A couple of things today:

*** UConn commit Steve Enoch was named the 2014-15 Gatorade Connecticut Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Enoch, from Norwalk, played this past season at St. Thomas More School.

The 6-foot-10, 235-pound senior forward averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds per game this past season, leading the Chancellors (29-9) to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class AAA semifinals. The state’s No.1 recruit in the Class of 2015 as rated by the New England Recruiting Report, Enoch scored 18 points with seven rebounds in an 83-76, come-from-behind victory over Vermont Academy at the Spaulding Hoophall Classic in January.

Enoch has maintained a 3.27 GPA in the classroom. He has donated his time delivering meals and clothing to families in need and has volunteered as a tour guide for prospective students at his school.

“Steven Enoch possesses tremendous integrity and initiative,” said St. Thomas More head coach Jere Quinn. “He has had a wonderful season while playing in the strongest conference in the country. He will have a very successful career at UConn as a student and as an athlete.”

*** There apparently has been some scuttlebutt about potential UConn transfers, seemingly based on Kevin Ollie's postgame quotes on Wednesday night. While the quotes did raise a few eyebrows, especially since they started off unsolicited, I don't think there's a whole lot to them. For the most part, the "exit interviews" next week are standard operating procedure.

I spoke with Amida Brimah's legal guardian, Nana Baafi, on Friday, and he scoffed at the idea that Brimah might want to transfer.

"Nobody’s thought about anything like that at all. That stuff is not … I don’t know how that stuff got out there," he said.

What about the NBA? A veteran Eastern Conference scout told me the other day that both Brimah and Daniel Hamilton would "both, for sure, be drafted -- maybe high second-round picks. To say they're first-round guys? I wouldn't say that right now."

But Baafi doesn't think that will happen, either.

"Shoot, honestly I don’t know. I don’t think so. He just took a couple of days off, we haven't had that discussion at all. It's not on our minds. We're not even close to that at all."

Then, asked about this past season, Baafi said: "Next year will be better, I know that much for sure."

*** Had a chance to chat with Richard Hamilton on Friday. He's currently promoting the new Gillette clear gel product called Undefeated, which promises wetness protection and no odor for up to 48 hours.

"From a guy's perspective, as a dad and an athlete, you need something that's gonna last you 1-2 days," he said. "Especially out in the sun."

Here's  the story I wrote for the Register, in which he talks retirement, his greatest memory as a player, and why UConn is the "best campus in the world," and here are a few leftover quotes:

(on who he likes in the NCAA tournament)

"I think Wisconsin. The only reason why I say that, you have to be lucky to win. You have to have a great team, but also be lucky. (Kentucky is) young. They don’t have guys on the team that have been in college four years, so when there's adversity, how do you handle when stuff ain’t going right for you? Are you gonna go out on your own, or stay in team concept? But also, they've got a great coach in Coach Cal, so ..."

(would he ever get into coaching?)

"You never know. One thing I love is being an analyst, doing work with NBATV, ESPN. I'm excited about doing that.

Does UConn win its fourth national title and second in four seasons without Amida Brimah's conventional 3-point play on March 20 in its "second round" NCAA tournament game against St. Joe's?

Maybe. But probably not. Most say definitely not, including Ryan Boatright.

"I'll say every day for the rest of my life," Boatright said, "Amida saved our season last year with that play."

Talked to Boatright, as well as St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli; Brimah's legal guardian, Nana Baafi; Brimah's high school coach, Juan Hernandez; and others for a story on that fateful play. We also look ahead to what Brimah's sophomore season could bring for both him and the team.

Amida Brimah met with doctors Wednesday, and the decision has been made to have surgery on his left shoulder. The surgery, to repair a torn labrum, will be performed on Friday at the UConn Health Center in Farmington.

Nana Baafi, Brimah's legal guardian, noted that while surgery wasn't a necessity, it was really the best way to go about things.

"He was battling with it the whole season," said Baafi. "If he doesn’t do it, it’s gonna keep coming. So, he might as well just do it, so he can be healthy ... He could have fought through it, but it’s not advisable. His health is more important. If something else happened, it might get worse."

Baafi said the shoulder injury is the same that caused UConn's Rodney Purvis to undergo surgery on his left shoulder in mid-December. Purvis had a torn labrum and was sidelined for about four months.

"The brighter side is, it’s better for him to come back 100 percent than to go through the whole season again 80-90 percent," said Baafi. "But with the kind of kid he is, with his work ethic, he’ll be fine."

*** Meanwhile, according to a source, Leon Tolksdorf is considering transferring to Bryant University. He was on the Smithfield, R.I. campus on Wednesday.

Spoke with Amida Brimah this morning for a story that will run in tomorrow’s Register. Yes, he watched the UConn game last night, as he tries to do for every UConn game.

Why did he choose UConn over other suitors like Wake Forest, South Carolina and even Miami?

“I love the environment,” he said. “Coach Ollie is a very family-oriented guy, and (there’s an emphasis) on education.”

Brimah (it's pronouncd Ah-MEED-ah BrAYE-mah) added that he feels like he can make an immediate impact next year at UConn, and loves the team’s prospects, though he noted: “I hope Shabazz and Boatright come back.”

So do UConn fans everywhere.

Brimah plans on studying hospitality management when he gets to Storrs in June. The goal is for him to have added about 10-15 pounds to his 210-pound frame by then, as well, thanks to an off-season weight-lifting regimen he just began on Monday.

Brimah’s got an interesting story. He came to the States from Ghana three years ago at the age of 16, “recruited” by Nana Baafi, a native of Ghana who has lived in the States for over a decade and played college ball at Texas State and St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Brimah played soccer in Ghana (he was a striker) before converting to hoops, largely on Baafi’s suggestion. Baafi is now his legal guardian.

Anyway, here's my feature on Brimah.

*** Meanwhile, another UConn commit, point guard Terrence Samuel out of Brooklyn, announced Thursday on Twitter that he's been invited to play in the Jordan Brand Classic all-star game.

*** Finally, here are a few videos from Wednesday night's Georgetown game. When I asked Kevin Ollie whether or not he could appreciate what a great game it was, despite losing in hearbreaking fashion, I was thinking about how Jim Calhoun failed to appreciate the greatness of the six-OT loss to Syracuse during his postgame press conference -- and, indeed, still to this day.



And here's Otto Porter, with some nice words about DeAndre Daniels:

A little more on Amida Brimah, who is sitting behind UConn's bench tonight, along with his legal guardian, Nana Baafi, and Fairfield Prep 7-footer Paschal Chukwu:

According to Juan Hernandez, Brimah's high school coach at Archbishop Coleman Carroll in Miami, Brimah is a good student who scored about an 18 on his ACT. That score is good enough to qualify him for virtually any school, so he doesn't have to take the SAT, according to Hernandez.

“He’s just a great kid, an extremely hard worker," Hernandez said. "He’s very, very dedicated, he’s focused. I’m not surprised at all about the success he’s had … or is going to have in the future.”

Brimah's frontrunners were UConn, South Carolina, La Salle (the three schools he visited officially) and Florida International. Lately, Villanova and St. Louis had been calling frequently. Hernandez said he heard NC State was going to call, too, but never did.

So why did Brimah commit on Sunday night, so early in his official visit?

“He said he was very comfortable when he got there. He always got along very well with the coaches. They’ve got a good history with the big guys. His biggest thing is having the opportunity to play in the NBA at some point. One of the criteria was getting him prepared for that, from a playing standpoint and an exposure standpoint.”

“Two main things: having the opportunity to play right away – obviously nobody can guarantee playing time, but knowing there’s at least an opportunity. He didn’t want to be red-shirted, nor did his guardian. And, to be somewhere that prepares him to play in the NBA, hopefully. We all think he can get there.”


Glen Miller and Kevin Ollie had each been to see Brimah play once, but Karl Hobbs had been to numerous games and practices.

Brimah played AAU ball for Each 1 Teach 1, Amar'e Stoudamire's outfit.

*** It's silly to make too big a deal out of the fact that Louisville's scheduled flight to Hartford was cancelled Sunday night and the Cards didn't arrive in town until around 2 p.m. on Monday -- about seven hours before tip-off.

But it's not a stretch to say this could hurt Louisville. Teams get used to routines, and for college basketball teams, that routine includes getting into town the night before, having dinner, breaking down some film, then having a shootaround the next day.

Louisville wasn't able to do any of those things. Will it all have an affect on a bunch of elite, 19, 20-, 21-year-old athletes? Maybe not. But definitely maybe.