Bouknight In Shining Armor
The Story: James Bouknight is a second-half player and did it again on Sunday as he scored 17 of his 19 points after halftime to lead the Huskies to a 78-71 win over USF. Christian Vital was terrific for the Huskies with 24 points.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies avenged their worst loss of the season — 16 points — to USF that happened at the turn of the New Year. It is a different team now in so many ways. UConn has lost two starters to a season-ending injury and benched Alterique Gilbert. The result? Much more free-flowing offense and shotmaking. The star on Sunday was Vital, who scored 24 points on 15 shots and has come out of his half-season of poor shooting. UConn looks dangerous at 15-12 on the season and 7-8 in the conference with three games to play. Now it is about positioning for the AAC tournament where we think the Huskies can be a factor.
LOVING THE 4 GUARDS: We’ve been calling on this almost all year, but the Huskies are playing great offensive basketball playing with four players who can handle the ball and one big man. Bouknight was in foul trouble and played only 16 minutes (still scored 19 points on 7 shots) but Brendan Adams, Jalen Gaffney, and Christian Vital all played more than 30 minutes. Gaffney and Adams each had 10 points while Isaiah Whaley added eight points, five rebounds, and four blocks. We find the lineup quicker, better shooting, and more versatile and there isn’t a rebounding issue with it. It was out of necessity, but we think Dan Hurley has found a style that will work really well at UConn long term.
LETS TALK WHALEY: Whaley, a junior forward, was a non-rotation player to start the year and now is playing 36 minutes a night while Josh Carlton could only get 12? We love what he is doing and while he doesn’t have the size of Carlton or length of Akok, he is a mobile big man. Whaley is undersized against centers, but is terrific as a perimeter defender and can trap pick-and-rolls and recover. He is quicker than anything the Huskies have inside and is rebounding. His motor and the pressure he puts on other teams as a quicker big that makes him effective at the center spot.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn shot 65% from the floor in the second half and scored 78 points against USF. The Huskies are playing faster and the offense isn’t grinding anymore. Bouknight’s 19 points came on 6-of-7 shooting, 5-of-5 from the foul line and 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Advanced metrics loved the game. His eFG% was 100% and his true shooting percentage is an outrageous 117%. That is James Harden-level efficiency with his shooting.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY: “When he (Bouknight) puts it all together for us next year, you’re looking at potentially that next `one.’ He just does some innate things that you just can’t teach somebody.”
BOTTOM LINE: UConn is 15-12 and with three games left should be a dangerous team in the AAC tournament. While the chances of running the table in the AAC aren’t great, we do think the Huskies with another win or two will comfortably get into the NIT at worse. That will good for a program that has not had any postseason play in the last three years. Secondly, we are liking UConn basketball again and know it is only going to get better from here.
Big Weekend For Baseball, Hockey
The Story: UConn is not a basketball school, it is a school that excels in all athletics. Check out men’s hockey, which beat Boston University twice in Hockey East and then baseball taking 2-of-3 from No. 1 ranked Michigan baseball in Florida.
HOCKEY STARS: We don’t do a lot of hockey in the Daily because the games are on the weekends and almost no legacy media covers the team. Well, the hockey team is starting to make everyone take notice across Hockey East and college hockey in general. The Huskies have won 7-of-8 Hockey East games and stunned Boston University 3-2 on Friday night. On Saturday, the Huskies blitzed BU 6-1.
RISING UP HOCKEY EAST: The Huskies are now 11-8-2 overall in Hockey East and 14-13-4 on the season. UConn is at 24 points with three games left and tied for fourth place, only four points away from first-place Boston College. UConn is one of the hottest teams in the conference wit postseason play less than three weeks away.
PENDERS A MAGICIAN: Let’s switch gears to baseball, where Jim Penders has another run up his sleeve this season. The Huskies took 2-of-3 against Michigan in Port St. Lucie, Florida this weekend and have won 3-of-4 games against Michigan this season. Michigan is ranked No. 1 in baseball poll and is a top-10 team in the other and last year’s national championship runner-ups. UConn won 9-2 on Sunday.
FRESHMAN STARS SUNDAY: Freshman Reggie Crawford went 4-for-4 on Sunday including three doubles and is hitting a cool .429 through six games. Paul Gozzo added three RBIs for the Huskies.
REMINDER THAT BASEBALL HAS A NEW STADIUM: Baseball plays its first 25 games away from Storrs, but will come back to a new home on campus — Elliot Park. This is going to be a real baseball park with a nice atmosphere. That is only going to enhance what Penders is doing in Storrs. We think it is miraculous. The Huskies are at New Orleans next week.
Morning Reads
PHYSICAL WIN: The women’s basketball team defeated UCF 66-53 in a tough game on Saturday to win the AAC crown for a seventh consecutive season. (Hartford Courant)
SENIORS SAY GOODBYE: Geno Auriemma started all five seniors on Senior Day, and it was an emotional affair for everyone. (Hartford Courant)
WILLIAMS’ SLUMP A CONCERN: Shooting has been an issue for Christyn Williams as of late and it doesn’t appear to be getting better. (Hartford Courant)
HURLEY GETS SUPEONA: Dan Hurley was subpoenaed by former coach Kevin Ollie’s lawyers as the acrimonious fight over $10 million gets even more heated. (The UConn Blog)
BEN GORDON’S DEMONS: This is a must-read from Ben Gordon, who talks about depression and contemplating suicide. (The Players Tribune).
BUECKERS ALREADY A STAR: UConn women’s No. 1 recruit Paige Bueckers is already playing the part of superstar back home in Minnesota. (Hartford Courant)
