Bob Huggins met with the media for a (very) brief conference call Friday afternoon. As animated as he can be on the sidelines, Huggins is far from that with the media. It truly seems like a chore for him, which is fine. Some coaches just don't like to banter with reporters. Others (like Jim Calhoun) seem to enjoy it.
Anyway, here's a transcript from the call, which lasted a little over five minutes.
(On UConn)
They’ve got a great combination of perimeter guys and post guys. And a bunch of both.
(On A.J. Price)
I think that A.J. Price is really good. Just watching tape, he’s taken over their team, he’s made huge shots for them, controls their team. They’ve got such a good balance. You can’t just try to stop their inside guys because their perimeter guys are so good. And you can’t say, ‘We’re going in there and really try to push up and guard their perimeter guys,’ because their inside guys are so good. I think they’ve got a heck of a team. I think A.J. is certainly the leader of the team.
(On being in the position as many other teams around the country: playing for a spot in the NCAA tournament)
It’s the same all the time. Whether you’re playing for a seed and whether you’re playing to get in, you gotta win games.
(On Hasheem Thabeet's impact)
I think he’s a huge factor. He guards the rim so well. I think he’s blocking more than all but a couple of the teams in the Big East, their whole teams combined. He fortifies their inside for them. It makes it awful tough to get easy baskets.
(On playing more consistent of late)
We’ve scored some points, we’re shooting the ball a little bit. We went to a streak where we just couldn’t hit shots … and that’s really difficult when you don’t have a post presence. We’ve just made some shots.
Same shots. They’re just going in.
(On building résumé for NCAA tournament)
We’ve talked to them (the players) a little bit about it. I think it’s important they understand where they are. But you can talk about résumés all you want, if you don’t win games, it doesn’t matter.
Some quick notes on West Virginia: The Mountaineers (20-8, 9-6) are currently sixth in the Big East, and are in search of another quality win to bolster their record for Selection Sunday. They lack size outside of 7-foot Jamie Smalligan (who has a very ironic name), but at 2.6 points per game, he's hardly a post-presence. West Virginia, however, is second in the league in 3-point field goals, and plays an aggressive style of defense while taking care of the ball itself. The Mountaineers lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46), turnover margin (plus-5.75) and turnovers forced (462).
Joe Alexander leads the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) and is second in rebounding (5.8 per game). Like UConn, West Virginia is also exceeding preseason expectations. It was picked to finish 10th in the league and is squarely on the bubble for the NCAA tournament.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
RAC-ketball
For the first time in more than a month, UConn didn't have to sweat out a win as it cruised by Big East doormat Rutgers, 79-61, at the less-than-intimidating RAC. The Huskies (22-16, 11-4) remained in fourth place in the league standings, now just a half-game up on surging Marquette, and have recorded wins in 11 of their last 12 games.
But you knew that already. Here's a breakdown of several things to come out of the blow-out and what to look forward to now that UConn has just three games to play before the Big East tournament (March 12-15).
(1) Jeff Adrien played perhaps his best of the year. His 27 points and 11 rebounds (10 in the second half) looked even better because they came a steady pace throughout his 39 minutes. Adrien's made a habit of starting slow recently (for example, he had a foul in the opening seconds of the Villanova loss on Saturday), and then turning it on late. He always get his numbers, and now has 11 or more points in 20 straight games. But even through all the double-doubles, you wouldn't necessarily say Adrien always played great.
Tuesday, he was great. He abused Rutgers J.R. Inman at times, working around him with a hard elbow on several occasions or lofting a hook with his right or left hand. As detailed in today's game story, Jim Calhoun had asked his junior for a full 40 minutes. He delivered.
"It’s the first time I’ve done that to him," Calhoun said of asking for a full game out of Adrien, though he's done it before (40 minutes against Syracuse). "He always does play great defense coming down the stretch. (But) he played the entire game. We always try to get him the ball early. Today he scored early, which is a great thing psychologically, like for any kid."
Adrien isn't always the most colorful of guys when speaking to the media, though he's well-spoken and is receptive. But after games in which he truly plays well -- and knows it -- he can produce some gems.
"I’ve got many moves," he said. "I have so many moves that I forget what I’m doing."
He also spoke of his improved free-throw shooting (7-of-8 against Rutgers), which stemmed largely from moving farther down the left side of the foul line: "I know if you guys (the reporters) are keeping track, but one time when I was on a good roll where I was more to the left. It started with the Georgetown game. But I was talking to Donny Marshall and he said, ‘No, I told you go back to the right.’ Now, I went back to the left. So I was really comfortable with that."
(2) Jerome Dyson was the focus of today's notebook but there was more behind the sophomore's return from a 30-day (nine-game) suspension. He saw 15 minutes, scoring three points (all in the first half) on 1-of-3 shooting to go along with five assists. He said he could have played more if needed.
"Sometimes I (wasn’t) really in sync with my teammates but energy-wise, I just felt like I was there," Dyson said. "I really wasn’t tired that much."
Dyson said he shot every day during his suspension and as many as 500 times each session, so his shot wasn't a concern. Finding his place in the offense may be.
"We’re playing a lot better," Dyson said. "We’re taking a lot better shots (since I last played). I got the charge (called) on me and he (Calhoun) told me to play better basketball, not to force anything and let the game come to us. That’s what they’ve been doing these past 10 games.
"I think I will (adjust)," he lated added. "I’m going to have to make changes to get back in the rhythm of things. The basketball I was playing was good, but they’ve been winning games so I can’t go in there and disrupt anything."
(3) Any ideas of moving Dyson back into the starting lineup in favor of Craig Austrie have been muted for the moment. The junior scored a career-high 18 points, hitting several clutch 3s in the second half to quell Scarlet Knight comeback attempts. He finished 4-for-4 from behind the arc, but said knowing Dyson was back playing little into this performance
"I knew Jerome was back and I knew he was just going to come and really feel his way into the system," he said. "I just wanted to come play my normal game.
"I was open," he later added in explaining his shooting. "At shootaround, I figured out I really liked the gym, I liked the hoops. I knew I was going to have a good shooting game"
Calhoun was more excited in talking of Austrie.
"His worries about minutes now with Jerome back, (he) said, ‘No, I have a stake in it.’ And I love kids that do that," Calhoun said. "Once again, he just played how he plays. I’ve got to play the best players possible and that’s exactly what we’re going to do."
Austrie ended up playing 31 minutes, more than double that of Dyson. Obviously as Dyson gets his feel for the game back, there most likely will be times he plays a larger role than Austrie, and it will be an interesting development of who will play alongside A.J. Price more. Whoever is starting may become irrelevant. But as it's been written about before, Austrie is a different player this year: he's more confident, more clutch, better defensively and developed into the Huskies' most consistent threat from long range with Dyson out. (And Dyson was far from automatic even when he was playing.)
Unfortunately, as much as Calhoun is pleased with Austrie, the rest of the season may be about him playing well enough to keep his minutes. Dyson is inherently more talented, and Calhoun likes him too much not to give him a chance to earn back starter-like minutes. I can't imagine it becomes an Austrie vs. Dyson-type thing within the team; the chemistry among all the Huskies seems too good. But not every guard can play 30-plus. And if Stanley Robinson can continue to put it together like he has been, that gives players like Dyson, Austrie and Doug Wiggins less of a chance to see time at the 3, though each game there will definitely be some.
(4) It's hard to figure out Robinson; Calhoun, for one, has almost thrown up his hands in the past when asked why the sophomore has struggled at times. But Sticks said the key may be to just play -- and listen to Calhoun.
"Stay in the offense a little bit and pretty much give him what he wants," Robinson said. "I can’t say nothing more about than that."
Other keys for Robinson, some of which have been repeated before: (1) His jump shot is key for him and was particularly good at the RAC (8-for-13). As athletic as Sticks is, he rarely gets points by driving the ball to the hoop and finishing on his own. Most of his dunks and lay-ups come off alley-oops or fast-breaks. The rest of his offense comes from the outside, which can be hit or miss at times. But he's improved his shooting since last year and over the course of this season, and as long as he shoots when it works within the Huskies' offensive game plan, then there's a good chance he gets enough minutes to get in a rhythm.
Several times this season -- the Villanova game being the latest example -- Robinson will open a half or come out of a timeout shooting a long 3 when Calhoun has harped on working the ball inside. That leads to this exchange: (Buzzer), Wiggins comes on the court, Robinson comes off and Calhoun shoots him a look that screams, 'What did I just say?' Sometimes Calhoun just screams himself.
It's often hard to figure out exactly what's running through Robinson's minds, which in turn makes it tough to explain his dips in production. But like any player, the more he touches the ball, the more he shoots it and the more time he spends on the court, the more capable he is of making an impact. Some players can just turn it on automatically at the start of a game. With Sticks, he usually needs a spark in one form or another.
(5) Jonathan Mandeldove's five minutes weren't many, but they were productive. He blocked four shots, including two on one play, and helped quickly reestablish UConn inside during a first half in which Rutgers found little trouble driving through the middle of the lane.
"Jonathan Mandeldove gave us some nice minutes," Calhoun said, "and gave me some promises that in certain games, without question, I’ve got to get him more minutes to give Hasheem more time on the bench."
(6) The RAC, for all the hype it gets as a tough place to play, was an absolute library at times Tuesday -- and this was in the first half when the game was close. With fewer than 6,000 fans, there really was no atmosphere, enough so that Calhoun took notice.
"This is the smallest crowd that I’ve ever coached against down here," he said. "It was really kind of sad for me in some ways with a young team. I can understand an old team not playing well, but those kids played well and gave us everything they had. So it was a shame in some degree in my opinion.
"It’s not my problem, but it is my problem because I love basketball," he continued. "Tonight they weren’t tough to play here."
He later added: "Even though Hasheem (Thabeet) didn’t play well today, they could have come to see a guy who five years from now is going to be one of the great shot-blockers in the NBA."
(7) Thabeet (0-for-7 from the floor, two points) continues to be as hard to figure out as Robinson. His problems, most noticeably on the offensive end, are he puts the ball on the floor too often, keeps the ball too low at times and hasn't really got a handle on catching and finishing all in one motion in the air (i.e. on alley-oops, putbacks). The general thinking is this sometimes translates to the other end, until he blocks a shot and that gets him going. Tuesday saw some of that, as he quickly racked up five blocks in the second half after one one in the first.
Thabeet also looked less aggressive at times offensively, possibly because he was facing another athletic shot-blocker in Senegal native Hamady Ndiaye. Calhoun has mentioned before he rarely has to face centers his size or with a similar skill set, and in games in which he has (Georgetown and Roy Hibbert being the other example), he's struggled offensively. I still think there's a better chance Thabeet shoots for the NBA rather than stay, but there continues to be large gaps for growth.
(8) Price deferred more often Tuesday, no doubt because Adrien was playing so well and he suddenly had several options to look for in Dyson, Austrie, Robinson and during small spurts, Wiggins (10 minutes). Price's best games before Dyson was suspended came when the offense was stalling and literally everyone was struggling to score. So, with the ball in his hands on every play, he took it upon himself to take the shots. With Dyson out, he proved he could be a scorer every game, drawing an increasing amount of attention from other teams. I still say he has at least a pair of 20-point games before this season is over, but don't expect him to carry the offense like he did the last few weeks. He simply doesn't need to.
As for his Big East Player of the Year candidacy, he's certainly still in it even after three straight somewhat sub-par offensive showings. His scoring may be down, but his value to the Huskies hasn't changed. I know it's not a race for "Most Valuable Player" (there is a difference between that and simply Player of the Year, basically in the importance of stats), but it still plays a role.
Nothing exciting to report from the trip through New Jersey. (Surprising, I know.) But I will be participating in a taste-testing up at the Sam Adams brewery in Boston tomorrow night. If you've ever been to the Sam brewery before, I applaud you for just getting there. It's really a tough place to find, and from what I remember the last time I was there (which wasn't much; it IS a brewery, mind you), it's tucked deep into the Jamaica Plain borough of the city and pretty hidden from the street. Also, I have been to several beer fests up in Boston (at the Harpoon brewery, in the South End for the Extreme Beer Fest and American Beer Fest) and really is there anything better? I'm not condoning excessive drinking, but some of my bests nights in Boston start at a beer fest, continue on Boylston Street or somewhere downtown and end at some type of eatery (usually the IHOP on Soldier's Field Road). It's a solid game plan if you ask me.
But you knew that already. Here's a breakdown of several things to come out of the blow-out and what to look forward to now that UConn has just three games to play before the Big East tournament (March 12-15).
(1) Jeff Adrien played perhaps his best of the year. His 27 points and 11 rebounds (10 in the second half) looked even better because they came a steady pace throughout his 39 minutes. Adrien's made a habit of starting slow recently (for example, he had a foul in the opening seconds of the Villanova loss on Saturday), and then turning it on late. He always get his numbers, and now has 11 or more points in 20 straight games. But even through all the double-doubles, you wouldn't necessarily say Adrien always played great.
Tuesday, he was great. He abused Rutgers J.R. Inman at times, working around him with a hard elbow on several occasions or lofting a hook with his right or left hand. As detailed in today's game story, Jim Calhoun had asked his junior for a full 40 minutes. He delivered.
"It’s the first time I’ve done that to him," Calhoun said of asking for a full game out of Adrien, though he's done it before (40 minutes against Syracuse). "He always does play great defense coming down the stretch. (But) he played the entire game. We always try to get him the ball early. Today he scored early, which is a great thing psychologically, like for any kid."
Adrien isn't always the most colorful of guys when speaking to the media, though he's well-spoken and is receptive. But after games in which he truly plays well -- and knows it -- he can produce some gems.
"I’ve got many moves," he said. "I have so many moves that I forget what I’m doing."
He also spoke of his improved free-throw shooting (7-of-8 against Rutgers), which stemmed largely from moving farther down the left side of the foul line: "I know if you guys (the reporters) are keeping track, but one time when I was on a good roll where I was more to the left. It started with the Georgetown game. But I was talking to Donny Marshall and he said, ‘No, I told you go back to the right.’ Now, I went back to the left. So I was really comfortable with that."
(2) Jerome Dyson was the focus of today's notebook but there was more behind the sophomore's return from a 30-day (nine-game) suspension. He saw 15 minutes, scoring three points (all in the first half) on 1-of-3 shooting to go along with five assists. He said he could have played more if needed.
"Sometimes I (wasn’t) really in sync with my teammates but energy-wise, I just felt like I was there," Dyson said. "I really wasn’t tired that much."
Dyson said he shot every day during his suspension and as many as 500 times each session, so his shot wasn't a concern. Finding his place in the offense may be.
"We’re playing a lot better," Dyson said. "We’re taking a lot better shots (since I last played). I got the charge (called) on me and he (Calhoun) told me to play better basketball, not to force anything and let the game come to us. That’s what they’ve been doing these past 10 games.
"I think I will (adjust)," he lated added. "I’m going to have to make changes to get back in the rhythm of things. The basketball I was playing was good, but they’ve been winning games so I can’t go in there and disrupt anything."
(3) Any ideas of moving Dyson back into the starting lineup in favor of Craig Austrie have been muted for the moment. The junior scored a career-high 18 points, hitting several clutch 3s in the second half to quell Scarlet Knight comeback attempts. He finished 4-for-4 from behind the arc, but said knowing Dyson was back playing little into this performance
"I knew Jerome was back and I knew he was just going to come and really feel his way into the system," he said. "I just wanted to come play my normal game.
"I was open," he later added in explaining his shooting. "At shootaround, I figured out I really liked the gym, I liked the hoops. I knew I was going to have a good shooting game"
Calhoun was more excited in talking of Austrie.
"His worries about minutes now with Jerome back, (he) said, ‘No, I have a stake in it.’ And I love kids that do that," Calhoun said. "Once again, he just played how he plays. I’ve got to play the best players possible and that’s exactly what we’re going to do."
Austrie ended up playing 31 minutes, more than double that of Dyson. Obviously as Dyson gets his feel for the game back, there most likely will be times he plays a larger role than Austrie, and it will be an interesting development of who will play alongside A.J. Price more. Whoever is starting may become irrelevant. But as it's been written about before, Austrie is a different player this year: he's more confident, more clutch, better defensively and developed into the Huskies' most consistent threat from long range with Dyson out. (And Dyson was far from automatic even when he was playing.)
Unfortunately, as much as Calhoun is pleased with Austrie, the rest of the season may be about him playing well enough to keep his minutes. Dyson is inherently more talented, and Calhoun likes him too much not to give him a chance to earn back starter-like minutes. I can't imagine it becomes an Austrie vs. Dyson-type thing within the team; the chemistry among all the Huskies seems too good. But not every guard can play 30-plus. And if Stanley Robinson can continue to put it together like he has been, that gives players like Dyson, Austrie and Doug Wiggins less of a chance to see time at the 3, though each game there will definitely be some.
(4) It's hard to figure out Robinson; Calhoun, for one, has almost thrown up his hands in the past when asked why the sophomore has struggled at times. But Sticks said the key may be to just play -- and listen to Calhoun.
"Stay in the offense a little bit and pretty much give him what he wants," Robinson said. "I can’t say nothing more about than that."
Other keys for Robinson, some of which have been repeated before: (1) His jump shot is key for him and was particularly good at the RAC (8-for-13). As athletic as Sticks is, he rarely gets points by driving the ball to the hoop and finishing on his own. Most of his dunks and lay-ups come off alley-oops or fast-breaks. The rest of his offense comes from the outside, which can be hit or miss at times. But he's improved his shooting since last year and over the course of this season, and as long as he shoots when it works within the Huskies' offensive game plan, then there's a good chance he gets enough minutes to get in a rhythm.
Several times this season -- the Villanova game being the latest example -- Robinson will open a half or come out of a timeout shooting a long 3 when Calhoun has harped on working the ball inside. That leads to this exchange: (Buzzer), Wiggins comes on the court, Robinson comes off and Calhoun shoots him a look that screams, 'What did I just say?' Sometimes Calhoun just screams himself.
It's often hard to figure out exactly what's running through Robinson's minds, which in turn makes it tough to explain his dips in production. But like any player, the more he touches the ball, the more he shoots it and the more time he spends on the court, the more capable he is of making an impact. Some players can just turn it on automatically at the start of a game. With Sticks, he usually needs a spark in one form or another.
(5) Jonathan Mandeldove's five minutes weren't many, but they were productive. He blocked four shots, including two on one play, and helped quickly reestablish UConn inside during a first half in which Rutgers found little trouble driving through the middle of the lane.
"Jonathan Mandeldove gave us some nice minutes," Calhoun said, "and gave me some promises that in certain games, without question, I’ve got to get him more minutes to give Hasheem more time on the bench."
(6) The RAC, for all the hype it gets as a tough place to play, was an absolute library at times Tuesday -- and this was in the first half when the game was close. With fewer than 6,000 fans, there really was no atmosphere, enough so that Calhoun took notice.
"This is the smallest crowd that I’ve ever coached against down here," he said. "It was really kind of sad for me in some ways with a young team. I can understand an old team not playing well, but those kids played well and gave us everything they had. So it was a shame in some degree in my opinion.
"It’s not my problem, but it is my problem because I love basketball," he continued. "Tonight they weren’t tough to play here."
He later added: "Even though Hasheem (Thabeet) didn’t play well today, they could have come to see a guy who five years from now is going to be one of the great shot-blockers in the NBA."
(7) Thabeet (0-for-7 from the floor, two points) continues to be as hard to figure out as Robinson. His problems, most noticeably on the offensive end, are he puts the ball on the floor too often, keeps the ball too low at times and hasn't really got a handle on catching and finishing all in one motion in the air (i.e. on alley-oops, putbacks). The general thinking is this sometimes translates to the other end, until he blocks a shot and that gets him going. Tuesday saw some of that, as he quickly racked up five blocks in the second half after one one in the first.
Thabeet also looked less aggressive at times offensively, possibly because he was facing another athletic shot-blocker in Senegal native Hamady Ndiaye. Calhoun has mentioned before he rarely has to face centers his size or with a similar skill set, and in games in which he has (Georgetown and Roy Hibbert being the other example), he's struggled offensively. I still think there's a better chance Thabeet shoots for the NBA rather than stay, but there continues to be large gaps for growth.
(8) Price deferred more often Tuesday, no doubt because Adrien was playing so well and he suddenly had several options to look for in Dyson, Austrie, Robinson and during small spurts, Wiggins (10 minutes). Price's best games before Dyson was suspended came when the offense was stalling and literally everyone was struggling to score. So, with the ball in his hands on every play, he took it upon himself to take the shots. With Dyson out, he proved he could be a scorer every game, drawing an increasing amount of attention from other teams. I still say he has at least a pair of 20-point games before this season is over, but don't expect him to carry the offense like he did the last few weeks. He simply doesn't need to.
As for his Big East Player of the Year candidacy, he's certainly still in it even after three straight somewhat sub-par offensive showings. His scoring may be down, but his value to the Huskies hasn't changed. I know it's not a race for "Most Valuable Player" (there is a difference between that and simply Player of the Year, basically in the importance of stats), but it still plays a role.
Nothing exciting to report from the trip through New Jersey. (Surprising, I know.) But I will be participating in a taste-testing up at the Sam Adams brewery in Boston tomorrow night. If you've ever been to the Sam brewery before, I applaud you for just getting there. It's really a tough place to find, and from what I remember the last time I was there (which wasn't much; it IS a brewery, mind you), it's tucked deep into the Jamaica Plain borough of the city and pretty hidden from the street. Also, I have been to several beer fests up in Boston (at the Harpoon brewery, in the South End for the Extreme Beer Fest and American Beer Fest) and really is there anything better? I'm not condoning excessive drinking, but some of my bests nights in Boston start at a beer fest, continue on Boylston Street or somewhere downtown and end at some type of eatery (usually the IHOP on Soldier's Field Road). It's a solid game plan if you ask me.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
UPDATE: Huskies pull away from Rutgers
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Jeff Adrien scored a career-high 27 points and the UConn men's basketball team downed Rutgers, 79-61, to successfully bounce back for its 11th win in 12 games.
UPDATE: Huskies lead Scarlet Knights at half
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Behind Jeff Adrien's 16 points, UConn leads Rutgers, 43-37, at the half here at the RAC. Sophomore guard Jerome Dyson, suspended the past nine games, was the Huskies' second reserve off the bench and has three points.
UConn led by as many as 12 points, its largest lead since its 8o-68 win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 9, when it also led by 12. The 43 points are also its most at the intermission since scoring 45 in the first half against St. John's on Jan. 8.
UConn led by as many as 12 points, its largest lead since its 8o-68 win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 9, when it also led by 12. The 43 points are also its most at the intermission since scoring 45 in the first half against St. John's on Jan. 8.
Some forgotten notes
I meant to post this up earlier (as in Sunday or Monday) but let it slip to now.
For those who read the story on St. Thomas More star and Indiana recruit Devin Ebanks in Sunday's edition, here are a few things that didn't get into the story.
(1) When asked if any of the recruiting violations (namely extra phone calls) that Indiana committed, Ebanks said, "I wasn’t involved in any of the calls at all." It may be hard for Ebanks to know for sure, though; recruits aren't exactly privy to the exact amount of calls a program can make. Also, according to a New York post article from Feb. 17, "the report also alleges that (now former Indiana coach Kelvin) Sampson lied when he told investigators that he hadn't known he was taking part in three-way phone calls. One of those calls was to Ebanks' mother, Yvonne Jackson." Later in the article, Ebanks is quoted as saying he "wasn't a part" of that.
(2) A different part of the article also quotes Ebanks saying he thinks Sampson did lie about his involvement in certain phone calls.
"I basically think he lied about (knowing about things)," Ebanks said, according to the article. "That's wrong, especially being at a big school like Indiana."
When asked about it by phone last Friday, Ebanks, however, said he was misquoted.
"I said, I thought if he did lie, that that’s wrong," Ebanks said. "I don’t think he lied at all. If the proof comes out that he did lie, then I think it’s wrong."
(3) Ebanks and Jackson both said they're still waiting to make the decision whether to ask to opt out or not and they'll give Indiana the opportunity to hire a new coach before doing so, if Ebanks is allowed to. The main reason, of course, would because Sampson is gone, and Ebanks said the coach was a "huge" part in choosing to attend IU.
"I liked him more off the court. He was real down to Earth, he knows how to relate to kids at the school. I see his relationship with his players and the relationship we had when I made my official visit, we just bonded together."
Also, I wrote a freelance story on UConn walk-on Kyle Bailey that ran in the Sunday edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader. Here's the link if you're interested.
For those who read the story on St. Thomas More star and Indiana recruit Devin Ebanks in Sunday's edition, here are a few things that didn't get into the story.
(1) When asked if any of the recruiting violations (namely extra phone calls) that Indiana committed, Ebanks said, "I wasn’t involved in any of the calls at all." It may be hard for Ebanks to know for sure, though; recruits aren't exactly privy to the exact amount of calls a program can make. Also, according to a New York post article from Feb. 17, "the report also alleges that (now former Indiana coach Kelvin) Sampson lied when he told investigators that he hadn't known he was taking part in three-way phone calls. One of those calls was to Ebanks' mother, Yvonne Jackson." Later in the article, Ebanks is quoted as saying he "wasn't a part" of that.
(2) A different part of the article also quotes Ebanks saying he thinks Sampson did lie about his involvement in certain phone calls.
"I basically think he lied about (knowing about things)," Ebanks said, according to the article. "That's wrong, especially being at a big school like Indiana."
When asked about it by phone last Friday, Ebanks, however, said he was misquoted.
"I said, I thought if he did lie, that that’s wrong," Ebanks said. "I don’t think he lied at all. If the proof comes out that he did lie, then I think it’s wrong."
(3) Ebanks and Jackson both said they're still waiting to make the decision whether to ask to opt out or not and they'll give Indiana the opportunity to hire a new coach before doing so, if Ebanks is allowed to. The main reason, of course, would because Sampson is gone, and Ebanks said the coach was a "huge" part in choosing to attend IU.
"I liked him more off the court. He was real down to Earth, he knows how to relate to kids at the school. I see his relationship with his players and the relationship we had when I made my official visit, we just bonded together."
Also, I wrote a freelance story on UConn walk-on Kyle Bailey that ran in the Sunday edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader. Here's the link if you're interested.
Knight time
Greetings from the Louis Brown Athletic Center, or as it's better known as, the RAC. I've been here since about 4:30 p.m. -- a little early for a 7:30 start -- but got to take in the arena a little bit before virtually anyone was here. I've heard people describe this place as one of the toughest places to play in the Big East -- considering Rutgers' struggles (1-6 at home in Big East play), it seems a little overblown -- but I can definitely see how it can be a hostile environment. It seems a little darker than most arenas (that could just be the pre-game lighting, though, and the fact that the empty seats have black bottoms), but the stands are pretty much on top of the court in an otherwise tight building. This will be my first game at the RAC, but it seems like it's built to get loud. I guess we'll see.
As for the game itself, this obviously should be a game the Huskies take. What's important, though, is they take it handily, one to give themselves a break and two, to prove they can do that. One of my co-workers and I were just shooting back and forth about UConn and, as an impartial observer, he said he's not sold on the Huskies because he hasn't seen them dominate. It's a pretty valid point. You get in so many close games, you're bound to lose some of them. Saturday in Philly was a prime example.
"Every other game seems to have a pattern to it," Jim Calhoun said. "Whether we get ahead a little bit and hang on or we get behind and come back and win. The Villanova game wasn't much different than the games we have played, except that we didn't end up winning the game."
Some other notes: (1) A.J. Price said the mood around the team is still good despite the loss to Villanova. Having Jerome Dyson back surely helps.
"We're still upbeat. We're still very upbeat," Price said. "We understand we lost a tough game to a pretty good team who just started playing their best basketball of the year at the right time. We lost a tough one and we understand that we did a lot of things in that game that helped us lose the game actually. We understand that we have to bounce back, it's still a long season and we gotte be ready (today)."
Price was asked several questions about Dyson. Here's what he had to say:
(On Dyson's reception)
AP: "Everybody was happy to have him back and happy to be at full strength again. Even though we lost Curt (Curtis Kelly is out two to three weeks with a dislocated elbow), we got Dyson back. So we feel like we're coming around at the right time, getting a good piece back to this team and hopefully we can get another streak again."
(On working Dyson back in even though the team has found its roles and built chemistry)
AP: "I don't think we'll run into that problem. I hope we don't. We can only tell by (today), it's the first game. So we'll see how everything goes from there. But I think he understands what's at stake and what we've been doing during this streak and he knows what he has to do in order to fit in."
(Did Dyson say anything to you about the team's play of late)
AP: "He really hasn't said much. He hasn't said much to me about it. I don't know if he's talked to any other players about it. But I know he's been watching so he understands what we've been doing and what we're capable of doing with him in the lineup."
(Do you feel like you were forcing shots last game and with that in mind, does it make it better for you to have Dyson back?)
AP: "Last game was not a typical game for me. It's not a game that I want to be accustomed to, shooting 22 times. That's not really my game, it's not what I do. I think it will definitely benefit the team to have somebody like Jerome back, where guys are getting over-played and things like that and shots are hard to come by. We have a guy like Dyson, who can create his own shot, so that will definitely help us."
Similar to when Doug Wiggins returned from suspension, Dyson won't be made available to the media until he plays in a game. It would be a humongous surprise if that wasn't tonight.
In the same vein, last week's blog poll question asked: "When Jerome Dyson is allowed to return, in which role should the Huskies use him?"
Of the 21 who responded (thank you), 10 said he should be the top reserve, six said he should be the second, four said he shouldn't be allowed to return and one said he should be inserted back into the starting lineup.
Considering how well Craig Austrie and Price have played together, it wouldn't make sense to take Austrie out of the starting five. Besides the numbers (8-1 when he's a starter), he's built his confidence, and that sort of move would certainly hurt. He's done things to deserve to stay in there, not just to be a replacement until Dyson returned.
If UConn struggles the next few games, though, perhaps losing either tonight or Saturday or anytime before the Big East tournament, then I wouldn't be surprised if Calhoun made the switch. Of course, it also depends on how Dyson plays. Bringing him as either the first or second reserve (Wiggins most likely will be the sixth man again tonight, no matter what) makes sense. Another question is how will Dyson respond to that -- in 49 career games, he's started 48. He certainly isn't used to the reserve role.
As for those who thought he should never return, I don't agree with that. He made a mistake, served his suspension and deserves a chance to come back. It's really that simple.
It will be interesting to see how Dyson impacts this team. He's definitely the Huskies' best pure scorer, one of their better perimeter defenders (though Austrie has definitely proven himseld in that area) and gives the team another quick, athletic option. He didn't lead this team in scoring for a season and a half for no reason. Ideally, he'll either become a huge weapon off the bench in terms of both scoring and energy or work his way back into a starter and play as the impact player he was before. It's unlikely that will happen overnight. Remember, it took Wiggins essentially two games to get back into the right mindset and game shape and he only missed two contests; Dyson has missed nine.
Several Huskies have played well in his absence, essentially because they used the extra minutes to their advantage, played through mistakes and gained more confidence as a result. So where do the minutes come from now? It almost certainly means Austrie will play fewer than the 30.6 he's averaged over the last 10 games, and Wiggins (20.6 minutes per game over the last 10) may see a slight dip, though I don't think it will be much. But if Stanley Robinson continues to play inconsistently, I think he may see less time. With West Virgina, Providence and Cincinnati all left in the regular season, UConn sees three guard-heavy teams that don't have a ton of size. If the Huskies need to go to a three-guard set more, they now have the personnel to. Plus with Kelly sidelined, Gavin Edwards is the only conceivable forward who could back him up, but he essentially only played the 3 position at Syracuse when UConn played more zone. Now that they're quicker up front, I think we're going to see more of the man-to-man looks that Calhoun prefers.
It's about two hours to game time now. Check back in around 8:30 for a halftime update and following the game for reaction and stats. A true follow-up probably won't come until sometime tomorrow considering the drive ahead following the game. I like to ask for suggestions for places to check out in the area, but there's really no time. Plus, in an attempt to kill time prior to getting to the RAC, I drove around the "Livingston" campus here at Rutgers for 30 minutes looking for a place to grab a quick bite -- a Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Subway, just anything -- and there really was nothing. Not even any local places that looked good. Maybe I'm the wrong part of campus or maybe I was just looking in the wrong places. All I know is I'm starving and I'm glad I didn't go to Rutgers.
As for the game itself, this obviously should be a game the Huskies take. What's important, though, is they take it handily, one to give themselves a break and two, to prove they can do that. One of my co-workers and I were just shooting back and forth about UConn and, as an impartial observer, he said he's not sold on the Huskies because he hasn't seen them dominate. It's a pretty valid point. You get in so many close games, you're bound to lose some of them. Saturday in Philly was a prime example.
"Every other game seems to have a pattern to it," Jim Calhoun said. "Whether we get ahead a little bit and hang on or we get behind and come back and win. The Villanova game wasn't much different than the games we have played, except that we didn't end up winning the game."
Some other notes: (1) A.J. Price said the mood around the team is still good despite the loss to Villanova. Having Jerome Dyson back surely helps.
"We're still upbeat. We're still very upbeat," Price said. "We understand we lost a tough game to a pretty good team who just started playing their best basketball of the year at the right time. We lost a tough one and we understand that we did a lot of things in that game that helped us lose the game actually. We understand that we have to bounce back, it's still a long season and we gotte be ready (today)."
Price was asked several questions about Dyson. Here's what he had to say:
(On Dyson's reception)
AP: "Everybody was happy to have him back and happy to be at full strength again. Even though we lost Curt (Curtis Kelly is out two to three weeks with a dislocated elbow), we got Dyson back. So we feel like we're coming around at the right time, getting a good piece back to this team and hopefully we can get another streak again."
(On working Dyson back in even though the team has found its roles and built chemistry)
AP: "I don't think we'll run into that problem. I hope we don't. We can only tell by (today), it's the first game. So we'll see how everything goes from there. But I think he understands what's at stake and what we've been doing during this streak and he knows what he has to do in order to fit in."
(Did Dyson say anything to you about the team's play of late)
AP: "He really hasn't said much. He hasn't said much to me about it. I don't know if he's talked to any other players about it. But I know he's been watching so he understands what we've been doing and what we're capable of doing with him in the lineup."
(Do you feel like you were forcing shots last game and with that in mind, does it make it better for you to have Dyson back?)
AP: "Last game was not a typical game for me. It's not a game that I want to be accustomed to, shooting 22 times. That's not really my game, it's not what I do. I think it will definitely benefit the team to have somebody like Jerome back, where guys are getting over-played and things like that and shots are hard to come by. We have a guy like Dyson, who can create his own shot, so that will definitely help us."
Similar to when Doug Wiggins returned from suspension, Dyson won't be made available to the media until he plays in a game. It would be a humongous surprise if that wasn't tonight.
In the same vein, last week's blog poll question asked: "When Jerome Dyson is allowed to return, in which role should the Huskies use him?"
Of the 21 who responded (thank you), 10 said he should be the top reserve, six said he should be the second, four said he shouldn't be allowed to return and one said he should be inserted back into the starting lineup.
Considering how well Craig Austrie and Price have played together, it wouldn't make sense to take Austrie out of the starting five. Besides the numbers (8-1 when he's a starter), he's built his confidence, and that sort of move would certainly hurt. He's done things to deserve to stay in there, not just to be a replacement until Dyson returned.
If UConn struggles the next few games, though, perhaps losing either tonight or Saturday or anytime before the Big East tournament, then I wouldn't be surprised if Calhoun made the switch. Of course, it also depends on how Dyson plays. Bringing him as either the first or second reserve (Wiggins most likely will be the sixth man again tonight, no matter what) makes sense. Another question is how will Dyson respond to that -- in 49 career games, he's started 48. He certainly isn't used to the reserve role.
As for those who thought he should never return, I don't agree with that. He made a mistake, served his suspension and deserves a chance to come back. It's really that simple.
It will be interesting to see how Dyson impacts this team. He's definitely the Huskies' best pure scorer, one of their better perimeter defenders (though Austrie has definitely proven himseld in that area) and gives the team another quick, athletic option. He didn't lead this team in scoring for a season and a half for no reason. Ideally, he'll either become a huge weapon off the bench in terms of both scoring and energy or work his way back into a starter and play as the impact player he was before. It's unlikely that will happen overnight. Remember, it took Wiggins essentially two games to get back into the right mindset and game shape and he only missed two contests; Dyson has missed nine.
Several Huskies have played well in his absence, essentially because they used the extra minutes to their advantage, played through mistakes and gained more confidence as a result. So where do the minutes come from now? It almost certainly means Austrie will play fewer than the 30.6 he's averaged over the last 10 games, and Wiggins (20.6 minutes per game over the last 10) may see a slight dip, though I don't think it will be much. But if Stanley Robinson continues to play inconsistently, I think he may see less time. With West Virgina, Providence and Cincinnati all left in the regular season, UConn sees three guard-heavy teams that don't have a ton of size. If the Huskies need to go to a three-guard set more, they now have the personnel to. Plus with Kelly sidelined, Gavin Edwards is the only conceivable forward who could back him up, but he essentially only played the 3 position at Syracuse when UConn played more zone. Now that they're quicker up front, I think we're going to see more of the man-to-man looks that Calhoun prefers.
It's about two hours to game time now. Check back in around 8:30 for a halftime update and following the game for reaction and stats. A true follow-up probably won't come until sometime tomorrow considering the drive ahead following the game. I like to ask for suggestions for places to check out in the area, but there's really no time. Plus, in an attempt to kill time prior to getting to the RAC, I drove around the "Livingston" campus here at Rutgers for 30 minutes looking for a place to grab a quick bite -- a Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Subway, just anything -- and there really was nothing. Not even any local places that looked good. Maybe I'm the wrong part of campus or maybe I was just looking in the wrong places. All I know is I'm starving and I'm glad I didn't go to Rutgers.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Dys is on
Jim Calhoun ran UConn through a light one-hour practice Monday in preparation for Tuesday's game against Rutgers, and yes, Jerome Dyson was there again, participating for the second time since coming off his 30-day suspension. But, as when Doug Wiggins returned, the sophomore won't be made available to the media until after he officially plays. That's expected to be tomorrow, thoughhe won't start, Calhoun said.
"He'll need to get his second wind," the coach said. "He certainly couldn't play the kind of minutes, nor do I plan on playing him the same kind of minutes that I would when he was in normal rotation. But he's not being punished. He was already punished by me for two games and the university I guess for the other period of time.
"I'm treating him almost like an injured player," Calhoun added.
Some other notes from Monday's session:
(1) The Huskies are not taking Rutgers and its 10-18, 2-13 record lightly. The Scarlet Knights have played far better at home (8-8) than they have on the road and in recent weeks have given both Notre Dame (in a 71-68 loss) and Cincinnati (in a 72-68 overtime setback) trouble at the RAC. It's sometimes overblown how tough playing in Piscataway really is (Rutgers is 1-6 there), but he's tougher than the numbers show, Calhoun said.
"We're coming off a loss, so we're hungry right now to play anybody," A.J. Price said. "It doesn't matter if it was Rutgers or Georgetown, we're not going to take anyone lightly right now and we know how tough they can be at their home. So we have to be ready to play."
(2) Calhoun is still calling for more rebounding, despite Saturday's 44-32 advantage on the boards. He no doubt is thinking of the one UConn didn't get in the final seconds.
"The single most important thing, we have to rebound again," he said. "We have to rebound, play better defense, not just rely on Hasheem (Thabeet) blocking every single shot. He (Reynolds) made a good play shooting the ball over Hasheem but he shouldn't have been there in the first place. The outside penetration really hurt us."
(3) More on Dyson (and certainly more to follow in Tuesday's advance of the game): "I think he's blocked it all out," Calhoun said of watching the Huskies win without him. "To dwell on a win streak, he was part of two of the games, it'd be foolish on his part. He's a bright kid. He blocked it out and now he's back, ready to contribute. I think for us, given the wear-down effect (mentally) of the team, he's an added, mind-wise fresh guy."
It was a tough day for talking to multiple players because several of the Huskies were coming out of classes around Noon with practice scheduled for 1 p.m. Check back here tomorrow afternoon for an update from Piscataway. It'll be my third trip down the Jersey Pike in five days. It's not so much the scenery I enjoy (smoke stacks are lovely this time of year), it's the $6 toll on the George Washington I love paying (by the way, it jumps up up to $8 on March 2, so get your trips down to Dirty Jers when you can.)
"He'll need to get his second wind," the coach said. "He certainly couldn't play the kind of minutes, nor do I plan on playing him the same kind of minutes that I would when he was in normal rotation. But he's not being punished. He was already punished by me for two games and the university I guess for the other period of time.
"I'm treating him almost like an injured player," Calhoun added.
Some other notes from Monday's session:
(1) The Huskies are not taking Rutgers and its 10-18, 2-13 record lightly. The Scarlet Knights have played far better at home (8-8) than they have on the road and in recent weeks have given both Notre Dame (in a 71-68 loss) and Cincinnati (in a 72-68 overtime setback) trouble at the RAC. It's sometimes overblown how tough playing in Piscataway really is (Rutgers is 1-6 there), but he's tougher than the numbers show, Calhoun said.
"We're coming off a loss, so we're hungry right now to play anybody," A.J. Price said. "It doesn't matter if it was Rutgers or Georgetown, we're not going to take anyone lightly right now and we know how tough they can be at their home. So we have to be ready to play."
(2) Calhoun is still calling for more rebounding, despite Saturday's 44-32 advantage on the boards. He no doubt is thinking of the one UConn didn't get in the final seconds.
"The single most important thing, we have to rebound again," he said. "We have to rebound, play better defense, not just rely on Hasheem (Thabeet) blocking every single shot. He (Reynolds) made a good play shooting the ball over Hasheem but he shouldn't have been there in the first place. The outside penetration really hurt us."
(3) More on Dyson (and certainly more to follow in Tuesday's advance of the game): "I think he's blocked it all out," Calhoun said of watching the Huskies win without him. "To dwell on a win streak, he was part of two of the games, it'd be foolish on his part. He's a bright kid. He blocked it out and now he's back, ready to contribute. I think for us, given the wear-down effect (mentally) of the team, he's an added, mind-wise fresh guy."
It was a tough day for talking to multiple players because several of the Huskies were coming out of classes around Noon with practice scheduled for 1 p.m. Check back here tomorrow afternoon for an update from Piscataway. It'll be my third trip down the Jersey Pike in five days. It's not so much the scenery I enjoy (smoke stacks are lovely this time of year), it's the $6 toll on the George Washington I love paying (by the way, it jumps up up to $8 on March 2, so get your trips down to Dirty Jers when you can.)
Some more polls news
I guess I'm wrong: The AP poll has been released. UConn is ranked No. 15 in the Monday's poll, meaning they only dropped two spots from last week. Here is the link to both polls, courtest of ESPN.com.
Some polls news
The ESPN/USA Today's Coaches' poll has UConn dropping to No. 16 with Saturday's loss to Villanova. It's about 2:40 p.m., so the AP poll is due out within the next hour or two. As expected, Tennessee moved into the No. 1 slot with its win over previously unbeaten Memphis on Saturday. Unfortunately, because of the UConn game and stories I had to write afterwards, I watched about 2 minutes of that game and caught up on the rest through highlights. Pretty impressive job by the Vols. More impressive was Bruce Pearl's ability to make Erin Andrews as uncomfortable as possible.during halftime of the game.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Hoops, Cheese Steaks and a little more
Just arrived back from Philly. I actually went down late Thursday night with my roommate, a Philly native, (mainly to avoid the snow) and stayed Saturday night, crashing at his parents' house. In case you missed them, here are the links to Sunday's stories from the Huskies' 67-65 loss to Villanova (game story, notebook) and a feature on St. Thomas More senior Devin Ebanks, an Indiana commit who may reconsider his decision to sign on with the Hoosiers now that coach Kelvin Sampson resigned amid the recruiting scandal.
First some quick updates: (1) Jerome Dyson, as expected, did practice with the team Sunday (the session ran from 11:30 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m.), marking his return from a 30-day suspension. Dyson has sat out the last nine games, and his presence may have come at the perfect time after UConn saw its 10-game win streak end Saturday at the Wachovia Center.
(2) After receiving an X-Ray Saturday night, nothing has changed with Curtis Kelly's condition: the sophomore forward has a dislocated left elbow and will miss two to three weeks. Kelly has seen very limited playing time in recent weeks and had only played 1:15 before leaving injured Saturday.
(An aside: The Wachovia Center seemed like a good place to watch a game, but there really wasn't something distinguishable about it. Yeah, it was still shiny and somewhat new, but it's like most other arenas nowadays. Great looking and comfortable, but nothing all that special. It was incredibly easy to find, though. The city built all the new arenas in one spot so it's all one big complex that includes the Wachovia Center, the Eagles' Lincoln Financial Field, the Phillies' Citizen's Bank Ballpark and the Spectrum. Again, nothing really that different than how a lot of other cities have done it, but certainly convenient.)
As for the game, here are a few notes, some of which didn't make it into Sunday's stories and some that did, though I'll go into more detail here:
(1) You can point to the Huskies' slow start as one of the reasons why they fell in Philly. But it really didn't make too huge a difference. Down 15 at one time, UConn tied the game three minutes into the second half, and except for Villanova taking a temporary eight-point lead with 12:20 to play, it was either team's game to win.
A series of plays, however, essentially sank the Huskies: First, Doug Wiggins' 3-pointer with 1:10 left rimmed out -- it was a similar situation to the Georgetown game -- and Scottie Reynolds charged into the heart of the UConn defense and it ripped it out when he floated the lay-up over Hasheem Thabeet.
"I was not expecting he was going to go in," Thabeet said.
Craig Austrie pump-faked and sank a jumper from inside the top of the key to cut it back to two points with 29 seconds left. But after a crazy sequence that including a missed lay-up by A.J. Price, a Thabeet rebound, an air-balled Austrie jumper and then a Price put-back attempt on which he was fouled, the junior guard missed the front end of two free throws, wasting a chance at tying the game. Then, of course, the Huskies -- with Jeff Adrien on the bench -- failed to get the rebound on Dante Cunningham's missed free throw.
(2) Stanley Robinson found himself on the bench 36 seconds into Saturday’s game after taking am ill-advised 3-pointer on UConn’s first possession. He didn’t let it deter him.
Robinson had his best offensive performance in more than three weeks scoring 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds, four on the offensive end. It came after a stretch in which he failed to reach double figures in six straight games and shot 3-of-10 from the field on two occasions.
“I look forward to scoring,” Robinson said. “Coach (Calhoun) has always gave me the green light since last year. It’s up to me to improve on it.”
His presence was felt especially in the second half, when, with UConn trailing 51-48, he knocked down a 3-pointer and slammed home a put-back dunk on a missed A.J. Price runner in consecutive possessions. The dunk, which Robinson punctuated with a scream, made it into the Sportscenter Top 10 Saturday night at No. 5.
“Stanley played very well,” Calhoun said.
(3) Despite enjoying a huge size advantage against Villanova, Thabeet struggled to make an impact offensively. He took just three shots and scored eight points, really never getting the opportunity to work in the post. Following his 16-point performance against DePaul, the sophomore said the key was making himself big and presenting himself to the guards. Often double-teamed, he didn't really get that chance, and the Wildcats put good ball pressure on the perimeter to negate entry passes.
"They were switching everything, they were fronting. And he couldn’t get good position so it was hard to get him the ball," Price said.
"Very much," Thabeet said when asked he was surprised by the performance. "They were smaller and I was expecting to get more touches, but the way they were guarding me, they were switching at the same time, they were double-teaming me so it was kind of hard for them to throw me the ball."
As for the actual trip to Philly, I've drawn a few conclusions: (1) Everything you hear about the city's Cheesesteaks is true. My roommate and I waited in line at Pat's (one of the famous places, right across the street from Geno's, the other really well-known spot) for nearly 35 minutes at 3 a.m., and it was well worth it. But I'm glad there's nothing like that around here. If there was, I'd be there way too often and would probably die at 35 years old, 400 pounds and with a hoagie in my hand.
I also tried the "famous" Crab Fries at a place called Chickie's and Pete's (they were nothing special, just seasoned fries) and at a nicer dinner, had seam veal medallions with prosciutto at a restaurant called Bona Vita (simply awesome). We hit up some night life as well: If you're down in the Old City section of Philly, visit Mad River, a solid bar with good music, two floors, lots of people and decent prices. A night there is definitely cheaper than one spent out in Manhattan and is probably comparable to a night in downtown Boston (if you're wondering).
Also, Philly is bigger than I realized. My buddy lived in the Northeast section of the city (mostly suburban), and it took 35 minutes by mostly highway to get to the arena, about 40 to get to the airport and around 45 just to get downtown. It takes a while to get around in any city, but I was going at least 65 MPH everywhere I went. Also, if you're trying to get around by road signs alone, don't -- they're terrible in Philly. I wouldn't even use certain Internet sites. When traveling to the team hotel Friday night for availability with players and Calhoun (which was canceled because snow held up their plane in Connecticut), I used Google maps and it took me into some business park. I had my buddy go on Mapquest, and it had the right directions. Just weird.
First some quick updates: (1) Jerome Dyson, as expected, did practice with the team Sunday (the session ran from 11:30 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m.), marking his return from a 30-day suspension. Dyson has sat out the last nine games, and his presence may have come at the perfect time after UConn saw its 10-game win streak end Saturday at the Wachovia Center.
(2) After receiving an X-Ray Saturday night, nothing has changed with Curtis Kelly's condition: the sophomore forward has a dislocated left elbow and will miss two to three weeks. Kelly has seen very limited playing time in recent weeks and had only played 1:15 before leaving injured Saturday.
(An aside: The Wachovia Center seemed like a good place to watch a game, but there really wasn't something distinguishable about it. Yeah, it was still shiny and somewhat new, but it's like most other arenas nowadays. Great looking and comfortable, but nothing all that special. It was incredibly easy to find, though. The city built all the new arenas in one spot so it's all one big complex that includes the Wachovia Center, the Eagles' Lincoln Financial Field, the Phillies' Citizen's Bank Ballpark and the Spectrum. Again, nothing really that different than how a lot of other cities have done it, but certainly convenient.)
As for the game, here are a few notes, some of which didn't make it into Sunday's stories and some that did, though I'll go into more detail here:
(1) You can point to the Huskies' slow start as one of the reasons why they fell in Philly. But it really didn't make too huge a difference. Down 15 at one time, UConn tied the game three minutes into the second half, and except for Villanova taking a temporary eight-point lead with 12:20 to play, it was either team's game to win.
A series of plays, however, essentially sank the Huskies: First, Doug Wiggins' 3-pointer with 1:10 left rimmed out -- it was a similar situation to the Georgetown game -- and Scottie Reynolds charged into the heart of the UConn defense and it ripped it out when he floated the lay-up over Hasheem Thabeet.
"I was not expecting he was going to go in," Thabeet said.
Craig Austrie pump-faked and sank a jumper from inside the top of the key to cut it back to two points with 29 seconds left. But after a crazy sequence that including a missed lay-up by A.J. Price, a Thabeet rebound, an air-balled Austrie jumper and then a Price put-back attempt on which he was fouled, the junior guard missed the front end of two free throws, wasting a chance at tying the game. Then, of course, the Huskies -- with Jeff Adrien on the bench -- failed to get the rebound on Dante Cunningham's missed free throw.
(2) Stanley Robinson found himself on the bench 36 seconds into Saturday’s game after taking am ill-advised 3-pointer on UConn’s first possession. He didn’t let it deter him.
Robinson had his best offensive performance in more than three weeks scoring 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds, four on the offensive end. It came after a stretch in which he failed to reach double figures in six straight games and shot 3-of-10 from the field on two occasions.
“I look forward to scoring,” Robinson said. “Coach (Calhoun) has always gave me the green light since last year. It’s up to me to improve on it.”
His presence was felt especially in the second half, when, with UConn trailing 51-48, he knocked down a 3-pointer and slammed home a put-back dunk on a missed A.J. Price runner in consecutive possessions. The dunk, which Robinson punctuated with a scream, made it into the Sportscenter Top 10 Saturday night at No. 5.
“Stanley played very well,” Calhoun said.
(3) Despite enjoying a huge size advantage against Villanova, Thabeet struggled to make an impact offensively. He took just three shots and scored eight points, really never getting the opportunity to work in the post. Following his 16-point performance against DePaul, the sophomore said the key was making himself big and presenting himself to the guards. Often double-teamed, he didn't really get that chance, and the Wildcats put good ball pressure on the perimeter to negate entry passes.
"They were switching everything, they were fronting. And he couldn’t get good position so it was hard to get him the ball," Price said.
"Very much," Thabeet said when asked he was surprised by the performance. "They were smaller and I was expecting to get more touches, but the way they were guarding me, they were switching at the same time, they were double-teaming me so it was kind of hard for them to throw me the ball."
As for the actual trip to Philly, I've drawn a few conclusions: (1) Everything you hear about the city's Cheesesteaks is true. My roommate and I waited in line at Pat's (one of the famous places, right across the street from Geno's, the other really well-known spot) for nearly 35 minutes at 3 a.m., and it was well worth it. But I'm glad there's nothing like that around here. If there was, I'd be there way too often and would probably die at 35 years old, 400 pounds and with a hoagie in my hand.
I also tried the "famous" Crab Fries at a place called Chickie's and Pete's (they were nothing special, just seasoned fries) and at a nicer dinner, had seam veal medallions with prosciutto at a restaurant called Bona Vita (simply awesome). We hit up some night life as well: If you're down in the Old City section of Philly, visit Mad River, a solid bar with good music, two floors, lots of people and decent prices. A night there is definitely cheaper than one spent out in Manhattan and is probably comparable to a night in downtown Boston (if you're wondering).
Also, Philly is bigger than I realized. My buddy lived in the Northeast section of the city (mostly suburban), and it took 35 minutes by mostly highway to get to the arena, about 40 to get to the airport and around 45 just to get downtown. It takes a while to get around in any city, but I was going at least 65 MPH everywhere I went. Also, if you're trying to get around by road signs alone, don't -- they're terrible in Philly. I wouldn't even use certain Internet sites. When traveling to the team hotel Friday night for availability with players and Calhoun (which was canceled because snow held up their plane in Connecticut), I used Google maps and it took me into some business park. I had my buddy go on Mapquest, and it had the right directions. Just weird.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Dyson to return
Jim Calhoun said following the Huskies' 67-65 loss to Villanova that Jerome Dyson will return to practice Sunday, ending the sophomore guards' 30-day suspension for failing a second drug test in his college career late last month.
"We’ll have a new player at practice tomorrow and we’ll see how he fits into the mold," Calhoun said. "I fully would expect us to start the same team at Rutgers that we have right now. But we’ll see how he gets into the mix. We had a very difficult time with our guards creating opportunities. So we’ll give him a look and see if he can help us at all. I don’t know when or if we’ll play but we’ll get a look in practice."
Dyson has missed the last nine games and was averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game when he was suspended. More on this in tomorrow's Bulletin.
"We’ll have a new player at practice tomorrow and we’ll see how he fits into the mold," Calhoun said. "I fully would expect us to start the same team at Rutgers that we have right now. But we’ll see how he gets into the mix. We had a very difficult time with our guards creating opportunities. So we’ll give him a look and see if he can help us at all. I don’t know when or if we’ll play but we’ll get a look in practice."
Dyson has missed the last nine games and was averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game when he was suspended. More on this in tomorrow's Bulletin.
UPDATE: Villanova ends UConn's win streak
With the chance to tie the game with 6.4 seconds left, A.J. Price made just one of two free throws and Villanova held on to edge the UConn men's basketball team, 67-65, ending the Huskies' 10-game win streak.
UPDATE: Huskies trail Wildcats at half
UConn closed the first half on a 9-0 run to trim Villanova's lead to 33-27 by the intermission here at the Wachovia Center.
The Huskies continued their trend of starting slowly, going down 14-2 early and trailing by as many 15 later in the half. They missed 16 of their 20 shots, and had trouble stopping Corey Stokes from making his as the freshman hit four first-half 3-pointers. But A.J. Price hit a 3-pointer with 3:01 left, sparking the Huskies to the quick run.
Curtis Kelly left the game with 2:24 to play with a dislocated left elbow. The sophomore forward fell hard to the court after he went up for a block on Villanova's Scottie Reynolds and was undercut by the Wildcats' guard. He is not expected to return.
Jeff Adrien, who's struggling amid foul trouble, managed to notch his 1,000th career point on a free throw with 10:22 to play. He is the 40th UConn player to reach the plateau.
Price leads the Huskies with nine points, but shot 4-for-11 from the field in the half. Stanley Robinson, who was subbed out less than a minute into the game for taking an ill-advised three, rebounded to score eight points. Stokes leads all scorers with 12.
The Wachovia Center looks to be at near capacity.
The Huskies continued their trend of starting slowly, going down 14-2 early and trailing by as many 15 later in the half. They missed 16 of their 20 shots, and had trouble stopping Corey Stokes from making his as the freshman hit four first-half 3-pointers. But A.J. Price hit a 3-pointer with 3:01 left, sparking the Huskies to the quick run.
Curtis Kelly left the game with 2:24 to play with a dislocated left elbow. The sophomore forward fell hard to the court after he went up for a block on Villanova's Scottie Reynolds and was undercut by the Wildcats' guard. He is not expected to return.
Jeff Adrien, who's struggling amid foul trouble, managed to notch his 1,000th career point on a free throw with 10:22 to play. He is the 40th UConn player to reach the plateau.
Price leads the Huskies with nine points, but shot 4-for-11 from the field in the half. Stanley Robinson, who was subbed out less than a minute into the game for taking an ill-advised three, rebounded to score eight points. Stokes leads all scorers with 12.
The Wachovia Center looks to be at near capacity.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Huskies still trying to exorcise Demons
Well, some (Blue) Demons have already been taken care of with Tuesday's 65-60 comeback with over DePaul. But with the victory -- their 10th straight -- the No. 13 Huskies have struggled against two sup-par opponents, only to pull out a win in the waning moments. As Jim Calhoun said Tuesday, that can't keep happening, however impressive the Huskies may be late.
"We can’t live on that," the coach said. "You keep living on that, we’ll die an unexpected death some place in the tournament. And I don’t want that to happen."
It's hard to say exactly why the Huskies have payed flat for most of the last two games. Calhoun denied it was playing to the level of their opponents, nor could he truly explain it.
"The only reason that we won, I think, is because we have won. There is no other logical reason that comes to mind. ... They (DePaul) weren't playing great except they have a real good 4 to 5 minutes to start the second half. We did so many things to shoot ourselves in the foot."
A.J. Price really didn't have a definitive answer either.
"Honestly, I don't know what it was in the first half why we weren't playing with the same type of intensity that we have been playing with. We had a great day of practice (Monday), so I know that's not the issue as far as getting up for games. We just weren't executing."
In fact, Calhoun said Monday's practice was the best of the season. "As good as we were yesterday, unfortunately today, we were that bad."
Some others notes and stats: (1) The Huskies' 15 blocks were a season-high, matching the same number they had against Florida A&M.
(2) Hasheem Thabeet, who rebounded from two poor offensive showings with 16 points and 13 rebounds, said the difference was making himself more visible to his teammates.
"The big-man coaches, they said, the more you present yourself, the more touches you'll be able to get. So I was presenting myself more (Tuesday). I was getting good position (the previous two games), but I was not showing my hands so the guy didn't know where to throw the ball. But today I was pretty big out there. The more touches I get, the more comfortable I get."
That was most evident probably early when Thabeet tore out of the games with eight of UConn's first 14 points, scoring on a jump-hook, lay-up off a feed from Stanley Robinson, another off an Adrien pass and a put-back.
(3) Price struggled to find any offensive rhythm, going scoreless in the first half and finished with six points and five turnovers. He said he forced shots at times, and Calhoun said the junior couldn't drive like he's used to.
"He never wants to be high-screened," Calhoun said. "He likes to take it and go by you. And today, he really couldn't beat the kid off the ball. But Craig (Austrie) did.
Also, my notebook from the game wasn't posted online, so I'm putting it in full here.
HARTFORD — With each passing game, award and compliment, A.J. Price is finding himself higher and higher up on opponents’ scouting reports. Tuesday’s 65-60 win over DePaul was no different.
The Blue Demons did many things similar to other teams when guarding the junior guard, choosing to defend Price with the speedy Cliff Clinkscales. But they caught him on an off night. The defending Big East Player of the Week finished with six points and seven assists, but he shot 1-for-7 and committed five turnovers.
Other stepped up around him, though, including Craig Austrie (14 points) and Hasheem Thabeet (16).
“It just wasn’t my night,” he said. “They did a little match-up zone, type-press thing, which many teams have done this year and then they fell back in the zone. But other than that they didn’t anything different. I just didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, I had some decision-making problems tonight. I just didn’t play well.”
UConn coach Jim Calhoun, though, wasn’t about to bash him for it. Price was averaging 18 points during the Huskies’ win streak.
“A.J. had probably his poorest game in the past 10 but I can forgive him for that because he’s had nine really tremendous games,” Calhoun said. “I think the kid did a good job on A.J. and I think A.J. tried to force it a couple times.”
Even after the performance, Price still had DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright’s vote for Big East Player of the year.
“If you allow him to stand in the pocket like a lot of teams did with Tom Brady, and please I’m a Bears fan, so you know I’m not rubbing it in, I can play quarterback right now for them,” Wainwright said. “But I think you need to pressure the head of their team. I thought we had a pretty good match-up, I thought Cliff was a fast and pretty good defender.
“So we tried to neutralize him as much possible,” he later added. “We did try to kind of take him out and make somebody else beat us. And obviously somebody else did.”
Point of close return
Jerome Dyson has been gone from the Huskies for eight games now, and despite rarely mentioning his name publicly, Calhoun hasn’t put the sophomore out of mind.
“The (Cincinnati) game is Jerome Dyson more than anything,” Calhoun said prior to Tuesday’s win over DePaul. Dyson scored 20 points in that 84-83 win on Jan. 23, the last game he's played. “He made some big 3s and some incredible plays. So I haven't forgotten him, even though he's not playing.”
Asked Tuesday if Dyson’s replacement in the starting lineup, Craig Austrie, would remain there, the coach said, “I don’t know what’s going to change that.”
“We’ve won 10 in a row, I’m not going fool with it,” he said. “If we go on a couple-game losing streak, then I would think about changing it. But otherwise, there’s no sense changing it. We have a player coming back in one more game or two, I’m not sure, but once again, he’ll have to work his way into rotation like everybody else. We could have used (him) tonight because we couldn’t score early.”
Dyson was suspended after reportedly failing a drug test on Jan. 31 and is serving a mandatory 30-day suspension. He is expected to return within the next two weeks. (UPDATE: According to published reports, Dyson's is being drug-tested again sometime this week, and if he passes, could be reinstated for Tuesday's game against Rutgers, if Calhoun chooses.)
Around the rim
The Huskies improved to 14-1 home overall and 6-1 at home in the conference. … With the win, UConn now has 10 or more league wins in six of the last seven seasons. … Stanley Robinson finished with nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Afterward, Calhoun lauded him on his defense. … UConn shot 52.2 percent from the field in the second half. … The Huskies travel to Philadelphia on Saturday for a Noon-time game against Villanova.
"We can’t live on that," the coach said. "You keep living on that, we’ll die an unexpected death some place in the tournament. And I don’t want that to happen."
It's hard to say exactly why the Huskies have payed flat for most of the last two games. Calhoun denied it was playing to the level of their opponents, nor could he truly explain it.
"The only reason that we won, I think, is because we have won. There is no other logical reason that comes to mind. ... They (DePaul) weren't playing great except they have a real good 4 to 5 minutes to start the second half. We did so many things to shoot ourselves in the foot."
A.J. Price really didn't have a definitive answer either.
"Honestly, I don't know what it was in the first half why we weren't playing with the same type of intensity that we have been playing with. We had a great day of practice (Monday), so I know that's not the issue as far as getting up for games. We just weren't executing."
In fact, Calhoun said Monday's practice was the best of the season. "As good as we were yesterday, unfortunately today, we were that bad."
Some others notes and stats: (1) The Huskies' 15 blocks were a season-high, matching the same number they had against Florida A&M.
(2) Hasheem Thabeet, who rebounded from two poor offensive showings with 16 points and 13 rebounds, said the difference was making himself more visible to his teammates.
"The big-man coaches, they said, the more you present yourself, the more touches you'll be able to get. So I was presenting myself more (Tuesday). I was getting good position (the previous two games), but I was not showing my hands so the guy didn't know where to throw the ball. But today I was pretty big out there. The more touches I get, the more comfortable I get."
That was most evident probably early when Thabeet tore out of the games with eight of UConn's first 14 points, scoring on a jump-hook, lay-up off a feed from Stanley Robinson, another off an Adrien pass and a put-back.
(3) Price struggled to find any offensive rhythm, going scoreless in the first half and finished with six points and five turnovers. He said he forced shots at times, and Calhoun said the junior couldn't drive like he's used to.
"He never wants to be high-screened," Calhoun said. "He likes to take it and go by you. And today, he really couldn't beat the kid off the ball. But Craig (Austrie) did.
Also, my notebook from the game wasn't posted online, so I'm putting it in full here.
HARTFORD — With each passing game, award and compliment, A.J. Price is finding himself higher and higher up on opponents’ scouting reports. Tuesday’s 65-60 win over DePaul was no different.
The Blue Demons did many things similar to other teams when guarding the junior guard, choosing to defend Price with the speedy Cliff Clinkscales. But they caught him on an off night. The defending Big East Player of the Week finished with six points and seven assists, but he shot 1-for-7 and committed five turnovers.
Other stepped up around him, though, including Craig Austrie (14 points) and Hasheem Thabeet (16).
“It just wasn’t my night,” he said. “They did a little match-up zone, type-press thing, which many teams have done this year and then they fell back in the zone. But other than that they didn’t anything different. I just didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, I had some decision-making problems tonight. I just didn’t play well.”
UConn coach Jim Calhoun, though, wasn’t about to bash him for it. Price was averaging 18 points during the Huskies’ win streak.
“A.J. had probably his poorest game in the past 10 but I can forgive him for that because he’s had nine really tremendous games,” Calhoun said. “I think the kid did a good job on A.J. and I think A.J. tried to force it a couple times.”
Even after the performance, Price still had DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright’s vote for Big East Player of the year.
“If you allow him to stand in the pocket like a lot of teams did with Tom Brady, and please I’m a Bears fan, so you know I’m not rubbing it in, I can play quarterback right now for them,” Wainwright said. “But I think you need to pressure the head of their team. I thought we had a pretty good match-up, I thought Cliff was a fast and pretty good defender.
“So we tried to neutralize him as much possible,” he later added. “We did try to kind of take him out and make somebody else beat us. And obviously somebody else did.”
Point of close return
Jerome Dyson has been gone from the Huskies for eight games now, and despite rarely mentioning his name publicly, Calhoun hasn’t put the sophomore out of mind.
“The (Cincinnati) game is Jerome Dyson more than anything,” Calhoun said prior to Tuesday’s win over DePaul. Dyson scored 20 points in that 84-83 win on Jan. 23, the last game he's played. “He made some big 3s and some incredible plays. So I haven't forgotten him, even though he's not playing.”
Asked Tuesday if Dyson’s replacement in the starting lineup, Craig Austrie, would remain there, the coach said, “I don’t know what’s going to change that.”
“We’ve won 10 in a row, I’m not going fool with it,” he said. “If we go on a couple-game losing streak, then I would think about changing it. But otherwise, there’s no sense changing it. We have a player coming back in one more game or two, I’m not sure, but once again, he’ll have to work his way into rotation like everybody else. We could have used (him) tonight because we couldn’t score early.”
Dyson was suspended after reportedly failing a drug test on Jan. 31 and is serving a mandatory 30-day suspension. He is expected to return within the next two weeks. (UPDATE: According to published reports, Dyson's is being drug-tested again sometime this week, and if he passes, could be reinstated for Tuesday's game against Rutgers, if Calhoun chooses.)
Around the rim
The Huskies improved to 14-1 home overall and 6-1 at home in the conference. … With the win, UConn now has 10 or more league wins in six of the last seven seasons. … Stanley Robinson finished with nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Afterward, Calhoun lauded him on his defense. … UConn shot 52.2 percent from the field in the second half. … The Huskies travel to Philadelphia on Saturday for a Noon-time game against Villanova.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
UPDATE: Amazingly, Huskies win 10th straight
Down as many as 13 early in the second half, the UConn men's basketball went on a 19-6 run midway through the frame and held on for a 65-60 win over DePaul, completing an incredible comeback for its 10th straight win.
Hasheem Thabeet scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked eight shots, and Jeff Adrien added 12 and 11, falling two points shy of 1,000 in his career. The Huskies (21-5, 10-3 Big East) shot 52.2 percent in the second half and held DePaul (10-15, 5-8) to one field goal in the final six minutes of the game.
In many ways, it was a game UConn had no busines winning. A.J. Price struggled (six points, seven rebounds) and by the 12-minute mark in the second half, the Huskies trailed 51-38, devoid of any swagger or energy. But as they have throughout this run, they willed themselves past their opponent, outscoring DePaul 27 to nine from that point.
Hasheem Thabeet scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked eight shots, and Jeff Adrien added 12 and 11, falling two points shy of 1,000 in his career. The Huskies (21-5, 10-3 Big East) shot 52.2 percent in the second half and held DePaul (10-15, 5-8) to one field goal in the final six minutes of the game.
In many ways, it was a game UConn had no busines winning. A.J. Price struggled (six points, seven rebounds) and by the 12-minute mark in the second half, the Huskies trailed 51-38, devoid of any swagger or energy. But as they have throughout this run, they willed themselves past their opponent, outscoring DePaul 27 to nine from that point.
UPDATE: Huskies lead Blue Demons, 29-28, at half
The UConn men's basketball team lacked energy and hit just one field goal in the span of seven minutes, but still lead DePaul, 29-28, at the half. Hasheem Thabeet leads all scorers with 12 points, adding seven rebounds and four blocks, but both he and A.J. Price (zero points, four assists) had to sit with two fouls late in the frame.
UConn shot less than 41 percent from the field but the Blue Demons weren't much better at 35.3. Will Walker has a team-high six points for Deaul, which got a bucket from all eight of its players who played.
UConn shot less than 41 percent from the field but the Blue Demons weren't much better at 35.3. Will Walker has a team-high six points for Deaul, which got a bucket from all eight of its players who played.
Blog poll
Check back before the game for more of a preview posting, but here are the results from last week's blog poll question, which asked: How will the Huskies finish in their last eight regular-season games? Thanks to the 19 of you who checked in. The results were as follows:
8-0: Five votes
7-1: Seven votes
6-2: Five votes:
5-3: One vote
4-4: One vote
In a previous post, I used the scenario of the Huskies going 6-2 to try to forecast how they'd finish in the NCAA tournament pairings. After going 2-0 since (with the wins over Notre Dame and USF), 6-2 is a possibility but I can really see this team going 8-0 or 7-1. While this is the soft part of their schedule, the Big East has proven to be volatile at times, and with an off-night like UConn had against USF on Saturday, they could fall victim to an upset. Villanova (in Philly) this weekend can be tough, Rutgers has given teams trouble at the RAC (ask Notre Dame) and West Virginia is probably the best team left on the schedule. Now, going from game to game, can I see UConn winning them all? The Huskies are going to be favored in every one so why couldn't you? But to expect there won't be a hiccup or there is also not out of the question.
Also, this didn't get into any of the posts yesterday, but UConn actually fell in the RPI rankings, but to where depended on the source. The ncaasports.com listing hasn't been updated, but in one case, UConn fell to No. 11, in another it fell to No. 12, to No. 12 again and according to CBS Sportsline, it fell as far as No. 13.
8-0: Five votes
7-1: Seven votes
6-2: Five votes:
5-3: One vote
4-4: One vote
In a previous post, I used the scenario of the Huskies going 6-2 to try to forecast how they'd finish in the NCAA tournament pairings. After going 2-0 since (with the wins over Notre Dame and USF), 6-2 is a possibility but I can really see this team going 8-0 or 7-1. While this is the soft part of their schedule, the Big East has proven to be volatile at times, and with an off-night like UConn had against USF on Saturday, they could fall victim to an upset. Villanova (in Philly) this weekend can be tough, Rutgers has given teams trouble at the RAC (ask Notre Dame) and West Virginia is probably the best team left on the schedule. Now, going from game to game, can I see UConn winning them all? The Huskies are going to be favored in every one so why couldn't you? But to expect there won't be a hiccup or there is also not out of the question.
Also, this didn't get into any of the posts yesterday, but UConn actually fell in the RPI rankings, but to where depended on the source. The ncaasports.com listing hasn't been updated, but in one case, UConn fell to No. 11, in another it fell to No. 12, to No. 12 again and according to CBS Sportsline, it fell as far as No. 13.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Lucky 13?
The AP poll was just posted, and like in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, UConn checked in at No. 13. The Huskies (20-5, 9-3 Big East) are tied in the loss column with Georgetown (12/11) and Louisville (18/23), who are tied for first in the league standings, and Notre Dame (21/21), who is tied with the Huskies for second.
The roof is on fire
As media availability was finishing up Monday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion, fire alarms started going off around the building and within minutes a fire truck arrived. At least two firefighters were seen walking around the arena, and all the athletics staff in the building were evacuated.
But after roughly 10 minutes, the alarms went off and everyone was allowed back in, though all media and the UConn men's basketball team never even left, proof we put our job before our own well-being. Not sure exactly what happened, but it appeared to be a false alarm, nothing more.
As for the actual practice and the Huskies' game with DePaul Tuesday nigth at the XL Center, Jim Calhoun said he doesn't see any real holes in the Blue Demons roster but added they've been inconsistent on both offense and defense. DePaul has lost five of its last six.
Hasheem Thabeet is hoping to bounce back from the two last games, where Notre Dame's Luke Harangody (32 points, 16 rebounds) and USF's Kentrell Gransberry (26 points, 15 rebounds) beat him in the battle down low. Calhoun mentioned that Thabeet feels almost embarrassed when he plays poorly. DePaul features two centers on its roster who play (it actually has four) in senior Wesley Green (5.2 points per game) and freshman Mac Koshwal (11 points, 8.3 rebounds). Koshwal should be Thabeet's main match-up and at 6-10, 240 pounds resembles more of Thabeet's frame..
At one point in practice, Stanley Robinson took an up-court pass on a fast-break and fired a one-handed bullet to Thabeet, which the sophomore lost out of bounds. No one could have handled the pass, and Calhoun blew the play dead.
"The Red Sox can use you," the coach dead-panned. Asked about it later following practice, Calhoun said. "I though he was heading for Fort Myers or something, Winter Haven, I'm not sure. He said he (used to) throw it 65 miles a hour. That's really helpful for me to know that information. But you've guys interviewed Stanley. Stanley's Stanley."
But after roughly 10 minutes, the alarms went off and everyone was allowed back in, though all media and the UConn men's basketball team never even left, proof we put our job before our own well-being. Not sure exactly what happened, but it appeared to be a false alarm, nothing more.
As for the actual practice and the Huskies' game with DePaul Tuesday nigth at the XL Center, Jim Calhoun said he doesn't see any real holes in the Blue Demons roster but added they've been inconsistent on both offense and defense. DePaul has lost five of its last six.
Hasheem Thabeet is hoping to bounce back from the two last games, where Notre Dame's Luke Harangody (32 points, 16 rebounds) and USF's Kentrell Gransberry (26 points, 15 rebounds) beat him in the battle down low. Calhoun mentioned that Thabeet feels almost embarrassed when he plays poorly. DePaul features two centers on its roster who play (it actually has four) in senior Wesley Green (5.2 points per game) and freshman Mac Koshwal (11 points, 8.3 rebounds). Koshwal should be Thabeet's main match-up and at 6-10, 240 pounds resembles more of Thabeet's frame..
At one point in practice, Stanley Robinson took an up-court pass on a fast-break and fired a one-handed bullet to Thabeet, which the sophomore lost out of bounds. No one could have handled the pass, and Calhoun blew the play dead.
"The Red Sox can use you," the coach dead-panned. Asked about it later following practice, Calhoun said. "I though he was heading for Fort Myers or something, Winter Haven, I'm not sure. He said he (used to) throw it 65 miles a hour. That's really helpful for me to know that information. But you've guys interviewed Stanley. Stanley's Stanley."
Rising Price
A.J. Price was named Big East Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 24.5 points and 8.0 assists in the Huskies' two wins last week. The junior scored 23 points Saturday against USF and 26 against Notre Dame Wednesday, bringing his average to 20 points per game this season against ranked opponents (seven contests). It's well-deserved for Price, who has made the Big East Honor Roll twice this season but had yet to be named the league's Player of the Week in his career.
Jeff Adrien was named the league's Player of the Week last Monday.
The Huskies also jumped to No. 13 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. The AP poll has yet to be posted, but check back here later this afternoon for an update after it does.
Jeff Adrien was named the league's Player of the Week last Monday.
The Huskies also jumped to No. 13 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. The AP poll has yet to be posted, but check back here later this afternoon for an update after it does.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Keep rolling
A few thoughts from Saturday's 74-73 overtime win over South Florida:
(1) Craig Austrie continues to be a late-game producer. During the Huskies' nine-game win streak, he's made a habit of hitting shots in key times, including crucial free throws at Indiana (9-of-12 to seal it), the tie-breaking 3 against Pittsburgh and then two jumpers at the end of regulation Saturday plus (of course) the game-winner with 0.2 seconds left in overtime. As South Florida did Saturday, teams are looking to limit A.J. Price late, giving Austrie the opportunity to step up -- and he has. The funniest scene from the win was Price and Austrie standing in a prolonged pose in the paint following Austrie's game-winner, beaming with huge smiles before finally slapping hands and heading to the bench.
(2) That's two straight games now that Hasheem Thabeet has gone up against one of the league's best big men and lost the battle. First it was Luke Harangody with 32 points and 16 rebounds and then Saturday, Kentrell Gransberry with 26 and 15. Given, Thabeet isn't facing true centers -- both Harangody and Gransberry are burly power forwards who use muscle instead of finesse to get in position -- but it shows Thabeet is still learning even on the defensive end, where he's been stellar for two years. In his defense, he's obviously concerned about getting into foul trouble (which he did Saturday), and really, outside of Gransberry and Dominique Jones, the Bulls don't have many other options, meaning Thabeet is guarding the focal point of their offense. He still finished with eight blocks, but Gransberry looked too comfortable at times.
(3) The Huskies have now won seven of their last nine games by single digits. No one said a winning streak is easy in the Big East.
(4) With 12 points, Jeff Adrien is 14 from the 1,000-point plateau. I'd be surprised if he doesn't get it against DePaul on Tuesday. Tickets, by the way, are still available and keep in mind the game is on ESPNU, which most cable companies don't carry.
(5) Any doubt that Doug Wiggins is still finding his way offensively should be gone. With 20 points against USF, he continually made energy plays and really create his scoring opportunities off his defense. It says he only had one steal but Wiggins looked more active on that, especially when UConn was pressing. Combined with Price's 23 points and seven assists, this was a victory for the guards.
(6) The AP and Coaches' polls come out tomorrow. I'm guessing the Huskies jump to 13 or 14. Check back tomorrow for an update after UConn practice and the actual rankings.
(1) Craig Austrie continues to be a late-game producer. During the Huskies' nine-game win streak, he's made a habit of hitting shots in key times, including crucial free throws at Indiana (9-of-12 to seal it), the tie-breaking 3 against Pittsburgh and then two jumpers at the end of regulation Saturday plus (of course) the game-winner with 0.2 seconds left in overtime. As South Florida did Saturday, teams are looking to limit A.J. Price late, giving Austrie the opportunity to step up -- and he has. The funniest scene from the win was Price and Austrie standing in a prolonged pose in the paint following Austrie's game-winner, beaming with huge smiles before finally slapping hands and heading to the bench.
(2) That's two straight games now that Hasheem Thabeet has gone up against one of the league's best big men and lost the battle. First it was Luke Harangody with 32 points and 16 rebounds and then Saturday, Kentrell Gransberry with 26 and 15. Given, Thabeet isn't facing true centers -- both Harangody and Gransberry are burly power forwards who use muscle instead of finesse to get in position -- but it shows Thabeet is still learning even on the defensive end, where he's been stellar for two years. In his defense, he's obviously concerned about getting into foul trouble (which he did Saturday), and really, outside of Gransberry and Dominique Jones, the Bulls don't have many other options, meaning Thabeet is guarding the focal point of their offense. He still finished with eight blocks, but Gransberry looked too comfortable at times.
(3) The Huskies have now won seven of their last nine games by single digits. No one said a winning streak is easy in the Big East.
(4) With 12 points, Jeff Adrien is 14 from the 1,000-point plateau. I'd be surprised if he doesn't get it against DePaul on Tuesday. Tickets, by the way, are still available and keep in mind the game is on ESPNU, which most cable companies don't carry.
(5) Any doubt that Doug Wiggins is still finding his way offensively should be gone. With 20 points against USF, he continually made energy plays and really create his scoring opportunities off his defense. It says he only had one steal but Wiggins looked more active on that, especially when UConn was pressing. Combined with Price's 23 points and seven assists, this was a victory for the guards.
(6) The AP and Coaches' polls come out tomorrow. I'm guessing the Huskies jump to 13 or 14. Check back tomorrow for an update after UConn practice and the actual rankings.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Did I hear a niner in there?
Craig Austrie hit an off-balance jumper with 0.2 seconds left in overtime Saturday, lifting the Huskies to a 74-73 win over South Florida, their ninth straight. Just a big shot in a big situation and it essentially saved the Huskies from losing a game they shouldn't have.
Dominique Jones had put back a missed lay-up with six seconds to play. But UConn opted to not call a timeout and Austrie went the length of the floor and pulled up from the right elbow to nail the game-winner. UConn (20-5, 9-3 Big East) now has its 17th 20-win season under Calhoun, and is a half-game back of Georgetown for first in the league standings. The Hoyas fell 77-70 at Syracuse earlier Saturday afternoon. Here's the box score from UConn's win.
I'll try to post more later on today.
Dominique Jones had put back a missed lay-up with six seconds to play. But UConn opted to not call a timeout and Austrie went the length of the floor and pulled up from the right elbow to nail the game-winner. UConn (20-5, 9-3 Big East) now has its 17th 20-win season under Calhoun, and is a half-game back of Georgetown for first in the league standings. The Hoyas fell 77-70 at Syracuse earlier Saturday afternoon. Here's the box score from UConn's win.
I'll try to post more later on today.
Taking it by the horns
Apologies for not posting a follow-up update Friday. If South Florida's Kentrell Gransberry is a "space-eater" (as Jim Calhoun said), a desk shift at the Bulletin is a time-eater. By the time I could have sat down to do this last night, I would have been sleep-deprived and incoherent.
As I write this now, tip-off between UConn and USF is about 30 minutes away (Noon, MyTV9), so this will be quick. Here is the link to today's advance and some key points to look out for:
(1) Hasheem Thabeet vs. Gransberry. The Bulls haven't given the 6-foot-9, 270-pound senior much help in the blocks this season. He ranks first in the conference in rebounding (10.8 per game) and is the only other Big Easy player besides Luke Harangody averaging a double-double. Yet, USF is 12th in the league on the boards. If Thabeet can control Gransberry and bounce back from his 2-for-8, four-point effort against Notre Dame, the Huskies should have little problem dominating in the frontcourt.
(2) Perimeter D. An issue that was well-discussed heading into the Notre Dame game rears its head again, if only because of USF's Dominique Jones, who is challenging Syracuse's Donte' Greene and Jonny Flynn for Big East Rookie of the Year honors. He is a legitimate deep threat, and the responsibility of guarding him may fall heavily on Craig Austrie, who did an outstanding job on Kyle McAlarney on Wednesday.
(3) Keeping this thing rolling. The advance focuses heavily on the Huskies' desire to stay focused despite a softer schedule the rest of the way. Calhoun has been referring to the game as "business trip" to the team, adding that even if this great run, UConn hasn't been blowing teams out. If they jump on the Bulls (11-14, 2-10 Big East) early, open up a big lead and cruise, that's all the evidence you need they aren't relaxing.
I'll check back in following the game for some reaction.
As I write this now, tip-off between UConn and USF is about 30 minutes away (Noon, MyTV9), so this will be quick. Here is the link to today's advance and some key points to look out for:
(1) Hasheem Thabeet vs. Gransberry. The Bulls haven't given the 6-foot-9, 270-pound senior much help in the blocks this season. He ranks first in the conference in rebounding (10.8 per game) and is the only other Big Easy player besides Luke Harangody averaging a double-double. Yet, USF is 12th in the league on the boards. If Thabeet can control Gransberry and bounce back from his 2-for-8, four-point effort against Notre Dame, the Huskies should have little problem dominating in the frontcourt.
(2) Perimeter D. An issue that was well-discussed heading into the Notre Dame game rears its head again, if only because of USF's Dominique Jones, who is challenging Syracuse's Donte' Greene and Jonny Flynn for Big East Rookie of the Year honors. He is a legitimate deep threat, and the responsibility of guarding him may fall heavily on Craig Austrie, who did an outstanding job on Kyle McAlarney on Wednesday.
(3) Keeping this thing rolling. The advance focuses heavily on the Huskies' desire to stay focused despite a softer schedule the rest of the way. Calhoun has been referring to the game as "business trip" to the team, adding that even if this great run, UConn hasn't been blowing teams out. If they jump on the Bulls (11-14, 2-10 Big East) early, open up a big lead and cruise, that's all the evidence you need they aren't relaxing.
I'll check back in following the game for some reaction.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Links and a little extra
Today's stories: Follow from the win over Notre Dame and a Big East notebook from the league conference call Thursday.
I couldn't squeeze this in into the notebook, but Notre Dame coach Mike Brey commented on Luke Harangody's ability to adapt new facets to this game entering the Irish's 84-78 loss to UConn on Wednesday.
"You can't really reinvent the wheel because for us, we need to play the way we've played, inside-out," Brey said. "We've been really good offensively because we've played that way. Just told him (Harangody) to step out a little bit more on ball screens, but we still need to make low-post feeds.
"I'm so impressed with this kid because for two days, we're saying, 'Why don't you try this? Why don't you try this?' He makes you look like a good coach. Try this, try this, and then he makes it work. So obviously just wind him up and send him out there."
Check back later today for a look ahead to South Florida.
I couldn't squeeze this in into the notebook, but Notre Dame coach Mike Brey commented on Luke Harangody's ability to adapt new facets to this game entering the Irish's 84-78 loss to UConn on Wednesday.
"You can't really reinvent the wheel because for us, we need to play the way we've played, inside-out," Brey said. "We've been really good offensively because we've played that way. Just told him (Harangody) to step out a little bit more on ball screens, but we still need to make low-post feeds.
"I'm so impressed with this kid because for two days, we're saying, 'Why don't you try this? Why don't you try this?' He makes you look like a good coach. Try this, try this, and then he makes it work. So obviously just wind him up and send him out there."
Check back later today for a look ahead to South Florida.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Great 8
With their 84-78 win over Notre Dame Wednesday, the Huskies continued to roll through the toughest part of their schedule, capturing their eighth straight victory and fourth consecutive over a ranked team in that span. At No. 17 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls and No. 10 in the RPI to start the week, UConn now has to take care of business at South Florida on Saturday (Noon, MyTV9) to keep the momentum going.
The Bulls, by the way, dispatched Syracuse at home on Wednesday, 85-73, sending the Orange to 6-6 in the Big East.
But there's a lot to cover from Wednesday's victory, which as it grew older, played more and more into the Huskies' hands. (A note: here is the link to today's game story. The lead came off more negative than I intended. I'm not saying UConn should be losing these games, far from it. They're outworking teams and simply playing better down the stretch over and over again. Just this run has been so good, you can't imagine it'll last forever. Even if or when it does end, as long as it doesn't come in the NCAA tournament, it shouldn't spell trouble for this team.)
(1) The Huskies' signature in this win streak has been its defense late. Similar to its wins over Georgia Tech (where the Yellow Jackets went scoreless for more than 3:30 late in the second half) and Syracuse (24.1 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes), UConn forced the Irish into 1-of-19 shooting in the final six minutes. With 7:44 left, Notre Dame led 70-66, but after two Jeff Adrien free throws made it 74-72 with 3:25 to play, the Huskies' never trailed.
"We have a good sense of the game as players," said A.J. Price. "And we knew coming down the stretch those last six minutes that we couldn’t give them anything easy."
"We’ve been in a bunch of close games that past couple games and we’re learning that defense is doing it for us," added Craig Austrie. "We just have to tell each other we need a couple stops, we wanted to get three or four stops and clam down on defense. And that’s what guys are doing."
Austrie, as detailed in today's notebook, was a big part of that lockdown, holding Kyle McAlarney to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. The Irish guard entered the game averaging more than 15 a contest and had scored 32 on the Huskies in the team's first meeting this season, a 73-67 Irish in back on Jan. 5.
(2) Price's leadership has been well-discussed both here and in print this season. But Wednesday's win showed how it continues to progress. It goes beyond his career high of 26 points and career high-tying nine assists, though his numbers are crucial to making UConn's offense go.
"He’s a terrific passer, he settles us down," said coach Jim Calhoun. "The game was heading toward an 85 or 90(-point) something game and even though they scored a little bit a the end and we scored a couple foul shots at the end, we got the game back under control where it wasn’t helter-skelter. And I told A.J., ‘Everybody’s quick shooting. You can’t quick shoot. … Let’s take the pace of the game down just a hair, so that we can finish the game the way we want to.’
"Sometimes when I get e-mails, ‘You gotta get rid of this kid, you gotta get rid of this kid.' I’m not just into getting rid of the kid and not because of 20-something points and 9-1 (assist-to-turnover ratio)," Calhoun continued. "But people do grow and all of us have gone through difficult things and have grown. So sometimes I look back at myself and other people and A.J. Price has grown not only as a player but as a person."
Calhoun was also asked about the Huskies' ability to finish games lately, and he said a part of that is having a leader to look to. Austrie, who's played poised and shot the ball well, and Adrien, who is no doubt the Huskies' boisterous leader at times on the floor, are definitely part of that. But Price is also doing something no one did last year.
"Khalid (El-Amin), before a game, would kind of give this incredible speech before a game," Calhoun said. "The guy doing it now, at halftime in particularly, is A.J., talking about the things that we need to do as a team. He clearly, very definitively is our leader."
(3) All the talk surrounding Luke Harangody for Big East Player of the Year is real. (And the same goes for Price, as well.) The sophomore was simply a beast at times in scoring a career-high 32 and matching a career high in rebounds with 16. He's also more athletic than he looks and can stretch a defense with a mid-range jumper.
"I think the game started well because he got outside early and made some jump shots and it kind of changed the tempo of the game," said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. "And then we kind of went inside to him."
The difference in Harangody's play against Hasheem Thabeet Wednesday as opposed to Jan. 5 when he shot 5-for-23 and had 14 points?
"He didn’t try to go at Hasheem all the time, he went around him," Adrien said. And then sometimes he went through him to finish. Last time he just tried to go through him all the time and that’s what hurt him."
Added Thabeet: "Well, when he was going around me, he was not scoring. He jump shoots (well). We played kind of bad defense in the first half and he took advantage of that. "
With about 32 seconds to play, Thabeet put a hard foul on Harangody and on the way to the ground, the two got their legs tangled. They then shot up and had to be separated by their teammates. Craig Austrie jokingly told Thabeet while walking him away from Harangody, "Fight him after." But once the game ended, the two shook hands and did the half-hug in the handshake line.
Of course, that came after some trash-talking during the game.
"He was talking about his scoring but I was talking about who’s winning," Thabeet said, drawing a laughter from the crowd of reporters around him. "He kept telling me, ‘You’re soft.’ But I was not trying to be anything I’m not. We’re winning and that’s it."
Thabeet was out of sorts offensively (four points on 2-of-8 shooting) but still managed 10 rebounds and six blocks. And he simply punished the ball when he blocked Ryan Ayers' 3 attempt from the left wing with 1:36 to play.
"No easy shots," Thabeet said.
As for who got the edge in the Big East Player of the Year race between Price and Harangody, I say it's a draw. Both were fantastic and though Notre Dame loss, it certainly wasn't because of Harangody. He scored 22 points in the second half when the rest of his team struggled mightily to score.
(4) I'll have much more about Gavin Edwards in Friday's follow-up, but the sophomore played well for the second straight game against the Irish. He scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds back on Jan. 5 and scored eight and added three boards in eight minutes Wednesday.
Teams with more traditional post players are just a better match-up for him. Against other teams, like Marquette (which he didn't play against) and Georgia Tech (he saw two minutes, the lowest in a game he has seen action in this year), he has trouble catching up their overall speed and athleticism. But his contributions, no doubt, are essential, and he had no bigger play than with under 5:30 to play, he swatted a Notre Dame shot off the backboard, kick-starting a fast break that Doug Wiggins finished with a one-hand dunk over a defender.
(5) As for his dunk, Wiggins said: "I got the ball, passed it to A.J. and A.J. gave it right back to me on the break. That’s from playing in practice together, just looking out, rewarding people.
"I knew I was dunking it the whole time, definitely," he added. "I got my legs back, I think. You’ll see a lot more of that."
Wiggins also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. Often times when sliding in to grab a board Wednesday, he pushed the ball up the floor. Calhoun spoke after the Georgia Tech game about how Wiggins makes this UConn quicker when he's playing well. That's a prime example.
(6) Adrien, who said his right shoulder popped out a bit on a play against Georgia Tech, wore a supportive strap around it Wednesday. "It’s a lot better than what it was," he said.
As for South Florida on Saturday, I'm not being sent to cover the game, though I will post at least an update following the game and some reaction.
Also, I overlooked this the other day, but here is a comment 'Toast,' a regular reader of the blog, posted following the Georgia Tech win:
"I am positively giddy about this team.
Let me ask you something: With the supernatural speed at which Thabeet is maturing and coming into his game, you think he stays for next year, or will he go pro? I mean, I'm sitting there on the couch watching him tonight, and I turned to my wife and told her 'If I was an NBA scout, I would have a puddle of drool in my lap right now.'"
I may have commented on this before (though I'm not sure), but I believe Thabeet will leave after this year. Like any player, he of course would benefit from another in college, but he's proven he can makes strides very quickly and I think a lot of teams would be more willing to "take a chance" on him after this season than last. It of course, is far less of a chance this year, but I'd be surprised if he stays.
The Bulls, by the way, dispatched Syracuse at home on Wednesday, 85-73, sending the Orange to 6-6 in the Big East.
But there's a lot to cover from Wednesday's victory, which as it grew older, played more and more into the Huskies' hands. (A note: here is the link to today's game story. The lead came off more negative than I intended. I'm not saying UConn should be losing these games, far from it. They're outworking teams and simply playing better down the stretch over and over again. Just this run has been so good, you can't imagine it'll last forever. Even if or when it does end, as long as it doesn't come in the NCAA tournament, it shouldn't spell trouble for this team.)
(1) The Huskies' signature in this win streak has been its defense late. Similar to its wins over Georgia Tech (where the Yellow Jackets went scoreless for more than 3:30 late in the second half) and Syracuse (24.1 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes), UConn forced the Irish into 1-of-19 shooting in the final six minutes. With 7:44 left, Notre Dame led 70-66, but after two Jeff Adrien free throws made it 74-72 with 3:25 to play, the Huskies' never trailed.
"We have a good sense of the game as players," said A.J. Price. "And we knew coming down the stretch those last six minutes that we couldn’t give them anything easy."
"We’ve been in a bunch of close games that past couple games and we’re learning that defense is doing it for us," added Craig Austrie. "We just have to tell each other we need a couple stops, we wanted to get three or four stops and clam down on defense. And that’s what guys are doing."
Austrie, as detailed in today's notebook, was a big part of that lockdown, holding Kyle McAlarney to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. The Irish guard entered the game averaging more than 15 a contest and had scored 32 on the Huskies in the team's first meeting this season, a 73-67 Irish in back on Jan. 5.
(2) Price's leadership has been well-discussed both here and in print this season. But Wednesday's win showed how it continues to progress. It goes beyond his career high of 26 points and career high-tying nine assists, though his numbers are crucial to making UConn's offense go.
"He’s a terrific passer, he settles us down," said coach Jim Calhoun. "The game was heading toward an 85 or 90(-point) something game and even though they scored a little bit a the end and we scored a couple foul shots at the end, we got the game back under control where it wasn’t helter-skelter. And I told A.J., ‘Everybody’s quick shooting. You can’t quick shoot. … Let’s take the pace of the game down just a hair, so that we can finish the game the way we want to.’
"Sometimes when I get e-mails, ‘You gotta get rid of this kid, you gotta get rid of this kid.' I’m not just into getting rid of the kid and not because of 20-something points and 9-1 (assist-to-turnover ratio)," Calhoun continued. "But people do grow and all of us have gone through difficult things and have grown. So sometimes I look back at myself and other people and A.J. Price has grown not only as a player but as a person."
Calhoun was also asked about the Huskies' ability to finish games lately, and he said a part of that is having a leader to look to. Austrie, who's played poised and shot the ball well, and Adrien, who is no doubt the Huskies' boisterous leader at times on the floor, are definitely part of that. But Price is also doing something no one did last year.
"Khalid (El-Amin), before a game, would kind of give this incredible speech before a game," Calhoun said. "The guy doing it now, at halftime in particularly, is A.J., talking about the things that we need to do as a team. He clearly, very definitively is our leader."
(3) All the talk surrounding Luke Harangody for Big East Player of the Year is real. (And the same goes for Price, as well.) The sophomore was simply a beast at times in scoring a career-high 32 and matching a career high in rebounds with 16. He's also more athletic than he looks and can stretch a defense with a mid-range jumper.
"I think the game started well because he got outside early and made some jump shots and it kind of changed the tempo of the game," said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. "And then we kind of went inside to him."
The difference in Harangody's play against Hasheem Thabeet Wednesday as opposed to Jan. 5 when he shot 5-for-23 and had 14 points?
"He didn’t try to go at Hasheem all the time, he went around him," Adrien said. And then sometimes he went through him to finish. Last time he just tried to go through him all the time and that’s what hurt him."
Added Thabeet: "Well, when he was going around me, he was not scoring. He jump shoots (well). We played kind of bad defense in the first half and he took advantage of that. "
With about 32 seconds to play, Thabeet put a hard foul on Harangody and on the way to the ground, the two got their legs tangled. They then shot up and had to be separated by their teammates. Craig Austrie jokingly told Thabeet while walking him away from Harangody, "Fight him after." But once the game ended, the two shook hands and did the half-hug in the handshake line.
Of course, that came after some trash-talking during the game.
"He was talking about his scoring but I was talking about who’s winning," Thabeet said, drawing a laughter from the crowd of reporters around him. "He kept telling me, ‘You’re soft.’ But I was not trying to be anything I’m not. We’re winning and that’s it."
Thabeet was out of sorts offensively (four points on 2-of-8 shooting) but still managed 10 rebounds and six blocks. And he simply punished the ball when he blocked Ryan Ayers' 3 attempt from the left wing with 1:36 to play.
"No easy shots," Thabeet said.
As for who got the edge in the Big East Player of the Year race between Price and Harangody, I say it's a draw. Both were fantastic and though Notre Dame loss, it certainly wasn't because of Harangody. He scored 22 points in the second half when the rest of his team struggled mightily to score.
(4) I'll have much more about Gavin Edwards in Friday's follow-up, but the sophomore played well for the second straight game against the Irish. He scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds back on Jan. 5 and scored eight and added three boards in eight minutes Wednesday.
Teams with more traditional post players are just a better match-up for him. Against other teams, like Marquette (which he didn't play against) and Georgia Tech (he saw two minutes, the lowest in a game he has seen action in this year), he has trouble catching up their overall speed and athleticism. But his contributions, no doubt, are essential, and he had no bigger play than with under 5:30 to play, he swatted a Notre Dame shot off the backboard, kick-starting a fast break that Doug Wiggins finished with a one-hand dunk over a defender.
(5) As for his dunk, Wiggins said: "I got the ball, passed it to A.J. and A.J. gave it right back to me on the break. That’s from playing in practice together, just looking out, rewarding people.
"I knew I was dunking it the whole time, definitely," he added. "I got my legs back, I think. You’ll see a lot more of that."
Wiggins also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. Often times when sliding in to grab a board Wednesday, he pushed the ball up the floor. Calhoun spoke after the Georgia Tech game about how Wiggins makes this UConn quicker when he's playing well. That's a prime example.
(6) Adrien, who said his right shoulder popped out a bit on a play against Georgia Tech, wore a supportive strap around it Wednesday. "It’s a lot better than what it was," he said.
As for South Florida on Saturday, I'm not being sent to cover the game, though I will post at least an update following the game and some reaction.
Also, I overlooked this the other day, but here is a comment 'Toast,' a regular reader of the blog, posted following the Georgia Tech win:
"I am positively giddy about this team.
Let me ask you something: With the supernatural speed at which Thabeet is maturing and coming into his game, you think he stays for next year, or will he go pro? I mean, I'm sitting there on the couch watching him tonight, and I turned to my wife and told her 'If I was an NBA scout, I would have a puddle of drool in my lap right now.'"
I may have commented on this before (though I'm not sure), but I believe Thabeet will leave after this year. Like any player, he of course would benefit from another in college, but he's proven he can makes strides very quickly and I think a lot of teams would be more willing to "take a chance" on him after this season than last. It of course, is far less of a chance this year, but I'd be surprised if he stays.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
UPDATE: Huskies prevail, 84-78
A.J. Price scored a career-high 26 points and the UConn men's basketball team held Notre Dame to one field goal in the final 7:45 of play, capturing an 84-78 win at Gampel Pavilion. It is UConn's eighth straight win as it improved to 19-5, 8-3 in Big East, trying Notre Dame for second place in the league.
Luke Harangody scored a career-high 32 and was Notre Dame's main source of offense in the second half, but the Irish, after shooting better than 52 percent in the first half, went cold, nailing 33.3 percent of their shots in the second.
Price also tied a career high with nine assists.
Luke Harangody scored a career-high 32 and was Notre Dame's main source of offense in the second half, but the Irish, after shooting better than 52 percent in the first half, went cold, nailing 33.3 percent of their shots in the second.
Price also tied a career high with nine assists.
UPDATE: UConn trails Notre Dame, 41-39, at half
Notre Dame's Kyle McAlarney hit a lay-up with 4.5 seconds left to give the Irish a 41-39 lead over the UConn men's basketball team at the half here at Gampel Pavilion.
Notre Dame couldn't miss at points during the first 20 minutes and entered the break shooting 16-of-31 (51.6 percent) from the field, compared to 41.5 percent shooting (17-of-41) by UConn. The Huskies, however, have made Notre Dame pay for its mistakes, turning seven turnovers into 12 points.
A.J. Price leads the Huskies with 13 points while Tory Jackson has 11 and Luke Harangody has 10 for the Irish. The half moved quickly with few whistles and both teams trading shots. Everything flowed so well late in the half that the four-minute media timeout wasn't taken until the 1:32 mark.
Notre Dame couldn't miss at points during the first 20 minutes and entered the break shooting 16-of-31 (51.6 percent) from the field, compared to 41.5 percent shooting (17-of-41) by UConn. The Huskies, however, have made Notre Dame pay for its mistakes, turning seven turnovers into 12 points.
A.J. Price leads the Huskies with 13 points while Tory Jackson has 11 and Luke Harangody has 10 for the Irish. The half moved quickly with few whistles and both teams trading shots. Everything flowed so well late in the half that the four-minute media timeout wasn't taken until the 1:32 mark.