Had a nice chat with Kevin Ollie and Josh Carlton today. Look for story on Carlton in Wednesday's Register.

Here's some of what Ollie had to say about a number of different topics:

Kevin Ollie

(2017-18 outlook)

I think our ballhandling’s gonna be much improved, especially with Alterique coming back and Jalen coming off an outstanding season.

(Looking back on last season's disappointment, injuries)

“It happens, it’s part of the game, we’re not making any excuses about it. I’m just glad to see those guys healthy.”

“Two weeks left in the season, we were fighting for third. Then we kind of had a letdown at the end of the season.”

“I was proud of the guys overall. Proud of the coaching staff. We just learned a lot. I know I learned a lot. I had never been through anything like that in my career as a head coach or an assistant.”

(Alterique Gilbert)

"He's still not 100 percent. We're still kinda cautious with everything, He'll do some contact, then lean off that a little bit. In July, we're gonna allow him to go full-contact, 5-on-5."

"He’s a tremendous leader. He has a great work ethic, and just seeing him out there, I think it really helps our team and our psyche, just to see that leadership out there. He’s a pit bull on the basketball court. He loves what he does, and you can see it in everything he does – every behavior he does, he’s kinda like a quiet leader."

(Will next year's team try to run more, go with smaller lineups?)

“That’s got to be the game plan. We don’t want to go down and face set defenses all the time. But that goes back to defensive rebounding. If you want to be a great running team, you’ve got to play good defense and rebound the basketball.”

(Mamadou Diarra)

"Mamadou’s been going full strength, getting up at 6:30 a.m., working out with Carlos Daniels, coming back to practice center doing individual work. No swelling in the knee, no bad feedback, every day he's recovering and coming back stronger."

(Terry Larrier)

Terry Larrier

"Terry’s doing great. He’s a man on a mission ... Terry’s really stepping up vocally, in workouts, going above and beyond the things we ask. I think the switch has really flipped on by him.”

(Will it be good for UConn to go into next season with lesser expectations, a bit under the radar?)

“I’d love to be No. 1. I don’t run away from expectations. I don’t care if we’re eighth or 10^th in the preseason – in Connecticut, they expect us to win. That’s the expectations that we come into each and every year, and that’s how we’re evaluated. I understand that pressure. I played here, I coached here. I like that pressure. I think that’s a privilege. If people want to call us an underdog, this and that, it is what it is. We want to just come in and play.”

“In February, when we’re coming back from SMU and you’ve got to get up for school at 8 a.m. and then come back in for practice – can you be committed then? That’s when I’ll know if we have a championship-caliber team.”

(Jalen Adams)

"Just being more consistent in big games – SMU, Cincinnati games. Stretch the defense more. He's a fantastic open-court basketball player. I want him to be known as one of the best defensive guards in our conference. That’s an area he can improve on.”

"His ankle was messed up the last three weeks. The way he gutted it out for us and gutted it out for me, and it’s not like we pushed him or anything. He wanted to play. That was big-time. Now, just giving him a little time to rest his ankle, get it back to full strength, that’s kind of what we’re doing with him now. But what he did those last three weeks … people didn’t write about that, but we knew about it. His ankle was bothering him. But he wanted to push through for the team and give it his all.”

(Does he think the program is still in good shape?)

“I don’t think, I know. Guys left, made their own decisions. It happens. I wish them the best of luck, but we have to move on. I don’t have time to be looking back. I’m running towards my destiny, and I think this program is running towards their destiny. We don’t have time to go back. We learned from it, we got through it. We’re focused on a new task this season to get the guys that are putting these jerseys on and going out here playing for this great university.”

“I know this program is in a good state. We’ve graduated guys, we did a remarkable job academically. On the basketball court, yeah, we took a step back. Everybody understands the different circumstances that happened. But, at the end of the day, I thought we played hard, we competed.”

“We have to win. I can’t keep going 15-17, we all know that. But I really admire the men that they’ve become. I hope everybody sees that, too.”

“We have a great program. It’s not for everybody. If you want to be here, come in with the mentality, you’re going to be successful. A lot of guys on that wall have done it, and it’s not all based on talent.”

(Will Antwoine Anderson help compliment Adams, Gilbert and Christian Vital in the backcourt?)

"(With a smile) Compliment? He’s gonna make them compete a little bit more, too. He’s really good. He’s what we need. He’s a push guard, he loves to play defense, he’s got a chip on his shoulder. Those guys stepping up a little bit want to prove themselves. He’s kind of what we need. He’s got the veteran leadership, but then he also has the tenacity to get out there defensively. He’s very shifty with the ball, he’s gonna give us another ballhandler.”

(Josh Carlton)

“Very skilled, big body. It’s not like we’re telling Carlos to put 25 pounds on him. We want to get him more lean and physically in shape, condition-wise. Very talented around the rim, can rebound. He’s just got a big body. I expect him to compete for minutes. He could be, eventually, a person that we can throw it down low to. He can command a double team, eventually. But I really think his skill level is close to (Steve) Enoch’s. Enoch is better skilled than him now, but I kind of compare those two, skill-wise. Great touch around the basket. Hopefully, he can come in and compete for some minutes.”

"We want to get him more athletic, boost his jumping ability, his fast-twitch muscles, being able to react on defensive end. Only way they get on court is if they pick up defensive schemes. Hopefully, he can do that."

(Eric Cobb)

"He went through an ordeal at South Carolina, took whatever punishment came his way, then went to JUCO and proved himself there and did great academically. Now, he’s coming back to get his second chance to play Division I basketball. I really think he has that motivation in his heart to say, ‘Man, I went through some stuff, but I’m better now.’ I think he has a toughness that we kind of lacked sometimes last year against the bigger teams.”

"His fault, not his fault – he was part of it. I think he took that under consideration, how he needs to change his life, the circle that he was running with. Now he’s a better man for it. I’m very intrigued by him.”

(Keeping two scholarship spots open)

“Just in case Andre Drummond falls out of the sky. We’re working. Some 2018’s that can be 2017’s, and still some guys transferring, we might bring in transfer and have him sit out and be a part of our system while not playing. That would be ideal.”

Ollie said that Amida Brimah will likely play for Miami in the Orlando Summer League, then with Chicago out in Las Vegas. It seems the Bulls have the most interest in Brimah.

And so it begins ...

What could be a very intriguing season for UConn kicks off tonight at Gampel against a very competitive Wagner squad.

The Huskies enter the season ranked 18th, which feels about right (one spot lower than where I had them on my preseason AP ballot). There's no doubt the talent is here, it's just that much of it is young, or relatively inexperienced. Almost every unit Kevin Ollie puts on the floor tonight will likely be playing together in a real game for the first time. (Starting lineup prediction: Jalen Adams, Alterique Gilbert, Rodney Purvis, Terry Larrier, Amida Brimah).

So, it'll be interesting to see how it all works out. But it should be a fun journey, one that will take the Huskies through Los Angeles, Hawaii, Madison Square Garden, the nation's capitol and their AAC slate.

And it all starts tonight. Buckle up!

Here's my advance for tonight's Wagner game.

The annual Lindy's college basketball season preview issue is out, with Rodney Purvis gracing the regional cover.

UConn is picked No. 16 in the magazine's preseason poll, tops among AAC teams. In fact, the only conference mate also in the Top 25 is Cincinnati, which is right behind the Huskies at No. 17. And I agree - flip a coin between these two teams as AAC regular-season champs. (I can also tell you that SMU was going to be a Top 25 team before Larry Brown up and Larry Browned. I still think the Mustangs will be strong - Tim Jankovich can coach).

The Huskies don't get as much respect in the player ratings. No UConn player appears among the nation's Top 25 point guards (Jaylen Adams of St. Bonny's is No. 5, but Jalen Adams is nowhere to be found), shooting guards, small forwards or power forwards. Only Amida Brimah checks in at No. 13 among centers.

UConn is picked to win the league (I should know, I picked them). Purvis is a preseason first-team all-league selection, Adams is second team and Brimah and Terry Larrier each third team. Alterique Gilbert is the preseason Newcomer of the Year.

Anyway, the issue is on news stands now. Pick up a copy (couple of stories in there penned by yours truly).

Been a while since I've blogged, so here's a mega-post off today's "Meet the Freshmen" at the Werth Center. This group of frosh is calling themselves "The Top Five," and they certainly could be one of the program's better classes when it's all said and done.

'The Top Five' (l. to r.), Vance Jackson, Juwan Durham, Christian Vital, Mamadou Diarra, Alterique Gilbert.

Here's some sights and sounds from this afternoon:

JUWAN DURHAM:

(on how good this freshman class can be)

“I believe that it’s the best in the country right now. We have guys that can do everything. We have scorers, decent defensive players, we have vocal leaders in Alterique and Christian, a shooter like Vance, a nice big like Mamadou, and versatility in myself, I believe. Coach K.O. told us that we have a chance to start. You know he doesn’t keep the same starting lineup, so whoever’s out there working the hardest and doing the best that they can do, they’ll be able to start.”

(on getting adjusted to life on UConn's campus)

“I like the area, because there’s not much in Storrs to do, other than play basketball and go to class. That’s what I really liked about it. I liked the campus, I liked the coaching staff and I liked the team. I knew the incoming freshmen class that we already have, with Mamadou and Alterique, I knew I’d be in good hands with those guys. We have good leaders in Kentan Facey and Jalen Adams and Rodney Purvis and Amida (Brimah).”

“I grew up in the city. Tampa, Florida … is really a fast-paced city, a lot of big buildings and stuff like that, interstates. Out here, there’s nothing but giant bugs. I saw an ant probably the size of my big toe. It’s crazy stuff that I’ve never seen before. It’s something new. I can go back and tell my family back at home. I took a video of a bee, I think it was. It was like that big (stretches fingers out). I was really confused about that.”

VANCE JACKSON:

ALTERIQUE GILBERT:

CHRISTIAN VITAL:

“You see Vance, he’s a 6-8 shooter, scorer, versatile. Alterique and I have no problem playing together – obviously he’s not playing yet, his shoulder’s still recovering, but we talk about (things like) I don’t mind if he brings up the ball, I don’t need to bring up the ball every time, he doesn’t need to bring the ball up all the time, he’s a selfless person – you see Mamadou, he’s a beast on the boards and starting to work on his mid-range shot, and Juwan, he’s still recovering, but he’s 6-11 and we were shooting around and he made, like, 10 3’s in a row. So, this class is really, really talented and versatile. I believe we’re one of the best recruiting classes in 2016. We need to prove it during the season.”

“Obviously, we want to win a national championship. That’s what everyone wants to do. We just talk about getting better as a group, pushing each other, making sure that no one person is slacking. Because if one person is slacking out of the five of us, we’re all slacking. We’re a team, we’re close with our other teammates, as well, but there’s something about that freshman group. Your class you come in with, you’re just a little bit tighter with, because you’re experiencing something new at the same time. We just talk about sticking together and keep getting each other better.”

(on whether he's a 'Kevin Ollie-type player,' as his prep coach called him)

“I think that’s one of the pictures coach K.O. was telling me when he was recruiting me, that you’re extremely hard-working. He spent 13 years in the NBA and he was never the best player on his team, he never averaged multiple points a game, he was just a hard-worker. He says I can shoot better than him, but those intangibles of working hard and wanting it more than other people, that I can achieve my dreams, too. And he can help me to that. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to play for Coach K.O.”

(on how his best friend, Steve Enoch, helped persuade him to come to UConn)

“I kind of spoke to him before it went public and told him what my five were gonna be. From then, he was texting me, ‘Listen, bro, what are you doing? Just commit now. Just commit now.’ So he definitely had an impact on me coming here.”

(on his friendship with Enoch)

“We just became such close friends (at St. Thomas More). We have the same interests off the court. We like to work out. We go to the gym at 6:30 a.m., preseason and during the season. We’d hang out in each other’s rooms, play video games when there was nothing much else to do on a prep school campus. It’s not like we could leave, so we just really bonded together. That’s my best friend.”

(on Enoch playing for Team Armenia this summer)

“I spoke to him yesterday. I was like, ‘Good luck out there, do your thing.’ I spoke to him the other night to work hard out there. You’re not there for no reason. He’s new to basketball. He wasn’t really on varsity from his freshman year like a lot of other players. So I told him, you’re out there for a reason, work hard, do your thing, and enjoy your experience out there.”

MAMADOU DIARRA:

“I think this group is gonna be really special. We’re already half the team this year, so we’re gonna all play major roles with the team. We’re with each other all day, so we’re jelling, and that’s gonna help us out a lot. Everybody brings their own uniqueness.”

(defense and rebounding)

“That’s gonna be my niche to get on the floor. And I know I’ve got to develop offensively. But I figure once I get in the gym all the time and put in that work, that’s gonna come eventually. But I’m gonna deal with my strengths at first, and then grow from there.”

Here's the AAC's all-conference and all-rookie teams. I thought Shonn Miller might make second team instead of Daniel Hamilton, but despite Hamilton's struggles this season, he's still among the league's top rebounders and assist men. And he's got more name recognition.

Also thought Jalen Adams might make all-rookie, but this isn't a huge crime, either. If you want to go by stats, he doesn't compare to the five who made it -- or, you could argue, with UCF's Tacko Fall, the league's top shot-blocker who's become a bit of an offensive force lately.

The league's defensive player of the year, Sixth Man Award, most improved player and Sportsmanship Award winners will be announced on Wednesday. On Thursday, at a 12:30 p.m. luncheon, the league's player of the year, coach of the year, rookie of the year and scholar-athlete of the year will be announced.

UConn doesn't figure to reap too many (if any) of these awards. Maybe Rodney Purvis for Sixth Man? Maybe Amida Brimah for DPOY (did he play enough? I don't think so).

One thing is certain: if SMU's Nic Moore repeats as AAC player of the year, he won't be on-hand to accept his award. Seems Moore has booked a cruise this week with his girlfriend. Guess you can do that when your team has a postseason ban.

All-Conference First Team
Troy Caupain, G, Cincinnati
Shaq Goodwin, F, Memphis
*Nic Moore, G, SMU
*Quenton DeCosey, G, Temple
James Woodard, G, Tulsa

All-Conference Second Team
Daniel Hamilton, G/F, UConn
Gary Clark, F, Cincinnati
Devonta Pollard, F, Houston
Dedric Lawson, F, Memphis
Shaquille Harrison, G, Tulsa

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Shonn Miller, F, UConn
Damyean Dotson, G, Houston

All-Rookie Team
Kentrell Barkley, G/F, East Carolina
*Dedric Lawson, F, Memphis
Galen Robinson, Jr., G, Houston
*Jahmal McMurray, G, USF
*Shake Milton, G, SMU

As the American Athletic Conference season winds down this week, it's time to take a look at who could/should be hauling in some hardware at the league tournament next week in Orlando.

A lot of tough choices this season, really. In fact, looking back at the preseason all-conference teams, we've got just two players picked for the first team making either first or second team all-AAC. Of course, we could be very wrong.

Here's how we see it:

ALL-CONFERENCE

FIRST TEAM

Nic Moore, Sr. G, SMU

Quenton DeCosey, Sr. G, Temple

Shaq Goodwin, Sr. F, Memphis

James Woodard, Sr. G, Tulsa

Gary Clark, Soph. F, Cincinnati

SECOND TEAM

Damyean Dotson, Jr. G, Houston

Troy Caupain, Jr. G, Cincinnati

Shonn Miller, Gr. F, UConn

Jordan Tolbert, Sr. F, SMU

Shaq Harrison, Sr. G, Tulsa

HONORABLE MENTION

Daniel Hamilton, Soph. F, UConn

Dedric Lawson, Fr. F, Memphis

Pat Birt, Jr. F, Tulsa

Louis Dabney, Sr. G, Tulane

ALL-ROOKIE

Jalen Adams, G, UConn

Jahmal McMurray, G, USF

Dedric Lawson, F, Memphis

Shake Milton, G, SMU

Kentrell Barkley, F, ECU

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Candidates: Nic Moore, SMU; Quenton DeCosey, Temple

Winner: Nic Moore, SMU

Moore won the award last season (beating out UConn's Ryan Boatright), and was the preseason pick this year, which certainly gave him the leg up on the competition from the start. Sometimes, guys have trouble living up to the expectations (see: Dunn, Kris), but not in Moore's case. He's third in the league in scoring at 16.7 ppg, third in assists and fourth in steals. It's a shame his NCAA tourney career will be defined by the following: snubbed as a sophomore, first-round loss on controversial goaltending call as a junior, postseason ban as a senior.

As recently as a few weeks ago, I thought Daniel Hamilton had a chance to unseat Moore for the honor. But he struggled so badly for the whole month of January, and UConn has fallen so short of expectations, that it's worth wondering whether Hamilton will even earn all-AAC honors.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Candidates: Dedric Lawson, Memphis; Jahmal McMurray, USF; Shake Milton, SMU

Winner: Dedric Lawson, Memphis

Despite a pair of atrocious performances this season against UConn, Lawson -- a heralded McDonald's All-American coming in -- is the choice. He leads the AAC in rebounding at 9.5 per game (barely edging out Hamilton) while also scoring at a 15.6 ppg clip. McMurray leads the league in scoring, but he's too one-dimensional on a bad team. Jalen Adams was the preseason pick, but while he's really made strides in recent weeks, he's not going to win this one.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Candidates: Fran Dunphy, Temple; Kelvin Sampson, Houston; Larry Brown, SMU

Winner: Kelvin Sampson, Houston

This is a really tough one that could go to either Dunphy or Sampson. Temple was picked to finish sixth and is 12-4 with a chance to finish first. Houston was picked to finish seventh and is 10-6, fresh off a win at UConn. I was really impressed with the job Sampson did in Sunday's win in Storrs, and even more impressed with his postgame press conference. Dunphy won it last year, so maybe there's a tendency to go with someone new. Either that or Dunphy becomes the Mike Brey of the AAC: the de facto coach of the year.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Candidates: Tacko Fall, UCF; Gary Clark, Cincinnati; Shaq Goodwin, Memphis; Shaq Harrison, Tulsa; Amida Brimah, UConn

Winner: Gary Clark, Cincinnati

This usually goes to a shot-blocker, so that eliminates Harrison. Fall, a freshman, leads the league in blocks (2.1 per game). Brimah would be second at 2.0 per game, but he's only played in nine league contests and will end up only playing 11. He is the reigning league DPOY, but is 11 games enough to merit a repeat? I say it goes to Clark, the top shot-blocker (1.8) on the league's most consistently excellent defensive team.

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR

Candidates: Markus Kennedy, SMU; Rodney Purvis, UConn; Rob Gray, Jr., Houston

Winner: Rodney Purvis, UConn

This is another real tough one. Kennedy won it last year, but he's been bothered by a knee injury for much of this season and is only averaging 9.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in league play. Not bad, but not what was expected from a preseason first team all-league pick. Gray leads the league in scoring in overall games (17.1 ppg) but doesn't rank in conference play because he's only played in 12 (starting seven of them) due to a balky ankle. He scored just two points Sunday against UConn. Is it fair to give the league's Sixth Man Award to a player who's only come off the bench in five league games?

Unless I'm missing someone else, Purvis seems to be the best fit. We all know his limitations, but he's come off the bench in 12 of 16 league games and averaged 10.9 points.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
I'll go with Temple's Obi Enechionyia, unless anyone can come up with someone else.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
UConn's Pat Lenehan won it last year, so could Nnamdi Amilo and his 4.0 GPA make it two Huskies in as many years? Doubtful, since Amilo is not a scholarship athlete this season.

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
This is not meant to be a sarcastic putdown of the players in the AAC, but I don't have a great guess who's deserving of the award. Sometimes it goes to a real good player who got edged out in another award, so maybe Quenton DeCosey or a James Woodard wins it. If we could give an award to the UConn player who's most amenable to the media (I know that doesn't exactly equate to sportsmanship) then Purvis would be a front-runner.

Impressive win for UConn last night. The Huskies thoroughly dominated Memphis in the second half, holding it to one offensive rebound over the final 20 minutes (just five for the game) and to just four field goals. UConn may have hastened Josh Pastner's departure from Memphis, though his $10.6 million buyout may muddle things.

It seems to me that the Huskies may be hitting their stride right now. Amida Brimah is back (though still a bit limited). Daniel Hamilton is back (though he never really left ... just playing much better the past couple of games). UConn's defense is as good as any in the nation. The Huskies seem to have settled on a rotation, and the players seem to be buying into their respective roles.

UConn could be really on to something here -- though Kevin Ollie is loath to say the Huskies have "turned a corner."



Getting back to Hamilton, his terrific night on Thursday (16 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists) wasn't the product of any pep talks from Kevin Ollie or his teammates, or even necessarily any extra work in the gym. It simply came from some inspirational text messages from the person who knows him best -- his mom, Karen.

Wasn't able to make the trip to Orlando on Sunday. It should be the last UConn road trip I miss this season. Great win, though. Seems like the Huskies got back to doing what they need to do ... and it certainly helps to have Amida Brimah back, as well.

Anyway, did a feature on Zach Brown after talking to his guardian, Boo Willingham, his Putnam coach and others, then seeing him in his Putnam debut Saturday night. It's a pretty fascinating story, and he's a real nice kid that's easy to root for. Hope you enjoy.

Went to check out Zach Brown in his debut with Putnam Science Academy. There's a lot to like here, but certainly room to improve, as well.



Brown didn't start (he did just enroll at the school less than two weeks ago) but came off the bench 4 minutes, 43 seconds into the game and made his presence felt. He wound up with 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting, with four rebounds and three blocks. He also had his shot blocked twice in a row by a smaller player early on, when some rust was evident.

There's no doubt, he's skilled -- more so than other recent UConn big men (Hasheem Thabeet, Amida Brimah, maybe Steve Enoch). He's a little ungainly, maybe needs to get a little stronger, but has some impressive low-post moves, keeps the ball high and has a nice lefty jump hook that's got to be hard to guard -- especially from a 7-footer.

Brown helped PSA crush a Lee Academy team that has some talent and size but is a middle-of-the-pack team in the league.

Meanwhile, Mamadou Diarra struggled a bit, with 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting from both the field and the foul line. He did hit a 3-pointer and grabbed 10 boards to go with four blocks, some of them rafter-shaking.

And Hamidou Diallo? Wow, he's special. Finished with 20 points, five boards and five assists, as well as an incredible dunk through the lane, in traffic. Incredible talent, though a bit yappy with the refs and the opposing team.

Unfortunately, I missed his dunk on video, but did get this stickback late in the game:



Former UConn player Boo Willingham, who was Brown's AAU coach and mentor down in Miami, was at the game (he still lives in Hartford) and had some nice things to say about the big man. We'll have that and more in a feature story on Monday.

For now, here's what Brown and Putnam coach Tom Espinosa had to say about his debut:

BROWN:

"I was nervous at first, but I got it together. An elite player should never be nervous to play any competition."

"It's a lot better. It's competitive. I can't just go out and get easy dunks, I have to work hard for it. Down in Miami, I'm not trying to talk bad, but it was a little easy. Up here, it's really competitive. I was really working and stepping my game up."

(on Putnam Science Academy)

"At first, I was like, 'Oh my God, why am I here? They sent me away just for this?' But now, I like it. My teammates love me, I love my teammates, I love my coach. I just love it here. It just feels right."

(on what parts of his game are his strengths, and what he needs to work on)

"Playing defense, blocking shots rebounding, my left-hand jump hook, layups. But I have to work on my right hand. I've been working on it a little bit so I can get that up-and-under ready."

"I wanted to get out of Miami, because I had a lot of distractions with suspensions and crazy stuff. Miami is like a party city, so I wasn't focused mentally, so I had to come up here if I wanted to be successful. So, that's what I did."

(on re-classifying)

"It depends on the schoolwork. If I can get it down pat and get these grades up, it'll happen. If not, I have to stay one more year. So, we'll have to see."

Would he prefer to move up to the Class of 2016?

"Yes."

PUTNAM COACH TOM ESPINOSA:

"We have a pretty good relationship with UConn, we have Mamadou here. The bottom line is, UConn's staff wanted to get Zach out of Miami and get him into a prep school. It wasn't just us, it was other prep schools. It just worked out with us."

"I think UConn's pretty happy he's here. We're 30 minutes away from UConn."

"He's extremely quick for a 7-footer. He moves extremely well. Defensively, he's got to work on. He closes, no space, and he fouls constantly. He blocked maybe one or two shots, but he's gotta be a better shot-blocker. Defensively, he's kind of way behind, I believe. But offensively, he's very quick, he keeps the ball high, he's got great up-and-under moves. The last two days of practice, he's dominated."

(could he be ready to play at UConn next season)

"This fall, at UConn? I think he could, but I think he would benefit a lot more coming back. He's got a lot of work to do. In Miami, he put up big numbers, but he wasn't playing against the highest competition that he's gonna play here, at a prep school in New England."

"He would love to go next year. He's a true junior, he's right on track. His plan is to maybe take some summer classes, graduate early and get to UConn in the fall. But, it's a very slim chance. I don't think it's gonna happen. I think he'll be back here next year."

Because Brown transferred to PSA past deadline, he won't be able to play in the national prep tournament.

Amida Brimah spoke for the first time since breaking the middle finger on his right hand about 10 days ago. He has yet to start any basketball activities -- or, really, any type of conditioning activities. He'll see a doctor next week to determine his next step.

Meanwhile, UConn kicks off its AAC schedule on Saturday night at Tulane. The Huskies have yet to truly dominate in league play since the conference began three seasons ago, so maybe this is the year they do that.

In fact, the Huskies have yet to win an AAC season-opener. Perhaps that changes on Saturday night, as well.

In its third season, the AAC doesn't appear to be as good as we thought it was going to be just a few months ago. With SMU barred from the postseason, could this be a one-bid league? Probably not, but considering how the league has had the two biggest snubs for each of the last two NCAA tournaments (SMU in 2014, Temple in 2015), it's hard to envision any more than two bids -- at least at this point.

We chronicle all this in today's Register. Meanwhile, with conference play just underway (and UConn readying for its league opener on Saturday at Tulane), here's our picks for the league's award-winners this season:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Daniel Hamilton, UConn. The most complete player in the league, and possibly its best NBA prospect. Hamilton leads the league in assists, is fifth in reboundng and 13th in scoring. Even with reigning POY Nic Moore back and playing well, we're gonna side with Hamilton on this one.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Dedric Lawson, Memphis. He's got strong competition from SMU's Shake Milton, but Lawson has thus far made the transfer of Austin Nichols far more bearable. He's fifth in the league in scoring and second in rebounding.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shaq Harrison, Tulsa. Amida Brimah isn't expected back until about mid-February, so we're eliminating him from the competition. With that in mind, we'll throw Tulsa a bone and give it to the player who currently leads the league in steals.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Kelvin Sampson, Houston. No matter how many games SMU wins, there's no way they'll give this award to Larry Brown -- right? Houston was expected to be better this season, and Sampson -- a very good coach -- may have the Cougars even better than expected.

ALL-CONFERENCE

FIRST TEAM

Daniel Hamilton, UConn
Rodney Purvis, UConn
Nic Moore, SMU
Jordan Tolbert, SMU
James Woodard, Tulsa
Troy Caupain, Cincinnati

SECOND TEAM

Shaq Harrison, Tulsa
Quenton DeCosey, Temple
Dedric Lawson, Memphis
Shaq Goodwin, Memphis
Rob Gray, Houston

HONORABLE MENTION

B.J. Tyson, East Carolina
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Octavius Ellis, Cincinnati
Louis Dabney, Tulane

ALL-ROOKIE

Dedric Lawson, Memphis
Shake Milton, SMU
Jahmal McMurray, South Florida
Jalen Adams, UConn
Tacko Fall, UCF

A few awards that won't be announced at the AAC tournament in Orlando in March:

BEST NAME: Tacko Fall, UCF. Is there any competition? That he's 7-foot-6, 300 pounds and playing pretty well (2.5 blocks per game) only adds to his intrigue.

BEST TRANSFER: Jordan Tolbert, SMU. Texas Tech transfer leads the league in rebounding at 10.2 per game, to go with 12.6 points. He's overshadowed Markus Kennedy to this point.

BEST GRAD TRANSFER: Ricky Tarrant, Jr., Memphis. UConn fans love Shonn Miller and Sterling Gibbs, but Tarrant, who started his career at Tulane, then played two seasons at Alabama, may have the bigger overall impact.

BEST JUCO TRANSFER: Rob Gray, Houston. After playing at Howard JC last year, Gray is leading the AAC in scoring at 18.5 points per game.

BEST SHAQ: Shaq Goodwin, Memphis. In a narrow victory, Goodwin, who seems to have been around forever, edges Harrison, who along with James Woodard forms one of the top guard combos in the league.

BEST ATHLETE: Bo Zeigler, South Florida.


BEST POINT GUARD: Nic Moore, SMU.

BEST SHOOTING GUARD: James Woodard, Tulsa.

BEST SMALL FORWARD: Daniel Hamilton, UConn.

BEST POWER FORWARD: Jordan Tolbert, SMU.

BEST CENTER: Amida Brimah, UConn.

HOTTEST COACH'S SEAT: Josh Pastner, Memphis. (Runner-up: Donnie Jones, UCF).

Granted, Texas was without its double-double averaging big man, Cam Ridley. And the Longhorns may not have been a particularly great team even with him.

But make no mistake: UConn's 71-66 at the Erwin Center Tuesday night qualifies as a very big win. Texas, 8-4, and getting a few Top 25 votes (including mine) the past couple of weeks, is a Big 12 team that should be competitive in the nation's best conference. That alone should guarantee the Longhorns finish the season with a good RPI.

Couple the fact that its a road win (and don't forget, UConn is without Amida Brimah, as well), and this is a real nice one for the Huskies. A true resume-builder.

UConn also has found its true go-to guy -- on and off the floor -- in Rodney Purvis. Daniel Hamilton may be the team's best all-around player, but Purvis is the Huskies' best scorer, and is a leader off the floor, as well.

Now, about those free throws ... that is an issue that Purvis will have to resolve. Otherwise, he's been consistently strong, and clutch, all season.

Finally, here's a piece on Terry Larrier, who has to sit out this season as a transfer but, unlike Purvis, can travel with the team.

Shaka Smart met with the media on Monday afternoon in advance of Tuesday's but with UConn. The Longhorns will be without 6-10, 290-pound center Cameron Ridley, who broke his left foot in practice on Sunday and is out indefinitely. Ridley was averaging 12.7 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Smart:

“He’ll bounce back. This certainly is not the end of his career, it’s just one of those things where it’s an unfortunate injury, unfortunate timing. As a team, we’re just gonna have to rally around him and everyone step up.”

Does this mean Texas will play more of the "havoc" style that Smart mastered at VCU the prior six seasons?

“As I’ve been saying since I got here, havoc is a mindset. It’s a way you think about yourself when you get out of bed. Then, the style of play comes from there. Does it mean we can extend the floor a little more? Does it mean our perimeter guys are gonna be even more involved in everything we’re doing? Yes. Does it mean, on offense, it makes more sense for us to get out and score in transition? Yes. But the mindset part, it’s something that just takes time to learn.”

Both teams will be without their starting centers, with Amida Brimah also out injured.



“Their best lineup, even when he was healthy, was to have four guys that are perimeter-type players in the game, with Daniel Hamilton being the biggest of those. But he’s such a dynamic, triple-threat guy -- he can shoot, drive or pass the ball so well -- that’s their best offensive team. In a way, it makes them harder to guard. Brimah, with what he did on the defensive end, not having him in there affects them defensively, much like not having Cam affects us on defense. Both teams, what we have to do is focus on ways on the offensive end where we can be most effective, and defensively, if you don’t have that big shot-blocker, you have to do a better job with your individual defense.”

Smart was asked if 6-11 Prince Ibeh would start in Ridley's place, and he said he wasn't sure, but seemed to indicate that was likely.

Smart also talked about Terry Larrier, whom he recruited to play for him at VCU last season before Smart took the Texas job and Larrier transferred to UConn.

“Great kid, very, very intelligent ... sometimes too smart for his own good. And I think he’s in a great program. When you leave a place, the hardest thing is leaving a guy like that, because I think that he was really making terrific progress. He came in as a guy with high expectations, came in, like most freshmen, he was taken aback a little bit by some of the challenges you get hit with as a freshman. But he’s through that, and I think that’s the exciting thing for Coach Ollie and his program. He’s got a freshman year under his belt where he’s had a lot of success. Now, he’s learning a new system, a new program. But he has a confidence level, because he’s had some success.”

Smart said he got a chance to speak with Larrier at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas last month.

“We’ve talked some since the spring. We stay in contact from time to time. It’s always kind of a fine line, because you don’t want to be bothering other people’s players. But as a person, you care about a guy, you worked with him for a year, you spent a couple of years recruiting him. I just gave him a hug, told him I’m proud of him, I love him, and I want to see him keep doing well. He looked good, he continues to get stronger, physically. I’m happy for him.”

Here's what Ollie had to say about Larrier in the Bahamas:



It was pointed out to Smart that he and Ollie have been after many of the same players on the recruiting trail in recent years (Larrier, current Longhorn Tevin Mack, recent UConn commit Alterique Gilbert)

“I think it speaks more to those players. They’re really good players that are sought-after. And UConn’s recruiting at a high level, those guys have done a great job. We tried to recruit Alterique Gilbert, who they signed. They did a great job recruiting him and developing a relationship. That one wasn’t even close. They beat everyone by a mile.”

“Both programs want to bring in high-level guys that are also the type of kids that we want to coach -- good kids, want to get better, want to learn, want to be part of something bigger than themselves. I know that’s something that Kevin values and it’s something that I value.”

Game 2, A.B. (After Brimah) went better defensively for UConn in Wednesday's matinee blowout of Central Connecticut than Game 1. After a sluggish start, the Huskies kept the Blue Devils from doing much of anything offensively, en route to a 99-58 win.

Meanwhile, the Huskies did just about everything on offense. Shonn Miller fell three points shy of a career high with 25 points, with six of his 10 baskets coming off feeds from Daniel Hamilton (more on him later).



Kentan Facey notched his second career double-double (his other had come last year against ... Central Connecticut!). Rodney Purvis kept his season double-figures streak alive at 11. Even all three walk-ons scored, including a dunk by Christian Foxen (who scored a career-high four points!).

Ah yes, Hamilton. All he did was notch the 11th triple-double in Husky history with 11 points, 11 boards and 11 assists. And the last prior UConn triple-double? Shabazz Napier on ... 11/11 (Nov. 11, 2013, to be exact).

All this from a player once labeled as selfish. Amazing.



As for Facey, talked to him a bit afterwards and asked how he felt about UConn bringing in Shonn Miller as a grad transfer, even though Miller would eat into Facey's playing time. He replied in typically, unselfish fashion.

“I felt like it was going to increase our depth, as you see we need it now," he said. "You never know what’s going to happen, it’s a long season. We definitely need Shonn right now. He had a monstrous game for us. We need that going into Texas and league play.”

UConn has suffered a big blow, as 7-foot junior center Amida Bromah broke the third finger on his right hand during practice and will undergo surgery to repairt it. he is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks.

Here is the release from UConn:

UConn junior center Amida Brimah suffered a broken third finger on his right hand during practice on Monday and will have to undergo surgery to repair the fracture.

Brimah and the team learned the complete diagnosis and the best course of treatment from doctors following an examination on Tuesdaymorning. The 7-foot center from Accra, Ghana, is scheduled to have the surgery on Wednesday afternoon at UConn Health in Farmington. He is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks of the basketball season while recovering.
Brimah missed a game for the first time in his career Sunday with a groin injury as the 7-3 Huskies defeated UMass Lowell, 88-79. It broke a streak of 84 consecutive games played by the Huskies' junior co-captain.

"As I said after the game on Sunday, Amida is one of the best defensive players in the country, so obviously not having him has a big impact on us," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "But you never know when somebody can get hurt, which is why everybody always has to be ready to play.

"Everyone will have to lift their level of play --- the big men, of course, but our guards, as well will have to play better defense on the perimeter without Amida in there. We look at it as an opportunity for somebody to step up and have an impact on the game and the program. And I believe every player on this team has the capability to do that."

Brimah, who had started 44 straight games before Sunday, is averaging 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and has the top field goal percentage on the team at 72.5 percent, which would break his own single-season school record if it extended throughout the year. His 3.0 blocked shots per game currently ranks ninth in the country.

Last season, Brimah was voted the Defensive Player of the Year in the American Athletic Conference and was an honorable mention all-conference pick after leading the country in total blocked shots (121) and finishing second in the country in blocked shots per game (3.46). This season, he was a preseason all-conference second team pick.

UConn's season continues Wednesday with an afternoon (12:30 p.m.) game against Central Connecticut State University at the XL Center.

Really wanted to include Monmouth on my ballot this week. Really badly. Love the whole idea of a MAAC school -- or any low-major, for that matter -- getting some love in the Top 25. And it's not undeserved -- the Hawks have defeated five major-conference teams already this season, including at Georgetown, at UCLA, and over Notre Dame and USC (oh, and Rutgers).

Yes, Monmouth did lose at Canisius. But road losses in conference play happen. If you put, say, a Baylor or a Miami or a Texas A&M or a Gonzaga (or a UConn) in the MAAC this season, I guarantee you they'd lose a game or two on the road in league play at some point.

Ultimately, though, maybe there just wasn't enough room for the Hawks on my ballot. Although four top-10 teams all lost this past week, only four of the 15 teams I had ranked 11-25 lost. And the only one I'm bouncing out is four-loss UCLA.

I had to get Utah in. The Utes are 9-3 and fresh off Saturday's win over Duke at MSG. To get Monmouth in, I would have to drop a team that didn't lose last week, which is something I never do.

Until now.

I had Marquette ranked No. 25 last week after its win at the Kohl Center over Wisconsin that drove Bo Ryan into retirement. But as much as I love road wins, the Badgers aren't very good. Neither is LSU, the only other Power 5 team Marquette has defeated. And the Golden Eagles have lost to Belmont (along with Iowa).

So, I put Monmouth at No. 25 and dropped Marquette (even though it didn't even play this past week). Wanted to get UConn in there, as well, but the Huskies still don't have a real marquee win and misfired on their chances to score big wins over Maryland and Gonzaga. And that Syracuse loss isn't looking so great, either. And let's face it, the Huskies' too-close-for-comfort, 88-79 win over UMass-Lowell didn't really inspire a vote of confidence. Even if Omar Calhoun is truly back. And even if Amida Brimah watched the game from the bench.

Trust me: if the Huskies win at Texas on Dec. 29, they'll be back in my Top 25. Maybe even before then, who knows?

1. Michigan State
2. Kansas
3. Maryland
4. Oklahoma
5. Virginia
6. North Carolina
7. Xavier
8. Butler
9. Kentucky
10. Providence
11. Arizona
12. Purdue
13. Duke
14. SMU
15. Iowa State
16. Miami
17. Texas A&M
18. Villanova
19. George Washington
20. Utah
21. Baylor
22. Louisville
23. Gonzaga
24. Texas
25. Monmouth

UConn and Syracuse both held their ends of the bargain, and we end up with the best Thanksgiving Day rivalry game of all when the Huskies and Orange meet at 3:30 p.m. in a Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal game.

On ESPN!

Only three current UConn players (Omar Calhoun, Amida Brimah and Phil Nolan) have experienced the Husky-Orange rivalry first-hand. But the ones who haven't are looking forward to it.

Rodney Purvis had the best quote:

"It's definitely a huge game. I remember being in high school when the went into, like, five or six overtimes. My mom let me stay up and watch that game. I'm happy to be a part of this game tomorrow. It should be a really good game."

As for Jim Boeheim? Well, I understand a coach might not want to talk about an opponent he doesn't even know he's facing yet, so he wouldn't discuss UConn after his Wednesday afternoon win over Charlotte. Still, I thought he might at least comment on how special it might be to meet up with the Huskies again. Instead, I got a "you guys" from him:



So, apparently, "us guys" -- the media -- are the only ones who wanted to see this game. Not the fans. Not ESPN. Not anyone here at the tournament. Just "us guys."

Oh, and as for Wednesday's win over Michigan? Impressive. Very impressive.

Here's Sam Cassell, Jr. talking about his breakout game.

Where do we even start? This is a very talented team. Sure, it's Maine, but we've seen UConn teams of the past -- even good ones -- slog through early-season cupcake games with little energy or passion.

That doesn't appear to be in this team's DNA.

More later, but here's some of what Shonn Miller (double-double, 17 points, 10 rebouns) and Amida Brimah (18 points, nine blocks, one off the school record held by Hasheem Thabeet, Emeka Okafor and Donyell Marshall) had to say afterwards:

A few quick notes from after UConn's practice today at Gampel (which was attended by Mamadou Diarra), in advance of Sunday's exhibition opener vs. Tampa:

KEVIN OLLIE:



“We’ll experiment. It doesn’t count, but it does count, you know? We’ll experiment with some different lineups. Hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity to play everybody. That’s the beautiful thing about a close scrimmage, that’s one of the things I want, because you can really experiment -- go zone, play a lot of people a lot more minutes.”

“Steve Enoch is real talented. He’s got poise beyond his years, just like Jalen (Adams). He’s a real good basketball player, he’s a sponge, he wants to get better. And he’s huge. He’s more athletic than I thought. I didn’t know he was that special an athlete. He gets up and down and really goes after the ball. He wants to get better, and he’s got skills beyond his years. He’s gonna be a really good player for us.”

“I’ve been an admirer of (Tampa coach Richard Schmidt) for a long time, he’s been there for 33 years. He’s just a great coach. They allowed us to come down to their practice facility, so we’ve got a nice little relationship. They better not come in here with any of those junk zones or any of that stuff. But coach is real good friends of ours, and Coach (Justin) Pecka (a South Windsor native) has been a real good friend of the program.”

RODNEY PURVIS:

“I’m definitely one of the leaders, one of the older guys on the team. The guys feed off my energy. Coach is looking for me to be a leader. I’m taking that role. It’s pretty hard sometimes -- the ups and downs and learning curve of preseason. But it’s all worth it.”

(on UConn's overall depth)

“It’s definitely gonna make our team better. Everyone’s coming in focused. There’s a guy on the bench that plays the same position, so you’ve got to bring it each and every night if you want to be on the court.”

(on Steve Enoch)



(his teammates' reaction to Enoch dunking on Brimah?)

“Everybody’s, ‘Whoa!’, because we’re never used to really seeing it. We’re used to going to get the ball out of the stands anytime somebody tries to dunk on Amida, so it’s a little different when Steve caught him a couple of times.”

JALEN ADAMS:

The AAC released its preseason coaches' poll on Tuesday morning, and the coaches pretty much got it right.

SMU is picked to win the league. Debatable (especially with its postseason ban) but certainly not criminal. UConn's picked second, Cincinnati third, Tulsa fourth, Memphis fifth, Temple sixth, Houston seventh ... pretty standard.

Daniel Hamilton earned first-team honors, and I completely agree. I think there's a chance he could wind up conference player of the year. I'm that high on Hamilton. But it's no surprise that SMU's Nic Moore, who won the award last year, is the preseason pick.

Jalen Adams is tabbed as rookie of the year. I thought this could go to either Adams or Memphis's D.J. Lawson, who is a McDonald's All-American and could see major minutes as the player asked to replace Austin Nichols. But again, certainly no crime that Adams (who likely won't start much this season) is the choice.

Amida Brimah and Sterling Gibbs made preseason second team. Certainly fair. But here's where things get a little sticky -- Rodney Purvis did not earn any recognition. He is the Huskies' top returning scorer, and we all saw what he could do over the final couple of weeks last season, particularly in the league tourney while Ryan Boatright was battling injury and double-teams.

Of course, there are only so many spots (10) on the preseason teams, and it's hard to give four of them to UConn players. Should Purvis have got the nod over, say, Brimah? You could make that argument.

But he didn't,. and now maybe this "snub" could serve as motivation for Purvis as the season unfolds.

Preseason Player of the Year
Nic Moore, R-Sr., G, SMU
 Preseason Rookie of the Year
Jalen Adams, Fr., G, UConn
 Preseason All-Conference First Team
Octavius Ellis, Sr., F, Cincinnati
Daniel Hamilton, So., G/F, UConn
*Markus Kennedy, R-Sr., F, SMU
*Nic Moore, R-Sr., G, SMU
James Woodard, Sr., G, Tulsa
 Preseason All-Conference Second Team 
Troy Caupain, Jr., G, Cincinnati
Amida Brimah, Jr., C, UConn
Sterling Gibbs, GS, G, UConn
Shaq Goodwin, Sr., F, Memphis
Shaquille Harrison, Sr., G, Tulsa
 
[*] denotes unanimous selection
2015-16 Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)

	Team	Points
1.	SMU (8)	98
2.	UConn (2)	87
3.	Cincinnati (1)	84
4.	Tulsa	76
5.	Memphis	59
6.	Temple	54
7.	Houston	48
8.	East Carolina	31
9.	UCF	30
10.	USF	20
11.	Tulane	11