Hurley Gets Martin for the Fall
The Story: UConn received good news on the men’s basketball front as transfer guard/forward Tyrese Martin was granted a waiver to play this season for Dan Hurley and the Huskies.
NCAA FAVORED UCONN: One of the great black boxes in all of sports is how the NCAA grants waiver requests. Some years, the NCAA is in a bad mood and doesn’t grant many waivers. That happened in recent years to Sidney Wilson and with R.J. Cole last year. But Martin, who was recruited to Rhode Island by Hurley, was allowed to transfer after his sophomore year. The NCAA has been more lenient granting waivers this year due to COVID-19.
WHAT WILL MARTIN BRING? Martin is going to add depth to the wing as the 6-foot-6 swingman was a starter at Rhode Island and averaged 12.8 points and seven rebounds per game. He is more of a slasher, shooting 48 percent overall and 32 percent from 3-point range.
WHERE DOES HE FIT? UConn is going to have one of the better backcourts in the nation this season. Guards Jalen Gaffney and Brendan Adams return with high-scoring point guard Cole, who scored 21.4 points per game at Howard, also available. Also, James Bouknight returns for his sophomore campaign and top-50 freshman Andre Jackson will also be in the mix on the wing. UConn’s backcourt with Bouknight and Cole will be one of the more dynamic ones in the Big East, if not the nation.
WILL THE SEASON BE PLAYED? We have a lot going on in the background of major college sports these days. The Big Ten decided to play football in October and there is a thought about starting the NCAA basketball seasons in bubbles. Currently, the NCAA has agreed to allow the college basketball season to begin on Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving. There will be no scrimmage games as tuneups. The original college start date was Nov. 10.
The reason for the delay is that 76 percent of colleges will have their students go home for Thanksgiving Break and finish finals remotely, giving basketball players six weeks with minimal students on campus.
FANS AT GAMES? Right now, we don’t know if there will be, but it doesn’t look promising. The Huskies’ schedule is in flux as they try to figure out a path and the model of the NBA in a bubble has shown that basketball can be an attractive sport to watch and play in that environment. The start date is the first shoe to fall for athletic directors, who will have to work within that framework.
Morning Reads
UCONN-UMASS GAME THIS SPRING? The football team could play games in the spring as college football writer Mark Blaudschun, who worked at the Boston Globe and was the first to report UConn canceled its season, said there is a possibility UConn and UMass will play in the spring. (Mark Blaudschun on Twitter)
MOORE MARRIES FREED PRISONER: Maya Moore gave up her basketball career to help free Jonathan Irons from prison. Moore announced on Wednesday the pair were recently married. (Yahoo! Sports)
KICKER NAMED TO ALL-AMERICA TEAM: UConn recruit Joe McFadden, from Texas, was named to the 2021 All-American Bowl. He’s considered one of the top high school kickers in the country. (NBC Sports)
THREE INTRIGUING PLAYERS: If the Huskies are to succeed this season, it will come down to Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Paige Bueckers. (The Athletic)
