There's a new Class of 2018 guard for UConn fans to keep an eye on: Luguentz Dort, a 6-foot-3 1/2 combo guard from the Conrad Academy in Orlando.

UConn assistant Ricky Moore will head down to Orlando and see Dort on Thursday morning, according to Conrad coach Shaun Wiseman. Moore and Wiseman are good friends, dating back to when the two were assistant coaches for the Charlotte Royals AAU team about six years ago.

Dort, who hails from Montreal, has already received offers from Florida, Arizona State, Baylor, Virginia, Oregon and Louisville. Rick Pitino saw him at an open gym a few weeks ago and offered him a scholarship on the spot. Florida is showing the most interest right now - head coach Mike White apparently loves him, and assistant Dusty May is at the nearby Conrad campus often.

Conrad has some other prospects, including 7-foot-2 Aristide Boya from Cameroon, who Moore will take a look at, as well.

Chatted by phone today Juwan Durham as well as Joe Fenlon, who coaches Durham down at Tampa Bay Prep.

Here's the story of how Durham wound up in Storrs.

Here's some of what they had to say:

DURHAM:

“It was a really tough decision, because I’m gonna spending the next four years of my life, possibly, with thewe guys. It was really big for me and my family, we just wanted to make the best decision for me.”

“I really felt like the team was close-knit and together. I asked a lot of people about Coach Ollie, and they all told me that I could trust him and that he’s a good, wholesome guy.”

He said Sterling Gibbs and Shonn Miller were his hosts on last weekend's visit, and that Amida Brimah, Rodney Purvis and Jalen Adams were among those who sold him on Ollie.

"(The coaching staff) didn’t promise me anything. They told me I could have the opportunity to be able to start. That was enough for me, because I know you can’t promise any kid a starting position, because you never know who's going to be on the team. And I just don’t want anything given to me.”

FENLON:

"The plan was to try to narrow it down a little bit, but he had visited a bunch of schools unofficially, had been on campuses, and was really trying to find a place where he was really comfortable. He's also a very thought-provoking kid. He and I spoke Monday night. Tuesday he came in during study hall and said there's really no reason to narrow it down, I really feel like I'm ready for a commitment. He had thought about it very much. It was certainly not an impulsive move. UConn's always been one of his favorites, anyway. To some people, it may have come out of the blue. But on the inside, we knew UConn definitely was in the mix."

Fenlon said the Huskies actually practiced inside the Tampa Bay Prep gym during their trip to play South Florida last January. Ricky Moore led Durham's recruitment, and he came back a couple of times afterwards. In April, at the women's Final Four, Kevin Ollie came down and Durham first had a chance to talk with him.

"It was a very good conversation," Fenlon said. "Juwan’s a very level-headed kid. He has goals and aspirations, but he also knows that, eventually, the ball’s gonna stop bouncing. Not every question he asked was basketball-related."

(on Durham as a player)

"He’s got a very interesting skill set. He creates a lot of matchup problems offensively, because he can handle, pass, shoot the ball. He's a very unselfish kid, in that he doesn’t take bad shots. He’s not a volume shooter. He’s not worried about what he’s gonna get, he’s worried about quality, not quantity. He’s a kid who just wants to win. If that means giving ball up at end of the game, he will give the ball up. He doesn’t need limelight on him. The limelight's already on him."

"He's got real good control of his body. A lot of kids 6-10, 6-11, are kind of awkward. Juwan has a way of not committing fouls. He changes a lot of shots, blocks a hell of a lot of shots. But he doesn’t do it when he ends up fouling. With his length, he doesn’t need to leave floor."

"Very active on glass, defensively. He can run the floor very well, and he can push it up the floor, as well."

"He probably weighs about 210 pounds right now. He’s never gonna be Karl “The Mailman” Malone. But he’s very skilled on the block, he has a very good post game. He’s a very good free throw shooter. I like putting him inside, because people are gonna foul him. That’s like money in the bank for us. We thrive on that."

(on Durham's ACL injury)

"In the regional semifinals, he was going for a steal. He punched the ball out between two guys, tried to outrun both guys, it was a freak accident right in front of our bench."

"There was really no hesitation from the majority of schools. Not that it's run-of-the-mill, but ACL surgery now is not what it was 20 years ago. The time away from the court has been really good for Juwan. It makes him understand his passion for the game. The fact that he's not been able to compete for the last 6-7 months, it’s starting to drive him crazy. He really can’t wait to get back on the court."

"We start practice on Oct. 26. There's no reason to rush him back. He has a very bright future, we’re not gonna compromise it here. He’ll know when he’s ready. If it's sometime in November, great. If it's December, great."

Durham had a an official visit slated for Miami, and had already made unofficials to Miami, Florida, Florida State and Louisville. He was also interested in Villanova, Kansas, Notre Dame and Maryland.

(what appealed to him about the UConn campus?)

"It’s not in a city. That has an appeal to him, because there wouldn’t be as many distractions. He can just get up there, be a student, be an athlete."

Fenlon, who's entering his 33rd season coaching Tampa Bay Prep, coached Casey Sanders, a McDonald's All-American who went on to play at Duke in the early 2000's. People compare Durham to Sanders, Fenlon said, but added that whenever Sanders sees Durham play, he says, "God, he's so much better than I was."

“What Juwan really needed to learn up on were there other things outside of basketball. He loves being a student, walking the halls. Basketball is what he does, basketball doesn’t define him. Those are the kids who really have opportunities to go places. Basketball is the most important thing to him, but so is being a good friend, being a good student. His mother wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Fenlon said Durham's dad visited Storrs over the summer, and his mom accompanied him on last weekend's official visit. 

He also noted that Alterique Gilbert called Durham almost immediately after he announced his commitment via Twitter.

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."

Khalid El-Amin and the 1999 UConn national championship team each were inducted into the Huskies of Honor at halftime Sunday. Richard Hamilton, who hasn't come back to UConn a whole lot over the last 15 years, was in the house, along with the other four starters on the title team (El-Amin, Kevin Freeman, Jake Voskuhl and Ricky Moore) as well as Souleymane Wane, Beau Archibald, coaches Karl Hobbs, Tom Moore and, of course, Jim Calhoun.

Here's what Hamilton had to say:

 “The biggest thing I remember from that game is coach’s attitude at the beginning of the game. Usually, he was always on pins and needles. That was the first game he came in and told us, just relax and play. I think that really, really was the big thing for us, beacuse we really believed we could win the game. We thought we were the best team in the country. We thought Duke was getting all the praise, but we didn’t mind that. It was something exciting for us. I think when Khalid had the ball, running, and they were playing that ‘One Shining Moment’ song, and he was running with the ball, with his hands up, I think that’s the memory that sticks in my head.”

(on seeing Duke players over the years)

“They can’t even look me in my face. That’s how I like it ... to beat them – especially now, playing in the NBA and they've got so many great players in the NBA – you played against them and competed. I’m always hard on them, like, ‘Hey, you never beat (us), regardless of all the praise y’all got, whether you got the Wooden Award or not. We got the ring at the end.'”

“We were undefeated until the game that I sat out. I got hurt, Jake got hurt, and it was good that we actually lost that game, because it kind of gave us motivation to come out and play even harder. We came out and lost on Senior Night – I think it was Miami, here in Gampel. Coach came in and said, ‘Don’t think you’re as good as you are.’ We really had to go out and finish the work and we did.”

(on possibly still hooking up with an NBA team)

“I just want to go to the right team. I want to be on a team that has an opportunity to win. I don’t just want to be out there, going through the motions or anyting like that. I want to be in a situation where I can get an opportunity to get another ring. That’s how you build your legacy.”

(on Calhoun and SMU's Larry Brown both in Gampel on Sunday)

“Isn’t that crazy? You’ve got my two favorite coaches of all time in the same building. Both guys that I got an opportunity to win a championship with. That’s crazy. It’s one of those magic moments, something that couldn’t be planned or anything like that. It’s exciting for me.”

(on why he decided to return to UConn after '98 season)

“You know what it was? I put all my eggs in coach’s basket. I had one foot on the university campus and one foot out the door, and I put all my trust into coach Calhoun. Everything he told me in his office … after that 3-4 hour conversation that day, came true. When you’re 20 years old, sometimes you think people are just talking to be talking. But everything he told me came true.”

(on this year's UConn team)

“I think that KO’s done an excellent job. It’s hard to follow coach Calhoun. That’s huge pressure. But I thought that he came in and really put his spin on things. The guys respond to him very well. You can look at his record for the last two years. One thing I can look at with UConn, we always have great guard play. The guards have been doing great, doing a tremendous job of leading the team.”

Jim Calhoun:

“Of all the things I've done in my coaching career, I’ll never forget walking into this building in 1999 – the trip over, I still describe as probably the most remarkable trip, I have no idea how many people were on 84, they stopped cars, they were on buildings. Coming up here on 195 was absolutely incredible. But still, walking into this building, after the disappointment of nine years before, and this time having the hardware in my hands, is still the highest moment of my coaching career.”

“I always thought we were better when we had to dig our way back. But I always thought we had more experience, we were tougher. (Duke) could’ve been, if they had stayed together one more year – or if they hadn’t met us – been one of the greatest teams ever.”

“If you ever look back at the teams we played, the teams we beat – pretty special. Without injuries, you could make a case for 36-0. Is it the greatest team? I don’t know. But it was the best ‘team’, in the sense that they all worked with each other. Both point guards could pass, shoot, well, not Khalid, but defend. We had great answers, with Edmund, Souley, Albert Mouring. That was just a terrific basketball team.”

“When we lost to Carolina in Carolina, they went to the Final Four, we didn’t, they stayed together and it was just one of those kind of things. We had, without knowing, our eyes on the prize in ’98 to get to ’99."

“The first one is special. It was special for UConn. I don’t know if, like anything else in life, you can’t duplicate that first time. So, that makes it special. Is it better? No. I love watching Kemba making four foul shots to win, getting 31 last night to beat the Grizzlies. Watching any kind of those great things, that’s all great stuff, too. But, you can’t duplicate walking up here and bringing back that trophy. That’s not gonna be replicated in my lifetime or anybody else’s lifetime.”

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

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

Here are some observations:

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As you surely know by now, Shabazz Napier announced today that he'll return for his senior season at UConn. Here's the story from today's Register.

Napier's not alone. Ryan Boatright also announced he’s returning to UConn for another year. DeAndre Daniels, too. With those three back (along with everyone else from last year's team except R.J. Evans and, possibly, Enosch Wolf), the Huskies should be a very good team next season. Preseason Top 15 easy, one would think.

Here's what Boatright and Daniels had to say today at Gampel:

Boatright said he made the decision a couple of days ago, and that he knew all along that Napier would be returning, too.

“Shabazz is Shabazz,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been around him long enough to know how to read him.”



(on reaching his decision to stay)

“It was tough. I really had my mind set on going, that’s what I really worked for this year. The way the situation went, me and my family felt like it wasn’t the right time. I’ll never put myself in a harder situation than it’s got to be.”

He said he had conversations with Kevin Ollie, Jim Calhoun … “everybody.”

“Coach Ollie’s got the best interests at heart for me, so I take his opinion very (seriously). He told me the best decision was for me to come back. I took it back to my mom, and we made the decision it was best for me to come back.”

(on how good a team the Huskies should be next season)

“Next year’s going to be a great year. Everybody’s going to be extremely hungry. Watching that (NCAA) tournament’s painful. It’s humbling and it makes you even hungrier. We all watched it together, so we’re going to come back with a chip on our shoulder even bigger than last year.”

Boatright knows what he must improve upon in order to be a sure-shot draft pick after next season.

“Decision-making and my 3-ball. Decision-making can always be better, as far as being a point guard and reading when to shoot and when not to shoot. Knocking down open shots – everybody in the NBA knocks down open shots. And you’ve got to be able to shoot the 3 more consistent than I did.”

Did he have pressure from his friends and family back home to get to “The League” this year?

“Nobody really makes it out of from where I come from. Just making it to college is good for them. They’re like, ‘We’ve got your back, no matter what you do. You go to the NBA or come back to school, we’re going to always be your fans.’ The most pressure was put on by me, because I expect much more from myself. I’m glad with my decision and I’ve got to make the best of it.”

*** And here's what Daniels, shooting around on his own (as he does so often) had to say:

"It really wasn't ever a tough decision for me. We sat down with my family and decided it was best for me to stay here, get better, work on my game and just become a better person and come a step closer to graduating."

Daniels has been hitting the weights hard and is up to 203 pounds, after ending the season at 195. You can see more definition already in his shoulders.

"(I need to) be more consistent with my play -- ballhandling, shooting and just getting stronger," he said.

"I think we have a chance to be pretty good. Hopefully, we can go far in the tournament and hopefully win a national championship."

(On Napier)

"I see him walking around now, he's all happy, like he's got a weight off his shoulders. I'm happy for him."

*** Elsewhere, bumped into Ricky Moore, who's been promoted from assistant director of basketball ops to full-time assistant coach.


“It’s nice to be able to get out on the floor (in practice) and do some teaching," Moore said. "I learned a lot alongside Coach Blaney."

He added that he’s excited to get out on the recruiting trail in July. As an assistant at Dartmouth, Moore did plenty of recruiting. He realizes it’s a different world recruiting for UConn, but says the hard-working attitude he had to have while at Dartmouth – staying in gyms long after the bigger programs had left to get an even better idea about what kind of player/person a recruit is – will benefit him with the Huskies.

*** Also saw Niels Giffey in the gym. His broken finger is still taped, and he's unable to shoot. Giffey hopes to be able to get back to basketball activities in a couple of weeks or so.

It was Husky Day at the State Capitol on Wednesday. Members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams and football team were on-hand, along with coaches from all three teams. And before that, next door in the legislative offices building, Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma joined the likes of Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Noah Webster in the Connecticut Hall of Fame.

"I think Noah Webster would be very upset with me because I've bastardized so many of the words (in the dictionary)," Calhoun quipped. "Harriet Beecher Stowe probably wouldn't be pleased with the words I use all the time."

Yeah, but who's sold more books?

Anyway, here are some notes and quotes from the day:

*** Kevin Ollie on Enosch Wolf: “It’s a university process, we’re just going forward. We’re still evaluating him as a person. But I think he’s really turning it around, on and off the basketball court. He’s been working out on his own. Off the court, I’ve been hearing some great things about him. I’m not really concerned with basketball right now.”

“I want him to continue to get better, so when he’s in that situation again, he knows how to handle it a little bit better. That’s what he’s doing, and I’m very happy for him.”

Translation: If it was up to Ollie, I'm guessing Wolf will be back for his senior season. But ultimately, it's not Ollie's decision.

*** Regarding next year's schedule, Ollie said the Huskies are "trying to have the same RPI as we’ve had in recent years … That means, going out and getting some games. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

It looks like Stanford, Maryland and the 2K Classic (Indiana, Washington, Boston College) will be UConn's top non-conference matchups next season. The slated game at Washington will likely be pushed back a year, since the teams could meet at MSG in the 2K Classic, and continuing the series with Texas seems unlikely this season, as well.

And don't expect any former Big East mates on the docket, at least for next season, though there has been contact with Providence and Notre Dame.

Said Calhoun: “I think we can be very good next year … I can’t decide if it will be less difficult or more difficult. This year we played the bottom teams … and did a very good job."

*** Shabazz Napier's decision should come either Thursday or Friday.

“I’m in the same boat as you," Ollie joked with reporters. "I’ve got my tape recorder, too. I’m waiting for him, too, I’m right there with y’all. I know he’s reached out to a couple of people, I had him in my office … Hopefully, he makes the right decision at the end, with his heart, with his mind.”

On how Ollie has helped Napier with the process, he said: “The general managers call me, I give him feedback. I imagine other people in his circle know people in the NBA that he’s getting feedback from, too. Hopefully, he gets all the information and makes the right decision.”

Nothing's etched in stone with Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels, either, but both are leaning on returning.

*** Calhoun loves incoming freshmen Kentan Facey, Amida Brimah and Terrence Samuel.

“(Brimah's) got a chance to be really good. He’s dynamic, long. Facey’s just a machine – 100 MPH on every play. And Terrence Samuel is what Kevin really wants. He’s a point guard. Kevin has a viewpoint on point guards that others may not have … I think Terrence would be happy defending, playing the fast break, and he’s strong and tough.”

Calhoun also noted that Facey and Samuel both committed to him and really want to be Huskies. He noted that Samuel "called me while I was laying in bed in late August, saying, ‘Coach, I really want to come to Connecticut.’"

*** Don't be shocked if UConn shows interest in Alabama's Trevor Lacey, a 6-foot-3 guard who led the Crimson Tide in assists and 3-pointers this past season but announced today that he'll be transferring after two years with the team. 

*** Ollie is happy to get Ricky Moore on board to get on the road for the July recruiting period, and glad George Blaney is sticking around in an advisory role, as well.

"He's someone to lean on," Ollie said of Blaney. "He always has the right thing to say, so I’m glad he’s staying onboard, too.”

Ricky Moore has been bumped up to full-time assistant, while George Blaney remains on UConn's staff as a special assistant/advisor to head coach Kevin Ollie. Here's the press release sent out by the school:

University of Connecticut men’s basketball head coach Kevin Ollie has announced changes on his coaching staff.
Ricky Moore, who joined the UConn staff in October, 2012, and served as the assistant director of basketball administration through the 2012-13 season, has become a fulltime assistant coach and assumed all appropriate duties, including player coaching during practice and games, as well as complete recruiting status.

“I’m really excited to add Ricky to our coaching staff,” Ollie said. “When Ricky was here as a player, he epitomized what UConn stands for and I know he will do the same thing as a coach.”

George Blaney, who just completed his 12th season with UConn, remains on the staff as a special assistant/advisor to the head coach.

The rest of Ollie’s staff remains intact, with Glen Miller as associate head coach, Karl Hobbs as assistant coach, Kevin Freeman as director of basketball administration, and David Sevush as graduate assistant.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be an assistant coach on the UConn staff,” said Moore, 37. “I know firsthand what a great experience it is to be a student-athlete at UConn and to be part of the UConn basketball family. I’m looking forward to working with our players and to bringing high-caliber people and players into the program as we move forward.”

Moore, a 1999 UConn graduate with a degree in community program development, returned to Storrs last year after serving as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College for two seasons. Moore’s stint at Dartmouth followed his retirement after an 11-year career in professional basketball that spanned five countries --- Austria, Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey and Germany --- as well as stops in the Continental Basketball Association and the NBA Developmental League.

“I have a lot of faith in Ricky as a recruiter and a coach,” Ollie said. “He’s had experience on the road and I know the kind of strength and enthusiasm he has for the game and our program. I’ve already seen it in the role he had with us last year. Going into this new era of UConn basketball, I’m looking forward to having him on the road recruiting and using his coaching style to help us on and off the court.”

Moore, co-captain of the Huskies’ first NCAA national championship team in 1998-99, spent four successful years in Storrs as an undergraduate. During his tenure, UConn compiled an overall record of 114-24 and a BIG EAST mark of 55-17, winning three BIG EAST regular-season championships, three BIG EAST tournament championships, and reaching the 1996 NCAA Sweet 16, the 1998 NCAA Elite Eight, and capturing the 1999 NCAA title.

Moore was named to the 1999 Final Four and West regional All-Tournament Teams and Basketball News Magazine selected him as the National Defensive Player of the Year in 1998-99. He was a three-time UConn co-captain and in 2001, he was named to UConn’s All-Century Team. His 510 assists still rank sixth on UConn’s all-time list.

Originally from Augusta, Ga., Moore was born on April 10, 1976. He and wife Heather are the parents of two children, daughter Kendyll, 6, and son R.J., 4.

Jim Calhoun was at a lot of UConn practices this season, and most home games (other than when he went on a trip to Cancun, and possibly one or two other home contests). He only made three road trips, I believe: to Germany, to St. Thomas and to the Garden for the NC State game.

I didn't find his presence overbearing on Kevin Ollie. Maybe Ollie would beg to differ, but I doubt it. The man is truly like a father figure to Ollie. At home games, Calhoun could be seen perched at along the base line, watching rather stoically but approvingly -- indeed, like a proud father watching his son do fine work.

Here's what Calhoun had to say about Ollie's first season as head coach. One other thing to note: as good a job as Ollie did, he had some great help. Ollie was always quick and adamant in heaping praise on his assistants, going out of his way to do so at the Dec. 29 press conference announcing his new, long-term contract. Glen Miller, Karl Hobbs and George Blaney combine for 57 years of head coaching experience with 860 wins between them. They all also boast UConn NCAA championship rings, as do director basketball administration Kevin Freeman and assistant director of basketball administration Ricky Moore (both as players). They were invaluable this season.

Meanwhile, here's my penultimate AP Top 25 ballot this season. Yeah, Syracuse isn't in it. Yeah, four Atlantic 10 teams are in it. Deal with it.

1.       Gonzaga

2.       Duke

3.       Indiana

4.       Georgetown

5.       Louisville

6.       Kansas

7.       Michigan

8.       Miami

9.       Ohio State

10.   Michigan State

11.   Kansas State

12.   Florida

13.   Oklahoma State

14.   New Mexico

15.   St. Louis

16.   Arizona

17.   Memphis

18.   Marquette

19.   Pittsburgh

20.   Creighton

21.   Virginia Commonwealth

22.   St.Mary’s

23.   Colorado State

24.   Butler

25.   Temple

It was Niels Giffey Appreciation Day in Storrs on Sunday. Giffey finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and a heaping of praise from Kevin Ollie after UConn's 73-62 win over Stony Brook.

“Niels Giffey was my MVP, and he’s been my MVP this whole year. Not just playing time, but doing all the things that epitomize UConn basketball – doing his thing academically, playing great basketball in practice. He got rewarded tonight.”


“He plays every possession," Ollie continued. "He goes through every drill. Every cut is hard. Every drill, there’s never any moaning, ‘Coach is practicing too long,’ never any of that stuff. It’s, ‘What do I need to do? Once I do it, what else you got for me, Coach? What assignments you got for me? Let me play the toughest offensive man.’ If it’s two minutes, if it’s 40 minutes, I get the same thing from him. I get the effort, the enthusiasm and the energy. That’s every day, whether we practice at 7 a.m. or after Thanksgiving, I get the same thing from him. That’s what I love about him … You get rewarded in life if you act like that.”

And here's what Giffey had to say for himself after his big day:



*** UConn missed 11 of its first 12 shots on Sunday. Then, midway through the latter half, it became the "Rainbow Coalition" at Gampel. UConn hit 8 of 9 3-pointers during one stretch starting midway through the second half to salt the game away. The Huskies hit 10 from Trey Land in the game, their most in a contest in almost exactly a year (Nov. 26, 2011 vs. Florida State in the Battle 4 Atlantis).

*** There was a also mutual admiration society between Kevin Ollie and Steve Pikiell on Sunday.

Pikiell on Ollie: “He’s first-class, he’s a UConn guy, he bleeds blue. He’s a good coach. Hopefully, he’ll have the opportunity to stay here and coach for a long time, continue the legacy here that’s been built. And he’s got a great staff – Karl Hobbs can coach anywhere, Glen Miller is one of my mentors, he can coach anywhere, I love Rickey Moore. You’ve got three point guards. Boy, if they don’t see what’s going on out on the floor, you’re really in trouble. Point guards see the game a little bit differently. Kevin’s a great person, first and foremost.”

Ollie on Pikiell: "I came in right when he left, I know how hard-nosed, I know how dedicated he is. Steve Pikiell is his own man. He’s a hell of a damn coach, and I respect those guys very much for giving us a hard game.”

As expected, UConn has hired Ricky Moore as assistant director of basketball administration. Here's the press release:

Ricky Moore, co-captain of the University of Connecticut’s first national championship men’s basketball team in 1999, has been named as the Assistant Director of Basketball Administration on head coach Kevin Ollie’s staff at UConn.



Moore, a 1999 UConn graduate with a degree in community program development, comes back to Storrs after serving as an assistant basketball coach at Dartmouth College for the past two seasons, following his retirement from an 11-year career in professional basketball.

At UConn, Moore will work directly with Kevin Freeman, the Director of Basketball Administration, in a non-coaching position.

“I’m thrilled to be able to have Ricky join our staff,” Ollie said. “With his high character and strong basketball background, especially with his ties to UConn, he will be a perfect addition to help us maintain the success we have achieved. Ricky’s unselfishness as a player epitomizes the kind of attitude we are looking for from our student-athletes and from everybody associated with our program. I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome him back to the Husky family.”

As an assistant at Dartmouth the past two years, Moore was involved in all phases of the men’s basketball program under coach Paul Cormier, including recruiting, admissions, compliance, academics, and travel arrangements, as well as game planning and coaching.

Previously, Moore played professionally for 11 years in five countries --- Austria, Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, and Germany --- as well as in the Continental Basketball Association and the NBA Developmental League.

Originally from Augusta, Ga., Moore came to UConn as a freshman in 1995-96 and enjoyed a tremendous amount of success. During his four seasons, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 114-24 and a BIG EAST mark of 55-17, winning three BIG EAST regular-season championships, three BIG EAST tournament championships, and reaching the 1996 NCAA Sweet 16, the 1998 NCAA Elite, and capturing the 1999 NCAA Championship.

Moore, a rare three-time co-captain, averaged 6.9 points and 3.8 assists in 134 games for UConn and his 510 assists still rank sixth on the all-time list. He scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and played his trademark suffocating defense in UConn’s 77-74 win over Duke in the 1999 NCAA Championship game. He was named to the Final Four and West Regional All-Tournament Teams and Basketball News Magazine selected him as the National Defensive Player of the Year. In 2001, he was named to UConn’s All-Century Team.

Born April 10, 1976, Moore and wife Heather are the parents of two children, daughter Kendyll, 6, and son R.J., 4.

As expected, UConn has restructured its coaching staff under new head coach Kevin Ollie. Glen Miller takes over as associate head coach, replacing George Blaney, who moves to full-time assistant. Karl Hobbs also gets bumped up to full-time assistant after spending last season as director of basketball administration. Kevin Freeman now takes over that role, after serving as assistant director of basketball administration last season.

UConn is expected to fill Freeman's former role, though nothing's official yet. Ricky Moore has stated recently that he will likely be hired for that role.

Here's the press release sent out by UConn:

The University of Connecticut men’s basketball coaching staff has been restructured under new head coach Kevin Ollie.

Glen Miller, starting the third season of his second stint on the UConn staff, will assume the duties of Associate Head Coach, while Karl Hobbs, last year’s Director of Basketball Administration, will join veteran George Blaney as fulltime assistant coaches. Kevin Freeman, who was added to the UConn staff last year as Assistant Director of Administration, will take over as Director of Basketball Administration.

“As I said when I accepted the job as head coach at Connecticut, I think I have the greatest coaching staff in the country,” Ollie said. “I feel extremely fortunate to have a staff with so much head coaching experience behind me. I know that we are going to work as hard as we can to continue the legacy of tremendous success that UConn enjoyed under Coach (Jim) Calhoun.”

The UConn coaching staff has a combined 57 years of collegiate head coaching experience with a combined total of 860 victories.

Miller returned to Calhoun’s UConn staff in 2010-11 as Director of Basketball Administration following 17 years of head coaching experience at Connecticut College, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania. Last year, he moved into the role of fulltime assistant coach and was an integral part of practice work, game strategy, and recruiting.

A native of Groton, Conn., Miller played for two seasons at UConn, then played two seasons for Calhoun at Northeastern. He joined Calhoun’s first staff at UConn in 1986 and worked with the Huskies for seven seasons before being named head coach at Connecticut College in 1993. In six seasons, Miller led Conn College to unprecedented success, including a 28-1 record and a berth in the Division III Final Four in 1998-99.

Miller moved on to Division I, taking over at Brown in 1999-2000, and setting school records for wins in a two-, three-, four-, and five-year span, as well as most Ivy League wins in a season. He recruited and developed 10 all-conference players and the League’s 2004 Player of the Year. Following seven years in Providence, Miller was hired as head coach of the prestigious program at Penn in 2006. He led the Quakers to the Ivy League Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2006-07, setting the school record for most Ivy League wins by a first-year coach. He spent three full years and part of a fourth as the Penn head coach. In 17 seasons as a head coach, Miller compiled 233 victories.

Born 8/20/1961, Miller and his wife Yvonne are the parents of four children: Tony, Genelle, Jillian (a UConn junior), and Emma.

Hobbs, who spent eight years as a UConn assistant from 1993-2001 and helped the Huskies win eight BIG EAST championships and the 1999 NCAA title, returned to Storrs last season and will again become a fulltime assistant on Ollie’s staff.

Hobbs had spent the previous 10 years as the head coach at George Washington University, leading the Colonials to two Atlantic 10 Tournament championships, a regular-season title, and five straight postseason appearances, including three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. He was the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2005-06, and notched 166 wins while at GWU.

Out of Roxbury, Mass., Hobbs was a four-year starting point guard for UConn (1980-84), where he served as team captain and was an All-BIG EAST selection as a senior. He led the team in assists all four years and still ranks fifth on the all-time list.

Hobbs began his coaching career as a six-year assistant at Boston University before joining Calhoun’s UConn staff. While Hobbs was at UConn, he was instrumental in the recruitment of such Husky stars as Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, and Emeka Okafor. The Huskies had a record of 216-56 while Hobbs was on the staff.

Born 8/7/1961, Hobbs and wife JoAnn are the parents of two daughters, RaShauna and Kaliah.

Blaney has spent the last 11 years as a member of Calhoun’s coaching staff, serving as associate head coach for the past five seasons and taking charge of the team on those occasions when Calhoun was incapacitated.

Since Blaney joined UConn, the Huskies have a 278-102 record, captured six BIG EAST championships, made 10 NCAA appearances, three trips to the Final Four, and won two national championships.

Blaney, a 2003 inductee into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, brought more than 30 years of coaching experience with him when he came to UConn, including two seasons at Stonehill, three years at Dartmouth, and 22 years at Holy Cross, his alma mater, where he won 357 games, posted seven 20-win seasons, and made eight postseason appearances. He also was head coach for three years at Seton Hall in the BIG EAST before leaving to become the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the International Basketball League. Blaney returned to college coaching in 2000-01 as an assistant coach at the University of Rhode Island before joining Calhoun at UConn the following year. In 30 years as a collegiate head coach, Blaney compiled an impressive 461-383 overall record.

A native of Jersey City, N.J., Blaney was an All-New England player at Holy Cross, where he scored 1,012 points. After he graduated in 1961, he was drafted in the fourth round of the NBA Draft by the N.Y. Knicks and played the 1961-62 season with the team.

Born 11/12/1939, Blaney and his wife Maryellen have two daughters and three sons, and five grandchildren.

Freeman, a former UConn captain and the program’s all-time leader in games played (140), came back to Storrs last year after playing 11 seasons of professional basketball in Italy, Australia, Greece, South Korea, China, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela. He served as assistant director of administration under Hobbs last year and will assume the director’s position this year.

Freeman, a native of Springfield, Mass., was an all-state performer at Paterson (N.J.) Catholic before his stellar career at UConn. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1999 BIG EAST Championship and selected to the 1999 NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team as an invaluable starter on UConn’s first National Championship team. During Freeman’s career, the Huskies compiled a 109-32 record, made three NCAA appearances, reaching the Elite Eight in 1998 and winning the crown in 1999.

He is No. 17 on UConn’s all-time scoring list with 1,476 points, No. 8 on the all-time rebounding list with 913, and earned his degree in 2006.

Born 3/3/1978, Freeman and his wife Nicole are the parents of a daughter, Kekoa, and a son, Sire.

UConn at least has a foot in the door in the recruitment of Jabari Parker, the most hyped high school basketball prospect since LeBron James.

Kevin Ollie will get an in-home visit with Parker sometime next week, according to ESPNChicago.com. Parker has also added UConn to his list of prospective landing spots.

Parker, a Class of 2013 forward, had previously listed his top 10 schools in July, and it included BYU (he is of the Mormon faith), DePaul, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina and Stanford.

His father, Sonny Parker, told ESPNChicago.com regarding the UConn upconming visit:


"It was Jabari's decision. He's picking all the schools for the home visits. He's talked to coach Calhoun previously before. That's one of the schools that showed some interest to him. He's had conversations with them previously. Of course, coach Kevin Ollie came in, and (Jabari) wanted them for a home visit."

Even if this is still a long shot, pretty impressive for Ollie to get a foot in the door.

*** Elswhere, as you've probably already heard, they're getting the band back together: UConn appears close to hiring Ricky Moore as an assistant coach.

Here's who's expected to play in Saturday night's Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game (in alphabetical order): Jeff Adrien, Ray Allen, Rashad Anderson, Hilton Armstrong, Craig Austrie, Taliek Brown, Scott Burrell (may not be able to play), Caron Butler, Dan Cyrulik, Lyman DePriest, Jerome Dyson, Khalid El-Amin, Kevin Freeman, Rudy Gay, Ben Gordon, John Gwynn, Richard Hamilton (maybe), Rudi Johnson, Kirk King, Travis Knight, Oliver Macklin, Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall, Ricky Moore, Ed Nelson, Emeka Okafor, Kevin Ollie, Stanley Robinson, Rod Sellers, Charlie Villanueva, Souleymane Wane, Murray Williams and Boo Willingham.

Not sure how the team's will be divided quite yet. Last time it was sort of a pre-1999, post-1999 battle, if I remember correctly.

Tickets are still available to the event at the Mohegan Sun Casino by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. You could probably walk up to the ticket window at Mohegan Sun and buy them then, too. Doors open for the public at 6:30 p.m.

Also, there will be a lengthy autograph session with the players and coaches directly after the game.

Most of the same players who attended the event two years ago are expected to play in the 2010 Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game on Saturday, Aug. 7, at Mohegan Sun.

That is to say Rip, Ray and Emeka, two Browns (Taliek and Denham), two Williams (Marcus and Murray), two Marshalls (Donyell and Donny), a Butler (Caron), a King (Kirk), a Knight (Travis) and appropriately, considering the venue, a Gamble (Phil) are expected to be in the house. New UConn assistant Kevin Ollie and Ricky Moore, who was recently named an assistant at Dartmouth, will also play.

And a few newcomers to the game are expected, as well: Jerome Dyson, Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie and Stanley Robinson.

About the only big-name player who participated two years ago who won't likely be there next week is Rudy Gay, who seems on the verge of earning a spot on the Team USA roster.

The game starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22 and $29 and are available by calling 800-745-3000, or visiting the Mohegan Sun box office.Ticket revenues go to the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at the UConn Health Center.

After the game there will be an autograph sesson on the floor of the arena.