coffee, the City of Hartford Department of Families, Children, Youth & Recreation and the City of Hartford Department of Health & Human Services to provide holiday meals for 1,000 needy Hartford families.

WHEN: Monday, December 19
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Pope Park Recreation Center)
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (St. Monica's Episcopal Church)

Coach Calhoun and his team will be at the Pope Park Recreation Center from 5:00PM to 6:15PM and at St. Monica’s from 6:30PM to 7:30PM

WHAT: The Calhoun Family, team, Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, the Hartford law firm of RisCassi and Davis, Price Chopper, Omar Coffee, the City of Hartford Department of Families, Children, Youth & Recreation and the City of Hartford Department of Health & Human Services will distribute 1,000 turkeys and holiday meal fixings to needy families. This year’s event is Coach Calhoun’s 13th Holiday Food Drive.

Since Coach began his efforts in 1999, over $1.4 million has been raised to benefit Connecticut families in need.

WHERE: ***First stop for Coach and Team at 5:00PM:
Pope Park Recreation Center, 30 Pope Park Drive, Hartford
(See directions below)

And

Second Stop:
St. Monica’s Episcopal Church, 3575 Main Street, Hartford
(See directions below)

Directions to Pope Park Recreation Center, 30 Pope Park Drive, Hartford, CT:

From West:

v I-84 E towards Hartford
v Take exit 44 toward Prospect Ave 0.2 mi
v Merge onto Caya Ave 0.1 mi
v Turn right at Prospect Ave 0.3 mi
v Take the 2nd left onto New Park Ave 1.0 mi
v Take the 3rd right onto Park St 0.5 mi
v Turn right at the 1st cross street onto Pope Park Dr.

From East:

v Turn left to merge onto I-84 W
v Take exit 47 for Sigourney St 0.2 mi
v Turn right at Sigourney St 223 ft
v Take the 1st left onto Hawthorn St 0.2 mi
v Take the 1st left onto Laurel St 0.4 mi
v Continue onto Pope Park Dr.

Directions to St. Monica’s Episcopal Church, 3575 Main Street, Hartford, CT:

From South:

v From I-91 North, Take Exit 34 (Rt. 159)
v Turn left onto Rt. 159
v Turn right on St. Monica Avenue

From North:

v From I-91 South, Take Exit 34
v Turn right on Rt. 159
v Turn right on St. Monica Avenue

Drama for Andre Drummond

2011-12-15T13:51:00.007-05:00

Andre Drummond is 6-foot-10 (or 6-foot-11), 277 pounds, so you think he wouldn't ever be intimidated, no matter how many people are surrounding him.

But put him and two other guys in a Women's Studies class, surrounded by about 30 women, and Drummond gets a bit uncomfortable.

"It kinda feels like your being bashed all day by a bunch of females," Drummond said on Thursday. Jokingly. We think.

Education was the talk of the day at practice as the Huskies get ready to finish up their exams. All players will be done with their exams Friday at 1 p.m. and will hit Gampel for practice at 3:30 p.m. for a solid, two-hour practice.

Drummond said he takes his academics seriously and knows he can't take the practice floor until his course work is done. His final exam on Friday will be in Drama.

Sounds like he has to deal with enough drama in that Women's Studies class.

A few other brief notes from UConn's short (one-hour) practice today:

*** Michael Bradley is still not participating in fullcourt drills because he "can't really run," according to Jim Calhoun. It'll probably be another couple of weeks before Bradley can start running fullcourt, according to the coach.

*** Enosch Wolf suffered a concussion in practice Wednesday, wasn't at practice today and will be out "a couple of days," Calhoun said.

*** Calhoun said he's trying to get DeAndre Daniels back into the mix, and that Roscoe Smith will be seeing time at the 4 over the next few games. Walk-on Brandon Allen is getting a closer look, too, "because of anything that coule possibly happen."

Daniels was working, one-on-one, with assistant Kevin Ollie on his ballhandling skills after practice. Daniels worked on dribbling two balls simultaneously with both hands, ostensibely to improve his handle from both the left and the right.

*** Here's Jeremy Lamb, talking about going up against Rudy Gay, one-on-one, recently in practice:

*** Calhoun acknowledged what everybody already knows -- that he won't be on the sidelines for UConn's first three Big East games, beginning Dec. 28 at South Florida.

“There will be a different guy driving the trolley. It won’t be me, for (three) games," he said.

Calhoun said he won't start talking about the situation to the team until next week, a day or two before UConn's Dec. 22 bout with Fairfield.

My Top 25

2011-12-11T21:15:00.003-05:00

Here's my AP Top 25 ballot for this week. Not a whole lot of movement. Goodbye, Memphis, Gonzaga and (reluctantly) Harvard. Hello, Texas A&M, St. Louis and Indiana. Having got to know Tom Crean a little bit when he was head coach at Marquette, I can't say I'm surprised that he seems to have the Hoosiers program turned around.

1. Syracuse
2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. Duke
5. North Carolina
6. UConn
7. Baylor
8. Louisville
9. Xavier
10. Missouri
11. Marquette
12. Pittsburgh
13. Georgetown
14. Florida
15. Kansas
16. Michigan State
17. Wisconsin
18. San Diego State
19. Mississippi State
20. Creighton
21. Alabama
22. Texas A&M
23. Saint Louis
24. Indiana
25. UNLV

Andre Drummond: Unmasked

2011-12-08T22:36:00.011-05:00

KISS rejuvenated their faltering careers by "unmasking" themselves back in 1983. Andre Drummond's brief collegiate career was hardly faltering, but certainly seemed a bit rejuvenated Thursday night after shedding his own mask. (And Gene Simmons could never dunk, anyway, especially in those platform dragon shoes).

Playing without his protective face mask for the first time this season, Drummond played with renewed vigor and aggression in UConn's 67-53 win over Harvard. He had 12 points -- 10 of them on thunderous slam dunks.

“That’s one of the best stats we’ve had on the year,” Jim Calhoun said. “When you’re as big as strong as (Drummond), finesse doesn’t come into the picture.”

Calhoun wasn't as pleased with some of Drummond's other stats -- just four rebounds and one block. But his most impressive stats -- 6-foot-11, 277 pounds -- are even more glaring when he's soaring above the rim for rafter-shaking dunks.

In fact, after one of his dunks, Drummond tilted the shot clock above the basket, forcing officials to fix it during a timeout.

“I didn’t notice that," Drummond said afterwards. "Next time, I’ll try to bring the whole hoop down.”

In truth, he was apologetic to ref John Cahill when Cahill warned him about hanging on the rim after dunks.

"I think John thought he was going to get a wise (response), but (Andre) said, ‘No, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean it,'" Calhoun related. "I was going to say, ‘John, he gets up that high, he’s got to hang on something.’”

Drummond said playing without the facemask was a big help.

“I could see a lot better," he said. "My peripheral vision was a lot better. I could see my defender moving.”

“I’d do anything to get that off my face.”

Calhoun also noted that on Thursday Drummond, always a great listener, started asking questions for the first time. According to Calhoun, Drummond was concerned with how well Harvard's Keith Wright was posting him up.

"He was asking, ‘How do I get around that?’" Calhoun said. "He’s seeking out how to get better. George (Blaney) calls him ‘The Natural’ all the time. He is a very naturally gifted athlete. We want him to be a naturally-gifted athlete who’s a terrific basketball player.”

Calhoun Talks Big East, Harvard

2011-12-07T14:51:00.005-05:00

Jim Calhoun was talking about Harvard before practice on Wednesday, lauding the unbeaten, 25th-ranked Crimson for their Battle 4 Atlantis tournament title.

"They beat a good Florida State team and then came back and beat Florida Central ... or, Central Florida. I should get used to that.”

Indeed, he should. UCF -- along with San Diego State and Boise State (for football only), and SMU and Houston will all be joining the Big East in 2013. And Calhoun is happy about that.

“It's clearly good for us," Calhoun said. "We need to get some quality teams that show they can get into bowls.”

From a basketball aspect, he doesn’t think any of those teams will replace Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. But he understands football drives the bus.

“Boise, frankly, is better than any of those three (Syracusee, Pitt or WVU),” he said.

Calhoun would like to see Temple join the conference in both sports – something that still could happen.

“I think Temple’s natural – I know Jay Wright doesn’t feel that way – but they’ll only help Big East basketball in Philadelphia,” he said.

*** Back to Harvard. This is hardly one of those December non-conference pushover teams -- the kind the Huskies have defeated 101 straight times, dating back to 1973. The Crimson are ranked (No. 25 ... I had them at No. 23) for the first time in the program's long history. They're 8-0, their best start since 1984-85, with those wins over Florida State and Florida Central ... er, rather, Central Florida on their resume.

They're good, and the Huskies know it.

“They’re a really good basketball team,” said Tyler Olander. “They run their stuff really well, they play hard, they value the basketball. They don’t turn it over much, they play really smart.”

Calhoun compares the Crimson to last year’s Butler squad – which, of course, UConn defeated in the national championship game.

“They can play fast – maybe a little faster than Butler – they can play slow,” Calhoun noted. “They’re very good in the last five minutes, they shoot better, they make foul shots and they’re a very confident group.”

In short, the Huskies (7-1) need to be on their ‘A’ game tonight.

“This team is good enough to beat us,” Calhoun said. “Do we have to play the best we’ve ever played? Certainly not. We’ve got to play well, though.”

*** Andre Drummond says he has a “surprise” in store for tonight, regarding the protective face mask he’s been wearing all season. Drummond fractured his nose in practice on Oct. 28 and was told when fitted for the mask a few days later that he’d need to wear it for about six weeks.

Drummond has been begging Calhoun and trainer James Doran to be able to shed the mask for a while now.

"It's killing me, man," he said. "I think I'll feel more comfortable without it on, because I'll be able to see a lot more with my peripheral vision."

*** Though Harvard doesn't start anyone taller than 6-8, Calhoun plans to go with his bigger starting lineup, meaning Drummond and Alex Oriakhi should remain in the starting 5.

*** Speaking of big men, Michael Bradley (ankle) practiced with the team on Wednesday but didn’t participate in any contact drills. He should be able to start practicing at full speed next week.

A Chance to Meet Kemba

2011-12-06T10:23:00.001-05:00

Before Kemba Walker begins his inaugural NBA training camp, he’s making sure to give back to his college community first. As part of his participation in Shaker Family Ford Lincoln’s Winter Wonderland, anybody who visits the dealership and makes a $10 donation to benefit the local Anderson Boys’ Club and The Tammy Pillis Foundation will be eligible to win a number of exclusive Walker-related prizes.

Donations will be accepted from now until April 30 at Shaker, 831 Straits Turnpike, Watertown.

Prizes include:
• Autographed 8x10 photo of Walker
• Opportunity to play Walker in a private game of horse (to be fulfilled following the 2011-2012 NBA season).
• Two tickets to see Walker play the Celtics in Boston and the chance to meet him post-game.
• Two tickets to see Walker play the Knicks in New York and the chance to meet him post-game.
• Autographed Under Armour sneakers
• Autographed basketball

My Top 25

2011-12-04T21:04:00.004-05:00

Here's a mini-feature on Ryan Boatright, who may boast the most significant 63-point performance by a Chicago-based hoopster in history -- at least in UConn fans' eyes.

And here's the AP Top 25 ballot I submitted tonight. I've righted a wrong and included Georgetown after omitting them last week. The Hoyas shoot up to No. 13 with a bullet. Creighton gets some love, too, after beating San Diego State (who I apparently like more than any other voter). The Aztecs remain in my Top 25 thanks to Sunday's win over California.

1. Kentucky
2. Ohio State
3. Syracuse
4. Duke
5. North Carolina
6. UConn
7. Baylor
8. Louisville
9. Xavier
10. Missouri
11. Marquette
12. Pittsburgh
13. Georgetown
14. Florida
15. Creighton
16. Alabama
17. Memphis
18. Kansas
19. Wisconsin
20. San Diego State
21. Mississippi State
22. Michigan State
23. Harvard
24. UNLV
25. Gonzaga

Love Boat

2011-12-03T19:11:00.012-05:00

Today was 'The Boat Show,' no question about it. We'll get to Ryan Boatright (who confirmed that is his nickname) later. For now, let's get to the even bigger surprise of the day.

The UConn beat writer contingent was convinced that Jim Calhoun would come in breathing fire after the game, despite the Huskies' 13-point win over Arkansas. UConn, after all, had been beaten 47-35 on the boards. Worse, they were outrebounded on the offensive glass by a whoppiing 27-4 margin.

Instead, here's how Calhoun started his postgame presser:

"In sum total, I would say that might be our best game."

Huh?

He continued: "The 15 turnovers, which are heading down to where I want them, at least four or five of them were beautiful passes that just went off guys' hands inside the post."

As for the rebounding: “We’ve got to catch the ball inside, and we’ve got to rebound. Otherwise, in a game where we got beat by 12 on the glass, I’m not as disappointed, because I can see the rebounds, I can see our heads under the net. You can’t rebound under the net, and we’ve got to do a much better job of that.”

And, as Arkansas coach Mike Anderson pointed out: “We missed a lot of shots (53), so there were a lot of rebounds to be gotten, I guess.”

True enough. And I can see Calhoun's point. There were a lot of good signs for the Huskies today, starting, of course, with Boatright and moving on to UConn's three-guard attack of Boatright, Napier and Lamb, who were never really rattled by the Razorbacks' aggressive, pressure style.

It's a real good sign, in fact, that Napier seemed perfectly willing to relinquish the scoring burden to Boatright and even Tyler Olander (career-best 12 points) while picking his spots carefully (taking just six shots, making three). Lamb was also saddled with foul trouble, DeAndre Daniels and Roscoe Smith were just about invisible, so it was good for UConn to get scoring from other sources.

And they have a lot of sources. Seems this could be the type of team that will be led by its superstar (Lamb) and get contributions from various other players on any given night.

Niels Giffey was a positive, as well. Shackled to the bench for the entire Florida State game, as well as the first 16 minutes of the first half Saturday, he wound up contributing with four points, two boards and some generally solid overall play -- particularly on defense.

In fact, Calhoun strongly considered starting Giffey over Daniels until backing of at the last minute.

“Niels hasn’t seen the light of day much. He’s had four good practices in a row. We were talking to him about starting him over DeAndre – who we think is going to be a very good player, he just needs to understand the level we’re playing at is highly different.”

“My assistants kept saying to me, and they were 100-percent right – for once – to leave Niels in on defense, because he’s doing a great job."

As for Boatright, what more can you say -- 23 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals, boundless energy. He's fearless taking the ball to the hole yet looks for his big men inside more than any of UConn's guards. He is the real deal.

“Ryan was pretty special,” said Calhoun. “He has those Allen Iverson kind of things where his athletic ability just allows him to do some pretty special things that you don’t normally see.”

Said Boatright: “I play with heart, so I never surprise myself. I came from high school scoring 40, 50, so I know I can score. But it’s not really about me scoring 23, as long as we got the ‘W’, I don’t care if I had three points, as long as we won, I’d be fine.”

Added Anderson: “He really gave them a big-time lift … I saw the game he played against Florida State and I thought he was the difference in that game, as well. He’s a good, crafty little guard. With Shabazz and him on the same team, and then you’ve got a guy like Lamb that can knock it down at any point in time, that’s a good tandem there.”

No doubt about that.

Calhoun mentioned how Boatright was going up against Ray Allen at Gampel the other day.

“He was saying ‘Ray, I got ya.’ (He was) going into Ray Allen. Not many guys can do that with Ray. They were kidding back and forth, but the point being: all he’s been doing through this whole process is, ‘Coach, get me on the floor.’ He never said a word about starting – obviously, I wouldn’t have listened to him anyway – but still, a lot of kids come back and say things.”

Highway to Hell

2011-12-02T14:45:00.009-05:00

They now call it "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball." I remember when they used to call it "40 Minutes of Hell."

Whatever you want to call it, it's what Mike Anderson employs at Arkansas, where he was once a longtime assistant to Nolan Richardson (including the Razorbacks' 1994 national championship squad). It means pressure, pressure and more pressure, lots of run-and-gun and, often, high-scoring affairs.

Of course, Anderson was employing this style with Missouri the past five seasons, including in 2009 when the Tigers went up against UConn in the Elite Eight in Glendale, Ariz. The result: an 82-75 Husky victory in what was Kemba Walker's coming-out party (23 points in 25 minutes).

Jim Calhoun says he's watched tape of that game to help prepare for Saturday's SEC-Big East Challenge battle with Anderson's Razorbacks. Ryan Boatright is certainly up for the challenge.

“That’s how I’ve played my whole life, because I’m so small, I’ve got to use my speed to my advantage,” the diminutive frosh guard said. “I love when a team wants to come out and press us like that.”

The Huskies expect to throw a lot of three-guard looks at Arkansas, meaning Boatright, Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb could be sharing the court a lot on Saturday.

That's fine with Boatright, too.

“We can hit you from every angle, it’s hard to stay in front of all three of us," he said. "And the chemistry we’ve all got, we play so well with each other. I think that comes from the preseason and us understanding what we all want to do, and that’s win. It’s fun playing with those guys.”

Boatright's season debut was certainly impressive Saturday in the Bahamas. Now comes his debut on the "mainland." He said sitting out six games (plus two exhibitions) for receiving improper benefits was frustrating.

“I wasn’t expecting eight games,” he admitted. “The little thing I was in trouble for, I was expecting maybe three or four, five at the most. It came out to be eight. But I’m just happy I got to come back quick enough to help my team in the Bahamas.”

Calhoun said that Boatright, Niels Giffey and Roscoe Smith have been the team's best players in practice the past few days.

A few other tidbits:

*** Calhoun looks for his team to get three defensive stops in a row at least five times a game. He says that when the Huskies did so last season, they went 18-0.

*** Frosh Michael Bradley could being practicing with the team by next week.

*** Arkansas is led by guards Julysses Nobles (12.2 ppg) and Mardracus Wade (10.8) but suffered a tough loss when one of their top returning players, junior forward Marshawn Powell, suffered a season-ending knee injury a few weeks ago.

*** Calhoun says his team isn't "fully connected yet," but concedes few, if any, teams in the nation are right now. He believes No. 1 Kentucky is easily the best team he's seen thus far.

*** The obligatory what's-up-with-Alex-Oriakhi update: “He’s always a hard worker, he was in late last night shooting. I don’t worry about his attitude, I worry about his confidence. He’s not a particularly over-confident kid," Calhoun said.

*** SEC, easy as 1-2-3: The Huskies are 15-5 against the SEC under Jim Calhoun, including 3-0 last season. They’ll also play at Tennessee on Jan. 21.

*** Tell Larry Lucchino & Co. that Calhoun, a huge Red Sox fan, is very much on board with the Bobby Valentine hire.

Drummond is Big East Rookie of the Week

2011-11-28T16:08:00.004-05:00

Andre Drummond has been named Big East Rookie of the Week, after averaging 11.3 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in UConn's three Battle 4 Atlantis games.

Drummon posted 12 points, 10 boards, seven blocks and three steals in the 78-76, overtime win over Florida State on Saturday.

On UConn, Syracuse and My AP Top 25

2011-11-27T21:35:00.007-05:00

Greetings ... how've you been? Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Yes, I've been away from the blog and Twitter lately. Sorry, not going to post about a tournament I wasn't covering. Certainly wasn't my choice not to be there, either. Moving forward, hopefully I'll be able to chronicle most if not all of UConn's remaining games.

As for the Huskies, I'll simply say this: the loss to UCF wasn't the worst thing in the world. In fact, it might be a good thing for UConn, for a variety of reasons: knocks them down a peg, makes them realize they're not invincible, cements the idea that Kemba's not around to bail them out anymore. I think the loss could serve as a motivating factor for the team. I think somewhere deep, deep in Jim Calhoun's mind -- despite his absolute hatred of losing of any kind -- Calhoun may even agree.

And that Ryan Boatright's got a little moxy, eh?

I'm not punishing the Huskies too much for the loss on my AP Top 25 ballot. Dropping them two spots to No. 6. Considered moving Baylor ahead of them, too, but stopped short.

Duke had a great week, beating Tennessee, Michigan and Kansas, so I'm moving them up from No. 3 to No. 6. Considered moving them to No. 2, but Ohio State did nothing to deserve being jumped over.

I drop North Carolina from No. 1 to No. 4 after its loss to UNLV. My big jumpers are Missouri (which beat California by 39 points), San Diego State (I was one of the few who had them ranked last week, before they won at Arizona) and, obviously, UNLV.

Oh, and you've read that correctly: Harvard, the Battle 4 Atlantis champion, checks in at No. 25. Crimson will be a good test for UConn in a little over a week.

1. Kentucky
2. Ohio State
3. Duke
4. North Carolina
5. Syracuse
6. UConn
7. Baylor
8. Louisville
9. Florida
10. Wisconsin
11. Xavier
12. Alabama (contingent on 'Bama beating VCU tonight)
13. Memphis
14. San Diego State
15. Missouri
16. Marquette
17. Pittsburgh
18. Kansas
19. Michigan
20. Vanderbilt
21. UNLV
22. Gonzaga
23. Mississippi State
24. Michigan State
25. Harvard

Oh, and here's my deal on Syracuse: I don't believe Jim Boeheim was as criminally negligent as Joe Paterno (as Jim will tell you himself). I don't know this to be true, of course, but I'd tend not to believe he was. But I believe Boeheim put his job on the line when he vehemently called Bobby Davis a liar and strongly insinuated he was making his accusations for the money. If it turns out that Davis was not lying, Boeheim should be fired or simply resign. You don't say such vicious things about an alleged victim and suffer no serious consequences. Defending your friend of 50 years is one thing; calling a child-rape victim a lying gold-digger is quite another.

Dyson, Sticks, Okwandu on 'D' League Rosters

2011-11-23T22:50:00.005-05:00

The NBA Developmental League has set its opening day rosters for all 16 of its teams. The season begins on Friday when defending champion Iowa Energy (including Stanley Robinson) face the Canton Charge at 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV.

Besides Robinson, ex-UConn guard Jerome Dyson is back on the Tulsa 66ers roster. And Charles Okwandu, who was drafted last month by the Maine Red Claws, winds up with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Here are the rosters, for those interested:

AUSTIN TOROS
Solomon Bozeman
Justin Dentmon
Carldell Johnson
Myles McKay
Omar Reed
Lance Thomas
Tristan Thompson
Dan Vandervieren
Terrance Woodbury
Luke Zeller

BAKERSFIELD JAM
Brian Butch
Osiris Eldridge
Mustapha Farrakhan
Justin Graham
Damian Johnson
Adam Koch
Renaldo Major
David Palmer
Juan Pattillo
Adrian Thomas

CANTON CHARGE
Tyrell Biggs
Jonathan Blake
TJ Campbell
Travis Franklin
Antonio Graves
Tyrone Kent
Keith McLeod
Anthony Newell
Jamine Peterson
Marcus Relphorde

DAKOTA WIZARDS
Mike Anderson
Maurice Baker
Marcus Dove
Shy Ely
Mickell Gladness
Anthony Goods
Joe Harden
Edwin Ubiles
Travis Walton
Curtis Withers

ERIE BAYHAWKS
Tirrell Baines
Chris Daniels
Kyle Goldcamp
Jeff Graves
Cory Higgins
Jamael Lynch
Chaz McCrommon
Donald Sloan
Kyle Spain
Mychel Thompson

FORT WAYNE MAD ANTS
Corey Allmond
Ron Howard
Tory Jackson
Cameron Jones
Darnell Lazare
Justin Neuhaus
Marvin Phillips
Sadiel Rojas
Walker Russell
Antonio Smith

IDAHO STAMPEDE
Mildon Ambres
Tony Bobbitt
Eric Devendorf
Jason Ellis
Will Foster
Cheyne Gadson
Kevin Galloway
Willie Jenkins
Reginald Larry
Seth Tarver

IOWA ENERGY
Jake Anderson
Thomas Baudinet
Andrew Drevo
Moses Ehambe
Brandon Ewing
Jarrid Famous
Nick Murphy
Stanley Robinson
Ben Strong
Michael Tveidt

LOS ANGELES D-FENDERS
Zach Andrews
Jordan Brady
Brandon Costner
Courtney Fortson
Otis George
Brian Hamilton
Eniel Polynice
Terrence Roberts
Franklin Session
Jamaal Tinsley

MAINE RED CLAWS
Jamar Abrams
Justin Brownlee
Darren Cooper
Kenny Hayes
Anthony Kent
J.R. Reynolds
Tyc Snow
Durrell Summers
Mike Tisdale
Chris Wright

RENO BIGHORNS
Blake Ahearn
Chris Ayer
Cedric Bozeman
Reuben Clayton
Nick Fazekas
Zach Graham
Chris Matthews
Taj McCullough
Donald Sims
Doug Thomas

RIO GRANDE VALLEY VIPERS
Stanley Asumnu
Marshall Brown
Sam Coleman
Terrel Harris
Lee Humphrey
Tyren Johnson
Kelvin Lewis
Charles Okwandu
Jay-R Strowbridge
Josh Tarver

SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE
Dominique Coleman
Brian Evans
Charles Garcia
Anthony Mason Jr.
Casey Mitchell
Anthony Moody
Will Pratt
Gabe Pruitt
Dominique Scales
Greg Stiemsma

SPRINGFIELD ARMOR
David Akinyooye
Jamar Brown
Travis Cohn
JamesOn Curry
Dennis Horner
Lance Hurdle
Jerry Smith
Eugene Spates
Jonathan Thomas
L.D. Williams

TEXAS LEGENDS
Ron Allen
Vance Cooksey
Ramon Dyer
Lawrence Hill
Dominique Johnson
Matt Rogers
Jamal Sampson
Anthony Vereen
Derek Williams
Booker Woodfox

TULSA 66ERS
Xavier Alexander
Brian Barkdoll
Dwight Buycks
Benjamin Colon
Jerome Dyson
Marcus Lewis
Brady Morningstar
Ryan Reid
Billy Rush
Curtis Sumpter

NBA TV is scheduled to air 34 regular-season games during the 2011-12,
including four live telecasts featuring Iowa at Canton (Friday, Nov. 25),
the Los Angeles D-Fenders at the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Friday, Dec. 2),
Sioux Falls at Iowa (Friday, Dec. 9), and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers at
the Austin Toros (Friday, Dec. 16). Additionally, more than 80 NBA D-League
games will air across seven Comcast regional sports networks. Any games not
available on NBA TV will stream on NBA FUTURECAST at nbadleague.com.

UConn Game on HDNet

2011-11-21T20:44:00.005-05:00

UConn's opening Battle 4 Atlantis game against UNC-Asheville on Thursday at 7 p.m. will be broadcast exclusively by HDNet.

This live national telecast is available in high definition only on HDNet. Fans who wish to see the game live should contact their cable or satellite provider to sign up for HDNet.

HDNet can be found at the following channels in Connecticut:

AT&T U-verse Channel 1105
Charter Channel 764
DIRECTV Channel 306
Dish Network Channel 362

HDNet is also working with Comcast to secure coverage of the game, as well.

UConn's Friday and Saturday games on HDNet or Versus, depending on results.

The game Thursday has always been scheduled for HDNet since any TV info was announced, but HDNet has only in the last day or two secured coverage on many additional cable systems in Connecticut.

That coverage is as follows:

HDNet on Comcast in Connecticut on the following channels :

System Channel
Hartford, Middletown, Clinton 901
Branford 62
Danbury / Carmel 102
New Haven 102
Lakeville 98
Waterbury/Seymour 77

HDNet can also be found on the following systems in Connecticut:

AT&T U-verse Channel 1105
Charter Channel 764
DIRECTV Channel 306
Dish Network Channel 362
Two other notes:
No info regarding other systems (i.e. Cox, Cablevision) at this point.

HDNet has clarified that Comcast customers without HD will still be able to see the game. Normally HDNet is an HD only channel, but, for this game, it will be available to standard def customers.

My Top 25

2011-11-21T08:47:00.000-05:00

Here's my AP Top 25 ballot for this week:

1. North Carolina
2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. UConn
5. Syracuse
6. Duke
7. Baylor
8. Memphis
9. Louisville
10. Florida
11. Wisconsin
12. Xavier
13. Alabama
14. Kansas
15. Arizona
16. Marquette
17. Pittsburgh
18. Cleveland State
19. Michigan
20. Vanderbilt
21. California
22. Missouri
23. Florida State
24. San Diego State
25. Temple

A Likely Story: Why Shabazz Wears the Rat Tail

2011-11-20T16:14:00.011-05:00

It's the burgeoning topic of the young season for UConn. Ryan Boatright's eligibility? No. Alex Oriakhi's slow start? Uh-uh. Andre Drummond's foul shooting? Nope.

Shabazz Napier's "rat tail" that he's growing on the back of his head. A lot of people have been wondering about it, and some opponents have even been making fun of him about it.

The reason for the tail?

“One of my closest friends had passed away. He had braids, so it’s kind of a tribute to him. Not a lot of people know that," Napier said after Sunday's triple-double.

His friend's name was Ernest Likely, who died "a while back," according to Napier. "It was a homicide."

So there ya have it. You heard it here first. No need to make fun of it anymore, if you're an opposing fan or player. (Oh, and I have no idea why the blog suddenly looks like this. Hopefully it's something someone fixes ... soon).

“I might cut it soon, because a lot of teams say something funny about it," Napier said. "It irritates me, because they don’t understand where I’m coming from. The (Coppin State) fan base today was talking about it so much. I’m doing it out of someone who I love so much and died."

Napier continued:

“When he died, it took a lot out of me. It was one of the hardest things of my life. I’ve just been contemplating whether or not I should cut it. Teams try to make fun of it. Knowing myself, I might get ticked off one day and get in someone’s face about it. It’s something real deep, and I don’t appreciate a lot of people talking bad about it. Not a lot of people understand where I come from, so you can’t really blame them.”

Daniels Overshadowed; Lamb Hurt

2011-11-19T18:47:00.004-05:00

Here's my advance and gameday on UConn's bout with Coppin State on Sunday. It focuses on DeAndre Daniels' strong start to his Husky career, despite still being in the shadow of Andre Drummond.

As you likely know by now, Jeremy Lamb will be a game-time decision on Sunday after spraining his ankle in practice on Saturday.

Also, Coppin State could be a bit weary after playing an 8 p.m. game at Oklahoma on Friday night. Not that it was likely to give UConn much of a battle anyway.

Speaking of travel plans, the Huskies will bus up to Boston following Sunday's game and stay overnight before flying out to the Bahamas the next morning.

Boatright Suspended 6 Games; Can Play in Bahamas

2011-11-18T20:57:00.004-05:00

UConn learned this evening that freshman guard Ryan Boatright has been suspended six games for receiving improper benefits.

Boatright has been withheld from the first three regular season games by the school and will also miss the next three games, against Coppin State on Sunday and the first two games of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 24 and 25. He will be permitted to travel with the team and see action for UConn beginning with the final game of the tournament on Nov. 26.

Jeremy Lamb Goes to Timeout

2011-11-17T22:42:00.008-05:00

Nowhere in the UConn men's basketball record book is there a mention of "Longest Time it Took to Dribble the Ball Through the Husky at Midcourt." Jim Calhoun believes the old record may have been about three seconds, until Thursday night.

"It took us five seconds to get the ball across, through the Husky," Calhoun exclaimed.

So, he called a timeout -- five seconds into the half. Apparently, that's not a record either, according to Maine coach Ted Woodward (a former UConn assistant).

"I do believe I've seen that once before, a long time ago," Woodward said with a smile. "I wasn't surprised."

During the TO, Calhoun really laid into Jeremy Lamb, the ballhandler who didn't push the ball fast enough.

“He was just trying to push me,” Lamb explained. “He didn’t think I was playing as hard as I could, so he just basically told me to pick it up.”

Apparently, Calhoun’s trigger-finger timeout and tirade sunk in, as UConn responded with a 23-2 run to open the latter half en route to an 80-60 win over Maine Thursday night before 10,726 at the XL Center.

“I hate taking timeouts, I hate yanking them in an out,” Calhoun, who's been doing such for years, insisted. “But we seem to make a lot of the same mistakes.”

*** Calhoun wasn't happy overall after the game. He says the team still lacks an identity and isn't playing with enthusiasm. He acted like the team had just lost by 20, not won by 20. To me, he's trying to energize and motivate this team. They're not playing that poorly, though there's certainly a lot of room for improvement.

The only player he thought played well on Thursday was Andre Drummond, who finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds (11 of them offensive) and four blocks.

The downside: Drummond was a grisly 1-for-8 from the foul line (and the misses weren't even close) and is now shooting 23 percent (3-for-13) from the stripe this season.

“Andre’s already asked about coming back and shooting foul shots,” Calhoun said. “I’m not going to worry about it … He’s going to work at it. I’ll take the package he is right now.”

“I was like, yeah, I’m going back as soon as I get back to the gym," Drummond admitted. "I’m going to change in my practice gear and going to shoot. I’m not going to make any excuses. That’s just me, right now. I’ve just got to go out and work harder, and make sure I get my free throws down.”

Drummond didn't start, but that could change soon.

“I’m not going to keep a guy with 11 offensive rebounds on the bench, that’s for sure," Calhoun said.

*** Personally, I thought DeAndre Daniels (in the first half) and Shabazz Napier also played pretty well. Daniels, in his first start, scored 11 of his 15 points in the opening half, canning a pair of 3-pointers, though he cooled off in the latter. He wound up with seven rebounds.

Napier, still playing very much under control with the knowledge that Ryan Boatright isn't there to back him up, picked and chose his spots nicely and finished with eight points, five rebounds and three assists. He twisted his ankle with about eight minutes left and never returned, but it doesn't appear to be serious.

*** Boatright continues to sit out as the NCAA explores his eligibility. According to Calhoun, it appears college sports’ governing body is now determining the enforcement process. If UConn receives no word by Friday at 5 p.m., it likely won’t hear anything until Monday at the earliest, meaning Boatright’s trip with the team to the Bahamas could be in jeopardy.

*** Calhoun was asked about the molestation charges levied Thursday against longtime Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine.

“I know nothing about it,” he said. “I’d be shocked, just like I was about Penn State … anybody in America, I’d be shocked by it … (Sexual abuse of children) is just a horrific thing for America.”

Woodward Homeward Bound (Sort Of)

2011-11-16T16:45:00.004-05:00

Maine, UConn's opponent tomorrow night, is coached by Ted Woodward, an assistant at UConn for Calhoun's first three seasons (1986-89).

Here's what Calhoun had to say about Woodward on Wednesday:

"Ted Woodward was a great guy to have on staff and was a part of things here when we started it going in the right direction. He has done a really good job at a very tough place and I know his team will come down here and give us a handful. It is not at all the same UConn that it was when Ted was here, but it is because of the hard work by guys like him and Glen Miller in those days that helped to lay the groundwork for the type of program we are today."

Of course, that differs a bit from this funny story Calhoun told us four years ago, prior to UConn's Dec. 22, 2007 bout with Maine. Surely, that's not something he'd be repeating in these days of heightened NCAA compliance.

Anyway, worth noting that Calhoun is 14-0 all-time against his former assistants, including 2-0 vs. Woodward.

Hone Us, Wagner: UConn Shows Improvement

2011-11-14T22:40:00.008-05:00

Jim Calhoun's not having fun yet. At least not too much.

"Last year's team was fun to coach," he said Monday night after UConn's 78-66 win over Wagner. "Thus far, (this team is) somewhat fun to coach."

Calhoun was happy enough as the Huskies, after giving up 44 offensive rebounds in their prior two games to a Division II team and an Ivy League foe, dominated Wagner on the boards, 42-24.

But there's still plenty of room for improvement. UConn let an 18-point lead whittle away to eight late in the second half. The Huskies turned the ball over 19 times against just seven assists. They're still not getting terribly good play inside, even though Alex Oriakhi and (particularly) Andre Drummond bounced back big on Monday.

"We didn't play bad," Calhoun summed up. "We rebounded better. We're just not invested into the whole process of 40 minutes of basketball."

*** Wagner is pesky, as you'd expect a Dan and Bobby Hurley-coached team to be. Dan said his father, legendary New Jersey high school coach Bob Hurley, Sr., has always admired Calhoun from afar.

"My dad respects him as a coach," Dan Hurley said. "My dad doesn't respect everyone as a coach -- trust me."

Calhoun has plenty of respect for Wagner and the entire Northeast Conference, pointing out teams like Central, Quinnipiac and Long Island.

Mutual admiration society tonight at Gampel.

*** Oriakhi wasn't particularly good but he was certainly better than on Friday, with eight points and a team-high nine boards.

"We need to get Alex back," Calhoun said. "He was somewhat back tonight."

Oriakhi isn't getting the rock a whole lot. It seemed early in the second half, the Huskies made a better effort of getting him the ball (and Oriakhi made a better effort of wanting the ball)and he scored six of his points in the first 4 1/2 minutes. Not much after that, however.

"I've just got to get it off the backboard," Oriakhi said. "I've already been told, 'Nobody's going to get you the ball, so you've got to go get it.' But, I would like more touches down there."

*** Drummond had "killed everybody" in practice over the weekend and responded with a nice, eight-point, five-rebound, three-block effort.

"I loved the way he responded," Calhoun said. "I didn't expect any different. He's a wonderful kid."

Drummond’s best sequence came with about 8 minutes left in the first half, when he swatted away consecutive shots, then slammed home a Lamb miss (it didn’t count, however, since Lamb had been fouled on the play) to energize the crowd of 9,217.

“I think I’m getting more of a rhythm right now,” the Middletown resident said. “I think we’re all coming together as a team, collectively.”

The foul shooting could be an issue going forward, however. Drummond made 2 of 5 from the charity stripe, with one of his makes coming on a bank. And a couple of those misses weren't pretty. Something to keep an eye on.

*** Real nice effort from DeAndre Daniels. Fella can fill up a box score: 11 points, five boards, three blocks and a steal. He hit both his 3-pointers and five of his six free throws.

"I like the way he just plays," said Calhoun. "He plays hard."

Said Daniels: "I just go out there and do whatever Coach tells me. When I make a mistake, I just put it in my head to try not to make that mistake (again) and play even harder."

My Top 25

2011-11-14T08:52:00.007-05:00

Here's my Top 25 ballot sent to the AP last night:

1. North Carolina
2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. UConn
5. Syracuse
6. Duke
7. Florida
8. Pittsburgh
9. Memphis
10. Louisville
11. Baylor
12. Wisconsin
13. Kansas
14. Xavier
15. Arizona
16. Alabama
17. Marquette
18. Cleveland State
19. Michigan
20. Vanderbilt
21. Cincinnati
22. California
23. Texas A&M
24. Missouri
25. Michigan State

Happy to give some love to Cleveland State, which knocked off Vanderbilt on Sunday in Nashville. Maybe Vandy isn't as good as a lot of people -- myself included -- thought it was. Still, the Vikings -- who have four seniors back from last year's Horizon League championship team -- appear to be the real deal. Harkens back to the days of Kenny "The Mouse" McFadden!!!

Duke Fame

2011-11-13T15:51:00.010-05:00

What do you want to know about Wagner, UConn's opponent tomorrow night? Here's all you probably need to know: the Seahawks are coached by the Brothers Hurley: Dan, the former Seton Hall guard, and Bobby -- yes, that Bobby, of Duke fame. Not to be confused with Duke Fame from a little thing I like to call the greatest movie ever made, 'This Is Spinal Tap' ("Duke Fame has this much talent!")

(By the way, I'm still not 100-percent sure why UConn fans hate Duke so much. Please feel free to explain, if you'd like).

Anyway, Wagner returns all five starters from last year's 13-17, 9-9 (Northeast Conference) team. The Seahawks had a nice win in their opener on Saturday, popping Princeton on the road behind 15 points from Tyler Murray, a 6-5 senior guard, and 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench from Josh Thompson, a 6-5 junior forward.

UConn should get a boost from the return of Niels Giffey, who fully participated in both practices this weekend and has been cleared to play tomorrow night. Tyler Olander aside, the Huskies will need to improve their frontcourt play, however.

And the Huskies also have this on their side: they haven't lost a regular season, November or December game in Storrs since Dec. 5, 1973 – a streak that spans 100 games. UConn has never lost at Gampel Pavilion in November or December. That’s 55-0, people.

Who says there's no such thing as a little home cookin'?

Calhoun Not Impressed With UConn's Win

2011-11-11T22:32:00.006-05:00

It's going to sound like Andre Drummond was making excuses about his UConn debut Friday night, in which he went scoreless in 12 minutes of action.

“That never happened to me before," he said. "Ever."

Drummond said playing with a facemask on bothered him a bit, as did the tendonitis that had him icing his left knee after the game. Not starting also affected him, he said.

“I’m not used to coming off the bench," he said. "That’s one of things I have to get over and get used to doing. I think that’s what’s really throwing me off, too. But it doesn’t really matter … it matters how I perform in the game.”

Indeed, Drummond was probably just a little frustrated that his much-ballyhooed debut didn't go very well, individually. But he seemed ready to put it behind him and get better for Monday against Wagner.

“Everybody has their off days," he added. "I’ve just got to come back tomorrow, have a great practice, have another great practice on Sunday and come out on Monday and play again.”

Tyler Olander said he saw from Drummond "a first college game against a D-I team. I know Andre’s going to respond very well. He knows what to expect now.”

Shabazz Napier offered him some consoling advice afterwards.

“I told him, ‘Don’t allow coach to drill your mistakes in your head. You made a mistake, make up for it.’”

*** Calhoun was peeved at all his bigs (except Olander) after UConn barely outrebounded Columbia 43-41 and allowed 20 offensive boards.

"They outworked us. We don’t have anyone in the frontcourt ready to play right now, except for Tyler, who understands the game of basketball.

“I told Enosch (Wolf), ‘You haven’t done much, but it’s a good time for you to do something right now.’”

Said Olander: “We were getting pushed under the rim a little bit, which shouldn’t happen. The other team worked hard, and we (the frontcourt) kind of failed to respond.”

*** Alex Oriakhi was a virtual no-show, with two points and five boards. He was also a no-show for the postgame press availability, a rarity for him.

*** Fortunately for UConn, Jeremy Lamb and Napier showed up, combining for 51 of the team's 70 points (Lamb's 30 was a career-high).

Columbia coach Kyle Smith said of Lamb: "Here's how good he is: I had no idea he had 30. The game is very easy for him."

Smith also said Napier can do everything. "He's got a little Chris Paul, (with the) floperoos."

*** Calhoun's most telling quote: “I’m looking to the next game – the game where Shabazz has four fouls, the game when Jeremy’s shot doesn’t go. Then what happens?”

*** The coach seems to be getting a bit annoyed by the Ryan Boatright and Niels Giffey situations.

On Boatright: “I’ve not been informed of anything. That’s not unexpected.”

And on Giffey's return: “You’ll have to ask Niels. He says his ankle’s sore.”

he’s capable of, by any means. He’s not going to let that happen again.”

Huskies Heading Back to Paradise Jam

2011-11-11T15:34:00.003-05:00

Looks like both the UConn men's and women's teams will be competing in the 2012 Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

The Register's intrepid UConn women's basketball beat writer Jim Fuller has learned that both teams will be competing, though the women's field has yet to be determined.

According to tournament director Sean Christensen, the eight-team men's field (which will be split into two groups of four teams) is currently as follows:

UConn
New Mexico
Mercer University
Wake Forest
George Mason
Iona
University of Illnois Chicago (UIC)
Quinnipiac University

No dates yet, but this year's men's tournament begins Nov. 18 and the women's starts Nov. 24.

The UConn men won the event three years ago, beating La Salle, Miami and Wisconsin.

Andre Drummond Everything You Think He Is -- And More

2011-11-11T08:08:00.008-05:00

Believe it or not, there was a time – not too long ago – when Andre Drummond didn’t particularly like to dunk.

As a 6-foot-7, somewhat uncoordinated freshman at Capital Prep in Hartford, Drummond preferred gliding in for a layup than slamming the ball through the hoop. “Big Finesse,” his coaches used to call him.

“Me and a couple of coaches would tell him, ‘Dunk the ball!’” Capital Prep coach Levy Gillespie recalled. “He’d jump in the air and want to make an up-and-under layup around a guy who’s, like, 6-4. We’d be like, ‘Andre, what are you doing?’”

Drummond eventually got the message.

“By the end of his sophomore year,” Gillespie said, “he had pretty much perfected that windmill that he loves, and the between-the-legs dunk.”

Ah yes, the windmill and the between-the-legs dunk, both of which he showcased in a dunk contest at UConn’s First Night festivities a few weeks ago. They weren’t enough to win the contest – fellow freshman Ryan Boatright, the underdog at 5-10, won the hearts of the judges – but they sure were an emphatic “Hello, how do ya do?” to the 10,000 fans who jammed Gampel Pavilion that night.

Suffice to say, Andre Drummond now likes to dunk. His first basket in a Husky uniform came on a vicious, two-handed putback slam of a Jeremy Lamb floater in UConn’s exhibition opener on Nov. 2. He brought the house down three days later at the XL Center by slamming home an alley-oop pass off the glass from Shabazz Napier in the Huskies’ exhibition finale.

“I was actually planning on putting it between my legs,” Drummond confessed, “but Shabazz was like, ‘Let me get the assist.’”

Of his 13 field goals in UConn’s two exhibition contests, about 10 of them have been dunks. And there figure to be plenty more throughout the winter – beginning tonight at Gampel in UConn’s season-opener against Columbia all the way to, quite possibly, the New Orleans Superdome in early April.

But Andre Drummond, the Middletown resident who also happens to be the most heralded recruit ever to don a UConn uniform, is about much more than just dunking. He’s everything you could expect from a prodigious talent – and a lot of things you might not expect, as well.

He’s 6-foot-11, 277 pounds yet “quick as a cat,” according to coach Jim Calhoun. “He might be as good a runner as we have on our team.”

Despite his penchant for slamming the ball through the hoop with savage force, he’d rather hit a teammate with a nifty interior pass.

“I get more excited seeing my teammates scoring the ball and watching their reaction than me scoring the ball myself,” Drummond said.

Though famously close-guarded through a recruiting process that left nearly everybody – including the UConn coaching staff – surprised when he declared his commitment to the school via Twitter on Aug. 26, he’s a disarmingly friendly young man, as comfortable chatting with a media throng as he is clowning around with teammates in his dorm.

“He’s a wonderful kid, well-adjusted,” said Jere Quinn, who coached Drummond at St. Thomas More Prep the past two years. “He’s happy, and he likes to make other people happy.”

And despite being the No. 1-rated recruit in all the land by many scouting services and quite possibly the top pick in the 2012 NBA draft, Drummond is as eager to get better as a walk-on trying to earn a scholarship.

“I’m not the type of guy who’s going to read about myself or talk about myself or brag that I’m the best player in the world, when I’m really not,” he said. “Yeah, I think I do some good things, but there’s always room to do better things, to get yourself better prepared to play at the next level.”

Added UConn junior forward Alex Oriakhi: “The thing about him is, with all the hype around him, you’d think he’d be arrogant. But he’s not. He listens. I try to coach him out there and tell him what he’s doing wrong, and he just takes it in like sponge. That’s the greatest part about him. When you have a kid with that much talent and is willing to listen and get better … the sky’s the limit.”

Long, Strange Trip to Storrs

Andre Drummond’s journey from Middletown to Storrs encompassed only 40 miles, but it took four years and seemingly countless twists, turns and rumors before he finally became a Husky.

Drummond is originally from Mount Vernon, N.Y., and figured he’d eventually play at Mount Vernon High, alma mater of ex-UConn great Ben Gordon.

“Everybody keeps asking me, ‘How did you get out of there?’” Drummond says. “Usually, when you’re in Mount Vernon, (you) don’t leave.”

But when Drummond was about 8, several of his aunts and uncles started leaving town and moving up to Middletown. Eventually, his mother, Christine, moved him and his sister, Ariana, as well.

“They liked the environment,” Drummond explained. “It’s a nice place to grow up for the kids and things like that.”

He went to middle school in Middletown, then two years at Capital Prep before enrolling at St. Thomas More in Oakdale, where he “transformed into a totally different person, basketball-wise,” according to Gillespie.

Indeed, Drummond emerged as a dominant force in prep school. He won 55 games in his two years there, including the 2011 national prep school championship, for which he was named MVP. He was heavily courted by virtually every major program in the country.

But he wasn’t above criticism. Perhaps the most prevalent was that Drummond took plays off, didn’t always play hard. While there was a smidgeon of truth to this knock, it was largely a misconception.

“I think sometimes, kids play to the level of their competition,” said Quinn. “His focus was as good as a typical high school player. Did he take some plays off? Yeah, when we were up 15 (points). Did he ever go and hide in a big game? No. Every coach in the country is trying to find a magic potion to make kids play 100-percent.”

Calhoun concurred.

“I would hate to think of him in a high school game right now. He could do anything he wants without working – just run up the floor and dunk on people. He’s not lazy in any sense of the imagination … He’s just a really nice person. We need to get him to learn, culturally, what we try to do: play hard every single possession.”

Indeed, the proper rub on Drummond may be that he’s too nice – particularly on the basketball court.

“When I’m out there, I’m always smiling,” he said. “That’s just the way I play. Some people think it’s because I don’t take the game seriously. That’s not the case at all. I enjoy playing the game and I’m always smiling, there’s no need for me to be angry at all.”

‘Do I Hear, ‘Repeat’?

Despite Drummond’s naturally sunny disposition, he was legitimately conflicted and sometimes pained during his recruitment process, particularly over the past year. He kept his decision-making process so private that, well into this past summer, Quinn had no idea whether Drummond would return to St. Thomas More or pursue other plans.

UConn thought Drummond was going to commit in June, but that was called off. So the Huskies gave their 10th and final available scholarship to 6-8 forward DeAndre Daniels, a national top-10 recruit.

In mid-August, Drummond finally announced that he’d be transferring to Wilbraham & Monson Academy, where he’d play with good friend Kris Dunn of New London, for another year of prep school. A couple of weeks later, Dunn changed his mind and said he’d play his senior year at New London High.

A few days after that, on a rainy Friday night, came Drummond’s Tweet Heard ‘Round the Nutmeg State: “It’s official: I’m heading to the University of Connecticut to be a Husky this year. Do I hear, ‘Repeat’?”

One problem: UConn had no scholarships to offer Drummond. That was solved when Michael Bradley, who had sat out the previous season as a red-shirt and who had spent much of his youth in a children’s home, gave up his to Drummond.

“I’m thankful for everything that he did," said Drummond. "Me and Mike have had a great relationship, I’ve known him since I was a sophomore, so, I’m really thankful for what he did.”

No doubt, UConn fans feel the exact same way.

“Now,” said Jim Calhoun, “the thing is to take this athletic, wonderful kid who listens all the time, and turn him into a terrific basketball player. He’s not that yet, he really isn’t. But he’s got some things you just can’t teach.”

Calhoun: 'It's Going to be a Very Good Night'

2011-11-10T14:51:00.007-05:00

UConn's chamionship banner unveiling on Friday will begin at 6:59 p.m. (after a new UConn basketball video montage is played on the big screen) and end just a few minutes later. It'll be a purposely brief, unpretentious event, but still very meaningful.

"It’s a big deal. A national championship is a big deal,” said Jim Calhoun, who’s won three of them. “I’ve always considered it a big deal. I think it will be very good to finish it off and start anew. It’s going to be a very good night."

After that banner is unveiled, it's all about the quest for another for the Huskies. Of course, this year's three freshmen weren't along for last year's remarkable ride. They want to start their own.

At UConn’s national championship dinner in Hartford a month ago, where last year’s players received their championship rings, Andre Drummond, Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels sat at a separate table while the rest of the team sat up on the dais.

“I was actually pretty angry watching them get their rings,” Drummond said, with a smile. “It just made me want to get a ring, put in blood, sweat and tears to make sure I get a ring ... Now, I’m a part of the UConn family. I wasn’t there for the national championship team, but I’m a part of the family, so it’s just as good.”

A few things to know about Columbia:

*** The Lions went 15-13 overall and 6-8 in the Ivy under first-year coach Kyle Smith. Four starters return from last year's team, led by a top-notch backcourt: senior Noruwa Agho averaged 16.8 ppg last year and junior Brian Barbour 13.3.

*** Senior Blaise Staab's full name is Blaise Voskuhl Staab. Yup, he's Jake Voskuhl's cousin. Staab, a 6-5 forward, didn't play at all last season due to injury. He averaged 1.7 ppg in limited time as a sophomore and missed all but four games as a freshman due to a bout with mono.

*** UConn and Columbia haven't played in nearly 30 years. Their last meeting was on Dec. 28, 1983 -- an 85-60 UConn victory in the Connecticut Mutual Classic. The Huskies hold a 6-2 all-time advantage in the series. Columbia's last victory: 72-71 on Dec. 7, 1976 in New York City.

*** Friday's bout is the first for Columbia against a defending champ since 1947, when the Lions beat Holy Cross.

In other news, SNY has announced that it will cover televise 14 UConn games this year, beginning with Monday's 7:30 p.m. bout with Wagner.

Following that game, SNY will debut SNY Spotlight: Jim Calhoun, a look at the coach's career.

Here's SNY's UConn TV schedule:

NOVEMBER
Mon 14 UConn-Wagner: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn. 7:30
Thu 17 UConn-Maine: XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 7:00
Sun 20 UConn-Coppin State XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 1:00
DECEMBER
Sun 18 UConn-Holy Cross XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 1:00
Thu 22 UConn-Fairfield XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 7:00
Wed 28 UConn at USF St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla. 9:00
Sat 31 UConn-St. John’s XL Center, Hartford, Conn. Noon
JANUARY
Tue 3 UConn at Seton Hall Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. 7:00
Sat 7 UConn at Rutgers Rutgers Athletic Center, Piscataway, N.J. 8:00
Sun 29 UConn-Notre Dame XL Center, Hartford, Conn. Noon
FEBRUARY
Sat 4 UConn-Seton Hall XL Center, Hartford, Conn. Noon
Wed 15 UConn-DePaul Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn. 7:00
Tue 28 UConn at Providence Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, R.I. 7:00

Calhoun: Boatright Frustrated Right Now

2011-11-09T18:07:00.002-05:00

For those who see Jim Calhoun screaming maniacally on the sidelines during games, it may come as a surprise that he’s normally pretty serene during practice.

That changed briefly on Wednesday. Calhoun appeared peeved at something Ryan Boatright had done, and Boatright appeared to talk back to the coach.

“Shut the (bleep) up!” Calhoun loudly exclaimed.

Boatright got quiet in a hurry.

“There are a couple of words you can say to them to let them know you don’t want them speaking, and the conversation has come to an end and (they) just don’t know it,” Calhoun said after practice. “There are certain words you can use to say that are right to the point.”

Calhoun said Boatright is just a little frustrated right now – not so much on the court, but off it. The NCAA has yet to clear him to play due to an eligibility question, and it appears he won’t be able to go in UConn’s season-opener Friday night.

After practice, Boatright said something to the coach about his own play.

“I’m not worried about your play,” Calhoun said. “I’m worried about you getting down.”

“He’s missed two exhibition games,” Calhoun added. “It’s difficult for him.”

It seems Calhoun is a bit frustrated by the situation. He seemed to try to measure his words when talking about the situation on Wednesday.

“The situation’s somewhat simplistic,” he said. “We’re looking at case precedents … We’d love to have him back on Friday, but I have no idea (when) … He will return. When, I don’t know.”

He added that the NCAA has never “formally talked to” the UConn basketball program. “They didn’t include us in any discussions.”

Elsewhere:

*** Niels Giffey spent most of Wednesday’s practice on a stationary bike and appears doubtful for Friday. His ankle is more sore than his knee is, Calhoun said.

*** Calhoun is happy with UConn’s non-conference schedule: “It’s a deceptively tougher schedule than people think.”

*** Alex Oriakhi on his two disappointing exhibition performances: “I could have been more aggressive, as far as rebounding. Hopefully, I’m going to get more minutes than I did in the last game.”

“I feel when I’m on the court, I can get a rhythm. I wasn’t able to get a lot of playing time last time, which was unfortunate. But the rest of our big men stepped up.”

*** Calhoun said likely the same starting five for Friday as Sunday’s exhibition finale: Oriakhi, Shabazz Napier, Roscoe Smith, Tyler Olander and Jeremy Lamb. Yup, that means Andre Drummond makes his collegiate debut off the bench.

Said Drummond: “I’ve come off the bench before. I’m not used to really coming off, but that’s some of the things you’ve got to get adjusted to. I’m not expecting to start or anything like that. I know I need to come in and play my role. Hopefully, one of these games I do end up starting.”

Drummond has been struggling from the foul line in practice and missed his lone attempt in an exhibition game. There’s a reason, he says: “I wasn’t always a bad free throw shooter, but my arms got longer out of nowhere, for some reason. That kind of threw me off a little bit, so I was trying to figure out my muscle memory to get it all back again … It’ll be back shortly.”

All-Stars to Play in Bridgeport Nov. 18

2011-11-07T20:48:00.003-05:00

Interesting lineup of NBA players, including Rudy Gay and Hasheem Thabeet, playing in an all-star charity game on Nov. 18 at Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena.

Ryan Gomes, Jordan Williams among the other locals; John Wall and Tyreke Evans among the other stars who'll play.

Lamb, Oriakhi, Drummond on Naismith List

2011-11-07T18:52:00.003-05:00

UConn sophomore Jeremy Lamb (Norcross, Ga.) headlines a trio of UConn players named to the Naismith preseason watch list, as announced today by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Lamb is joined by junior Alex Oriakhi (Lowell, Mass.) and freshman center Andre Drummond (Middletown, Conn.).

The Naismith award is presented annually to the national player of the year. Former UConn star Kemba Walker was a finalist in 2011 with Jimmer Fredette of BYU taking home the honor.

Kentucky and North Carolina led the way with four student-athletes each on the list.

Lamb was most recently named an Associate Press Preseason All-American after being named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team and the Wooden Preseason Top-50. Oriakhi joined Lamb on the Wooden Preseason Top-50 and also received votes in the Preseason All-America voting. He was a Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team selection.

Drummond, the BIG EAST Preseason Rookie of the Year, was also a BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection. The freshman center was most recently named to the Wayman Tisdale Award preseason watch list which honors the nation’s top freshman at the end of the season.

Bodog Likes Huskies

2011-11-07T14:01:00.003-05:00

According to Bodog.net, UConn is a 12-to-1 pick to win the 2012 NCAA tournament. Here are the top 25 teams in the nation, in terms of Bodog's odds:

North Carolina 7/2

Kentucky 9/2

Ohio State 15/2

Duke 10/1

Connecticut 12/1

Louisville 12/1

Syracuse 12/1

Florida 20/1

Vanderbilt 20/1

Memphis 22/1

Kansas 25/1

St. John's 25/1

UCLA 25/1

Michigan State 28/1

Pittsburgh 28/1

Texas 28/1

Baylor 35/1

Indiana 35/1

Michigan 35/1

Arizona 40/1

Georgetown 40/1

Gonzaga 40/1

Notre Dame 50/1

Villanova 50/1

Wisconsin 55/1

Walden St. Juste Alive Thanks to Teamwork

2011-11-06T19:49:00.007-05:00

This is non-UConn related (aside from the kid's uncanny resemblance to Kemba Walker), but Hartford's Walden St. Juste, a former Albertus Magnus standout, nearly died on Halloween night. In fact, he did die -- at least for a matter of seconds or even minutes -- before being resuscitated by his coach A.J. Huston and with the help of his teammates on the Connecticut Topballerz of the ABA.

Here's my story on St. Juste in the Register.

A Post on UConn-C.W. Post

2011-11-06T16:08:00.007-05:00

Some notes 'n quotes from UConn's 91-61 exhibition game win over CW Post this afternoon:

C.W. Post coach Chris Casey, who spent six years as Norm Roberts' assistant at St. John's:

(On UConn)

“They can score in transition, they can score around the basket, they have guys that can make shots and they defend you – because they’re fundamentally very good defensively, and because their sheer size covers so much ground. And it goes without saying, they’re very well-coached.”

(on Andre Drummond)

“He’s like a colt right now, and with the history of this place, the way they make guys into players, I think he’s going to be very, very good … He’s scratching the surface right now.”

(on his team's strategy of guarding Jeremy Lamb)

“Hope he misses.”

Jim Calhoun

(on DeAndre Daniels)

“He really looked like a complete basketball player. He handled the ball, made a couple of really good passes, he’s going to make shots because he’s a good shooter. And defensively, he really, really was good.”

“He’s got a chance to be a great shooter someday. Right now, he’s not as strong as he needs to be, he doesn’t always get his shot ready … I like the way he put the ball on the deck, a couple of passes. Like I said to Niels (Giffey), ‘I’d get that boot off pretty quick.’”

*** Ah yes, Giffey, who sat out the game with a hyperextended right knee and a bone bruise in his right ankle.

"It's been 3-4 weeks with that bone bruise," Calhoun said. "If it doesn’t start getting better, you’re a little concerned … the knee has improved, but the ankle is kind of about the same. He was not full-go, in fairness to him, in the first exhibition game.”

Calhoun added that the players who dressed and played on Sunday are, most likely, the same who'll dress and play in Friday night's season-opener.

*** Calhoun noted that walk-on Brendan Allen is the team's back-up point guard right now, with Ryan Boatright still dealing with an eligibility issue and Calhoun wanting Lamb to score more playing off the ball.

“Friday night, (if) Shabazz picks up his second foul, Brendan will probably play the rest of the first half … He’s got to refine his dribble, he’s got to pass the ball a little more assertively. But he knows the offense, he’s got a good body, he’s a really good athlete. There’s every reason to believe that he can play at this level.”

“He may be one of our three, four, five best athletes on the team. He can jump, he can run.”

“I’m not trying to say he’s a game-changer or a program-changer, but right now he’s filling in a void.”

Allen's class schedule doesn't always jibe with UConn's practice schedule, meaning he sometimes arrives at practice late.

“It makes me focus immediately," Allen said. "I kind of take it as a good thing. I’m ready to go.”

*** How comfortable are the Huskies with Allen as their backup PG right now? Ask Shabazz Napier, the starting PG:

*** Late in the game, Drummond picked up a loose ball just before midcourt and had a 2-on-0 with Napier. He gave it to Napier, who then threw the ball off the glass for an alley-oop dunk for Drummond.

Admitted Drummond afterwards: “I was actually planning on putting it between my legs, but Shabazz was like, ‘Let me get the assist.’”

It was one of 13 assists for Napier, who added 14 points. Lamb scored 23 points, Drummond went for 16 points and 10 boards, Daniels netted 13 and Tyler Olander 10. Alex Oriakhi had four points and eight rebounds.

"We need Alex to be better than that," said Calhoun. "We just do."

Kevin Freeman Talks About His New Job

2011-11-06T12:12:00.001-05:00

Kevin Freeman met with reporters this morning at the XL Center to discuss his new position as assistant director of men’s basketball administration. Freeman, 33, is a former Husky captain and member of the 1999 NCAA National Champions.

“It’s an opportunity to get back here,” said Freeman. “It’s full-circle for me. It’s a dream come true to come back here in the fold with UConn.”

He said his role will largely be as a mentor to the players, along with helping director of basketball administration Karl Hobbs with daily activities.

“A lot of the academic stuff,” Freeman said of his duties, “help a lot of guys in a mentorship role as far as degree completion, serve as a liaison to compliance, a lot of compliance issues … I think I can help them with a lot of off-court issues that (the media) might not see, and just being a positive student-athlete.”

Ultimately, he hopes this is his first step on the ladder up to being a head coach.

“Coaching is definitely my ultimate goal, but first you’ve got to experience some of it to see how far you want to go, what you want to do,” he said. “I’ll take it step by step.”

Freeman has spent the past 11 seasons playing overseas in Italy, Australia, Greece, South Korea, China, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela.

“Overseas is really tough. Eleven years over there, being away from my family nine months a year, it takes its toll on you. A true blessing came to me with this opportunity, and I’m going to take full advantage of it.”

Hamden's Carberry Takes on Huskies Sunday

2011-11-05T19:59:00.001-04:00

My story on Hamden's Tobin Carberry, a starting guard for C.W. Post, which plays UConn in an exhibition game on Sunday at the XL Center.

Kevin Freeman Joins UConn Staff

2011-11-05T12:46:00.003-04:00

Kevin Freeman has joined the UConn men's basketball staff. Here's the release by the school:

Kevin Freeman has been named to the position of Assistant Director of Men’s Basketball Administration at the University of Connecticut, it was announced today by head coach Jim Calhoun. Freeman is a former Husky captain and member of the 1999 NCAA National Champions.

“I am thrilled to have Kevin join our staff here at UConn,” said Calhoun. “Kevin was one of the great warriors we have ever had play for us and is just the type of person that all of our current players should aspire to be like and be around.”

Freeman is the all-time UConn leader in games played at 140, No. 17 on the all-time scoring list with 1,476 points and No. 8 on the all-time rebounders list with 913. He was the Most Outstanding Performer of the 1999 BIG EAST Championship and was named to the 1999 NCAA West Regional All-Tournament team. He was a co-captain of the 1999-00 Husky squad and UConn compiled a 109-32 record in his four seasons, reaching the Elite Eight in 1998 and winning the NCAA title in 1999.

After completing his career at Connecticut, Kevin played 11 seasons of professional basketball, retiring after the 2010-11 season. He played in professional leagues in Italy, Australia, Greece, South Korea, China, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela during his career.

Born March 3, 1978, Kevin is a native of Springfield, Mass and came to UConn after competing as a all-state high school performer at Paterson Catholic HS in New Jersey. Kevin and his wife Nicole have a daughter Kekoa and a son Sire.

Also, Niels Giffey suffered a hyperextended right knee in Wednesday's exhibition win over AIC. He hasn't practiced the last two days and will be a game-time decision for Sunday's exhibition vs. C.W. Post.

Big East Countersues West Virginia

2011-11-04T15:57:00.004-04:00

The Big East Conference has filed suit against West Virginia University in Superior Court for the State of Rhode Island, Providence County. This breach of contract lawsuit seeks an order requiring West Virginia to comply with the Big East bylaws, as well as damages resulting from West Virginia’s improper attempted withdrawal in violation of those bylaws.

Here's what Big East commish John Marinatto had to say:

“Today’s legal action underscores The BIG EAST Conference’s stated position that it will vigorously pursue the enforcement of its rights and West Virginia University’s obligations under the conference’s Bylaws which West Virginia formally agreed to and helped construct.”

Personally, while it may appear a bit petty of the Big East to be so defensive about holding teams for 27 months before they can withdraw, I'm actually all for it. Marinatto's leadership of the conference has been questionable at best since Mike Tranghese's retirement, but I'm with him on this one. What's the use of having bylaws in a contract if teams can just flout them at will, whenever a perceived better offer presents itself?

Ultimately, I'd be surprised if Syracuse, Pitt and WVU remain with the Big East for three more seasons, as they'd currently have to. It would be just too awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved to have three teams that don't want to be here sticking around for so long.

But they'll have to pay up, far more than just the current $5 million exit fee. Sort of like in baseball, if a GM for one team wants to leave to become GM of another team before his contract is through. There's got to be some sort of compensation for the team losing said GM -- or, in this case, the conference losing teams.

Top Prep Recruits in New Haven Nov. 18-20

2011-11-04T14:09:00.005-04:00

The National Prep Showcase, the unofficial kick-off to the prep school season, will be held at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven on Nov. 18-20, and many of the top recruits in the nation (including several UConn targets) will be there.

Among the UConn targets who will be in attendence are: Nerlens Noel, a 6-foot-10 Class of 2013 center out of the Tilton School in New Hampshire; Noah Vonleh, 6-8 Class of 2014 forward out of New Hampton School (N.H.); Goodluck Okonoboh, a 6-8 Class of '14 forward (who is also Alex Oriakhi's cousin); Wayne Selden, a 6-5 Class of '14 shooting guard from Tilton; and Jeremy Miller, a 6-9 Class of '15 center from New Hampton.

For those who'd like to see Tilton play, its only game will be on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. against Kiski School of Pennsylvania. (Yes, UConn does host Coppin State at 1 p.m. at the XL Center that day).

New Hampton plays Kiski on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m., then takes on Blair Academy on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Here's the full schedule for the three-day event.

In all, nearly 100 of the top Division 1 prospects will be playing, including:

Mitch McGary, 6'9", C/F, 2012, Brewster Academy (NH), committed to Michigan, 2nd ranked prospect in national class of 2012

Ricardo Ledo, 6'6", SG, 2012, South Kent (CT), committed to Providence, 22nd ranked prospect in national class of 2012

T.J. Warren, 6'8", F, 2012, Brewster Academy (NH), committed to North Carolina State, 23rd ranked prospect in national class of 2012

Chris Thomas, 6'5", G, 2013, South Kent (CT), 13th ranked prospect in national class of 2013

Mike Tobey, 7'0", C, 2012, Blair Academy (NJ), top 100 national player, committed to Virginia

Aaron Thomas, 6'5", G/F, 2012, Brewster Academy (NH), committed to Florida State

Jakarr Sampson, 6'8", F, 2012, Brewster Academy (NH), top 100 national player

Darrick Wood, 6'5", SF, 2012, Bridgton Academy (ME), committed to St. John's

Amir Garrett, 6'7", F, 2012, Bridgton Academy (ME), top 100 national player, committed to St. John's

Ryan Taylor, 6'7", SF, 2012, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), committed to Louisville

Montrezl Harrell, 6'8", F, 2012, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), committed to Virginia Tech

Codi Miller-McIntyre, 6'3", SG, 2012, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), committed to Wake Forest

Andre Washington, 7'0", C, 2012, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), committed to Wake Forest

Hanner Perea, 6'9", PF, 2012, La Lumiere School (IN), top 100 national prospect, committed to Indiana

Jay Simpson, 6'10", C, 2012, La Lumiere School (IN), committed to Purdue

Raphael Davis, 6'5", G/F, 2012, La Lumiere School (IN), committed to Purdue

Georges Niang, 6'8", F, 2012, Tilton School (NH), top 100 national prospect, committed to Iowa State

Domonique Bull, 6'4", G, 2012, Tilton School (NH), committed to Missouri

Laimonas Chatkevicius, 7'0, C, 2012, South Kent (CT), committed to Kansas State

Olivier Hanlan, 6'3", PG, 2012, New Hampton (NH), committed to Boston College

Zach Auguste, 6'9", PF, 2012, New Hampton (NH), committed to Notre Dame, top 100 national prospect

Aaron Ross, 6'8", F, 2012, St. John's Military Academy (WI), top 100 national prospect

Dominic Woodson, 6'10", C, 2013, Vermont Academy (VT), top 100 national prospect

Daquien McNeil, 6'3", G, 2013, Vermont Academy (VT), top 100 national prospect

Jared Terrell, 6'3", G, 2014, New Hampton (NH), top 100 national prospect

Kevin Kcehowski, 6'11", C, 2015, Kiski (PA), top 25 national prospect

Charles Okwandu Taken in D-League Draft

2011-11-04T09:25:00.007-04:00

Charles Okwandu is a Maine Red Claw.

Okwandu, the 7-foot center who graduated from UConn last spring, was taken by Maine with the third pick in the third round of Thursday's NBA Development League Draft. That means he'll be playing for ex-UConn assistant Dave Leitao, who coaches the Red Claws.

Here's the full list of D-League draftees:

1. Los Angeles D-Fenders Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa State
2. Texas Legends Alando Tucker,Wisconsin
3. Maine Red Claws Chris Wright,Dayton
4. Sioux Falls Skyforce Gabe Pruitt, Southern California
5. Texas Legends Jamal Sampson, California
6. Bakersfield Jam Edwin Ubiles, Siena
7. Erie BayHawks Cory Higgins, Colorado
8. Bakersfield Jam Nayal ‘”Mac” Koshwal, DePaul
9. Erie BayHawks Chris Daniels, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
10. Fort Wayne Mad Ants Cameron Jones, Northern Arizona
11. Tulsa 66ers Curtis Sumpter, Villanova
12. Dakota Wizards Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State
13. Bakersfield Jam Mustapha Farrakhan, Virginia
14. Rio Grande Valley Vipers Tyren Johnson, Louisiana-Lafayette
15. Canton Charge Tyrell Biggs, Pittsburgh
16. Tulsa 66ers Gary Johnson, Texas

*SECOND ROUND
1. Springfield Armor #Jonathan Thomas, Marshall
2. Texas Legends Jake Kelley, Indiana State
3. Rio Grande Valley Vipers Ashton Mitchell, Sam Houston State
4. Reno Bighorns Cedric Bozeman, UCLA
5. Tulsa 66ers #Dwight Buycks, Marquette
6. Fort Wayne Mad Ants Anthony Johnson, Montana
7. Idaho Stampede Jason Ellis, Boise State
8. Maine Red Claws Durrell Summers, Michigan State
9. Idaho Stampede Kevin Galloway, Texas Southern
10. Iowa Energy Brandon Ewing, Wyoming
11. Iowa Energy Dominic Calegari, California-Davis
12. Erie BayHawks Taj McCullough, Winthrop
13. Maine Red Claws Mike Tisdale, Illinois
14. Austin Toros Tristan Thompson, North Texas
15. Los Angeles D-Fenders Anthony Gurley, Massachusetts

* The Second Round has 15 selections since the Dakota Wizards traded their
2011 second round pick to the Utah Flash which are on hiatus for 2011-12

THIRD ROUND
1. Los Angeles D-Fenders Eniel Polynice, Seton Hall
2. Tulsa 66ers Brady Morningstar, Kansas
3. Maine Red Claws Charles Okwandu, Connecticut
4. Sioux Falls Skyforce Casey Mitchell, West Virginia
5. Texas Legends Lawrence Hill, Stanford
6. Iowa Energy Jarrid Famous, South Florida
7. Erie BayHawks Mychel Thompson, Pepperdine
8. Bakersfield Jam Justin Graham, San Jose State
9. Idaho Stampede Kendall Dartez, Louisville
10. Bakersfield Jam Travis Walton,Michigan State
11. Tulsa 66ers Evan Fjeld, Vermont
12. Dakota Wizards Andrew Gonzalez, Houston Baptist
13. Idaho Stampede Cheyne Gadson, Oklahoma State
14. Rio Grande Valley Vipers Greg Washington, Hofstra
15. Dakota Wizards #Justin Johnson, Concordia
16. Springfield Armor #Dennis Horner,North Carolina State

FOURTH ROUND
1. Springfield Armor Chris Taft, Pittsburgh
2. Canton Charge TJ Campbell, Portland
3. Rio Grande Valley Vipers Pooh Williams, Utah State
4. Reno Bighorns Donald Sims, Appalachian State
5. Dakota Wizards Darion “Jake” Anderson, Iowa State
6. Tulsa 66ers #Larriques “Rico” Cunningham, Lee
7. Iowa Energy Nick Murphy, Jacksonville State
8. Idaho Stampede Eric Devendorf, Syracuse
9. Bakersfield Jam David Palmer, Northern Kentucky
10. Erie BayHawks Tirrell Baines, Marshall
11. Iowa Energy Michael Tveidt, North Dakota State
12. Texas Legends #Vance Cooksey,Pikeville
13. Sioux Falls Skyforce Billy McShepard, Valdosta State
14. Maine Red Claws Sadiel Rojas, Oklahoma Wesleyan
15. Austin Toros #Omar Reed, Bluefield
16. Los Angeles D-Fenders Brandon Rozzell, Virginia Commonwealth

FIFTH ROUND
1. Los Angeles D-Fenders Courtney Fortson, Arkansas
2. Austin Toros Soloman Bozeman, Arkansas-Little Rock
3. Maine Red Claws Darren Cooper, Portland
4. Sioux Falls Skyforce Anthony Moody, Mary
5. Texas Legends Josh Southern, Boston College
6. Iowa Energy Carlton Fay, Southern Illinois
7. Erie BayHawks Al Nolen, Minnesota
8. Bakersfield Jam Lawrence Westbrook, Minnesota
9. Idaho Stampede Courtney Pigram, East Tennessee State
10. Fort Wayne Mad Ants Justin Neuhaus, Colorado Christian
11. Tulsa 66ers Byron Eaton, Oklahoma State
12. Dakota Wizards Joe Harden, California-Davis
13. Reno Bighorns #Augustine Okosun, Northwood
14. Rio Grande Valley Vipers Willie Veasley, Butler
15. Canton Charge Tyrone Kent, Toledo
16. Springfield Armor Brandon Bush, Texas State-San Marcos

SIXTH ROUND
1. Springfield Armor #Marcus E. Hill,Minnesota State - Mankato
2. Canton Charge Travis Franklin, Colorado State
3. Rio Grande Valley Vipers #Joshua E. Jones, Husson
4. Reno Bighorns Roderick Flemings,Hawaii
5. Dakota Wizards Parrish West, Alaska-Fairbanks
6. Tulsa 66ers #Brian Barkdoll,Northwest Nazarene
7. Fort Wayne Mad Ants Jabril Banks,Northern Colorado
8. Idaho Stampede James Wright,Colorado
9. Bakersfield Jam Perry Stevenson,Kentucky
10. Erie BayHawks Adrian Bowie, Maryland
11. Iowa Energy Thomas Baudinet, St. Anselm
12. Texas Legends #Ryan Anderson, Nebraska
13. Sioux Falls Skyforce Will Pratt, Northwestern State
14. Texas Legends Anthony Vereen, Texas-Arlington
15. Austin Toros Myles McKay, Wisconsin-Whitewater
16. Los Angeles D-Fenders Franklin Session, California
State-Los Angeles

SEVENTH ROUND
1. Los Angeles D-Fenders Robert Diggs, George Washington
2. Austin Toros #Dan Vandervieren, Concordia
3. Reno Bighorns Calvin Haynes, Oregon State
4. Sioux Falls Skyforce Brian Evans, Texas A&M-Corpus Cristi
5. Texas Legends Derek Williams, Southern Methodist
6. Iowa Energy Jason Westrol, Bentley
7. Reno Bighorns Bobby Howard, Montana State
8. Bakersfield Jam Nick Covington,Oklahoma City
9. Idaho Stampede #Desmond Blue, Lee
10. Fort Wayne Mad Ants Brian Wanamaker, Texas Wesleyan
11. Tulsa 66ers Maze Stallworth. Morehead State
12. Dakota Wizards Jawan Bailey, Incarnate World
13. Reno Bighorns #Joseph Kennerly III, Central Oklahoma
14. Rio Grande Valley Vipers Tron Smith, St. Mary’s
15. Canton Charge #Harry Marshall, Indiana State
16. Springfield Armor Michael Sturns, Holy Family

EIGHTH ROUND
1. Springfield Armor Akeem Bennett,St. Francis
2. Canton Charge Jonathan Blake, Texas Wesleyan
3. Rio Grande Valley Vipers #Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
4. Reno Bighorns Reuben Clayton,Tennessee-Martin
5. Dakota Wizards Bruce Price,Tennessee State
6. Tulsa 66ers Xavier Alexander,Southern Nazarene
7. Fort Wayne Mad Ants Dauntae Williams, Central Oklahoma
8. Idaho Stampede #Dwain Williams, Hawaii
9. Bakersfield Jam Juma Kamara, Portland State
10. Erie BayHawks Jamael Lynch, Masschusetts-Lowell
11. Austin Toros James Lewis, Fresno Pacific
12. Texas Legends Collin Mangum, Southern Methodist
13. Sioux Falls Skyforce Brock Gillespie, Rice
14. Maine Red Claws Jonathan Dupre, Pepperdine
15. Austin Toros Jerel Hastings, Albany
16. Los Angeles D-Fenders Troy Payne, Santa Clara

Drummond, Calhoun on Drummond's Debut

2011-11-03T00:46:00.002-04:00

Here's what Andre Drummond and Jim Calhoun had to say about Drummond's first game in a UConn uniform: