Bouknight Apologizes, Ready to Return
The Story: Freshman James Bouknight appeared before a judge at Rockville Superior Court yesterday, apologized for the vehicular incident in Storrs at the end of September and was accepted into a pretrial rehabilitation program that could lead to the dropping of all charges against him after a year.
LESSON LEARNED: Bouknight, who hit a street sign and ran from police on Sept. 27, told reporters after his appearance he was “extremely sorry for what happened.” Because he was deemed a first-time offender, the charges will be dropped as long as he is involved in no other legal infractions until Nov. 18, 2020.
ONE COURT TO ANOTHER: After being suspended for the exhibition game and the Huskies’ first three regular-season games, Bouknight will be eligible to suit up on Thursday when UConn faces Buffalo in the Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C. He’s considered a reliable scorer who should boost the Huskies’ offense, but it’s unclear where Dan Hurley will find minutes for him, especially as he gets adjusted to the pace of the game. Buffalo, on the cusp of the top 100 in KenPom.com’s rankings, will not be a pushover, and it could be a few games — perhaps until December — until the rotation shakes out.
FLORIDA RECOUNT: After losing to the Huskies on Sunday, Florida dropped out of the AP poll, plummeting from No. 15 to unranked. More notable, though, is that UConn received two votes, marking the first time in 51 weeks — the week after the win over Syracuse last season — they have earned national consideration. It’s a long road back, though: The Huskies have not been ranked since the 2016-17 preseason poll and have not been ranked during the season since Jan. 4, 2016, when they were 23rd.
UConn Ready For That Cavalier Attitude
The Story: The No. 4-ranked women’s basketball team will host Virginia tonight at the XL Center in the first meeting between the teams in nearly 12 years (7 p.m., CBS Sports).
A BIG START: Sophomore Olivia Nelson-Ododa was honored by the AAC yesterday as its player of the week after she had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks against Cal and 15 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four assists against Temple. It’s a great start to the season for Nelson-Ododa, who was basically an unknown last season in 14 minutes per game but one of the Huskies’ staples thus far.
EASING IN: It has not been particularly smooth sailing early on for the Huskies’ newcomers. Freshman Anna Makurat has started two of the first three games but has missed 12 of her 13 shots, including 10 3-pointers, and graduate transfer Evelyn Adebayo has struggled with the leap from Murray State of the AAC OVC to UConn, having played just five minutes in two games. Aubrey Griffin, the other freshman, has been reliable, however, and had nine points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes against Temple. She also has a team-high eight steals.
AS FOR VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers (2-2) played No. 13 Kentucky tough at home on Saturday, losing 50-47. They’re led by senior guard Jocelyn Willoughby, who scored 31 points in a season-opening win over Bucknell and is averaging 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, and senior Lisa Jablonowski, a 6-foot-3 forward from Luxembourg (!!!) who is scoring 10.5 points per game. Their coach is none other than Tina Thompson, who is in her second season and went just 12-19 in her first.
Morning Reads
NEWPOWER HONORED: Hockey East named senior Wyatt Newpower its player of the week after he had a goal and two assists for the men’s hockey team in two games against UMass-Lowell over the weekend. (UConnHuskies.com)
