Carter Shut Down; Fresno State Up Next
The Story: Sophomore running back Nate Carter will unfortunately not play again this season because of a separated shoulder, meaning the Huskies will be without him as they prepare to host Fresno State tomorrow at Pratt & Whitney Stadium (3:30 p.m., CBS Sports).
WHAT’S UP WITH CARTER? One of the Huskies’ lone bright spots this season, Carter left the game against Michigan in the second quarter with the shoulder injury and was diagnosed with what Dr. Jim Mora called a “grade two-plus” separation.
• Carter finishes the season with 65 carries for 405 yards and a touchdown as well as five catches for 39 yards. For a while, he was among the nation’s leading rushers and really the only thing that was working on offense.
• Carter’s father, Darryl, wrote on Twitter yesterday morning that his son will be back and better than ever next season. That’d be welcome for the Huskies, who absolutely cannot afford to lose him.
• UConn managed 121 rushing yards in the 41-10 loss at NC State last week, though only 94 of those came from their running backs. Victor Rosa had six carries for 43 yards and a touchdown, Devontae Houston had eight rushes for 38 yards and Robert Burns (still not the poet) had four attempts for 13 yards.
BULLDOGS ON DECK: The Huskies will complete their awkward home-and-home series with Fresno State (1-2), which is one of the series that was thrown together at the last minute when UConn decided to go independent in football. It’s by far Fresno State’s longest road trip in program history.
• The Bulldogs clobbered the Huskies 45-0 at home a year ago in the season opener, which signaled to the millions (and millions!) watching at home that despite a year off, UConn was still in fact UConn.
• Fresno State opened the season with a 35-7 waxing of Cal Poly, then lost 35-32 at home to Oregon State and was whooped 45-17 at USC. The Bulldogs had a chance to lick their wounds last week as they were off.
• Sixth-year senior quarterback Jake Haener left the game against USC with an injury and is a game-time decision, so he’ll probably be warming up in a tunnel somewhere. If he can’t go, sophomore Logan Fife will step in. Sixth-year senior running back Jordan Mims has had back-to-back games with 100 yards rushing.
HELMETS OF HONOR: The Huskies will be wearing all-white uniforms (and are encouraging fans to wear white as well) for the game, which will raise awareness of the fight against cancer.
• Players will wear helmet decals that, depending on the color, will depict how they have been impacted by certain types of the disease.
• Mora said the observance takes a special meaning for him because one of his grandmothers died of breast cancer and his mother has beaten it three times. His wife’s father died from pancreatic cancer and her sister-in-law is battling it.
Cole’s Exit Leads to Opportunities
The Story: The men’s basketball team will look different for a million reasons this season, but none may be more recognizable than the absence of R.J. Cole as the Huskies’ point guard.
STEPPING UP TO THE TASK: UConn revamped its roster so significantly during the offseason that the only scholarship players who return are Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, Samson Johnson and Richie Springs. Even in the era of the transfer portal, that’s a hell of a lot of turnover — unless you’re LSU, in which case it’d be a blessing.
• None of the returnees are primarily ballhandlers, so that means a newcomer will have to handle that role. Enter Tristen Newton and Hassan Diarra, who transferred to UConn from East Carolina and Texas A&M.
• Newton is a 6-foot-5, 190-pound senior from El Paso, Texas, who started 65 games for the Pirates and averaged 17.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and five assists last season. The starting role seems to be his to lose.
• Diarra is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior from Queens who was primarily a reserve for the Aggies during his first two seasons. A younger brother of Mamadou Diarra, the former player who is the Huskies’ director of player development, he was the No. 1-ranked player in Connecticut in the Class of 2020 after three years at Putnam Science Academy.
WHAT DID NEWTON SAY? “Since the first day he called me, he told me he was going to be hard on me. To get me where he wants me to be, of course he’s going to be a little hard, but I appreciate that. He wants me to play a little lower, be more aggressive. He wants [a point guard] who knows what he’s doing, doesn’t turn the ball over and makes the right play. I’ve got to get a little bit sharper with the ball and I’ll be fine.”
WHAT DID DAN HURLEY SAY? “We need production from Tristen. We know the scoring will translate. Some of the facilitating and point guard-type things that you have to know, nuances of the game, we’re working through. Play in and play out, the motor, the life-or-death nature of Big East basketball which I’m trying to get across to all these new guys that haven’t been through it.”
Morning Reads
• Former UConn standout Kia Nurse has Canada in the semifinals of the FIBA Women’s World Cup for the first time since 1986. Unfortunately for her, a ton of other former UConn standouts playing for the United States are in her way tonight. (Associated Press)
Top photo: Nate Carter carries the ball in the Huskies’ game against Syracuse. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
