Remember Ryan Boatright's awe-inspiring alley-oop dunk from Shabazz Napier back on Jan. 12 at Notre Dame? The one that allowed UConn to "shut (the Notre Dame fans) up" immediately after Jack Cooley's putback slam?



Well, it's been nominated for the GEICO Play of the Year, according to Intersport. Each week for eight weeks, four college hoops plays will be nominated for the GEICO Play of the Year. Each week's winner will be determined by fan voting through the official Facebook page (facebook.com/BestofCollegeBasketball).

The eight finalists will compete in a week-long competition to determine the GEICO Play of the Year. The winner will be announced during the GEICO Best of College Basketball special that airs April 6 on CBS.

*** Elsewhere: It appears UConn may have picked up a future 6-foot-7 banger in the form of its latest football recruit. Jordan Fuchs of Christ the King High (Omar Calhoun's alma mater) has signed on to play tight end for the Husky football program, but apparently is hoping to play hoops in a couple of years, as well, according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post.

On the very first sequence of UConnn's eventual 65-58 win over Notre Dame, Jack Cooley had his shot blocked by Tyler Olander.

That pretty much set the stage for a game in which Olander -- to the surprise of just about everyone -- outplayed perhaps the Big East's best all-around big man.

While Cooley finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, both were under his season averages (15.2, 11.2). Olander, meanwhile, put forth a career outing and by far the highlight of what's been, to date, a very disappointing junior season.



Olander scored a career-high 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting. He had a putback dunk in the first half, then proceeded to score 10 of UConn's first 15 points of the latter half. He grabbed seven rebounds and had a couple of huge defensive plays (a block of Jerian Grant's shot and a big rebound) in the final 35 seconds.

"I just wanted Tyler to go to work down there," said Kevin Ollie. "I know what he can do on the offensive end. It was a matchup where he could get deep, low-post position. Once you make a couple of layups, that rim got real big for him. He started making some jumpers -- just doing some things that we know TO can do."

Olander entered the game averaging just 4.6 points a contest. He'd had just one double-figure scoring game -- on Tuesday against DePaul -- but even those 10 points largely came in garbage time.

“It’s really rewarding," the Mansfield native said. "Things weren't really working out for me at the beginning of the season, but I just stuck with it, kept working hard, got in the gym and it feels good to have the hard work finally pay off.”

Added Ryan Boatright:“Tyler works extremely hard all the time, I’m just proud to see it pay off finally. He needed this. He’s got his confidence going now, so hopefully he can keep it going for the next few games.”

Ollie said he's seen a difference in Olander's overall demeanor lately.

“His self-fortitude, his belief that ‘I can get it done.’ Cooley is a big-time matchup, but I thought it was a standstill today. He stepped up, I’m so proud of him. But now, he can’t lay on it. He’s got to keep building on it.”

But, the coach continued: “It’s great to see him smile and have this type of game. I’m happy for him.”

*** One of the biggest -- and certainly the most electrifying -- plays of the game came about midway through the second half, when Shabazz Napier hit Boatright for an alley-oop dunk.

Cooley had just slammed home a putback with 7:59 to play to get the Irish to within two (50-48). Wasting no time, the Huskies killed any momentum Notre Dame could muster from the suddenly jacked-up, sellout crowd when Napier tossed a pass from beyond the 3-point arc and the 6-foot (not even) Boatright flew in for the slam.

It was actually a play UConn had set up during the prior timeout, before Cooley's dunk.

“It’s kind of funny because (Cooley) got the dunk, and we had already set the play up for Boatright to get his own dunk," Napier said. "Boatright said, ‘It’s gonna be open.’ I said, ‘I’m gonna throw it up to you, you’ve gotta catch it.’ (Cooley) got that dunk, he came back down, I said, ‘Man, we’re about to shut them up.’ He came off the pick, I saw him set him set his feet up, I lobbed it up there and he went up there and got it.”

Said Boatright: “My eyes kinda lit up. Once (Cooley) made that tip dunk, I knew I was coming back for a lob. I just wanted to go up there and get it.”

“I’ve been dunking a long time," Boatright added. "It’s just two points. It’s a dunk, and I just got back on defense.”

Well, not really: one of the refs seemed to warn Boatright about excessive celebration after the slam.

*** DeAndre Daniels had no points, no rebounds and a turnover at halftime. Then, he got a ... ahem ... "talking-to" from Ollie at the break.

What did the coach tell Daniels?

“I can’t say what I said," Ollie told the media, with a smile. "I give you all a lot, Coach Blaney gets mad at me. I can’t tell y’all that one, that’s my secret.”

Whatever he said, it worked. Daniels had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds in the latter half. He also made a key play late in the game that essentially sealed the Huskies' win, tipping a rebound out of Cooley's hands and flipping in a layup to give UConn a six-point lead with about 14 seconds left.

*** UConn snapped a 45-game Notre Dame home winning streak in 2009 and a 27-game Irish home win streak last season. Notre Dame had won 12 straiht entering Saturday's game. One more win would have set record during Brey's tenure.

In fact, the Irish have won 46 of their last 48 home games. Their two losses ...?
“When I stepped on the court, I looked up and it said 46-1," said Napier. "I gave myself a little chuckle, because I was thinking to myself, it’s gonna be 46-2.”

In 2009, UConn came to Purcell Pavilion and ended Notre Dame's school-record, 45-game home win streak.

A year ago, sans Ryan Boatright, the Huskies ended the Irish's 29-game home win streak.

Notre Dame is now on a 12-game overall winning streak, which matches its best ever under head coach Mike Brey. Can UConn spoil another Irish streak? Or will Notre Dame top its previous best winning streak under Brey, originally set from Nov. 14, 2006 to Jan. 3, 2007?

*** Last year's 67-53 win at Notre Dame was an emotional one for UConn. The night before, the Huskies learned that Boatright's eligibility was still being looked into by the NCAA and they had to sit him out of the game, even though some 300 friends and family were slated to make the two-hour drive from his hometown of East Aurora, Ill., to South Bend. The group even had special UConn shirts with Boatright's name and No. 11 on the back made for the game (though far fewer than 300 showed up, since they knew he wouldn't be albe to play).

There are no eligibility issues this time for Boatright, however, and he's expecting a healthy turnout tomorrow afternoon.



Boatright is happy with the way he's been playing lately.

“I’m in a rhythm, man," he said. "I’ve got a flow going. Last year, I was holding it out. Now, I’ve been playing all year, I’m comfortable. The team chemistry is great. I’m actually having fun playing ball again. All this that’s gone on, it just adds fuel to the fire. Every time we come up against a Big East team, everybody doubts us. So, we’re looking forward to playing them tomorrow.”

Kevin Ollie likes what he's been seeing from the sophomore guard, as well.

“Today was one of his best practices ever. He looked like he was in a good place. Probably coming close to home, where he can see his family, puts you in that state of mind. Hopefully, he can put on a great show for his fans and family that’s coming down to watch him play.”

*** Remember when Jack Cooley was just known as the guy who looked a lot like former Irish teammate Luke Harangody?

He's come a long way over the past few years. Cooley, a 6-9, 246-pound senior, is aeraing 15.2 points and 11.2 rebounds per game to lead the Irish.

“He’s a double-double machine," said Ollie. "He’s just a load down there, and he don’t mind hitting you. It seems like he embraces it. It’s going to be a challenge for our big guys, but our big guys are playing exceptionally well, and I think they’re going to be up to it.”

Enosch Wolf and Tyler Olander will be charged with trying to stop Cooley. The watched some film of him on the flight to South Bend with coach Glen Miller.

“He’s a real physical guy," said Wolf. "We’ve got to hit him first, get him out of his position. He’s not a particularly fast player, but where he stands, you’ve got to hit him first and get him out of his position.”

“He doesn’t jump high, he’s just very strong. I’m probably going to be able to contest his shot and be able to shoot over him.”

*** Shabazz Napier was a little banged up at practice Friday, but it doesn't appear to be a big deal, according to Ollie.

*** A report by Mark Blaudschun at ajerseyguy.com stated that UConn was looking into joining the so-called "Catholic 7" in all sports but football, and that its football team could join the Mountain West Conference.

But a UConn official said that AD Warde Manuel has not had any such conversations and would not even consider separating the school's football program from its other sports.

The Big East's annual Garden party will continue for years to come.

The conference announced on Wednesday that its annual Big East Championship Tournament continue to be held at Madison Square Garden for the foreseeable future. The Big East and Madison Square Garden have agreed to a multiyear extension of their contract.

(My main story from today's Big East Media Day)

“Madison Square Garden has been the Big East’s home for 30 years,” new commish Mike Aresco said, “and has produced some of the signature moments in college basketball history. We are happy that our teams will continue to bring the excitement of Big East basketball to the Garden.”

With the defection of Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference after this season, there has been some worry that the ACC may try to hold its championship tournament at MSG, at least periodically.

The Big East’s current contract with MSG doesn’t expire for another four years. There was no word on how many years the new deal will entail.



Of course, UConn won't be able to participate in this year's event. Or will it? While the chances are extremely slim, UConn is holding out a bit of hope that the league presidents change their mind on their decision last March to bar any postseason-ineligible teams from its conference tourney. The presidents meet again in a couple of weeks in Chicago for what would appear to be the Huskies’ last chance. UConn is hoping that, since the players responsible for the poor APR scores are long-gone (and, now, Jim Calhoun is gone, too), that the presidents may reconsider.

It's very unlikely, however.

“It’s possible that it could be discussed,” Aresco said on Wednesday, “but again, UConn hasn’t indicated yet what they want to do. It could be discussed, but I want to state that that’s our policy of our conference at this point.”

Big East Bonds

First-year UConn coach Kevin Ollie brought in a noted sports psychologist a few weeks ago to help the Huskies bond a little better, and by all accounts, it’s worked.

Ironically, UConn sophomore Ryan Boatright also spent a good part of the summer bonding with some of his Big East rivals. He went up against Louisville’s Peyton Siva, the preseason Big East Player of the Year, at Chris Paul’s CP3 Camp, and also teamed with Siva, Notre Dame’s Jack Cooley, Syracuse’s Brandon Triche and Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick at the adidas Nations camp in August.

At CP3, Boatright and Siva went at each other.

“Same thing as a Big East game,” Boatright noted. “Trying to rip each other’s necks off.”

But at adidas, Boatright got a chance to get to know his fellow Big East competitors a lot better. Bonds developed among all the Big East players.

“They’re all great guys,” Siva said. “Ryan Boatright is a funny guy. He’s very energetic, tough as nails as a guard.”

Added Cooley: “When you compete against somebody for four years, you should know a little bit about him. So it’s good to finally get to meet them and develop some friendships.”

The players teamed together on the court and hung out together off it for the week. Precious little of the talk amongst them dwelled on things like the Big East and its rocky future, or about UConn’s postseason ban – though the latter did come up at least once.

“Boatright kind of said an off-hand joke about how there’s not going to be enough bodies (on UConn’s team),” said Cooley, referring to the mass wave of defections from last year’s squad.

More often, it was the conversations were far more light-hearted fare.

“It was more about how are coaches are, some of the funny quotes our coaches would say,” Siva said.

No doubt, Boatright had some prime material for that after playing for Jim Calhoun last season.

Interestingly, Siva, Cooley and Dieng all earned first team all-Big East preseason honors, while Triche was a second team pick. Boatright received no recognition.

“I don’t really care, it is what it is,” he said. “I’m still going to prepare myself to be the best player I can be, and my team to be the best it can be.”

Sports Psychologist a Success

Ollie’s decision to bring in Dr. Joseph Carr, a sports psychologist who has worked with other college and NBA teams, seems to have been a success – even if UConn players were a bit skeptical at first.

“Nobody really felt like doing it but K.O.,” Boatright confessed, adding that the team spent about eight hours a day over a recent weekend in a circle, learning about each other’s lives.

But he feels the team emerged a better team because of it.

“Once we got it going and it was over, we appreciated that he made us do it, because it really helped a lot.”

Freddie Wilson Surprises

New Haven’s Freddie Wilson figures to be a key element for Seton Hall this season as a sophomore.

“Freddie’s probably surprised me more than anybody this year,” Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “He’s coming in great shape. I think (our) summer trip to Spain really helped him. He’s understanding his role a little more. He’s done a great job of embracing what a point guard really needs to be. Last year, I don’t think he really understood what he had to do. Playing behind Jordan (Theodore), he didn’t have a great opportunity to do it. This year, I expect big things from Freddie.”

Wilson averaged 1.8 points in 8.1 minutes of action as a freshman last season. The 6-2 Hillhouse product will play both the point and shooting guard this season.

“He’s going to have to,” Willard said. “He understands what he likes to do offensively. Freddie’s biggest drawback (is) … I think they only play on the offensive side in Connecticut high school basketball. The more he understands the defensive side, the more playing time he’ll get. He’s got a great scorer’s mentality. He’s got a mentality of being in attack mode, which I like.”

Chicago Hope

DePaul’s Cleveland Melvin, a preseason second team all-Big East pick, committed to UConn while still in prep school but backed out and went to Chicago instead.

His decision was a mixed blessing for the 6-fot-9 junior out of Baltimore. Melvin was the conference’s Rookie of the Year as a freshman and averaged 17.9 points per game last season, making him the top returning scorer in the league. He is a preseason second team all-Big East pick.

Of course, he also missed out on UConn’s national championship run two years ago.

“I’m definitely happy to be in this position I’m at,” Melvin said. “I thought it was the best fit for me. I fit their playing style. I’ve had two successful years. Coming into my junior year, I’m just very excited to get this season started and winning some more games.”

UConn has been picked to finish ninth in the 15-team Big East this season by the league’s coaches.

Shabazz Napier has been picked for the preseason All-Big East Second Team. He is the only UConn player to earn any type of preseason honors.

Louisville is the consensus pick to win the conference, earning 14 o 15 first-place votes only because coaches can’t pick their own team. Rick Pitino apparently picked Notre Dame, which got the only other first-place vote, but the Irish finish third behind Syracuse in the preseason poll.

Louisville’s Peyton Siva is the preseason Player of the Year and Pittsburgh’s Steven Adams the preseason Rookie of the Year.


1. Louisville (14)
2. Syracuse
3. Notre Dame (1)
4. Cincinnati
5. Georgetown
6. Pittsburgh
7. Marquette
8. South Florida
9. UConn
10. St. John’s
11. Rutgers
12. Villanova
13. DePaul
14. Seton Hall
15. Providence


Player of the Year: Peyton Siva, Louisville
Rookie of the Year: Steven Adams, Pittsburgh

FIRST TEAM
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Giorgui Deng, Louisville
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati
Jack Cooley, Notre Dame
Vincent Council, Providence
Otto Porter, Georgetown

SECOND TEAM
Shabazz Napier, UConn
Brandon Triche, Syracuse
Cleveland Melvin, DePaul
D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s
Anthony Collins, South Florida

HONORABLE MENTION
Chene Behanan, Louisville
Trey Woodall, Pittsburgh
Jarien Grant, Notre Dame
C.J. Fair, Syracuse