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:

The annual Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game will be held on Friday, Aug. 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Many of the stars from UConn's national championship teams are expected to attend, including Ray Allen, Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier. The only marquee name that might not be able to play as of now is Emeka Okafor, who is dealing with a neck injury.

Here's the press release:

NCAA Champion and Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun is hosting an NBA sanctioned alumni all-star basketball game this summer – the Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game presented by Milestone Wines – as part of the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic.

Many of Coach Calhoun's greatest players will return for the seventh Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Basketball Game. It will be a special night in Connecticut basketball history when stars from four national championship teams take the floor and compete against each other. Ray Allen, Kemba Walker, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Caron Butler, Kevin Ollie, Donyell Marshall, Khalid El-Amin, Doron Sheffer, and Rudy Gay among others, have played in past charity games at Mohegan Sun.

The game will be played at 7:30PM at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, August 8, 2014. Proceeds from the game and the entire Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic will benefit The Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health.

“Once again, I'm excited about bringing the Connecticut Basketball family back together for this game. It is a great way for me to reconnect with many of my former players, and I know they look forward to gathering together and playing in front of their longtime fans. As important, I'm so pleased that proceeds from the game will go to fight America’s number #1 killer – heart disease,” said Basketball Hall of Famer and Three-Time National Champion Collegiate Coach Jim Calhoun.

Since 1999, the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic has raised more than $6.5 million for cardiology research and life-saving care at The Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health.

The charity game’s title sponsor is Mohegan Sun and it is presented by Milestone Wines in association with XFINITY.

Tickets are $12 to $25 and go on sale Friday, June 13th at 10:00AM. To purchase game tickets, call Ticketmaster at800.345.7000, go to Ticketmaster.com, or visit the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

For more information about the 2014 Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Basketball Game presented by Milestone Wines and the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic, please call the event’s organizers, Gold, Orluk & Partners, at 860.674.1500 or visit the event website at www.calhounallstargame.com.

Some video and quotes off UConn's 64-55 loss to SMU on Sunday:

LARRY BROWN:

“I thought both teams defended like crazy. We made some shots in the second half. We didn’t want them to get out in transition. We wanted Connecticut to have to score against us in the halfcourt. The first half was kind of ugly, both teams had 11 turnovers. But we did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the second half. Our shot selection was much better. And, for the most part, I thought we rebounded better.”

“I keep reading where we haven’t beaten a quality team on the road. Not many teams beat a quality team on the road. Figure that one out.”

“We needed to get over the hump, because I think a lot of our kids maybe kind of needed that. Down the stretch, we missed a whole bunch of free throws. We did that the other night against Temple, missed seven in a row in the last two minutes. It’s just a learning process for us. But we beat a great team. So much tradition here, great crowd. We had to play our best by far on the defensive end to do this, and I think we did.”

(on why he doesn't like coaching against Kevin Ollie, whom he coached with the 76ers for two seasons)

“I marveled at the job he did last year. I don’t think he got any credit for what he did last year. They can’t go anywhere, he takes over for … shoot, I walked on his street (Jim Calhoun Way) … and he kept that group together, playing at a high level.”

“He’s here for the right reasons. A lot of guys that are coaching now aren’t here for the right reasons.”

(on seeing Rip Hamilton before the game)

“I’ve been calling people about signing him, because he’s never been out of shape a day in his life. He’s one of the guys I love, because all of coach Calhoun’s guys are so competitive. Except Emeka (Okafor). Emeka’s just a talent and the greatest guy, fun to be around, but he’s not one of those guys that grew up wanting to play every second of every game. I love being around him, but Rip wants to be great. He’s such a fierce competitor. I can’t believe he’s not playing for somebody. I’m getting on the phone as soon as I leave here.”

OLLIE:

“Tough game by us. Coach Brown had those guys ready to play.”

“We outrebounded them, but you can’t shoot 29 percent. I look at my starters, man, a lot of missed shots.”

“You’ve just got to play more solid, on the offensive and defensive end. You’ve got to be a tougher minded team, and we weren’t that today. Larry Brown and SMU have a good group of guys over there. They play hard, and they play together.”

“They’re tough defensively, but you’ve got to move the basketball. We made them even tougher by staying on the first side. But they are tough defensively. They’re long, they’re aggressive. Nic Moore is a tough, heady point guard. They’ve got the bigs back there, and they go 9, 10 deep. And everybody that comes off is long and athletic. They play hard and they know his system. And they trust each other.”

*** Is SMU simply a tough match-up for UConn, for whatever reason?

Ryan Boatright: “Nah, it’s not a tough match-up. We just missed a lot of shots. We make half of those shots that we put up, it’s a whole other game … We make two, three more shots, it’s a whole other game.”

Niels Giffey: “I wouldn’t say that. They are well-coached, they’ve got an NBA coach. It’s a tough question. I don’t think they’re a particularly bad match-up for us, I just think that it kind of shows our weaknesses in this game and the game down there was just a totally different game. We had a bad attitude down there, didn’t approach the game the right way. But I think today, everybody was in the right mindset. We just weren’t able to move the ball and attack the paint the way we wanted.”

A lot of talk about and with Amida Brimah at practice Saturday, after UConn prepared for Sunday's 2K Sports Classic with Boston University. Kid's off to a great start, with 14 blocks in his first three collegiate games. The Huskies were 55th in the nation in blocked shots last year. They're fifth early in this season, thanks largely to the 7-footer from Ghana via Miami.

Here's a story I wrote about Brimah shortly after he committed to UConn last February, chronicling his path from the soccer fields of Ghana to the hardwood of the U.S.

Asked Brimah today if he knew about UConn's legacy of shot-blockers (Emeka Okafor, Hilton Armstrong, Hasheem Thabeet, etc.) before coming to America. Not even close. In fact, the only basketball player he knew about while growing up was Michael Jordan.

Brimah went up against Thabeet this summer during pick-up games at Gampel. He said he played well against him -- didn't block any of his shots, but didn't get blocked, either -- and marveled at just how big and strong Thabeet was.

Thabeet also gave Brimah a bit of advice.

“He told me, when I was playing against him, even though he was bigger than me, I was playing hard, and he just gave me the advice to keep playing hard and stuff," Brimah said.

It's natural to compare Brimah and Thabeet. Both are 7-footers from Africa who were converted soccer players relatively new to basketball when they arrived at UConn. A.J. Price noticed the similarities during the Greater Hartford Pro-Am this summer.

"You hate to compare somebody to somebody, but that's the first thing you see," Price said. "I watched Hasheem be the same way when he first came here, not really knowing how to use his body, know how big he is. (Brimah) has the same problems right now, but he has a good basketball IQ, which is unteachable."

I asked Jim Calhoun if Brimah was ahead of where Thabeet was as a freshman, and he quickly answered, "No." But he also pointed out that Brimah is ahead of where Thabeet was offensively.

Kevin Ollie was still in the NBA when Thabeet arrived at UConn as a freshman.

“I know Hasheem was blocking shots and was amazing," Ollie said. "They used to have Hasheem in the sand pits, working on his hands and things like that so he could probably catch a little bit better. But it would be unfair for me to compare him, because he’s going to be his own player, anyway. He’s not going to be Hasheem Thabeet, he’s going to be Amida.”

Shabazz Napier recalls when Brimah committed to the Huskies, nobody knew much about him.

“I think we looked, but he didn’t have a lot of highlights on YouTube. He had one where he was just blocking little kids’ shots, so we were like, that’s one thing he knows how to do well, but we didn’t expect much. We expected a helping hand, but he’s been doing so much for this team.”

Napier was impressed by what he saw from Brimah this summer, however.

“He didn’t whine about getting hit down in the post, he blocked a lot of shots in pick-ups. I saw a lot, but you don’t know what was going to happen during the game atmosphere. You didn’t know if he was going to play well against Maryland, with that big atmosphere. That’s kind of a shock to a lot of freshmen coming in.”

“It’s rare, but when you have it, it’s spectacular … We’re just happy he’s on our team.”

*** No official word on letters-of-intent from Daniel Hamilton, Rakim Lubin and Sam Cassell, Jr., though it appears UConn is waiting to receive all three (or two, or however it may work out) before making an announcement.

But we'll reiterate: the Huskies are not worried about Hamilton backing off his commitment, as has been speculated.

*** Napier knows UConn can't keep shooting 54 percent form 3-point land forever. When the shots aren't falling at some point, he'll be ready to step up.

"That’s when I’ve got to be more aggressive," he said. "I haven’t taken a lot of shots, just because my teammates are making a ton of shots. That’s good for us. As long as I put myself in the right position to get my teammates open, they’re going to knock it down. Niels is on a crazy streak shooting … I don’t expect him to make his next eight in a row again. But he’s a great shooter, guys are getting it to the right spots, Omar’s getting to the right spots. Once that point in time comes when a lot of guys aren’t hitting shots, then I’ve got to be more aggressive.”

*** UConn is in the midst of a stretch of six games in 14 days.

“It’s a good grind, the grind we like. It’s how it’s going to be in the tournament in Memphis, then we’ve got to come back and play in the march to the Final Four. I like this kind of grind. We’ve got to understand that it’s part of basketball, every team is going to go through it. Even in conference play, you’re going to be in a grind and a bind when we get into January and February. This is going to be a great tune-up for us.”

Emeka Okafor has always been someone to look up to, not only for his basketball skills but for his intelligence, class and leadership.

So it may come as little surprise that one of the first people Jason Collins called before the Sports Illustrated article that announced that he's gay was made public was Emeka Okafor, who was Collins' teammate on the Washington Wizards this season.

"I'm happy for him and I congratulated him," Okafor told Yahoo! Sports on Monday. "While it's a great thing, it's tough not knowing how it will be perceived. Whenever you're the first there is always that uncertainty. He called me right before the article came out and told me. But before that I didn't know ... I told him that I thought it was a very brave thing that he's doing."

Okafor added that he didn't believe the fact that Collins is gay would have a negative affect in the locker room.

"We all get along so great," he said. "Jason was part of the group. I thought the only difference is him coming out saying he's gay. He's still the same person. He still has the same rapport with us. Everything is going to be the same."

Things are going well for Cheshire native Jeff Schwartz lately.

The successful basketball agent recently joined forces with fellow superagents Casey Close (baseball) and Mark Steinberg (golf), adding clients like Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Anika Sorenstam and Mark Teixeira to Excel Sports Management’s already impressive list.

Schwartz, who already represents Jim Calhoun, Kemba Walker, Emeka Okafor and A.J. Price, also added another member of the UConn family to his cliental in the form of Jeremy Lamb.

Lamb is expected to be a lottery pick at the NBA draft a week from tonight in Newark, though his status is a bit up in the air due to a sprained ankle injury he suffered five minutes into a workout last Wednesday in Toronto. It’s not a serious injury (an MRI checked out fine), but it’s been enough to keep him out of any workouts since.

Lamb, whose only full workout was for New Orleans shortly before the Chicago pre-draft camp, still is hoping to work out for three or four more teams (Cleveland, Portland, Phoenix and Milwaukee) before the draft.

“If he’s not able to, he’s not able to,” said Schwartz. “We’ll probably still try for teams to meet with him. He’s such a good kid, comes from such a good family, it’ll help for them to see him and get to know him.”

Schwartz still believes Lamb will be one of the 15 players invited to the green room on draft night, but can’t venture a guess where he’ll be selected.

“I feel good about Jeremy,” Schwartz said. “At New Orleans, they said he was super-competitive in the workout, and way more athletic than they realized he was. To me, that’s what he’ll bring. He can shoot it from anywhere, can get his own shot, he moves well without the ball and he’s more athletic and competitive than was evident at UConn. People questioned that because of UConn’s record and certain games, but he’s saying every day, ‘Jeff I want to get out there, I’m fine.’ I’m saying, ‘No, you’re not fine.’ Sometimes, agents have to protect their clients against themselves.”

Providence College hasn't won much over the past decade, though the Friars have had surprising success against UConn in recent years on the basketball court.

Now, for the first time in memory, the Friars have beaten the Huskies off the court, as well.

PC has received a commitment from Kris Dunn, the highly-touted guard out of New London High. Per this espn.com article, PC has signed just three McDonald's All-Americans in its history (though I'm not sure I'd include Delray Brooks, since he was a transfer from Indiana).

This also beats the Ryan Gomes situation, since few (including then-PC coach Tim Welsh) knew that Gomes would blossom into such a great player at the time. Jim Calhoun famously recruited Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler ("They're not bad!") instead.

Credit new PC coach Ed Cooley, who started recruiting Dunn while Cooley was still coaching at Fairfield and had never let up. Give some credit to ex-UConn assistant Andre LaFleur, too.

And the good news could keep coming for the Friars ... Ricky Ledo will make his college decision next week, according to a source, and PC appears to be in very standing for Ledo's services.

So I’m doing a UConn season preview for Lindy’s, and they ask that we list the team’s key statistics from last year and how they ranked both in conference and nationally.

Come to realize that UConn didn’t shoot the ball well last year (44.4 percent, 11th in Big East, 182nd nationally) and was even worse from beyond the arc (32.9, 12th Big East, 221st nationally).

The Huskies didn’t score particularly well (72.4 ppg, 7th, 74th), weren’t as menacing as they usually are defensively (64.9, 6th, 84th), and didn’t dole out a whole lot of assists (13 per game, 13th, 155th). Even their usual rebounding dominance was a bit down – their rebounding margin of 4.4 per game was fourth in the Big East.

And while the Huskies were second in the Big East and 11th nationally in blocked shots, that’s a far cry from leading the nation in the category, as they had done several times over the prior decade.

So how in the world did UConn win a national championship last season? Oh yeah … Kemba.

To be fair, UConn did lead the Big East and was 11th nationally in free throw percentage at 76.3 percent. And they turned the ball over just 11.4 times per game, second in the conference.

I realize numbers don’t always tell the whole story … which again leads us back to Kemba and the remarkable leadership, clutch play and intangibles he brought to the table. Despite all the talent returning next season, not to mention the two blue-chip recruits UConn is bringing in, the loss of just that one player will be incalculable. Nobody in the history of the program has meant more to a single team than Kemba did last year – and that’s saying a lot, as this program has churned out Ray Allen, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon … you know the list.

I think Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright are as good a replacement as you could find, but losing Kemba Walker will still be a lot to overcome. Think about how much Jeremy Lamb benefitted from defenses keying on Kemba. Lamb is great, and he can certainly create his own offense, but it will be a different challenge for him next year as “The Man.”

Think about who’ll have the gumption to step up and hit all those clutch shots. Who’ll take the team by the reins like Kemba did last winter, when he steered it away from all the nonsense that was going on within the program (and it goes deeper than you might imagine) and kept the Huskies' eyes focused on the prize?

Questions that need to be answered. The talent is there – even more overall talent than last year’s team – and there’s no doubt the Huskies will be one of the top teams in the country. Just be careful with any Final Four expectations.



Oh, a couple of other numbers for you: I’ve never been big on knowing and remembering uniform numbers, but some people are. With that in mind, we’ll tell you that DeAndre Daniels will be sporting No. 2 for the Huskies this year and Boatright will wear No. 11.

Jim Calhoun participated in his fifth annual ride and walk against cancer on Saturday. Starting amidst a torrential downpour ("I'm a rain-maker," he noted), the clouds were clearing by the time he finished his bike ride.

Fitting, as things couldn't be much sunnier for the UConn men's basketball program these days.

Here's a little of what Calhoun said on a number of topics Saturday afternoon in Simsbury:

(On what he's telling prospective recruits about his future at UConn)

“Whatever answer I’m giving them, apparently, they like it.”

(On the Huskies' program as a whole)

“I want the program to be like Carolina’s and, somewhat Duke, but more like Carolina’s in the sense that Bill Guthridge went to the Final Four when Dean (Smith) left, Matt (Doherty) had a really great year then a not such a great year and Roy (Williams) came in and they moved on. What we’re selling in our situation is the ability to get you ready to succeed, get to postseason play and get to the NBA. We had a pretty good year this year doing that.”

“The program is exactly where we want it to be.”

(On the team's APR situation)

“We just need some change, so that we don’t have a situation like we did with the APR. Not drastic change, just change. It’s actually already built in there, we’ve just got to get everybody aboard.”

“Having Susan (Herbst, the school's incoming president) out here like this is, I think, terrific. She was at the Final Four, at the Big East. We need people to be active, just like our coaches are active.”

(On the recruiting efforts of Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller)

“They’ve done a terrific job, I didn’t expect anything less. When Kevin Ollie talks, you’re going to listen … (Glen) knows the terrain, he knows what he’s doing, he’s smart and he’s a great basketball guy. I thknk a lot of times we lock too many things into Kevin Ollie, Glen Miller or whomever it may be. It’s UConn. We happen to have very good guys in place, doing a wonderful job. But we’ve had other good players come in before. We got Ray Allen, we got Emeka, we got Ben Gordon ... we've got some guys who can play a little bit. I’ve always said that one of the greatr recruiting jobs of all-time in recognizing that he would be good was Andre (LaFleur) with Hasheem Thabeet. I didn’t’ see what he saw. He saw that, and plenty of other coaches didn’t see that. He did.”

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.

Kemba Walker swished the second of two free throws just 20 seconds into tonight's game to notch the 1,000th point of his career. He's the 45th player in Husky history to do so.

Perhaps more impressively, Walker is well on his way to a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds (!) and five assists here at the break.

Here are the only triple-doubles in UConn history:

Hasheem Thabeet 1/31/09 vs. Providence 15p, 11r, 10b
Marcus Williams 2/21/06 vs. Notre Dame 18p, 10r, 13a
Ben Gordon 12/20/03 vs. Iona 17p, 16r, 11a
Emeka Okafor 12/6/03 vs. Army 18p, 15r, 10b
Caron Butler 12/26/00 vs. URI 14p, 12r, 11a
Doron Sheffer 12/30/95 vs. Hartford 10p, 10r, 11a
Donyell Marshall 1/17/94 vs. Hartford 23p, 11r, 10b

Only seven. I don't know, I figured there would be more, but it shows they're tough to get and truly special. Let's see if Kemba can notch one. His biggest obstacle may be playing time, if the Huskies open up their current 44-32 lead.

We're always looking for local angles these days, so a story on Jeff Schwartz, the New Haven native and 1982 Cheshire High grad who is the agent to numerous NBA stars -- not to mention Jim Calhoun -- was a natural.

Jeff's an interesting guy. He focuses on taking clients who are good people, and in return really tries to foster a family-type atmosphere with them. Guys like Emeka Okafor, Jason Kidd, Lamar Odom, even Calhoun, look at Schwartz as more than just an agent. He's been to Calhoun family weddings, once lived for a short time at Kidd's California home, and, yes, he was in the wedding party at the famous Odom-Kardashian nuptials last September (no comment on whether Lamar signed a pre-nup!).

And while Schwartz represents Calhoun, it's important to note that the coach doesn't steer his ex-players to him. Yes, Okafor, Hilton Armstrong, Charlie Villanueva and A.J. Price are Schwartz clients. But the dozen or so other ex-UConn players playing professionally right now chose other routes.

"Sometimes it works against me," Scwartz admitted. "Coach is tough on those guys, and at the end of year, when they're all done, sometimes they want to run as far from him as possible. The shackles are off."

Here's Schwartz's take on a couple of other subjects that didn't make the story:

(On the proliferation of street runners and dirty agents who have had too much influence on some amateur players in recent years)

"I wish that there was tighter scrutiny with it. You’ve got some really good agents out there who do things right way, but then you've got a lot of people who put kids in harm’s way. We talk to our union a lot about it, trying to keep things at a professional level and allow college kids to enljoy college experience. I think it’s an issue across sports. I don’t know how it gets solved."

(On the rule that a player must be at least one year out of high school to be drafted by the NBA)

"I think the more mature someone is, in general, the better chance they have at success at anything. However, I represented Martina Hingis when she was 16 years old and No. 1 in the world, so I've seen it from all sides. I really think it’s on a case-by-case basis. Do I think, overall, it’s helpful to have a year or two of college? It never hurt anybody. I think it’s good thing."

Here's who's expected to play in Saturday night's Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game (in alphabetical order): Jeff Adrien, Ray Allen, Rashad Anderson, Hilton Armstrong, Craig Austrie, Taliek Brown, Scott Burrell (may not be able to play), Caron Butler, Dan Cyrulik, Lyman DePriest, Jerome Dyson, Khalid El-Amin, Kevin Freeman, Rudy Gay, Ben Gordon, John Gwynn, Richard Hamilton (maybe), Rudi Johnson, Kirk King, Travis Knight, Oliver Macklin, Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall, Ricky Moore, Ed Nelson, Emeka Okafor, Kevin Ollie, Stanley Robinson, Rod Sellers, Charlie Villanueva, Souleymane Wane, Murray Williams and Boo Willingham.

Not sure how the team's will be divided quite yet. Last time it was sort of a pre-1999, post-1999 battle, if I remember correctly.

Tickets are still available to the event at the Mohegan Sun Casino by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. You could probably walk up to the ticket window at Mohegan Sun and buy them then, too. Doors open for the public at 6:30 p.m.

Also, there will be a lengthy autograph session with the players and coaches directly after the game.

Some quotes from Tyler Olander, who verbally committed to UConn at about 2:30 p.m. today:

"I’m very excited, I can’t wait to start. It’s like a dream come true growing up."

Olander, who grew up and still lives about five miles from the UConn campus, said he recalls shooting hoops in his driveway at age 7 with his brother, Ryan, dreaming about hitting a game-winning shot for UConn.

"Right now, it doesn't even feel like it's real," he said.

His favorite UConn player was Emeka Okafor, and he remembers "really admiring him, hearing a lot about his work ethic, and wanting to be just like him."

(Here's the full story on Olander's committment.)

Among the many suitors for Olander were Virginia, Wake Forest, Florida, Providence and URI.

He said he talked to Jim Calhoun this afternoon and Calhoun said he was "excited to have me on board and can’t wait to get things started."

Olander is 6-foot-9, 220 pounds and considers himself a "face-up four." His coach at E.O. Smith, Ron Pires, said he can put the ball on the floor, pass well and shoot the 3. Olander, in fact, was one of E.O. Smith's key press-breakers this season.

His main area for improvement, both Olander and Pires admit, is that he needs to get stronger. Olander won't turn 18 until July.

Olander enrolled at Worcester Academy last summer but left the school after just a couple of months. He returned to E.O. Smith and didn't have to sit out any games as a transfer, since he had broken his thumb at Worcester and never played (or practiced) with the team.

" I just didn’t like it up there," he said of Worcester Acadmey. "That really played into my decision. I didn’t like being away from home. At UConn, I’ll be away from home enough, but I'll still be right there."

Of course, playing so close to home can add some pressure, as well.

"A little bit, yeah," he admitted. "But I’m not going to consider it pressure, but take it as motivation to work harder and that nothing’s going to be handed to me."

The UConn athletic department would like to get the word out that seven of the 13 former UConn players currently in the NBA are on this year's NBA All-Star ballot: Rudy Gay (Memphis), Ray Allen (Boston), Emeka Okafor (New Orleans), Charlie Villanueva (Detroit), Richard Hamilton (Detroit), Caron Butler (Washington) and Ben Gordon (Detroit).

Fans can vote for all-stars at NBA.com until Jan. 18. The rosters will be announced on Jan. 22.

***Speaking of the NBA, we're hoping we don't run across Gilbert Arenas's personal arsenal on Saturday at the Verizon Center, when UConn faces Georgetown in what should be a good one. Guns among NBA players (and basketball players in general) is a topic on people's minds these days, including some clown on today's Big East coaches conference call.

A guy identifying himself as an Associated Press writer (who was apparently from a radio show out in Portland) asked Jim Calhoun if his players "still have guns in the locker room." Calhoun appeared flustered, perhaps not understanding what the guy said or whether he was serious or not, and eventually the caller was cut off.

***Not a terribly lot of information on the call. Calhoun was asked about Georgetown.

"It's a little different kind of Georgetown team. You're not going to see a lot of bodies, they're basically playing seven people. Greg Monroe is incredibly skilled. He's unselfish, he can score, rebound, block shots. I know they lost a tough one to Marquette (on Wednesday), but we're going to say that, I think, all throught he league season."

***Georgetown coach John Thompson III also spoke:

(on UConn)

"They still are big and imposing on the boards. At the end of day, between Jerome and Kemba, they kind of make the team go It's easy to say, 'let's stop UConn's transition,' that's something they stress. 'Let's keep them off the boards, try to limit their easy baskets.'"

(on the Hoyas' success vs. UConn in recent years)

"I think we’ve been lucky. I don’t know that there’s any one particular thing. We've probably caught them at some times when they’ve been off. You know it’s going to be an extremely intense, physical game. If you can make them work at both ends of the floor, that’s what we try to do."

(on Georgetown's season thus far)

"We’ve gotten a lot better since the season began, but I think we still have a long way to go. I think our guys have done a great job supporting each other at both ends of the floor. That has to be a premium for us. The thing I like, that’s a positive, is that we’ve seen growth."

(on Monroe's development)

"His biggest growth is something the casual fan doesn’t get an opportunity to see. Last year he's gone from a freshman that came in under a lot of scrutiny and performed well, and now he's a leader on this team. He's a leader, he's vocal in the locker room, at the dorm, on campus, in practice every day. He’s standing out with our team."

"... but what does Abromaitis do now that blows you away that maybe no one saw ..."

Can you imagine Jim Calhoun being asked that question on Saturday if Tim Abromaitis, the Farmington High product whose father starred at UConn in the 1970's, burns the Huskies for 30?

Actually, it would be a far less fair question to ask than it was when colleague Dave Solomon broached the Ryan Gomes subject back in 2004, leading to one of Calhoun's most famous blow-ups. Abromaitis was hardly a top recruit out of high school, with Northwestern and William & Mary his only other major suitors besides Notre Dame. (Still, Calhoun can't use the "I took Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler. They're not bad!" excuse. The only player UConn got in Abromaitis's 2007 recruiting class was Donnell Beverly).

For his part, Abromaitis hardly holds a grudge that his father's alma mater and hometown team didn't give him a sniff in high school.

"Not at all. Not really. I went through the whole process, they never really looked at me, so I was just taking it as what were the best options for me. I'm glad I ended up here."

He added that he didn't grow up dreaming about one day being a Husky.

"I never really thought about playing in college. I didn’t know if I'd be capable or not. Once I started getting recruited, they really didn’t come after me."

Abromaitis, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound junior with two years of eligibility left, is averaging 16.2 points per game. He's hit 40 of 77 3-point attempts for a 51.9-percent clip, third in the Big East (Stanley Robinson is second, though he's made just 12 of 21).

Can't say the Huskies couldn't use a shooter like that. Just sayin' ...

"He came along slowly," said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. "He's the youngest kid we ever signed, he was stacked behind older guys. He absorbed our system, watching the older guys, and when he got an opportunity he took advantage of it."

Brey added that Abromaitis has a steady, calm demeanor, and that will help him control his emotions playing in his hometown on Saturday.

"He is who he is, and that really plays into his hands in a situation like this. I think that will really be helpful. His personality and demeanor will be helpful in this."

Oh, by the way, Abromaitis will graduate from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business a full year ahead of schedule in May and has already been accepted in the school's MBA program.