SBNation.com User Blog: Kevin Meacham

TheOpenThread: Rutgers (12-6, 3-4) at UConn (12-5, 2-3)

Kevin Meacham — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 17:52:42 -0000

Good afternoon, folks. Today's matchup at the Morgue - UConn's first game action since last Saturday's near-comeback and loss at Pittsburgh - is a sneaky important game for The Huskies are back in action after an eight-day break, kicking off final third of the season with a home game against the Scarlet Knights. Come on in and join the discussion.a couple reasons.

First, the Scarlet Knights' visit to Hartford kicks off easily UConn's lightest Big East stretch of the season. In the next five games, the Huskies play Rutgers, Providence, South Florida, St. John's and Seton Hall. All of those games are winnable, and if this team can pull off an improbable 20-win season, they'll need to do some work over the next two weeks.

In addition, the Big East is such a jumbled mess, UConn can shoot up the standings very quickly if they can just keep winning. Kevin Ollie's crew are one of the eight league teams with three Big East losses (all at least two games behind Syracuse and Marquette) entering Sunday.

So those are the stakes. Their opposition today, Rutgers, has played (almost) everyone in the Big East close, and are coming off of a rough shooting night (23-for-63) in a loss to St. John's Wednesday. Guard Eli Carter shot 1-for-14 in that game, which I expect he won't do today.

As for UConn, the big ongoing story is Shabazz Napier's ongoing shoulder issues. He says he's OK to play, but obviously it remains to be seen how effective he can be.

Game time from the XL Center is 2 p.m., and it can be seen on SNY and ESPN3. Here is your open thread for in-game discussion.

Go UConn. Beat Rutgers.

As for UConn, the big ongoing story is Shabazz Napier's ongoing shoulder issues. He says he's OK to play, but obviously it remains to be seen how effective he can be.

Game time from the XL Center is 2 p.m., and it can be seen on SNY and ESPN3. Here is your open thread for in-game discussion.

Go UConn. Beat Rutgers.

2012-13 UConn Men's Basketball Preview, Part 4: Final Thoughts and Expectations

Kevin Meacham — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:52:07 -0000

Looking at this roster, Kevin Ollie is going to have to summon all of his creativity to make this thing work.

The Huskies' offense is clearly at its best in transition and given the likely problems this size-challenged team will have on the boards, forcing turnovers is probably the most viable way to stay afloat. But can you run a press defense with only seven or eight reliable rotation players? And can you risk foul trouble every game by playing tight, tough defense?

The best offensive lineups UConn could possibly put out all include Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and Omar Calhoun, and I would guess all three will start and play 25+ minutes. Two of the three probably need to be on the court at all times to avoid the offense completely stagnating, with R.J. Evans coming in to spell each one as needed.

DeAndre Daniels and Niels Giffey probably figure to split 40 minutes between them playing as combo forwards (with Leon Tolksdorf getting a little time at the 4).

Tyler Olander is also a necessity to play 25+ minutes by the sole fact that he is the only big man who's shown himself capable of hanging with Division I opponents to this point. Enosch Wolf and Phil Nolan will certainly get a chance to develop during the early season as (hopefully) UConn handles some of their lesser non-conference opponents.

I actually do think UConn's offense should be markedly improved with Calhoun's arrival, but I'm extremely worried about a defense that was quite average a year ago WITH rebound-consumer and block-monster Andre Drummond.

This is a very tricky situation for any coach to walk into, particularly a first-timer, and EXTRA PARTICULARLY a first-timer on an eight-month contract. Help will be on the way as Ollie makes his case to the recruits of America, but the timeline is kind of scrunched.

The moment UConn was banned from the NCAA Tournament, 2012-13 was going to be a rough year no matter who was coaching. It's unfortunate that Ollie is being thrown into this fire essentially as an interim coach. He probably should have been given a two-year contract, allowing him to bring in his own players. But I think everybody in our community wishes him the best of luck, and we all hope that he is judged fairly, and on the basis of proper expectations.

For me, those expectations are soberingly low (feel free to disagree in the comments). To put it in golf terms:

Bogey: Finish below .500 overall
Par: Finish above .500 overall
Birdie: Finish above .500 in the Big East
Eagle: Win more than 20 games
Hole-in-One: Win 25 games or Big East regular-season title

I'll peg the Huskies for a 17-13 record (8-10 Big East) with enough hopeful moments to expect that UConn will be back in contention with a junior- and senior- dominated team (plus a post player or two) in 2013-14. Here's hoping I'm being overly cautious.

In the meantime, this is our team, this is our school, these are our players and this is our coach, and we're on the first goddamn flight of stairs. That's all the incentive I need to see this thing through.

Merry Basketballmas, and Go Huskies. Beat Michigan State.

2012-13 UConn Men's Basketball Preview, Part 3: Hated Foes

Kevin Meacham — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 22:12:10 -0000

For the first time in decades, UConn fans know that their season will come to an end in early March with no chance of even a cursory participation in March Madness. It's like rooting for Providence.

The NCAA Tournament ban - and attendant Big East Tournament ban, as the conference understandably doesn't even want the possibility of its champion being ineligible for the NCAAs, as unlikely as that is - thankfully lasts just one year, but it does take a bit of the urgency out of this season. It's just, like, we're gonna play some games, and then, like, we're gonna go home. Does any of this mean anything, man?

On the other hand, the Huskies will have several measures of success in their regular season schedule. There is a preseason tournament, there are several marquee non-conference names, and of course, there are our old Big East friends who will be looking to get one last shot in before they head off to play third and fourth banana behind Duke and North Carolina.

Here's your 2012-13 UConn basketball schedule grid, complete with date, time, site, and TV information. Note that KP is each opponent's preseason Pomeroy ranking (UConn is 45th, if you're curious), while Big East games are in italics.

Date	Time	Opponent	KenPom	Site	TV
Fri, Nov. 9	5:30 p.m.	vs. Michigan State	4	Ramstein AFB, Germany	ESPN
Tues, Nov. 13	7 p.m.	Vermont	127	Gampel Pavilion	SNY
Fri, Nov. 16	6:30 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	206	St. Thomas, USVI	CBS Sports Net
Sat, Nov. 17	TBD	Paradise Jam	-----	St. Thomas, USVI	TBD
Sun, Nov. 18	TBD	Paradise Jam	-----	St. Thomas, USVI	TBD
Sun, Nov. 25	4 p.m.	Stony Brook	165	Gampel Pavilion	SNY
Thurs, Nov. 29	7 p.m.	New Hampshire	283	XL Center	SNY
Tues, Dec. 4	9 p.m.	vs. NC State	24	New York, NY	ESPN
Fri, Dec. 7	7 p.m.	Harvard	92	Gampel Pavilion	SNY
Mon, Dec. 17	7 p.m.	MD-Eastern Shore	341	XL Center	SNY
Fri, Dec. 21	7 p.m.	Fordham	225	XL Center	SNY
Sat, Dec. 29	7:30 p.m.	Washington	69	XL Center	ESPN2
Tue, Jan. 1	8 p.m.	at Marquette	32	Milwaukee, WI	ESPNU
Tue, Jan. 8	7 p.m.	DePaul	100	Gampel Pavilion	SNY
Sat, Jan. 12	2 p.m.	at Notre Dame	17	South Bend, IN	SNY
Mon, Jan. 14	7 p.m.	Louisville	8	XL Center	ESPN
Sat, Jan. 19	12 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	22	Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN2
Sun, Jan. 27	2 p.m.	Rutgers	52	XL Center	SNY
Thurs, Jan. 31	7 p.m.	at Providence	75	Providence, RI	ESPN/ESPN2
Sun, Feb. 3	2 p.m.	South Florida	73	Gampel Pavilion	SNY
Wed, Feb. 6	7 p.m.	at St. John's	86	New York, NY	ESPNU
Sun, Feb. 10	12 p.m.	at Seton Hall	81	Newark, NJ	SNY
Wed, Feb. 13	7 p.m.	Syracuse	7	XL Center	ESPN/ESPN2
Sat, Feb. 16	12 p.m.	Villanova	65	XL Center	ESPN/ESPN2
Thurs, Feb. 21	7 p.m.	Cincinnati	27	XL Center	ESPN/ESPN2
Sat, Feb. 23	8 p.m.	at DePaul	100	Rosemont, IL	SNY
Wed, Feb. 27	7 p.m.	Georgetown	33	Gampel Pavilion	ESPN2
Sat, Mar. 2	2 p.m.	at Cincinnati	27	Cincinnati, OH	SNY
Wed, Mar. 6	9 p.m.	at South Florida	73	Tampa, FL	ESPNU
Sat, Mar. 9	12 p.m.	Providence	75	Gampel Pavilion	ESPNU

Here are the top five points of interest regarding the Huskies' 2012-13 campaign:

The game on the Air Force base in Germany tonight, obviously, is a really cool honor. And it happens to coincide with 30% of the roster being German, so even better. And it happens to be Michigan State, who figures to be one of the better teams in the country this season. UConn will likely start the season 0-1 for the first time in ages, but we'll get a really good indication of how well they can hang with better teams at this early juncture.
The Paradise Jam is an eminently winnable tournament for the Huskies. If they're able to get by a Wake program mired in a downswing, they'll play the Quinnipiac-Iona winner. On the other side of the bracket, Mercer plays George Mason (DUN DUN DUN), while Illinois-Chicago plays New Mexico. The Lobos are likely the best team in the field, so it would be nice to win two games and get another quality opponent.
The Dec. 4 game is the second half of a Madison Square Garden doubleheader as part of the Jimmy V Classic. Texas and Georgetown meet in the 7 p.m. game. The Wolfpack are the preseason favorite in the ACC, according to the league's media poll and NOT some guy in Raleigh watching the Lorenzo Charles play over and over.
I know Andrew's touched on this before, but that three-game XL Center swing in the heart of the February Big East schedule just KILLS me. In the end, I don't think a struggling team fills up Gampel or the XL, just because that's how Connecticut sports fans are. (For more, see tonight's football game.) But man, UConn, you could at least pretend like you understand that the XL Center is the absolute worst. Because it is.
We'll do our fair share of trolling Pitt and Syracuse fans throughout the year, including when they lose two rounds earlier than they should in the NCAA Tournament, but this season is even sadder when you consider that this will be the final year the Big East is really the BIG EAST. For the last seven seasons, this conference has been the absolute best; better, I would postulate, than it was even in its mid-80s heyday. It will remain a solid conference, likely one of the top three in the country annually with the additions of Memphis and Temple. And it will still be home to many teams we hate (hi Georgetown!). But with Syracuse and Pitt soon to depart, a very notable, fun-as-hell era is about to end. Here's hoping UConn joins you on the other side sometime soon.

2012-13 UConn Men's Basketball Preview, Part 2: Cast of Characters

Kevin Meacham — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:11:08 -0000

During the offseason, I had a difficult time remembering exactly who would be on this UConn team. Four of the top six players by minutes are gone, either to the NBA (Jeremy Lamb, Andre Drummond) or NCAA Tournament-eligible schools (Alex Oriakhi, Roscoe Smith).

It was a disastrous exodus for UConn, forcing the program to basically start from scratch with two excellent guards, a promising freshman, and a heap of role players. No wonder Kevin Ollie is all about taking the stairs.

So who are the heroes bearing National Flag Blue and White this year? Let's take a look.

The numbers below include both traditional and tempo-free stats, the latter of which are courtesy of the outstanding KenPom (subscription-only for the team/individual pages), which is 100 billion percent worth your $19.95 if you're a college hoops junkie. For a primer on the Four Factors, click here.

The Indispensables

SHABAZZ~! NAPIER

#	13
Class	Junior
Position	PG/SG
Height	6-foot-1
Weight	171 pounds
Hometown	Roxbury, Mass.

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	34-31	77-184	.418	59-166	.355	110-148	.743	13.0	3.5	5.8	1.7	0.3	1.7
2011	41-0	54-129	.419	46-141	.326	74-96	.771	7.8	2.4	3.0	2.1	0.1	1.6

	MPG	Usage	eFG%	TS%	OR%	DR%	TO%	FT Rate
2012	35.0	23.7	47.3	52.5	2.3	8.6	20.7	42.3
2011	23.8	20.9	45.6	50.5	3.0	7.9	22.3	35.6

Overview: I've never felt more encouraged about this team than I was at the moment when I clicked on Bazz's Pomeroy page and saw his list of comparables. For last year, his sophomore season, the most comparable player is Kemba Walker circa 2009-10 (his sophomore year).

That doesn't necessarily mean Napier is going to make THE LEAP like Kemba did - and there's certainly less depth, and probably less talent than on that championship team - but I am perfectly OK with letting Shabazz take the leadership role this year.

Personality-wise, the brassy Napier and Jim Calhoun were a perfect odd couple, and you could really feel the mutual love and respect. (Bazz on why he came to UConn two years ago: "Jim Calhoun, baby! The guy coaches lottery picks!", a pair of sentences which I've submitted to be added to the Star-Spangled Banner.) That he stayed after Calhoun left is to his credit, and will only make it sweeter every time we yell SHABAZZ~! after a made one-footed 27-footer, or commtiting a silly turnover, as the situation might warrant.

Napier was the alpha-dog point guard last year, and improved his numbers across the board as expected. This year, he is set to move to 2-guard whenever Boatright is in the game. Napier was quiet in the preseason games (4-for-13 from the field in two games), and there are positives and negatives involved with his new role.

Playing off the ball (and not having to create all the offense for 40 minutes) should allow him to spend more energy being his wonderfully annoying Bazzy self on the defensive end. Although the size mismatches, my god the size mismatches.

Offensively, his own shooting numbers should improve just on the basis of not being asked to save every other possession with a wild shot before the shot clock buzzer. Napier will have to be highly efficient as one of the three or four guys who will be asked to score. Improving his 3-point percentage by three points last year is a start, and this year, I expect him to be one of the better guards in the Big East.

RYAN BOATRIGHT

#	11
Class	Sophomore
Position	PG/SG
Height	6-foot-0
Weight	160 pounds
Hometown	Aurora, Ill.

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	25-8	62-140	.443	26-69	.377	58-84	.690	10.4	3.3	4.0	1.8	0.2	1.2

	MPG	Usage	eFG%	TS%	OR%	DR%	TO%	FT Rate
2012	30.1	21.9	48.3	52.2	2.6	9.4	21.1	40.2

Overview: After a weird season interrupted on two occasions by NCAA eligibility concerns, Boatright returns to take over the point guard role as a sophomore. He was mostly very good when he was on the court last year, showing off a nice shot and some obvious creative ability. Athletic as hell - he's probably the most likely Husky to lead in alley-oop dunks, when you think about it - Boatright plays the game at a furious pace. And he's a smaller, peskier version of Napier on defense, which has its strengths and drawbacks.

Boatright spent this summer at the CP3 Elite Guard camp, and was fabulous in the exhibition games, averaging 18 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. His speed will absolutely give teams problems, and he should be one of the better transition point guards around, but it is still in question how well he can operate a halfcourt offense. UConn was pretty poor in that area last year, and a big ol' chunk of their points in the exhibition games came off of turnovers and quick outlet passes, so any improvement isn't immediately noticeable.

All that being said, Boat Show has an extremely high ceiling, which is exciting, but he will have to step up and play brilliantly for this team to succeed.

The Wild Card

DEANDRE DANIELS

#	2
Class	Sophomore
Position	SF
Height	6-foot-8
Weight	195 pounds
Hometown	Los Angeles, Calif.

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	31-12	19-41	.463	12-50	.240	20-25	.800	3.0	2.1	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.3

	MPG	Usage	eFG%	TS%	OR%	DR%	TO%	FT Rate
2012	12.1	17.0	40.7	45.7	6.4	12.6	21.4	27.5

Overview: Coming in as a highly rated recruit (UConn's top recruit until Andre Drummond decided to dunk on the college basketball world), Daniels had a disappointing freshman year. He never really cracked the regular rotation, and he had his only two double-digit scoring games in early November cupcake games. He contented himself to taking more 3-pointers than 2s, but had a very poor shooting year from distance. It was a write-off year, but hopefully a learning experience.

With so much frontcourt talent exiting the program, Daniels will be called on to play both the 3 and the 4. Thus far against Division I teams, he hasn't shown himself to be able to play either - his shot and handle weren't good enough to be a true 3, and he was too lanky and thin to be a full-time power forward.

That being said, it's amazing what an offseason of strength-building can do. Daniels is a competitive dude - he made himself dizzy chasing the eventual winner of the Husky Run - and one preseason double-double (15 points, 14 rebounds vs. UMass-Lowell) and one close (9, 8 vs. AIC) is cause for at least a dash of optimism that Daniels can make an impact this year. And he did show some smoothness and decisiveness in the post against the Division II opponents. If that can translate to real games, and Daniels can focus his offensive attention closer to the hoop, it will be a huge boon for him and the Huskies.

The Impact Freshman

OMAR CALHOUN

#	21
Class	Freshman
Position	SG
Height	6-foot-5
Weight	192 pounds
Hometown	Brooklyn, N.Y.

Overview: LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this kid, the latest elite New York City guard to take Storrs by storm. He has a quick release and a pretty shot (8-for-12 from 3 in the exhibitions), he can drive, he's excellent on the fast break, and he showed some excellent basketball sense in UConn's only live action this year. And obviously, with a name like Calhoun, he was born to come here.

If Calhoun can be a player immediately, he gives the offense three extremely talented guards to throw at opponents, similar to last year. In the exhibitions, it sure looked like the best lineup on the floor involved Boatright, Napier and Calhoun. Asking Omar to be a more active Jeremy Lamb might be a bit much, but if Kevin Ollie's expectations are sky-high, I'm right there with him.

Rotation Guys

TYLER OLANDER

#	10
Class	Junior
Position	PF/C
Height	6-foot-9
Weight	225 pounds
Hometown	Mansfield, Conn.

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	34-9	55-121	.455	1-5	.200	30-44	.682	4.2	3.9	1.2	1.3	0.5	0.3
2011	39-21	25-65	.385	0-2	.000	8-12	.667	1.5	1.9	0.4	0.7	0.2	0.1

	MPG	Usage	eFG%	TS%	OR%	DR%	TO%	FT Rate
2012	17.6	16.5	44.8	48.7	9.2	15.0	20.1	34.9
2011	9.6	13.6	37.3	39.9	7.6	13.2	27.3	17.9

Overview: After scoring the opening bucket in the 2011 national title game, Olander seemed to be carving out a nice nitsch, playing double-digit minutes and performing adequately beside Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi. But as the season went on, he appeared less and less, his only notable late-season output a nice effort as a zone-buster in the tight Big East Tournament game with Syracuse (4 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists).

Heading into 2012-13, it's hard to believe that the guy who started 20 games two years ago and got lifted before the first TV timeout, like, 18 times is now UConn's most effective post player. But here we are.

Hansbrolander showed a bit of improvement last year, but he's still far from a reliable offensive player, shooting worse than the maligned Oriakhi last year, though obviously in fewer touches. He's a solid rebounder, an OK shotblocker, and he commits way too many fouls (4.0 per 40). While he should be improved, UConn's optimal lineup calls for him to defend Big East centers, which fills me with a certain amount of dread. That adds up to a decent role player who will probably have to play starter's minutes.

NIELS GIFFEY

#	Fünf
Class	Junior
Position	SG/SF
Height	6-foot-7
Weight	205 pounds
Hometown	Berlin, Germany

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	30-4	16-35	.457	9-21	.429	19-24	.792	2.6	1.5	0.4	1.0	0.1	0.2
2011	41-10	20-43	.465	11-34	.324	17-21	.810	2.2	1.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.3

	MPG	Usage	eFG%	TS%	OR%	DR%	TO%	FT Rate
2012	11.7	12.2	52.7	57.9	5.5	8.7	18.9	42.9
2011	9.9	15.4	47.4	51.7	7.0	8.1	30.2	27.3

Overview: Giffey solidified his role as a hustle/glue guy who can hit 3s last year, though he became something of a non-factor later in the season. He had issues with consistency, and got trigger-shy at times, but he was a serviceable rotation player.

Giffey's court time should increase and he should be the first wing option off the bench, assuming Napier, Boatright, Calhoun, Daniels and Olander start. You'd love to see him benefit from the penetration of the two point guards by planting himself on the corners or on the wings for 3-pointers, or at least I would, so that I could add "Deutschmarksman" to the inexplicably long list of nicknames we have for him (Niels Templar, Der Ubersportler, etc.). Giff did a little bit of everything in the exhibitions, and hopefully that activity will continue in a 20-MPG, sixth-man type role.

R.J. EVANS

#	12
Class	Senior (grad)
Position	SG
Height	6-foot-3
Weight	210 pounds
Hometown	Salem, Conn.

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	28-28	130-255	.510	3-24	.125	52-88	.591	11.5	5.2	2.8	0.6	0.4	1.8
2011	8-8	31-61	.508	0-6	.000	14-34	.412	9.5	5.1	1.6	0.9	0.1	1.1
2010	28-28	133-287	.463	7-35	.200	87-169	.515	13.4	4.1	2.6	0.6	0.2	0.6
2009	32-25	158-318	.497	16-73	.219	65-115	.565	13.4	4.8	1.6	1.4	0.2	1.7

	MPG	Usage	eFG%	TS%	OR%	DR%	TO%	FT Rate
2012	29.4	24.2	48.2	50.0	6.1	12.7	16.9	31.5
2011	26.4	26.0	46.3	45.7	8.8	9.2	23.0	50.7
2010	29.4	30.3	44.6	46.5	8.9	11.1	20.5	52.5
2009	29.5	27.4	46.5	48.1	8.7	13.3	20.2	29.4

Overview: First off, it's great to see a UConn guard whose first name is two initials, and who wears #12, sporting a chinstrap. #ThePriceIsStillRight

Evans, who played for Norwich Free Academy, comes in as one of those funky grad-school immediate transfers after a successful four-year career at Holy Cross. He was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 08-09 (the last UConn player to have been in college at the same time as me, he said, contemplating his own mortality) and has been a key member of that team each season - save 2010-11, when he missed 20 games due to injury.

Evans' shooting numbers are dreadful, but he does give UConn's backcourt much-needed size and an always-helpful bit of fifth-year-senior wisdom. I don't imagine his scoring numbers will translate well to the Big East, but Evans' physicality, intangibles and strength around the basket figure to be useful in a backup guard role.

ENOSCH WOLF

#	Eins
Class	Junior
Position	Center
Height	7-foot-1
Weight	245 pounds
Hometown	Goettingen, Germany.

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	8-0	1-4	.250	0-0	.000	0-0	.000	0.3	0.8	0.0	n/a	0.1	0.0
2011	7-0	3-5	.600	0-0	.000	1-2	.500	1.0	0.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Overview: Thus far, Wolf's greatest contribution to the UConn program has been his outstanding Twitter feed, where we are basically besties. Enosch is a funny dude, and he has encouraged the #SchnitzelTime movement, which will absolutely be a thing whenever he enters the game.

Human Wolf's sheer size will mean he gets some burn this year, but it's unclear how much. He only played 10 minutes in the exhibition games, but that likely had more to do with a recent concussion. At worst, he's five fouls and a big interior presence in short bursts.

Necessary Depth

BRENDAN ALLEN

#	4
Class	Sophomore
Position	PG/SG
Height	6-foot-3
Weight	187 pounds
Hometown	Windsor, Conn.

	GP-GS	2PM-A	%	3PM-A	%	FTM-A	%	PPG	RPG	APG	A/TO	BPG	SPG
2012	9-0	1-4	.250	0-0	.000	0-0	.000	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.5	0.1	0.0

Overview:Now on scholarship, Brendan Allen resumes his role as super-reserve fifth guard in the mold of Donnell Beverly circa 2010.

I don't forsee many minutes for Allen barring catastrophe (or Burrtastrophe.) For as thin as UConn's frontcourt is, its backcourt is loaded for bear.

Untested Newbies

LEON TOLKSDORF

#	Zweiundzwanzig
Class	Freshman
Position	SF/PF
Height	6-foot-8
Weight	220 pounds
Hometown	Berlin, Germany

Overview:A former teammate of Giffey's in Germany, Tolksdorf became the third player from that nation to join the Huskies this summer. Despite his size, he says he's more comfortable on the perimeter. He, like Daniels, Wolf and Nolan, have been working on building up strength to battle the rest of the big men of the Big East.

I'd be surprised if Tolksdorf made much of an impression as a freshman, but he has the measurables and apparent skills to be a nice player over the next few years.

PHIL NOLAN

#	0
Class	Freshman
Position	PF/C
Height	6-foot-9
Weight	203 pounds
Hometown	Milwaukee, Wisc.

Overview: See Wolf, Enosch.

Nolan had a spectacular preseason, in a literal sense: he went 0-for-3 from the field (all bunnies) and 1-for-6 from the free throw line in two games. A three-star recruit who came to UConn exactly because of the current lack of big men, Nolan is a nice athlete and can play (scoring 34 points in two games at the Greater Hartford Pro-Am). It remains to be see how long it takes him to adjust to the college game.

2012-13 UConn Men's Basketball Preview, Part 1: The Brave New World

Kevin Meacham — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:53:12 -0000

The world has changed greatly since basketball was invented on May 15, 1986, by a temperamental Irish fella named James A. Calhoun.

Communism is no more (COINCIDENCE?), the world is connected via a series of tubes, and where once the University of Connecticut basketball team played in front of mere thousands of shivering New Englanders, images of the Huskies' three national championship rings are now implanted into the brains of the unborn via microchip nationwide.

UConn owes everything to Jim Calhoun. A case can be made that the school's athletic prestige directly translated into the various campus improvements of the last 15 years, while also attracting a more academically competitive student body. For example, had UConn's men's and women's basketball teams not conquered the world in 2004, I might very well be sitting down at a computer word-smithing 5,000-word season previews about La Salle or Fordham or some shit.

We've known for a while now that Calhoun was getting ready to call it a career, but the actual announcement two months ago still left UConn fans with a numb feeling. I was born almost exactly a year after Calhoun was hired; for most of my friends and all of my UConn classmates, all we've ever known is Jim Calhoun yelling delightful expletives in public at young men in an attempt to get them to better put an orange ball inside a hoop which is also a metaphor for life and stuff.

Sept. 13, 2012 was a sadly inevitable, inevitably sad day, the moment we watched our embattled 70-year-old ass-kicking father figure, St. Jim the Patron Saint of Fuck You, limp into a hastily-assembled press conference at the cozy campus arena his success built and say goodbye.

And yet.

There's a part of me, albeit a tiny part buried within the deepest depths of my UConn-loving heart, that feels just the slightest bit relieved.

The program lost its way in ensuring that its players were at least getting something out of their free education, other than on-the-job training. Calhoun was the boss, and that responsibility ultimately falls on him. The program thankfully corrected course over time, but the APR lapse cost them multiple scholarships and a chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament this season (even if that ruling was a little bit of ex post facto bullshit, but we're long past the point of no return on that particular logical front).

On the court, the Huskies have been something of a mixed bag recently. (I know, I know, Syracuse fans would kill to say "But for that national championship...". We're talking trends.) They haven't finished above .500 in Big East regular-season play since 2008-09, and have finished in the bottom half of the league more often (four times) than not (twice) since their last regular-season league title in 2006. Yes, Kemba Walker briefly made the malaise disappear with one of the greatest runs in the history of the sport - and Calhoun, in arguably his finest hour, deserves plenty of credit for coaching that ragtag group up for his third and final national championship. But then last year's team, which included two lottery picks, badly underachieved and looked listless in the process.

I'm not saying the pitchforks and torches should have been outside Calhoun's door. (He would have wrestled you for the pitchfork and set you on fire.) I'm not saying I don't mean every single damn word I wrote prior to "and yet." (I do, especially the curse words.) I'm not saying Jim Calhoun is a bad person for allowing UConn to slip in the silly APR. (I would kill myself if life were as boring and unimaginative as your average media narrative.)

What I am saying, is that maybe the time was right for a change

And now, standing on the precipice of Basketballmas 2012, with Calhoun still very much a part of the program, it feels like all those negatives of the last few years have evaporated thanks to JC's young, hip, savvy, real-talking protege.

There are obviously a lot of questions about Kevin Ollie. He's far from a sure thing, and he's taken over a program in turmoil. But he's said and done all the right things thus far.

Ollie won me over with his now-legendary sermon at the retirement presser (BUY THE SHIRT!). He brightened the hopes of UConn fans everywhere by keeping the Huskies involved with some big recruits, already landing a couple highly touted prospects for 2013-14, when normalcy will have returned to Storrs.

All that's left is, you know, coaching basketball.

On that front, I'm willing to trust in Calhoun's acumen for the game on this, the most second-most important hiring decision in UConn history. (Warde Manuel, evidently, is not, which may or may not turn out to be prudent.)

Now, beginning with tonight's game against Michigan State, Ollie will have to show his fans, his boss and his former mentor that he can live up to those powerful words.

No one expects the Huskies need to go unbeaten or finish first in the Big East. Actually, I'm not even sure what any of us are looking for, other than nebulous progress. Given that likely everybody on the team should be back for next season, we want UConn to be better on March 9 than they are on November 9. And we want some indication that this brief dip in the River Styx is just that.

In the past six months, the NCAA Tournament ban drove off Alex Oriakhi and Roscoe Smith, two flawed veterans who nonetheless provided a good amount of UConn's muscle the past two seasons. The NBA drew in Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond to swell the ranks of millionaire UConn alumni.

Left behind is a motley crew of star guards and, at every other position, role players. There's talent here for Ollie to work with, but it's difficult to set more concrete goals given the obvious limitations of the roster. All we can ask is for our neophyte coach to put them in positions to succeed, and hope the kids take care of the rest.

It's not exactly a rousing way to describe the opening chapter of the newest book of UConn basketball history, the book that I hope will be filled with new tales of UConn shocking and conquering the world, once the school finally commits to flipping the page.

But to be fair, as Kevin Ollie would probably note, there's also nothing exciting about climbing stairs.

Until you see the view from the top step.

Temple-UConn preview: Q&A with TheUConnBlog

Kevin Meacham — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:04:52 -0000

Temple-UConn preview: Q&A with TheUConnBlog

Temple blog Cherry and White Huddle asked yours truly for some thoughts on Saturday's game, and I did my best to answer without cursing the name of Paul Pasqualoni.

As I will be in attendance for Saturday's homecoming game, please fill the comments with suggestions on which types of alcohol would best block out the pain.

Friends With Bennies: On The Banks and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Kevin Meacham — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 14:03:41 -0000

Welcome back to our regular feature Friends With Bennies, where we sit down with opposing bloggers to talk about their team. Today it's John from SBN's Rutgers blog On The Banks.

TheUConnBlog: How's life under Kyle Flood? Are you happy with him as Schiano's long-term replacement?

On The Banks: Call me in 2014. I think he was an ideal fit for this year - Greg Schiano had gone as far as he could go with discipline and micromanagement, and Kyle Flood's player-friendly approach has often led to short term gains for other teams.

Of course, a lot of those have led to long-term decline. Think someone like Larry Coker at Miami. Fortunately, there's a lot of talent to work with in the short term. Schiano's recruiting really went into overdrive the past few years. They're playing looser, which is mostly good, but penalties have been a big issue so far.

TUB: Quarterback Gary Nova has had a great year so far, what's the biggest factor in that and what's UConn's best chance of disrupting him?

OTB: It's a lot of things. The pass protection is great, Rutgers has a running game again, and there's a ton of talent at receiver. Key too has been significant improvement from Nova from his freshman year. He's making much better decisions - turnovers and forcing the ball were a big problem last year. His accuracy and touch is scary good.

Hypothetically, if UConn can shut down the running game and make Rutgers one-dimensional, that would put a lot more pressure on him.

TUB: Statistically, UConn and Rutgers have two of the more impressive defenses in the nation. What has been the key to the Scarlet Knight's success and who are the top playmakers UConn fans should be on the lookout for?

OTB: Rutgers is really stout down the middle, with the strength of the defense at DT and all three LB spots. Scott Vallone at DT is the guy who makes everything happen with consistent pressure up front, but there's somewhat of a question mark now with RU's nose tackle being out for the year.

Fortunately, a few other DL are back this week after missing the first month. The LBs have been great. Khaseem Greene is the headline guy (he's good, but relatively overrated), but the other guys are really good too.

Duron Harmon has been strong at safety. CB Logan Ryan has been burned a bit so far after a great 2011. Hope he's not turning into Darius Butler!

TUB: How much is UConn's 40-22 win over Rutgers last year going to be a mental factor? Rutgers has been saying all week that it isn't an issue, but UConn's win did deny the Scarlet Knights a share of the Big East title.

OTB: How can it not be? For Rutgers, if it keeps them from looking past this game, then that's a victory. That was one of the worst losses of Greg Schiano's tenure. It needs to be a motivator without getting fixated on this. Rutgers just needs to focus on playing their game and executing.

TUB: Give us your prediction for this game.

OTB: Rutgers 27-13.

Yeah, UConn has always played Rutgers tough in the past, but I think the Pasqualoni/DeLeone combination is terrible and completely in over their heads, and don't respect UConn's OL or passing game very much. They have an experienced defense, but not a lot of depth, so injuries are starting to be an issue. A bad offense will at time grind any decent defense into dust without any support in sustaining drives or field position. If they go down big early, it's probably over.

Scouting The Opposition: Week 3

Kevin Meacham — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:19:36 -0000

You know what they say: the best things in life are bi-weekly. Welcome back to Scouting the Opposition, where we compile everything you need to know about UConn's 2012 football opponents. New for this week, we've added links to the Husky opponents' SBNation representatives (where applicable), so you can get the full scoop on each team. If you click on the teams' most recent games, that will take you to those sites' most recent game recap.

Five of UConn's 12 opponents have sub-.500 records through Week 3, although three of those five are non-conference opponents and the fourth pounded a top 15 team this week.

Through three weeks, UConn's opponents have a combined record of 18-15.

1. UMass (0-3, 0-0 MAC)

Last week: L, 13-63 at #18 Michigan (3-0)

Next week: at Miami, Ohio (1-2, 0-0 MAC) - Saturday, noon on ESPN3

Of note: UMass is veddy veddy bad, folks. Not unexpected for a team with FCS talent in its first year of moving up, but boy, we're not going to look back fondly at the time UConn scored two offensive touchdowns on the Minutemen.

2. North Carolina State (2-1, 0-0 ACC)

Last week: W, 31-7 vs. South Alabama (1-2)

Next week: vs. The Citadel (3-0) - Saturday, 6 p.m., on ESPN3

Of note: No joke, The Citadel is decent this year. They've beaten a couple of 'name' FCS teams, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, the last two weeks, and the ACC is overdue for an FCS upset. On the other hand, I'd like NC State to end the year 12-1.

3. Maryland (1-2, 0-0 ACC)

Last week: L, 21-24 vs. UConn (2-1)

Next week: at #8 West Virginia (3-0) - Saturday, noon on FX

Of note: I think Randy Edsall has a pretty good record historically against West Virginia, right?

4. Western Michigan (1-2, 0-0 MAC)

Last week: L, 23-28 at Minnesota (3-0)

Next week: vs. UConn (2-1) - Saturday, 2 p.m. on ESPN3

Of note: Minnesota led the entire way, and led by two scores until a WMU TD with 4:18 left made the game close. Bronco QB Alex Carder appeared to find a go-to target Saturday, hitting freshman wideout Jaime Wilson 10 times for 117 yards and a touchdown. Dareyon Chance rushed for 144 yards in the losing effort.

5. Buffalo (1-1, 0-0 MAC)

Last week: Bye week, kind of

Next week: vs. Kent State (1-1, 0-0 MAC) - Wednesday, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Of note: The Bulls' win came via a 56-34 win over Morgan State last weekend. Buffalo kicks off the wonderful tradition of Wednesday night #MACTION against Kent State. First to 60 wins.

6. Rutgers (3-0, 1-0 Big East)

Last week W, 23-13 at South Florida (2-1, 0-1)

Next week: at Arkansas (1-2), 7 p.m. on ESPNU

Of note: Part of me wants to root for Rutgers to beat up on a hysterically overrated SEC team, but then I realize how insufferable that would make Rutgers fans. The Scarlet Knight defense is very good, and their offense (Jawan Jamison's Thursday night aside) is something less than very good, which means their October 6 game with UConn will be won by a 4-3 score.

7. Temple (1-1, 0-0 Big East)

Last week: Bye week

Next week: at Penn State (1-2) - Saturday, 3:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN2

Of note: With Temple upgrading its program and Penn State going through its troubles, one would think the Owls will eventually beat the Nittany Lions. They haven't done it since 1941 (Penn State leads the series 37-3-1). I wonder what kind of recruiting impact a Temple win this year might have...

8. Syracuse (1-2, 0-0 Big East)

Last week: W, 28-17 vs. Stony Brook (2-1)

Next week: at Minnesota (3-0) - Saturday, 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Of note: I feel like Syracuse could be a darkhorse contender in the Big East solely on the strength of the only non-Louisville quarterback with the capacity to complete passes more than 10 yards down the field, Ryan Nassib. I also feel like there might be a play later this year where all 11 Orange players on the field just fall down after colliding with each other for no particular reason.

9. South Florida (2-1, 0-1 Big East)

Last week: L, 13-23 vs. Rutgers (3-0, 1-0)

Next week: at Ball State (2-1) - Saturday, 4:30 p.m. on SNY

Of note: So if South Florida played a Thursday night game at Rentschler Field in December, would UConn score 100 points just on the fumble recoveries, interceptions and kick returns alone?

10. Pittsburgh (1-2, 0-1 Big East)

Last week: W, 35-17 vs. #13 Virginia Tech (2-1)

Next week: vs. Gardner-Webb (0-3) - Saturday, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3

Of note: lolwut

11. Louisville (3-0, 0-0 Big East; ranked #20 in AP Poll)

Last week: W, 39-34 vs. North Carolina (1-2)

Next week: at Florida International (1-2) - Saturday, 7 p.m. on ESPN3

Of note: I was so happy when UofL went up 36-7 on a depleted UNC team. Someone from the Big East is finally making a statement! Then UNC scored $Texas points in five minutes, and I was sad. Please blow out FIU and Southern Miss, Cards. You're literally our only hope.

12. Cincinnati (2-0, 1-0 Big East)

Last week: W, 23-7 vs. Delaware State

Next week: Bye

Of note: Who were the ad wizards who designed Cincinnati's schedule? Through the first four weeks of the season, they'll have two byes, one FCS game, and one game against a team that was playing like an FCS team (Pitt). Beginning Sept. 29, the Bearcats play 10 straight weeks, which will probably turn out to be an unwise choice. Were they originally supposed to play West Virginia one of these weeks or something?

Scouting The Opposition: Week 1

Kevin Meacham — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 18:25:23 -0000

Welcome to Scouting The Opposition, our weekly look at how UConn’s 2012 opponents fared.

If you’re on UConn’s 2012 football schedule, you probably had a rough week. That is the takeaway from an odd opening weekend of college football, one that saw teams throughout the country struggle with the MAC and FCS teams. Just five of the 12 teams on the Huskies’ schedule opened their season with victories, and one suffered a comically embarrassing loss:

1. UMass (0-1)

Last week: L, 0-37 at UConn

Next week: vs. Indiana (Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3)

Of note: Welcome to the big time, fellas! I hope we continue to beat you by five touchdowns every time we play, and you’ll have no bigger fan when you eventually play that school up in Chestnut Hill

2. NC State (0-1)

Last week: L, 21-35 vs. Tennessee (at Georgia Dome)

Next week: at UConn (Saturday, noon, SNY)

Of note: The Wolfpack put up more than 400 yards on offense against Tennessee, but was an absolute sieve (333 yards passing, nearly 200 rushing) against the Vols’ offense. NC State also committed 4 turnovers, which kept this from being a much closer game.

3. Maryland (1-0)

Last week: W, 7-6 vs. William & Mary

Next week: at Temple (Saturday, noon, ESPNU)

Of note: This was a misleading outcome as, to steal/paraphrase a line from a brilliant Boneyard post, Randy Edsall was not aware that he had to prepare for both William AND Mary. Maryland scored the go-ahead touchdown with 9:52 left in the fourth quarter and hung on. The Terp defense looks pretty good, allowing a decent FCS team just 229 yards and a couple of field goals (both set up by turnovers). The offense was an utter catastrophe, managing 236 yards and 13 first downs, though. So basically, Sept. 15 is going to be the least aesthetically-pleasing game in sports history.

4. Western Michigan (0-1)

Last week: L, 7-24 at Illinois

Next week: vs. Eastern Illinois (Saturday, 7 p.m., ESPN3)

Of note: The Broncos hung around, and the stats were pretty much even, but WMU committed four turnovers and were never closer than 10 points over the game’s final 50 minutes. Dangerous QB Alex Carder, who helped WMU beat UConn last year, threw for 265 yards with three picks.

5. Buffalo (0-1)

Last week: L, 23-45 at #6 Georgia

Next week: vs. Morgan State (Saturday, 6 p.m., TWNY if you’re in upstate NY)

Of note: The Bulls actually played Georgia tough for a half, going into the break down 24-16. With Buffalo's schedule including games with Morgan State and UConn, they are 75 percent of the way to reforming the Fab Four that was the Storrs Regional of the 2007 Coaches vs. Cancer 2K Sports Classic. (That was the one where Gardner-Webb beat Kentucky and UConn gave eventual national runner-up Memphis a decent game at MSG.) The fourth team, of course, was the legendary Ohio Valley College, a D-II school located somewhere in the Ohio Valley.

6. Rutgers (1-0)

Last week: W, 24-12 at Tulane

Next week: vs. Howard (Saturday, 3:30 p.m., SNY)

Of note: The Scarlet Knights didn’t look terribly great, playing Tulane to a scoreless tie until late in the first half before a crowd of dozens at the Superdome. The Green Wave had possession trailing 10-6 in the fourth, but a Brandon Jones interception return and a 43-yard Gary Nova touchdown pass gave Rutgers enough of a cushion.

7. Temple (1-0)

Last week: W, 41-10 vs. Villanova

Next week: vs. Maryland (Saturday, noon, ESPNU)

Of note: Hey, so at least Temple’s not losing to Villanova any more. After the first week of the season in the Big East, you could make a legitimate case that Temple had the second-most impressive win of any league team. Yikes.

8. Syracuse (0-1)

Last week: L, 41-42 vs. Northwestern

Next week: vs. USC (at MetLife Stadium; Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2)

Of note: I thought that Northwestern easing to a blowout win before a depressed stream of Carrier dome fans would be great, but I overlooked a crucial fact: that the Orange blowing a six-point lead with 2:00 left, thanks to an iffy late hit out of bounds call would be so much better. QB Ryan Nassib is legit, but I otherwise look forward to seeing Lane Kiffin use the Orange defense as his own personal plaything.

9. South Florida (1-0)

Last week: W, 34-13 vs. Chattanooga

This week: at Nevada (Saturday, 3:35 p.m., CBS Sports Network)

Of note: B.J. Daniels had 265 yards and three touchdowns. "This is B.J. Daniels’ year to break out!" said all of us sarcastically in December after USF is 8-4 and in fourth place.

10. Pittsburgh (0-1)

Last week: L, 17-31 vs. Youngstown State

Next week: at Cincinnati (Thursday, 8 p.m., ESPN)

Of note: Tough week for the Panthers, who were manhandled at home by a I-AA team. As proud members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, I’m sure Pitt will bounce back from this terribly embarrassing defeat in no time.

11. Louisville (1-0)

Last week: W, 32-14 vs. Kentucky

This week: vs. Missouri State (Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3)

Of note:The Cardinals' offense is damn good, and Teddy Bridgewater is head and shoulders above any other quarterback in the Big East. I think I'd be OK with Louisville going 11-1 and rolling over someone in the BCS, although they might be a year away from being that good. Kentucky moved the ball effectively against the UL defense, but it's hard to see the Cards as anything but the favorite to win the league.

12. Cincinnati (0-0)

Last week: Bye

This week: vs. Pittsburgh (Thursday, 8 p.m., ESPN) Of note: I read quite a bit about Big East football and even I have no goddamn clue how good Cincinnati is, so thanks for giving me nothing to go on, guys.

UConn Wildcat Watch: Mixed results against UMass

Kevin Meacham — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 18:43:43 -0000

As mentioned elsewhere, everyone seems pretty happy with UConn's 37-0 blowout win over UMass Thursday. I am too!

The Huskies' defense played a near-perfect game, and Chandler Whitmer looked just fine at quarterback. But there is kind of an elephant in the room here offensively, which is why we're debuting TheUConnBlog's "Wildcat Watch," a (hopefully) weekly look at breaking down George DeLeone's attempt to cash in on Tebowmania.

Now, I don't mind the Wildcat per se. As a change-up, a go-to short-yardage plan, an opportunity to confuse defenses, it is a useful package of plays. Scott McCummings is athletic enough to run an option-like offense, and the speed of Lyle McCombs and Nick Williams gives UConn threats to break off big gains.

But that's (mostly) theoretical; through 13 games of the DeLeone era, the execution of the Wildcat has left much to be desired.

While charting Thursday night's game, I was able to quantify why several of us were so infuriated in the game thread (which was echoed by several of our Twitter followers):

Whitmer, playing in first college game, completed nine passes of 10 yards or more. A very encouraging effort. He was immediately replaced by Scott McCummings after seven of those nine completions.

Someone smarter than I will have to explain how that is a good idea. After beating the defense for a big play, doesn't it make more sense to keep Whitmer in, giving the illusion that UConn might someday throw two passes in a row? Isn't it self-defeating to set teams up with a medium-range completion and follow it up with a formation with a predictable play-call (since all but one of McCummings' snaps Thursday night were spread-option runs)?

I don't want to sound like I'm overreacting since it's just one week of data, and it's also a week in which the Huskies didn't need to be terribly creative. Hopefully, it won't be a trend.

Below the jump, a breakdown of the rest of the Wildcat stats for Game 1:

McCummings took 19 of the Huskies' 69 offensive snaps Thursday night (Whitmer took 42, Johnnie McEntee took 8 in mop-up duty). Eighteen of those 19 snaps were running plays, mostly read options with a few designed QB draws.

When McCummings handed off to McCombs or Nick Williams on a jet sweep play, the Huskies had success: 6 carries, 50 yards. This rushing total accounted for roughly 1/3rd of the Huskies' rushing total on 1/7th of the carries.

Running up the middle was a much tougher proposition, with McCummings' keepers and McCombs' inside handoffs accounting for just 14 yards on 10 carries. None of the runs up the middle went better than four yards, though they did account for both of the Huskies' offensive touchdowns (a pair of one-yard runs).

There was one passing play with McCummings' play package, the jet sweep reverse pass that ended with Whitmer connecting on a jump ball with Ryan Griffin for a 34-yard gain. Last year against Fordham, there was also just one pass with McCummings at quarterback - a 56-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Griffin that came after a well-executed option playfake.

In total, the Wildcat package accounted for 100 yards, just over 5.0 yards per play. Non-Wildcat plays went for 274 yards on 50 snaps, about 5.5 yards per play.

What conclusions can we draw from this performance? As is the case with I-AA opposition (yes, yes, technically UMass is in the MAC. They're still a I-AA team until they've reached their scholarship allocation), not much.

It's likely that the outside runs were successful due to the lack of speed on the edge, which is usually the case for teams in the early-stage of a I-A upgrade. See: every UConn-West Virginia game prior to 2010.

It's somewhat disturbing that UConn's offensive line was unable to create any holes in UMass' defensive line, leading to those middle runs being stuffed. It's possible that increasing the ratio of pass plays called out of this formation would help open defenses up a bit; at 18 rushes to 1 pass, teams can stack defenders in the box and make McCummings make a good pass. (And if McCummings is unable to hit his targets, the formation is useless between the 20-yard-lines.) Hopefully this week's play selection was due to the level of opponent.

And finally, from a play-calling standpoint, it seems to make the most sense for McCummings to start the occasional drive (maybe one per half?) and go from there, rather than disrupting Whitmer's rhythm with constant switches. It would certainly be less exasperating.

TheGameChart: Let's talk about Chandler Whitmer

Kevin Meacham — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 18:58:59 -0000

Now that I've moved into the 21st century and joined the magical world of Digital Video Recorders, I can devote myself to my one true love in life: analyzing a perfectly cromulent football team such that I become blinded to how good they actually are. (Look at me, I sound like a Rutgers fan!)

That's the idea behind TheGameChart. Throughout the season I'll be rewatching UConn's games to determine what's working and what's not. (I attempted to do this last year, but without a DVR, I needed to rely on ESPN3. Because I have Cablevision and James Dolan hates me personally, I don't have access to ESPN3. There was a runaround trick people like me could use - which allowed me to chart last year's Fordham game - but ESPN soon cut it off.)

I should put out here right now: I'm not a football coach, nor am I some kind of great football mind. I'm just a guy who enjoys the game and reads a little bit about tactics. Constructive criticism is welcomed, and if you have any ideas for things to look at, I'd be happy to go back and do it.

For Week 1's win over UMass, I thought it would be best to take a look at UConn's new quarterback, Chandler Whitmer.

The sophomore from Butler (Kan.) Community College had a mostly positive outing, completing 15 of 25 yards for 219 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. I say "mostly positive" because he looked poised and aware in the pocket, showed some good footwork, made strong, accurate throws most of the time, and generally looked like he could eventually be a quarterback in a legitimately solid BCS-conference offense. These are new things for UConn fans.

By comparison, Whitmer's 219 yards would have been the fourth-best total for the much-maligned Johnny McEntee in 2011; Whitmer's 60% completion percentage would have been the third-best day for McEntee in 2011 (he was 8-for-12 against Fordham and 10-for-16 against Rutgers).

Yes, it was UMass. And yes, Whitmer wasn't asked to do a terrible amount. We will know 800% more about what kind of player Chandler Whitmer is this Saturday against North Carolina State.

That being said, let's take a look at what Whitmer did well Thursday:

First, a look at his throwing chart:

Left

Middle

Right

Deep

1-4

34 yds

0-0

0 yds

0-0

0 yds

Middle

0-0

0 yds

2-3

41 yds, INT

3-7

47 yds, INT

Short

2-3

23 yds

1-1

6 yds

6-7

57 yds

As I mentioned, I charted last year's Fordham game, and the comparison is fairly interesting:

	Chandler Whitmer	UConn QBs vs. Fordham
Deep	1-4, 34 yds	2-4, 77 yds, TD
Middle	5-10, 88 yds, 2 INT	6-9, 120 yds
Short	9-11, 86 yds	4-8, 31 yds

As you recall, in the 2011 opener, UConn rotated three quarterbacks (McEntee, Michael Nebrich, Scott McCummings) mostly evenly.

McCummings is responsible for most of last year's deep yardage, as he had a 56-yard touchdown out of the Wildcat. You could see Whitmer trying to push the ball deep late in the second quarter - maybe a bit out of frustration - but otherwise he seemed content to take what the defense gave him.

Based on my charting, the big difference in success for medium-range passes, it seems, is that McEntee and Nebrich were able to find receivers in space and in stride, leading to more yards after the catch. Meanwhile, Whitmer was trying, and was partially successful, to fit the ball into tighter windows down the field. I don't know if this is because UConn's receivers had trouble getting separation, or if Whitmer is just more confident in his ability to hit receivers in traffic. (His second interception, a poor decision to throw into quadruple coverage, suggests the latter.)

Speaking of the receivers, while I'll wait to see Geremy Davis and Shakim Phillips get open against BCS-level defensive backs these next two weeks before I jump on the bandwagon, it was hard not to be impressed with Davis' possession receiver skills. I really hope he becomes a thing. But I digress.

The biggest key, for me, is that bottom column. Whitmer's mechanics and throwing motion are the best for any UConn quarterback since I've been following the team (i.e. the post-Orlovsky era), and I have a hunch that has something to do with the accuracy numbers in the short passing game. For the most part, Whitmer let his receivers make plays with accurate leading throws, which is something we couldn't really say last year.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. While it's my opinion, based on his history and the data from Week 1, that Chandler Whitmer has significantly more upside than any of the three quarterbacks who played last year, it's imperative that he limit his turnovers, which he did not do Thursday. He also will need to be more accurate down the field, although he has plenty of time to work on that. The Huskies won't be an offensive juggernaut overnight, and every possession will be crucial.

But I think Paul Pasqualoni has found his man under center. Hopefully he gives Whitmer every opportunity in the non-conference season to show what he can do.

Pistons' Draft Dreams: Andre Drummond (Piston Powered)

Kevin Meacham — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:20:21 -0000

Pistons' Draft Dreams: Andre Drummond (Piston Powered)

The Detroit Pistons' TrueHoop blog is covering potential draft selections for their team in the upcoming draft. Here's their profile of Andre Drummond, which includes a little bit of a blurb written by me.

Spoiler: I like Drummond's athleticism.

TheOpenThread: All-purpose NCAA Tournament Saturday

Kevin Meacham — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:49:26 -0000

So many things happening today.

From the UConn perspective, the women's basketball team opens up its annual march to the Final Four with a contest against hopelessly overmatched Prairie View A&M today in Bridgeport at ~1:40. We might have to break out the ol' "spot the other team 40 points from the opening tip" chestnut in the thread. This isn't a vintage UConn women's team - they arguably aren't even a lock to make their fifth straight Final Four - but today ought to be a nice, easy exhibition.
Elsewhere, the men's tournament marches on with the Round of 32, and there are some good-ass games on this St. Paddy's Day, though the staggered start times mean that only two of the eight games tips before 5:00. Syracuse and Kansas State kick it off at 12:15, followed by Ohio State-Gonzaga, then a flood of games the rest of the night (including UConn's conquerers, Iowa State, against Kentucky just after 7).
Are your brackets screwed? You're not alone! Through the first two days of TheUConnBlog's 2012 bracket pool, your early leader is CTHusky84, who went 25-7 in the first round. CTHusky84 also still has 14 Sweet 16 teams alive, as well as his entire Elite Eight. But no one is really that far off, and our reader-base is homerish enough that the few who didn't pick UConn to win it all are still in decent shape.
Speaking of the bracket pool, Derbyguy took the initiative on TheUConnBlog Bracket Challenge Best Name Tournament over in the FanPosts. So check them out and vote: here, here, here and here.

There's also an NIT game on ESPN between Seton Hall and UMass (so far, notable only for the intimation by ESPN announcer Dave Sims that UConn will no longer be playing at the XL Center(?????).) No idea if that's true or not, but hey, this just proves you never know where breaking news will come from.

So feel free to use this as your all-purpose thread throughout the day.

Let's go Wildcats.

TheOpenThread: NCAA Tournament, Day 2

Kevin Meacham — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:04:10 -0000

So, last night sucked. More on that later.

But the tournament goes on. I'll be around most of the afternoon to chat about the final 16 games of the first round; feel free to join me.

Your Friday schedule:

Session 1

12:15 (CBS) -- [6] Cincinnati vs [11] Texas (East Region - Nashville, TN)

12:40 (TruTV) -- [6] San Diego State vs [11] North Carolina State (Midwest Region - Columbus, OH)

1:40 (TBS) -- [8] Creighton vs [9] Alabama (Midwest Region - Greensboro, NC)

2:10 (TNT) -- [7] Florida vs [10] Virginia (West Region - Omaha, NE)

Session 2

approx. 2:45 (CBS) -- [3] Florida State vs [14] St. Bonaventure (East Region - Nashville, TN)

approx. 3:10 (TruTV) -- [3] Georgetown vs [14] Belmont (Midwest Region - Columbus, OH)

approx. 4:10 (TBS) -- [1] North Carolina vs [16] Vermont (Midwest Region - Greensboro, NC)

approx. 4:40 (TNT) -- [2] Missouri vs [15] Norfolk State (West Region - Omaha, NE)

Session 3

6:50 p.m. (TBS) -- [8] Memphis vs [9] Saint Louis (West Region - Columbus, OH)

7:15 p.m. (CBS) -- [2] Duke vs [15] Lehigh (South Region - Greensboro, NC)

7:20 p.m. (TNT) -- [4] Michigan vs [13] Ohio (Midwest Region - Nashville, TN)

7:27 p.m. (TruTV) -- [7] St. Mary's vs [10] Purdue (Midwest Region - Omaha, NE)

Session 4

approx. 9:20 p.m. (TBS) -- [1] Michigan State vs [16] Long Island (West Region - Columbus, OH)

approx. 9:45 p.m. (CBS) -- [7] Notre Dame vs [10] Xavier (South Region - Greensboro, NC)

approx. 9:50 p.m. (TNT) -- [5] Temple vs [12] South Florida (Midwest Region - Nashville, TN)

approx. 9:57 p.m. (TruTV) -- [2] Kansas vs [15] Detroit (Midwest Region - Omaha, NE)

Enjoy the games.

TheOpenThread: #9 UConn (20-13) vs. #8 Iowa State (22-10), NCAA Tournament Second Round

Kevin Meacham — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:31:24 -0000

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for YOUR defending national champion UConn Huskies to open 2012 NCAA Tournament play.

Tonight, in their second-round (really first round, but whatever) contest against slight favorite Iowa State, Jim Calhoun and company are in both familiar and unfamiliar territory.

The Huskies are playing in Louisville's KFC Yum! Center, an arena they've played in already this season (though they've never won here); they're also be playing in front of a hostile crowd, as they often seem to do in the NCAAs regardless of seed (though tonight won't be quite as blatant as the 2011 Sweet 16, 2009 Final Four, 2006 Elite Eight, 2003 Sweet 16, 1998 Elite Eight, 1995 Elite Eight...I'm sure I'm missing at least one).

On the other hand, the Huskies enter the tournament not being one of the top threats to win the championship - this is the first time since 1992 that UConn has made the tournament and not been seeded #5 or higher. Tonight will also be the first time the Cyclones and Huskies meet in men's basketball.

I don't know if anyone can quite predict what's going to happen tonight. Iowa State seems like a nightmare matchup for UConn - a small, athletic team that shoots and defends the 3 exceptionally well, in addition to not allowing offensive rebounds. Combine that with a series of mediocre performances all year long, and it's tough to feel like this is more than a 50-50 proposition.

Still, I'm happy to go to war with at least two future pros and a Hall of Fame coach, no matter what the Huskies' weaknesses are.

The game tips off at approximately 9:20 p.m. (or about 25 minutes after Kentucky finishes pummeling Western Kentucky) on TBS, with your announcing crew of Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. This will be your OpenThread for the evening.

Let's go Huskies.

Below the jump, some numbers to sink your teeth into:

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for YOUR defending national champion UConn Huskies to open 2012 NCAA Tournament play.

Tonight, in their second-round (really first round, but whatever) contest against slight favorite Iowa State, Jim Calhoun and company are in both familiar and unfamiliar territory.

Still, I'm happy to go to war with at least two future pros and a Hall of Fame coach, no matter what the Huskies' weaknesses are.

Let's go Huskies.

Below the jump, some numbers to sink your teeth into:

A quick Four Factor comparison for you, courtesy of KenPom:

	UConn	Rk	Iowa St.	Rk
Off. Efficiency	110.2	41	111.8	30
Def. Efficiency	94.2	51	94.0	47
eFG% (Off)	50.2	126	52.9	39
eFG% (Def)	44.4	19	48.3	147
TO% (Off)	19.3	121	18.5	66
TO% (Def)	17.0	320	17.7	299
OR% (Off)	37.5	22	32.3	168
OR% (Def)	34.5	267	26.5	15
FT Rate (Off)	34.4	217	38.7	115
FT Rate (Def)	24.9	5	25.7	10

There's no doubt Royce White is a major threat for UConn's forwards, but I would wager that Calhoun would be more than happy for White to get his 15 and 10, as long as the perimeter shooters are contained.

In the end, this game will likely come down to whether Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond control the boards, whether Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier hit their shots, and whether everyone in a UConn jersey can buckle down and play the sort of defense that carried the Huskies to a national title nearly 365 days ago.

TheOpenThread: #9 UConn (20-13) vs. #8 Iowa State (22-10), NCAA Tournament Second Round

Kevin Meacham — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:30:19 -0000

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for YOUR defending national champion UConn Huskies to open 2012 NCAA Tournament play.

Tonight, in their second-round (really first round, but whatever) contest against slight favorite Iowa State, Jim Calhoun and company are in both familiar and unfamiliar territory.

Still, I'm happy to go to war with at least two future pros and a Hall of Fame coach, no matter what the Huskies' weaknesses are.

Let's go Huskies.

Below the jump, some numbers to sink your teeth into:

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for YOUR defending national champion UConn Huskies to open 2012 NCAA Tournament play.

Tonight, in their second-round (really first round, but whatever) contest against slight favorite Iowa State, Jim Calhoun and company are in both familiar and unfamiliar territory.

Still, I'm happy to go to war with at least two future pros and a Hall of Fame coach, no matter what the Huskies' weaknesses are.

Let's go Huskies.

Below the jump, some numbers to sink your teeth into:

A quick Four Factor comparison for you, courtesy of KenPom:

	UConn	Rk	Iowa St.	Rk
Off. Efficiency	110.2	41	111.8	30
Def. Efficiency	94.2	51	94.0	47
eFG% (Off)	50.2	126	52.9	39
eFG% (Def)	44.4	19	48.3	147
TO% (Off)	19.3	121	18.5	66
TO% (Def)	17.0	320	17.7	299
OR% (Off)	37.5	22	32.3	168
OR% (Def)	34.5	267	26.5	15
FT Rate (Off)	34.4	217	38.7	115
FT Rate (Def)	24.9	5	25.7	10

But hey, I DONT SEE WHY NOT?: UConn 70, Iowa State 68

TheOpenThread: NCAA Tournament Day One

Kevin Meacham — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:03:45 -0000

Welcome to the greatest damn show in the world!

It's the first day of the NCAA Tournament, assuming you don't count the silly play-in games, which I don't. Today is also game day for UConn's first game in its national title defense; we'll have a thread just for that game later tonight. In the intervening nine hours, we'll also be around to chat about all of the games, because we were smart enough to take this week off so as to watch 12 straight hours of basketball.

There are plenty of interesting storylines to watch today (even minus the Huskies' 9:20 game with Iowa State), including a certain center-less orange team playing its opener.

Below the jump, your Thursday NCAA schedule (and remember, all games are online at the NCAA's March Madness Live, which is free if you have your cable subscriber info; it's $3.99 for the whole tournament if you don't):

EARLY GAMES

12:15 p.m. - [6] Murray State vs [11] Colorado State, West Region 1st Round - Louisville, KY (CBS)

12:40 p.m. - [8] Kansas State vs [9] Southern Miss, East Region 1st Round - Pittsburgh, PA (TruTV)

1:40 p.m. - [4] Louisville vs [13] Davidson, West Region 1st Round - Portland, OR (TBS)

2:10 p.m. - [4] Wisconsin vs [13] Montana, East Region 1st Round - Albuquerque, NM (TNT)

approx. 2:45 p.m. - [3] Marquette vs [14] BYU, West Region 1st Round - Louisville, KY (CBS)

approx 3:10 p.m. - [1] Big Stupid Jerks vs [16] UNC-Asheville, East Region 1st Round - Pittsburgh, PA (TruTV)

approx 4:10 p.m. - [5] New Mexico vs [12] Long Beach State, West Region 1st Round - Portland, OR (TBS)

approx. 4:40 p.m. - [5] Vanderbilt vs [12] Harvard, East Region 1st Round - Albuquerque, NM (TNT)

6:50 p.m. - [1] Kentucky vs. [16] Western Kentucky, South Region 1st Round - Louisville, KY (TBS)

7:15 p.m. - [5] Wichita State vs. [12] Virginia Commonwealth, South Region 1st Round - Portland, OR (CBS)

7:20 p.m. - [7] Gonzaga vs. [10] West Virginia, East Region 1st Round - Pittsburgh, PA (TNT)

7:27 p.m. - [3] Baylor vs [14] South Dakota State, South Region 1st Round - Albuquerque, NM (TruTV)

approx. 9:20 p.m. - [8] Iowa State vs [9] Your Defending National Champion UConn Huskies, South Region 1st Round - Louisville, KY (TBS)

approx. 9:45 p.m. - [4] Indiana vs [13] New Mexico State, South Region 1st round - Portland, OR (CBS)

approx. 9:50 p.m. - [2] Ohio State vs [15] Loyola Maryland, East Region 1st Round - Pittsburgh, PA (TNT)

approx. 9:57 p.m. - [6] UNLV vs [11] Colorado State, South Region 1st Round - Albuquerque, NM (TruTV)

Enjoy the games.

Q&A with TheUConnBlog (Wide Right Natty Lite)

Kevin Meacham — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:04:29 -0000

Q&A with TheUConnBlog (Wide Right Natty Lite)

You read Iowa State's half of our Friends With Bennies exchange. Over at Iowa State's SBNation blog, Porter took the opportunity to answer some questions for those in the land of - corn, I guess?

UConn 74, Pittsburgh 65: Roscoe Smith saves the season, for the moment

Kevin Meacham — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:04:00 -0000

In Jim Calhoun's return to the bench, UConn pulled a reverse UConn during Saturday's uber-important 74-65 win over Pittsburgh: rather than the customary slow start and arduous climb back, the Huskies played a brilliant first half, shooting 55 percent and generally making the Panthers' defense look very bad.

Then, as usual whenever this team has found any good fortune, it fell apart quickly.

UConn's largest second-half lead was 15, and the Huskies were still up double-digits as late as the 14-minute mark. But Pitt was able to break down UConn's defense to create easy shots, quickly cutting UConn's lead to two, 50-48.

Enter Scoe the Show.

Roscoe Smith, who has been an all-around solid glue guy this year, and had a strong first half, came back in the game at about the 9:30 mark and did glue things - a block here, an offensive rebound and tip-in there, taking a charge here, a dunk somewhere else. Smith always seemed to be around the basket and always in the right spot to make a big play, which is what the Huskies have sorely lacked while losing nine of their previous 12 games.

Roscore had 14 points (7-10 FG) and seven rebounds, five on the offensive end. He scored eight points in the last eight minutes, after the game had tightened up, including the go-ahead points (which came on a great look from Jeremy Lamb on a fast break). After the go-ahead layup, he drew a charge; Shabazz Napier buried a 3 on the next possession to put UConn up 5, and that was basically all she wrote.

Toughness, desire and passion. (And, uh, offensive efficiency.) There hasn't been a ton of it during this moribund six-week period, but Smith showed it in droves today, and he's the biggest reason why UConn's NCAA Tournament hopes are still alive.

It's clear he needs to be playing the majority of minutes at the four (and only one of Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond ought to be on the court at a time).

Elsewhere on a very nice Senior Day win at Gampel:

I don't think it's a coincidence that the team came out inspired to play for Calhoun, nor do I think it's a coincidence that they ended up winning the game with those kinds of hustle plays (e.g. after losing the rebounding battle 16-7 early, Pitt's rebound margin ended up being 29-27).

Even when Pitt was making their run, you felt that the team was much safer in Jim's hands than in the hands of George Blaney, who stockpiles timeouts for the coming economic collapse where college basketball timeouts become our currency. For whatever that's worth.

The other key today was Shabazz Napier, whose 23 points, 6 assists and 4 steals (and just 3 turnovers!) were crucial. Shabazz made a number of very good decisions (mostly, threading the needle on a couple nice post entry passes) and some very dumb ones (the majority of his nine 3-point attempts, although at least he hit four of them). UConn's settling for jumpers was a large part of Pitt's comeback, and Napier certainly didn't help things out. He also happened to make the biggest shot, a dribble-for-20-seconds-then-pull-up 22-footer with 1:14 left.

Napier is what he is for this season, and if UConn wins games because Shabazz makes his wacky shots, hooray. And I can't fault him for wanting to be The Guy to take these shots; I just wouldn't bet on a 33% 3-point shooter making them consistently.

Beating ANYONE has been a severe challenge for UConn lately, and just hanging on against a very down Pitt team doesn't fill me with that much optimism that the Huskies have "figured it out." But it is nice to see that UConn did pick up their game after falling behind in what could have been the Huskies' third straight heartbreaking loss.

Up next for Calhoun and company: a likely Tuesday night date in the Big East Tournament with Providence, which the Huskies will likely have to win (if only to avoid the bad loss) to stay on the inside of the NCAA bubble. Unfortunately, Providence's only purpose in life is to beat UConn and win less than half of the rest of their games. Goody.

Obviously, the only thing holding back this UConn basketball team was a lack of HOLY WATER, because...

Kevin Meacham — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:15:15 -0000

Obviously, the only thing holding back this UConn basketball team was a lack of HOLY WATER, because life is a role-playing video game and now the Huskies are level eight wizards or something.

The point is: Courtesy of Twitter follower @jaytheredsoxfan, behold your new spiritual leader: Pope Oriakhi XXXIV. Gloria in excelsis AO.

UConn 69, Seton Hall 46: 'A' for effort

Kevin Meacham — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:30:58 -0000

Our long, regional nightmare is over, as is UConn's four-game, three-week-long losing streak, courtesy of Saturday's 69-46 win over Seton Hall in its first game minus Jim Calhoun.

After playing four games in which nobody played well offensively, bottoming out when UConn's three guards shot a combined 4-for-31 on Wednesday, this was a breath of fresh air.

Saturday, UConn got solid play from two of the three starting guards (Jeremy Lamb's 17 points* and 8 rebounds and Ryan Boatright's 19 points (8-12 FG), 5 assists, 4 steals), and got solid rebounding and defense from Alex Oriakhi (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Andre Drummond (7 points, but 6 rebounds and 7 blocks).

Hallelujah.

*- Underrated: this year's UConn team has been dreadful in terms of getting to the free throw line. They had 26 today, and Lamb had 12. Though of course that was aided by Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, who went all crazy pants after the game.

I'm very, very hesitant to look at this much-needed, yet not-very-telling win as a turning point. It came against a team missing its star player, a team that's now lost six in a row and is seemingly on the verge of a meltdown. It came in a game when the Huskies didn't execute the most crisp offense, shooting 43.4% from the field and 2-13 from 3. (Plus, UConn always plays well for George Blaney...at first. Then things go to hell.)

But if you want some actual reasons for hope, look no further than these two quotes from today's postgame. First, from the Blane Dog:

When XL crowd cheered for effort, diving for loose balls, "it almost brought tears to my eyes" Blaney said.

Here's hoping the players got the message, too.

How hard a team plays - particularly one that returns most of the players from a national championship squad - should never be an issue, but here we are in early February. The Huskies had been listless for most of the last six weeks in losing six of eight, looking discouraged and/or uninterested.

To watch UConn battle - on the boards, on the floor for loose balls - was heartening, and to hear the Morgue come to life has to be heartening to what is still a team of freshmen and sophomores. Even on days when shots aren't falling, there's no reason UConn should be getting outhustled. The Huskies showed some fire today, and while they still need to do that night in and night out, it's safe to say we're all encouraged after today.

Second, addressing the other macro issue with the squad (leadership and accountability), here's co-captain Oriakhi:

"I told guys, I'm willing to give up my minutes, I don't care anymore. I don't care if I'm on the bench...I just want to win."

Kudos to Alex - who has been dogged by us Internet pundit types for most of this season - for stepping up like a leader should. We know these kids have been frustrated, and we know they want to win. But the Huskies badly need to mature, and to adjust to what's gone wrong. This is a nice first step.

I remain skeptical that this team will suddenly morph back into the team we thought they would be, though we'll have a better idea after UConn's trips to the Yum Monday night and the Carrier Dome Saturday. Still, we have 48 hours of contentness after three weeks of suck. I'll take it.

TheOpenThread: Notre Dame at UConn

Kevin Meacham — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:54:52 -0000

We'll keep this very simple: the Boat is back. Our team is whole again. So let's stop losing to fringe NCAA Tournament teams, k?

UConn and Notre Dame tip off at the Morgue at noon on SNY in a rematch of a game two weeks ago, a 67-53 UConn win in South Bend. This is your open thread. Go Huskies.

We'll keep this very simple: the Boat is back. Our team is whole again. So let's stop losing to fringe NCAA Tournament teams, k?

UConn and Notre Dame tip off at the Morgue at noon on SNY in a rematch of a game two weeks ago, a 67-53 UConn win in South Bend. This is your open thread. Go Huskies.

UConn 67, Notre Dame 53: Size matters

Kevin Meacham — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:24:46 -0000

Even with its depth hamstrung by the temporary(?) suspension of Ryan Boatright, UConn looked at its best over the final 15 minutes of Saturday's 67-53 victory over Notre Dame. The teams were tied with 16:30 left; UConn went on a 12-4 run, withstood a 5-0 Irish mini-run, then closed with a beautiful 16-2 streak to push the Huskies back into the top four of the Big East.

In perhaps the most encouraging performance of the season, the Huskies got a little something from seven of the eight players who suited up; but the story of the game was the brilliance of the previously-dormant duo of Alex Oriakhi (12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks in 24 minutes) and Roscoe Smith (10 points, 6 rebounds in 15 minutes), who gave Jim Calhoun the spark UConn needed to overwhelm the undersized Irish.

There have been questions all year long about the apparent ability of UConn's post players, which hasn't - Andre Drummond's monster dunks aside - translated into on-court dominance yet. This one game, against a Notre Dame team without a ton of size, doesn't necessarily answer those questions.

But Oriakhi has now had two excellent games in a row, while Drummond (10 points and 13 rebounds) continues to get better. Add Smith as a rebounder/toughness guy (he had six FT attempts, mostly after picking up offensive boards), and occasional contributions from the rest of the rotation? You've got a team that can win when Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb are merely average, as they were today, and a team that can be a juggernaut when the backcourt gets it going.

Even after a comfortable win on the road in the Big East, Calhoun said after the game that UConn can get better.

Still, it's hard not to picture this as a turning-point game. After struggling again in the first half, the Huskies came out with a dedicated offensive game plan (work the ball inside) and turned up the intensity on defense, even forcing a few rare turnovers. There aren't many teams who can match Drummond and Oriakhi's size and strength, and if it took a couple bumps on the New Jersey Turnpike to inspire them, so be it.

After a two-game losing streak, UConn has put itself in position to be in great shape come February 1. The Huskies have just two conference games over the next two weeks - home games against Cincinnati on Wednesday and this same Notre Dame team Jan. 29. (There's also a road game at a sneaky-good Tennessee team next Saturday, which should be a great test.) Hold serve at home, and the Huskies can be 6-2 going into the murderous four-game stretch that kicks off the month (at Georgetown/Seton Hall/at Louisville/at Syracuse).

Below the jump, some assorted thoughts (and grades) on the individual players.

Shabazz Napier (40 minutes: 16 points, 5-11 FG, 1-5 3PFG, 5-8 FT, 3 rebounds, 5 assists)

Grade: B

Just one turnover for 'Bazz, and he did his usual 'Bazz things throughout the game, which includes lots of off-balance 3s. Still, he was money from mid-range, and he got to the line for six attempts during UConn's game-clinching 16-2 run.

Jeremy Lamb (40 minutes: 6 points, 3-11 FG, 0-4 3PFG, 3 rebounds, 7 assists)

Grade: B-

Lamb kind of laid back in this one, perhaps because he had to play 40 minutes with Boatright out. Notre Dame guarded him well, and seemed to knock him off his game. Luckily, Lamb contributed in other ways (assists, defense), notably finding Drummond for a momentum-shifting alley-oop after the ND crowd got loud for the first time after the Irish cut UConn's second-half lead to four (16-2 run ensued over the next seven minutes).

Andre Drummond (36 minutes: 10 points, 5-12 FG, 13 rebounds (4 OR), 2 blocks)

Grade: A-

Drummond continued his soul-eating tour of college basketball by being a much larger human being than any of the other human beings on the court. The rebounding numbers (against a team he should dominate for rebounds) are just flat impressive, although Drummond probably tried to do too much offensively, forcing up a couple shots. But I can't really argue with anything else he did, including a nifty 2-guard-esque finish on the break early in the first half. The big fella makes three players who will probably be playing 35+ minutes in every tournament game.

Niels Giffey (27 minutes: 7 points, 3-5 FG, 1-2 3PFG, 5 rebounds (1 OR), 1 steal)

Grade: B

Niels Templar finally hit one of those open 3s on the wing, so he gets an automatic B- for that. Bump it up a half-grade for the boards, although honestly, if you told me Giffey played 27 minutes, I don't think I would've believed you. Quiet, but nice performance from Giffey, adding to his glue-guy legend.

Alex Oriakhi (24 minutes: 12 points, 5-8 FG, 2-2 FT, 7 rebounds (1 OR), 2 blocks, 2 turnovers)

Grade: A-

Oriakhi looked like the Alex of 2010-11 today, using his size to his advantage, and even scoring with his back to the basket. As noted here, Oriakhi is probably not going to reach his rebounding totals of a season ago because there are fewer to go around. But right now, the junior is in a nice rhythm (even hitting a nice 12-footer), and today he was much more aggressive on the boards. More games like this, please.

Roscoe Smith (15 minutes: 10 points, 2-3 FG, 6-6 FT, 6 rebounds (3 OR))

Grade: A

This game turned when Smith came in to, as Calhoun mentioned postgame, give UConn a little matchup advantage in the post. Smith's athleticism was too much for ND to handle, as he was all over the court grabbing rebounds. All three of his offensive rebounds led to points during UConn's first of two second-half runs. Big-time spark - now let's see it a few games in a row. (Need we not mention the great, abbreviated Tuff McJuice Surge Of January 2011?)

DeAndre Daniels (13 minutes: 2 points, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3PFG, 1 rebound (1 OR))

Grade: C-

Daniels started, but didn't do much, and saw most of his minutes go to Roscoe in the second half. As noted in TheOpenThread, Daniels hasn't hit a 3-pointer since the exhibition games. UConn definitely needs more consistent scoring from its wing players, but Calhoun will turn to Roscoe's defense-and-garbage-points package every time until Daniels can get it going offensively.

Tyler Olander (5 minutes: 4 points, 1-2 FG, 2-2 FT, 4 rebounds (3 OR)

Grade: A-

This grade is given on a pro-rated basis, because Olander just killed it in limited action despite battling a heel injury. Using the magic of extrapolation, Olander would have grabbed 32 rebounds if he had played 40 minutes. He also had a monster dunk, somehow.

Next up: UConn hosts Cincinnati at Gampel Pavilion Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The Bearcats are the only Big East team besides Syracuse with fewer than two conference losses. Cincy beat Villanova earlier this afternoon, 82-78, to improve to 4-1.

TheOpenThread: UConn (13-3, 3-2) at Notre Dame (11-6, 3-1)

Kevin Meacham — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:51:58 -0000

Good morning! For whatever reason, UConn and Notre Dame will kick things off at 11 a.m. today, which means, if the players are anything like I was in college (and they're not), they will be waking up about midway through the first half.

Last time out, the Huskies came through with a win in almost-certainly unsustainable fashion: they were absolutely crushed on the offensive boards by West Virginia (16-5) and were again careless with the ball (12 turnovers committed, just 7 against), but efficient performances by Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb and even Alex Oriakhi (the three combined to shoot 22-for-33, and the rest of the team - minus Shabazz - wasn't much worse, percentage-wise) and some tough defense down the stretch gave UConn a big win.

With the two-game losing streak in the rearview mirror, UConn will head back out on the road to play a spry Notre Dame team that has won three of its first four Big East games after a disappointing 8-5 finish in the non-conference. It's taken a long time for the Irish to get used to playing without senior leader Tim Abromaitis, who is out for the season with a knee. Although to be fair, all five of the Irish defeats have come away from the Joyce Centre, and ND hasn't lost there since February 2010.

Notre Dame only does a few things particularly well - they don't turn the ball over, and they don't give up free throws. The Irish shoot just over 32 percent from 3 (225th in the country), though Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins are both near 40 percent (Atkins at 42). They also have a 6-9 fella named Jack Cooley, who has been a beast on the offensive boards (10th-best percentage in America; by comparison, Drummond is 25th). But considering UConn is awful at forcing turnovers, and not much better on the defensive glass lately, the Huskies may need to shoot lights-out to win again.

Big East Gravity (the same force that caused Seton Hall to lose to USF last night, and the same force that's caused 13 of the 16 Big East teams to have two or more losses after 4/5 games into the conference schedule) would seem to favor Jim Calhoun and co., but the Huskies are of course having some roster troubles of their own right now.

Tyler Olander is banged up and may not play today, and late last night, Ryan Boatright was suspended indefinitely, pending the result of yet another NCAA investigation. As if the Huskies weren't already overwhelmed on the road (two losses and a three-point win over USF), they'll now have to go without 1/3rd of their guards and a very consistent presence in the post.

Nevertheless, we'll find out what Cal can do with this team on short notice. Some contributions from soon-to-be-always power forward Roscoe Smith and the slumping Shabazz Napier (0-6, 4 turnovers but also 8 assists on Monday) would help, and UConn will probably need to rely on Lamb and Drummond once again.

Tip is at 11 a.m. over on ESPN2, and this will be your OpenThread. C'mon in, and let's go Huskies.

TheOpenThread: Harvard at UConn

Kevin Meacham — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:13:11 -0000

Well, lookie here. If it isn't a quality non-conference basketball game at Gampel Pavilion, pre-New Year's.

That's more of a happy coincidence than anything else; this is the third straight year UConn has scheduled Harvard as part of Jim Calhoun's annual "F--k You, Other New England Schools" pre-January march of terror. (The Huskies scraped by in a six-point game in 2009-10, and blew out a 23-win Crimson team last year by almost 30 points.)

It just so happens that this year's Harvard team looks to be one of the better Ivy League teams of recent history, and an apparently legitimate Top 25 team, considering Tommy Amaker's group won the Battle 4 Atlantis - AKA the early-season tournament UConn did not win - beating Florida State (in an all-time ugly game) and Central Florida (which handed the Huskies their only loss thus far) to get the job done.

KenPom rates the Crimson at #37 in his rankings, and judging by the Four Factors (eFG%, turnover%, offensive rebound% and FT rate), they are quite the nasty little defensive team (39th overall). Though it seems they've benefited greatly from the best free throw defense in America (opponents are shooting 54% from the line against Harvard).

Amaker's gameplan has involved just throwing a bunch of 6-5 to 6-8 guys on the floor, led by leading scorer Keith Wright (11.4 per). But don't sleep on Laurent Rivard, which is the most Harvard name ever, who is shooting 40% from 3 this year.

As for the Huskies, this will be the final game before their 10-day winter break for finals, meaning basically this is the last night before the season really begins. Ryan Boatright has been a revelation in early action, Andre Drummond is starting to figure out where the beast mode switch is, and Jerebazz Lampier continues to rock our collective worlds while not even planning to call us back in the morning.

So let's see if the Huskies can't beat this bunch of eggheads before hitting the books.

It's a rare UConn-Mid Major game on ESPN2 tonight; tip is at 7 p.m., and this will be your open thread. Use it wisely.

Go Huskies.

Well, lookie here. If it isn't a quality non-conference basketball game at Gampel Pavilion, pre-New Year's.

So let's see if the Huskies can't beat this bunch of eggheads before hitting the books.

It's a rare UConn-Mid Major game on ESPN2 tonight; tip is at 7 p.m., and this will be your open thread. Use it wisely.

Go Huskies.

Central Florida 68, UConn 63: Huskies still have some growing up to do

Kevin Meacham — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:21:11 -0000

UConn's 16-game winning streak came to an end Friday afternoon, as the Huskies blew a 17-point lead and lost to the Central Florida Fightin' Jordan Progenys, 68-63, in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. UConn falls to 5-1 overall, loses for the first time since last season's regular-season finale against Notre Dame, and loses in a tournament game for the first time since the 2010 Big East Tournament.

Good on UCF for taking the game from a UConn team that hasn't been overwhelmingly good early in the season. As if we needed any further reminders, this isn't Kemba Walker's team anymore.

Depending on your own personal level of optimism, today's loss was either a painful way of helping this young group grow up, a warning sign for the future, or completely irrelevant because the construction of the Huskies' roster will look very different 24 hours from now.

If you're in the first group, you'll note that Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi played a splendid first 30 minutes of the game, completely controlling the Knights on both ends of the floor. The two combined for 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks in the first half, and were crucial to the Huskies racking up a 50-33 lead with just over 12 minutes to play. You'll also note that, even as UConn limped to a an 11-points-in-12-minutes finish and their first loss of the season, it came against the zone, a typical Jim Calhoun bugaboo. They'll work on that, for sure, and hopefully come time for the Big East schedule, the offense won't be reduced to "everyone taking 18-footers early in the shot clock". In this camp, this game will be looked back on as an anomaly by mid-January, and order will be restored perhaps as soon as tomorrow.

If you're in the second group, you'll posit that Jeremy Lamb was fairly disastrous on both sides of the ball (5-16 from the field, 2-9 from 3; getting beat by Marcus Jordan on drives to the hoop time after time), that the Huskies shot 2-18 from 3, that Shabazz Napier turned the ball over 7 times, that when they absolutely needed a bucket, there was no one who could take charge, impose his will and get to the basket effectively (Drummond scored UConn's only two field goals of the last 7:38, both on putbacks). You'll make the case that even with the frontcourt playing a bit better, the Huskies are about as good as Jerebazz Lambpier is on any given day (today: 7-for-23, 2-13 on 3s, 10 TOs). These also fall under the "growing pains" category, but consider that this is not a very good UCF team - they lost to Florida State by 23 a few weeks ago - and it could seem like there's quite a gap between UConn and the upper tier of the Big East.

And if you're in the third group, everything that has happened up to this very moment is irrelevant, because UConn has been an incomplete team since Nov. 10. That changes tomorrow, when Ryan Boatright becomes eligible. By all accounts, Boatright should be able to step in right away to give Jim Calhoun some options with the backcourt. You could make the case that Napier and Lamb have had to carry too much of the load, and Boatright taking 15-20 minutes from them (and getting Lamb off the point guard hook, where he is not as effective) should be helpful. If you're in this camp, you would've hoped UConn could get through its Charmin soft first six games (UCF's the top-ranked KenPom team they've faced, at 102).

I think all three camps have their merits. This WILL be a different team with Boatright; it WILL be a different team with another five weeks of playing together. And it's also kind of frightening that a team like UCF managed to run UConn off the court for the last 12 minutes with an exceedingly simple gameplan. (The loser of the Florida State-Harvard game is almost certainly better than UCF.)

I am still very confident that this will be a championship-caliber team come March; I was also pretty sure that the Huskies were wildly overrated at No. 4 in the polls this early in the season. We now officially know that the second part is true; beginning tomorrow, we'll hopefully start to see progress towards the first part.

The Dual OpenThread: UConn-Coppin State / UConn-Monmouth

Kevin Meacham — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:36:42 -0000

Thanks to real life intruding, this afternoon will be my first opportunity to see the UConn men's basketball team play a live opponent on a real, live television. Of course, the team you and I are going to view this afternoon against Coppin State at the XL Center is not quite the team we thought we'd see.

Ryan Boatright's suspension is official - six games; the three UConn has already played, today's, and the first two in the Battle for Atlantis. Jeremy Lamb's sprained ankle will apparently keep him out. Shabazz Napier, then, is UConn's only scholarship guard available...except he's battling a bunch of ailments.

So while Coppin State - which played at Oklahoma less than 48 hours ago - is not much of a threat to the Huskies even if they play a five power-forward lineup (Tyler Olander at 2-guard - a man can dream!), today should be very intriguing to see how Jim Calhoun will use his supposed versatility and make this work. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you, Brendan Allen. Woo woo woo.

Other storylines: Andre Drummond had his first double-double last time out; will his improvement result in a triple-triple today? Will Oriakhi and Drummond combine to shoot better than 50% from the free throw line? How about 33.3% (they're 7-for-22 through 3 games)? Will Niels Giffey be able to handle the ball without turning it over like crazy, thus ushering in the era of the pointe-stürmer? (Likely answers: Yes, no, mayhaps, ja).

Tip-off from Hartford is at 1 p.m., and you can catch the game on SNY.

You may also use this open thread to follow along with the third-seeded UConn soccer team's NCAA Tournament Round of 32 match against Monmouth, which also kicks off at 1:00, and can be heard on WHUS on either radio (91.7 FM in the Storrs area), online (www.whus.org) or on iTunes.

We can also talk about UConn football, but meh.

Tip-off from Hartford is at 1 p.m., and you can catch the game on SNY.

We can also talk about UConn football, but meh.

TheUConnBlog's Fourth Annual Men's Basketball Season Preview: Defending champs, Drummond, and living in the world of SHABAZZ~!

Kevin Meacham — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:01:01 -0000

Hooray! It’s Basketballmas in Connecticut! I’ve been fairly quiet on the blog as of late, but this is annually my favorite post of the year – and there’s no chance that I wouldn’t get set for the opening night of college hoops with my Fourth Annual UConn Basketball Preview. Holy crap, we’ve been a blog for four seasons. Your Defending National Champion Huskies open their season in a few hours against Columbia – so sit back, put your feet up and enjoy. And don’t forget to join our OpenThread tonight at 5 p.m., which will cover both UConn basketball as well as UConn soccer in the Big East semifinals.

I’m one of those cynical assholes who can’t stand (most) Disney movies, the kind of person who calls out the plot points 20 minutes in advance. (I know what you’re thinking, and yes I am LOTS of fun at parties.)

I guess I’ve just never understood why we need Disney movies when real life tells much more interesting, rich stories. Take UConn basketball, for example.

Almost no one remembers it now, but on the day the 2010-11 season opened, things were looking bleak. A distressing scandal, followed by a disastrous 2009-10 season had seemingly sucked the life out of the UConn program. It had certainly drained a lot of energy from Jim Calhoun, as evidenced by the mysterious illness that sidelined him that season.

One year ago in this space, I wrote the following (among 4,000 other words):

This particular team is very young, but they are invested with a great responsibility: to reverse the negative trend line that Calhoun's program has been on since April 2009.

...

If all goes well, they'll go through their growing pains this year, show signs of quality, and hopefully be joined by a decisive infusion of raw talent to make one last run at a ring possible, either next year or in 2012-13.

Those were, I think, reasonable best-case scenarios for a team of talented freshmen replacing seniors who came off an 18-16 season.

It was truly a very uncertain time to be a UConn fan. I think we’re all aware that we’re followers of a nouveau riche program that is primarily the vehicle for one great coach. Having UConn revert back to Just-another-teams-ville, rather than the championship-winning, ass-kicking, Beast-of-the-East program it’s been since 1990, is a scary thought. But the UConn program seemed to be on that precipice, circa October/November 2010.

Thankfully, Jim Calhoun had the perfect player in the perfect place.

Kemba’s utter destruction of Wichita State, Michigan State and Kentucky in Maui, his Kembawesomeness against Villanova, Texas and others brought the pulse back into the program. It brought the life back into Calhoun, made him realize why he so loves this game.

The real fun, of course, started in March. After a regular season that was successful, if only to the point where the Huskies reached my "show signs of quality" goal, it looked like Kemba Walker’s job was done. He had successfully shepherded those talented freshmen through their rocky first year, and had set them up to contend for Big East and national championships at some point in the medium-distant future.

Or, like, a month after the 2010-11 regular season ended. But we all know that story by heart now.

So here we are at the dawn of a brand new season, and all (OK, most) is well in Storrs, the home of your defending college basketball national champions.

Calhoun is reinvigorated, having finally brought in the right mix of players who he can mold in his gritty, tough-Irish-bastard image. It was thought for sure that he would retire after championship No. 3. Instead, he re-caught the bug. He’s more energetic than ever, and he looks like he can coach another 25 years. He won’t – the transition period looks a ton smoother now that an apparent successor, Kevin Ollie, is in his second year on staff – but would you doubt Calhoun if he tried?

The returning talent on this particular team is tantalizing, even without Kemba the Great. There is NBA-caliber talent in the backcourt. There’s an imposing frontcourt that looks to be a version of Thabeet/Adrian + offensive capability. There’s the potential for Calhoun to run multiple German guy on the court at the same time. There’s SHABAZZ~!, for god’s sake!

Players still want to play for UConn, as evidenced by a stellar recruiting class, maybe Calhoun’s best-ever. As evidenced by Andre Drummond’s out-of-the-blue late August declaration that he’d rather improve his game playing against Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Louisville rather than overmatched New England 17-year-olds, and that he’d want to do it as part of the program he grew up watching on TV. (I imagine this makes those of you who remember the Perno/Rowe years feel very old.)

Even the biggest negative in the program right now – UConn losing three scholarships (and a potential postseason bid next season), plus Calhoun being suspended three Big East games, due to APR woes and the Nate Miles scandal – has its upside.

For one, the APR issue has forced the school to make sure these kids are graduating. Always a good thing.

Two, it’s forced Calhoun to get very creative in the way he’s constructed his roster. And by "very creative" I mean "just recruiting the best goddamn players around." There’s no room for Mandledovian filler anymore.

With a lean, mean roster of 10 scholarship players, Calhoun and his staff have put together as deep a lineup as UConn’s had over the last five years (a stretch in which, you’ll no doubt remember, UConn went to the Final Four twice).

The Huskies have absurd length at almost every position, real-live depth in the frontcourt (and everywhere else, except point guard for the moment), speed and unparalelled versatility. The key non-Kemba contributors to the 2011 national champions are all back, a year older/stronger/more skilled.

To use a term that stopped being cool in 2008, the swagger is back at UConn.

There are certainly reasons for concern with this new team (i.e. there isn’t one scholarship senior on the team), just like there are reasons for concern for every team in the country. We’ll get into those later in the preview. But I’m quite satisfied with the construction of this team, and I for one will never, ever, ever, ever bet against Jim Calhoun again.

MEET YOUR HUSKIES

---The Stars Of The Show:

#3 Jeremy Lamb

Year: Sophomore

Pos: Shooting guard

From: Norcross, Ga.

Ht/Wt: 6-5 / 180

Official Blog Nickname: Lamb Chop (I'm sure I'm forgetting Lamb's actual nickname...)

Most likely to: Teach competitive dance

2010-11 stats: 41 games (27.8 minutes per); 11.1 PPG, 48.7 FG% (54.6 on 2s, 36.8 on 3s), 79.7 FT%, 4.5 RPG

Outlook: While of course Kemba was the team’s dominant player last year, UConn doesn’t win a national championship without Jeremy Lamb going absolutely nuts in March and April. He kinda singlehandedly beat San Diego State with his performance in the waning minutes of that game, including one of the ballsiest 3-pointers in UConn history (after SDSU had cut the Huskies’ lead to one with under two minutes to play).

Now, Lamb is in the position where he needs to be THE guy on offense, rather than just the Robin to Kemba’s Batman. UConn’s season will, in large part, depend on Lamb’s ability to either create his own shot or otherwise be heavily-involved. Seeing Lamb blossom into a legitimately awesome player last spring, plus a spectacular summer playing for the U.S. Under-19 National Team gives me plenty of hope. Plus, he totally beat Kemba in one-on-one twice, and therefore is no worse than the second greatest basketball player alive.

Lamb struggled a bit in the first exhibition running the offense. I can’t speak to the second exhibition, and I also have no way of knowing whether that’s a systemic problem or just an issue of familiarity. Lamb was best on offense last year catching and shooting off screens, but I don’t know if that will be enough – especially if the team’s point guard situation isn’t resolved for a while. At worst, he needs to improve his ability to get to the free throw line often.

Defensively, Lamb was one of the reasons UConn became so tough to score on in March, his long spider-arms able to contest 3-pointers from a distance of 30 feet away (note: measurement may be approximate).

#13 Shabazz Napier

Year: Sophomore

Pos: Point guard

From: Roxbury, Mass.

Ht/Wt: 6-1 / 171

Official Blog Nickname: SHABAZZ~!, Punctuation

Most likely to: Cause thousands of broken television sets in the greater Hartford area

2010-11 stats: 41 games (23.8 minutes per); 7.8 PPG, 37.0 FG% (41.9% on 2s, 32.6% on 3s); 77.1 FT%; 3.0 APG, 1.66 A-to-T ratio

Outlook: One could make a very good comparison that Shabazz Napier ’11 is the poor-man’s version of Kemba Walker ’09 (similar usage rate, though Kemba’s offensive rating in ’09 was about four points better than Shabazz). Napier played kind of a similar role, too, coming in off the bench in each game effectively to provide energy, a change of tempo and an offensive spark.

Kemba had issues adjusting to becoming a team leader in 2009-10 (thanks, Dyson), but there seem to be no such issues here. This is firmly Shabazz’s team – a notion that should simultaneously fill you with joy and horror. Shabazz does a lot of things well, but most of them (tenacious defense, upping the tempo on offense) require a lot of energy, and it will be very interesting to see whether he will be able to continue doing them well while being the primary guy running the offense.

Shabazz has a flair for the spectacular play, but he can occasionally get careless with the ball. That can’t happen. One of the things that made last year’s team so successful was that UConn’s point guard rarely turned the ball over. With Kemba’s exceptionally high usage and incredible turnover rate, most possessions ended with a made shot or a chance for an offensive rebound. Shabazz doesn’t have to be Kemba, but he must be more responsible with the ball and make smarter decisions (both in passing and shooting) for the Huskies’ offense to go.

Defensively, the speedy Napier is an absolute terror, as he hounded just about everyone he guarded (Non-Peyton Siva Division) to the tune of the 34th-best steal rate in the country. Hell of a lot of fun to watch.

My gut is that Shabazz will be a slightly more efficient version of the guy we saw last year, but there should be enough talent around him where that should be enough.

#34 Alex Oriakhi

Year: Junior

Pos: Power forward/center

From: Lowell, Mass.

Ht/Wt: 6-9 / 240

Official Blog Nickname: Uruk-Hai, Warriakhi

Most likely to: Dress as Jeff Adrien for Halloween

2010-11 stats: 41 games (29.1 minutes per); 9.6 PPG, 50.7% FG, 63.0% FT, 8.7 RPG, 1.6 BPG

2009-10 stats: 34 games (24.6 minutes per); 5.0 PPG, 46.0% FG, 53.8% FT, 6.6 RPG, 1.6 BPG

Outlook: Oriakhi showed nice progression last year particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, he increased his efficiency noticeably, but he remained very raw, putting too many wild, blind 100-mph shots off the backboard for my liking.

That being said, Oriakhi was about as good a rebounder as you’ll find last year, and figures to have improved even more heading into his third season here. Oriakhi finished the season with the 30th-best offensive rebound rate in the country, and really grew into his own as a battler down low.

You’ll never confuse Oriakhi for a guy with tons of offensive skill, but there aren’t many big men in the Big East I’d take over him this season. If he’s the same old garbage-man, rebounding-and-defense force he was last year, that’s a very good thing for UConn. If Oriakhi develops a post move or two – and I was very encouraged by the exhibition game in that regard – that’s gravy.

---Grizzled veterans (i.e. the rest of the sophomore class)

#22 Roscoe Smith

Year: Sophomore

Pos: Small forward/power forward

From: Baltimore, Md.

Ht/Wt: 6-8 / 205

Official Blog Nickname: Scoe the Show

Most likely to: Hurriedly celebrate New Year’s at 10:59 p.m. Dec. 31

2010-11 stats: 41 games played (25.4 minutes per); 6.3 PPG, 38.3% FG (30.1% 3P), 5.2 RPG

Outlook: OK, so all everyone remembers from Roscoe Smith’s freshman year is the hideous Texas blunder. But that’s fine! Maybe that means everyone else will be underestimating the kid.

While Smith didn’t live up to the four-star hype, he was put up a valuable freshman year. Late in the season, Calhoun deployed him as a defensive stopper, putting him up against the opposition’s best scorer. He’s big enough to passably defend power forwards (though he is unlikely to need to do that much now that the frontcourt is twice as deep as it was last year) and quick and lengthy enough to guard other wings or smaller players.

Smith’s role is in question because everyone seems to be raving over DeAndre Daniels, who plays basically the same position with more offensive skill (Roscoe made just 43% of his two-point shots last year, and never really found a way to integrate himself into the offense), but I have no doubt that Roscoe will get his minutes and contribute as part of another ferocious defense once again.

Plus, you know, he’s a sophomore. It’s safe to say he’ll get better offensively.

#10 Tyler Olander

Year: Sophomore

Pos: Power forward

From: Mansfield, Conn.

Ht/Wt: 6-9 / 225

Official Blog Nickname: Hansbrolander

Most likely to: Sign a sponsorship deal with Proactiv (look at that clear mug shot!)

2010-11 stats: 39 games (9.6 minutes per); 1.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG

Outlook: I swear to god, Tyler Olander looks like he might actually be a good Division I basketball player. As soon as this year. Seriously.

Olander got his feet wet by starting for most of the latter half of the season, although his time on the court lasted roughly until the first media timeout most nights, with scattered appearances thereafter. Olander came in with a reputation as a skilled big man (which has been an unfilled position at UConn since, what, Charlie V?), but wasn’t really great at anything last year – though he was a decent rebounder and showed that he might have jump-shot prowess. He did play hard and gradually got better over time. (Remember when he scored seven points against Syracuse in the BET? What the hell was that?)

Then I watched Olander play in the exhibition games. I mean, yeah, it’s just Division II teams, but Olander wasn’t dominating Division II teams last year, either. (Last year’s exhibitions: Olander was 4-for-7 for 8 points with 8 rebounds, 5 assists in 36 minutes. This year, in 51 minutes: 7-for-10, 19 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks.)

Are you not the kind of person who freaks out over a 60-point win over CW Post? Then just look at that mugshot above. Now look at last year’s. It’s barely the same guy! Dude looks bigger, stronger and more mature. Is it possible that he’s going to inexplicably turn into a legitimate-guy-you-don’t-agonize-about-when-you-throw-him-the-ball threat on both ends of the floor? I’m scared, you guys.

#5 Niels Giffey

Year: Sophomore

Pos: Shooting guard/small forward

From: Berlin, Germany

Ht/Wt: 6-7 / 205

Official Blog Nickname: Giff-Eye, Der Ubersportler, Neils Templar

Most likely to: Win the most epic dance-off ever against Jeremy Lamb. Make it happen, Niels.

2010-11 stats: 41 games (9.9 minutes per); 2.2 PPG, 40.3% FG (32.4% 3P); 1.4 RPG

Outlook: A consummate glue guy, Giffey looked like a revelation in Maui, when he scored 14 points and buried a couple 3s against Kentucky. But he saw his role mostly decrease throughout the season, because he played like a typical freshmen (even if typical freshmen aren’t on the German U-20 national team).

Giffey was the kind of guy who every team needs. He can reliably give you nice minutes when you need it, he’ll generally hit his shots (and he was 17-21 from the foul line last year), and he’s got enough basketball sense to offer some value.

I’m intrigued by how Giffey improves this year. He seems to be purely a rotation/depth guy, but I’m a fan of getting him more minutes where possible.

If nothing else, he'll always be the guy hugging Calhoun in One Shining Moment.

#1 Enosch Wolf

Year: Sophomore

Pos: Center

From: Goettingen, Germany

Ht/Wt: 7-1 / 245

Official Blog Nickname: Human Wolf

Most likely to: star in a film that’s a mix of action und comedy.

2010-11 stats: 7 games (3.7 minutes per)

Outlook: The Human Wolf didn’t earn much playing time, as he posted just 11 minutes in the two exhibition games. It’s likely that he’ll have another season of working on his game (and practicing against one of the best freshmen in the country) in the hopes of being a contributor in the future.

According to his official measurements, he’s put on about 35 pounds (of muscle, presumably), and he does have a wildly entertaining Twitter feed (sample tweet: "first night in a hotel this season!! Chillin with the german homie niels!! #UConnsGermans"). For those two reasons alone, I’m happy to give the big man as much time as he needs to get ready for Big East competition.

From here on out, by the way, we will be taking nickname suggestions for the newbies.

THE X FACTOR

#12 Andre Drummond

Year: Freshman

Pos: Center

From: Middletown, Conn.

Ht/Wt: 6-10 / 270

Official Blog Nickname: ???

Most likely to: Succeed

Outlook: I couldn’t think of a better possible fit than Andre Drummond taking his talents to Gampel Pavilion, which is why it was so frustrating to see Drummond seemingly shun college basketball altogether.

Drummond grew up 40 minutes from UConn’s campus, and was born three months before Ray Allen played his first game for the Huskies. He was five and a half years old when UConn won its first national championship. He’s a part of the first generation of basketball players who know nothing but wild success for our program. His talent is prodigious, and he was recognized as one of the top two or three recruits in the country. Basketball Prospectus called him the most talented true center to step on campus since Greg Oden.

UConn, meanwhile, was in dire need of some skill in the frontcourt to make up for the rather shallow rotation of guards.

Put the two together, and I feel OK in saying that he’s the biggest recruit Jim Calhoun has landed since Chris Smith.

Naturally, then, expectations are high. Drummond admitted his nerves following his first game at Gampel Pavilion. He gets it. He knows what people think about him – he certainly got enough feedback from Tweeting his commitment to the school back in August.

He’s also a freshman.

Drummond has got all the athletic gifts you could ever ask for, and is touted as having as much basketball skill as any freshman UConn has ever seen. The thought of he and Shabazz running the pick and roll 15 times a game is giving my heart palpitations right now.

But before we crown Drummond king of all the basketballs, I want to see him react to the punch-in-the-mouth that is 18 games of Big East basketball. I want to see him score or defend on anyone, if and when he figures it out.

If he lives up to the hype, I’m not sure my mind can even possibly comprehend the ways in which UConn will be destroying fools. But Drummond will still be a freshman. His best days are still ahead of him – and we likely only have seven or eight months to enjoy his still-developing talent – which is why I am cautious about labeling him as the new savior of UConn basketball.

Dude’s friggin’ good, though.

OTHER, MORE PRECOCIOUS FRESHMEN

#2 DeAndre Daniels

Year: Freshman

Pos: Small forward

From: Los Angeles, Calif.

Ht/Wt: 6-8 / 195

Official Blog Nickname: ???

Most likely to: Be my new mancrush

Outlook: In any other year, we would be readying ourselves to call this the Year of DeAndre. Instead, Daniels is merely the second-best recruit Jim Calhoun brought into the fold this year.

But do not sleep on him. Having seen one exhibition game, I already love watching this guy.

Daniels is touted as an elite scorer, an excellent 3-point shooter (3-for-4 in the exhibition games, for what that’s worth) and he’s got outstanding length and athleticism (which is true for just about everyone on this team, but still). If he can rebound any, Daniels adds so much versatility and so many options for Calhoun to play with. Even if not, pair him up with Roscoe and Drummond and you’ve got an absolutely devastating front line on paper.

My guess is that Daniels starts the season coming off the bench in favor of Roscoe, but I would be shocked if he isn’t a major contributor by the time we get into the heart of Big East play.

#11 Ryan Boatright

Year: Freshman

Pos: Point guard

From: Aurora, Ill.

Ht/Wt: 6-0 / 160

Official Blog Nickname: ???

Most likely to: Remind us that the NCAA is comically incompetent.

Outlook: Boatright won an outstanding First Night dunk contest, which should give you a hint of his leaping ability. A four-star point guard with the ability to score, he was supposed to come in and be a super backup for Napier, but of course the NCAA investigation into whether Boatright received benefits while on an AAU team.

For what it’s worth, the university itself doesn’t seem to be involved in any way, but the fact that this seemingly straightforward investigation has taken almost two weeks is both worrisome and really effing annoying. Here’s hoping for the best, though. Without Boatright, UConn has a rotation of one scholarship player at point guard, as this is the thinnest UConn has been at the position that I can remember.

It (hopefully) won’t matter early on in the season, as the schedule is not challenging, but UConn will definitely need Boatright’s talents once we hit the New Year.

#4 Brendan "Not Donnell Beverly" Allen

Year: "Freshman"

Pos: Point guard

From: "Windsor, Conn."

Ht/Wt: 6-3 / 187

Official Blog Nickname: B-Dev

Most likely to: be Donnell Beverly

Notables: Played in two Final Fours as a reserve point guard at UConn, er, I mean…totally a guy who just graduated high school. Definitely.

Outlook: So yeah, I’m pretty sure this is just Donnell Beverly, back for a fifth year of being the reserve point guard (minus the scholarship) who can steadily manage a game and give a few minutes’ rest to the starter. I see your game, "Brendan." Notice how his UConnHuskies.com page doesn’t even have a photo? THE COVERUP IS REAL

#25 Michael Bradley

Year: Redshirt freshman

Pos: Power forward/center

From: Chattanooga, Tenn.

Ht/Wt: 6-10 / 225

Official Blog Nickname: ???

Most likely to: Get a cut of Andre Drummond’s first NBA paycheck

2010-11 stats: Redshirted

Outlook: Bradley was a puzzling signing last year, given that he averaged 5.9 points and 6.5 blocks per game as a high school senior. He agreed to give up his scholarship in favor of Drummond, which means he should never have to buy a drink in Storrs again (once he’s of age, of course).

Bradley fractured his ankle shortly before First Night, and is likely to be out until December. Given his already marginal role in the frontcourt rotation, it’s hard to see Bradley contributing much this year, kind of like Wolf.

SOON-TO-BE-VANQUISHED FOES

Date	Opponent	KenPom	Site	Time	TV
Friday, Nov. 11	Columbia	217	Gampel Pavilion	7 p.m.	ESPNU
Monday, Nov. 14	Wagner	206	Gampel Pavilion	7:30 p.m.	SNY
Thursday, Nov. 17	Maine	236	XL Center	7 p.m.	SNY
Sunday, Nov. 20	Coppin State	241	XL Center	1 p.m.	SNY
Thursday, Nov. 24	vs. UNC-Asheville+	157	Paradise Island, Bahamas	7 p.m.	HDNet
Friday, Nov. 25	Battle of Atlantis	n/a	Paradise Island, Bahamas	TBD	Versus
Saturday, Nov. 26	Battle of Atlantis	n/a	Paradise Island, Bahamas	TBD	Versus
Saturday, Dec. 3	Arkansas	87	XL Center	3:15 p.m.	ESPN
Thursday, Dec. 8	Harvard	51	Gampel Pavilion	7 p.m.	ESPN2
Sunday, Dec. 18	Holy Cross	209	XL Center	1 p.m.	SNY
Thursday, Dec. 22	Fairfield	94	XL Center	7 p.m.	SNY
Wednesday, Dec. 28	at South Florida*	84	Tampa, Florida	9 p.m.	SNY
Saturday, Dec. 31	St. John's*	98	XL Center	12 p.m.	SNY
Tuesday, Jan. 3	at Seton Hall*	75	Newark, New Jersey	7 p.m.	SNY
Saturday, Jan. 7	at Rutgers*	107	Piscataway, New Jersey	8 p.m.	SNY
Monday, Jan. 9	West Virginia*	27	XL Center	7 p.m.	ESPN2
Saturday, Jan. 14	at Notre Dame*	34	South Bend, Indiana	11 a.m.	ESPN2
Wednesday, Jan. 18	Cincinnati*	33	Gampel Pavilion	7 p.m.	ESPN2
Saturday, Jan. 21	at Tennessee	108	Knoxville, Tennessee	4 p.m.	CBS
Sunday, Jan. 29	Notre Dame*	34	XL Center	12 p.m.	SNY
Wednesday, Feb. 1	at Georgetown*	48	Washington, D.C.	7 p.m.	ESPN2
Saturday, Feb. 4	Seton Hall*	75	XL Center	12 p.m.	SNY
Monday, Feb. 6	at Louisville*	8	Louisville, Kentucky	7 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, Feb. 11	at Syracuse*	5	Syracuse, Canada	1 p.m.	CBS
Wednesday, Feb. 15	DePaul*	150	Gampel Pavilion	7 p.m.	SNY
Saturday, Feb. 18	Marquette*	21	XL Center	12 p.m.	ESPN
Monday, Feb. 20	at Villanova*	38	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	7 p.m.	ESPN
Saturday, Feb. 25	Syracuse*	5	Gampel Pavilion (Gameday)	9 p.m.	ESPN
Tuesday, Feb. 28	at Providence*	112	Providence, Rhode Island	7 p.m.	SNY
Saturday, March 3	Pittsburgh*	7	Gampel Pavilion	12 p.m.	ESPN
March 6-10	Big East Tournament	n/a	Madison Square Garden	n/a	ESPN
March 15-16	NCAA Tournament	n/a	To be determined	n/a	CBS

*-Big East game; +- Battle for Atlantis (other first-round matchups: Charleston-Central Florida, UMass-Florida State, Utah-Harvard); preseason KenPom rating (out of 345 teams)

Five thoughts on the schedule:

The Battle for Atlantis is, uh…not a very good tournament. The Huskies’ first opponent, UNC-Asheville, is ranked 157^th in the preseason KenPom ratings. Their second opponent will be either 92^nd (UCF) or 145^th (College of Charleston). Things could get a little trickier in the final; Utah and UMass aren’t very good, but Florida State is quite frisky (29^th) and Harvard (51^st) is being talked about as an Ivy League team capable of winning a game or two in March.
No, seriously. I could see a young, still-learning UConn team just barely scrape by Harvard in the final of that tournament, and then seeing Harvard again at Gampel two weeks later. That game alone makes the early season cupcake schedule 100% more interesting.
Note to the Big East; please stop scheduling UConn in New Year’s Eve games in Hartford. At least this time, it’s at noon, unlike last year’s brainless 6 p.m. start on Dec. 31.
On the other hand, thank you Big East for making the Huskies first three league games (all minus a suspended Calhoun) against an atrocious USF in front of no one (due to Sun Dome renovations, that game is at the St. Pete Times Forum, which I can’t imagine USF will fill more than halfway), home against an all-freshman St. John’s team, and at a pretty bad Seton Hall team. With Rutgers following that, UConn should theoretically get off to a nice 4-0 league start before things start getting tougher.
GAMEDAY AT GAMPEL GAMEDAY AT GAMPEL SO MANY JULI BOEHEIM FAN CLUB SIGNS

And now, five games to watch:
2/25 vs. Syracuse – See above.
2/6 at Louisville – Most seem to think that UConn, Syracuse, Louisville and Pitt are going to have their own little mini-tournament atop the Big East. I hate playing at Louisville. It’s probably the second-toughest place to win (after Pitt) in the league, and I bet Peyton Siva does something to piss us all off.
3/3 vs. Pittsburgh – It will be Senior Day, even though UConn has no seniors on scholarship. Instead, it could be an important game regarding seeding and, just maybe, the Big East regular season title.
1/21 at Tennessee – The only out-of-conference game with any juice, even though KenPom rates the Vols at #108 in his preseason ratings.
2/18 vs. Marquette – If I had to project, I would guess that this game, UConn’s 26^th of the season, will see Calhoun win his 875^th game (he needs 20 to get there). Not much of a milestone I guess, but this is just intended to remind everyone that if Calhoun stays through the end of his contract, he might end up being the second-winningest coach in Division I history. Or first-most, if UConn gets invited to the ACC and he strangles Coach K on sight like in that dream I had.

EXPECTATIONS & FINAL THOUGHTS

UConn is ranked No. 4 in the country to begin the season, its highest such ranking since 2009. I’m not sure this particular team has earned that designation. Everything went right for the Huskies to turn into the red-hot team in what was, honestly, a bit of a down year for college hoops on the whole.

I would say, right now, UConn should be ranked, but towards the bottom half of the rankings. The talent is as good as anywhere in the country, but it’s all young talent, and there isn’t a proven leader left among a crew of freshmen, sophomores and Oriakhi. It will be up to the rejuvenated Calhoun to mold this team, though there is no one else I’d rather have on the case.

Interestingly, Calhoun seems to have made a change in the types of players he’s recruiting. The makeup of the kids on this team is just so completely 100 percent removed from even the 2009-10 team. Because of that, I’m inclined to think that the Huskies will trend toward the upper edge of their potential.

If this team gels like I think they can, if Drummond or Daniels are even half as good as I think they can be, if Shabazz develops like he should, if Lamb becomes the true go-to scorer he needs to be…well, let’s just say Jim Calhoun will be right in his element.

As of right now, Basketballmas 2011, I will set my baseline expectations for this team as 25 wins and a berth in the Sweet 16. Given the hype about this team in the preseason, that probably strikes you as a conservative assessment; maybe so. I just think replacing Kemba Walker will take more time than most think, and getting this team into tournament shape will involve some bumps in the road. I do, however think that utterly demolishing those expectations is tantalizingly on the table.

So perk up, folks. Tonight, we raise National Championship banner No. 3, and we begin the defense of our title. I have a feeling this is gonna be a fun ride.

Merry Basketballmas to you all, and Go Huskies.

TheOpenThread: Syracuse (5-3, 1-2) at UConn (3-5, 1-2)

Kevin Meacham — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:33:47 -0000

The stakes are incredibly high in today's crucial-ish Big East showdown between mighty Syracuse, who should've lost to a MAC team at home, and mighty UConn, which went ahead and did. The winner will stay alive for the league's somehow-still-existant BCS berth, which is just a stupid sentence in regards to these two teams (so pencil in the winner as your Orange Bowl representative). The loser gets to keep Paul Pasqualoni.

There are plenty of actual storylines to go around here, but Paul Pasqualoni has completely sapped my own personal enthusiasm for UConn football at the moment. Nevertheless, they will still be playing a game today at noon on ESPNU, against Syracuse of the ACC. We'll be talking about it in this here thread.

Let's go Huskies.

TheOpenThread: UConn (3-4, 1-1) at Pittsburgh (3-4, 1-1)

Kevin Meacham — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:44:16 -0000

Based on the way the conference realignment picture is shaping up, tonight could be termed a trial run of dipping UConn's toes into the chlorine-less, cloudy pool that is Wednesday Night MACtion. The 3-4 Huskies travel to Pittsburgh tonight for what is theoretically a Big East football game, but what is in fact a test of sheer will between masters of derp.

UConn has played three full games against FBS opponents in which they have not scored an offensive touchdown (that's 3 out of 6, people). Pittsburgh beat an FCS team by six points, and failed to score an offensive point against a really mediocre Utah team in their last outing - a game that came a week after the Panthers scored 10 points in a blowout loss at Rutgers.

And to prove that Mother Nature is spiteful and wants to see us in agony, note: it's apparently raining like hell in Pittsburgh right now. First team to 10 wins! On the plus side, good things seem to happen to UConn in the rain.

Anyways, believe it or not, this is actually an important game for Coach P's motley crew. A win brings UConn to 4-4, keeps bowl hopes very much alive, and with three straight home games coming up in November against Syracuse, Cincinnati and Rutgers, there's even a chance that UConn could win the oh my god let's not go there because that would be the biggest travesty in sports history.

So let's all have a good Wednesday night time here in the Open Thread, enjoy the game, and start imagining what Andre Drummond will look like dunking on Ivy Leaguers.

Let's go Huskies.

So let's all have a good Wednesday night time here in the Open Thread, enjoy the game, and start imagining what Andre Drummond will look like dunking on Ivy Leaguers.

Let's go Huskies.