Jackson Targeting December
The Story: Dan Hurley is hopeful Andre Jackson will be out only five or six weeks, putting the junior forward’s return sometime in early December — before the Big East season gets underway.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: “First Night” — the replacement for what used to be “Midnight Madness” — included the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Hurley spoke before it began about the problems Jackson’s broken pinkie will cause, including pushing some younger players into big roles.
LINEUP COMBINATIONS? Hurley said the transfers, Hassan Diarra, Tristen Newton, Joey Calcaterra and Nyheim Alleyne, are going to see more time in various roles with Jackson out.
• Look for Alex Karaban and Samson Johnson to take whatever minutes Jackson would have had at the four. It’s going to take a combination of those guys to do what he can on the floor.
• The other option that Hurley was looking at is using Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan at the same time. Sanogo has worked on his 3-point shooting and is going to have to show some range on a jumper if he is going to be an NBA prospect.
• Don’t assume Clingan is a back-to-the-basket big man. He can handle the ball on the perimeter, and while he is an inside player, has some face-up skills, which are a necessity in the modern game even if you are taller than 7 feet (look at France’s Victor Wembanyama).
LAST CALL FOR HAWKINS? There was one curious comment from Hurley on Friday and it centered on Jordan Hawkins. Hurley feels Hawkins is in for a big year (we agree), but he also said that he thinks he will be a first-round pick by the end of the year.
• We know the Huskies are two spots over the roster limit for scholarships next year, and it’s a good bet that if things go as expected, Hawkins is going to go pro.
BONDING TIME: Practices now start in late September (a transitional period of 20 hours per week), and with an overhaul of the roster — the Huskies have eight new players — the time until the first game on Nov. 7 against Stonehill is much needed.
• The first full practice took place on Oct. 14. The time allotted in preparation of the first full practice was put to good use.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “Getting more time to spend on all these other players is definitely helpful. It’s going to be helpful in the closed-scrimmage opportunities that we get because there’s going to be more adverse conditions they face where we can understand our best course of action with this group.”
‘FIRST NIGHT’ FESTIVITIES: “First Night,” of course, was an on-campus event that is well received with Karaban and Azzi Fudd winning the 3-point contest.
• We also got a small glimpse of Paige Bueckers, who is out for the season, and learned that Dorka Juhasz, Caroline Ducharme and Aubrey Griffin are still on practice restrictions in their returns from injuries.
GENO EXPECTS A TITLE: It’s been more than five years since UConn’s last national title and the program seems snakebitten by injuries. You know who isn’t worried? Geno Auriemma. In classic fashion, he said what we know to be true — it’s just a matter of time.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “We’re going to win another one. It’s just a matter of when. I don’t know when that is, but we’re going win another one. Sooner rather than later would be good for me.”
Bye Coming at the Right Time
The Story: The football team collapsed in the second half against Ball State and lost 25-21 on the road on Saturday and now heads into a much-needed bye week.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn seemingly had control of the game as it was leading 21-10 at the half, but thanks to shoddy playcalling and mostly shoddy tackling, it somehow gave up a game it controlled.
• There were some weird calls and it seemed like every time the Huskies got a positive play in the second half there was a penalty flag. Considering the lack of execution and tackling, we are chalking that up to a lack of concentration.
• Ball State scored 15 unanswered second-half points including 12 in the fourth quarter. UConn managed 22 yards in the second half and committed two turnovers.
WHAT DID JIM MORA SAY? “I’m concerned about our football team and the way we performed. As a coaching staff, it was not good enough, it was not acceptable and it will never be acceptable. … It’s not OK to come close. It’s not OK to just keep fighting. We’re here to win football games.”
THOR POUNDS HUSKIES: The defense has faced Heisman Trophy favorite Blake Corum from Michigan, but even he didn’t plow through the Huskies like long-haired Carson Steele, who ran for 179 yards and about 170 after contact. Steele pummeled the Huskies’ exhausted defense, which seemed to be on the field for the entire second half.
FIRST-HALF STUDS: The first half for the Huskies was brilliant. Zion Turner was perfect at 12-for-12, including a 39-yard touchdown throw to freshman tight end Justin Joly, who is quickly coming as a threat despite being undersized at the position. UConn put up more than 300 yards in the first half.
SECOND-HALF SCRUBS: The Huskies gained 22 yards as the offense fell apart, including the blocking, passing and insane playcalling. UConn had four punts, two turnovers and only one first down in the second half.
TIME FOR A BREATHER: The Huskies have two weeks to recover and boy do they need it. Victor Rosa and Robert Burns, fourth and fifth on the depth chart at running back, were effective in combining for 143 yards. UConn rushed for 194 yards, most of them in the first half, and after a rough start to the season is 3-5 and staring down a home game against Boston College on Oct. 29.
• The Huskies should welcome Devontae Houston back from a sprained ankle and wide receiver Keelan Marion is itching to get back on the field. With so many players injured, the next two weeks should help heal some bruises as they go into the final push of the season.
New Heights In Men’s Hockey
The Story: A weekend series against No. 11 Ohio State went nearly as well as it could have for the No. 17-ranked men’s hockey team, which tied the Buckeyes 0-0 on Friday before it routed them 6-1 on Saturday.
A FINE FRIDAY: UConn turned to sophomore goaltender Logan Terness for the opener, and Terness, who played in two of the first four games, was pounded for 43 shots but did not allow a single one in.
• The Huskies also survived six power plays, including a five-on-three opportunity for the Buckeyes that lasted into the third period. UConn’s best chance to win the game happened in overtime when sophomore Chase Bradley was one-on-one with a defender, but his shot sailed wide.
• Because college hockey is weird, the game went to a shootout, which Ohio State technically won when Travis Treloar scored. But it means nothing as it goes into the books as a tie.
A STELLAR SATURDAY: The positive vibes from the night before carried over into Saturday, with Ty Amonte scoring twice and Matthew Wood, Ryan Tverberg, Jake Percival and Jake Flynn adding goals.
• UConn scored the first goal 17:11 in when Wood beat goalie Jakub Dobes on a one-timer shortly after a power play expired, but Ohio State responded 1:46 later when Kamil Sadlocha tied it.
• Amonte restored the Huskies’ lead 3:42 into the second and Tverberg increased it 1:20 later. UConn then got three goals in the third period to put the outcome well out of reach, and Dobes was pulled 9:02 into the period.
• Freshman goalie Arsenii Sergeev stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, meaning UConn made 71 saves in two games. Not too shabby!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? At 5-0-1, the Huskies are off to their best start in program history and have showed they can hold their own against one of the best teams in the country.
• Consider that last year, when UConn had a pretty dang good season, it lost in overtime at Ohio State and then was shut out the next day. What transpired over the weekend is a sign of growth, even if coach Mike Cavanaugh wasn’t entirely certain what he would have on his hands this season.
• The Huskies are certain to climb even higher in the USCHO poll this week and will try to take that momentum into next weekend, when it heads north for a pair of games at Boston University — a team that, while ranked No. 9, lost 9-2 at No. 6 Michigan on Friday.
Morning Reads
• UConn announced the largest cash contribution ever received from an alum on Friday when Dr. Trisha M. Bailey, who graduated in 1999 and competed on the track and field and cross country teams, pledged an unspecified amount to the construction of what will be the Bailey Student Athlete Success Center — a $60 million renovation and expansion of Greer Fieldhouse. Bravo to Dr. Bailey, who has founded several companies in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• Jasmine Davis had 14 kills as the women’s volleyball team pounded hapless Georgetown 25-15, 25-9, 25-12 at Gampel Pavilion on Saturday. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The No. 13-ranked field hockey team recognized former coaches Diane Wright and Nancy Stevens, then capped an unbeaten weekend with a 2-1 win over Boston College in a shootout. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The men’s soccer team earned a 1-1 draw at Marquette on Saturday after Scott Testori scored his third goal of the season in the 69th minute. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The women’s soccer team was shut out yesterday at home against Butler, which won 2-0. (UConnHuskies.com)
• After tying Vermont 1-1 on Friday, the women’s hockey team lost 6-1 on Saturday to complete the road series. (UConnHuskies.com)
Top photo: Jordan Hawkins goes up for a dunk during “First Night” at Gampel Pavilion. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
