When UConn kicks off its 2015-16 season on Friday night at Gampel against Maine, there will be a somewhat familiar face on the opposing sidelines.

Bob Walsh is in his second season as head coach of the Black Bears. The name may not ring a bell, but Walsh was an assistant coach at Providence for seven seasons in the early-to-mid 2000's -- which means he was on the sidelines for those years when the Friars were a real thorn in the sides of the Huskies.

"The battles that we had ... obviously, they were an elite program," Walsh said of the Huskies. "It was a huge game for us, I know that. In that league, they were one of the elites. The passion of their fans, the program they've been able to build over there ... when people talk about what Storrs, Connecticut was 25, 30 years ago compared to what is is now ..."

Walsh, of course, was Tim Welsh's assistant for those seven seasons with the Friars. And here's some irony: Welsh will be SNY's analyst for Friday night's game. Awkward? Nah. Walsh is looking forward to it.

"It's really cool," said Walsh. "It is interesting, because I owe him so much. He hired me when I was 26, made me a Big East assistant and probably had more influence over my growth as a coach than anyone I’ve worked with."

Walsh added that Welsh's father, Jerry (a legendary coach in upstate New York), calls him at the beginning of each season wishing him good luck.

"It's cool to think I've got a chance to coach against UConn, and (Tim Welsh) will be there," Walsh noted.

*** Friday night's game came about fairly late in the schedule-making process. Maine was slated to begin its season against URI, but Rhody backed out unexpectedly, leaving the Black Bears looking for an opening-night foe. Walsh knows Glen Miller from when Miller coached at Brown, and knows Karl Hobbs from when Hobbs was Jim Calhoun's assistant the first time around. The Huskies needed an opening-night opponent, and, voila.

"I just got done watching them against New Haven, and I was saying, 'Man, are they long and athletic,'" said Walsh. "I think they're really talented. My first question was, 'How did they struggle last year, by their standards?'"

"Jalen Adams is a monster," Walsh continued. "I'm watching it, (saying), 'Who's that? Oh, that's Jalen Adams.' I think their talent is remarkable. I think they're absolutely a Top 20 team."

*** The Black Bears have a local connection, as well: Bunnell High product Isaac Vann is a freshman forward for Maine who could very well start on Friday night. Vann, a 6-foot-5, athletic wing, had 22 points and 16 rebounds in an exhibition game against Division 3 Husson.

"We saw him play over the summer (of 2014) ... and thought he was real good, and there was no way we could get him," Walsh said. "Monmouth and some MAAC schools were all over him in the fall, but he said he wanted to take his time. We stayed in contact, and in the middle of the year, my assistant told me, 'I think we can get Isaac Vann.' My response was, 'Get outta here.' But we had him on campus with his mom, and he enjoyed it.

"We felt really good about getting a 6-5, athletic wing. He needs to put on weight. He's kind of 'UConn Lite,' For our level, he's kind of like the players UConn's had success with, a wing who can really score."

It's also worth noting that Vann is a cousin of former UConn guard Oliver Macklin.

Wenyen Gabriel will be making an official visit to UConn this weekend, beginning on Friday. The 6-foot-10, 210-pound forward is one of the top-rated recruits in the nation (No. 17 overall, per rivals.com). All you have to do is look at the schools in his top five: Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, UConn and Providence.

While Providence (and, to a much lesser degree, UConn) may appear out of its league with the other three power-five schools, there's a reason why Gabriel's list is so varied, according to Mike Mannix, his coach at Wilbraham & Monson Academy.

"UConn and PC, relative to where we are, are local schools, and both are relevant on the national scene," Mannix said. "PC was the second school in the country to offer him a scholarship. He was at UConn's Midnight Madness last year, and Maryland was here last year, talking to him and watching him. They offered a scholarship a little bit later. Duke and Kentucky, they recruit pretty much the same circle of kids. With them, they're gonna wait until a kid has pretty much proven he's top 25, or at least top 50. Once he got in that range, that's when arguably the two best programs in the country got in on him."

Gabriel visited Maryland two weeks ago and Kentucky this past weekend. After this weekend's UConn visit comes PC, then Duke. Mannix believes he'll wait until making all five of his visits before coming to a decision. He also believes Gabriel's decision is still wide-open.

"Now it's time to see where you you fit best," Mannix said. "People use 'fit' all the time, but 'fit' has a lot of factors. It’s how you see yourself jelling with the head coach and coaching staff, with players when you meet the players on your visit, how you fit in as far as what they’re doing personnel-wise. It probably wouldn’t be a great fit if someone had four or five guys coming in at 3-4 position. All the schools he's looking at right now, they're pretty balanced in their recruiting."

Mannix added that Gabriel hopes to make his decision by November, but he's not pressuring himself to make it by then.

Gabriel was born in South Sudan and moved with his family to Manchester, N.H. at age 3. He spent three years at Manchester's Trinity High before transferring to Wilbraham & Monson, where he repeated his junior year and is now a senior.

"He's now become just as much of a 3 as he is a 4," said Mannix, who's in his second year at the helm after taking over for Chris Sparks (who was a former assistant to Glen Miller at Brown). "He's really worked on improving his game out on the perimeter. From where he was a year or two ago, he's much, much more comfortable out on the perimeter now. He can shoot the NBA 3 now."

Mannix added that Gabriel boasts a 3.6 grade-point average and is taking some high-level honors courses.

And here's perhaps a little feather in UConn's cap: Gabriel's roommate and close friend is Brendan Vessichio of Berlin, a two-guard who's getting looks from schools like Brown, Dartmouth, Holy Cross and Bucknell. Perhaps he'll put in a good word or two about the Nutmeg State?

Oh, and in case you were wondering: the first school to offer a scholarship to Gabriel? The University of New Hampshire, his home state school.

*** There's another Connecticut-born player getting some interest at Wilbraham & Monson -- and he'll likely be getting even more over the next year. Brycen Harris, a 6-8, 225-pound Class of'2017 forward/center from Coventry, is getting looks from Boston University, Holy Cross, BYU and Utah State right now, and could attract some bigger schools as either an undersized, throwback center or a hefty power forward in the coming months.

Putnam Science Academy is a small, private school located in the northeast corner of Connecticut that is home to two highly-coveted prep basketball prospects -- Mamadou Diarra, a 6-foot-8 Class of 2016 power forward, and Hamidou Diallo, a 6-5, Class of '17 swingman.

Recently, it was announced that the school will be closed down next month for at least the next two years, due to a lack of funding. However, the basketball program will be absorbed by Woodstock Academy, a CIAC school located only about 10 minutes up the road.

The CIAC may not be overjoyed by the move -- it's monitoring the situation -- but there's little doubt that UConn is happy about the fact that two of its coveted recruits are remaining only about a half-hour away from Storrs.

UConn likes Diarra, and the feeling is mutual.

"I know Mamadou has said that UConn has always been his dream school," said Putnam coach Tom Espinosa.

Minnesota, VCU, Seton Hall, St. John's and Kansas State are among the schools that have offered Diarra. He'll start lining up his official visits for the fall pretty soon.

But UConn really likes Diallo. Of course, so do dozens of other programs, including Providence, Iowa State and Temple, among others. At the PSA gym on Wednesday night, UConn (Glen Miller), Providence (assistant Brian Blaney, George's son), Syracuse (assistant Gerry McNamara), Dayton (head coach Archie Miller) and VCU  (new head coach Will Wade) gathered to watch an open gym with Diallo and Diarra.

Diallo and Diarra both hail from Queens. Both attended UConn's First Night festivities last October.

"It's wide-open for both of them, to be honest," Espinosa said of the duo's recruitment. "They're both good kids. The best thing for both of them was getting out of the city."

Espinosa will take his three returning players -- Diallo, Diarra and Brandon Hurst, a Class of '17 guard from East Hartford who is more of a Division 2/3 prospect -- with him to Woodstock, where he was recently hired as assistant athletic director. He's in the process of recruiting numerous other players to fill out the team, which will be recognized as a postgrad team (none of the players on Woodstock's current roster will play for this team. Woodsock's main varsity team will remain in the CIAC). Any player recruited to play basketball for Espinosa's postgrad team at Woodstock can't play any other varsity sport, unless Woodstock decides to offer other postgrad sports. For example, Diallo, Diarra or Hurst can't play track or baseball, etc., at Woodstock, unless the school begins a new program similar to what it's doing with basketball.

Espinosa's team will remain an independent but play all of the NEPSAC teams next winter and have a chance to compete for the national prep championship.

UConn has bagged a few big-time recruits since Kevin Ollie took over the head coaching reins.

Daniel Hamilton was a national Top 25 recruit, as is Jalen Adams. Amida Brimah has proven to be a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough (his late-season play notwithstanding), and Steve Enoch appears to be better than some originally thought.

Still, the Huskies haven't exactly burned up the recruiting trails since their national title. They've lost out on numerous recruits, and while they're in on many of them and obviously can't get them all, it's a bit surprising that they haven't landed more.

It appears one of UConn's new recruiting pastures sits up in southern Vermont. Three of the Huskies' top targets play for Alex Popp up at Vermont Academy: Bruce Brown, a Class of 2016 (for now) combo guard; Tyrique Jones, a Class of 2016 power forward who hails from Bloomfield; and Samuel Mathias, 6-11 1/2 center from the Class of 2017.

UConn has offered all three players -- two of them (Jones and Mathias) in the same day. In fact, Kevin Ollie extended his offer to Mathias on the same day that Mathias went up against Enoch and St. Thomas More back in January.

It'll be interesting to see if UConn and Vermont Academy can establish a recruiting relationship. Popp was recruited as a player by Glen Miller when Miller coached at Brown, and he has known Miller and Karl Hobbs for several years and got to know Ollie out on the recruiting trails while he was an assistant at Holy Cross and thinks "very highly" of the Huskies' head coach.

"The opportunity to cultivate a great relationship with Vermont Academy makes a lot of sense," Popp said of UConn. "Say they miss on two of these three, or even three of three. We're gonna have a lot of great players coming forward. You're gonna go out and get other guys that can play at that level. Both parties are hoping the relationship can grow."

Here's a look at the three current VA players that UConn is recruiting:

BRUCE BROWN

"He's a leader, a guy who doesn't take days off," Popp said. "That translates to basketball."

Popp added that Brown, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound guard, is a multi-dimensional talent.



"We try to emphasize versatility in our program. We put him on the ball, off the ball. Defensively, ini a league where every team has rosters full of Division 1 players, he would guard four different positions in the span of a game. If LeBron James doesn't have a position, why do our guys have a position. He's somebody who really thrives at that."

Popp noted that Brown is very athletic, as well.

"He's explosive, both laterally and vertically," the coach said. "Combine that with his strength. He's a football player, with a football players' mentality. A lot of people compare him to Russell Westbrook. He just kind of overpowers the opposition."

Unprompted, Popp said that Brown would make a great backcourt mate with Jalen Adams.

"He's a power guard, he really is," the coach continued. "Looking at Jalen Adams, it's hard to ignore that. Put the two of them in the same backcourt, it would be special."

Popp said that Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan, Arizona State, UMass, VCU and UConn are working the hardest on him right now. IU's Tom Crean has been the most present of all the coaches. 

Brown hails from Boston, though his mom recently moved to Georgia. There has been lots of talk that Brown will re-classify to the Class of 2015, but Popp had no comment on that and, as of now, Brown is still '16.

"The best way I could describe Bruce Brown is he's a winner," Popp summed up. "If you're a college basketball coach, that's what puts food on your table. He's a winner. He's constant with it. It's not, 'I'm gonna mail it in today, coach, because we don't play in four days.' It doesn't matter if it's a simple drill, he wants to win every single drill in practice. It's remarkable how contagious that is when you have a guy who's as talented as Bruce Brown, because everyone in your program falls in line."

TYRIQUE JONES:

Jones is a 6-8, 240-pound jumping jack from Bloomfield.

"He grew up a big-time UConn fan," said Popp, "so they have that going for them, no doubt about it. That was his squad growing up."

Popp added that noted recruiting analyst Adam Finklestein recently named Jones the best rebounder of the Class of 2016.

"I spent time as a D-1 coach," Popp said. "For me, if you're not emphasizing rebounding in your recruiting, you're doing it wrong. Rebounding not only wins games, it wins championships at this level. He's very much a target."

Popp added that Jones has a "nose for the ball. He does a great job of winning all those 50-50's. He rebounds out of his area, above the rim. He's an underrated passer."

SAMUEL JAPHET-MATHIAS

At 6-11 1/2, 290 pounds, Mathias is a raw 16-year-old who has excellent hands and feet.

"He's a little bit of a dying breed," said Popp. "You don't have a lot of those positional, back-to-the-basket guys anymore. He knows what to do with it when the ball gets on the block."

Mathias was born in Nigeria and grew up in London. Ollie and Hobbs saw him play in some preseason open gyms and offered a scholarship after he went for 16 points and nine rebounds against St. Thomas More.

"In that game, he showed off an array of skills," said Popp. "He scored the ball on the block, pick and popped, scored with both hands, got a tip dunk. It was pretty obvious he could help UConn right away."

Of course, the Huskies would have to wait a couple of years, as the big kid is Class of 2017.

Whether UConn winds up with any of these players remains to be seen. But Popp is confident that any team that could get all three would be in very good shape.'

"You get those three guys," the coach said, "you're gonna win some national championships."

Steve Enoch, Ray Smith and Tyus Battle were among a host of top-notch players at UConn on Thursday night, playing in an "open run" while Shabazz Napier was being drafted by the Miami Heat on the big screen TV in Gampel Pavilion.

"The visit was awesome," said Enoch's AAU coach, George Matthews. "He spent time with the coaches. Kevin's awesome, Coach Miller's awesome, and all the other coaches are awesome. Kevin Ollie sets the bar really high. Steve's gonna meet other coaches, and he's going to have to compare them to Kevin."

Enoch will make visits to URI, Providence and Boston College this weekend, then take a trip to Seton Hall on Monday. He's still very early in his recruiting process (he really only blew up on the scene a few weeks ago), so don't expect any collegiate decisions yet.

Matthews said Smith wowed some of the kids at Ollie's basketball camp with alley-oop dunks all over the place. Also in the house was New Haven's Tremont Waters, a Class of 2017 stud from South Kent Prep, as well as Torrington's Jordan Williams, the former Maryland standout. There were a bunch of talented juniors and seniors from Massachusetts and the local area, as well.

Waters was particularly impressive, according to those who were there, and he wound up picking up an offer from UConn. Don't be shocked if Waters makes a college decision soon to take the pressure off and allow him to enjoy his next three years of prep school.

Daniel Hamilton and Rakim Lubin are on campus, joining Sam Cassell, Jr. as all three of UConn's newcomers are enrolled in (or about to enroll in) summer courses.

Here's a story I did on Cassell, Jr. and his father, shortly after he committed to UConn.

And here's a piece on Daniel Hamilton, after while he was in Springfield, Mass. at the Hoop Hall Classic in January.

*** Had a chance to sit down with Kevin Ollie and two other reporters in Ollie's office at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday afternoon to take a look ahead to the upcoming season. Here's some of what Ollie had to day:

(on Ryan Boatright taking over leadership role from Shabazz Napier)

“It’s a must. He has to do that. Not only for UConn, but for his basketball future. He has to take over that leadership role … I think Boat is going to do that. I see a lot of great qualities in Ryan. A lot of attention was given to Shabazz, but Ryan wants it. He has a great competitiveness about him. He competes at everything, and he wants to be great. He’s not going to settle for good. That’s the one thing I love about Boat. He’s never missed a practice. The guy just wants it. If a guy has a vision and he wants it that bad, yeah, we have to mold and change his approach sometimes, and he has to change his approach sometimes. But I think he’s going to get it. I think he’s already got it already. It’s for me to bring that out a little bit more, but it’s for him to give that gift away everyday – that leadership gift he’s got.”

(on how tough a decision it was for Boatright to return, rather than go pro)

“I know he reached out to a lot of people to get different advice for his decision. I know he and DeAndre are very, very close. It’s been well-documented, ‘We came in together, we’re leaving together.’ But I’m glad he thought about it and (realized), ‘What’s good for DeAndre, might not be good for me.’ DeAndre’s a different person. I’m glad he came back. I think he saw the model in Shabazz, who could have gone out last year and who knows if he would have been drafted, maybe in the second round. You just never know. Then he came in and won a national championship, now getting invited to the Green Room, got his degree, had a phenomenal year, Bob Cousy Award.”

(on some of the differences next year's team will have from this year's team)

“We’re not going to have DeAndre, Niels – that stretch forward we had last year. I think Amida’s going to be a tremendous asset for us. I think Kentan’s going to give us a different dynamic, where he can shoot the ball. Probably not off the 3 like Niels and DeAndre did – I know he’s working toward it, but those guys were exceptional shooters for us. Kentan brings us a guy running and jumping and getting rebounds. He’s working on his game very, very hard.”

“Phil is up to 230-235 lbs. now. That gives me the opportunity to play two bigs, that I haven’t been able to do the last two years … I’m excited to see Phil and Amida probably play together a little bit more.”

(on Omar Calhoun bouncing back)

“He’s a highly-motivated person before this happened. I think this is not going to destroy him, I think it’s going to open up room for him to get to the next level. I just believe in the kid, believe in the hard work he puts in. Results follow hard work. For him, last year was tough. But he grasped that, he embraced that, he was like a coach on the bench for me. That spoke volumes, because a lot of kids say, ‘I’m not in the spotlight,’ and they go away from team-oriented stuff. But he involved himself even more. I was like, ‘Wow.’ That shows me something, the growth in him. That’s what special people do.”

(on Brimah

’s rehab from shoulder surgery)

“Unbelievable. That kid is just working. This is no exaggeration – he’s in here at midnight, working on his game. He can’t do contact yet, but man, he is doing an unbelievable job, doing some things on the court with Coach (Glen) Miller … He’s just so self-motivated.”

Ollie noted that it will probably be another month or so before Brimah is cleared for contact.

(on Rodney Purvis)

“He’s working. Just having his leadership, too – I have to push him out of his comfort zone with that a little bit, and I’m willing to do that. Once he gets that aspect of being a more vocal leader, with his talents, I think he’s just going to explode. I needed him to be a leader last year, I wanted him to talk more. He started doing that. He resisted a little bit, he’d say, ‘I’m not playing.’ But you are playing. You’ve got to envision yourself in this role, because I knew losing Shabazz, we’re losing a lot. (He) has to step into that leadership role – him, Boat, all the guys that are going to have the ball in their hand.”

(on Purvis's role)

“Versatile player, being able to do multiple things on the basketball court. He can score on a high level. He definitely gives us a little different … he’s more explosive in transition, where he can go up and get over the rim. Power, big body, that we haven’t had. Terrence was kind of close to that, but Rodney has more explosiveness to the rim. He shot very well from the 3-point line at NC State, and I think he’s working towards improving that. I think he’s a good shooter, I think he can get better with his shot, get it off quicker. These are the different things we’re working on this summer to allow him to improve.”

(Is Sam Cassell, Jr. more a shooter, a ballhandler ... or both?)

“Sam can handle the basketball. I was very, very pleased with him. He’s been up here, working. His attitude, his leadership, he’s in phenomenal condition. He’s been around pros his whole life, so he knows how to conduct himself. He’s not afraid of competition. Actually, he relishes it. He can shoot the basketball. You want your two’s to dribble, shoot and pass. He does all that well. He’s going to be a player for us. Terrence (Samuel) is going to be a player for us. We’ve got some talent, we’ve got to pull it together.”

(on Samuel)

“You’ve got to take active steps to make your weaknesses your strengths. And shooting the ball is No. 1. He’s got to come in here and shoot the right way, and don’t be afraid to do it. Sometimes, you’ve got to take one step back and do it badly to get to that next level. I think he’s understanding that.”

(on Daniel Hamilton)

“I know he has great expectations for himself, which is great. I heard something that came out, somebody said he’s the eighth-rated small forward in the country already as a freshman. That don’t matter. You’ve really got to show, each and every day, that you can play on this level, that you compete on this level, and that you can be a separator on this level. We don’t want him to come and blend in. We want him to be an outstanding player on our team and make an impact. We’re going to need it, because we lost a lot.”

“He’s position-less. Even the four. There are situations this year where I’m going to have four guards … we might have five.”

(on Rakim Lubin)

“Just kind of like Amida last year. We found him. He’s definitely going to give us a different look running out the tunnel. He’s a little bit bigger than our guys … He’s not 7 feet, he’s 6-7, but we’ve got a guy walking around on our coaching staff who’s 6-7, 6-8, and he did pretty damn well. It’s all about heart. I think he’s got heart, he’s got a confidence about himself. He’s not shy or timid. He walks around and he knows he’s good. He knows he belongs. We’re going to have to temper that down a little bit, make him humble a little bit on that first day of practice. But I like that. I’d rather have that than have a guy that’s timid and not sure of himself. He has a lot of confidence. He has a chip on his shoulder. He wasn’t ranked in the Top-200, or whatever that stuff is. He’s going to come out here and prove that he belongs, and I think he’s going to give us a different dynamic that we didn’t have. One of those guys that can take a bump and also give a bump, too.”

(Will next year's team rebound better than last year's?)

“I hope so. I hope our point guard doesn’t lead us in rebounding, until the second half of the last game when DeAndre got those last two rebounds to beat him out. I hope that’s not the case. I hope Amida steps up, I hope Phil steps up … I think Daniel’s going to be a great rebounder. He’s had great rebounding games in high school. We’re going to have bigger guards out there – Rodney, Sam, Terrence, Omar. Hopefully, Rakim can come in and give us a life on the backboards.”

(on Shabazz)

“We sat at this table and we said, ‘These things can happen if you come back. This is where you’re putting yourself. You can do something that nobody else was ever able to do in the NCAA.’”

(on Shabazz's coursework this past season)

“He wasn’t taking electives, he was taking real required stories. He had big-time classes: labs, sciences, biology, chemistry. It was big-time stuff. And for him to do that, and lead his team … he is remarkable.”

(on Napier's draft prospects)

“He’s doing great in every one of his workouts. Now, it’s what team needs a point guard. There are a couple of teams outside the lottery that need a point guard. He might slip into the lottery, who knows? I just know it takes one guy to love you. I think he has a lot of people that love him.”

“I was very fortunate, when I got the job, that he stood by my side. I wouldn’t be here without Shabazz.”

Ollie noted that DeAndre Daniels had a workout on Wednesday with Detroit, who supposedly like him a lot. It was one of 14 workouts Daniels had slated over the past two weeks.

(on next year's schedule)

“We’ve got a tough schedule. Which is fine, that’s how I like it. We’re playing some top-notch teams: going down to Florida, playing Duke. Texas is going to be top-10 … It’s going to get us prepared for a nice tournament run, hopefully. We wanted to keep our RPI the same. Losing Louisville hurts our RPI a little bit, but we’re playing a great out-of-conference schedule that’s going to boost our RPI up.”

(on the AAC)

“I like the conference, I like the coaches. Tulsa is going to be great – I know we lost Danny Manning, but Frank Haith has done a great job at Miami and Missouri. Getting Orlando Antigua … the conference as a whole is going to be great. We’ve got some great freshmen coming in, the No. 1 point guard coming into our conference, Emmanuel Mudiay down at SMU, so it’s going to be exciting.”

Ollie said the new basketball practice facility should be completed in another 1 1/2-2 months. Here's how it looks right now:

This is really getting pretty amazing. In fact, this UConn run may surpass the 2011 run -- even if the Huskies don't win on Monday night.

I mean, at least in 2011, you had the Big East tourney run as evidence that maybe the Huskies were getting hot at the right time (or, as many thought, maybe they would be burnt out by NCAA tourney time).

Really, how could you have seen this coming? The 34-point loss to Louisville a few weeks ago? The 10-point loss to the Cardinals in the AAC title game that really felt like a 20-point loss? Getting outplayed for most of regulation by St. Joe's in their opener before getting saved by a 3-point play by (of all people) Amida Brimah?

Go ahead and say you saw all this coming. You're lying.

My game column focuses on how UConn's Final Four win over Florida was no fluke -- the exact word used by CBSsports.com's Gregg Doyel in reference to the Huskies' Dec. 2 win over the Gators in Storrs.

Here's a couple of UConn players talking about the whole "fluke thing":





And here are a few notes from tonight's game:

UConn showed flashes of being a very good defensive team at times this season. But this is getting ridiculous.

The Huskies’ team defense was swarming and suffocating once again in their Final Four victory over Florida Saturday night. They held the Gators to 38 percent shooting, 1-for-10 from 3-point land. They forced them into 11 turnovers but, more to the point, made Florida look uncomfortable offensively throughout the contest.

It was similar to UConn’s 60-54 win over Michigan State on Sunday in the Elite Eight in which the Huskies turned the bigger, more physical Spartans into a perimeter team (29 3-point attempts) thanks to their choking defense.

The game plan was a little different this time around, according to associate head coach Glen Miller.

“(Florida’s) offense is really good when it can flow from one side to the other,” Miller said. “We just shut it down and kept it on one side, all their ball-screen actions, we kept it to coffin corner. They couldn’t change sides, they were uncomfortable, couldn’t get into their offensive flow. Even when we were struggling offensively early, we were still defending.”

Ryan Boatright led the charge up top, harrassing Florida point guard Scottie Wilkbekin into an awful (2-for-9, four points) night. Shabazz Napier had four steals, most notably one with just under seven minutes left, when he picked Wilbekin’s pocket and hit Boatright with a pass for a layup that gave the Huskies a 47-40 lead.

And though UConn’s big men were largely plagued by foul trouble, they kept the Gators from penetrating most of the night.

“This is the best we’ve defended all year,” said Miller. “A good defensive team has become a great defensive team in this tournament.”

Rodney Shows Respect

Rodney Purvis, the talented guard who has sat out this entire season due to NCAA transfer rules, arrived in Dallas on Friday and was in the locker room after the game.

“Nobody really had us making it this far,” said Purvis, who transferred from NC State last year. “I’ve been a fan, that’s the reason I came to this school. I knew what we can do. Not being able to play, it’s tough. But I’m enjoying my time sitting on the side, becoming a better student of the game by watching and learning from Shabazz and Boat.”

On Friday, UConn coach Kevin Ollie called Purvis “a Ferrari sitting in the garage that I can’t drive.” Purvis will be eligible to play next season, of course. But for now, he can’t dress with the team or sit on the bench, and his entire trip to the Final Four must be on his own dime. He and his mother came down, though Purvis is still spending time with his teammates.

“I’ve been hanging out with them, though,” he said. “They can’t stop me from that.”

No Pain Stuart

UConn may have dodged a bullet — at least in the minds of its fans — when the officials were announced for Saturday’s game. Or, more aptly, when a certain official wasn’t assigned to the game.

Mike Stuart, who famously ejected Kevin Ollie from the Huskies’ 76-64 loss to Louisville on Jan. 18 at Gampel Pavilion, was one of 10 officials in the pool to work Saturday’s Final Four games. However, he didn’t draw the UConn-Florida bout: John Higgins, Mike Stephens and Doug Sirmons drew the duty (with Mike Roberts as standby).

Stuart ejected Ollie about seven minutes into the second half of that game after Ollie ran up and down the sidelines, incensed that no foul had been called on a Niels Giffey shot attempt. He got hit with a technical by Stuart, then a second one just a few seconds later, ejecting him from the game.

Ollie had to be escorted off the court by director of basketball administration Kevin Freeman, and had some choice words for both Stuart and fellow official Ted Valentine on his way out.

After the game, Ollie was apologetic for his actions, but didn’t back down from his belief a foul should have been called. A couple of days later, he said: “I did (overreact), a little bit, when I ran down the baseline. But, it happens. Hopefully, we can move on. Hopefully, Stuart can move on from the game and we can all be better from it.”

Stuart was on the whistle for Saturday’s other national semifinal bout between Kentucky and Wisconsin. It’s not yet known who will officiate Monday night’s championship game.

Rim Rattlings

• UConn is the third team to be a No. 7 seed or lower and reach the national championship game since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. No. 8 Butler advanced in 2011, and No. 8 Villanova in 1985. The Bulldogs, of course, lost to Kemba Walker and the Huskies.
• Ollie is the first coach to reach the national title game within his first two seasons since interim coach Mike Davis led Indiana to the 2002 title game.
• UConn is now 5-0 in Final Four games played in the state of Texas.

DeAndre Daniels was once heavily recruited by Florida. Now, methinks he may be the key to beating the Gators in the Final Four Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Jim Calhoun had some interesting things to say about how proud he is of Kevin Ollie.

Some video of UConn at AT&T Stadium today:









*** Glen Miller on Amida Brimah's improvement over the season:

“People don’t really know how talented he is offensively. He’s more talented than he appears to be. He’s got a terrific right-hand and left-hand half-hook. As he gains strength and he can get better post position, you’ll see more scoring out of him going forward. Defensively, he’s got a great talent to block shots. But, when he has to come out away from the basket and play pick-and-roll defense, things like that, we’ve had to work with him a lot on that. A guy with his height and ability to block shots, when he gets drawn out from the basket a little bit … so often now, you see four and five guys that can step out and shoot the ball away from the basket, put it on the floor a little bit. So, his ability to guard away from the basket is probably what he’s had to work the most on.”

*** Some of the transcript of UConn's press conference:

Q.  What did you learn from guys like George Karl, Larry Brown, even Coach Calhoun, about trying to get guys to buy into a certain way of going about their business?
COACH OLLIE:  Just every day having the consistency.  We look at it as you can be a pro or you can be a professional.  A pro just does it in convenient times.  A professional does it in inconvenient times and convenient times.  You do it over and over again, and it becomes habit. 
That's what I try to put on my team each and every day, to get better at something.  If we can do that, we'll get better and we'll win games and we'll win together.  I learned that from George Karl.  I learned that from Larry Brown, of course Larry Brown, because he's a perfectionist.  He wants you to do certain things the right way, and especially the things you can control, which is your attitude and the way you show up each and every day.  I learned that from him because without him I wouldn't be here. 
Just the toughness that you got to show each and every day.  Hopefully it feeds over into my coaching staff. 

Q.  In your two years as the head coach, how much has it helped to have such a connection to UConn on your staff as well as the older players who come back and impart wisdom on your current guys?
COACH OLLIE:  Oh, it's invaluable.  I can't put a price tag on it.  I can go through my coaching staff, two of my coaches coached me.  Glen Miller coached me my freshman year, my sophomore year when I didn't know anything.  I'm just walking around as a freshman and trying to find my way, and Coach Calhoun's screaming at me and I didn't understand what he was saying, and I'm very glad Glen was there.  Now he's on my staff. 
Coach Hobbs came in after Glen left and he coached me my junior and senior year.  That's when I really started taking off as a point guard and really establishing myself as a basketball player and a point guard.  I loved those guys to death.  To see them on my staff now, and then couple that with the younger coaches that I got on my staff, two of the guys played on our 1999 National Championship team. 
So my coaching staff, I tell them they're the best in America because they young, but they're all UConn guys.  They all graduated.  They all got their degrees from UConn.  It's a beautiful synergy that we have because we all have that common denominator that we played for UConn.  We know what it takes to put that jersey on and the pride that we are playing for each and every night.

Q.  You joining the UConn program was sort of contingent on there being a position open on Jim's staff.  There's a position open, and so you get it, and then Jim retires and now here we are.  Would you be in college coaching if not for a position being open at that particular time right now?  Do you have any idea what else you might be doing?
COACH OLLIE:  I would have probably been with the Thunder, because I had an opportunity to stay with the Thunder in different capacities.  Me and Sam Presti is great friends and he wanted me to come back and be a coach or be in the front office with him. 
I could have still played because I'm not a free agent that's going to get signed July 1st.  So I usually get signed probably in September right before training camp.  So I didn't have that luxury to see what was the free agent market. 
So I decided to just go back to UConn.  They had a spot open even before the season was over with.  That spot was open, and I decided to many could back.  I wanted to be closer to my family.  The last five years of my NBA career, my family stayed in Glastonbury, Connecticut, while I was at Oklahoma City, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philly 76ers, so I wanted to be close to them.
It's nothing like coming back home and being at University of Connecticut and everybody say, How do you recruit?  It's like recruiting is natural for me because I'm not making nothing up or anything, this is what I believe in.  I said I sat in those same seats, I went to the same classes that you're going to, and it's just a part of me.  I love the university and I want to be here for a long time. 

Q.  Kasey Hill didn't play the last time when you guys beat Florida in December.  What sort of problems does he present in contrast to maybe Scottie Wilbekin when Kasey Hill is in the game?
COACH OLLIE:  Kasey, with his speed, his ability to make plays, Scottie does the same thing, but it gives them an opportunity, kind of like us, where we can play 2‑point guards at the same time.  They didn't have that option when they played us last time. 
I don't think I had the option of Terrence Samuel either, because he wasn't playing a lot.  Now I can put three point guards out there. 
So it's a different game.  That was four months ago.  We're a different team.  I'm a different coach.  Billy Donovan's definitely got better understanding his team and what it takes for his team to win.  So it's going to be a whole different game. 
But Kasey Hill is a wonderful player. 
Now they got Chris Walker back in the rotation, which they didn't have before.  It's going to be a challenge for us.  We have to play our A‑game.  I've been telling the guys we don't have a B‑ or C‑game.  We just got an A‑game and that's what we got to bring each and every night when you step out on the floor and play in the NCAA tournament. 

Q.  What's your relationship like with Billy Donovan?
COACH OLLIE:  Just cordial.  We haven't had an opportunity to spend a lot of time together, but just on a recruiting trail.  Especially when I first got into the business and seeing all the coaches, they were very cordial to he me saying, Welcome.  Saying all the bad things about coaching, but also the good things.  We stay in the gyms for 15 hours and all that stuff.  But it was great just to see all the coaches. 
I admire Billy Donovan from afar even when I was playing.  To do the different things that he's done at the age of 48, he's definitely a Hall of Famer where he's built the program, predominantly football school, and he took it and made it a basketball school also.  I have so much respect for him, and getting his teams to win each and every year is tough.  To build a program that's tough, but to sustain it is even tougher.  He's sustained it over a lot of years there at Florida. 
I respect him so much.  I just look at how hard his teams play each and every play.  It's not each and every game, each and every play, and that's what I respect. 

Q.  Transfers have changed college basketball.  Billy Donovan has four.  I think you have two.  Wisconsin has one.  They're more predominant today.  How does that affect you guys from a recruiting standpoint?  It's almost like a little bit of a free agency situation. 
COACH OLLIE:  Yeah, you definitely got to look at the transferring, transfer market, the five‑year graduate students also.  We have been doing a real good job with that having assigned Kromah here this year from GW, and last we had R.J. Evans from Holy Cross.  They played a great role a leadership role on our team. 
We have Rodney Purvis that's sitting out right now, he's like a Ferrari sitting in the garage that I can't drive.  But he's practicing and getting better.  He's just a wonderful person.  It's tough for guys to sit out like that.  They think that they can be better changing venues and I want to just make sure they understand that they're a part of this team, too, while they sit out. 

Q.  (No microphone.)
COACH OLLIE:  I mean, it is different.  It's a different situations.  I know it's probably good for Rodney because he wanted to change.  He's a good kid.  He had to be penalized by sitting out and he can't be here with us in the Final Four, but he's here in spirit. 
But I think he's going to be a better person for it because he made a decision, and that's what you want young kids to be committed, by making a decision.  He decided to leave NC State and come here.  We want to make this the best situation for him. 
For us, we don't lack for all transfers, but we do look for certain situations that we evaluate basketball players on their character.  We think that's a good fit for our team and transfer fifth year seniors.  If it's a good fit for our team, we're going to look at it and explore that option. 

Q.  You've experienced this world as an athlete.  You've experienced this world as an assistant coach, now as a head coach.  If there was just one common sense change that you would say to the NCAA, I would like to make, what would that be and why?
COACH OLLIE:  Yeah, I mean, that's so hard.  You have to get in the room and you have to sacrifice a little bit.  Everybody got to come to a compromising position.  I think that me playing, we never played in venues like this.  The venues got bigger, the ticket prices got more. 
We have to find out a way that we can involve the student‑athletes a little bit more, give them more benefits and help them out even more.  I would like to see, you know, when they graduate, medical benefits or something like that, a 401K.  Something when they get out of playing that they have something to fall back on. 
I don't know the right way to go.  I don't know the wrong way to go.  But I want to see us getting in a room and start changing a little bit because I've seen all this change.  My last game was in the Oakland Coliseum in 1995.  This is definitely a bigger venue than that. 
So I would like to see things change.  Hopefully we can come to a situation where we can get better as student‑athletes and it's a business.  Hopefully we can get better at that. 

Q.  When you were an athlete, was there ever a moment where you looked at what was going on around you and you saw the contradictions in what was going on?
COACH OLLIE:  Of course you seen it.  We wasn't getting paid and you see our jerseys getting sold.  So you seen it.  But at the end of the day, I was living the dream.  I was at University of Connecticut.  I was playing basketball.  The relationships I have now with my friends back in 1995, through 1991 and 1995, I still have today.  They're here at the Final Four with me and they're celebrating this achievement of our teal. 
So I can never put a price tag on the relationships I have.  I got my degree in communications, so I can never put a price tag on that.  But definitely things got to change.  You're aware of it.  At the end of the day, I'm getting a great education and I embrace that.  I want our kids to embrace that because it's a great time in their lives and they should be celebrating that instead of looking at all the negative things. 

Q.  Could you contrast for me Billy's got a team that's considered one of the more balanced teams in the country.  You've got a great team as well, but you heavily reliant on a star.  I'm just wondering from your own comfort level, do you prefer having a team that's maybe a little bit more dependent on one guy to carry the load or would you prefer the balanced situation?  Could you contrast those two situations?
COACH OLLIE:  I just want to be at the Final Four.  Okay.  I don't care how I get here.  It could be Ryan playing good, Bazz playing good.  I think we have a complete team, too.  I think you can't get here by one player.  If you seen our games, you had DeAndre Daniels stepping up in one game.  If Amida Brimah didn't make the three‑point play against St. Joseph's, we wouldn't be here.  That wasn't Shabazz. 
Shabazz is a great player, don't get me wrong.  But I think we got more balance than a lot of people give us credit for.  Ryan Boatright is playing unselfish basketball and that's really allowing us to flourish on the offensive end.  We have Niels Giffey that's a deadeye three‑point shooter that's playing a bigger role than he played last year. 
So I give a lot of credit to my team.  A lot of people don't talk about our front court because they don't score all the points, but they are tough.  We showed that against Michigan State shutting down Dawson and shutting down Adreian Payne, and Shabazz didn't really have a hand in that.  Our bigs had to do that job and control the paint and limit them to six points and in the paint. 
So we have a more complete team than a lot of people give us credit for. 

Q.  Coach and Ryan, just to follow‑up on the question about Ryan and his defense, when a guy comes into the school offering 31 points a game, what's the process like to get a guy to become a defensive player and a stopper?  For Ryan, coach was talking about you having an evolution as a player and becoming more coachable.  Just wondering how you develop that, how you have become more coachable and how you have evolved since being at UConn. 
COACH OLLIE:  I just think when you come from high school, you are All‑American, but you're not always surrounded by All‑Americans also in your high school team.  So you're going to have to understand it's a part of a team and you're going to have to find your way. 
When I came in the school I had Ray Allen and Donyell Marshall and I scored a lot.  But I found out that them guys can score more.  I had to I understand a way to get in the rotation.  For me it was playing defense. 
Ryan is an explosive scorer.  He does some great things.  But I think for him to get to that next level, he has to make his teammates better.  That's what he's starting to do.  That's what he's starting to embrace, and it's great to see. 
That's how he's going to get to the next level and continue to play, is to embrace his teammates and make everyone better.  That might be scoring, some nights that he scores 20 points.  Some nights he scores 10.  But you can always be a great teammate. 
I think all of our student‑athletes are understanding that it's not all about being great players, but every day, every time we step out on the court, every time you put that UConn jersey on, you can be a great teammate.  I think that's what we're starting to get on a more consistent basis.  I think that's allowing us to get to this venue and play in a Final Four and have 80 minutes from cutting down the nets. 
RYAN BOATRIGHT:  Like he said, when you in high school and you're scoring 50, 60 points, averaging 33, you think you know it all.  When I got to this level I was coachable, but I always had something to say back.  So I learned right away playing for Coach Calhoun that that ain't a good thing to do.  I just started listening more and knowing that I didn't know it all.  I wasn't as good as I thought I was. 
So Coach Ollie said, Open your heart and open your ears so you can get better, and I just started doing that. 

Q.  Coach, when kids were deciding whether to go or not, and can you specifically speak to Roscoe, when they go through that decision, what is your advice, if anything?  How do you take kids through the process of, Will they stay, will they go?  Can you speak about, he would be a senior on this team, so he started as a freshman, what role would he have?  Through that process, we talked to Shabazz about did you re‑recruit him or did they just have to make up their minds on their own?
COACH OLLIE:  You tell them about the value of coming back and what role you expect them to play when they comeback.  But at the end of the day, I can't make anybody want to come back.  I can't make their decision. It wouldn't be right for me to have them come back against their will.  They got to make their own decision. 
At the end of the day, I told Roscoe to think about it, and I want to be your coach, I want you to stay here at this program because I believe it's the greatest program in the nation.  But at the end of the day, he has to make his own decision.  I can give him suggestions, but at the end of the day, he got to make his own decision.  He decided to go to UNLV, and it worked out great for him, you know. 
These guys decided to stay.  It worked out great for them.  So that's how life is.  You ask for wisdom from your family and they thought that was the best choice for him.  He thought in his heart that was the best choice for him.  So I wish him all the luck.  I love Roscoe still to this day, and I think he had a great run this year rebounding the basketball, doing all the different things that we wanted him to do while he was at the University of Connecticut. 
I'm glad I got this team here.  I'm glad these guys believed in the program, believed in me, but most importantly believed in each other to stay, to fight through the tough times, and now they're reaping the benefits. 

Q.  Kevin and DeAndre and Phillip, you were talking about how you don't feel your front court gets enough props because it's so much focused on the back court in shutting down Dawson and Payne that was a great example.  Can you compare the challenges that they have compared to Florida's bigs, specifically, and maybe how your guys are equipped to handle that? 
COACH OLLIE:  First of all, it starts with activity for our bigs.  They did a great job widening, they did a great job boxing out.  We call it, 'commit to hit.'  Every available hit, make sure you take it and that's what they did. 
DeAndre was doing a great job finding his niche in our offense.  He's a dynamic scorer.  He's a hybrid four, hybrid three, whatever you want to call him.  He's just a great player inside out.  I can manipulate the defense with him. 
Phillip is doing all the things that it takes for us to win.  He got a dunk at the end of the game last game.  He didn't pass it to Niels Giffey, but he said Niels don't never pass it to him, so he was going to dunk that one.  So it was great for him to have that.  Him playing 27 minutes, 29 minutes, it really gave us that point where we can go and have a big be a stopper, and I appreciate that. 
A lot of people don't see it, but I go back and watch tape after tape after tape, and I see what these guys bring to our team each and every day.  We are a complete team.  It's just not our guards, it's our bigs, it's our coaching staff.  It's just not me, it's everybody involved in winning and making this program the best.  It's just a great feeling when we can all get here together and we have been through our ups and downs and we never gave in.  We kept providing that energy each and every day and we taking ownership.
RYAN BOATRIGHT:  Talked about that earlier, these guys taking ownership of the team now.  This is, I'm in the back.  They're taking ownership.  They're driving the bus right now.  That's the only way we are here at the Final Four. 

Q.  (No microphone.)
COACH OLLIE:  They present a big challenge.  We played those guys.  They pick‑and‑roll guys, they dive hard, Young is a great player, Yeguete brings his challenge, Finney‑Smith shooting the three‑ball, going inside.  They present a big challenge for us, and we got to be ready to play. 
We got to play at a level five.  We got to rebound.  We got to limit their touches.  We got to do our work early.  Phil and DeAndre know that because they hear me screaming it each and every day.
PHILLIP NOLAN:  Pretty much everything coach said.  Just I have to do whatever I need to do to help this team win, whether it's running, fronting the post, getting an extra rebound, it's just me.  I have to do what I have to do. 
DeANDRE DANIELS:  It starts with the little things.  Just playing the details and always following the game plan that we have.  We work on it every day in practice, of fronting the post and boxing out.  We have been doing a great job lately of that.  But most important thing is the front court.  We lack size all year, but one thing we don't lack is heart.  And we're just out there having fun and playing hard. 

When Kevin Ollie took UConn on a tour of AT&T Stadium (home of the Cowboys) back on Jan. 3, it wasn't just because Ollie's a big Cowboys fan. He wanted his team to get a feeling of what it might be like to return three months later for the Final Four, which is also being hosted by Jerry Jones's leviathan of a stadium.

And now, the Huskies are returning. Amazing, really. Can't say I saw this three months ago. Or three weeks ago, even.

We'll have plenty more later, but for now, here's some video from UConn's postgame celebration you might enjoy:

Kevin Ollie can't emphasize enough that it really doesn't matter who starts games, it's who does the most with their minutes and who's in at the end.

He's right, of course. But when a couple of usual starters come off the bench (Phil Nolan for the last two games, Omar Calhoun on Saturday), well, we in the media have to ask ...



Ollie continued:  "His energy is like, out the roof right now. He’s running to screens, he’s calling out blue coverages, which is our pick-and-roll defense. I can hear him from the other side of the court. The ball always finds energy, and I think that’s what he’s bringing, and he’s getting rewarded for it.”

Nolan finished with a career-high 11 points in a season-high 22 minutes. He also went 7-for-7 from the foul line and has hit his last 11 from the stripe.

Calhoun had started every regular-seasaon game of his UConn career (except last year's season finale vs. Providence, which he sat out due to injury) until Saturday. He scored 12 points and grabbed a season-high six rebounds.

Both players have handled their respective situations well.



Calhoun: “It definitely means something. But, I know I’ve been struggling. Coach is working with me. Obviously, you can’t start someone playing the way I’ve been playing. He just wants me to get back after it and things are going to fall into place at the end of the day.”

Calhoun said he had been told by Ollie on Thursday that he wasn't starting.

“He told me he wasn’t going to start me today, but he wanted me to bring that energy, get it going and be aggressive and stuff like that. We had a good talk about it, so everything was fine.”

(on his rebounding)

“I know I can rebound as a big guard. I haven’t really been doing a great job rebounding. He’s always harping about rebounding, so I wanted to make it my effort to rebound more.”

(Calhoun didn't start his first exhibition game last season and the first exhibition game this season. Other than that, he'd started every game in which he'd played at UConn)

“It was definitely tough, but I’m more mature than I was last year. I wasn’t going to argue or anything like that. I obviously knew that I wasn’t playing my best. He told me he was going to have me come off the bench, but I’m still going to play a lot of minutes. He just wanted to see what that does to me, give me fuel and put me in a different position, get my groove going. That definitely helped.”

Nolan and Calhoun's coach and teammates are impressed with the way they've responded.

“I think Omar responded well," said Shabazz Napier. "Phil didn’t start against Washington and he responded well, as well. Today, I was happy to see him scoring, seeing Omar scoring, because Omar was in a little slump.”

“We need Omar and Phil to get to where we want to go.”

Added Niels Giffey (who started over Calhoun on Saturday): "It just shows that they have a great mindset, not being discouraged but actually encouraged in that situation. Just bouncing back is really hard … I think they had to understand that we’ve got to take certain shots, and we’ve got to pass off some of the shots Omar had. We talked about it a lot, which shots he takes. I think he did a great job today of changing up his game, because he’s so versatile. I think he’s doing a good job with that. It’s good to see other guys scoring before we go into the AAC.”

Said Ollie: “Phil was great. He responded the right way. That’s what I like. It wasn’t a benching. He was out of the starting lineup, but he had his career-high tonight. It’s not about who’s starting, it’s about who’s taking care of their minutes. I thought Omar came in and finally got his shot going. He hit two 3’s, played very well, had six rebounds … All in all, it was a great character game for us. Two of the guys who showed great character were Omar and Phil.”

*** The crowd of 9,274 was the largest ever to watch a sporting event at Webster Bank Arena. Granted, the crowd was a bit ... umm .. quiet at times. But it was a good showing, nonetheless.

"I think there were a lot of families in the audience that probably hadn’t ever seen us play before," Ollie noted. "I felt the energy from the crowd, it was just a great family atmosphere. It took them awhile to really start cheering, because we didn’t really give them opportunity. We were playing good defense, then giving up offensive rebounds.”

So, will we do this again next year? Maybe more than once?

“We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board," said Ollie. "To have a great program, you’ve got to schedule the right way and recruit. I’m glad that Warde (Manuel) and Paul McCarthy, Glen Miller, we sat down and scheduled this game. If it comes to it, we have a favorable team we want to bring down here and it works out, we definitely won’t be opposed to it. I can’t speak because I’m not the only person making the decision. I’m part of the decision. But, I wouldn’t think twice if Warde said let’s play another game down in Bridgeport.”

Warde?

“We’re gonna see. I’m very pleased with the fans, the turnout here. It’s been great, great for our team, great for the fans here. We’ll assess it after the women’s game, at some point. We’ll look at whether or not we’ll come back here next year, or how we’ll do it.”

What will Manuel be assessing?

“The fit. Does it fit for our team? How everything went for our teams. I haven’t talked to Kevin, obviously Geno and his team are coming down here in two weeks. We obviously like the fan support and what it brings.”

Multiple games?

“We could, yeah. We could. We haven’t made a decision on whether or not we’re going to play one again. But, we’re very happy with the way the fans have turned out, the support down here. Obviously, it’s one of the things we want to do is get out, we know we have some season-ticket holders down here. They’ve come up to me and told me they’re glad we came down here. They make the trip all the time, either to Gampel, XL Center or Rentschler Field. Obviously, by the sellout, it’s something our fans really appreciate.”

How about a league game? Doesn't look like it.

“I don’t know that. It’s better for us when we’re on break, for our students, to be able to come down here.”

*** UConn director of basketball operations Kevin Freeman wasn't at the game. His wife, Nicole, gave birth to a boy on Friday. He's the Freeman's third child. 

Spent the morning at the National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College. Many college assistant coaches were there, including UConn's Glen Miller and Ricky Moore, who were taking in the Brewster-South Kent game that featured 2015 Husky recruiting targets Donovan Mitchell and Jarred Reuter, both of Brewster, as well as a potential big star down the road: South Kent freshman Tremont Waters of New Haven.

Miller was there all day Saturday, watching kids like West Haven's Mustapha Heron, who poured in 35 points on 12-for-17 shooting in Wilbraham & Monson's 89-82 loss to Elev 8. Moore was slated to stay for most of the day Sunday, ostensibly to see Cushing's Jalen Adams play the tourney's final game at 6:30 p.m. And it appears Kevin Ollie showed up Sunday night, as well.

Here are some observations:

*** Waters, who's being touted as one of the top freshmen in the nation, seems worthy of that title. He popped off the bench about five minutes into the game and immediately knocked down a 3-pointer almost as soon as he touched the ball. Hit a few more treys as the game went on and finished with 17 points. On Friday evening, Waters, a 5-foot-10, 145-pound point guard, was 8-for-14 from the floor (including five 3-pointers) to score 26 points in a 94-91 win over Elev 8.



He's a quick, smart player with remarkable poise for a freshman. Perhaps just as important, his parents, Ed and Vanessa, are very protective and won't allow him to get swallowed up by all the hype. Waters is definitely one to keep an eye on for the future.

*** Perhaps the biggest revelation of the day was South Kent's Schadrac Casimir, a 5-foot-9 guard from Stamford. Casimir was lightning-quick and athletic and draining 3's all game, finishing with 36 points on 13-for-20 shooting (4-for-6 on 3's). He had 22 points on Friday in the win over Elev 8.

Casimir, a postgrad who starred at Trinity Catholic, hasn't been getting much recruiting attention. That could very well change after Sunday, with possibly even some high majors taking a greater interest.

"It's been really quiet," said South Kent coach Kelvin Jefferson. "I think what a lot of people are concerned about is his size. He's small, he's always going to be small. I love him. I saw him in high school, he was one of the top scorers, if not the top scorer, in Connecticut. I've seen him play AAU, he led his team to numerous championship games. And, I've seen him play here, and I think he's one of the best guards around. Regardless of size, all the kid does is put the ball in the basket, whoever he's playing against. I'm hoping that college coaches see what I see -- that he's a great point guard, he can put the ball in the basket, and he's got a lot of heart."

Casimir has another good guy on his side: ex-UConn guard Craig Austrie. Austrie is living in Fairfield and runs the Craig Austrie Basketball IQ Skills Academy in Stamford. Casimir is one of his prized pupils, along with several other high school kids from around the area. Austrie, who was at Sunday's game, said he'd like to get into coaching some day.

*** There are some good bloodlines on the South Kent team: Jordan Strawberry is the son of Darryl, who was also at the game. Meanwhile, guard Kalvin Hobbs is the nephew of UConn assistant Karl Hobbs.

*** Brewster won the game, despite just seven points from Mitchell and 10 from Reuter. On Saturday, Mitchell had netted 17 in a win over Kiski School.

Here, Mitchell drives to the hoop and misses, but Reuter is there for the rebound putback and foul:

The UConn men’s basketball program prides itself on being a big, extended family. On Wednesday, it got a commitment from a player who hails from a pretty good hoops family himself.

Sam Cassell, Jr., a point guard at Chipola College, a junior college in Marianna, Fla., committed to the Huskies.

Blessed to say that I have committed to the University of Connecticut #UCONN #huskynation 🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🙏🙏🙏
— Sam Cassell Jr (@sam2ss2ll) October 9, 2013

He is the son of three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell, who’s now an assistant coach with Washington. Cassell was a teammate of UConn head coach Kevin Ollie in Milwaukee for a season.

Cassell, Jr., is a 6-foot-3 guard who can score in a variety of ways.

“He’s that kid that makes shots that other people couldn’t make,” said Ryan Hurd, who coached Cassell, Jr. at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., two years ago. “When you’re coaching him, you just have to close your eyes and wait for results. There are some unbelievable shots that kid puts in the basket.”

UConn views Cassell, Jr. as a point guard first, which is something the Huskies could need with the impending graduation of Shabazz Napier and possible NBA departure of Ryan Boatright. UConn will also have current freshman Terrence Samuel and NC State transfer Rodney Purvis as point guards for next season.

The Huskies have been going after Cassell, Jr. pretty hard the last few weeks, with associate head coach Glen Miller making three different trips to see him play down in Florida, most recently this past weekend. Ollie is actually on his way down to Florida right now to see Cassell, Jr. work out.

Cassell, Jr. enrolled at Chipola last year after being deemed ineligible to play at Maryland, to whom he had committed. The NCAA deemed a couple of classes Cassell, Jr. had taken at Notre Dame Prep not to be up to snuff, though Hurd noted it was unfair because several other players who took the same classes were ruled eligible to play last year in college.

Cassell, Jr. didn’t play at Chipola last year but will play this year. He’ll have three years of eligibility at UConn.

Tyler Olander pleaded guilty to operating without a license Monday morning at Rockville Superior Court, but the more serious charge of driving under the influence of alcohol was dropped.

Olander was arrested on Sept. 7 on Route 195 in Mansfield, just north of North Eagleville Road, after a police officer witnessed Olander's vehicle making "several jerky steering maneuvers within the lane of travel," according to state attorney Cynthia Baer.

Olander failed a field sobriety test, according to a police report, but subsequently took two breath tests and was under the legal limit of .08 both times.

"The science was on our side," said Olander's attorney, Rob Britt. "We're happy the state reviewed the science in the matter, because we believed it was on our side."

Olander does not have a driver's license, however, so he paid a $75 fine for operating without a license on Monday. He had been indefinitely suspended from the UConn men's basketball team after the incident, and now hopes he'll be able to rejoin the team.

"That's my goal, and God willing, I'll be back," he said. "I hope people don't see these past incidents as a reflection of who I am. I hope they see me as a good kid that just made some mistakes, as everybody does."

Olander was at a special tribute to Jim Calhoun at Gampel Pavilion on Sunday night, seated at a dinner table with his fellow teammates.

Speaking of the Calhoun tribute, it really was a nice ceremony. Every ex-player who went up to talk about Calhoun (Ray Allen, Rudy Gay, Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton, Kemba Walker, Kevin Ollie, Glen Miller, Kevin Freeman, Donny Marshall, A.J. Price ... everyone) spoke eloquently. Really, everyone was better than I expected.

Baseball coach Jim Penders delivered a terrific speech (as a last-minute replacement). Only complaint for me was that, as well as everyone spoke, they were all too long! How long? Festivities ran about two hours past schedule. Or put it this way: Calhoun's speech at the end of the night was one of the shortest.

As great a night as it was, and as much as a testament it was to the truly remarkable bond that unites just about all UConn basketball players and coaches, past and present, it's impossible to ignore the very public rift in the UConn hoops family currently going on in the Tate George case.

Meanwhile, here's a Connecticut magazine feature piece on Kevin Ollie.