Hurley, Huskies Need Some Home Cooking
The Story: Finals are over and now it’s time for basketball as the men’s basketball team begins a three-game homestand by hosting Saint Peter’s out of New Jersey at the XL Center (7 p.m., SNY).
YOUNG GUNS SHOOTING BLANKS: UConn enters the game 6-3 and a week removed from a disappointing loss to Indiana in the Jimmy V Classic at MSG. UConn has shown flashes of being a good team but could use a burst from its young guns in James Bouknight, Brendan Adams and Jalen Gaffney. Bouknight, after an audacious start that had us talking (worrying) about the NBA, has scored a combined two points on 1-of-5 shooting in 29 total minutes in his last two games, including zero against Indiana. Adams also had zero points against Indiana in 17 minutes while Gaffney only played nine minutes over the last two games. That is essentially UConn’s bench and future and Dan Hurley said as much, acknowledging he has to get more out of the young guards.
WHAT THE HELL IS NET RATING? UConn is No. 69 in the NET rating, fifth in the AAC. The first thing to know is that it is an important metric for determining who is in the NCAA Tournament. It replaced RPI as of last season, so what does it mean? We don’t really know. Hurley also doesn’t know and doesn’t seem to care.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “We’re not putting much into those types of analytical data, where the team is ranked, RPI, BPI. We continue to try to improve defensively, get tougher, rebound the ball and focus on the offensive end and try to get better as a team and advance the program. We see the team. We know where we’re at as a program. I don’t think I need the NET to know where we’re at.”
ABOUT SAINT PETER’S: UConn hasn’t played the Peacocks in 30 years and is 3-3 all-time against them. They are coached by former Seton Hall point guard Shaheen Holloway, who also was the guard who replaced Hurley at Seton Hall in the 1990s. Saint Peter’s is 2-4 but beat in-state rival Fairleigh Dickinson last week. Doug Edert leads the Peacocks at 11.2 points per game.
Another Blue-Chip Talent For Geno
The Story: Isuneh Brady, the No. 3 recruit in the Class of 2022, has given a commitment to play at UConn. Her high school announced the news on Twitter.
WHO IS BRADY? Brady is a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward and is UConn’s first player in her class to commit. Brady plays for Cathedral Catholic in San Diego, is averaging 16.5 points and 10.7 rebounds this season. She is a physical presence inside and projects to be an inside scorer and rebounder. She is known as “Ice Brady.”
SETUP FOR THE FUTURE: Brady is just the latest in a string of recruiting wins. Geno said recently that the Huskies missed out on the recruiting trail recently, but have made up for that with five recruits in the books for 2020, including No. 1 player Paige Bueckers. The Huskies also have two highly regarded players for 2021 in Amari Berry (No. 5) and Saylor Poffenbarger (No. 17). That means UConn is bringing in a top-five recruit in 2020, ’21 and ’22.
WHAT DOES HER COACH SAY? “She is well-versed on the college basketball landscape and UConn is the perfect place for her to continue her growth as a player. She wants to be great and UConn and Geno’s staff is the perfect fit,” Cathedral Catholic coach Jackie Turpin told the Journal Inquirer.
Football’s Early Signing Period Begins
The Story: The early signing period for football will begin this morning and the football program is expecting an influx of recruits for next season.
HOW MANY PLAYERS? We’ll end up breaking down the class and doing the numbers after players are signed, sealed and delivered, but today should be a big day for the Huskies with 18 players committed and many, if not all, expected to send in their national letters of intent. Yes, we are expecting a QB in the class in Jonathan Senecal from Montreal and the player with the most impressive offer list is DL Quay Evans, who had Maryland, North Carolina and other Power 5 offers.
BEGINNING OF SIGNING DAY, NOT THE END: If signing day seems early, it is because December signings are a new thing. Players were unable to sign letters of intent until February under the old system and that made for a very long and drawn-out commitment process. Coaches wanted an early signing period to lock down kids who don’t want to be pressured and then can recruit still undecided players. In the last few years, it has put a damper on signing day in February, which became a huge annual made-for-TV event, but it appears to give coaches a longer runway to recruit. The pressure isn’t to sign or go nowhere in one day.
Morning Reads
GET WELL SOON, GENO: Geno Auriemma underwent a minor medical procedure on Tuesday and could be miss Sunday’s game while recovering. (Journal Inquirer, Associated Press)
BOUKNIGHT’S HIGH SCHOOL COACH ON HURLEY: Check out Jared Kotler’s podcast this week featuring Woodstock Academy coach Jacque Rivera, who coached Bouknight at Macduffie. (CT Scoreboard Podcast)
WINKEL HAS SURGERY: Sophomore catcher Pat Winkel underwent surgery on his right elbow and is expected to miss the 2020 season. (Pat Winkel on Instagram)
