A few UConn notes to get you through your weekend:

*** Kevin Ollie has been contacted by several NBA teams regarding Ryan Boatright.

"Boat is gonna create his own chance," said Ollie. "And if they're not gonna open the door, he's gonna kick it down."

"I want him to look at what team fits him the best. That's what I want him to look at, not just the guaranteed money."

*** Ollie doesn't think it'll be a challenge meshing all the new players together this season.

"I'd have a little more trepidation if we didn't have some talented players down there and I'm trying to piece things together. This group is very, very talented."

"It's a talented group. I'm not gonna sit here and lie to you guys."

*** Shonn Miller is a "rebounding magnet ... very cerebral, able to pick up on things quickly."

UConn's new guard, Sterling Gibbs, meets the media

*** Sterling Gibbs is "just a basketball player. He plays at a pace you can't get him out of, which is something I love."

"He's not a Ricky Moore, as far as pushing the ball. But he's also a very smart player throwing the ball ahead."

*** Sam Cassell is going to see a doctor on Tuesday, hoping to get a clean bill of health and can start playing the following week. He's been doing just about everything except full-out basketball in recent weeks.

*** Amida Brimah needs to "eliminate some of those foolish mistakes that he did. Some of them were trying to take charges, or illegal screens 35 feet from the basket ... It happens, but I think it happened too much for him. Freshman, sophomore year, I'll lay off, but junior year, you've got to eliminate some of those mistakes and stay on the court. I think he's heard that a lot from me, he's aggravated from me saying that -- which is a good thing."

Brimah is up to 233 pounds now, and the Huskies would like him to get to about 235-240 by October.

He will also be one of the team's captains for a second straight year. Ollie will look for one or two more players to join him as captain.

*** Omar Calhoun is out with a toe injury. He's currently sporting a boot and hasn't been able to train with the coaching staff.

*** Ollie on Terrence Samuel, Rakim Lubin transferring: "Sooner or later, it's gonna happen. They felt they had a better situation playing a little more in another program."

"I thought Terrence played a lot of minutes. I stuck with him, but he stuck with me, too. He allowed us to win a championship. He played a pivotal role. You hate to see him go, because that team was something special to me. Not because we won the national championship, but that year prior, to stick by me in the lean times, I've got a special place in my heart for that team."

*** On AAC: "I think the only significant player that left our conference is Boat ... Everybody's back. That's why I think it's gonna be a great league."

"We've got to continue to schedule out-of-conference games. A lot of our AD's and programs in the bottom half have got to start getting some guarantee games also, so they can start getting wins. We talked about that a lot in our conference meetings. That's what they're looking for -- the strength of the whole conference, and not just the top four teams."

*** Ollie on UConn's own schedule: "Early on, we're gonna really be tested and see what this team is made out of. Which is good."

*** It's still to be determined whether Nnamdi Amilo will be back on scholarship this season.

"A 7-footer might parachute in," Ollie joked. "But if we don't have that, I'm definitely gonna put him on scholarship."

*** Ollie on Terry Larrier: "Wow. Ooooooh, he is so good. Man, he is fantastic. He's long, he's athletic, he can shoot the ball, runs the court, great person to be around. His teammates love him."

Larrier is already best friends with Daniel Hamilton. But they go at it hard on the court.

"That's a nice little competition right there," said Ollie. "That's big-time right there."

*** Ollie on recruiting: "I think we've done some good things. We're not Kentucky. People want us to be Kentucky. We're not gonna just get all the All-Americans. We have to continue to establish relationships and pick the right people ... I think we've got some nice momentum. A lot of people didn't know what we were doing, and that's a good thing. I do like to move under the radar and surprise some people. A lot of people maybe were disappointing with not getting Diamond (Stone) and not getting such-and-such, but as a coaching staff, we have to have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D to get things done."

Rakim Lubin is transferring from UConn, according to his mom on Twitter.

We have officially opened Rocks recruiting for 2015-2016. I love the coaches, team, staff n Huskie fans but we must move on.
— RockNation (@Basketballmom18) March 30, 2015

Lubin played sparingly in his one and only season with the Huskies. He missed a few games late in the season after suffering a concussion during a weight-lifting incident, and was suspended -- along with Omar Calhoun and walk-ons Dan Guest and Marcel Lewis -- for UConn's loss to West Virginia in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off championship game on Nov. 23.

But Lubin also showed some physicality and toughness that his fellow frontcourt players sometimes lacked. His best moments came in the AAC tournament, when he played a season-high 13 minutes in a win over Cincinnati and had three points and three rebounds in a loss to SMU.

Lubin wound up averaging 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.

He may also cost UConn an APR point when it's all said and done. Transfers must have at least a 2.6 grade-point average, or the school loses APR points.

A few quotes from after UConn's practice today, in advance of Saturday's bout with SMU:

RODNEY PURVIS:

(on SMU)

“They’ve got speed, they’ve got size, they’ve got balance -- guards and inside. They have all the qualities of a good team. They all share the ball and play well together.”

“We got off to a really good start last game, and then our energy just dropped down. It felt like we were just fighting for our lives, as soon as we lost the lead. We’re home this time, their crowd was crazy there, the whole gym was packed. Hopefully, our gym will be packed-out tomorrow and we’ll come out with a whole lot more energy than what we did and play a well-balanced game.”

(on close calls vs. other ranked teams like Duke, Texas)

“I think we’re close enough. Those games were early in the year, we were a new team. I think that had a lot to do with it, not having our backs against the wall, things like that. I feel like we’re a far better team right now. We’re just looking forward to (Sunday)."

(on discrepancies between his first-half, second-half splits)

“I watch film all the time, and I just don’t understand it myself. I don’t get it.”

(the opposite of Niels Giffey, who would do almost all his scoring in the first half?)

“Niels could afford to do that. We had a really, really good team last year.”

(on Nic Moore)

“If he was 6-3, 6-4, he’d probably be in the NBA right now.”

(on his grandmother, Hildred Bownes, who was diagnosed with cancer about three weeks ago and is now in hospice care in Greenville, N.C.)

“She’s doing a little bit better, going through the radiation and things like that.”

RYAN BOATRIGHT:

“(Would be big) to beat them and let them know we’re not scared of them, and just to get that confidence that we can beat them. Because we’re gonna have to face them in the conference tournament to win it. We’re probably gonna be in separate brackets, or even if we’re in the same, we’re gonna have to see them. It’s definitely an important game tomorrow.”

(on teammates not being as reliant on him as earlier in season)

“I think they’re playing with a little more confidence. I think they’re taking the shots that the defense is giving to them, and they’re knocking them down better than they were before. I think they’re playing with more confidence, not necessarily relying on me. I’m definitely looking for them. I just think they’re making their shots now.”

(is it starting to sink in that his college career is almost over?)

“I was thinking about it the last few days. Senior Day is around the corner, so it’ll be my last game at Gampel. It’s a long time coming, man. I’ve been through a lot up here, had a great career. It’s crazy that it’s coming to an end. It went so fast. Hopefully, it’s not the end of my season. Hopefully, we can get into that postseason.”

KEVIN OLLIE:

“Glad to be home. It was a tough trip, but it’s always better when you win. I’m glad we got the win. Our guys played very, very hard the second half. We really played lockdown defense, allowed us to get out and run and execute on offense.”

(what UConn must do better this time vs. SMU)

“I mean, it’s the same thing. We’ve got to be real disciplined. We’ve got to take care of the basketball, got to rebound. Nothing’s changed. They had 20 points off our turnovers, we didn’t get back in transition, we didn’t allow it to be a game. Hopefully, we can take care of those mistakes. That’s something we can control.”

(on Nic Moore)

“He’s right there at the top of the list.”

“Whatever you think a point guard is, he does it. He’s mentally tough. When they need a bucket, he goes and gets it. When they need a stop, he goes and gets it. He’s a winner. They look at him for leadership, and he comes through every time.”

“We need a win. If it was South Florida, SMU, if was -- who’s No. 1? -- Kentucky. If it was Kentucky, we need a win. Whoever we face -- if a YMCA team came up to play at the XL, we’d need a win. We need to win these next three. You can’t win three if you don’t win the first one. We’re gonna try to win the first one.”

*** Rakim Lubin (concussion) didn't practice on Saturday. Even if he's cleared for Sunday, it's unlikely he'd see anything but emergency playing time.

*** Sam Cassell, Jr. (leg) is off crutches and will get another MRI on his stress fracture in a couple of weeks.

Phil Nolan started all nine of UConn's postseason games last year (three AAC tourney, six NCAA tourney). He scored in double figures three times during the regular season and showed an uncanny knack in taking charges on defense.

While no one was expecting him to be a double-figure scorer-type this season, a natural progression could have been expected. But to this point, Nolan has had a disappointing junior campaign.

The 6-foot-10 forward is still adept at taking charges, but hasn't contributed a whole lot more than that. Nolan is averaging just 1.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. His minutes have been dwindling lately -- in his last four games, he hasn't played more than seven minutes, including just three in Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, freshman Rakim Lubin is making a spirited case for taking Nolan's minutes off the bench. He's played 10 minutes in each of the last two games and made some valuable contributions here and there.

So what does Nolan have to do to get back out on the floor? We asked Ryan Boatright and Kevin Ollie on Monday evening.

"I think he just needs to continue to play hard," said Boatright. "Just try to finish some plays around the rim. If he can get his hands on a few more balls, on both ends of the floor, then he can finish down there when he touches it, Coach will have no choice but to leave him in. Especially when Amida gets in foul trouble or needs a break."

Said Ollie: "Everybody gets a chance to come in and take care of their minutes. It's a competitive state of mind that we're in now. A lot of guys are stepping up and playing minutes, everybody's got to come in and take care of their minutes and play. Hopefully, that's what players want, how they thrive and get better. 'Cuz it's competitive out there for minutes."

Nolan was bothered by a sore heel recently. He's also put on about 30 pounds of muscle over the off-season and is noticeably bulkier. I've seen several players over the years lose their touch and become different (not always better) players after muscling up too much. Maybe all that's a factor, maybe not.

One thing is sure: UConn would love better and more consistent play out of Phil Nolan going forward.

Some postgame quotes and video from UConn's 62-56 win over Cincinnati on Saturday at a sold-out XL Center.

RAKIM LUBIN:



"We have 1:30 practices, and we probably spend about an hour on just defense. We take pride in our defense."

“It definitely feels good, to make a big contribution and hear the crowd feed off of that. It’s fun.”

KEVIN OLLIE:

“It was a gutty win by our team. I’ve got to take my hat off to Cincinnati. It seems like it comes down to a one-possession game every time we play them, we know each other so well.”

“Our defense stepped up in the second half. Now, I just want our guys to play for 40 minutes. But I’m a very, very happy coach.”

“It seems like we didn’t unpack our bags. But, it is what it is. We’re going out to Tulsa and Stanford, and hopefully do the same as we did in Florida.”

(on Omar Calhoun, who, by the way, is officially back)

“He’s doing a great job spacing the floor, and he’s doing a better job not taking the quick 3’s, making a pump-fake and getting into the 15-foot range.”

“Everybody’s coming in and contributing. Now, it’s their jobs to keep making it a hard decision for me when I drive home and I’m thinking at nighttime, who I’m playing. That’s their job. It’s my job to figure out the minutes.”

(on Rakim Lubin)

“He takes the challenge. I know there were a couple of guys out there who were kind of pushing us around. I put Rock in the game, he was like, ‘I got that guy. I got that guy that’s pushing our guys around.’ I like that. As a coach, I like that, taking the point of saying, ‘I’m gonna stop this guy, he’s not pushing UConn around.’”

RYAN BOATRIGHT:

“I think we made the statement that we’re a better team than we were at the beginning of the year. Like I said last game, two weeks ago, we probably wouldn’t have won that game. But we’re getting better eveyr day, learning from our mistakes, and we’re winning those games."

(on Lubin)

“He’s been practicing extremely hard. We’ve been staying on him about his attitude, just having a positive attitude, being ready for your time, because you never know when it’s gonna come.”

“I tell him all the time, he’s our bruiser. He’s got the body that we need to be down there bangin’ with those bigs. He’s a little undersized, but he’s got a lot of heart. As long as he can learn what he needs to do, as far as (being) in the team system, knowing the plays, he’ll be on the floor.”

“If you know anything about UConn basketball, we pride ourselves on defense.”

(on Daniel Hamilton)

“He’s gonna be in that situation a lot of times. I just try to tell him to stay positive, shoot free throws as much as you can in your off time. A lot of these games come down to free throws, and you’re gonna be at the line a lot.”

OMAR CALHOUN:

“If you can score in less than three dribbles, that’s what people like to see. Whatever the defense gives me, I can work off -- 3’s, mid-range.”

recently sprained toe in practice, battling that during game, health-wise, around 70-75 percent, altogether.

(on Lubin)

“He played big today. We needed every minute from him. I always challenge him in practice, telling him his time’s gonna come, we’re gonna need him to make big plays. He came up big for us. He got me open for a shot, and he got a big defensive stop. That’s what we need from him.”

Pretty nondescript game for UConn. A win is a win is a win. Good production off the bench, with Rakim Lubin and Sam Cassell, Jr. making some rare contributions, along with Omar Calhoun and Terrence Samuel.

Some video and quotes:

KEVIN OLLIE



(on production from Lubin, Cassell)

“They haven’t even been getting in the game. I want them to be ready. I keep telling the guys to stay on-call, because you never know when your name is gonna get announced.”

“Rock’s been doing a fabulous job in practice, his talking, his staying engaged. Sam’s been doing the same thing, and Omar’s been coming along. It’s good to have a bench that’s deep and can come in and give us a lift. That’s what we needed in the second half. It was like we were sleep-walking out there in the first half, couldn’t make a shot. When I inserted those guys, the rhythm of the game picked up. I think it really bodes well for us in the future.”

“It was definitely a business trip for us. Now, we’ve got to come back and continue to move forward.”

“Our guards gotta do a better job of containing the ball, because we can’t keep relying on Amida back there.”

(more on Lubin)

“I mean, I haven’t played him. I see it in practice, where he’s talking and just staying engaged. Kentan went through it last year, where you’re not playing, you can get down on yourself. I see Rock continuing to work, continuing to talk to his teammates and not get down and be on-call. It gives you the trust that I can assert him when I need him. He’s not getting down on himself or pointing the finger at anybody. He’s just looking in the mirror, saying, ‘What can I do to help this team?’ To help this team now is to be in practice and push Kentan and Amida, and also push yourself. I was very proud of him coming in and giving us that lift the way he did.”

RAKIM LUBIN:

“It felt good to be home, that’s all.”

“I definitely felt like we needed a lift. We needed to pick things up intensity-wise and toughness-wise. I had to get in there, get a few boards and stuf like that.”

(on not playing at all the previous two games)

“It’s pretty difficult, but whatever it takes for the team to win. If KO wants me to sit on the bench or play 20-30 minutes, I’ll do what it takes.”

(on his jump shot late in the first half)

“I have no problem. Wide-open jumpers like that, I’ll take that. That’s what Coach wants, he wants us to play. Wide-open jumpers, you’ve got to take them.”

“It’s basketball. When you get out there, you’re still here to play basketball. You’ve just got to stay ready.”

TERRENCE SAMUEL:

“I’ve always been telling Sam, ‘Stay ready.’ I sit next to him on the bench before the game starts. We tell each other, we’ve got to prove ourselves off the bench and help the guys out. I’m just glad to see him come out and finally hit a shot, especiall an and-one.”

“We’re just playing more confident, each and every one of us. Omar, he’s coming along, he’s playing with so much confidence right now. Sam, you just tell him to stay with it. We’ve just got to produce off the bench.”

RYAN BOATRIGHT:

(on the bench players)

“They came in and did what they’re supposed to do. We came out flat, they came in and changed the game. They played hard, they picked up on the defensive end and changed the whole tempo.”

(on well-balanced effort)

“It had to be. They did a great job doubling me. I’m hurt, so I can’t really be the player I am. We needed guys to step up. They came in and took care of their minutes.”

“I was glad we were winning by that much, I didn’t have to play that much at the end.”

“We live off the defensive end. I don’t think we’re as talented scoring on the offensive end, so we’ve got to pride ourselves on the defensive end.”

Omar Calhoun, Rakim Lubin, Dan Guest and Marcel Lewis were suspended for Sunday night’s game due to a violation of team rules. Their status will be reevaluated when the Huskies return home.

Calhoun has been sidelined by a knee injury and wasn’t slated to play anyway, while Guest and Lewis are walk-ons. The Huskies could have used Lubin, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound freshman, against WVU’s physical front line, however.

*** Cheshire’s Pat Lenehan was with the team for Thursday’s win over Charelston but then left for a Rhodes Scholar interview over the weekend in New York. He was slated to return to the team on Sunday, but didn’t due to a death in the family.

*** The Huskies will remain in Puerto Rico on Monday for some sight-seeing and team activities, then fly back to Hartford on Tuesday. There is no school at Storrs all week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

As usual, UConn's first practice of the season consisted mostly of running, running and more running. The Huskies started practice in Guyer, doing almost nothing but running, then finished the last hour or so in Gampel Pavilion. There, we saw some very spirited box-out/rebounding drills.

At one point, Kevin Ollie shouted at freshman Rakim Lubin, telling him, "The only way you're gonna play is to get some rebounds!"

“He thought I was going too soft against my teammates," Lubin explained afterwards. "But I didn’t want to hurt anybody. Once he told me if I don’t go harder against my teammates I was gonna have to run, I had to get in there and get rebounds.”

In all, Lubin came out of his first UConn practice pretty well.

“Rebounding drill’s not too tough," the 6-foot-8, 265-pound frosh said. "I was able to get my three and get out of there every time. The rest of those guys, it looked pretty tough.”

“He got through it pretty well," said Ollie. "He used his physicality, played very well, played hard. He got winded a couple of times, like everybody did, but he didn’t give in or quit. That’s a good mark for a UConn basketball player, when he has that will.”

Said Ryan Boatright: “Rock surprised a lot of us. He worked extremely hard.”

Another frosh, Daniel Hamilton, had an impressive battle with 7-foot Amida Brimah, grabbing several boards and getting his entire team to cheer wildly for him. After that sequence, however, Hamilton looked pretty gassed and could seemingly barely move for a few moments.

A tough first practice, as always -- particularly for the freshmen and newcomers. But overall, a good one. Here's some of what the Huskies had to say afterwards:

Ollie:



Boatright says running and getting out on the fast break is a key emphasis this season:



Not surprisingly, Sam Cassell, Jr. said he's never been on a team with so much talent in the backcourt.



Ollie:

“We want to be a better fast-breaking team than we were last year. We want to get more easy buckets. We can’t have Shabazz bailing us out with 35-footers at the end of the shot clock. We want to definitely run a little bit more, get our athletes out in space where they can create for themselves and for others.”

(can team be a strong perimeter-shooting group again)

“I hope so. They’ve got to work. We lost a lot of great shooters, everybody knows that. DeAndre and Neils and Shabazz were our three best 3-point shooters and those guys are gone. We’ve definitely got to have some people step up. I like my team, I like how hard they’re playing, I like how they compete. Hopefully Amida establishes himself in the low post more so we can go down low. Phil, we can go down low, Rock and Kentan -- all those guys got better. So, hopefully it gives me an option to do that a little bit more.”

(on competition for playing time)

“Coach (Calhoun) used to bring a different point guard in every year. You learn from the best.”

“My dream is to have four guys who can get it off the backboard, push it and be a point guard. That’s what I’m recruiting for ... Let’s go, let’s push it, let’s play fast-break basketball. I don’t want to call a lot of plays. I can if we need to ... but I want us to use our athleticism.”

BOATRIGHT:

“It was probably one of the hardest practices a lot of these guys have ever been to. Everybody went hard, and we got better today.”

SAM CASSELL, JR.

(on competition among guards)

“It’s a good thing. All our guards are different, we all play different. It’s gonna help me in practice, because I have to guard these guys -- some of the best guards in the country. So, in the game, it’ll be easier for me.”

OMAR CALHOUN:

“(Ollie) wants me to be a leader, help them develop. He knows me as a vet and understanding what it takes to be a champion, that I’ll be able to help everytone, as well as me being able to be explosive on offense and challenge people defensively. He wants me to keep working, challenging myself, and not taking plays off. I feel like that’s embedded in me. We kind of have the same mindset coming into he season.”

“I can definitely shoot the ball, everyone knows that. I’ve been working on that, as well as every other part of my game. I should be able to do more than hit 3’s -- hit mid-range shots, find people, finish at the rim and affect games defensively, as well.”

LUBIN:

“It was a real tough practice, but we were prepared for it all preseason, so I was able to get through it ... I knew what to expect coming into it. I didn’t see the weight vests, we just saw the weight vests this year. But it was fun.”

RODNEY PURVIS:

“We have a lot of guards with different dimensions to our game. We can always switch things up. Sam is a pretty good shooter, me and Terrence are pretty much fast guards along with Boat. Speeding the game up and getting guys involved for open shots and things like that, we’ll be pretty good. Omar’s shooting the ball really, really well. We’ll be fine.”

“I know for a fact, there’s not many teams that really have a genuine love and care for each other as much as we do. We really want to show that each and every day. Even if you guys weren’t in here, we still would’ve been in here picking guys up, because that’s what we do. We take that back to our apartment, in the locker room, everywhere.”

“Guys don’t have to play 30, 40 minutes a game. We’ve got a lot of different guys who do different things. We can switch the game up a lot. Competition for playing time, that’s really not a huge issue, because we’re all on the same team and we have one goal: to win games. Whoever’s rolling that day, we’ve just got to go with that.”

History was made when 7-foot sophomore Amida Brimah won the Husky Run this afternoon.

“That’s probably the first time in history a big guy won the Husky Run," Kevin Ollie noted. "That’s very impressive. Records are meant to be broken. I imagine nobody’s done that -- ever.”

Brimah certainly looked proud of his victory, accomplished in a time of 20:22.



“That’s an amazing sign," Ollie continued. "I like that. We know he can run. I think he said his forte is long distance running. He proved that. I had to ask him who’s got DeAndre’s spot. He said, ‘I got it, Coach.’”

Ollie also competed in the event, something no one can recall Jim Calhoun ever doing (though he may have done it at some point in his first couple of seasons as coach). He finished with a time o 21:25, behind only Brimah and Omar Calhoun.

Jon Gill, a Lyman Hall student, won the event with a time o 18:30. Here's how UConn's players finished:

1. Amida Brimah, 20:22.
2. Omar Calhoun, 20:51.
3. Kevin Ollie, 21:25.
4. Kentan Facey, 21:48.
5. Ryan Boatright, 21:50.
6. Terrence Samuel, 22:12.
7. Daniel Hamilton, 24:01.
8. Rodney Purvis, 25:37.
9. Sam Cassell, Jr., 25:38.
10. Phillip Nolan, 25:46.
11. Nnamdi Amilo, 26:40.
12. Rakim Lubin, 29:14.

Pat Lenehan didn't compete, due to a left foot injury.

Here's Ollie and Boatright addressing the crowd before the start of the race:

UConn's players were at the football game on Saturday morning, signing autographs prior to the game during FanFest festivities (yeah, those are my kids getting autographs and posing for a picture with Ryan Boatright above). Here's some of what we got.

*** Had a chance to speak with Rakim Lubin for the first time today. Impressive young man, and certainly an impressive physical specimen.

"I'm here to grab at least double-digit rebounds -- at least," he said. "If I don't do anything else, I've got to grab double-digit rebounds. That's all that matters right now, doing what the team needs."

"That's what I'm looking to bring, as far as my whole package right now. As of right now, I'm not looking to score the basketball or do anything else, but get rebounds and assists. That's all."

Assists?

"Yeah, I gotta get assists to my big men down low. But right now, just straight rebounding."

Lubin says he checks in at 6-foot-8, 265 pounds, which is where he's trying to stay for the season.

*** Steve Enoch was at the game and is in the midst of his official visit to UConn. He didn't want to speak with reporters, saying good-naturedly, "I'm just here to enjoy the game."

*** Wrote a Sunday feature on Daniel Hamilton, who had a tumultuous (and ultimately triumphant) senior season at St. John Bosco High in California that went through mass player and coach exodus and lots of controversy, but ended with a Division II state championship.

Asked Ryan Boatright how much of an impact Hamilton can have this season.

"Huge. Like I said, he's a natural-born scorer. He can score in all aspects of the game -- mid-range, he's tall, he can finish at the rim, he has a great 3-point shot. He's got to stay confident. He has some off days where he puts his head down. I just told him to stay confident, and we need him to be that scorer."

Boatright also talked about the basic tenor of practices and pick-up games so far.

"Extremely, extremely, extremely competitive," he said. "We probably fight almost every day. It's just real competitive, man. Everybody wants to win, everybody wants to get better, we're pushing each other."

"I tell them all the time, everybody's chasing us, we have a target on our backs. But we're chasing something bigger than us. We're chasing history. To win back-to-back, it's only been done one time, and that was Florida."

(OK, so his history lesson doesn't extend past the late 2000's and forgets UCLA. But you get the point)

Asked Boatright if he's ready to be our go-to guy this season -- meaning the media's go-to guys for quotes.

"You know I'm ready, I've been waiting on it for three years."

He may have thought I meant go-to guy, as in the guy to get the ball to in crunch time on the court. Either way, hope he remembers all that when we're still asking him questions come February.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(on Omar Calhoun bouncing back)

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

(on Brimah

’s rehab from shoulder surgery)

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

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

(on Rodney Purvis)

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

(on Purvis's role)

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

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

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

(on Samuel)

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

(on Daniel Hamilton)

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

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

(on Rakim Lubin)

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

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

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

(on Shabazz)

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

(on Shabazz's coursework this past season)

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

(on Napier's draft prospects)

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

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

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

(on next year's schedule)

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

(on the AAC)

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

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

Kevin Ollie is playing in the Travelers Championship celebrity pro-am on Wednesday. With fellow "celebs" including George Lopez, Doug Flutie, Andre Tippett, Tim Wakefield and Ahmad Rashad, it's not a stretch to say that the national championship-winning coach was as big a name, at least to the hometown fans, as anyone. Or at least tied with Jim Calhoun.

That point was further driven home after Ollie's first drive, off the 10th tee, caught some overhanging branches.

"That's OK," a fan yelled, "you won the 'ship."



Prior to his round, Ollie talked a bit about what's going on with the program:

(on Daniel Hamilton, Rakim Lubin arriving on campus next week)

"I'm getting excited. Daniel Hamilton texted me his plane ticket, so I was real excited with that one. I was REAL, real excited when I saw that. I'm looking forward to it, seeing Rakim -- he likes to be called 'Rock,' but he's gonna have to get a couple of rebounds before I call him 'Rock.'"

(on whether UConn will add to its roster before the season starts)

"Probably not. I want to save those scholarships. There's always something that might happen, an Andre Drummond sighting. We'd be welcome with that. But I'm not really looking for that. We've always got our ears to the concrete, seeing what's shaking."

(on what he's hearing regarding Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniel entering next week's NBA Draft)

"I'm hearing a lot of good things. DeAndre's been on a world tour. Since he came back here, he went to 14 different workouts. I've been talking to Cleveland, I talked to Toronto after he went in there. He had a good workout at Charlotte. Hopefully, everything is going well for him. I heard he's shooting the ball real, real well. And Shabazz is doing pretty much everything."

(can they both be first-round picks?)

"You never know. I know Shabazz is pretty much a lock ... I wouldn't say lock, but that's what they're saying. And DeAndre maybe can sneak in there. You just need one. You don't need all 30, you just need one general manager or owner to fall in love with you."

Ollie, for his part, says he won't attend the draft next Thursday at the Barclays Center.

"I would, if one of our guys was going to be in, what do they call it, the Green Room, the Red Room? They should call it the Husky Blue Room."

UConn and Duke will square off at the IZOD Center in New Jersey on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Here's the press release sent out by UConn:

The Duke Blue Devils will face the National Champion UConn Huskies December 18th at IZOD Center (Meadowlands Sports Complex) in East Rutherford, N.J. Game time is 8:00 pm (ET).

UConn and Duke have met just nine times on the basketball court with Duke leading the series 5-4, but the Huskies have won four of the last five. One of their most memorable games took place at the Meadowlands in the 1990 NCAA East Regional Final with Duke winning 79-78 in overtime. UConn defeated Duke, 77-74, to capture the 1999 National Championship and the Huskies nipped the Blue Devils, 79-78, in the 2004 National Semifinals on their way to their second national crown. UConn and Duke last met in the 2009 NIT Tip-Off Championship Game at Madison Square Garden which Duke won, 68-59. The Blue Devils are 20-1 all-time (10-0 in NCAA Tournament games) at the Meadowlands, while UConn is 12-8 at the venue, 1-1 in the 1990 NCAA East Regional and 11-7 vs. former Big East rival Seton Hall.

Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 20 at 10:00 am (ET) through Ticketmaster and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com<http://www.ticketmaster.com> or by phone at 800-745-3000. Tickets will be available at the IZOD Center Box Office beginning Monday, June 23 at 11:00 am. For more information, visit izodcenter.com<http://www.izodcenter.com>.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to play Connecticut at the IZOD Center next season," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We have a strong fan base in the New York / New Jersey area and I am sure Connecticut will have great fan support as well. It is always special to play in front of terrific crowds and it should be an outstanding game between two talented teams. Connecticut is obviously coming off a championship season and has excellent personnel returning. Coach Ollie has done a terrific job running the program and we look forward to the challenge."

Duke, coming off a 26-9 campaign last season, returns three players with extensive starting experience and seven letterwinners overall. Senior Quinn Cook and junior Rasheed Sulaimon provide a veteran presence in the backcourt, while Amile Jefferson is coming off a solid sophomore season in 2013-14. Cook and Sulaimon combined to average 21.5 points and 6.8 assists per game a year ago, while shooting 38.6 percent (108-of-280) from three-point range and 79.1 percent (163-of-206) from the charity stripe. Jefferson shot a team-best 64.4 percent (94-of-146) from the field and averaged 6.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Junior Marshall Plumlee (1.3 points / 2.2 rebounds per game) along with sophomores Matt Jones and Semi Ojeleye are prepared to take on larger roles this season after gaining valuable experience a year ago.

Duke's veteran group will be complimented in 2014-15 by the top ranked recruiting class in the country. Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow were each named to the McDonald's All-America team with all four players ranking among the top 35 recruits in the country by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. Allen is a talented guard out of Florida that showcased his athleticism by winning the Powerade Jam Fest Dunk Contest. Jones, the top-rated point guard in the class, was a three-time Minnesota State Player of the Year and closed out his career with 2,909 points, 1,131 assists and 369 steals. Okafor, the No. 1 player overall by most recruiting outlets, was named the National High School Player of the Year after averaging 24.1 points and 11.3 rebounds while leading Whitney Young, to a 28-5 record and a 4A state title in Illinois. Winslow is a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year out of Texas and one of the most versatile two-way players in the country. He averaged 27.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.8 steals per game as a senior at Saint John's [Houston]. Jones, Okafor and Winslow also have extensive USA Basketball experience with each player winning a pair of gold medals as well as participating in the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit.

The UConn men's basketball team won the national championship in 2014 - its fourth since 1999. The Huskies began the tournament as a No. 7 seed and along their NCAA run beat a who's who of programs including Florida and Kentucky in the Final Four. The Huskies became the first no. 7 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament to win the national championship.

The 2014-15 Huskies will be led by senior guard Ryan Boatright, who was named to the NCAA All-Final Four team and averaged 12.1 points per game last year to go along with 3.4 assists. Junior Phil Nolan started 19 games last year - including all six in the NCAA tournament - returns at center. Junior guard Terrence Samuel, a Brooklyn product, scored 11 points in UConn's NCAA third round win vs. Villanova and showed great improvement as the season went on. Sophomore center Amida Brimah led UConn with 92 blocks and was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie team.

The Huskies will be bolstered by the addition of former McDonald's All-American guard and North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year Rodney Purvis, eligible after sitting out last season following his transfer from North Carolina State. Purvis averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds for the Wolfpack in 35 games in 2012-13 and was an ACC Rookie of the Week selection. Also joining the Huskies will be freshman forward Daniel Hamilton, who averaged 20.5 points, 9 rebounds and 5.2 assists as he led St. John Bosco High to the California Division II state championship; Junior College First Team All-American Sam Cassell Jr., who averaged 18.7 points and 3.7 assists for Chipola College (Florida); and Rakim Lubin, the Georgia 3A Player of the Year, who averaged 20.2 points and 12.1 rebounds at Buford High School.

"We are very much looking forward to playing against Duke at the IZOD Center this December," said UConn head coach Kevin Ollie. "Our series against Duke includes some of the most exciting and most meaningful games in UConn basketball history and we have the utmost respect for Coach Krzyzewski and his program. Plus, it will be wonderful to return to the IZOD Center, where UConn has a long history. It not only gives our fans in the New York-New Jersey area a chance to watch us play, but is close enough to allow our great fans from Connecticut to come and support us."

Rakim Lubin, a 6-foot-7, 260-pound bruising power forward out of Buford, Ga., has signed his national letter-of-intent to attend UConn next season,.

Some pics of Rakim signing: pic.twitter.com/OuPcL6FXMI
— UConn (@B_WRecruiting) April 27, 2014

Lubin is just the kind of big, physical forward the Huskies need, especially with DeAndre Daniels off to the NBA and Tyler Olander graduated. He could be a rebounding presence UConn has really needed the past couple of seasons.

Lubin joins elite wing Daniel Hamilton and JUCO combo guard Sam Cassell, Jr. as UConn's Class of 2014 signees.

Gotta like what we've seen from Ryan Boatright thus far this season.

Sure, he's only averaging 12 points per game, after averaging 15.4 a year ago. But he's playing far more in control, within himself, than he did his first two seasons in Storrs. And he's playing a much better all-around game.

Witness Thursday's 72-70 win over BC. Boatright scored just nine points on 2-for-8 shooting, but he pulled down five rebounds, doled out a team-high four assists and had as many blocked shots as Amida Brimah (two), including the biggest of the night, on Lonnie Jackson's last-second 3-pointer that could've won the game for BC.

“I knew there were only 2.2 seconds on the clock," he reported. "I knew when the big dude came in the middle, he held it for at least for a second. I knew as soon as my man got his hands on the ball, he was gonna try to chuck it up. I just tried to contest it and stay away from body contact as much as possible. He tried to sell it. I thought he was going to call it, the way my fouls were going. But, thank God he didn’t call it.”

It's not easy going for a block on a play where you know you can't foul.

“I think with a little more time on the clock, it would’ve been tough to go for the block," Boatright added. "But there were only two seconds on the clock. If two people touch it in two seconds, he has to put it up there right away. He didn’t even think about it, he just caught it and chucked it … I don’t think he thought I could get up that high that quick. I surprised myself, I got up there pretty fast.”

As for Boatright's improved all-around game, here's what Kevin Ollie had to say:

And here's what Boatright had to say:

“I’m just slowing down. I’ve really matured, really watched a lot of film over the summer, trying to become a pure point guard, because that’s what I’m going to have to be at the next level. I’ve learned that getting my teammates the ball early boosts their confidence and makes my job a lot easier. I know I can get to the basket and score when I need to. But having my teammates’ confidence really helps the team and gets everybody going.”

*** So whatta ya say these two teams get together more often?

“I’d love to renew the rivalry, but I’m not the guy who’s going to, per se, make the schedule," said Ollie. "We’ll sit down as a group, me and my coaching staff, my great AD Warde Manuel, and we’ll come up with a great schedule for our fans to come and watch. I’d love to renew it, but that’s not up to me totally.”

Warde?

“I’ve had a lot of great conversations with Brad Bates about different things. We’ve known each other for a long time, he played at Michigan before I did, we were in the MAAC together. We’ve talked since he’s been there. There’s nothing that is going to be in the works at this present time, but we’re leaving the door open. We have great relationships, we have great respect for BC and what they’ve done. The past is behind us, we’re moving forward. It was a great game tonight. I think we’ll be a great rivalry again in the future for our fans, but we’ll see where it goes in the future.”

Even Boatright chimed in: “If they want to consider it a rivalry, it’s always good to have a rivalry. I think having that game or that feel, with that label on it – ‘rivalry’ – will bring a lot of fans out. It’ll make it a great game. Any rivalry is great to me.”

*** Daniel Hamilton and Sam Cassell, Jr. appear to be on board next year for UConn. No word yet on Rakim Lubin.

UConn has received agreements from both Daniel Hamilton and Sam Cassell, Jr., to attend the school next year. Hamilton has sent in a financial-aid agreement, which doesn't bind him to the university, while Cassell has sent a national letter-of-intent.

Apparently, the school hasn't received anything yet from Rakim Lubin.

Here's the press release UConn sent out this evening:

UConn men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie has announced that Sam Cassell, Jr. and Daniel Hamilton have signed agreements to attend UConn beginning with the 2014-15 academic year.

Cassell, a 6-4, 195-pound guard out of Baltimore, is the son of 15-year NBA player Sam Cassell, who is currently and assistant coach with the Washington Wizards. The elder Cassell was teammates with Ollie on the 2002-03 Milwaukee Bucks.

Hamilton, a 6-7 guard/forward from Los Angeles, also has family ties to the NBA with older brother Jordan currently playing for the Denver Nuggets.

“I’m very pleased and excited to have these two young men joining our basketball program,” Ollie said. “They are excellent players and more importantly, high-character people. I expect both Sam and Daniel to do great things at the University of Connecticut.”

Cassell is currently attending Chipola College in Marianna, Fla., for the second year. He redshirted last season but is on the roster this season. In three games, Cassell is averaging 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He will have three years of eligibility at UConn after enrolling next fall.

“Sam is just an outstanding guard who can do a number of different things on the basketball court,” Ollie said. “He brings a level of maturity after two years in junior college. He’ll be a great addition to our team, especially with his experience.”

Hamilton is a senior at St. John Bosco High in Los Angeles. He is ranked among the top 25 players in the country by most recruiting services. Last season, he averaged 14.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists for Bosco.

“Daniel is just full of versatility,” Ollie said. “He’s 6-7 and can do everything. He can play 1, 2, 3 and 4 …just an exceptional basketball player. It’s always great to have a West Coast guy come to the East Coast.”

UConn takes on Boston College Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in a 2K Sports Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project game. On Friday, the Huskies will face either Indiana or Washington, at either 5 or 7 p.m., again at the World's Most Famous Arena.

First things first: the Huskies will be wearing special pregame warm-up shirts for their two games. It's easy to forget that the whole idea behind this tournament is to honor and benefit the brave men and women who sacrifice so much for their country.

On to basketball: The UConn-BC "rivalry" resonates with Shabazz Napier more than anything.

“I’ve got a lot of history with BC. My older brother (Steve Hailey) used to play with them. Tyrese Rice, when he played, I was up there a lot with him. He was like an older brother to me, as well. When I was 13, I was up at BC just playing in the gym with my older brother Stevie Hailey, who went there."

Hailey, it should be noted, isn't Napier's biological brother.

"When I was younger, someone else took care of me, and he was one of the guys who took care of me," Napier explained. "I have six brothers that aren’t my real blood brothers, but I call them my brothers … It was hard for my mother to feed us, but they took care of me.”

Any way, Napier was surprised BC never offered him a scholarship until real late in the process.

"When I came here for my unofficial, and Coach Calhoun talked about how I was thinking about leaving my junior year, that’s when I got a call from BC," he recalled. "That’s when Al Skinner was getting fired, so they were just trying to see if they could grab me up. I was just like, ‘Man, y’all had so many opportunities to do that, and you never did.’ It’s OK. I’m glad where I’m at.”

*** Napier, by the way, is averaging 9.5 rebounds per game -- nearly six more than his closest teammate:

*** One more Shabazz note: UConn announced today that it will be playing in next year's Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Nov. 21-24 in San Juan, P.R. Napier's mother is Puerto Rican, and he takes pride in his heritage, even trying out for the Puerto Rican National team a couple of years ago.

"She cared a lot about being Puerto Rican," he said of his mother, Carmen Velasquez. "My grandmother who came up to my game last game against BU, I take good pride in it, because I know where they come from. They take great pride in being who they are, their culture. It’s exciting to know that. I wish we had went there this year. But, it’s not something I’m upset about.”

Especially if he's in the NBA.

“If I’m blessed enough to be there, yeah.”

*** Interesting comments from Kevin Ollie on the trend of top recruits no longer signing national letters-of-intent.

“You’ve got to be comfortable with it," he said. "That’s their decision. I’m comfortable with it. We’ve got verbal commitments, and we’re gonna stick by ‘til they de-commit. If they de-commit … we’re a pretty lady. A lot of people want to come here.”

Ollie didn't (and can't) comment specifically on UConn's three commits. The school has yet to announce whether its received LOI's from Daniel Hamilton, Sam Cassell, Jr. or Rakim Lubin.

“If they don’t want to come, then we’ll keep moving on. It ain’t like we’re an ugly duckling and nobody wants to marry us. We’ve got some other choices.”

“If you’re committed, you’re committed. Sometimes, it hurts when a coach opts to go to the NBA like Brad Stevens. I understand where the player’s coming from. Hopefully, the coach is telling you the right things and he stands by his word, too. It’s a give-and-take. Some kids are doing the financial aid so they won’t be bound, just in case I get fired, they can leave. I know some of the big-time players, the top-10, top-15, will choose to do that. But some of the top-15 are signing letters-of-intent, too, because they believe in the university.”

“As long as they show up when we start up on June 25, when our freshmen come up, that’s the thing I’m waiting for.”

UConn is putting the finishing touches on its recruiting for the Class of 2014.

Highly-touted shooting guard Daniel Hamilton is already in the fold, as is, more recently, power forward Rakim Lubin, who sort of came out of nowhere but is the kind of big, bruising forward the Huskies need.

And, of course, UConn also has Rodney Purvis, an NC State transfer who must sit out this season, ready to go for next season.

UConn is looking to add another player or two to the mix. Devin Robinson, a 6-7 wing out of Virginia who is Rivals' No. 20 overall prospect, is a high priority. He's making an official visit on Oct. 18, which is UConn's First Night. The Huskies are also very interested in Ray Kasongo, another bruising power forward out of Canada who seems to be down to UConn and Oregon, according to reports. And Bonzie Colson, Jr., a 6-5 power forward from St. Andrew's School in Barrington, R.I., is currently still slated to make an official visit on Oct. 11.

Meanwhile, the Huskies seem to be ramping up their interest in guard Sam Cassell, Jr. UConn has come to watch Cassell work out twice in recent days, most recently on Tuesday down in Florida. Cassell, Jr. is a 6-3 guard who can play point or shooting guard. More succinctly, he's a "scorer," according to Ryan Hurd, who coached him at Notre Dame Prep a couple of years ago.

"He's that kid that makes shots that other people couldn't take," Hurd said. "When you're coaching him, you just have to close your eyes and wait for results. There's some unbelievable shots that kid puts in the basket. You want to ask 'why?', he tells you, 'because they just go in.'"

Cassell is currently enrolled in junior college after the NCAA deemed him ineligible to play last year at Maryland because of a couple of classes he took at Notre Dame Prep. Hurd said Cassell absolutely got a raw deal, considering several other players who took the same classes were ruled eligible to play college ball.

UConn is also keeping an eye on the Devonte Graham situation up at Brewster Academy. Schools still can't talk to Graham as Appalachian State has yet to release him from his letter-of-intent.

Either way, it seems we should be hearing some recruiting news soon out of Storrs.

Been out of town at a wedding this weekend, so I missed UConn's first practice on Saturday, as well as the news that the Huskies received a commitment from Rakim Lubin.

Here's a story on Lubin's commitment and what it means for UConn going forward.

And here's Register colleague Chip Malafronte's take on UConn's season-opening practice.

We'll be back on the beat starting Monday.