UConn's two incoming freshmen, Omar Calhoun and Phil Nolan, have arrived on campus. Summer courses begin today for freshmen and run through early August.

I did a story on Nolan last week, and had a chance to catch up with Omar today, shortly after he began his coursework and had a physical (he's 6-foot-5, people).

Calhoun committed to UConn a year ago and sent in his letter of intent in November. Around that same time, the NCAA announced its APR penalties that will leave the Huskies out of the 2013 NCAA postseason.

The $64,000 question, of course, is whether Calhoun ever reconsidered his commitment to UConn (yes, I know at that point he would have had to been released from his scholarship).

"I considered different things like that, a lot of things that had pro's and con's that I was looking at," he admitted. "But we have a family here at Connecticut, and you can't leave your family. That's the way I thought about it. I was with them at the beginning, I'm going to end up with them, too."

He added: "The way I think about it is, you don't need the tournament, really, to showcase what you want. You have the whole season to do that, so that's what I'm here to do."




Here's some of what else Calhoun had to say on Monday (the young man doesn't lack in confidence):

(his strengths)

"I'm a competitor, I like to win. Shooting the ball, plus I can run the court. (I'm a) combo guard, I can play on the ball, off the ball, different positions, (play) defense, (be a) team leader, (be) vocal, different attritubes to win the game."

(known as a pure scorer, how he scores the ball)

"I can do everything. I can shoot the ball well, get to the rim both ways. I'm athletic, I can play above the rim. I can find guys, I can pull-up with the mid-range. It's hard to stop me."


(Can he be a vocal leader right off the bat as a freshman?)

"Yeah, definitely. It might take some time, getting accustomed to my teammates. But on the court, we're all basketball players, so I know how to put the game of basketball to my guys. That's what I'm gonna do."


(on what the coaching staff said of his potential for major minutes immediately)

"They just want to see me come here, work hard, be a leader, see me focused when I come in. That's what I'm here to do."

(on his sister, Sierra, who'll be a junior next season at Christ the King High in New York)

"She's a top-notch player. She's looking at Connecticut, too."

(on what it means to see Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb as likely lottery picks Thursday night, and all the other players UConn has sent to the NBA over the years)

"It just means that (Jim Calhoun) can get guys better. Guys buy into what he's saying, what he wants. You can be real successful."

*** One other think worth noting: it appears that, the denial of Michael Bradley's "hardship" request to transfer to Western Kentucky will likely hurt UConn's APR. If he had been able to play right away (like Alex Oriakhi will be able to, for different reasons), Bradley would have been a 3-for-3 last season at UConn -- two points for good academic standing in both semesters and one for retention in the first semester. The second semester retention point would have been waived, since it would have been viewed that he essentially had to transfer.

But since Bradley must sit out a year, UConn loses his retention point for the second semester. Hope that makes sense.

Michael Bradley finished exams on Thursday ("they went great," he said). Now, he's packing up his stuff, heading down to his Chattanooga home to see his mom and ailing grandmother and, soon afterwards, heading to Western Kentucky University to start his college hoops career anew.

Bradley officially announced he's transferring to WKU, something that's been in the works for a couple of weeks. The main reason the 6-9 sophomore is leaving Storrs is to be closer to his grandmother, Frankie Bradley, who is battling lung cancer.

"I don't regret coming to UConn," said Bradley, who never played a single second in his two seasons as a Husky. He sat out as a redshirt his first year, then broke his ankle in the preseason last year and never recovered enough to get on the court.

"The way the dice rolled, sitting out my first year was the best thing to happen to me, because I had only played four years (of basketball) and one of them was my JV year," Bradley said. "The worst thing that happened was my injury."

Since he's transferring to be closer to home for his grandmother, Bradley may not have to sit out a season and be able to suit right up for the Hilltoppers. He said his grandmother seems to be doing well.

"Sometimes, I have to tell just by her voice, because she's stubborn like me," Bradley said. "She could be doing horrible and telling me she's doing good."

Bradley said that UConn's upcoming postseason ban played into his decision "maybe just a little ... but I wouldn't say it's the reason."

He added he has "no clue" if Jim Calhoun is returning.

As for Western Kentucky, Bradley said he doesn't know new head coach (and former assistant) Ray Harper too well, but said his AAU coach, teammates and people around the city of Chattanooga gave him "good feedback" about Harper.

Phillip Nolan, UConn's newest recruit (and first since the program learned it will almost certainly be banned from next year's postseason), is "6-10, long, shoots pretty well from the outside," according to his high school coach, Tyrone Lewis.

"To be that long and tall like that, he can run the floor pretty well," added Lewis, who coached Nolan for just this past season at Milwaukee's Riverside University high school. "He can mix it up, and step back and hit jump shots, also."

Lewis said that Nolan was being recruited by Clemson, Marquette, Oregon, St. John's and DePaul, among others, and had visited Oregon, St. John's and Clemson. Nolan has yet to visit UConn, but Lewis believes that Nolan will be doing so early next week.

Lewis admitted that, after talking to him last week, he was "surprised" the big man chose UConn.

"But I think he's very happy with his decision," said Lewis.

Nolan could see minutes right away, as UConn's frontcourt was further depleted on Thursday when Michael Bradley officially announced he's leaving the program and heading to Western Kentucky University.

Nolan is well-traveled, having played for a couple of prep schools and public schools in the Milwaukee area. He had to sit out part of this past season until the MIAA cleared him to play a little after Christmas.

Lewis said Nolan averaged 16.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and three blocks per game. He shot 70 percent from the foul line and 62 percent from the floor. He also made three of the four 3-pointers he attempted.

Lewis said Nolan "did a pretty good job with academics" at Riverside.

Little bit of news out of Storrs today. As mentioned in an earlier post, Glen Miller has expressed interest in a second tour of duty as head coach at Brown. Also, Michael Bradley almost certainly will not be staying at UConn, as the staff had hoped, and will likely be taking his talents to Western Kentucky.

Miller would seem a good choice for Brown, though he could be up against some stiff competition with Al Skinner apparently also interested (and getting some support from ESPN's Andy Katz) and a surprising amount of interest nationally for the job. Seems coaches have seen what Tommy Amaker has done at Harvard, and that other schools besides Penn and Princeton can have success despite the inherent restrictions (no scholarships, etc.), and are warming up to the idea of coaching the Ivies. Plus, now that the Virginia Tech job is filled, there's just not much more out there right now.

As for Bradley, he told me by phone today that he'll wait until after his exams end on Thursday to announce his decision. But sources say he's gone, and even Bradley told me he's "probably" not returning to Storrs.

Too bad. Never got to see the kid play a second in a Husky uniform. Heck, I barely ever even saw him play in practice.

Greetings, back from vacation. What'd I miss over the past 10 days or so? Anything?

Yeah, apparently a few things. As we know, Alex Oriakhi is Missouri-bound, Jeremy Lamb (who's agent is Cheshire's own Jeff Schwartz) and Andre Drummond are headed to the NBA, Roscoe Smith is searching for greener pastures and Michael Bradley might be, as well. Am I forgetting anything?

UConn is in quite a situation right now, but a lot could be remedied if/when we find out what Jim Calhoun's plans are. Will he stay through the end of his contract, or even longer? Stay just another season? Or will he retire now? It's important for the program to know, because it's getting burned on the recruiting trail right now.

A little stability within the program (coach-in-waiting, anyone?) could help out a lot.

But don't take my word for it. Here's a quote from one prep school coach, who's had players recruited by UConn in the past, from the above linked article:

"If you’re asking me as someone who would advise a kid, I’d have a hard time telling him he’s gonna play for Jim Calhoun for four years. And I don’t think, unless they have a much better year next year, that he’s going to have a guarantee he’s going to be able to name a successor. Those are pretty big sticking points."

The coach added that a coach-in-waiting would help UConn because "any time you can show continuity, where the program is gonna be, that allows a kid to make a four-year decision, regardless of whether he wants to be in college for four years."

This coach also had some interesting things to say about this past year's UConn team -- namely, that the general knock around basketball was that the Huskies "didn't get along well ... at all" -- particularly the guards. At least one recruit has said he witnessed this discord first-hand while at a UConn practice.

Interesting stuff, though probably something most assumed all along.

Although Michael Bradley has been granted a release from his scholarship by UConn, it's still possible he'll remain with the program.

One of the main reasons Bradley is considering a transfer is to be closer to his ailing grandmother, who has cancer, in Tennessee. He has already visited Western Kentucky, and both Belmont and Tennessee-Chattanooga have inquired about the 6-foot-10 forward.

UConn has put together a plan that it hopes will help Bradley navigate his way through the upcoming year while remaining a Husky: getting him back to Tennessee every third week, mapping out his classes and workouts for the summer, etc.

Bradley is slated to meet with head coach Jim Calhoun some time today, and could have a decision within the next day or two. Certainly, with Alex Oriakhi, Andre Drummond and Roscoe Smith all gone, there will be a great opportunity for playing time for Bradley, who has yet to play a single second in his two years as a Husky (red-shirted as a freshman, injured this past season).

Meanwhile, the Huskies are obviously focusing much of their recruiting efforts on frontcourt players, with Bradley Hayes and Chris Obepka still at the top of their wish list. Hayes, a 6-foot-11 project who was seen by the UConn coaching staff in Las Vegas and by Calhoun recently in Pittsburgh, appears to be down to UConn, Texas A&M and Georgetown.

Obepka appears more of a long-shot for UConn. Cincinnati, Oregon and St. John's seem to be in the lead, with UConn a distant fourth.

The Huskies are also looking at the JUCO and/or European (German) route. But UConn -- which has 12 scholarship slots for next season (it's still docked one for NCAA violations) -- won't simply fill all the available spots for the sake of filling them. Unless the Huskies can get a marquee player or two, they'll likely save scholarships for the following season, when a bumper crop of top recruits will be available and UConn should be back to 13 available scholarships.

Roscoe Smith is the latest to join the mass exodus from the UConn men’s basketball program.

As first reported by CBSsports.com, Smith, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, has requested and received his release from his scholarship. Smith averaged 4.4 points 3.4 rebounds per game, down from his numbers as a freshman (6.3, 5.2, respectively). His minutes were down early in the season but improved play got him significant run as the season progressed. Smith hit double figures in three straight games (Syracuse, Providence, Pittsburgh) at one point in February.

Smith becomes the latest to leave the UConn program, which as of now is banned from postseason play next year. Alex Oriakhi has transferred to Missouri, Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond have entered the NBA draft and Michael Bradley has also received a release from his scholarship.

The Huskies have added Holy Cross transfer R.J. Evans, but it’s apparent that the postseason ban and – perhaps more importantly – Jim Calhoun’s uncertain future is causing players to leave the program while also keeping recruits away. UConn has one signee, New York City’s Omar Calhoun, slated to join the program next season.

Of course, Smith will almost certainly have to sit out next season as a transfer, anyway. It's possible that the school to which he transfers could apply for a waiver that allows him to play immediately, since UConn is (or almost certainly will be) banned from the postseason. But it would seem highly unlikely that Smith would be granted that waiver.

The Cyclones are 22-10 overall and went 12-6 in the Big 12 (for my money, the best conference in America this year. Sorry, Big Ten).

Their best player is Royce White, a 6-8 sophomore who led the team in almost every category: 13.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 4.0 turnovers and nearly a block a game. Scott Christopherson, a 6-3 senior, is a dead-eye 3-point shooter, hitting at a scorching 45 percent (63-for-140) from beyond the arc. He averaged 12.5 ppg. Chris Allen averaged 11.8 ppg and shot a respectable 38 percent from Trey Land, while Tyrus McGee shot 41 percent (50-for-122) from distance.

Iowa States lofts more than 24 treys a game and hits them at a 38-percent rate. The Cyclones attempted 36 3-pointers in an early-season game against Northern Colorado, hitting 16 o them. They went 15-for-30 at Oklahoma in a win and 14-for-29 in a win over Rice.

Common opponent: Providence. Iowa State beat the Friars, 64-543, on Nov. 25 at the South Padre Invitational. UConn, of course, blew a 14-point lead at The Dunk on Feb. 28 and lost, 72-70.

The team is coached by Fred Hoiberg, the former ISU star. Hoiberg played 10 seasons in the NBA and was a teammate of UConn assistant Kevin Ollie with the Chicago Bulls.

And this is odd: the Cyclones have seven players on their roster who have transferred from other programs and six players who have red-shirted. UConn has zero transers and one (Michael Bradley) who has red-shirted.

Greeetings from Knoxville, where tomorrow's UConn-Tennessee game will unfold. Hotel's right next door to the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame.

In that vein, UConn will be supporting Tennessee's Hall of Fame women's coach Pat Summitt tomorrow by sporting "Back Pat" t-shirts during pregame warm-ups. The t-shirts will read: "I Bleed Blue and White, But Wear Purple to Back Pat."

Summitt, of course, went public with her diagnosis of dementia in late August and has formed a foundation in support of Alzheimer's programs.

“We’re more than happy to support Pat Summitt, whom I’ve been friendly with for a long period of time," Jim Calhoun said.

In other news:

*** Nothing new on Ryan Boatright, who didn't make the trip.

“Obviously we’ll miss him," Calhoun said. "We certainly could use Ryan, but we’ve really pushed Brendan (Allen).”

With that in mind, Calhoun got a kick the other day out of one of the rare e-mails he reads.

“I don’t see many e-mails because I don’t necessarily have a place you can get to me, but I did see one (which said) we should have taken Shabazz out when we got the lead for a little bit of rest," the coach said. "I felt like writing back, ‘You mean, so he could make three 3-pointers in a row from, like, 25 feet with 1:28 to go in the game, because he was so fatigued?’”

Enosch Wolf isn't here, either. He had to take two exams that he missed earlier while suffering from a concussion, but the second exam has yet to be posted, so he was left behind in Storrs.

*** Niels Giffey is back in the starting lineup, replacing DeAndre Daniels.

*** Jeremy Lamb is 3-for-19 on 3-pointers the last four games, and his patented floater so prevalent in last year's title run has been MIA.


Said Calhoun: “Jeremy’s just got to shake out of this, move quicker, come off screens better … They’re gapping him so he can’t drive, they’re muscling him low and on top of screens so he can’t quite get free. He’s got to find a way to get free.”

*** Michael Bradley won't play tomorrow (and maybe the rest of the season), but he'll have about a good amount of fans cheering him and UConn on.

Bradley spent much of his childhood at the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home, about 90 miles down the road in Chattanooga. Lynn Jordan, one of the home's organizers who has developed a close bond with Bradley over the years, will bring about 40 kids currently living at the home to see the game. The tickets were donated to the children's home by a couple from the Knoxville area.

"A lot of our churches around the area do things for us at Christmas," Jordan explained. "Several churches have met Michael and knew him when he was living here. They've kept track of him."

Most of the kids have never met Bradley, but are aware of his story. There is a plaque in Bradley's honor inside the home's gym, and the cottage he lived in still has his picture in it.

Jordan said she was happy that Bradley wound up not having to surrendering his scholarship so that Andre Drummond could play at UConn, but didn't offer any details.

"I think just it worked out that he didn't have to," she said.

Calhoun said Bradley (who fractured his ankle back in the fall) is still noticeably limping in practice.

“There’s a chance that ankle won’t be better for a year," Calhoun said. "He really had extensive surgery, he was out an incredibly long time, so there’s a chance he may not get into a game this year.”

*** UConn is 1-1 all-time against Tennessee, beating the Vols last season at Gampel, 72-61, in a game where Bruce Pearl emerged from his 8-game SEC suspension to coach the non-conference tilt. Pearl, of course, was fired after the season. His opinion is still highly valued by a local sports talk radio show, though (he's a regular guest, apparently).

The Vols are now coached by former Cuonzo Martin, who was heavily recruited by Calhoun in the early-1990's. Martin's final two choices, in fact, came down to Purdue and UConn.

*** This is the second time Tennessee has faced UConn with the Huskies as defending national champs. In a second-round NCAA tournament game on March 19, 2000, the Vols posted a 65-51 win in Birmingham, Ala. Khalid El-Amin was bothered by an ankle injury and held to just one basket.

*** Lucky 13? Tennessee's big home upset over Florida two weeks ago came when the Gators were ranked 13th nationally, as the Huskies are (for now).

*** One more note on Tennessee: I tuned into the Classic Rock radio station on the drive from Nashville to Knoxville (don't ask). Most of the standard fare: Zeppelin, Springsteen, etc., etc. Then came Black Oak Arkansas, a heavy-handed Southern rock band that (I think) was pretty big in the early 70's. You certainly don't hear them on the radio anymore, at last north of the Mason Dixon line.

Their front man was a wild guy named Jim Dandy, whom David Lee Roth has admitted to nicking parts of his act. Roth took it to a much higher, more entertaining level, of course. Unfortunately, Roth's voice now sounds like what Dandy's used to sound like.

And if you don't believe DLR took part of his act from Jim Dandy, watch Black Oak Arkansas's "Jim Dandy to the Rescue.", then watch Van Halen's "So This is Love."

Despite his in-game histrionics, Jim Calhoun is usually pretty reserved during practices. Not today.

Calhoun, quite simply, was as vocal and animated as I've ever seen him in a practice in my five years on the UConn beat. The F-bombs flowed like wine, and while he was as hands-on and engaged as I've ever seen him in terms of individual instruction, he was equally as critical.

At times, the team's effort was questioned, it's "softness" pointed out. At other times, poor execution was the focus.

No one was spared -- not even little-used Michael Bradley and Enosch Wolf, the latter of whom Calhoun chastised for essentially getting the perks of traveling with and being on the team while hurting the team in practice.

“Why would I come out dead-ass, if I expect them to respond?” Calhoun asked, rhetorically. “Life’s all about getting up in the morning,” Calhoun said afterwards. “Hopefully it’s a good morning … other times you get knocked on your ass. It’s now how you get knocked on your ass, it’s how you get up and what you do after that. We got knocked on our ass the last couple of games a little bit, and we’ve got to get back on.”

And then, the strangest thing happened. When the 90-minute practice was over, Calhoun seemed happy with the team's overall effort.

“I thought they worked incredibly hard today … we really went hard," he said. "Today it was very good, effort-wise."

But Coach, what about all those F-bombs and ... ah, never mind.

Was today the worst Andre Drummond has seen Calhoun in his brief UConn career? No.

“I’ve been to games before, I’ve seen worse," Drummond said. "He wants to win, you can’t blame him. Who doesn’t like to win?

*** Ryan Boatright won't find it awkward tomorrow night playing against West Virginia, the school from which he de-committed.


“I don’t even think about it, especially coming off two losses," he said. "Just thinking about winning, I don’t even think about that stuff.”

Boatright committed to the Mountaineers, but a few days later fellow point guard Jabarie Hinds did, as well, miffing Boatright and his family. Boatright re-opened his recruitement and soon settled on UConn.

He said he doesn't know Hinds and hasn't talked to him about it.

“It’s in the past," Boatright said. "I’m where I want to be, it’s just the way it went. I’m here. I’m where I wanted to be the whole time. It worked out best for both parties.”

*** Jeremy Lamb is finding that being a preseason first team All-American leads to special attention by opponents. Lamb seems to be getting grabbed and bumped a lot during games to keep him from getting the ball, but Jim Calhoun says he must adjust to it,“because I can guarantee the officials aren’t going to adjust to us.”

*** Niels Giffey gets another start despite going scoreless in 22 minutes vs. Rutgers. Roscoe Smith continues to struggle for playing time as Calhoun searches for a position for him. The coach would like Smith to play more at power forward.

*** Shabazz Napier is still banged up. He practiced Sunday and participated in most drills (though was on the stationary bike at times, as well), but had to be helped back to the locker room by trainer James Doran when practice was over.

*** Drummond was asked how the bus ride home from Pisacataway was last night.

“You heard a lot of crickets," he said. "You couldn’t really hear any talking at all. Everybody was pretty quiet.”

Andre Drummond was asked about going up against Seton Hall's Herb Pope tomorrow night in Newark.

"I don't even know who that is," Drummond replied. "I'm not interested in who that is."

This has the potential to become bulletin-board material. It sounds as if Drummond, the precocious freshman, is dissing Pope, the senior center who is fourth in the Big East in scoring and second in rebounding.

I'm here to tell you that, as bad as what Drummond said looks in print, I truly don't believe he meant any disrespect. Drummond is not -- repeat, not -- a cocky kid. He's actually very respectful. He's honestly just completely invested in his own team and not worried about his opponents.

"I haven’t seen any other team besides my own," Drummond said. "I’m not interested in any other team besides my own. I’m worried about UConn, not anybody we’re playing.”

Pope might take this all differently if he hears about Drummond's quotes, of course. But if Drummond doesn't know who Pope is, George Blaney sure does.

"Right now, he’s an all-Big East first team, the way he’s been playing," Blaney said of the 6-9 forward. "I’m really impressed with the defense he’s playing. He’s hedging out on the pick-and-roll and stealing the ball, even, on the pick-and-roll. He’s always been a great rebounder, and obviously he’s got scoring talents. We’re just going to have to be solid with him and keep him off the boards as much as we can.”

Jordan Theodore has also picked up his game this season for the Pirates, who are fourth in the latest RPI rankings (UConn is third).

"Theodore has become a really, really good point guard, from sort of a careless point guard," said Blaney. "He’s gotten to 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, he’s really pushing it, he’ll take it all the way or create for others."

Shabazz Napier will be going head-to-head against Theodore. He has a bit more knowledge of Theodore than Drummond does of Pope. Sorta.

“It should be fun, I guess, I’m not sure," Napier said. "I haven’t watched him play, besides (one game) … it was a Little League team, two weeks ago probably. He played real well in that game. Me and Ryan are going to do our best job to stop him. We know he’s the captain of that train. If we make sure he doesn’t do anything offensively, we should be alright.”

In truth, these players don't pay much attention to their Big East foes, for the most part, so Drummond's comments can be taken with a grain of salt.

“For myself, I don’t really," Napier said. "When I get my game data of who I’m playing, that’s when I really look at it and dig deep into it. I don’t follow anybody, really. It’s not like I have any friends on other teams. The people I root for are my AAU teammates, stuff like that. I don’t follow, unless they’re on ESPN and did something spectacular. When Marshon Brooks scored 52, I was like, ‘Wow.’ That’s really the only time I follow somebody. Other than that, I barely watch TV, to be honest.”

A few other items:

*** Roscoe Smith practiced on Monday and looked fine, even with his wrist still heavily taped. Blaney said Smith is still sore, but could see more than the four minutes he saw Saturday against St. John's.

Michael Bradley also had a full practice Monday and is "day-to-day," according to Blaney, who said Bradley's ankle is still bothering him a bit.

*** After tomorrow night's game, UConn will spend some quality time in New Jersey until the Rutgers game on Saturday. The Huskies will stay overnight in Newark tomorrow, then move to a hotel closer to Rutgers on Wednesday, where they will reunite with Jim Calhoun to prepare for Saturday's game.

Also on Wednesday, the Huskies will also venture into New York City for some sort of academic project.

*** Four players are currently averaging in double figures for UConn: Jeremy Lamb (18.9), Napier (14.7), Ryan Boatright (12.1) and Drummond (10.0). It's the first time UConn has had four since 2009-10, when Jereome Dyson (17.2), Kemba Walker (14.6), Stanley Robinson (14.5) and Gavin Edwards (10.6) were in doubles.

Who would have guessed that one of UConn's four double-figure scorers this year wouldn't have been Alex Oriakhi (7.0)?

*** Drummond may not know who Herb Pope is, but he does know Hall frosh point guard Freddie Wilson of New Haven. Why? They were AAU teammates on the Connecticut Basketball Club.

Wilson's playing time has been sparse (7.3 minutes per game in 12 contests), and he's averaging just 1.3 points. But word out of Orange, N.J. is that Wilson's toughness and grittiness has impressed the Pirates staff. As a true freshman, the Hillhouse product is still just a little green.

*** After practice, Drummond was practicing shooting free throws one-handed with assistant Glen Miller.


“It helps me get muscle memory and not have to rely on my left hand," Drummond said. "That’s really my problem, I had my left hand on the ball way too much.”

*** UConn is looking to start off 3-0 in Big East play for the first time since 2003-04.

The Big East season officially kicks off tonight, with Pitt playing at Notre Dame and Providence at St. John’s. UConn’s conference season gets underway tomorrow night at South Florida.

As always, it’s going to be a fun couple of months keeping tabs on what I still think is the best conference in America. Some believe the Big East is a bit down this year, but I remember people saying that before last season, as well. The result: a record 11 teams invited to the Big Dance, with UConn, of course, emerging as national champion.

Not saying there will be 11 Big East invites this year, but the conference certainly has Final Four contenders in Syracuse, UConn, Louisville and possibly Marquette and Georgetown. Perennial contenders like Pitt and Villanova appear a little down, but we could see vast improvement from teams like Seton Hall, Providence and even DePaul.

And when it’s all said and done ... I like the Huskies to come out on top. Call me a homer, but I really like what I see here. They’re nine-deep (which is more than what you really need in college hoops), and that’s with Niels Giffey seeing sparse minutes lately and Michael Bradley yet to return from injury. They’ve got great size and athleticism up front (Alex Oriakhi really needs to step it up, however), they play suffocating defense and, more so than in years past, they can actually shoot the ball – fifth in the Big East at 49 percent, up from last year’s 43 percent. Heck, the Huskies lead the conference in 3-point shooting, as well, at 41 percent.

They’ve got a superstar (Jeremy Lamb) and a standout point guard (Shabazz Napier) to help make up for the loss of Kemba Walker. And they’ve got Andre Drummond, whose potential is limitless and who should only get better as the year progresses.

Anyway, here are my fearless predictions for the upcoming Big East season:

1. UConn (14-4) The potential to repeat is there, people. It really is.
2. Syracuse (14-4) I could tell you Syracuse isn’t a national title contender, but then Jim Boeheim might call me a liar who’s only out for money.

3. Louisville (13-5) Remember when Rick Pitino-Karen Sypher was the Big East’s most seedy scandal?
4. Marquette (13-5) Darius Johnson-Odom, Jae Crowder may be Big East’s best 1-2 punch.
5. Georgetown (12-6) Hoyas have won at Alabama, beaten Memphis twice already.
6. West Virginia (12-6) Think there’ll be some trash-talking when Jabari Hinds goes up against Ryan Boatright?
7. Seton Hall (10-8) New Haven’s Freddie Wilson (1.1 ppg) hasn’t had much of an impact thus far.
8. Pittsburgh (10-8) Remember when Pitt never lost at The Pete? It’s already lost there to Long Beach State and (gulp!) Wagner.
9. Cincinnati (9-9) If only Yancy Gates always played as hard as he punches.
10. Villanova (8-10) Wildcats still don’t have much up front. Now, even guard play is iffy.
11. Providence (7-11) People close to the program were bracing for the worst season in years this season. Looks like that won't happen.
12. South Florida (5-13) There’s some talent here, but it doesn’t seem to be coached very well.
13. DePaul (5-13) Who’s the better ex-UConn commit, Cleveland Melvin (18.5 ppg) …
14. St. John’s (5-13) … or Moe Harkless (14.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg)?
15. Notre Dame (4-14) Looks like loss of Tim Abromaitis for season is similar to Colts losing Peyton Manning.
16. Rutgers (3-15) Most non-descript team in Big East -- by far. But it does have the best team website in the conference, so there's that.

ALL-BIG EAST

FIRST TEAM
Jeremy Lamb, UConn
Darius Johson-Odom, Marquette
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh
Kris Joseph, Syracuse
Herb Pope, Seton Hall
Kevin Jones, West Virginia

SECOND TEAM
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Kyle Kuric, Louisville
Jae Crowder, Marquette
Shabazz Napier, UConn
Andre Drummond, UConn

THIRD TEAM
Jason Clark, Georgetown
Scoop Jardine, Syracuse
Dion Waiters, Syracuse
Cleveland Melvin, DePaul
Malik Wayns, Villanova

HONORABLE MENTION
Hollis Thompson, Georgetown
Vincent Council, Providence
Gorgui Dieng, Louisville

ALL-ROOKIE
Andre Drummond, UConn
Moe Harkless, St. John’s
LaDontae Henton, Providence
Chane Behanan, Louisville
Ryan Boatright, UConn
Jabari Hinds, West Virginia

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jeremy Lamb, UConn: I don’t see a candidate from either Syracuse or Louisville. West Virginia’s Kevin Jones and Seton Hall’s Herb Pope are 1-2 in the Big East in both scoring and rebounding, respectively, but let’s see if that lasts during conference play. Ashton Gibbs was the pre-season pick, but Pitt appears down this year. This could come down to Lamb and Johnson-Odom, and in the end, Lamb’s got the better team.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Kevin Willard, Seton Hall: We’ll find out fast if the Hall’s 11-1 start is legit (it opens at Syracuse, then home vs. West Virginia and UConn), but Willard certainly seems to have the Pirates on the right track. Cooley will win this award someday ... soon.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Andre Drummond, UConn: Yes, he’s still very raw in spots, but if he’s not the most gifted athletic specimen in the league, I don’t know who is. And here’s another thing: he just turned 18 in August, making him one of the youngest players in the entire conference!

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall: I wouldn’t completely rule out Drummond in this category, either, but we’ll go with this 6-foot-6 swingman who leads the Big East in steals.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Herb Pope, Seton Hall: After a near-fatal collapse in the summer of 2010, Pope never got back on track last season. But he’s been dominant so far this year and could be a shoo-in for this award. Nice story, really.

SIXTH MAN AWARD
Dion Waiters, Syracuse: There are some (Jim Calhoun included) who believe Waiters is the Orange’s best player. Only thing keeping him from this award is if Boeheim decides to put him in the starting lineup.

A few more things I think I think:

*** Syracuse and Louisville are both deep and talented, but I don't see that superstar player on either roster that's going to lead them to the promised land. Wouldn't be surprised to see either team get popped earlier than expected from the NCAA tournament.

*** With Steve Lavin back healthy and on the sidelines, and with Amir Garrett now eligible, St. John's will progressively get better, despite having just eight scholarship players. I could be very wrong about this, though.

*** Cincinnati is 4-0 since the brawl with Xavier and seems to be playing better without Gates. I wasn't too high on the Bearcats to begin with, however, and don't see them doing much this season after he returns on Jan. 4.

*** It's really too bad Farmington's Tim Abromaitis has to miss his final season after tearing his ACL. Can he still win the postseason Scholar-Athlete Award? (I'd say not, because I don't believe he's taking courses this year).

*** Another (sort of) local kid is also out for the season: Louisville's Mike Marra -- like myself, a native Rhode Islander. Can see why his family wanted him to play for Pitino.

*** As if there wasn't enough disinterest in South Florida already down in Tampa, the Bulls won't even play in their home gym this season as it's under repairs. USF is playing all its home games this season in the St. Pete Times Forum -- site of UConn's stunning first-round loss to No. 13 seed San Diego in 2008. I'm guessing there'll be as many if not more snow-bird UConn fans in the building Wednesday night than USF fans.

*** Why 14-4 for UConn? I see the Huskies losing at Syracuse and Louisville, and there'll probably be at least one home loss along the way -- maybe vs. Marquette on Feb. 19, or Syracuse on Feb. 25. Wouldn't be shocked to see them get upset at Seton Hall on Jan. 3 in their final game without Jim Calhoun, either.

Leave it to Jim Calhoun to sum up Ryan Boatright's night as follows:

“He played awful tonight,” Calhoun said. “He made a big play (but) he was awful tonight. It’s the first game that I would say, for a really good player, he was awful … he was part of the problem when he came in. He read the scoreboard and thought it was time for us just to go. And he hurt us a little bit. But being the kind of competitor he is, he makes a big shot to put the game away.”

Boatright's 3-pointer was the big shot in UConn's 79-71 win over Fairfield. He followed by grabbing a rebound and hitting Jeremy Lamb with a long pass for a dunk, then hitting a pair of free throws to seal the deal.

“It was wide-open,” Boatright said. “The shot clock was going down, I was in rhythm. I just took it and knocked it down. I’ve been in a lot of pressure situations in my life. I know how to deal with them.”

But Calhoun wasn't pleased with the rest of Boatright's night. He wasn't pleased with watching his team squander a 22-point lead to to just three late in the game, either.

“We looked at the scoreboard and decided it was time to go home for Christmas,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun also was hit with his first technical of the season, by Michael Stephens with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half. And he was quite cranky after the game, particularly when asked about the Andre Drummond/Michael Bradley scholarship situation.

“We gave you the information at the time, which was correct," he said. "My first responsibility wasn’t to tell the press what was going on, because It’s none of your business. It’s a private matter between two young men.”

Perhaps Calhoun was most peeved about the fact that this is the last game he'll be able to coach until Jan. 7 at Rutgers. In fact, after a Christmas Night practice, he won't even be able to coach during practices until after the Jan. 3 Seton Hall game.

That's different than what happened last year to Bruce Pearl, who was suspended Tennessee's first eight SEC games for lying to the NCAA but was able to coach during practices -- and even coach a non-conference game vs. UConn in the middle of the penalty.

The difference is that Pearl's penalty was levied by the SEC; Calhoun's by the NCAA.

“Call Indianapolis," Calhoun shrugged. "They sent us an interpretation, telling me simply that I can’t coach the team."

Calhoun will meet back up with his team on Jan. 4 in New York, where the Huskies will be staying in between the Seton Hall and Rutgers games.

"I'm going to miss the team, obviously," he added. "It’ll be very difficult for me, but they’ll be in good hands. We're 10-0 ... and I'll see them in New York."

*** While Tyler Olander’s team got the victory, Ryan Olander got a lot of bragging rights in the battle between brothers. Both players went scoreless in the first half, but Ryan wound up with eight points and eight rebounds, including a powerful dunk late in the game that brought the Stags to within six.

Tyler finished with just two points and two boards.

Worse for Tyler, he was soundly rejected by his brother midway through the second half.

“They’ll be talking about that for a while,” said Stags coach Sydney Johnson.

Said Ryan about the sibling showdown: “It was exciting, but I’m glad it’s over now. It’s an experience not many people can say they’ve had. I’m lucky to share that with my family.”

The Olanders mother, Tracy, led the pregame Pledge of Allegiance, and the entire family wore t-shirts that said “FairConn” on the front.

So why doesn’t Andre Drummond count against UConn’s scholarship count? The answer is simple: although he is a recruited athlete, he is not a “counter” because he is not receiving any sort of institutional financial aid – i.e., academic or need-based scholarships, etc.

Any basketball or football player who is recruited and given institutional financial aid that is unrelated to athletic ability becomes a “counter” the minute he plays in a game. That doesn’t include government or personal loans, which is apparently what Drummond has taken out in order to pay his own way this year.

If a men’s basketball program has the allotted 13 scholarship players (or in UConn’s case, 10, given its NCAA sanctions), it can’t have another recruited athlete as a walk-on if that player is receiving any kind of financial aid from the school.

So why doesn’t this happen more often? Well, for one, most players don’t wait until a few days before the first day of classes to announce their commitment. Plus, think about it: how many top-notch players are going to come to a school and pay their way when they could get a free ride anywhere else in the country?

What does it matter, you say, Drummond will be making millions in another year or two as a high NBA draft pick? Well, even likely lottery picks and/or potential one-and-done’s like Drummond would be taking a risk. Suppose their weaknesses are displayed in college and they wind up not being high draft picks? Million-dollar insurance policies only cover players when they suffer debilitating injuries, not disappointing play.

It also takes a good, special person to offer to give up their scholarship, and Drummond certainly fits the bill. I have never seen a kid with such lofty potential and ability who is so down-to-earth. He says he doesn’t read his press clippings, doesn’t care what good things (or bad things) people are saying about him, would rather see his teammates score than him, would rather win than have a great game – and I believe every word he says.

It is worth noting, however, that this may not have happened if the process of Bradley handing over his scholarship didn’t hit some sort of logistical snags. There’s no question the original intent was for Bradley to give Drummond his scholarship. Why that couldn’t work out is a private matter.

Still, this was always viewed as a possibility, even as far back as early October. When Drummond, Bradley and Jim Calhoun spoke about it at the Husky Run, none of them ever said, point-blank, that Bradley giving Drummond his scholarship was a done deal. In fact, Calhoun, at the time, said the school might have some “more information” on the situation in a short time, and seemed to indicate that info would be coming from UConn president Susan Herbst.

Turns out, Michael Bradley didn't give up his scholarship to Andre Drummond, after all.

While it was widely reported that Bradley had offered Drummond his scholarship back in September, shortly after Drummond had announced he commitment to UConn, in fact the two sides were working to find a different solution.

Drummond and his family wound up taking out a bank loan to pay for his tuition this year, and Bradley kept his scholarship. That makes Drummond perhaps the most heralded walk-on in recent college basketball history.

As a recruited athlete, Drummond could not receive any institutional aid from UConn. But with the sizeable insurance policy he has taken out as a potential NBA lottery pick, coupled with the fact that the Middletown resident will be paying in-state tuition, it ends up not being as much of a financial burden on Drummond as it would on Bradley, a Tennessee resident.

The estimated in-state tuition at UConn is about $21,720, according to the school’s website. For out-of-state students, it's nearly $39,000.

The decision for Drummond to pay his own way was made back in late-October or early-November, according to UConn men’s basketball SID Kyle Muncy. At that point, it was up to Drummond to have the comfort level to let other people know.

Drummond told the news to Gavin Keefe of the New London Day on Tuesday after practice.

Bradley spent much of his childhood in the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, a sort of foster home, and UConn coach Jim Calhoun was widely criticized by the media (myself included) when it was reported back in September that Bradley would be giving up his scholarship to Drummond.

All parties -- Drummond, Bradley and Calhoun -- never negated the story, though obviously there was more to it all along.

Do any major college coaches do the right thing anymore? Any of them?

Do any big-time head football or basketball coaches take the high ground, put the concerns and even well-being of human beings ahead of their beloved programs or legacies?

Seriously, if you can think of one, please throw me a bone, 'cuz I’m having a hard time coming up with one right now.

And it goes far beyond Joe Paterno turning a blind eye to Jerry Sandusky, who he knew, at the very least, was “fondling” a young boy in the Penn State locker room. It goes beyond Jim Boeheim labeling alleged child-rape victims as lying gold-diggers, then taking nearly two weeks and several public opportunities to apologize for those words by reading a written statement.

Those are the most egregious examples, but there are so many more. (And we won’t even get into conference realignment and all the ugly, hypocritical behavior embedded in that process).

It’s Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly allowing a 20-year-old videographer to tape the Irish practice from atop a 50-foot lift in the midst of 50-MPH winds. Because, God forbid, if you can’t watch the tape of one of your own early-season practices, you’re surely in for a winless season.

Well, the videographer fell off that lift to his death. Kelly is still coaching the Irish, screaming at any player who makes the slightest mistake. None of them will likely ever make a mistake as grave as that of Kelly, who shouldn’t still be allowed to coach.

It’s Jim Tressel being handed information that his players are trading championship rings and other memorabilia in exchanges for tattoos at a parlor run by a drug trafficker -- and doing absolutely nothing about it. Then lying about it. Similar to what he was alleged to have done years earlier while coaching at Youngstown State. This from a man who always preached morality. Hypocrite.

It’s UCLA’s Ben Howland allowing Reeves Nelson, the Steve Howe of college basketball (minus the drugs), to slip up one time after another before finally booting him off the team. Reeves had been indefinitely suspended by Howland, only to have it lifted after one game as the struggling Bruins went off to play a competitive field in Maui. Gotta win, baby.

Only Nelson missed the team bus and plane to Maui. But Howland still allowed Nelson, the Bruins’ top returning scorer and rebounder, to fly out to the tournament – and play! Think he would have let a walk-on do the same?

It’s Cincinnati and Xavier suspending their players from just one to six games for their roles in an ugly brawl last weekend. Xavier’s Tu Holloway, who by all accounts instigated the entire incident with his taunting behavior throughout the game, then proudly labeled his teammates “gangstas” afterwards, got one game. Teammate Landon Amos got four games.

Holloway is the star of the team; Amos has played exactly two minutes all season. How shocking.

Cincy’s Yancy Gates hit Xavier’s Kenny Frease with a sucker punch that might have killed a smaller man, and he got docked six games. Ryan Boatright got the same punishment for having a plane ticket purchased for him by an AAU coach.

And yes, sorry folks … it’s Jim Calhoun asking Michael Bradley to forfeit his scholarship so that Andre Drummond can play for the Huskies this season.

Now, I am in no way comparing this situation to what happened at Penn State. I’ll repeat: I am in no way comparing this situation to what happened at Penn State. The two situations are on opposite ends of the moral spectrum.

And as I reported back in September, Bradley and his mentor were both very much on board with surrendering the scholarship.

Still, there was a moral high ground to take here, and Calhoun didn’t take it.

But then, find me a major college football or basketball coach in this day and age who does. Please. I'm begging.

And so, as we put a wrap on a 2011 that so often showcased the ugliness of big-time college sports, let’s hope coaches learn from their own examples or the examples of their peers and start doing the right thing every now and then. Stop being so wrapped up in your wins and losses and show some accountability. Maybe it’ll cost you a win or even a seed or two in the NCAA tournament. But in the long run, you’ll be able to look at yourself in the mirror – and believe it or not, your program may be better off.

Just ask Joe Paterno.

Andre Drummond is 6-foot-10 (or 6-foot-11), 277 pounds, so you think he wouldn't ever be intimidated, no matter how many people are surrounding him.

But put him and two other guys in a Women's Studies class, surrounded by about 30 women, and Drummond gets a bit uncomfortable.

"It kinda feels like your being bashed all day by a bunch of females," Drummond said on Thursday. Jokingly. We think.

Education was the talk of the day at practice as the Huskies get ready to finish up their exams. All players will be done with their exams Friday at 1 p.m. and will hit Gampel for practice at 3:30 p.m. for a solid, two-hour practice.

Drummond said he takes his academics seriously and knows he can't take the practice floor until his course work is done. His final exam on Friday will be in Drama.

Sounds like he has to deal with enough drama in that Women's Studies class.

A few other brief notes from UConn's short (one-hour) practice today:

*** Michael Bradley is still not participating in fullcourt drills because he "can't really run," according to Jim Calhoun. It'll probably be another couple of weeks before Bradley can start running fullcourt, according to the coach.

*** Enosch Wolf suffered a concussion in practice Wednesday, wasn't at practice today and will be out "a couple of days," Calhoun said.

*** Calhoun said he's trying to get DeAndre Daniels back into the mix, and that Roscoe Smith will be seeing time at the 4 over the next few games. Walk-on Brandon Allen is getting a closer look, too, "because of anything that coule possibly happen."

Daniels was working, one-on-one, with assistant Kevin Ollie on his ballhandling skills after practice. Daniels worked on dribbling two balls simultaneously with both hands, ostensibely to improve his handle from both the left and the right.

*** Here's Jeremy Lamb, talking about going up against Rudy Gay, one-on-one, recently in practice:

*** Calhoun acknowledged what everybody already knows -- that he won't be on the sidelines for UConn's first three Big East games, beginning Dec. 28 at South Florida.

“There will be a different guy driving the trolley. It won’t be me, for (three) games," he said.

Calhoun said he won't start talking about the situation to the team until next week, a day or two before UConn's Dec. 22 bout with Fairfield.

Jim Calhoun was talking about Harvard before practice on Wednesday, lauding the unbeaten, 25th-ranked Crimson for their Battle 4 Atlantis tournament title.

"They beat a good Florida State team and then came back and beat Florida Central ... or, Central Florida. I should get used to that.”

Indeed, he should. UCF -- along with San Diego State and Boise State (for football only), and SMU and Houston will all be joining the Big East in 2013. And Calhoun is happy about that.

“It's clearly good for us," Calhoun said. "We need to get some quality teams that show they can get into bowls.”

From a basketball aspect, he doesn’t think any of those teams will replace Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. But he understands football drives the bus.

“Boise, frankly, is better than any of those three (Syracusee, Pitt or WVU),” he said.

Calhoun would like to see Temple join the conference in both sports – something that still could happen.

“I think Temple’s natural – I know Jay Wright doesn’t feel that way – but they’ll only help Big East basketball in Philadelphia,” he said.

*** Back to Harvard. This is hardly one of those December non-conference pushover teams -- the kind the Huskies have defeated 101 straight times, dating back to 1973. The Crimson are ranked (No. 25 ... I had them at No. 23) for the first time in the program's long history. They're 8-0, their best start since 1984-85, with those wins over Florida State and Florida Central ... er, rather, Central Florida on their resume.

They're good, and the Huskies know it.

“They’re a really good basketball team,” said Tyler Olander. “They run their stuff really well, they play hard, they value the basketball. They don’t turn it over much, they play really smart.”

Calhoun compares the Crimson to last year’s Butler squad – which, of course, UConn defeated in the national championship game.

“They can play fast – maybe a little faster than Butler – they can play slow,” Calhoun noted. “They’re very good in the last five minutes, they shoot better, they make foul shots and they’re a very confident group.”

In short, the Huskies (7-1) need to be on their ‘A’ game tonight.

“This team is good enough to beat us,” Calhoun said. “Do we have to play the best we’ve ever played? Certainly not. We’ve got to play well, though.”

*** Andre Drummond says he has a “surprise” in store for tonight, regarding the protective face mask he’s been wearing all season. Drummond fractured his nose in practice on Oct. 28 and was told when fitted for the mask a few days later that he’d need to wear it for about six weeks.

Drummond has been begging Calhoun and trainer James Doran to be able to shed the mask for a while now.

"It's killing me, man," he said. "I think I'll feel more comfortable without it on, because I'll be able to see a lot more with my peripheral vision."

*** Though Harvard doesn't start anyone taller than 6-8, Calhoun plans to go with his bigger starting lineup, meaning Drummond and Alex Oriakhi should remain in the starting 5.

*** Speaking of big men, Michael Bradley (ankle) practiced with the team on Wednesday but didn’t participate in any contact drills. He should be able to start practicing at full speed next week.

They now call it "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball." I remember when they used to call it "40 Minutes of Hell."

Whatever you want to call it, it's what Mike Anderson employs at Arkansas, where he was once a longtime assistant to Nolan Richardson (including the Razorbacks' 1994 national championship squad). It means pressure, pressure and more pressure, lots of run-and-gun and, often, high-scoring affairs.

Of course, Anderson was employing this style with Missouri the past five seasons, including in 2009 when the Tigers went up against UConn in the Elite Eight in Glendale, Ariz. The result: an 82-75 Husky victory in what was Kemba Walker's coming-out party (23 points in 25 minutes).

Jim Calhoun says he's watched tape of that game to help prepare for Saturday's SEC-Big East Challenge battle with Anderson's Razorbacks. Ryan Boatright is certainly up for the challenge.

“That’s how I’ve played my whole life, because I’m so small, I’ve got to use my speed to my advantage,” the diminutive frosh guard said. “I love when a team wants to come out and press us like that.”

The Huskies expect to throw a lot of three-guard looks at Arkansas, meaning Boatright, Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb could be sharing the court a lot on Saturday.

That's fine with Boatright, too.

“We can hit you from every angle, it’s hard to stay in front of all three of us," he said. "And the chemistry we’ve all got, we play so well with each other. I think that comes from the preseason and us understanding what we all want to do, and that’s win. It’s fun playing with those guys.”

Boatright's season debut was certainly impressive Saturday in the Bahamas. Now comes his debut on the "mainland." He said sitting out six games (plus two exhibitions) for receiving improper benefits was frustrating.

“I wasn’t expecting eight games,” he admitted. “The little thing I was in trouble for, I was expecting maybe three or four, five at the most. It came out to be eight. But I’m just happy I got to come back quick enough to help my team in the Bahamas.”

Calhoun said that Boatright, Niels Giffey and Roscoe Smith have been the team's best players in practice the past few days.

A few other tidbits:

*** Calhoun looks for his team to get three defensive stops in a row at least five times a game. He says that when the Huskies did so last season, they went 18-0.

*** Frosh Michael Bradley could being practicing with the team by next week.

*** Arkansas is led by guards Julysses Nobles (12.2 ppg) and Mardracus Wade (10.8) but suffered a tough loss when one of their top returning players, junior forward Marshawn Powell, suffered a season-ending knee injury a few weeks ago.

*** Calhoun says his team isn't "fully connected yet," but concedes few, if any, teams in the nation are right now. He believes No. 1 Kentucky is easily the best team he's seen thus far.

*** The obligatory what's-up-with-Alex-Oriakhi update: “He’s always a hard worker, he was in late last night shooting. I don’t worry about his attitude, I worry about his confidence. He’s not a particularly over-confident kid," Calhoun said.

*** SEC, easy as 1-2-3: The Huskies are 15-5 against the SEC under Jim Calhoun, including 3-0 last season. They’ll also play at Tennessee on Jan. 21.

*** Tell Larry Lucchino & Co. that Calhoun, a huge Red Sox fan, is very much on board with the Bobby Valentine hire.

Believe it or not, there was a time – not too long ago – when Andre Drummond didn’t particularly like to dunk.

As a 6-foot-7, somewhat uncoordinated freshman at Capital Prep in Hartford, Drummond preferred gliding in for a layup than slamming the ball through the hoop. “Big Finesse,” his coaches used to call him.

“Me and a couple of coaches would tell him, ‘Dunk the ball!’” Capital Prep coach Levy Gillespie recalled. “He’d jump in the air and want to make an up-and-under layup around a guy who’s, like, 6-4. We’d be like, ‘Andre, what are you doing?’”

Drummond eventually got the message.

“By the end of his sophomore year,” Gillespie said, “he had pretty much perfected that windmill that he loves, and the between-the-legs dunk.”

Ah yes, the windmill and the between-the-legs dunk, both of which he showcased in a dunk contest at UConn’s First Night festivities a few weeks ago. They weren’t enough to win the contest – fellow freshman Ryan Boatright, the underdog at 5-10, won the hearts of the judges – but they sure were an emphatic “Hello, how do ya do?” to the 10,000 fans who jammed Gampel Pavilion that night.

Suffice to say, Andre Drummond now likes to dunk. His first basket in a Husky uniform came on a vicious, two-handed putback slam of a Jeremy Lamb floater in UConn’s exhibition opener on Nov. 2. He brought the house down three days later at the XL Center by slamming home an alley-oop pass off the glass from Shabazz Napier in the Huskies’ exhibition finale.

“I was actually planning on putting it between my legs,” Drummond confessed, “but Shabazz was like, ‘Let me get the assist.’”

Of his 13 field goals in UConn’s two exhibition contests, about 10 of them have been dunks. And there figure to be plenty more throughout the winter – beginning tonight at Gampel in UConn’s season-opener against Columbia all the way to, quite possibly, the New Orleans Superdome in early April.

But Andre Drummond, the Middletown resident who also happens to be the most heralded recruit ever to don a UConn uniform, is about much more than just dunking. He’s everything you could expect from a prodigious talent – and a lot of things you might not expect, as well.

He’s 6-foot-11, 277 pounds yet “quick as a cat,” according to coach Jim Calhoun. “He might be as good a runner as we have on our team.”

Despite his penchant for slamming the ball through the hoop with savage force, he’d rather hit a teammate with a nifty interior pass.

“I get more excited seeing my teammates scoring the ball and watching their reaction than me scoring the ball myself,” Drummond said.

Though famously close-guarded through a recruiting process that left nearly everybody – including the UConn coaching staff – surprised when he declared his commitment to the school via Twitter on Aug. 26, he’s a disarmingly friendly young man, as comfortable chatting with a media throng as he is clowning around with teammates in his dorm.

“He’s a wonderful kid, well-adjusted,” said Jere Quinn, who coached Drummond at St. Thomas More Prep the past two years. “He’s happy, and he likes to make other people happy.”

And despite being the No. 1-rated recruit in all the land by many scouting services and quite possibly the top pick in the 2012 NBA draft, Drummond is as eager to get better as a walk-on trying to earn a scholarship.

“I’m not the type of guy who’s going to read about myself or talk about myself or brag that I’m the best player in the world, when I’m really not,” he said. “Yeah, I think I do some good things, but there’s always room to do better things, to get yourself better prepared to play at the next level.”

Added UConn junior forward Alex Oriakhi: “The thing about him is, with all the hype around him, you’d think he’d be arrogant. But he’s not. He listens. I try to coach him out there and tell him what he’s doing wrong, and he just takes it in like sponge. That’s the greatest part about him. When you have a kid with that much talent and is willing to listen and get better … the sky’s the limit.”

Long, Strange Trip to Storrs

Andre Drummond’s journey from Middletown to Storrs encompassed only 40 miles, but it took four years and seemingly countless twists, turns and rumors before he finally became a Husky.

Drummond is originally from Mount Vernon, N.Y., and figured he’d eventually play at Mount Vernon High, alma mater of ex-UConn great Ben Gordon.

“Everybody keeps asking me, ‘How did you get out of there?’” Drummond says. “Usually, when you’re in Mount Vernon, (you) don’t leave.”

But when Drummond was about 8, several of his aunts and uncles started leaving town and moving up to Middletown. Eventually, his mother, Christine, moved him and his sister, Ariana, as well.

“They liked the environment,” Drummond explained. “It’s a nice place to grow up for the kids and things like that.”

He went to middle school in Middletown, then two years at Capital Prep before enrolling at St. Thomas More in Oakdale, where he “transformed into a totally different person, basketball-wise,” according to Gillespie.

Indeed, Drummond emerged as a dominant force in prep school. He won 55 games in his two years there, including the 2011 national prep school championship, for which he was named MVP. He was heavily courted by virtually every major program in the country.

But he wasn’t above criticism. Perhaps the most prevalent was that Drummond took plays off, didn’t always play hard. While there was a smidgeon of truth to this knock, it was largely a misconception.

“I think sometimes, kids play to the level of their competition,” said Quinn. “His focus was as good as a typical high school player. Did he take some plays off? Yeah, when we were up 15 (points). Did he ever go and hide in a big game? No. Every coach in the country is trying to find a magic potion to make kids play 100-percent.”

Calhoun concurred.

“I would hate to think of him in a high school game right now. He could do anything he wants without working – just run up the floor and dunk on people. He’s not lazy in any sense of the imagination … He’s just a really nice person. We need to get him to learn, culturally, what we try to do: play hard every single possession.”

Indeed, the proper rub on Drummond may be that he’s too nice – particularly on the basketball court.

“When I’m out there, I’m always smiling,” he said. “That’s just the way I play. Some people think it’s because I don’t take the game seriously. That’s not the case at all. I enjoy playing the game and I’m always smiling, there’s no need for me to be angry at all.”

‘Do I Hear, ‘Repeat’?

Despite Drummond’s naturally sunny disposition, he was legitimately conflicted and sometimes pained during his recruitment process, particularly over the past year. He kept his decision-making process so private that, well into this past summer, Quinn had no idea whether Drummond would return to St. Thomas More or pursue other plans.

UConn thought Drummond was going to commit in June, but that was called off. So the Huskies gave their 10th and final available scholarship to 6-8 forward DeAndre Daniels, a national top-10 recruit.

In mid-August, Drummond finally announced that he’d be transferring to Wilbraham & Monson Academy, where he’d play with good friend Kris Dunn of New London, for another year of prep school. A couple of weeks later, Dunn changed his mind and said he’d play his senior year at New London High.

A few days after that, on a rainy Friday night, came Drummond’s Tweet Heard ‘Round the Nutmeg State: “It’s official: I’m heading to the University of Connecticut to be a Husky this year. Do I hear, ‘Repeat’?”

One problem: UConn had no scholarships to offer Drummond. That was solved when Michael Bradley, who had sat out the previous season as a red-shirt and who had spent much of his youth in a children’s home, gave up his to Drummond.

“I’m thankful for everything that he did," said Drummond. "Me and Mike have had a great relationship, I’ve known him since I was a sophomore, so, I’m really thankful for what he did.”

No doubt, UConn fans feel the exact same way.

“Now,” said Jim Calhoun, “the thing is to take this athletic, wonderful kid who listens all the time, and turn him into a terrific basketball player. He’s not that yet, he really isn’t. But he’s got some things you just can’t teach.”