Feel a little guilty about being a bit sarcastic the past couple of days regarding UConn's exhibition matchup with a team that went 4-21 in Division 3 last season.

Sure, it's the mother of all mismatches, but Monday's bout with Concordia of Chicago was for a good cause, as Cougars coach Tyler Jones, an East Hartford product who once coached Kevin Ollie with the Connecticut Pride of the CBA, was able to promote his cause of cancer awareness.

"It's an honor and pleasure to come back to Hartford," Jones said after his team was predictably trounced, 98-38. "My relationship with (Ollie) is why this all happened. I want to thank UConn for allowing it. The game is great, and the reason to play it is even greater. What a terrific forum to do it and allow me to come home."

As for the game itself, here's about all you need to know: walk-on Pat Lenahan (seven points) outscored Ryan Boatright (four).

In truth, there were some positive signs. Omar Calhoun knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds. A recent visit from his dad helped Calhoun's confidence in coming back from his two hip surgeries last spring.

Terrence Samuel had a double-double (10 points, 12 assists) and earned Ollie's praise.

“Terrence played incredible. He’s been doing that the whole preseason. He’s always playing hard. I can get on him, he just keeps playing. He’s revealing a side of himself each and every day ... A double-double really shows his vision, really shows his patience."

I keep being impressed with Lasan Kromah, too, who hit a trio of 3-pointers and finished with nine points.

“Help the team out in any way possible -- score the ball, rebound, defense. Anything the team needs," Kromah said of his role this season.

It's worth noting that UConn won the rebounding battle 49-26, though Concordia had just one player taller than 6-foot-4. Of course, the Huskies were outrebounded by Southern Connecticut last week, though Ollie said that was somewhat misleading.

“I apologized to my big guys. They boxed out. It was the guards, lack of guards boxing out, in that first game against Southern. Then we gave up a lot of points in transition.”

Now, the Huskies get ready for their season-opener Friday night in Brooklyn against a good Maryland team.

"I'm itchin'," said Ollie. "We're ready to go."

But before a nice reunion on Monday night with his old coach, who could have cut him back in '99 but didn't, helping to pave the way not only to a CBA title that year but for Ollie's ensuing 13-year NBA career.

“(Jones) always had my back, even my rookie year when we had Rumeal (Robinson) and Tate George, there were rumors of me getting cut," Ollie recalled. "He said he was going to stick by his first-round draft pick. He’s just a great man. I believe I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for him.”

The UConn men may get to know how the UConn women normally feel Monday night.

The Huskies are hosting Concordia University of Chicago at the XL Center at 7 p.m. The Cougars went 4-21 last season -- in Division 3. Yes, D-3. So basically, this is one of the worst college basketball teams in the country going up against one of the best. Should be kind of like when the UConn women face, say, Temple or Houston.

Anyway, there will be a familiar face on the sidelines Monday night: Concordia head coach Tyler Jones is an East Hartford native who once coached the Connecticut Pride of the Continental Basketball Assocation. One of his players on that team was UConn coach Kevin Ollie. The two helped the Pride win a CBA championship in 1999. Jones is also a prostate cancer survivor, and UConn’s coaching staff will be wearing tennis shoes to help promote the fight against cancer tonight.

It's likely that the relationship between Jones and Ollie is one of the reasons behind Monday's game, though it's worth noting that Concordia went to Queens last year to play St. John's in an exhibition (losing, 87-36. Hey, the Cougars are no San Francisco State).

If nothing else, Monday's game will give Ollie a chance to see more from some of his bench players. And it appears the Huskies could have quite a bench, indeed.

*** DeAndre Daniels has gone through quite a transformation since he first stepped onto UConn's campus, having already committed to the program sight unseen, back in June, 2011.

He was a shy, timid kid at the time, and despite great basketball pedigree, was equally timid on the court as a freshman en route to a disappointing (3.0 ppg) first season in Storrs.

But Daniels showed signs of stardom last year, culminated by a final four-game stretch that by now seems almost legendary in recent Husky history. He's not only matured as a player but as a man, as Ollie, his teammates and his former coach at IMG Academy have all pointed out.

It says here that Daniels is ready for a breakout junior season, one that could see him vault into the NBA draft lottery discussion. His strong performance against Southern Connecticut (yes, we know, a Division 2 program) may have been just the precursor for things to come.