Hurley Dismisses Preseason Polls

The Story: Dan Hurley isn’t one to hide his emotions, for better or worse, so what did the coach of last year’s national champions think of being picked to finish third in the Big East? Well, in all his eloquence growing befitting of a Jersey kid, he calls preseason polls a “bunch of shit.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Hurley has the No. 6 team in the country, two projected NBA lottery selections and a top-three recruiting class coming into this season. In most conferences, we would think the Huskies are a runaway pick to be the champion, but not in the Big East.

• Marquette, led by Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Kolek, and Creighton are picked Nos. 1 and 2 are clearly ahead of the Huskies in the preseason coaches’ poll.

• The Huskies were well-represented on the All-Big East teams with Donovan Clingan named to the second team preseason and Alex Karaban an honorable mention. Clingan is coming off a season in which his per-40 numbers were among the best in the country as he averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 13 minutes a game.

• Karaban was a starter from Game 1 last season as a freshman and averaged 9.3 points per game while shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point range. There are no freshmen on any of the Big East preseason teams and the only sophomores to earn all-Big East preseason mentions are Clingan and Karaban.

• The Huskies also have the Big East’s top freshman in Stephon Castle, a 6-foot-6 combo guard from Georgia and a projected lottery pick as a one-and-done. Castle is also one of two freshmen on the watch list for the Jerry West Award, which goes to the nation’s top shooting guard. Castle was the leading scorer on UConn’s summer exhibition trip in Europe at 16.5 points per game.

WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “I thought about coming in here and saying some controversial [stuff]. But I decided not to and just keep it where we are. We’re all about ball. We’re all about pursuing championships. Storrs is the basketball capital of the world, [regardless of] whether we get as much hype as other national brand programs that in the last 25 years haven’t done as much as us, in terms of achieving big results.”

NEWTON SNUBBED: Tristen Newton, who was instrumental to the Huskies’ national championship run, flirted with the NBA and is returning for a fifth college season, didn’t even warrant an honorable mention selection despite averaging 10.7 points per game. That’s interesting since a player like Xavier’s Zach Freemantle isn’t even ready to play at the start of the season.

LOADED BIG EAST: How loaded is the Big East? We noted three top-10 AP teams last week but there are essentially three Final Four-caliber teams and two preseason All-America candidates in Kolek and Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner.

• That doesn’t take into account Clingan’s anticipated explosion in productivity, which has NBA scouts projecting him as a lottery pick, or the talented Castle. NBA scouts will bekeeping track of the Big Eastdaily.

— John Silver (John@uconndaily.com)

Mora: Running Backs Quit on Us

The Story: Jim Mora didn’t mince words when he was asked about the Huskies’ depth at running back yesterday as he took aim at Devonta Houston and Brian Brewton for looking to transfer.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn is in a bit of a pinch at running back for the second consecutive year with Victor Rosa unable to practice yesterday because of an ankle injury.

• Rosa injured the ankle early in Saturday’s loss to USF and was replaced by Cam Edwards, the sophomore from Norwalk who finished with 149 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

• If Rosa can’t play, the Huskies’ top two running backs Saturday at Boston College will be Edwards, who played defensive back last season, and Jelani Stafford, a 300-pound defensive tackle. That’s … not ideal.

WHAT DID MORA SAY? “Having two guys that quit and left their teammates hanging has really affected us. It’s really unfortunate. It’s really unfortunate that happened. I would have not expected those two young men to do that to their team, but they did. And that’s their choice, so we have to go on.”

OUR TAKE: We get it. Mora’s feeling the frustration of the Huskies being 1-6, especially because their last three games were a one-point loss, a road win, and a home loss despite an 11-point fourth-quarter lead.

• What’s tough, though, is that what Houston and Brewton did — leave the team before they played in a fifth game, this preserving a redshirt and a year of eligibility — is entirely within their right. The adage holds true: Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

• We’re concerned how Mora’s message will resonate, especially among his players and recruits. They’re closer to their former teammates than their coach. How will it be received? If anyone chooses to leave in the future, will Mora throw them under the bus, too? Or do players recognize that it was a moment of passion, with Mora’s (justified) anger bubbling over?

• It was, dare we say, a very Randy Edsall move of Mora — letting his ego smother his players. Our advice is something Mora doesn’t need to be told: Just move on.

— Zac Boyer (zac@uconndaily.com)

Preseason Honors for Paige

The Story: The honors are already pouring in for UConn star Paige Bueckers, who yesterday was named an AP Preseason All-American and tabbed as the Big East Preseason Player of the Year in voting among the conference coaches.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: As expected, the Huskies dominated the Big East’s team and individual honors. UConn, ranked second nationally, was the overwhelming pick to win the conference, receiving 10 first-place votes to finish well ahead of second-place Creighton.

• Bueckers was among five UConn players to receive Big East accolades. KK Arnold was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year, and teammates Aaliyah Edwards, Azzi Fudd and Nika Muhl were selected to the all-conference first team.

ELITE COMPANY: Joining Bueckers on the All-America team is returning national player of the year Caitlin Clark of Iowa, along with LSU’s Angel Reese, Stanford’s Cameron Brink, Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes, and Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley.

• Bueckers, a redshirt junior, was also named a preseason All-American following her freshman year, when she won every major national player of the year award.

• From Big East Media Day yesterday in New York: “It means a lot to be the preseason player of the year, but truly it means nothing because you have to go out there and prove it. But I’m blessed and I’m grateful, and I’m excited to be back out on the court.”

CAN’T WAIT: For obvious reasons, there is heightened anticipation around Bueckers’ return to the court following the ACL surgery that sidelined her all last season.

• It remains to be seen whether the 6-foot guard will play at the same level as her freshman season, or if she will further elevate her game, which would be a scary thought for UConn opponents.

• Check back in two weeks, when UConn opens its season against Dayton.

• WHAT DID GENO SAY? “I don’t think anyone can match the excitement [Paige] brings to the court every time she shows up. And she’s there every day. That’s the beauty of it. And she was there every day when she couldn’t play. To have someone who loves the game, the passion she has for the game, and then actually to be able to play the game now, it rubs off on everybody. To see just how much fun she’s having, it’s hard not to get affected by that.”

DEPTH OF TALENT: No. 22 Creighton also placed three players on the preseason first team and received one first-place vote (from Geno, because he can’t vote for his own team).

• But the Huskies’ quality of talent far exceeds the Bluejays and every other Big East team. Edwards was a second-team All-American last season, while Muhl — the two-time conference Defensive Player of the Year — was an honorable mention. Fudd, when healthy, is arguably the best pure shooter in the country.

• Perhaps no one will benefit more than Fudd from the playmaking combination of Bueckers and Muhl on the court with her at the same time.

• Geno: “There’s a lot of shots out there for Azzi. And I think she’s the happiest person on campus right now.”

FIRST FROSH: Arnold, a 5-foot-9 point guard from Germantown, Wis., is the highest-rated recruit in a stellar freshman class that includes Qadence Samuels and Ashlynn Shade.

• Arnold stood out with her aggressive play during the team’s European exhibition tour in August, but all three impressed enough to merit playing time off Geno’s bench.

• Geno described Arnold as an “electric” player: “She has something that none of our other guards have. … You drop her into the water and the ripples are everywhere. And she has the type of personality that is infectious.”

TWO SURPRISES: Despite the Big East honors being awash with UConn players, it was still surprising not to see Aubrey Griffin or Caroline Ducharme listed among the honorable mentions.

• Both are experienced players expected to draw quality minutes and contribute heavily to the Huskies’ success. By January, Griffin and Ducharme have more than enough ability to prove their preseason snubs were an egregious oversight.

— David Kull (david@uconndaily.com)

Morning Reads

• Rick Pitino is back in the Big East with St. John’s. What’s not to like? We fully expect Jim Calhoun to come out of retirement and take over a couple of games to take down the Rickster one more time.

• Adama Sanogo is slated to make his NBA debut at some point in the next couple of weeks as he remained on his two-way deal with the Bulls coming out of training camp. Sanogo can play up to 50 games with the Bulls this season before he must receive a standard two-way contract. Sanogo is likely to spend most of his time with the G League’s Windy City Bulls, who open the season on Nov. 10, though he will be with Chicago for tonight’s opener.

Top photo: Dan Hurley coaches the Huskies during a game against Marquette at the XL Center. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)