Tyler Olander and Niels Giffey on their respective UConn careers. Tomorrow night is their last home game.

Olander's story may be the most intriguing of all, going from a starting freshman on the national title team to a senior getting little playing time, with arrests, bad rapping and scattered playing time in between.

OLANDER:

"Just looking back on the four years, the ups and downs, good and bad, it's been so fun and enjoyable, so many life lessons from so many different people. It's just been an unbelievable ride. Tomorrow night will definitely be emotional."

(on being a leader to younger big men)

"They're playing well ... I know we have pieces where we can make a good run in March. I just thought, a while back, what can I do? How can I help this team win? I'm not getting a lot of playing time. It's just helping these guys be the best they can be, so when they're out there, we've got the best team we can out there. I took a leadership role like that, and it's been successful so far ... I think that's what UConn basketball is all about. We have guys come back all the time and shed their wisdom on us. It's only right to continue to do that."

(on the team bonding through tough times)

"We've been through it all together, we really love what this program is all about. We love this school, the people involved in the program, the bond that we've had is one that probably will carry on for probably a lifetime. Just to think about that alone, to share this night tomorrow with these guys, will be something I wouldn't want to do with any other group."

"We stuck with it, ups and downs, for the love of basketball and for the love of each other, this university, the UConn family. That makes it all worth it."

(on Shabazz)

"He's unbelievable. Day-in, day-out, the transformation of him as a person behind the scenes has been unbelievable. He's grown so much. It's hard to put it into words, the things that he's done on the court, and his growth off the court has been even more remarkable."

(highlights of his career)

"Scoring the first points of the Final Four and (national championship) game are things you can definitely hold onto. Getting that ring, the run that we had in the Big East tournament ... there are so many memorable moments, more just of the team than myself. When 'Bazz hit that shot this year (against Florida), all the things that Kemba did, the adversity that we faced last year, not playing for anything but each other -- things like that, the bonds that I've created with these people and the reasons why are what I'll hold most (over) on-court performances."



(on learning from mistakes)

"Realizing your goals and knowing things you can and can't do to reach them. When you play Division 1 athletics, you're not a regular college student. When you play UConn basketball, you're far from a regular college student. So, just learning lessons like that will help me, I think, in the future ... whatever that will hold."

NIELS GIFFEY:

(on Shabazz)

"I remember he had this little rat-tail, and he had glasses on. I had just met Tyler in the dorm room and Shabazz popped in, said hello, introduced himself."

"It was an amazing start. At that point, we didn't realize what great leaders we had on the team -- Kemba, Charles and Donnell. At this point, we're just trying to carry that over to this season. I'm just getting a little emotional about it."

"It's just a sign that we really wanted to be here, we wanted to be at UConn, we wanted to be nowhere else. It wasn't always about ourselves or about our situation, but sticking with the program that gave us a chance to do all this, to win a national championship. I hope people see that."

(on his future in basketball)

"I think there's always going to be a good spot for me back home, but maybe I can play somewhere else. I like it in the U.S."

Here are some notes 'n quotes from Saturday's Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Charity Classic:

Kemba Walker is one of the most celebrated winners in UConn basketball history. The run to the 2011 Big East and national championships is proof of that.


So imagine how it killed him as a rookie this season with the Charlotte Bobcats, who had an all-time worst record of 7-59.

“Of course (it did),” he said Saturday, prior to the Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game. He added that his goal for the team in the future is “winning, that’s it. I just want to win.”

Adding another national champion (2012 No. draft pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) to the mix can only help, Walker figures.

“But it takes more than just me and him,” he noted. “As long as (we)can try to bring that winning culture to the team, it’ll help a lot.”

Walker was a winner again on Saturday, scoring 38 points to lead the White Team to a sudden-death overtime (seriously), 109-107 victory over the Blue Team. In an interesting twist, however, Walker had two chances to give his team the win and came up short both times.

At the end of regulation, he put up a 16-footer (similar to his famous game-winner against Pitt in the 2011 Big East tournament) but had it blocked by Rudy Gay.

In OT, Walker made some terrific crossovers and put up a similar shot with Jeremy Lamb guarding him. The shot was an air ball.

The White Team won thanks to Jerome Dyson’s steal and layup.

*** Shabazz Napier is still in a walking boot after fracturing the pinky toe on his right foot a few months ago, but he’s 100-percent confident that he’ll be ready to go once practice starts in mid-October.

Napier said he’s due to get the boot off in 2 ½-3 weeks, and hopefully begin basketball activities shortly after that.

Jim Calhoun has mentioned that Napier will likely play off the ball more this season, allowing Ryan Boatright to control the point. That’s fine with Napier.

“In high school I was more of a combo guard,” he noted. “When I came to college, I realized I had more potential being a pro point guard. If I was blessed enough to make it to the NBA, that’s what I’d be. But, I’m willing to do anything coach wants me to do. Whatever he wants me to do, I’ll do it – whether it be running in the rain at (midnight), I’ll do it.”

He’ll be asked to score more this season.

“I started scoring well at the beginning of the season, but then I allowed a lot of things that were going on with the team to get in my head,” Napier noted.

What type of things?

“Things that were going on throughout the whole season, whether it be inside or outside. Sometimes as a young athlete, you let things get to your head. I learned from my mistakes.”

*** UConn is expected to have several recruits come in on official visits this week. One of them is Kentan Facey, a 6-foot-9 Class of 2013 power forward out of Long Island Lutheran High.

Per NCAA rules, UConn could not have any recruiting visitors at Saturday's game. If any came, it was on their own accord.

*** Hasheem Thabeet recently signed with the defending NBA Western Confernece champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

“It’s another opportunity for me,” he said. “I just have to put in the work.”

*** Stanley “Sticks” Robinson was at the game, but didn’t play due to a torn left Achilles tendon he suffered in March while playing for the Iowa Energy of the NBA developmental league.

*** Donnell Beverly, a 2011 graduate, played in China last year.

*** The announced attendance was 7,241.

Upon taking over as school president in June, Susan Herbst created a President’s Athletic Advisory Committee, comprised by some of the university’s most well-respected faculty members. The committee implemented a plan aimed to improve UConn’s APR in men’s basketball – and, indeed, for all sports – moving forward.

While it's obviously still very early to see the fruits of this plan, all signs point to UConn being on the right track. Nothing will be official until the spring, but we're told that the Huskies' APR for the 2010-11 team should be 975. Donnell Beverly and Charles Okwandu have both graduated, and while Kemba Walker hasn’t earned his degree yet, he left the program in good academic standing.

The only point UConn will likely loss will be for Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, who didn’t have a high enough grade-point average before transferring to Hofstra, according to a source.

(UConn in the clear for this season's NCAA tourney)

Even with this improved APR, however, it won’t be enough to lift the Huskies’ four-year rolling average above 900. Don't forget: while adding the 975 score, UConn will lose a decent 946 APR from the 2006-07 team.

Here are the five aims of UConn's APR plan, and what UConn has already done (or not done) to make strides on each point:

* Ensure that student-athletes who leave to pursue professionally opportunities are academically eligible as they depart the University. (Kemba Walker left in good academic standing)

* Actively encourage former student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility to return to the Institution to complete their degree programs by utilizing the National Consortium for Academic and Sport Degree Completion program. (It doesn't appear any recent players have come back to complete their degree. That Scott Burrell finally earned his diploma a few years ago and Ray Allen has apparently talked about doing the same is something the university is happy about and wholeheartedly encourages -- and may even earn them some "bonus points" -- but doesn't have much if any effect on the APR)

* In order to make significant progress toward graduation, continuing student-athletes will be required to enroll in a minimum of nine credit hours during summer school.

* Provide enhanced academic support services (Study Skill techniques, Freshman Year Experience classes, etc.) in the summer prior to initial full-time enrollment and the fall semester of the student-athletes freshman year.

* Decrease the number of student-athletes who transfer from the institution with eligibility remaining. (Coombs-McDaniel still earned the program three out of four points)

A couple of UConn tidbits this evening:

*** Worried about the leadership vacuum created by the departure of Kemba Walker and Donnell Beverly? Don't be. At least for now. Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier have been named de facto captains this summer, and both are showing tremendous leadership skills, according to Jim Calhoun and George Blaney.

*** Kevin Ollie did a tremendous job in leading the charge in recruiting DeAndre Daniels. It involved a lot of footwork, a lot of work overall, but it has obviously paid off. Now's as good a time as any to remind you all of what a great hire Ollie was for the program.

*** Jim Calhoun attended a two-day NCAA seminar down in Tampa earlier this week, with college coaches from across the land. He said he spent much of his time with Rich Rodriguez, talking about "life in general."

"It was semi-interesting, semi-boring," he said of the seminars, which lasted eight hours the first day and five the second and had to do mostly with rule changes and things like that.

*** As of right now, Calhoun doesn't believe there will be any more departures from the roster. Of course, that could always change by the end of the summer.

*** With Walker gone, Calhoun noted, the team had the choice of going with more size or more offense. It has chosen the latter.

Running out of adjectives here to describe UConn's incredible run to the Final Four. Let's let Jim Calhoun try:

“I don’t know where it stands in NCAA postseason play, but it’s got to stand somewhere, these nine games, because I’ve never seen a team do what these kids have done.”

He later added:

"Emeka Okafor is in our locker room right now, and his team was a powerful, older team that rolled through. We had one tough game, against Duke, but won a national championship and that was special, and the first one (1999) was obviously very special.

“But this – our march in the past nine games, I haven’t experienced anything like this and the resiliency we’ve had.”

Ah yes, Okafor. He was in town, with his New Orleans Hornets playing the Lakers on Sunday night, and he is thoroughly impressed with this year's UConn team.

“They’re a strong, tough group who doesn’t understand the definition of ‘can’t,’” he said. “‘Can’t’ is not in their vocabulary. From the five games in the Big East to coming out here, basically on a road game against San Diego (State) and here, and getting the job done.”

One other interesting tidbit: Kemba Walker and Donnell Beverly are now the only UConn players ever to advance to two Final Four. It is, of course, the Huskies' fourth trip to the Final Four and second in three years.

We'll have some video of Emeka Okafor talking UConn and Jim Calhoun cutting down the nets a little later. For now, here is the game story and notebook from tonight's 65-63 UConn victory.

A Jim Calhoun quote:

"No matter how this season ends up, it's going to end up as a wonderful season. I guarantee that, it will ... I've enjoyed being around these kids. It's been a fun year."

So when did Calhoun utter these words? Last week, after UConn's miracle run through the Big East tourney? Saturday night, after its win over Cincinnati that put the Huskies into the Sweet 16 later this week in Anaheim?

Neither. Calhoun made this statement back on Feb. 9, the day before UConn's game against St. John's and on the heels of two losses in its prior three games.

The Huskies would, of course, get blown out by the Red Storm at the Garden the following night, as well. But you really get the sense that Calhoun meant those words then just as much as he did on Saturday night when he said the following:

“This has been an incredible journey with these kids, and I would have said this had things turned the other way. We can’t wait to get out to California and keep playing and keep being with this group. This is such a special team for me, certainly.”

Really? Would Calhoun, one of sports’ most tenacious competitors, really still have felt this way if UConn had, say, lost to Georgetown in the second round of the Big East tournament, then been knocked out of the first weekend of the Big Dance?

Honestly, I believe so. Oh, he'd be a grump for a day or two, but upon reflection, he'd truly treasure everything this team has brought him.

Because this is an extremely close-knit bunch of kids who are likeable and fun to be around. They truly seem to enjoy each other’s company, none of the egos or petty jealousies that may have fueled last year’s bitterly disappointing season. As much publicity as Kemba Walker has rightfully earned, his teammates don’t appear to begrudge him at all and, in fact, speak of him in the glowing terms reserved for players they idolize – or even greater influences.

“We’re going to go as far as God lets us,” freshman guard Shabazz Napier said Saturday night.

“God and Kemba,” a reporter quipped.

Napier had to pause for a moment and smile before admitting, “There’s God … and Kemba’s nowhere near God.”

Tell that to a UConn fan. But we digress ...

It's clear that this group has helped Calhoun through another trying season. Last month, the program was punished by the NCAA for violations in the recruitment of Nate Miles. Calhoun was suspended for the first three Big East games of next season, a sanction he clearly disagreed with but eventually opted not to appeal. A few days later, Calhoun’s sister-in-law passed away. He missed a game while attending the funeral and talked about how there are “more important things in life” than basketball.

But watching this group enjoy each other’s company, as well as improve on the basketball court, seems to be therapeutic to Calhoun. There’s really not a bad story in the group: the emergence of Walker as perhaps the very best player in the nation and Jeremy Lamb as a star on the rise; the improved inside play and toughness of Alex Oriakhi, the boundless athleticism of Roscoe Smith and the enthusiasm and leadership-beyond-his years of Napier; the steady leadership of senior Donnell Beverly and the surprising recent contributions from a senior (Charles Okwandu) and a freshman (Tyler Olander).

And there don’t seem to be any malcontents in this bunch. Sure, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel may pout a bit after getting a tongue-lashing from Calhoun and riding the pine for a while. But a half hour later, he’s the first off the bench to mob walk-on Benjamin Stewart for scoring his first-ever basket, and the next night he’s in for Smith 14 seconds into the game and scoring 10 first-half points against the Bearcats.

Calhoun’s perspective on this season is enough to make one wonder whether he’s pondering retirement whenever this run ends. With most of the key players back next season, UConn could be strong again. But with Walker almost certainly heading to the NBA, and with blue-chip recruit Andre Drummond likely to opt for another year of prep school, the Huskies probably won't be national championship contenders.

Whether UConn’s season ends at the hands of San Diego State on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif., or two days later against – be still CBS’s beating hearts – Duke, or if the Huskies complete their miracle mission and reach Calhoun’s fourth Final Four or, somehow, capture his third national championship, would it all be enough on which to ride off into the sunset?

It certainly all bears watching. But one thing is certain: this team and this season was as special to Jim Calhoun back in the middling days of early February as it is right now.

The trip to Anaheim to face San Diego State in the Sweet 16 will be a sort of homecoming for senior guard Donnell Beverly, who grew up about 45 minutes away in Los Angeles. It’ll be the closest Beverly has played to home in his four years at UConn.

“It’s a blessing,” Beverly said. “When I saw the bracket, I was hoping we’d get this far, and we did it. We’re in the Sweet 16, and it’s a real accomplishment to get this far.”

He expects numerous friends and family to want to attend the game.

“I’m going to need everybody on the team’s tickets,” Beverly added. “Hopefully, I can show some guys around, get them some In-N-Out burgers and some things they haven’t had before.”

Alex Oriakhi says the Huskies have a motto.

"'Maui in Manhattan,'" he said after Friday night's overtime win over Syracuse. "We're all having fun. It feels like Maui again."

Minus a few degrees on the thermometer, it certainly must. At the Maui Invitational back just before Thanksgiving, the Huskies won three games in three days to cop the title. They beat some good teams, too: Wichita State, Michigan State and Kentucky.

Now, UConn has one-upped that performance with four wins in four days at the Big East tournament. OK, DePaul stinks, but Georgetown, Pittsburgh and now the 'Cuse are all NCAA tourney teams.

So what is it about this team in game-a-day, tournament play? Heck if they know.

"I don't know," Kemba Walker shrugged. "I guess you could say, the bright lights are on, it's our time to shine. Everybody said we couldn't do this, and we're shocking the world."

"I don't know what's going on right now," Alex Oriakhi added, "but we're all just playing together. We all were unhappy with the way we played in the past, losing four out of five. But we're not looking back. Everybody's playing together and helping Kemba out."

There's no reason for the Huskies to stop and think why they play so well in this type of format, but here's my theory: they have a great player in Walker, who can (and has) put the team on his back while it gains momentum through a tournament, builds confidence with each win and gets other players to start believing in themselves.

Look no further than Tyler Olander tonight. Just about every player on UConn's roster has had a highlight game somewhere along the line this season: Jamal Coombs-McDaniel has had a few, Niels Giffey, Charles Okwandu, even Donnell Beverly. Not Olander ... until Friday night.

He scored seven points (matching his season-high), grabbed six rebounds and doled out a pair of assists in 27 minutes of action. He was aggressive, taking nine shots and really crashing the boards, and even managed to commit only one two fouls (a frequent bugaboo of his).

"This feels great, just because we've all been working hard all year, we've all had our struggles," Olander said. "To come into this game (and contribute), it's crazy."

The Mansfield resident admits he doubted himself at times this season when the minutes weren't there and, when they were, the production wasn't.

"A little bit, because at the beginning I struggled a lot, things weren't going right, I was missing easy shots. For this game to (come) on this night, it's pretty special."

His teammates were happy for him, too.

"I was so happy for him," said Oriakhi. "I know how he felt, not playing sometimes, not even playing good sometimes. I told him I know exactly what you're going through. But I told him, you never know when your number's called, and he performed tonight."

Added Walker: "I was extremely happy. He was confident, he came in, hit a big jump shot. He showed poise out there. It's good to see him gain some confidence, because he's a really good player and he doesn't know it."

*** Oh yeah, Walker: 33 points, 12 rebounds (!), six steals, five assists. He'll be the tourney MVP, even if UConn loses Saturday night. He's the national player of the year in my book, as I stated yesterday. What more can you say at this point?

*** A pair of apparent goaltending calls against both teams weren't called, essentially nullifying each other. Jamal Coombs-McDaniel appeared to swipe a Syracuse shot right off the rim with under three minutes left in regulation. It certainly appeared to be basket inteference.

"You think?" Jim Boeheim asked, rhetorically, afterwards.

"What do you think?" Boeheim was asked.

"Nothing. No comment."

WIth less than a minute left in OT, however, it appeared Jeremy Lamb's shot was goaltended by Syracuse's C.J. Fair. Again, no call.

If there was any doubt that Kemba Walker appears certain to declare for this year's NBA draft, the fact that he'll be participating in Saturday's Senior Day festivities at Gampel Pavilion should erase that doubt.

Walker, a junior, along with seniors Charles Okwandu and Donnell Beverly and head manager Jordan Rich will participate. Walk-on Kyle Bailey is planning to return for another year, and can do so since he did not see any game action in 2007-08.

Three words sum it all up: No postseason ban.

Isn't that what it's really all about? Sure, the NCAA's sanctions against UConn are everything from minor to embarassing to legitimately hurtful. But when it's all said and done, the lack of a postseason ban is really what Husky fans care about the most.

And if you listen to committee of infractions chairman Dr. Dennis Thomas, a postseason ban could have happened.

“There are a lot of options the committee has in its quiver,”
said Thomas, who is the commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. “Based upon all of those options, which is inclusive of a postseason ban, we decided to implement the penalties as said forth in the public release.”

Let’s break down what each of the NCAA’s sanctions against UConn means to the program and to Jim Calhoun, and how everything that transpired today affects the program going forward.

 Public reprimand and censure.

Little more than public embarrassment. Jim Calhoun takes his image, legacy and place in the history of the game seriously, so I’m sure he’s not happy about it. But it is what it is. Does anybody even remember that Charles Rangel was publicly censured a few months ago? Didn’t think so.

 Three years of probation from February 22, 2011, through February 21, 2014. The public infractions report further details the conditions of this probation.

The NCAA adds a year to what UConn already self-imposed. Hardly the end of the world.

 The head coach must be suspended from all coaching duties for the first three conference games of the 2011-12 season. He cannot be present in the arena where the games are played and cannot have contact with the coaching staff or student-athletes during the games.

Embarassing, no doubt. A little surprising, too, that the long arm of the NCAA extends into specifically suspending a coach from conference play. Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl was suspended for the first eight SEC games this season for misleading NCAA investigators (sound familiar?), but that was levied by the SEC itself. The NCAA has yet to punish Pearl (who, ironically, coached against UConn, a non-conference foe, in the middle of that suspension last month).

 Two-year show-cause order for the former operations director (February 22, 2011, through February 21, 2013). The public report further details the conditions of this penalty.

This obviously only affects Beau Archibald. According to a source, Archibald will appeal this decision.

 Permanent disassociation of the involved booster. The public infractions report includes further details.

Did you really think the program would ever associated itself with Josh Nochimson again?

 Reduction of men's basketball athletics scholarships from 13 to 12 for the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.

NCAA adds one more year to UConn’s self-imposed two-year sanctions. Not a shock, and certainly not a back-breaker. Consider: UConn has 12 scholarship players this season (per its own self-imposed sanctions). Seniors Donnell Beverly and Charles Okwandu are gone after this year, and in all likelihood, so is Kemba Walker to the NBA. That’s three spots open for next year, maybe more if there are any of the usual transfers, etc. One spot has been filled by Chicago point guard Ryan Boatright. The Huskies will have at least two spots open for next year and the year after, since everyone else on this year’s roster is a sophomore or freshman. That’s enough.

I’m going to lump these next four together:

 Ban on men’s basketball recruiting calls during the 2011-12 academic year until 30 days after the first day that phone calls are allowed.

 Reduction in the number of men’s basketball coaches allowed to make phone calls from three to two, not including the head basketball coach, for six months after the university’s response to the notice of allegations (self-imposed by the university).

 Reduction of the number of men’s basketball off-campus recruiting days by 40, from 130 to 90, for the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 recruiting periods.

 Limit of five official paid visits for men’s basketball for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.

None of these are good for the Huskies, particularly the reduction of off-campus recruiting days. But again, UConn has a host of good, young players already in stock, and it’s a good bet the Huskies will still be able to get good players despite these sanctions.

 The head coach, assistant coach and all members of the compliance staff must attend the NCAA Regional Rules Seminar.

Whatever.

Bottom line: Jim Calhoun says he is “very disappointed” in the NCAA’s findings. I’m sure there is a part of him – the extremely prideful part, the part that will never go down without a fight, the part that is very protective of his place in the history of the game – that is disappointed.

But there almost has to be another part of Calhoun that is a bit relieved that the sanctions weren’t worse. There is no postseason ban, which is about the only thing that most UConn fans really, truly cared about. The lack of a postseason ban and the cloud finally being lifted off the program should be enough to satisfy prospective recruits and limit any more negative recruiting that may be going around.

If nothing else, Calhoun is guilty of his overzealous pursuit of Nate Miles. Now, he’s paying the piper – but the price could have been a lot worse. UConn is going to the NCAA tournament this season and can for seasons to come, as well, provided it deserves a bid.

There's one play, in my mind, that best summarizes UConn's 75-57 romp over PC on Sunday night.

With 4:41 left the Friars still in it (trailing 63-55), Kemba Walker got the ball near the top of the key with the shot clock running down. He took a couple of dribbles and seemed primed to hurl up a 3-pointer.

Walker leapt in the air like he was taking a jumper, but instead fired a bullet down low to a wide-open Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, who it a reverse layup with about a second left on the shot clock. That kicked off a 12-0 Husky run that shut the door and gave them the victory.

It also represented everything that was right for the Huskies on Sunday. Walker, rather than forcing up a tough shot, distributed the ball beautifully. He did it all night, racking up seven assists while taking just 10 shots -- a season-low. He hit seven of them (including a trio of 3-pointers), to snap out of a seven-game shooting slump (during which he was 38-for-123, 31 percent overall).

And, of course, Coombs-McDaniel had by far his best night as a Husky, with career highs in points (25), rebounds (eight), minutes (31), praises from Jim Calhoun (who labeled his relationship with the player as "stormy") and postgame questions from the media.

"I'd love to ask him, 'Do you think, in the midst of playing six minutes, say, in Hawaii, did you really think you'd come here and score 25 in a game?'" Calhoun said. "He'd say yes, by the way. His ego would say. But I really wondered that. And yet, in the last couple of games, the one thing he does is comes in and plays hard."

Has Calhoun seen frustration from Coombs-McDaniel?

"I did last year. I don't think I saw frustration. The thing he is, he's probably 15, 20 pounds heavier, worked like crazy on weights. Roscoe (Smith) comes in, Niels (Giffey) was great, and then he kind of got stuck. When you win 11, 12 games in a row and you're 17-2, you're not going to make too many changes. But during his struggle, every time we put him in, he gives us a spark. He did that against Seton Hall, as a matter of fact."

Said Coombs: "It's definitely been tough, but I'm just trying to stick with it. Last year, I would sulk and stuff, and that's not doing me any good. I'm just trying to continue to play hard, get better and earn some minutes on the court."

Fittingly, that 12-0 UConn run was also capped by a pass from Walker out on the perimeter to Coombs-McDaniel, who buried a 3-pointer.

Charles Okwandu (six points, career-high 11 rebounds, four loud blocks) played terrific, and Donnell Beverly (five assists) was as steady as ever. But this game was all about Kemba Walker getting back to being Kemba Walker and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (who'll be in the starting lineup Wednesday against Georgetown) having a breakout game.

Kemba's tired.

And frustrated. And upset that he's not getting a consistent whistle. And perhaps simply not as great a shooter as he appeared in the first 15 or so games this season.

But as much as anything, he's tired -- physically and mentally. He's played too many minutes, too often with two or three defenders swarmed over him, preventing him from getting much of anything uncontested. Combine that with the mental fatigue of feeling he has to be "The Man" every night (which is ironic, since Jeremy Lamb has been "The Man" at least the last three games and others have stepped up in recent games, as well), and there's a legit reason why Walker is shooting 31 percent (27-for-88) from the floor in his last five games and 19 percent (4-for-26) from 3-point range in his last four.

In UConn's last five contests, Walker has played 39, 40, 39, 47 and 38 minutes. That's about a combined seven minutes of rest in five games. Couldn't Shabazz Napier be seeing a few more of those minutes? We'd say Donnell Beverly, too, but tonight's performance was about as bad as it gets for that usually steady senior.

In a way, it's hard to say this wasn't expected. Did anyone really think that Walker, all 6-foot-1 (yeah, right), 172 pounds of him, was going to continue to put up 30-point games through the rigors of the Big East schedule? I certainly didn't.

Will Walker -- who scored a season-low eight points on 3-for-14 shooting Wednesday night -- get his groove back? Most likely. But he needs to take some pressure off himself, and Jim Calhoun should try to find a few more minutes here and there for Walker to rest.

*** There was one positive from tonight's 66-58 loss to Syracuse: UConn freshman Niels Giffey saw his most playing time (seven minutes) in the last five games and made the most of it, hitting Charles Okwandu for the assist on a game-tying hoop in the latter half and draining a 3-pointer with 8:35 left to get UConn to within three (48-45). He soon followed with a bad turnover, however, and found himself on the bench the rest of the way.

Okwandu had a trick-or-treat game with eight points and also eight rebounds, but also three turnovers and some misses on easy inside baskets.

After Tuesday night's misleading 67-53 win over Rutgers (it wasn't anywhere near even that close), Jim Calhoun planned to go to his Pomfret home, get the fireplace going and enjoy his first day off in over a week.

The Huskies won't practice Wednesday, enjoying a well-earned day off after a whirlwind prior couple of weeks that saw lots of travel, a marquee road win and Tuesday night's rather blase victory over the woeful Scarlet Knights.

Here's some notes and quotes coming off the Rutgers game:

***UConn (13-2, 2-2 Big East) blitzed out of halftime on a 12-0 run as Rutgers misfired on its first nine shots. Mike Poole ended the Scarlet Knights' drought with a driving layup with 14:45 left, but UConn countered with an 8-0 run and the rout was on.

"Coach really got on us," sophomore forward Alex Oriakhi said. "He said they're showing more energy than we are, they're playing full-speed and we're not. We told each other we've definitely got to pick it up in the second half, at least defensively. The offense is going to come."

Added Kemba Walker: "I thought we came out with a lot of intensity and we just played hard. We played with a lot of effort. That's all it was."

Rutgers (10-6, 1-3) missed 12 of its first 13 to start the latter half, wound up shooting just 35 percent from the floor (including just 3-for-17 on 3-pointers) and earned a verbal lashing from its first-year coach, Mike Rice.

"The mental softness of this team is unbelievable," Rice said, "so you can't expect it to be successful on the road. To do what they did in that six-minute stretch … we'll have to figure it out, that's for sure."

"You've got to fight back," Rice continued, "and, boy, we took a standing eight-count."

***Calhoun sported a Band-Aid on his left cheek during the game, but shrugged it off as a cut while shaving.

"If I could handle that Gillette, I'd be an awful lot better," he said.

*** Roscoe Smith turned his ankle while going in for a layup with 13:17 left in the first half. He made the shot and was fouled, but left the game favoring his ankle and Oriakhi took the free throw (and missed). Smith returned a little less than two minutes later.

***The crowd of 12,527 was fairly impressive, considering that Rutgers is hardly a big draw, and that blizzard-like conditions were in the forecast later in the night.

***Napier is such a sparkplug for this team, whether he's scoring (33 points in two games last week) or distributing (seven assists on Tuesday).

He's also the closest thing I've seen to John Linehan since the little guard was setting Big East steals records at Providence a decade ago. Now, Napier is no John Linehan -- not yet. But his pesky ability to poke away steals, without getting called for reach-ins, is quite Linehanesque.

(For the record, Napier said he's never heard of Linehan but promises to look him up on the Internet to see what I'm talking about).

***Mike Rice on Kemba Walker: "I thought he had it on cruise control all night. Once Oriakhi got it going, he just fed the big fella a little bit."

***Calhoun on:

Oriakhi: "Him touching the ball gives him a boost."

Charles Okwandu, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Napier and Donnell Beverly: "It doesn't show in the stats, but (Charles) is a factor in the middle. Jamal gave us a very good lift. Shabazz was very good again, Donnell Beverly was very good off the bench."

And, on the flip side, on Jeremy Lamb: "I still think Jeremy Lamb has a lot more to show us. He's a terrific offensive player, an incredible kid, he works so hard. He's going to have to work to overcome that he's probably the weakest kid on our team, and he can't keep getting banged on screens."

Who was that masked man?

Alex Oriakhi sure didn't look like the player who was often a bit overmatched a year ago as a freshman, kicking off his sophomore campaign in style on Friday night.

For one, there's that protective face mask he has to wear after getting his nose broken by a Charles Okwandu elbow in a pick-up game over a month ago.

Then there's the fact that the Big O snared a career-high 18 rebounds to go with 11 points in UConn's season-opening 79-52 trouncing of Stony Brook. Granted, the Seawolves' leading rebounder from a year ago (Tommy Brenton) is out for the season, and they feature only a couple of players taller than 6-foot-7.

But 18 rebounds is 18 rebounds, especially with Oriakhi playing with a bit more of an edge.

"Last year Alex, unlike his coach, was a terrific person to be around, jovial," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun. "I told him that's great on bus trips, etc., but not when you're going for a rebound."

So Oriakhi has made it a point to be a bit meaner this season.

"You can't be a nice guy in this game," said the 6-foot-9, 240-pound center. "I'm just trying to listen to what (Calhoun) says and follow guys like Jeff Adrien. He was real mean on the court. I'm just trying to change my demeanor on the court, because it's only going to help me.

"You've got to tell yourself, whoever you're going against can't outwork you."

And no one outworked Oriakhi on Friday night.

"If he's a double-double guy, which I believe he can be ... then we're a different team," said Calhoun.

Oriakhi's tip-in of a Donnell Beverly missed jumper at the first-half buzzer gave UConn a 39-31 lead entering the break. He kicked off a game-breaking, 12-0 run early in the latter half with a dunk off a Kemba Walker feed. Oriakhi also blocked a pair of shots and did his damage despite sitting out the final 8:18, as the Huskies had things well in hand.

Oh, and as for that face mask? Oriakhi has been cleared to shed it after Wednesday's bout with Vermont. Maybe.

"I might keep it," he quipped.

Some other opening night observations:

***UConn started three freshmen (Tyler Olander, Niels Giffey and Jeremy Lamb), believed to be the first time ever under Calhoun in a season-opener. Hasheem Thabeet, Jerome Dyson and A.J. Price each made their collegiate debuts in the Huskies' season-opener in 2006, but Price was technically a sophomore.

***Shabazz Napier scored 12 points in his collegiate debut and hit 4 of 6 3-pointers, including one from about 25 feet out and another seemingly ill-advised trey that banked in.

"That was a tough shot, I was kind of lucky, I guess. If I didn't bank that shot, I would have gotten yelled at, but I felt like it was coming off my fingers (well). I got a shooter's role, I guess."

Clearly, the kid's not afraid to put the ball up.

"That's what they want me to do. They offered me a scholarship to shoot the ball, so I'm going to shoot the ball. They're tough shots, but that's what I'm here for, to make tough shots."

***Lamb hoisted up 14 shots, making only five of them, but had a good all-around debut with 11 points, five boards, two blocks and two steals. He's a keeper.

***Olander got into early foul trouble and played just 10 minutes, scoring just four points. It was a better night than fellow frosh Niels Giffey, who went scoreless with one rebound in 12 minutes.

"Niels had just the worst night a guy could possibly have in every imaginable way," Calhoun said, as only Calhoun could.

***Jamal Coombs-McDaniel chipped in with nine points and seven boards and looked better after failing to graze the rim with his first few shots of the night. Kemba Walker led the way with 18 points.

***The Huskies held Stony Brook to a measly 15 percent (5-for-33) from the floor in the latter half.

"Fifteen percent is a pretty good half (defensively) for anybody," Calhoun noted.

***Seawolves coach Steve Pikiell, the former UConn guard and assistant coach, likes what he saw from the young Huskies.

"They play well together, they're a better passing team," Pikiell said. "You can tell (Calhoun is) excited about these guys. They've got good size, they play hard, they're kind of intriguing. I think people are going to be surprised. Coach will do a good job of coaching 'em up."

The Huskies were down a man today at practice.

Kevin Ollie sustained a freak injury in practice yesterday. Apparently, he was stretching out with one of those elastic bands prior to practice when it slipped off his foot and hit his right eye. Ollie had bleeding in his eye and is now wearing a protective eye patch. He's been prescribed bed rest, and his availability on the bench for tomorrow's season-opener is up in the air.

In fact, there's even a question of whether he'd be able to make the flight out to Hawaii in 10 days due to the cabin pressure in the plane.

The Huskies have contacted the proper channels, and Glen Miller will scoot over and serve as an assistant during Ollie's absence.

***Elsewhere: UConn's starting lineup tomorrow night is likely to be the same as in Sunday's exhibition vs. Bridgeport, according to Jim Calhoun: Niels Giffey, Tyler Olander, Donnell Beverly, Kemba Walker and Charles Okwandu. You might see Alex Oriakhi in the starting five rather than Okwandu, however.

"We'll probably find out in practice today," Oriakhi noted. "If you're on Kemba's team, you're in the starting lineup."

***Stony Brook is expected to challenge for the America East title this season, but the Sea Wolves probably would be giving UConn more of a challenge tomorrow night if they were healthy.

Instead, two of their best players are out with knee injuries. Star junior wing Tommy Brenton, who averaged 7.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game last year, is out indefinitely. Sophomore point guard Marcus Rouse (4.4 ppg last year) is out for the first month of the season.

Not bad. Seriously, not bad at all.

Based on tonight's exhibition opener -- a 96-58 win over AIC -- the Huskies appear, if nothing else, to enjoy playing together. They have a bunch of players who can and will contribute, in a variety of different ways. They're deep and versatile. Some of the freshmen looked particularly good and all chipped in at least a little bit (except Michael Bradley, who didn't play and appears on the path to being red-shirted).

Now, rebounding -- that's a different story. The Huskies managed a 39-35 edge on the boards, but that doesn't fly against a Division 2 team that dresses not a single player over 6-foot-6. Jim Calhoun wasn't overly impressed with the effort.

"The thing we probably didn't do was keep our team motto, which is 'The Hardest Working Team in America,'" he said.
"Because AIC, for at least 20 minutes of the game, outworked us."

But there were far more plusses than minuses:

*** Kemba Walker was terrific, with a game-high 25 points to go with four steals.He canned a trio of 3-pointers and all six of his foul shots and authored the most impressive sequence of the night, hitting Alex Oriakhi with a nifty entry pass for a dunk, then stealing the ball at midcourt, hitting Jeremy Lamb with a pass, then catching a return pass and nailing a 3 to punctuate a 22-7 UConn run late in the game.

*** The Huskies shot an impressive 84 percent (31-for-37) from the foul line. And turned the ball over a miniscule five times.

As for the freshmen:

***Shabazz Napier was the most impressive. He 11 points and three assists and made two of the most impressive hoops of the night: a turnaround bank shot and a fallaway 3-pointer, both in the opening half. The kid plays with confidence and moxie.

"You have to, I guess," he said. "You don't want to go out there not feeling confident. You want to go out and make sure you play well for yourself, and your teammates. You might as well just sit on the bench next to Coach and talk about plays or something. Every time I step on the court, I play as hard as I can, because it might be my last time playing. You've got to find that drive inside you to play as hard as you can every day."

"I love Shabazz," said Walker. "I know he's going to be real good for us. We just need to be more aggressive, offensively. He's looking to pass a lot. I think we need him to take some shots. I think he's going to be real good."

Calhoun was more guarded with his compliments.

"Shabazz understands the game, he just holds onto the basketball too much," the coach said. "He wants to show he can dribble … I know that already."

*** I like Jeremy Lamb. Kid plays with a quiet confidence, and whatever hyperbole Calhoun uses about his wingspan is actually near-legit. Fella has some long arms.

Lamb's best play may have come on that Walker sequence. When Kemba hit him with the pass off the steal, Lamb dribbled to the lane but, with two men on him, had the presence of mind to kick back out to Walker on the perimeter for the trey.

*** Niels Giffey (eight points, two steals), Tyler Olander (four points, two boards) and Roscoe Smith (six points, five boards) each had their moments.

"Roscoe has a terrific, live body," Calhoun said. "In our league, you need that."

Elsewhere:

*** Charles Okwandu, the 7-foot senior, had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, though he didn't play particularly well. Same with Oriakhi, who added 11 points and six boards.

*** Calhoun was effusive in his praise of Donnell Beverly, who provided an infusion of energy on both offense and defense in 12 minutes off the bench.

"He's the most scared of not getting playing time," Calhoun said. "For him, there is no tomorrow."

*** Olander and Lamb both started ... and met with a little confusion in the pregame introductions.

"They called my name first, so I went out. After I slapped everybody's hand, I didn't know where to go. I just kind of stood there," Olander said. "Jeremy Lamb got called after, and he had no idea where to go, either. That was a little confusing."

*** Surprise, surprise: Andre Drummond was in the house, watching the game from behind the UCOnn bench.

First, a few personal observations from today's UConn practice, virtually all of which was open to the media:

***The Huskies will shoot the ball better this season. Or at least they have better shooters. Whether some of the freshmen will be able to get their shot off and make it when the lights are on is a different story, but they've got the ability.

Jeremy Lamb has a feather-soft touch, though he's apparently been struggling in practice lately. Niels Giffey knocked down a couple of impressive 3's from the top of the key today, too. Kemba Walker's jumper looked a bit erratic at times, but as practice progressed, he started knocking down shots. Tyler Olander boasts a pretty mid-range jumper, but he'll likely step back for some treys this year, too.

"I think we're much more of a jump-shooting team," said Jim Calhoun. "We took 10 3's per game last year, the lowest in at least 10 years, probably more. And, we shot 30 percent … I think we have good 3-point shooters. If we shoot 18 3-pointers a game, the guy who it will get to the most will be me."

(Actually, the Huskies averaged about 12 3-pointers per game last year and shot at a 31 percent rate overall and 29 percent in conference play. But then, numbers were never Calhoun's strong suit).

Clearly, Calhoun would prefer a more physical team that gets inside hoops, stickbacks and garbage buckets like in years past. But this year's personnel dictates a different style of play, and he will adjust -- albeit somewhat grudgingly.

Said Walker: "Being that we have so many good penetrators – me, 'Bazz and Donnell are going to be penetrating and getting guys open shots. I think there's going to be a lot more jump shots, a lot more 3's."

Said Olander: "We have a lot of guys on this team who can shoot. Everybody can hit a mid-range shot, and we've got a lot of guys who can step back and hit 3's, too. We're just a good offensive team all-around."

***The foul shooting was better. After the team failed to hit the required 7 of 10 freebies the first time around, they knocked down 18 in a row the next time before Roscoe Smith finally missed, ending practice.

***Donnell Beverly didn't practice today and hasn't for the past five days. Calhoun hopes to have him back out on the floor soon.

***The Huskies have been working on playing zone defense lately. Again, not one of Calhoun's favorite styles of play, but probably necessary for a team not as tall or as athletic as past UConn squads.

Here's some of what Calhoun had to day:

"We will not be the best team we can be in November, nor December. We're going to have be the best team we can be somewhere in January, February."

***(on Olander): "He's had a really good stretch. He's been, arguably, all-around our best offensive big guy. He sets great screens, he shoots the ball, he's done a terrific job."

***(on Niels Giffey) "He's like a 'glue' player ... He's a great guy to have at the end of the game, because you're not going to steal it from him, he'll make foul shots. We probably need him to be a little more offensive-minded. I told him he played like John Havlicek, in the sense that he runs on every single play, and he didn't know who John Havlicek was, which is a bit of a problem."

Said Giffey: "I think it's a very good thing. He's saying that I've got ability to keep the team together: passing the ball, doing everything that needs to be (done) to play team basketball. But that doesn't mean I can't score."

***Calhoun went out of his way to praise Jamal Coombs-McDaniel's recent play.

"He's a guy I've really ridden, probably from day eight or nine of last year. He's really, really improved and is trying to do the right things. Does he always do it? No. But he's trying to do the right things, and I think that's important."

***The Huskies are apparently recruiting another player in Germany. I can confirm this, as I called Andre LaFleur the other day and he had to call back, since he was on the Autobahn at the time.

***According to Calhoun, Jerome Dyson will be going to the 'D' League, having been encouraged to do so by Oklahoma City. He's not sure about what Stanley Robinson's plans are, though the coach says Sticks doesn't want to play in the 'D' League.

***Enosch Wolf has attended a few practices over the past couple of weeks.

"It's nice to know we'll have a nice, big addition to the program. If he's anywhere near as productive as Niels, it would be more than helpful."

***Calhoun was asked about UConn's Graduation Success Rate (GSR), which is 31 for players who entered school between 2000 and 2006.

"We've had more kids leave early than anybody over the past 10 years. That's a problem, and it's going to be a problem. Are you going to call Ray (Allen) in and say, 'if you had stayed here, you would have made a lot more money?'"

"I believe in the APR, I believe in the graduation rates. But I don't believe that the coach, who is not an advisor, not an admissions director, doesn't design the courses, I don't tutor … and yet, it's our responsibility to get the graduation rate (up)."

"I don't feel, in my heart and soul, that we've let that many kids down."

***While acknowledging that we are in a 'what have you done for me lately' sports world, Calhoun managed to give some props to UConn football coach Randy Edsall.

"I love coaching (these kids). I love their potential. But, I think potential is not the way we run our program. It's not the way sport is thought of. When I say, 'two years ago we were in the Final Four.' Quite frankly, nobody gives a (bleep) … One of our coaches has done a fabulous job in football, three or four bowl games in a row, etc., he's brought a lot of enthusiasm. But people want 'today.' But that's every sport, it's not just here."

Here's what we've got so far from this year's Big East media day at the Madison Square Garden theater:

***As we're sure you know by now, UConn was picked by the league's coaches to finish 10th out of 16 teams. Their reactions:

JIM CALHOUN

"First time in a long time I've got a chance to be coach of the year. That's the way you've got to do it. You've got to be No. 8 or below, otherwise it's not going to happen."

"We're probably where we belong. Seton Hall has more known answers than we do at this particular time. We could have been 11th or 12th … today.

"If we were 12th, that would have been OK. I wouldn't tell my players that. We are Connecticut, we have won a couple of games. But right now, the people beyond Kemba … you don't know.

"Not as much respect for the name as I would have liked. Conversely, if you made us 12th … whether I live with it or don't live with it, you picked us third last year, and we weren't third. We should have been fifth, and we screwed it up. We're a better team than what we played.

"We're the most unknown team in the league. I truly believe that.

"I like to be first, though. You guys aren't that smart, but you aren't that dumb, either. You've got a pretty good idea that you have some talent up there and you're going to win some games. Right now, you're saying we're not going to make the NCAA tournament – they're not going to take 10 teams. You're saying that maybe we can qualify for the NIT. I think we can do more than that."

(Umm, coach … when you say "you guys," you do realize that this it the coaches' poll, not the media poll. But I digress)

KEMBA WALKER:

"It's going to make us work harder, just give us the will to win.

(Is 10th place fair?) "Yeah, I think so, just because we have a lot of freshmen who aren't ranked as high as a lot of other freshmen. I think it's fair enough. I expected us to be 12th or something. I'll take 10th, and hope we have the chance to win some games."

DONNELL BEVERLY:

"We've got a lot of young players, a lot of guys that people don't really know. To me, we have a lot of guys that can play. I think we might surprise a lot of people this year."

ALEX ORIAKHI:

"I love it. We use that as motivation at the gym. We just have to play with a chip on our shoulder every night."

***Calhoun had a few poignant moments regarding the NCAA investigation and all it's entailed.

He was asked what the worst part of the entire ordeal has been, and he said there was only one thing that truly bothered him.

"At Ford Field in Detroit (at the 2009 Final Four), 72,000 people and hearing a chant of 'Cheater' by the whole Michigan State section. My grandchildren were in the crowd, not in that particular section, probably didn't hear a word. But I did. I was very sensitive to that. I may be a lot of things – profane, I can give you a lot of different things I am. But that word, I'm not. That was, to me, the worst thing."

But he insisted that the entire process has only emboldened him.

"The worst thing to do, at least my friends tell me, is to come after me. I'm usually better coming out of a corner than I am up on a pedestal. I'm a natural underdog, I guess – sometimes for no apparent reason. And if I can't be the underdog, I'll make myself the underdog, some way or another."

***Oh, there's another thing Calhoun isn't too pleased about: opening the Big East season on Dec. 27, at Pittsburgh.

"I don't like playing two days after Christmas, I don't care where it's at. And then playing New Year's Eve (at home vs. South Florida) … I don't like it. It puts us in a hole. No one designed it that way, but we're a young team.

"How do you eliminate that? I'll eliminate it: 16 games. I think we should have a preseason. We need to protect the properties of the terrific institutions throughout our league. I just don't think that Connecticut should be playing Pittsburgh – or anybody – on Dec. 27. For us, it happens to hurt more, but that's not malice. We've got to get those games in.

"I don't like New Year's Eve, anyway. I don't know what the fuss is all about."

***Due to some overcrowding at different tables, Calhoun met with the media at a table that had the West Virginia banner behind it (Bob Huggins would take the seat for the second half of the session).

This led to the "Oops!" moment of the day. A young female reporter, perhaps still in college, asked Calhoun: "Coach, despite the graduation of Da'Sean Butler, do you think you can get back to the Final Four like you did last year."

Obviously, she thought Calhoun was the West Virginia coach. Calhoun handled it with aplomb – and certainly a lot better than if someone like me had asked the question – pointing out that UConn had been to the Final Four two years ago and essentially ignoring the fact that Da'Sean Butler never played at UConn.

However, maybe this explains why Jabarie Hinds chose West Virginia over UConn. Maybe he thought he was committing to Calhoun, not Huggins! OK, maybe not.

More to come later ...

Recently caught up with Donnell Beverly, who had surgery on torn labrums in both of his hips over the past few months. Beverly had surgery on his right hip 12 weeks ago, then his left hip about six weeks ago. He just started running on a treadmill yesterday, and hopes to be rehabbing soon. Beverly hopes to be doing basketball-related activities by the end of this month, and feels he’ll definitely be good to go once practice starts in mid-October.

Beverly’s a good, bright kid (maybe a future coach, who knows?) with a good head on his shoulders. Figured I’d ask him for some updates on how some of his new (and old) UConn teammates have looked so far. As we all know, UConn coaches can be awful, shall we say, exaggeratory about their players over the summer. I suppose players can, too, but here’s Beverly’s honest assessment:

Shabazz Napier, whom he dubbed the best-looking newcomer thus far: “He can shoot it real well. He’s looking pretty good.”

Tyler Olander: “I really like Tyler. He can play the three or the four, he’s versatile, he can finish.”

Jeremy Lamb: “He looks pretty good. He’s long, he gets to the rim, he’s athletic.”

Michael Bradley: “He’s athletic, but he needs a lot of work offensively. Defense is the one thing about him that’s really complete. He goes after every rebound. He’s a real good kid, off the court and on the court. He’s doing at least two or three tip drills every day. He’s only going to get better battling with Alex (Oriakhi) every day.”

Beverly noted that numerous times in recent weeks, he, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and Alex Oriakhi would get together to watch video of certain UConn games from the past season. Not games in which any of the players played well; games in which they struggled, in order to learn from their mistakes.

“It helped a lot,” Beverly said. “It helped Alex, seeing he got caught under the basket a lot. Last year, he could have dunked (at times) and got an ‘and-one,’ but instead he’d try to lay it in.”

Greetings from Blacksburg, Va. ... we think.

"When I come here, I can't tell the difference," Jim Calhoun quipped. "One's West (Virginia), the other's Virginia, but they're both Virginia."

Yes, Virginia. The Huskies face Virginia Tech in a second-round NIT game tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Calhoun waxed about the current goings-on in that other tournament, which is chock full of upsets and early Big East ousters.

"Does it speak to a 96-team field? Or does it speak to the (idea) of a 32-team field?" Calhoun asked, rhetorically. "The bottom line is, if you put the two tournaments together, you could find a team in this tournament that could possibly get to the Final Four, the way things are breaking. I think it speaks to what everybody keeps talking about in college basketball. This gives us a chance … in what appears to be a wide-open year for college basketball, that maybe No. 79 is very comparable to No. 38 … or even No. 15. No. 1, in Kansas's case."

Calhoun was asked about his fellow conference brethren's struggles.

"Obviously it's disappointing, because I think the league has shown against outside competition all year how good it can be. You probably will never know, but you'll be able to speculate. Georgetown, for example, those four games in a row (at the Big East tournament) can't be good for you. It can't be for (Austin) Freeman, for example, who's on new medication for diabetes."

"My other theory – it sounds like an excuse, I don't think it is, because we're not involved in the NCAA tournament – but, there is a wear-down effect. When Marquette lost … if they had won … how many times can you have somebody make a shot (to win)? The kid (Lazar) Hayward's shot looked like it was going in and I said, 'They're going to win 14 of these games!'"

Jerome Dyson concurred: "It's crazy, to have so many teams already out. Like coach was saying, we really beat each other up during the season and really exert so much just trying to get through the season … it really takes a lot out of us."

Calhoun believes an ideal league has 12 teams -- four top 25-level teams, four others that could make the NCAA tourney, and four weaker sisters "you can feast on."

And so, it's Huskies vs. Hokies tomorrow night at Cassell Coliseum. Winner faces the winner of tomorrow night's Nevada-Rhode Island game, on Wednesday night. Nevada would be in Storrs; URI in Kingston, URI. Winner of that goes to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden, "which would really be something special, I think," Calhoun said.

Honestly, it appears Calhoun is enjoying this opportunity as much -- if not more -- than some of UConn's players. Don't get me wrong, he lives to play in the NCAA tourney. But Calhoun seems to be in a good place right now.

"At the end of it all, when they start to rank and look at teams, all of a sudden you're sitting on the top of a very good 32-team field, you can make a case maybe you're the 20th best team in the country. There's nothing wrong with that in a year in which, at times, certainly was very disappointing. We don't want to end up disappointed. The one thing we want to do is leave everything we have on the floor (tonight)."

***It was 20 years ago today ...

Tate George's game-winning shot, off Scott Burrell's long inbounds pass, to beat Clemson in the Sweet 16 at the Meadowlands.

"That was still one of the great shots in college basketball," Calhoun said. "People say, 'how do you do it?' Well, you run home run one, which means one second … and then you get a professional pitcher, and the 21st draft choice that year, throw him the ball and have him turn and shoot the ball. And make sure the guy at the Meadowlands is an eastern guy, who truly appreciates what the east can do. It's one of the more special moments in NCAA tournament history and, obviously, our history."

***Kemba Walker, not Dyson, will get the honor of guarding ACC scoring leader Malcolm Delaney tonight -- at least to start the game.

"I know he's the leading scorer in the ACC. That's it. I know he can score the ball. That's it. I'll try my best to contain him. I'm up for the challenge."

***Donnell Beverly has practiced with the team the past two games and is cleared to play after missing last week's Northeastern game with a bone bruise in his right knee.

***Music quiz: What Stones album was "Sweet Virginia" on?