After practicing at Tampa Prep on Sunday, UConn practiced at the University of Tampa on Monday afternoon (both are a lot closer to the Huskies' downtown hotel than the USF campus). And by the way, the facilities at the University of Tampa are absolutely beautiful and state-of-the-art -- especially considering it's a Division II program.



Of course, the Huskies face USF on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Here's the game capsule, and here's some video and quotes off of today's practice:

KEVIN OLLIE:

(on Amida Brimah's "two" blocked shots vs. Florida)

“I don’t want to get fined or anything, but those stats were not right. I saw where he made three blocks in a row, and they just gave him two (for the game). It is what it is, you can’t go back and change them. But I just want him to continue doing what he’s doing.”

(on Brimah's 10 rebounds)

“That was accurate. Not only 10 rebounds, he was just snatchin’ them. He was snatchin’ ‘em at the rim, they weren’t just falling to him. I think sometimes with Amida, they just fall to him and he gets lucky. But this game, he was going over the rim and grabbing them, being strong, against some big-time players. I was happy to see that. Of course you wanted to see him score a little more, but we have scorers.”

(on USF guard Anthony Collins)

“We know how good a player he is. He doesn’t shoot it outside all the time, but he can just control the game. Very smart, very heady, gets everybody involved. We’re really gonna have to contain him, pressure him.”

(on USF's first-year coach Orlando Antigua)

“He’s putting his stamp on it. I think he’s got three starters back, so it’s kind of hard to put a stamp on it. I know they’re working hard, they’re staying in games. Orlando’s gonna be a great coach, comes from great pedigree, different coaches he’s been under -- especially (John) Calipari. They know how to win. I think he’s gonna get the right players in here, and he’s gonna build a great program.”

(on building team chemistry during this five-day stay in Florida)

“We’ve been together beforehand (in) Puerto Rico ... my main job as a coach is to get them to have team chemistry. Hopefully, we’ll just keep building on it and keep tracing the lines that we’ve already drawn around our team.”

“Nice weather, hanging out in the pool, doing different things like that -- it’s great to see our guys bond like that. Hopefully, it contributes to them bonding on the court, talking more.”

(on not dropping to 0-2 in league play, as UConn did last year)

“It was a helluva climb we had to take upon. We want to win the day, win every day in practice, then come in and win a game. I think we’re getting to that point where we’re winning every day in practice. we’d love to be 1-1 going back up to Connecticut. I hear it’s gonna be like four degrees when we get off the plan, but it’ll be a little warmer being 1-1.”

(on packing it in against the Bulls, who don't shoot well from outside)

“They’re a load down inside, so we want to make sure we control the inside, not give up offensive rebounds, not give up strong positions, fire out on their shooters but understand who are the shooters and who aren’t the shooters. Then we’ve got to rebound the basketball. Just like teams are doing to us, they don’t want to give us layups. They want us to prove it from the outside, and we’re going to have to continue to get better. I know Orlando is getting those guys in positions to make shots. We just don’t want them to have their breakout game against us.”

RYAN BOATRIGHT:



“We’ve got a good opportunity to get back on track.”

(on Collins)

“He’s a great floor general. Everybody knocks his jump shot, but when he has time to set his feet, he can knock down a 3. He runs his team extremely well, he’s the enine of that team. As long as we can stop him from going off and controlling the whole game, we’ll be in good shape.”

(on what the Huskies have been doing this week)

“Relaxing. I’ve been connected to the ice machine, 24/7. We’ve just been chillin’, man, enjoying the weather, sitting back watching TV, guys playing spades all week. Just chilllin’, relaxin’.”

(on Brimah's 10-rebound game)

“Coach has been on him all year. (After) the Temple game (six rebounds in 29 minutes) he dogged him in the locker room. I knew he was embarrassed. He came back and responded with 10 rebounds. Coach couldn’t even get it out before he said, ‘I had 10 rebounds,’ in the locker room. It was good to see that.”

RODNEY PURVIS:

“The main thing is just getting better, at the end of the day. Winning or losing shouldn’t affect how hard you go. The main thing is just maintaining a level 5.5, and everything else will take care of itself.”

UConn's full 2013-14 schedule was released today. Kevin Ollie called his out-of-conference schedule "second-to-none," and while that's open for debate, there's no doubt UConn will face plenty of quality opponents, both in and out of conference, this season. By my count, five opponents (Indiana -- assuming they meet in the 2K Sports Classic -- Florida, Louisville twice, Memphis twice and Cincinnati twice) could be preseason Top 25 picks this year.

Anyway, here's UConn's regular-seson schedule, with breakdowns of each opponent (the Huskies will also host exhibitions with Southern Connecticut on Oct. 30 and Concordia University on Nov. 4):

NOVEMBER

• 8 -- Maryland (6:30 p.m. at Barclays Center, Brooklyn): Terps were NIT semifinalists last year behind 7-foot-1 center Alex Len, who was No. 5 overall pick in draft. Now led by Dez Wells, who's suing Xavier for wrongful expulsion after a bogus July, 2012 sexual assault charge led him to be kicked out of school.
• 11 -- Yale: First time Huskies face Bulldogs in 10 years (Nov. 17, 2003). Watch for Stratford's Brandon Sherrod, who led Greater Hartford Pro-Am in scoring this summer.
• 14 -- Detroit (7 p.m.): First game of 2K Sports Classic. Detroit has won only prior meeting (67-61 in second-round NIT game). Titans were 20-13 and an NIT team last year and are led by guard Jason Calliste.
• 17 -- Boston University (noon): Second 2K Sports Classic game. Terriers return all five starters and top seven scorers from last year's 17-13 team, including first-team all-America East guard D.J. Irving.
• 21 -- Boston College (7 p.m. at Madison Square Garden): First meeting since BC's departure from Big East to ACC led to nastiness between Jim Calhoun and ex-BC AD Gene DeFilippo. Huskies own 54-35 all-time advantage and have won 28 of last 31 meetings, including 23 in a row at one point.
•  22 -- Indiana or Washington (5 p.m. or 7 p.m. at Madison Square Garden): Hoosiers lost a lot but still have sophomore Yogi Ferrell and a terrific incoming freshman class, led by big man Noah Vonleh.
• 26 -- Loyola (Md.) (7 p.m.): Greyhounds went 23-8 overall last season and earned second straight postseason berth (to CollegeInsider.com Tournament).

DECEMBER

• 2 -- Florida (7 p.m.): Billy Donovan's Gators lost top three scorers from Elite Eight team but have plenty of talent returning, led by Patric Young. Just second time schools will ever meet and first time in Connecticut (though Florida did play at Yale last season!).
• 6 -- Maine (7 p.m.): Black Bears are coached by former Calhoun assistant Ted Woodward.
• 18 -- Stanford: (9 p.m.): Cardinal went 19-15 and were an NIT team last year.
• 22 -- Washington (at Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle): Could be the second Battle of Huskies in less than a month, as teams could meet in 2K Sports Classic. Washington features Mike Anderson, a 6-5 junior guard out of Hartford's Weaver High.
• 28 -- Eastern Washington (1 p.m.): Craig Ehlo, the former NBA guard best known for being constantly posterized by Michael Jordan, is an assistant coach. 
• 31 -- at Houston (9 p.m., Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston): Huskies first-ever American Athletic Conference game is New Year's Eve in Houston.

JANUARY

• 4 -- SMU (2 p.m., Moody Coliseum, Dallas): Larry Brown may have a sleeper team on his hands in the Mustangs, who return all five starters from last year's 15-17 overall team.
• 8 -- Harvard (7 p.m.):  Crimson won third straight Ivy League title last season and again appear to be the team to beat in league.
• 11 -- Central Florida: Like UConn, Knights were barred from last year's postseason, though not due to low APR scores but rather for recruiting violations.
• 16 -- at Memphis (7 p.m. at FedExForum, Memphis): Tigers could give Louisville, UConn run for their money for AAC title. Led by point guard Joe Jackson, who averaged 13.6 points per game last season.
• 18 -- Louisville (9 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion): An ESPN College GameDay presentation and certainly the Huskies' marquee home game of the season, as Rick Pitino's defending national champions invade Storrs.
• 21 -- Temple (7 p.m.): Owls could be a bit down after last year's 24-10, NCAA tourney third-round season. But don't ever count a Fran Dunphy-coached team out.
• 25 -- at Rutgers (7 p.m., RAC, Piscataway, N.J.): New coach (Eddie Jordan), new AD (Julie Hermann) as Scarlet Knights try to undo stain of Mike Rice before heading off to Big 10.
• 30 -- Houston (9 p.m.): UConn is 2-0 all-time against the Cougars.

FEBRUARY

• 6 -- at Cincinnati (7 p.m., Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati):  Bearcats could be a Top 25 team, and Sean Kilpatrick should be in the running for AAC Player of the Year.
• 9 -- at UCF (6 p.m. at CFE Arena, Orlando, Fla.): Huskies lost to Knights on Nov. 25, 2011 in Bahamas.
• 12 -- USF (7 p.m.): Big East holdover boasts tough guard Anthony Collins, who plays as low to the floor as anyone you'll see.
• 15 -- Memphis (noon): UConn's played Tigers just once before, losing on Nov. 16, 2007.
• 20 -- at Temple (9 p.m., Liacouras Center, Philadelphia): UConn hasn't played Owls since 1965.
• 23 -- SMU (2 p.m.): UConn's only prior game against Mustangs was also in 1965 (an 80-68 Husky loss).
• 26 -- at USF (7 p.m.): Huskies' loss last season in Tampa was just second time Bulls have beaten them in 12 tries.

MARCH

• 1 -- Cincinnati (noon): Bearcats have beaten UConn two of the last three and four of the last seven times they've played.
• 5 -- Rutgers (7 p.m.): UConn has beaten Scarlet Knights 20 of the last 22 times they've played.
• 8 -- at Louisville (2 p.m. at KFC Yum Center, Louisville): A tremendous way to end the American Athletic Conference's first regular season. Could be battle for conference player of the year (Shabazz Napier vs. Russ Smith), too.
• 12-15 -- American Athletic Conference Championship (FedExForum, Memphis): After a one-year break, Huskies return to postseason play.

UConn faces South Florida on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Storrs. It may not be the most gripping matchup of the season, but it's still worth a watch. I mean, how many more puff features on Ray "Deer Antler" Lewis (such a model citizen) and the Harbaugh brothers can you stomach before that football game starts around 6:30 p.m., anyway?

Here's a little of what Kevin Ollie had to say after Saturday's practice:

"Practice was good today. They had a day off yesterday and we didn't go that long, with a 2 p.m. game tomorrow, but it was a great practice. The guys were engaged."

"One thing I can testify (to) with this group: They're learning how to win, learning how to find a way. To get outrebounded by 31 and still win is a great momentum-builder for them as a group."

(on South Florida)

"They have a great defensive team ... Anthony Collins is a tremendous point guard.  He leads by example. I've never seen anyone dribble as low as he does. He gets in the thick of the defense, finds their shooters, makes plays ... they run a ton of screen-and-rolls ... that's something we went over and we'll keep emphasizing it ... They're not looking to score quickly. I think they average 53 points per game in the Big East. Can we have the patience to stay in each possession?"

(On DeAndre Daniels)

"I'm just expecting him to continue to grow. I'm seeing him get better, hitting some goals I expect him to hit and star making new goals. I'm looking for consistency from him and I think we're starting to get that ... That play he got (against Providence) after Shabazz threw it to him, with two guys hanging over him, to get the and-one and show that emotion, that's something I want to see from him."

(on playing vs. zone defenses)

"I saw a lot of positive things on tape (vs. Providence) against that zone defense we started exploiting."

Ollie said Ryan Boatright (ankle, knee) and Tyler Olander (flu) are both doing fine.

"I'm looking for (Olander) and Enosch (Wolf) to step up. We need that from our bigs ... With Tyler, I expect him to get more rebounds, hit more people. That's what I demand, and that's what he demands of himself. He's gonna get better."

*** Meanwhile, in more pressing news, my daughter scored her first basket today. She's only 6, but it's never too early to start recruiting. Right, Geno?