What Does Hurley Have?
The Story: The men’s basketball team will play host to New Hampshire on Sunday in a three-game pre-AAC tuneup, and through 10 games, we don’t know what Dan Hurley has in the Huskies this season.
YOUNGLINGS ARE GOOD: Akok Akok was a monster on Wednesday against Saint Peter’s with eight rebounds, five blocks and seven points. The 6-foot-10 forward is also a skilled big man with 3-point shooting ability and we project a top-shelf career in Storrs if he stays long enough. James Bouknight burst onto the scenes in his first three games, and while he’s cooled down, he is a future leading scorer. He’s tall and explosive and has an ability to score easily. Guard Jalen Gaffney finally got major minutes and has improved tremendously in 10 games with 10 points and five assists. The freshmen aren’t perfect, but Hurley seems to have hit on his first full recruiting class. The group can be inconsistent — they are freshmen, of course — but we are banking on them getting better as the season wears on.
INCONSISTENT VETS LOWER CEILING: We expect young players to be inconsistent in college, even the ultra-talented players. How about veterans? That gives us major concerns as we look at whether the Huskies can break their three-year NCAA Tournament drought. All three are playing below expectations. Christian Vital isn’t scoring efficiently, Alterique Gilbert‘s shot is nonexistent and Josh Carlton remains an enigma. Carlton was the most improved player in the AAC last year but has been unable to build upon that. We’ve all seen Vital, Gilbert and Carlton play well against good teams and put up big numbers. We have also seen disappearing acts and head-scratching struggles. Vital shot 45 percent and 41 percent from 3-point range last year. This year, in 10 games, he’s at 37 percent and 33 percent from 3-point range. As a senior, his shooting is the worst of his career. Gilbert’s shooting woes are well noted, and he is a better player than the 28 percent mark he carries and is committing 2.3 turnovers a game. Carlton is not finishing around the basket (he’s shooting 53 percent) as well as a year ago and is committing three turnovers a game. The best veteran player this season is junior Tyler Polley, who is shooting a team-high 45 percent from 3-point range and is averaging 10.8 points per game on a low shooting volume.
STARTS WITH DEFENSE: We must say that while offensive troubles remain, the defense is outstanding. UConn holds teams to 39 percent shooting and under 30 percent on 3s. UConn plays with Akok and Carlton inside for much of that time, and their ability to defend the rim, with the defensive ability of Vital and Gilbert in the backcourt, is proving effective. The Huskies can certainly win an ugly game. Now, how the hell did St. Joseph’s put up 96 on them again?
ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE: New Hampshire (6-5) is led by forward Nick Gudarrama, who is averaging 15.5 points 9.5 rebounds per game. Guadarrama has six double-doubles this season and has eclipsed 20 points a game in four times. Guard Sean Sutherlin, who is 6-foot-5, is averaging 14 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Amazingly, the Wildcats have already surpassed last season’s win total.
BOTTOM LINE: We won’t know about the Huskies’ postseason chances until they get into the teeth of AAC play, which will begin on New Year’s Day at Cincinnati. UConn has a week off for Christmas after Sunday’s game and has a tuneup game against NJIT on Dec. 29. We think UConn’s an above-.500 team and looks good for a postseason NIT bid if needed. We want to see an NCAA bid, however, but there is still a lot to do on the floor before the Huskies look like a worthy team. Some of the parts are there. Can Hurley bring them along fast enough this season? We’ll find out.
Who Were the Best Players of the 2010s?
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Huskies Looking For a Little More Boom
The Story: The Huskies will try to recover from a concerning victory over No. 16 DePaul on Monday when they “host” Oklahoma without Geno Auriemma at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday (4 p.m., CBS Sports).
WHERE’S GENO? The coach will miss the game after undergoing what the school called a “minimally invasive procedure” on Wednesday to alleviate symptoms caused by diverticulitis. That means he’ll hand the reins over to Chris Dailey, who is 9-0 all-time when replacing Geno, including two emphatic wins last season.
WE DEMAND DOMINANCE! UConn trailed by nine points in the first quarter against Seton Hall on Dec. 5 and answered with a shellacking of woebegone Notre Dame three days later. Since the Huskies almost choked away a 26-point halftime lead against DePaul on Monday, we expect them to answer big on Sunday against the Sooners, who are 7-4 after holding off a furious charge from Drake and winning 93-84 on Tuesday.
MORE SCORING NEEDED: Only five players scored for the Huskies against DePaul, with Megan Walker and Crystal Dangerfield each scoring 22 points while playing all 40 minutes in the win. The only bench player to score was Anna Makurat, who had a quietly solid game, scoring eight points with seven rebounds (but four turnovers). It seems like she’s finally adjusting to the college game, even though she was perplexed that she could not run the baseline on an inbounds play on Monday. Kyla Irwin, who moved into a starting role beginning with the win at Dayton on Nov. 26, was held scoreless for the third time in her five starts, and Aubrey Griffin, despite her 25 points against Seton Hall, has had a very James Bouknight-ian four points in her last two games combined. CD probably won’t want to mess with too much against Oklahoma and with Geno out, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA: Playing at Mohegan Sun for the second time in three years, the Sooners are led primarily by three players: sophomore guard Taylor Robertson, who is scoring a team-high 19.5 points per game; junior guard Ana Llanusa, who is averaging 18.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a game; and junior wing Madi Williams, the best friend and former AAU teammate of Christyn Williams, who has 13.9 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game.
Morning Reads
MENSAH NAMED TO ECAC TEAM: Running back Kevin Mensah was named to the ECAC All-Offensive team. He had his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season and is only the second UConn player to do that after Jordan Todman in 2009 and 2010. (UConnHuskies.com)
CASH, HAMILTON ON HALL OF FAME BALLOT: Swin Cash is a finalist for the 2020 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Also on the ballot is Richard Hamilton. It’s going to be a strong class with Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan headlining the ballot. (Hartford Courant)
WISEMAN SAYS FORGET IT: Let’s not worry about the charade anymore. James Wiseman, the No. 1 recruit in the country who chose Memphis and is suspended through mid-January, has withdrawn from the school to focus on the NBA Draft. (ESPN)
