Big East – HUSKY NATION

Reviewing UConn’s Team Stats Heading into Final Conference Games

This season has been a dream so far for the UConn program. The 25-3 Huskies have arguably been better than last year’s champions, and certainly a better regular season team. This was demonstrated by them clinching at least a share of the Big East regular season title yesterday, and their ability to win it outright with a win today over Seton Hall. Why I could write thousands of words about the strengths of the team and their performances in particular wins, and will do so the remainder of the season , I thought it would be more interesting to list a series of team stats and metrics that demonstrate UConn’s dominance right now. I will print a similar article on individual players after the Seton Hall game today.Can’t wait to hopefully see the Huskies clinch the outright Big East title today on Senior Day!

Five. That’s the number of players on UConn who are averaging double digits, aka the entire starting lineup. I believe they are the only team in the country whose entire starting lineup is scoring in double digits. Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer are each averaging 15.2 points, Alex Karaban 13.9 (even after a big shooting slump), Donovan Clinigan 12.3 points in just 21 minutes a game, and Stephon Castle 10.9. Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson are also scoring more than 5 points a game in less than 20 minutes per game.
No matter which way you slice it, the Huskies metrics all point to them as one of the top three teams in the country alongside Purdue and Houston. On Ken Pomeroy’s website, UConn is scoring 125.4 points per 100 possessions (PPP), while allowing 95.6, which is 18^th in the country. In Big East play, the team’s PPP numbers are 120.3 and 99.8, which both rank first in the Big East. On Bartovik, they rank 4^th and 15^th on offense and defense for the full season, and first and fourth on those ends in conference play. On both Bartovik and KenPom, the Huskies are ranked third in the country, just beyond Purdue.
EvanMya.com is the one projection site that rates UConn as the No. 1 team in the country as of March 2^nd. The team’s relative ranking, which is based on how it would perform again similarly ranked teams, based on the team’s efficiency ratings and opponent and pace adjustment. UConn’s relative ranking of 28.5 is 0.3 ahead of Purdue. Their 17.7 offensive rate, which relies on PPP against similarly ranked teams, is third in the nation, while their 10.7 defensive rate is ninth.
KenPom, which is the easiest metrics site to comprehend, has extensive stats for UConn’s play on both offense and defense. The team’s effective field goal percentage, which is a measurement of the 2 and 3-pointers it makes added up (one point is given for 2-pointers and 1.5 for 3-pointers) and divided by the number of field goals attempted and multiplied by 100, is 56.9% for the season, eighth in the country. The Huskies shoot 58.9% on 2-pointers, also fourth in the country, and 36% on 3-pointers, which is 62^nd. UConn rebounds 37.2% of their missed shots, which ranks 10th, and assists on 61.5 % of their made field goals, ranking 11^th. The Huskies are also above average on offense in their turnover percentage, free throw percentage, and the percentage of shots they have blocked. In Big East play, UConn leads the league in offensive rebounding percentage, 3-point percentage and assists/field goals made at 34.6, 37.5&, and 62.4%, respectively. The team is also to three in the league for effective field goal%, 2-point%, block%, and the percentage of free throw attempts they make compared to field goal attempts (32.9% ).
UConn’s defensive metrics on KenPom are also outstanding. They have held opponents to an effective field goal percentage of 45.1% and 44% on 2-pointers, which ranks fifth and ninth in the country. Its block percentage of 142% is 17^th. It has held opponents to 31.6% on 3-pointers, which is 57^th. The Huskies are ranked in the top 100 in the percent of offensive rebounds allowed, assists on field goals, and the percentage of 3-pointers opponents take to their overall field goals attempted. In the Big East, they are first in effective field goal percentage (45% ) and the percent of 3-pointers made (31.6%). Dan Hurley’s team is in the top three in 2-point percentage allowed, offensive rebounding percentage, block percentage, assists to field goal percentage, and the percentage of free throw attempts opponents make compared to field goal attempts.
UConn has beaten 18 teams by double-digits and 13 by at least 20 points. At the same time, Dan Hurley has done a much better job of winning close games this season. The Huskies have won seven games by single digits, and three by five or fewer points.
UConn is undefeated in neutral site and home games and 7-3 in away or semi-away games.
The Huskies are 9-3 in Quad 1 games and undefeated in games played in the three lower quadrants. These nine Quad 1 wins are one of the highest numbers for any team in America. They will have two more chances to pick up Quad 1 wins against Marquette and Providence on the road to end the regular season.
UConn is the top-ranked team on Bartovik since February 1^st. Much of this is due to their improved defense since Donovan Clinigan re-entered the starting lineup after returning from injury.

The Unforgettable Experience of UConn vs. Creighton

When I entered Gampel Pavilion Wednesday night to see UConn take on Creighton, I admit that I was apprehensive about the top-ranked Huskies ability to defeat the experienced Blue Jays, even at home. They have a strong offense that scores very effectively around the rim and can regularly knock down 3-pointers and is one of the best defensive teams in the country in many categories. Meanwhile, UConn was very inconsistent on offense in the preceding few games, struggled badly on the boards, and was not sure what it would get from Donavon Clinigan in his first game back from injury. Finally, Creighton had been the Huskies kryptonite since they rejoined the Big East, winning every game but one. I expected a close game in which UConn needed to limit Creighton in the paint and execute well on offense to win.

Instead, I saw UConn win comfortably 62-48 against one of the Big East’s top programs. The Huskies played absolutely suffocating defense, dominated the boards, and made clutch shots when needed in front of a rowdy crowd. The game, which was obviously a sellout, was one of the most memorable regular season wins for UConn in a long time. It was a joy and privilege to watch in person.

Instead of writing my traditional detailed observations about one or multiple games, I have decided to cover the Creighton win. Instead, I am going to list and do a short discussion of what I enjoyed the most about UConn’s performance up close. I hope you enjoy it!

Being able to see Donavon Clinigan in his first game back from injury was a lot of fun. In 16 minutes, Clinigan was running the floor maybe the best he has had all season and was in better shape. Clinigan was excellent on defense, blocking two shots and denying Creighton the ability to take the ball to the rim and find star center Ryan Kalkbrenner. While Clinigan was rusty shooting the ball, going just 3-8 from the field for 6 points, he snatched five rebounds and recorded 2 assists. Finally, Clinigan fueled multiple runs and brought a ton of energy when out on the floor, including a memorable sing-along to Taylor Swift. If this was what the big fella looked like in his first game back, I could see him dominating opponents soon.
UConn’s defensive performance was remarkable, especially when observing it up close. The unit never allowed Creighton’s players to get comfortable. The Huskies constantly pressured ball-handlers and rarely allowed the Blue Jays to run effective offensive sets. Their players were forced into taking difficult shots inside the arc or kicking it out for 3-pointers, with Creighton shooting just 6-26(23.1%) from there. UConn’s ability to fluster their ball-handlers led to 14 turnovers. Somehow, the Huskies limited the Blue Jays to 6 foul shots despite their aggressive defense. The 48 points were the fewest an opponent has scored in more than two seasons.
In addition to Clinigan, Stephen Castle and Hasson Diarra were especially great to see in person on defense. Castle, who covered multiple players but was on point guard Trey Alexander the most, hounded everyone he guarded and refused to let ball-handlers get downhill. The freshman forced a lot of poor shots and although he had only one steal, Castle was partially responsible for multiple turnovers. He is on another level defensively than most freshman. Diarra has always been an excellent defender and was all over the place in his 17 minutes on the floor. I also commend Samson Johnson for his defensive effort, as he was able to defend multiple players by hard hedging while still defending well. Hopefully the win will give Johnson, who had 4 points, 3 rebounds and a block, more confidence as a defender.
After a few games without Clinigan in which UConn struggled badly to rebound, it was dominant on that end throughout the game, kicking Creighton’s ass on that end 48-32. The Huskies were more physical and athletic than the Blue Jays players up front and did an excellent job blocking out and reacting to where the ball is coming off the rim. Six Huskies had at least 6 rebounds, led by Tristen Newton’s 8. By grabbing 21 offensive rebounds, UConn was able to offset its lousy shooting to some extent and control the clock better. The team won’t rebound this well every game, but having Clinigan back to handle center with Johnson will allow players to play their regular positions and make it easier to rebound.
UConn’s offensive performance was ugly. They shot roughly 35%, had only 13 assists and pretty much stopped scoring in the last six minutes of the game. Creighton was mostly able to keep the Huskies from attacking the rim or scoring in the paint effectively when playing half-court offense, and missed a lot of open midrange jumpers and 3-pointers. When they needed a player to step up and make a basket or create offense they turned to Newton, just as they’ve done all season. He hit tough jumpers, especially in the first half to give the team early momentum. The senior also was the only Husky that could consistently make threes, hitting two of four and having a third waved off due to a foul. Newton scored 16 points and was more efficient than either Alex Karaban or Cam Spencer, who each finished with 13. He may have not have gotten off to the best start in Big East play, but Newton has been one of the top players in the country this year, and the Huskies will go as far as Newton can lead them.
The crowd was outstanding all night against Creighton. Their energy and enthusiasm gave the UConn players a ton of energy and propelled runs, and the fans also helped to rattle Creighton. Everyone was loud and celebratory, and the students were very engaged. UConn gets good crowd support wherever they played, but the Gampel experience is a lot more fun because of the intimate setting and students leading the way for the rest of the crowd.

After a pair of games to open the conference that can be described as Jekyll and Hide for UConn, the wins against DePaul and at Butler this last week were a little more relaxing. There was still plenty to learn from them, however. The wins showed again the core players UConn can rely open and that they are continuing to develop a fuller bench, served as a coming out party for both Stephen Castle and the Huskies version of “small ball”, and that the team can earn a comeback win on the round against a solid Bulldogs team. They also again reinforced that UConn’s defense has a lot of work to do to be efficient in the Big East, and that players must learn how to do their jobs without relying on Donovan Clinigan to bail them out. All in all, it was a more satisfying week with more positives than negatives.

Four players (Castle, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, Hassan Diarra) averaged in double figures over the two games, with Newton scoring 17 against Butler. Karaban led the way with 16.5 points. The offense was in mostly fine form across the board against DePaul and Butler, scoring 86 points in Tuesday’s blowout and then 88 to take down the Bulldogs by seven. UConn shot over 58 percent from the field against DePaul and 54.5 percent from the field against Butler. It shot exactly 69 percent inside the arc in both wins and made roughly 42 percent of its 3-pointers after a significant stretch where the team had struggled from deep. In addition, the team continued to do an excellent job of rebounding and shared the ball well, especially in the first win. Besides the aforementioned players, Samson Johnson, Solomon Ball, and freshman forward Jaylin Stewart all had moments to write home about in at least one of the wins. The only offense negative was the Huskies surprising number of turnovers, which I discuss further down in the piece.

The takeaway on the defense against both teams, especially Butler, was much less favorable. With Clinigan missing, Bulldog players were regularly able to beat Husky defenders off the bounce for scoring opportunities and kickouts to open perimeter shooters and had fun taking advantage of the small lineup with Karaban at center. I discuss it more below, but UConn players inability to consistently rotate well and help teammates was a bigger factor in their defensive struggles than any physical disadvantages. While DePaul averaged 0.84 points per possession and shot 35.7%, Butler shot over 47 percent and averaged 1.19 PPP.

Before Wednesday night’s big road matchup against Xavier, I go into detail below about the standout week of UConn’s new Big Three, how exciting Castle’s emergence is, the significance of the Butler win, the bench, and the defensive questions the team must answer with Clinigan injured. As always, this is proving to be another crazy Big East campaign with storylines galore.

There’s a New Trio Driving the Bus for the Huskies

While there may be occasional exceptions, as Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer go the remainder of the month, so do the Huskies. The trio can all score points in bunches while facilitating for others, are solid rebounders, compete hard on both ends, and are fundamentally sound leaders for the team on and off the floor. The team feeds off these guys’ energy and demeanor during games and especially in the tensest moments, as seen at Butler. While they certainly make their share of mistakes, most fans and Dan Hurley trust Newton, Karaban, and Spencer explicitly. They rewarded that trust against the Blue Demons and Bulldogs.

Karaban and Stewart each had excellent offensive games against both DePaul and Butler. Karaban averaged 17.5 points and 7 rebounds and shot 73.6% overall and 7-10 on 3-pointers, while recording a combined 3 assists and blocks. Karaban did a much better job of attacking the basket and finishing layups through contact in the two wins, and finally made some open treys after being off from beyond the line for a while. Stewart and his old man game were as successful as ever, as he as he averaged 17 points, 5. rebounds and 3 assists while shooting over 59% and 7-14 beyond the arc. Stewart continued to do an excellent job of finishing shots and faking out defenders around the rim and on midrange shots, and anytime he gets an open look from three I think it’s going in, no matter how well defended Stewart is. The pair are both clutch players, as discussed more below, and Stewart made the most clutch play of the night late against Butler to preserve the lead.

Newton is a different case than his two teammates, as he has been in a funk lately since right before Big East play started. Newton went scoreless against DePaul, taking just three shots, and shot 3-12 from the field against Butler. He was reckless with the ball at times last week as well, committing a combined seven turnovers. However, he still averaged 6 assists and 3.5 rebounds and had 2 steals against the Bulldogs. Even when Newton wasn’t hitting shots Friday night, he willed himself to the free throw line in the second half and made 10 of his 13 attempts to secure the win. More than anyone else on the team, Newton remains the guy you want to go to inside to get a layup or force their way to the line.

The entire trio had signature moments in the Butler win during the second half. In the 15-4 run which gave UConn a 54-50 lead with 12:07 remaining, Karaban hit two 3-pointers that were assisted by Newton. Karaban later scored five straight points after Butler cut the deficit to one to take a 79-74 lead with 2:39 remaining. With less than 90 seconds to go, Spencer grabbed a tough offensive rebound, called timeout before falling out of bounds, and quickly hit a 3-pointer to basically secure the win. And even though his shot continued to be off, Newton hit 8 free throws in the second half.

Stephon Castle, Welcome to the Big Time

Entering the season, we heard a ton about how Castle’s physicality and athleticism, knowledge of the game and athleticism. While we saw a few flashes of this at the beginning of the season and after he returned from injury, fans also saw a player who was hesitant to shoot and prone to playing out of control and making mistakes when he did take charge. Castle, whose defense had been ahead of his offense after returning, seemed to finally start figuring things out late against St. John’s. Last week, he looked right at home. Against DePaul and Butler, Castle scored 14 points in both games on nearly 70 percent shooting, averaged 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists, and added 3 steals. He also played his already customary intense defense against both guards and forwards and with all-out intensity in general.

Castle was excellent against the Blue Demons, looking for his shot early and often and shutting down multiple players. As the game went along, he began to focus more on facilitating for teammates and rebounding, and shared point-guard duties alongside Newton. Castle made all 6 of his 2-point attempts, earned 7 assists and had both a block and steal. Tuesday’s win was just a prelude to his game against the Bulldogs, in which he was the best player on the floor. Castle was solid offensively in the first half while the team struggled, even demonstrating his shooting range by hitting a 3-pointer. It was when the game sped up and UConn got in a roll that the freshman showed everything he could do, however. Castle was outstanding helping to run the offense and facilitating, especially on fast breaks. He finished layups and earned free throws, found teammates for open shots both in the paint and on the perimeter, and grabbed 9 rebounds, a majority of which were in traffic. Castle was most essential on defense, as he limited point guard Posh Alexander to 3 points and helped cause his 5 turnovers, and ultimately assisted in guarding all the Bulldogs guards and forwards. Castle was stronger and more athletic than arguably anyone Butler had on the floor, and they and his teammates knew it.

Castle’s last two games weren’t against top-tier conference foes, but it was high-opening seeing Castle live up to the height. He is a great defender who can be the “head of the snake” and help carry the Huskies on that end with Clinigan out. Castle is a very skilled finisher at the rim, especially for a freshman, and already looks like he will be able to help run the offense as the season goes on because of his passing and unselfishness. Most importantly, he plays with an energy and unselfishness that is special for a freshman. Castle’s versatility and ability to contribute in all facets of the game using his strength and athleticism is very reminiscent of Andre Jackson at his best. As Castle takes on a larger role as a scorer and gets more comfortable working together with Newton, he can be the program’s best freshman in years and UConn can reach its full potential.

The Supporting Cast is Developing ,

If the magic trio and Castle will be the main ones driving the team while Clinigan’s out, then it’s imperative that their supporting cast show it can contribute in multiple ways and play different styles as the Huskies go with smaller lineups. It mostly succeeded against DePaul and Butler. Samson Johnson has been generally effective as the starting center, and scored 8 points in both wins on 8-10 shooting, averaged 3 blocks, and grabbed 6 rebounds against the Bulldogs. While Johnson is continuing to show good touch in the paint and is generally an effective defender, he needs to stop picking up needless fouls. The junior had four in both games and combined to play just 43 minutes as a result. Every minute Johnson is out, it is going to make it easier for opponents to score and rebound at the rim.

After an off week, Hassan Diarra had another great pair of games, scoring a combined 23 points (14 against DePaul) while going 4-6 from deep, averaged 3 rebounds and had five assists against the Blue Demons, all while playing bulldog defense. Diarra was always valuable because of his defense and energy, but his improved ball handling, shooting and veteran leadership has made him indispensable to the Huskies and put Diarra neck-and-neck with Solomon Ball for the role of first guard off the bench.

Speaking of freshman, he had another solid game against DePaul, hitting two 3-pointers and finishing with 8 points while adding solid defense. It’s nice to see Ball improving his deep shot and continuing to bring energy on both ends. Now his next step is to be more active as a scorer and become more fundamentally sound as a ball-handler and defender. Finally, freshman forward Jaylin Stewart got some run as many fans had hoped for in the small-ball lineup, and generally made the most of it. He looked like he belonged out there on both ends and made the most of it in his 10 minutes against Butler, scoring and ab5 points and grabbing 3 boards. If Stewart can learn the system better in practice and get comfortable with his teammates in game settings, UConn could be eight deep again when Clinigan returns.

All Hail Dan Hurley

For a couple of years now, it’s been a running joke that Hurley can’t win close games in conference play, especially on the road. And for whatever reason, it has mostly been true. After the head coach won two close games against St. John’s and at Butler, both second-half comebacks, he can shut those critics up for now. Hurley did a great job rallying his players at halftime against Butler, emphasizing that they had to pick up their overall intensity and defensive effort and designing different defensive sets. He stayed on them as UConn rallied midway through the second half to take the lead, and wasn’t afraid to mix and match with players depending on foul trouble and putting the ball in Castle’s hands more. The offensive sets were much crisper in the final 20 minutes, and the players did a better job of pressuring the ball and helping on defense. Hurley seems to be consistently improving his in-game coaching and ability to make adjustments, and as a result I think this team will be more capable of bouncing back from deficits in conference play than last year’s.

This Defense is Not up to UConn Standards

I knew that the Huskies were heavily reliant on Clinigan to fortify their defense, but I don’t think I realized just how reliant they were on the big man to bail them out. Against Seton Hall and then in two of the three games since, UConn has regularly allowed penetration with ease and given up easy layups or earned unnecessary fouls. This roster is less athletic than the typical Huskies squad, and its guards are vulnerable to being attacked and bullied. To make up for that, the defense is going to need to execute as well as possible and be creative. Instead, the rotations and help defense has been lousy, UConn has not been forcing turnovers, and they exacerbate this problem by being way too handsy when guarding when they know Big East officials are unreliable. Castle has been a godsend on defense, but the Huskies are going to have to be creative and play forms of zone or similar defenses when the competition amps up without Clinigan. Hurley’s teams have consistently improved on defense over a season, and I reluctantly believe that will be the case again.

UConn Needs to Adjust to Life Without Donavon Clinigan

After a thrilling opening 11 games to the season, UConn’s final two games before the winter break were a nightmare at times. The defending champions faceplanted in their opening Big East conference game at Seton Hall last Wednesday, looking mostly lost on both ends in a 75-60 loss, the largest the program experienced since 2020. As embarrassing as the showing was on the court, what was worse was the loss of Donovan Clinigan. The sophomore center has dealt with injury and conditioning issues all season, and a fall early in the second half resulted in Clinigan injuring a tendon in his right foot, which will keep him out at least 3-4 weeks. It’s what all fans were dreading, and came just as Clinigan finally seemed to be rounding into form on offense the previous few games.

While the Huskies pulled out a gritty4-point win against St. John’s on Saturday, the offense was again stilted and the outside shooting was mostly nonexistent, especially when the Red Storm played zone and pressured the ball heavily. If Samson Johnson hadn’t stepped up so well in his first game at center, there’s a very good chance UConn would have been upset again at home.

The Huskies have a lot of question marks right now, most of which they have been able to work on during the 9-day holiday break between games. What adjustments can they make on defense to stop getting beat off the dribble and burned for layups, and to protect Johnson and Karaban in general on defense with Clinigan out of commission. How can the offense be more efficient in the halfcourt and play quicker, especially against teams that can switch throughout the lineup and deny good 3-point attempts? Finally, how can the Huskies change their identity where needed in January, including relying more on the bench and improving Stephen Castle? Dan Hurley and his assistants are very smart guys, and I feel like they will be able to get the team to continue playing well without Clinigan and then go on a run when he returns. The Big East is very deep however, and the struggles against Seton Hall and St. John’s were scarily similar to the losses the team had in last year’s January swoon.

Below, I talk a little bit about where I think UConn played well and poorly as a team the last two games, performances of a few players, adjustments the team can make on both ends, and the overall impact of Clinigan being injured and its ramifications.

The Defense Shows a Lot of Deficiencies

Throughout the season, there have been clear signs that UConn is not at the same level defensively as last year. The departure of Andre Jackson and Cam Spencer’s underwhelming defense has made the team weaker at shooting guard/small forward, and Alex Karaban still struggles to defend larger and more athletic forwards. While Castle is an excellent defender for a freshman and Solo Ball is decent on defense if undisciplined, UConn will be starting three players without Clinigan that are less athletic than their counterparts on Big East team. Finally, Johnson is super athletic and can defend the rim, but is a poor rebounder relative to his size and prone to fouling and mental errors.

Without Clinigan at the rim to protect other defenders and clean up their mistakes, UConn looked very vulnerable against Seton Hall’s athletic guards, particularly Kadary Richmond. Too much of the time, he and his backcourt mates beat UConn’s guards off the dribble and glided to the rim for a layup or forced fouls. The Huskies were unable to force turnovers or a lot of poor shots and allowed 14 offensive rebounds to the Pirates. Finally, Johnson had a horrible game, earning just two points and rebounds in 21 minutes. And most frustrating, Hurley seemed unwilling to try any forms of zones or ramp up the trapping and pressure to throw Seton Hall off and hopefully force some turnovers.

While UConn was better defensively against St. John’s, it’s guards were still able to get to the rim too easily for layups or free throw opportunities, especially in the first half. While UConn did a good job of not letting star center Joel Soriano get the ball constantly, he still was outstanding when he was in position to score and pushed around Karban and even Johnson at times. Soriano was 4-5 from the field and 6-7 at the charity stripe for 13 points. The Red Storm got to the line 28 times in all, making 21 of those shots, as those games turned into a slugfest.

Hurley and his team are going to have to make a lot of adjustments on defense while Clinigan is out. They need to come up with ways to neutralize athletic guards and not make it so easy for conference opponents to beat them one-on-one on drives, even if their guards and forwards are naturally more athletic than UConn’s and Karaban. This could mean a lot of things, including emphasizing more help defense, playing zone or similar defensive styles when necessarily, or generally focusing on guarding the perimeter less (for example, the Huskies were defending Seton Hall at the top of the key constantly even when the Pirates aren’t a team that relies on scoring from deep). The team as a whole needs try and be more disciplined and play without fouling in the whistle-heavy Big East, with this being especially true of Karaban and Johnson while UConn is shorthanded. I believe that the coaches are capable of getting the defense to improve through tweaks, but UConn needs to be as pragmatic as possible and willing to try more things on that end of the ball.

The Offense Needs to Regain its Identity

UConn’s offense was one of the best in the country by all metrics in nonconference play. They were extremely efficient and found ways to score against every opponent (barring Kansas) even when perimeter shots weren’t falling. This has changed since Clinigan’s injury against Seton Hall. The Huskies, who are already more inconsistent on 3-pointers than expected in the nonconference, shot just 23.1% (9-39) from deep against Seton Hall and St. John’s. In the half-court, both opponents and especially the Pirates were able to switch and get under screens effectively or play zone and make it tough for UConn to get into its sets quickly and consistently get high-quality shots. Considering the athletic limitations UConn’s experienced guards and Karaban have as referred to before, being forced to play in this style puts more pressure on them to carry the team and get to the rim effectively. And when the Huskies are struggling from deep, it means the team cannot space the floor to counterattack zones. Seton Hall and St. John’s also pressured UConn defenders more than a lot of over times and it was very effective for the Pirates, whom forced a season worse 17 turnovers by UConn.

Even with Seton Hall and St. John’s forcing UConn to play a different style of offense, UConn is not helped by neither all of its main players getting off track in the last two or three games. Karaban has gone back to bricking 3-pointers since the Arkansas-Pine Bluff win, presumably the after-effects of injuring his finger, and it seems to be affecting other areas of the sophomore’s game. While Newton scored a combined 31 points the past two games and came up big in the second half against St. John’s, he has been inefficient from the field and committed 6 turnovers against Seton Hall. Spencer has been highly efficient on offense all season, but he was lousy against Seton Hall and will have a lot of pressure on him from both ends with Clinigan out. While freshman Stephen Castle and Solomon Ball both have the athleticism and size that UConn’s other guards lac, Castle seems to still be getting comfortable after losing time and is playing undisciplined, and Ball is too passive and is struggling badly from deep. Finally, while Johnson’s performance against St. John’s was outstanding, it will take more than one game for me to trust that he can be consistently reliable. With Clinigan not playing, it ultimately affects the spacing of the offense and makes it harder to run plays and get guys strong shot opportunities. The Huskies will have to find a way to overcome that.

I believe that after seeing how anemic the offense looked at times the past two games , Dan Hurley and especially his staff (paging Luke Murray) will make the adjustments needed to get the Huskies playing a wider variety of offensive struggles, which would make the team more versatile for when Clinigan returns. For me, this would include UConn being more selective about taking 3-pointers, especially by certain players (discussed more below), relying more on the pick and roll game to get shots, taking a few more midrange shots, especially by certain players, and especially continuing to attack the basket, with Newton, Karaban, and Castle especially trying to get to the basket and either finishing shots or getting more free throw opportunities. If the Huskies can focus on diversifying their game and work on running successful plays against zones and increased ball pressure in practice, it will carry over to games.

Samson Johnson, Big Game Player

Even as he barely played in his first two years at UConn, we heard a ton from Hurley about Johnson’s athleticism and work ethic, and his potential to be one of the premier big men in program history. Early this season, he seemed to be an excellent complement to Clinigan as a backup center, offering a more dynamic (if also more limited) offensive game and solid rim protection at times. However, he began struggling after the win against New Hampshire with foul trouble and a lack of rebounding, and got less playing time as Clinigan began getting closer to full strength. After maybe his worst game of the season at Seton Hall, Johnson got his chance to prove himself as a starter against St. John’s and passed with flying colors.

Johnson was outstanding against the Red Storm as he went toe-to-toe with Soriano and outplayed him at times. Johnson had a few of his trademark dunks, including a memorable fastbreak one on which an obvious travel wasn’t called, and even took two quality floaters from roughly 10 feet out, making one. While Johnson needs to become a better rebounder, he grabbed three big offensive boards. As tough as it is to stop Soriano, Johnson still made a quality effort and had a block and steal. In a highly physical game with an imposing front court, Johnson looked right at home.

If Clinigan does not return until near the end of January when UConn’s schedule ramps up (which would be the January 17^th game against Creighton at the earliest), Johnson will have to show more diversity on offense and discipline on defense. Offensively, Johnson needs to not rely on just scoring on alley-oops and dunks, and instead develop better post movies. If Hurley is hopefully OK with it, Johnson can also can attempt more floaters and short jumpers. The junior showed decent form when he took those shots against the Red Storm, and Hurley has talked up Johnson’s shooting and ability to make 3-pointers in the past. If Johnson can demonstrate shooting ability, than it will open up more much-needed spacing as well. On defense, Johnson needs to get better at keeping his hands up against his man and not biting on fakes, only attempting to block shots when appropriate, and especially boxing out on missed shots. With how physical games are in Big East play and UConn’s lack of experienced frontcourt players, Johnson needs to be careful and not reach for the ball, resulting in touch fouls. I think that Hurley and the staff will be able to work a lot on defense with Johnson during the break and between games, and continue to make it tough for opponents to outscore the Huskies in the paint.

The Freshmen Ned to Make a Bigger Impact

As briefly discussed earlier, the Husky freshmen did not contribute enough the last few games and have arguably made a lesser impact to this point than one would have expected coming into the season. Solomon Ball hit one key three against St. John’s but otherwise took just one shot in 14 minutes (although he had 2 steals), and missed all four shots he took against Seton Hall, with his 6 points coming on free throws. Overall, Ball seems to have lost a lot of the momentum he had coming out of his 12-point performance against North Carolina. After forward Jaylin Stewart scored a season high 7 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, he played just four combined minutes in the past two games despite Karaban’s struggles defensively. Jayden Ross and Apostolos Romoglou have been MIA both the last three games and pretty much all season. Only center Yousouff Singare has made a big impression lately of this trio, as he played 6 minutes and made his first career basket against St. John’s after subbing in for Johnson. And of course, there’s Stephen Castle.

Castle had a strong start at UConn in the team’s first two games, but after missing six games due to injury he’s been an enigma, even as Castle’s playing time has slowly ramped up. Castle is disciplined defensively for a freshman and can use his size and strength to pressure ball-handlers and drivers closely. However, Castle has overall shot under 40% the last three games and has demonstrated a tendency to rush or force shots, which resulted in multiple blocks for the Red Storm. Castle also has not shown a good outside shot throughout the season, mostly scoring off drives and layups. Castle’s defense, passing and rebounding already make him a valuable combo guard even without scoring a ton of points, and versatile for a freshman. But he still hasn’t put together a full game yet against a good team or played under control offensively since returning.

With Clinigan not available, Hurley must quickly figure out what roles his freshman can be most successful in. From my observations, this would mean challenging Castle to use his size and athleticism to go to the rim more and beat defenders for baskets or create plays for teammates. Hurley needs to also emphasize to Castle that he needs to play more under control and not challenge certain bigs one-on-one, where he can just get blocked. For Ball, Hurley needs to try and get him to be more aggressive and not rely on taking 3-pointers so much, as he has the tendency to force them. Finally, Hurley needs to get Jaylin Stewart and possibly Jayden Ross more involved. The ‘6-7’ Stewart has shown flashes of good play on both ends when he’s gotten on the court, and will more importantly be able to spell Karaban, who arguably plays too many minutes and experiences foul trouble against certain teams. While Ross has barely played this season, he may be able to be a 3-point threat off the bench based on his AAU/high school experience and what Hurley said in the postseason. While I can’t imagine Hurley expects Singare to contribute on offense considering he was a project and almost redshirted, he will hopefully be decent on the boards and on defense when Johnson is resting. Hopefully, the long break between games and a relatively easy upcoming schedule will allow the freshman to play more and prove themselves on the

UConn Huskies Season Preview: The Returnees

After UConn’s unforgettable run to the program’s fifth national championship last season, the program’s offseason and the Huskies athletic department didn’t have a fun offseason. The team lost heated recruiting battles to Duke for blue chip recruits Cooper Flagg and Patrick Ngonbga, and UConn athletics just missed out on being accepted to the Big 12 starting in 2024. These setbacks somewhat obscured all the talent men’s basketball is returning from last year. This is before you even consider an incoming freshman class that could be the best the Huskies has had in more than a decade, which will be discussed in a later post. UConn is sixth in the AP preseason Top 25 poll and has a serious chance at winning consecutive national championships.

After the departure of Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson, UConn will rely on the versatile trio of Tristen Newton, Donavon Clinigan and Alex Karaban. After playing a sidekick role in his first year in Storrs last season, Newton is expected to take on a much bigger role both offensively and as a team leader this year. The fifth-year senior guard is looking to be a much bigger offensive threat, similar to his role at East Carolina before transferring, while continuing to be one of the Huskies main facilitators. Newton averaged 10.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 36.6% from three last year. Newton is specifically looking to improve his overall shooting and ball handling, work ethic and defense this season. Dan Hurley was pleased with Newton’s performance in the preseason and during UConn’s games in Europe and scrimmages. At the same time, Newton will need to be a strong leader for the team both vocally and through both his work ethic.

Clinigan made a huge impression in limited minutes as a freshman backup center last season. The 7-3 monster from Bristol averaged 6.9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 15 minutes. He had a true shooting percentage of 63.4 and grabbed 29.4% of offensive rebounds and blocked 14.4% of shots. Clinigan, who showed much more athleticism than expected last year and was elite as a rim-runner, is seen as a lottery pick next spring by NBA scouts and has the potential to be one of the best big men in not only the Big East but the entire country. To do so, Clinigan will have to continue to be an elite rebounder and shot blocker while expanding his finishing ability at the rim and displaying a decent shooting touch outside the paint. If Clinigan does all this, the attention paid to him should provide quality scoring opportunities for his teammates.

It is also essential that Clinigan improve from the line so that opponents don’t employ the hack-a-Shaq method against him and get better at avoiding foul trouble. Ideally, Clinigan will average around 25 minutes per game. In the summer and preseason, Clinigan worked on improving his core strength and foot speed as well as shooting and was extremely effective in practice and game situations. Clinigan also worked on becoming a more vocal leader and being even more aggressive on offense. As long as Clinigan stays healthy and continues to improve, all of UConn’s opponents will struggle to contain him and the sky will be the limit for the fan favorite.

While Newton and Clinigan are a ton of fun to watch, my favorite player on the Huskies continues to be Alex Karaban. The sophomore forward was a virtual Swiss Army Knife as a freshman, averaging 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 47.6% from the field and 40.2% from deep. Karaban’s 125.9 KenPom offensive rating in Big East play was third in the conference, while his effective field goal percentage of 57.5% was seventh. Karaban showed remarkable basketball IQ and versatility on offense from the moment he stepped in Storrs. In addition to his shooting ability, he was a consistently a strong passer and rebounder and did an excellent job of screening for teammates to provide easy scoring opportunities. Karaban improved significantly as a defender over the course of the year and particularly at guarding at the rim. He also showed impressive stamina, regularly playing for over 30 minutes. Finally, Karaban displayed a clutch gene quickly, with 3-pointers at the end of the first half becoming a signature play for him.

Karaban was praised for his work ethic and leadership skills by Hurley and others last season, both traits that made him stand out compared to most freshman. Karaban is applying that work ethic to becoming a more aggressive player on both ends this season as well as a more vocal leader. On offense, Karaban will try to attack the basket more and average double-digit in points. On defense, the team hopes he will stop players off the bounce more effectively and be even better at defending opponents at the rim. Karban had a strong preseason and is fully capable of being one of the best players in the Big East and the team’s best player overall. If Karban does so, he will put himself in position to be an NBA draft pick this season or next.

Outside of UConn’s Big Three, the bench will rely on senior transfer guard Cam Spencer, backup junior transfer guard Cam Spencer, junior backup center Samson Johnson and backup senior point guard Hassan Diarra. Spencer will likely be the only one of the three that starts at least early in the season. The transfer from Rutgers averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 assists and 2 steals in his one season with the Scarlet Knights after transferring from Loyola of Maryland. He is expected to replace the 3-point shooting skills of Jordan Hawkins and Joey Calcaterra, while adding another strong ball handler and defender to UConn’s backcourt. Spencer shot 43.4% from deep last season, good for 44^th in the country, and ranked eighth in the Big Ten at 42.7%. He made 89.4% of his free throws, 23^rd in the country. During his college career, Spencer has shot 40.5 percent from deep, and 50.8% on field goals overall. Spencer was an excellent defender for the Scarlet Knights, recording a steal percentage of 3.9 overall and 3.4 in conference, ranking third. Spencer decided to transfer to UConn because of the opportunity to play against talented guards in the Big East and the competitiveness of the Husky players, and especially Hurley. Spencer has been praised by the team for his versatility and ability to open up the offense.

Johnson may not be a starter like the Big Three (barring injury), but he is every bit as essential to UConn. The “6-10” junior center is an enigma, as he has played just 15 career minutes in 25 games due to injuries and ineffectiveness. Now, Johnson will be thrown into the fire as the backup to Clinigan. He was a four-star recruit out of New Jersey who grew up in Togo and was described by Hurley as having the talent and potential to be an NBA lottery pick. Johnson, who has a ‘7-5’ wingspan, has shown a lot of athleticism and speed when he’s played, and could be an effective shot blocker. However, he has looked uncertain on the court at times in games and has been prone to foul trouble. In the preseason and especially in the Huskies scrimmages, reports indicated Johnson was one of the top performers. In addition to his athleticism and speed, Hurley said Johnson is an excellent ball-screen offensive and defensive player because of his effectiveness in the lob game and ability to disrupt other big men. If Johnson lives up to expectations, he can play for15-20 minutes a game and combine with Clinigan to form a similar dominant duo like he had with Sanogo last season.

Diarra will be UConn’s main backup point guard. The ‘6-2’ senior from Queens had an up-and-down first season in Storrs, establishing himself as a high-energy defensive stopper but struggling offensively in a conference distinguished by hard-nosed defensive guards. Diarra had a stealing percentage of 3.6 last season and steven games with multiple steals. However, he averaged just 2.1 points and 1.8 assists while playing 12.1 minutes per game. Diarra shot just 30.1% overall and 18.9% from three after making 32.4% from deep as a sophomore at Texas A&M. He also was terrible from the free throw line for a guard after being solid as a sophomore, draining just 51.4 of his free throws. These offensive struggles outweighed Diarra’s value as a defender and ball handler come tournament time. In UConn’s run to the championship, he scored no points in 31 minutes.

Diarra will have the opportunity to get valuable minutes at guard as Stephen Castle acclimates to the challenges of playing at an elite program. He already is an excellent defender and will be an important leader to the young Husky guards. All reports have indicated that his shooting was improved across the board in the preseason. If Diarra can improve offensively, especially at finishing at the rim and developing a reliable jump shot, he will consistently be the first gusard off the bench and possibly push Castle for the starting job at point for at least the first portion of the season.

Sophomore Apostolos Romoglou is the one other scholarship player returning. Romoglou, the 6’8’ hybrid guard who appeared in 20 games last season playing garbage-time minutes and made two shots, has been praised for his shooting in practice and appeared to have solid ball-handling skills last season. However, don’t expect him to play any serious minutes unless he improves as a team defender.

UConn’s upperclassmen are very capable of taking UConn to a Big East title and on another Final Four run with the help of the freshman class. They have all the tools, from an elite big man and a pair of guards who are well-rounded and skilled ballhandlers and passers to the incomparable Karaban. They and a solid group of backups have good leadership abilities and a great coach to help them improve. If Castle lives up to his potential, then the Huskies will have one of the best starting five in the country. I expect everyone discussed in this article to improve and UConn to be a top 10 team for a solid portion of the season. Buckle up, everyone!

One Unforgettable Moment

Six seasons ago, myself and UConn Nation were despondent and had no clue if UConn could become a premier program again. The Huskies were adrift in the American Athletic Conference, and head coach Kevin Ollie seemed constantly disengaged from players and unable to to coach them effectively on either side of the ball, despite leading them to a title in 2014. After UConn finished consecutive losing seasons, the administration found a way to escape Ollie’s costly long-term contract and fire him for cause, despite the violations discovered being dubious.

Athletic Director David Benedict eventually tapped URI’s Dan Hurley to be the Huskies next head coach. While Hurley had a good track level at the mid-major level (two wins in the NCAA tourney) and a reputation as an excellent player’s coach, there was no guarantee he could succeed in the demanding environment of Storrs.

Cut to last Monday night in Houston, with the confetti falling down and UConn players and coaches as well as others celebrating the program’s fifth national championship after defeating San Diego State to win the title. It was a sight that I thought may never happen again after UConn fell apart in the second half of Ollie’s tenure, and the celebration almost moved me to tears.

While Hurley’s two previous tourney teams in Storrs were talented and very likable, this season’s squad was on another level. It had great depth, size and athleticism, which showed itself in different ways on each side of the ball.

On defense, the length and strength of Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clinigan allowed UConn to shut down the paint against most opponents, and the Huskies perimeter defenders were bigger and more effective than last season’s unit thanks to the additions of Naheim Alleyne and Hassan Diarra and improvement of Jordan Hawkins. And of course, Andre Jackson is one of the country’s best defenders at his best.

Offensively, Sanogo anchored one of the best frontcourts in the country, and UConn’s perimeter shooting, ball-handling and passing was consistently strong and elite at times. Hawkins lived up to his promise as one of the best pure shooters the program has ever seen, and Jackson continued to improve as a facilitator, and eventually as a scorer despite a limited skill set. UConn was one of the best rebounding teams in the country all season on both ends of the floor, and ranked second in offensive rebounding percentage at the end of the season.

Last year’s squad could be frustrating to watch offensively due to a lack of shooting and spacing in the front court, where Sanogo and Isiah Whaley could clog the paint. That was never a problem with this championship squad. It could score from anywhere on the floor while bullying opponents in the paint, drive to the rim effectively, and shared the bell as well as any team. (UConn’s rate of assist on made field goals was eighth in the country). At their best, this group of Huskies were extremely fun to watch and played with a sense of joy and toughness that was missing to some extent on Hurley’s earlier squads. It made nearly every game a must-watch event, which was a forgotten experience for myself and others.

As great as it was to UConn at their best in the regular season, it was just as rewarding seeing how it overcame the struggles of January to become a more well-rounded team, one that was again playing like on of the best in the nation by the end of the regular season. After losing six of eight in January, multiple players switched up their approaches on the offensive end and made both themselves and the team better as a result. Sanogo, Jackson and Hawkins especially stood out in this regard.

Sanogo, who was being constantly double-teamed, attacked the basket more directly instead of playing a traditional post-up game, and cut to the rim more for easy baskets and passes. Jackson, who was being goaded into shooting from outside and struggling mightily, got his confidence back on both ends by playing more in the “dunker’s spot” at the rim, which allowed him to score and rebound easily as well as make spectacular plays for others. Finally, Hawkins attacked the basket more for layups and free throw opportunities, while also benefiting from the improved spacing the offense had in February and March. At the same time the offense improved, UConn’s team defense got much more disciplined and focused, as the Huskies cut down on the unnecessary fouls and poor help D they played in January. Hurley’s ability to teach his players how to make these adjustments and his improved composure in games helped the UConn players compete with more confidence in games, and handle adversity when it cropped up. By the time the Huskies got to the latter stages of the NCAA tournament, they were able to always control games, ensuring there was no such adversity.

While it was easy to see UConn being capable of going on a Final Four run and maybe even winning the championship, never would I have imagined that it would dominate NCAA tournament opponents to that extent. They won the six games by an average of 20 points, and each win was by at least 13 points, including the 76-59 beatdown of San Diego State to win the title. The offense easily averaged over a point per possession (PPP) in each game while scoring 70 or more points, and held each t0 65 or fewer points and 0.95 or fewer PPP. Sanogo was the best player in the tournament, averaging over 17 points and a double-double, Hawkins averaged over 16 points and shot 50% from deep, and Tristen Newton was UConn’s best player in the championship game, scoring 19 points and earning 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Add all the intangibles Jackson brings and great performances by the bench throughout the tournament, and the perfect mixture for a championship is there.

Obviously, basketball fans who weren’t overly familiar with UConn fell in love with them as the team made its run. The team’s athleticism, shot-making and toughness jumped off the chart in each game, and it made a bunch of outstanding opponents look helpless at times. The basketball IQ and enthusiasm for the game every Husky displayed in March Madness was off the charts, as well as Hurley and the player’s composure in tight moments and ability to shack off poor plays. I know if I was a neutral fan, I would enjoy jumping on the UConn bandwagon. As nervous before and at points during each game, I was in ecstasy by the end of each win.

Now that UConn has five titles in 25 (technically 24) seasons under three different head coaches, everyone is debating over whether they qualify as a blue blood. I have always thought that title is meaningless in the grand scheme of things, especially considering how hard it is to define. All I know is that UConn wins championships when it goes deep in the tournament, and it is arguably the best men’s basketball program of the last 30 years, and that Storrs is the college basketball Capitol of the World. All I know is that this was arguably the most complete team top to bottom of any of the Huskies championship teams this century, and certainly my favorite to watch. And finally, I know that this championship has redeemed by belief that UConn can be a consistently elite program. Thank you, Dan Hurley and the 2023 championship UConn Huskies.

Observations on Last Week’s Games: UConn Continues to Look Like an Elite Team

This time last month, UConn was reeling. Following their home loss to Xavier on January 25^th, the team had lost six of eight games and was under .500 in the Big East at 5-6. The defense was playing terribly, and UConn was getting inconsistent production from multiple starters, particularly Andre Jackson, as well as much of its bench. The worst part of this was that the Huskies were playing tentatively, and no one seemed to be having any fun. Never mind reaching the heights of the team’s 14-0 start: UConn needed to turn things around to still get a strong seed in the NCAA Tournament as well as avoid having to play in the first round of the Big East tourney.

Flash forward to today, and the Huskies are the hottest team in the Big East and again seen as one of the most likely squads to go deep into March and reach the Final Four. UConn defeated ranked Providence and St. John’s with ease on Wednesday and Saturday, with the first 18-point triumph on Senior Night one of the program’s signature wins of the season. The Huskies have one six of seven and are now 22-7 and 11-7 in the Big East (good for fifth in the standings), earning them a No. 14 ranking in the AP Poll yesterday. After two mediocre offensive games, they were on fire against the Friars and Red Storm, showing their versatility and depth. On defense, UConn did a much better job of limiting offensive penetration and defending at the rim, especially against Providence, and keeping players off the offensive glass. From better communication and focus as a team to improved coaching to individual players turning things around, everything is looking up for the Huskies going into the last two regular season games against DePaul and at Villanova tomorrow and Saturday.

Below, I discuss my famous observations about the Providence and St. John’s wins and the big-time positives and one negative fans can take from the games. UConn is frequently clicking on all cylinders right now. Let’s hope they don’t lose focus in this last week and hurt their momentum going into the Big East tourney.

Adama Sanogo Reminds Opponents and Fans That he is One of the Best Players in the Nation

As Jordan Hawkins has earned more and more accolades for his shooting and overall improvement in Big East Play, Sanogo has faded to the background a little bit, particularly since he is not a serious NBA prospect like Hawkins is. Sanogo’s reliability is sometimes not appreciated by the Husky fanbase, and the junior hasn’t been helped when asked to carry the load so frequently by the team, as was happening when the offense was being run through Sanogo during UConn’s January swoon. In February however, Dan Hurley made the smart decision to have the big man play significant minutes at the top of the key, allowing Sanogo to focus on setting screens and starting scoring opportunities facing towards the basket. Sanogo’s strength and footwork allows him to be very effective as a scorer from this spot, and it allows him to take better advantage of his surprisingly strong 3-point shot. It also makes it much easier for Sanogo to pass the ball. And of course, Sanogo has been just as strong as ever in the low post since Hurley’s changes, especially now that he is not being double-teamed so much. Sanogo showed off his increased offensive efficiency as well as an improved all-around game against Providence and St. John’s.

Sanogo averaged 17 points against the Friars and Red Storm on 75% shooting and went 10-12 at the free throw line. He also averaged 7 rebounds, grabbing 9 on Saturday. Sanogo did an excellent job of beating his man both down low and off the dribble from the top of the key, and displayed great touch and footwork. Against St. John’s, he did an outstanding job of attacking defenders head on and forcing contact, going 8-10 at the charity stripe. Sanogo also demonstrated his improved passing by dishing out a combined three assists in the wins. On the boards, Sanogo did a strong job of boxing out and reacting quickly to rebound opportunities.

Sanogo’s defense has been much improved in recent games, and that continued to be the case against Providence and St. John’s. He did a good job of staying in front of his man as well as providing help defense when necessary. Sanogo’s rim protection, which has dropped off this year, was much improved, and he recorded a season-high 3 bocks against the Friars. Sanogo did a strong job of avoiding foul trouble in the wins, although he certainly got help from Donovan Clinigan when he was on the bench.

Even if Hawkins is now UConn’s number one, Sanogo is 1B. His ability to score and rebound consistently is remarkable, and when Sanogo is locked in defensively as well, he becomes a great two-way player. Now that Dan Hurley has seemingly figured out how to allow Sanogo succeed without dominating the ball, he has become an even tougher matchup for opponents. Sanogo is UConn’s best big man of the last decade, and he is in position to add postseason success to his legacy if he continues to perform at this high of a level.

The Bench Has Come Alive Again

For most of Big East play, UConn has gotten little offensively from its best players even since it got out again, minus Clinigan at some points. Against Providence and especially St. John’s however, the bench awoke from its slumber. The Huskies bench players supplied 19 points against the Friars and 32 against the Red Storm, while also generally playing good defense.

The duo of Naheim Alleyne and Clinigan were a great bench duo in the last two games. Alleyne scored a combined 17 points and drained all three 3-pointers he took against Providence. He especially stepped up offensively in the first half to give the team momentum. Alleyne has been UConn’s most reliable defender off the bench, and again limited player’s ability to penetrate against the Friars and Red Storm. He had steals in both games and a block against St. John’s.

Clinigan, which had seemed to hit a freshman wall in previous weeks, appeared to be returning to his effectiveness he showed earlier in the season in the last two games. The freshman center scored a combined 16 points against Providence and St. John’s in 25 minutes, while shooting 6-12 from the field and 4-6 at the line. He also kept his turnovers under control, committing just one in each win. Clinigan also grabbed 9 rebounds, 7 offensive. Clinigan did a better job of finishing around the rim after struggling to do so for a few games and continued to do an outstanding job of earning putbacks. Clinigan also again showed how gifted he is at reading where shots will come off the rim and outmuscling offensive defenders for offensive rebounds. It was heartening to see Clinigan finally performing under pressure on foul shots after struggling so much on them recently. After not being as much of a force defensively for much of February, Clinigan was a monster against a small Red Storm squad, blocking 5 shots and also earning a steal. With this increased effectiveness, Clinigan should earn more minutes against DePaul and Villanova squads that he matches up well against.

While seeing Alleyne and Clinigan have two strong games was satisfying, it was particularly fun to see Joey Calcaterra have a great game against St. John’s. The super senior, whose 3-point shot had abandoned him in conference play, drained three of four treys on Saturday and made four free throws in just 17 minutes, finishing with 15 points. It was the first time Calcaterra had more than two 3-pointers in conference play, and tied his season high in points. His teammates did an excellent job of finding Calcaterra against the Red Storm, and he also did an excellent job of moving without the ball. With no surprise, the UConn fans at Madison Square Garden went crazy when Joey California caught fire. While Calcaterra must have more than one good game to prove that he is back on track, the guard can certainly give the Huskies a huge weapon off the bench in tournament play if he has a strong touch in a game.

When UConn is at its best, the aforementioned players as well as Hassan Diarra are capable of stepping up on both ends when needed, especially sense the team has one starter in Andre Jackson whom can be very inconsistent offensively. The performance of the bench against Providence and St. John’s was very promising and fun to watch. However, the bench players must prove that they can be consistent in more games for the Huskies to reach their potential.

Andre Jackson is Changing the Game on Both Ends

Throughout January and early February, no one had a bigger target on their head than Jackson, sometimes to an excessive extent from fans. The junior was playing undisciplined on both ends, and appeared to have no confidence at times offensively. However, he has been much better defensively in February, and his offense has improved as well now that Hurley and Jackson have placed him in the dunker’s spot to get easier scoring opportunities and not be tempted to regularly shoot from the outside, where Jackson has struggled heavily this season. Against Providence and St. John’s, Jackson was locking down multiple players while making plays for both teammates and himself around the rim.

While Jackson was effective offensively against Providence, especially in setting up teammates (he scored 4 points on 3 attempts and dished out 4 assists to just one turnover), it was against St. John’s where he especially impressed. Jackson scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting, going 4-5 at the line, and added 3 assists. It was the second time in three games Jackson dropped a season-high 15. The forward completed multiple athletic shots around the rim, including a dunk and putback, and drained an open 3-pointer. He did a strong job of getting the ball to teammates for open shots., and as always had multiple moments where he came out of nowhere to grab loose balls on both ends.

Jackson’s defense was strong in both games, particularly in the first when he had to cover Friars star Devin Carter. Jackson limited Carter to just 7 points on 3-10 shooting and was consistently in his face while not fouling. Against the Red Storm, Jackson was again aggressive defensively and had 2 blocks while playing 38 minutes.

After Jackson’s underwhelming play for much of the Big East schedule, fans had a reason to feel that the small forward was having an underwhelming year and would never reach his full potential. In the last two weeks however, the adjustments Hurley made to simplify things for Jackson offensively, and his overall re-commitment on the defensive end, have allowed Jackson to reach his full potential on both ends. Jackson is a playmaker and agent of chaos on both ends, and UConn is more dangerous going into March as result.

Rebounding Continues to be Elite

After a drop-off in UConn’s rebounding during its struggles, the team has improved on the glass on both ends the last few weeks, and that was on display against Providence and St. John’s. Their offensive rebounding has been particularly strong, and the Huskies are now the number one team in both the country and Big East at offensive rebounding percentage (39.1% and 40.3%). After struggling on the boards in the first matchup with the Friars, UConn outrebounded them 40-20 overall and 15-8 on the offensive end in last Wednesday’s 87-69 win. While the Huskies had no players in double-digits, five grabbed at least 5 rebounds, led by Alex Karaban’s 8 (he also scored 16). In contrast, no Friar has more than 5 and Bryce Hopkins, one of the best rebounders in the conference, did not record one against UConn’s front line. While the battle on the boards between the Huskies and St. John’s was more even, they still outrebounded the Red Storm 38-32 and won on the offensive glass. UConn had four players with five or more rebounds, led by Sanogo with 9 and Tristen Newton with 7. While Joel Soriano was great on the boards for St. John’s grabbing 11, no other player had a big rebounding game. As in other recent games, the Huskies did an excellent job boxing out and reading balls off the backboard and got to loose balls very quickly.

UConn’s ability to rebound will be a huge strength in tournament play, and especially in the NCAA Tournament when games will likely be less physical. It’s been proven over time that teams which rebound well can frequently go deep into March Madness, and I can see UConn winning a tournament game because of its rebounding and scoring second-chance points. Now let’s make it a reality.

The Huskies Still Need to Improve Their Ball-Handling and Focus for 40 Minutes

The to issues identified in the title have been a huge problem throughout conference play and cost the team wins. While UConn did a better job with passing and ball-handling against Providence and St. John’s, it still committed a combined 27 turnovers and had more turnovers than their opponent in both. Players still made unnecessarily risky passes that were out of bounds or stolen, or either were stripped or lost the ball out of bounds. Newton, Hawkins, and Jackson were the primary culprits. The Huskies are continuing to make unforced errors that reflect a lack of basketball IQ. While UConn was in control throughout against both Providence and St. John’s, they made a handful of silly fouls that allowed both teams to keep their offense afloat in both games. The team especially grew lackadaisical on defense in the final few minutes against the Red Storm, making the score look much closer than it actually was. The Huskies need to tighten up on defense against DePaul and especially at Villanova this week, which will beat UConn if it isn’t giving 100 percent effort.

Positives and Negatives for Huskies to Take From Last two Games

UConn has gone on runs in February the last two seasons, and it looks like this year’s team may be poised to do the same. After a brutal January, the Huskies are 4-1 in their last five Big East games, including a 15-point triumph against Marquette that’s one of the team’s signature wins of the season so far. They have improved to 20-7 overall and are 9-7 in the conference and in sole position of fifth place in the standings, good for a No. 18 ranking in the AP Poll.

UConn’s last two games at Creighton (a 56-53 loss) and home against Seton Hall (a 64-55 win) the past two Saturdays did an excellent job of reflecting UConn’s strengths and weaknesses at this point in the season, and where the team still needs to improve to go on a deep NCAA tournament run that seemed in the cards during the nonconference schedule. Below, I discuss my thoughts on these specific strengths and weaknesses to a greater extent. They range from the performance of individual players to execution on both ends of the floor and Dan Hurley’s decision-making. There’s certainly a lot to think about going into tomorrow’s Senior Night rivalry game against Providence.

The Positives

Andre Jackson Has Signature Performance

As every UConn fan is well aware of, Jackson has been incredibly inconsistent in conference play, displaying a huge loss of confidence on offense that has caused him to be undisciplined on defense and struggle to lead his teammates at times. Jackson has been working with Hurley to put himself in position to score more easily and be efficient offensively however, and it slowly but surely seems to be working and helping Jackson play better all-around.

The junior had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists against Seton Hall, while shooting 5-6 inside the arc and 5-7 at the free throw line. He also added a block and steal while playing 35 minutes. Jackson’s stats don’t reflect just how important he was to UConn dominating the paint and taking control of the game in the second half. After missing four open 3-pointers early, Jackson made the wise decision to focus on scoring around the baseline and attacking the basket on fastbreaks, situations where he could use his otherworldly athleticism to beat Pirate defenders at the rim. The point forward had a handful of spectacular dunks, one highly memorable fastbreak layup, and got to the charity stripe effectively. Jackson did a strong job of leading UConn on the fastbreak, where it was more effective than the last couple of games, and all his assists were pinpoint (he would have had more if teammates didn’t lose Jackson’s passes).

He stepped up in the biggest moments, recording four points, three rebounds and a block after entering the game with the Huskies leading 44-40 midway through the second half, allowing the lead to stretch to 16 at 56-40 with less than seven minutes remaining. Jackson also hit two free throws with UConn up 61-53 and less than a minute left to seal the win. Jackson’s defense continued to be aggressive but disciplined throughout the game, allowing him to stay in front of ball-handlers and avoid foul trouble.

Just because Jackson has been playing slightly better doesn’t mean that he is anywhere close to playing at his full potential. Jackson still struggled to make shots and do too much against the BlueJays, leading to 3 reckless turnovers and a 3-11 performance from the field, and was limited against Marquette due to foul trouble. He will need to play intelligently on offense and need to stitch together a couple good performances in a row before many have full trust in Jackson again. Still, I am confident he will do everything to improve. Jackson must be at least somewhat effective for the Huskies to beat Providence.

The Defense Has Been Vastly Improved

After a period in which UConn’s defense had played poorly, especially in defending the dribble drive, the Huskies have picked up their intensity and efficiency against the last four opponents and done a much better job defending the paint and limiting their offensive rebounds. UConn held Creighton, an elite offense, and Seton Hall to a combined 36.2% shooting and just over 25% on 3-pointers. UConn consistently challenged and altered shots at the rim, generally covered the 3-point line well, and communicated effectively on defense while staying in front of their man. While the Huskies forced only 25 turnovers over the two games and had more against both opponents (although they blocked 7 Seton Hall shots), their ability to play at a high level and not allow second chance opportunities limited runs by both teams, and kept UConn in the game against the BlueJays and build a large lead against the Pirates even with an inconsistent offense. While it’s certainly possible that the defense and rebounding will again fall off, especially against a Providence team that matches up well with the Huskies, the team is currently playing the quality defense Dan Hurley expects from his teams.

Hassan Diarra Fulfills His Role

It’s been a weird year for Diarra. While he was never meant to regularly play a lot of minutes barring an in injury to Tristen Newton or one of the UConn shooting guards, his overall shooting numbers have gone down in all three areas and he is averaging just 2.8 points on 32.5% shooting in 14.7 minutes per game. However, Diarra’s consistently strong defense and decent ball-handling has allowed him to be valuable in certain games. While the stat line wasn’t huge on Sunday, Diarra’s performance against Seton Hall was one of his best of the season.

Diarra had 4 assists (with no turnovers), 3 rebounds, 4 points and a block and steal in 24 minutes against the Pirates, the highest total he has provided in Big East play. Diarra supplied his usual bulldog defense, and with Newton playing one of his games where he is missing in action, Diarra shared regular ball-handling duties with Jackson. He did an excellent job of providing scoring opportunities for Hawkins and others and got Jackson going, and ran the fastbreak well when necessary. Diarra’s shooting still needs to improve if he wants to play more, but he is definitely UConn’s best backcourt defender off the bench and is capable of shouldering ball-handling duties if necessary. Along with Clinigan, I think Diarra can be the Huskies most valuable weapon off the bench in tournament play if he ends the regular season well.

Jordan Hawkins Continues to be More Creative on Offense

While it might seem word at first glance to focus on Hawkins offense performance the last two weekends with him only shooting a combined 5-18 from three in the past two games (not that any other Husky is setting the world on fire), the sophomore is continuing to do an effective job of attacking and finishing at the rim and getting to the free throw line, while also contributing in other ways. Hawkins was particularly effective in doing so against Seton Hall, going 4-6 inside the arc and making all three of his foul shouts against an elite defense to lead UConn with 20 points. He continues to do a better job of recognizing when he is off from three, and instead moving without the ball to get inside and using his speed and creativity to beat defenders at the rim. Even in the Creighton game when his shot was off throughout and he struggled with foul trouble, Hawkins showed the defense to continue to go to the rim. Throw in his continued strong rebounding and doing a better job of avoiding turnovers, and Hawkins continues to show just how well-rounded he’s become over the course of the season.

If Hawkins can continue to be effective at the rim and get his 3-point shot going, then he should help get the Huskies out of their recent offensive funk and and put them in position to go undefeated in the remaining conference games. He needs to be especially effective against Providence, where he struggled in the first game, and open up the floor spacing for his teammates.

Donavon Clinigan has finally Started to Get Going Again

For a long time, Clinigan was struggling. Although you could argue that Hurley was too reluctant to let Clinigan play through mistakes or try to play him and Sanogo together for even short stretches, he wasn’t doing as strong of a job of finishing shots around the rim and avoiding foul trouble while struggling heavily around the rim and turning the ball over two months. In the last two games however, Clinigan has been much better rebounding the ball and finishing around the rim, despite playing just 22 combined minutes.

He had 7 rebounds and four assists in just 11 minutes against Creighton, and it’s hard to understand why Hurley didn’t play him more when Sanogo wore down in the second half and Clinigan could continue to provide UConn more second chances on offense. Hurley seemed to realize his mistake and gave Clinigan 15 minutes against Seton Hall with Sanogo playing under the weather. The center had 6 points and rebounds and shot 3-4, finishing multiple shots teammates missed at the rim. Clinigan could have played better on defense, but he still picked up just one foul. He was a big part of UConn’s run midway through the second half to put them up by 16, and also provided another big body when the Pirates surged back near the end.

Clinigan still could have been much better on both ends against Creighton and Seton Hall. He committed a combined 5 turnovers and still can’t hit a foul shot, and he has struggled to stop the big men on both these teams. However, Clinigan had one of his best games against Providence with a double-double, and he matches up very well against their big men. Clinigan can be especially effective if Hurley is willing to play more zone and possibly play Sanogo and him together to make it tougher for the Friars to score and rebound. Clinigan is still one of the best freshmen big men in the nation, and Hurley will need to have more trust in him for the Huskies to play up to their full potential in the remaining games.

The Negatives

Turnovers Continue to Kill the UConn Offense and Lead to Easy Opportunities for Opponents

UConn has had an issue with turnovers throughout conference play, a majority of which have been unforced. It had a combined 31 turnovers against Creighton and Seton Hall, with 18 coming against the Pirates. While the Huskies did a good job of handling the ball against the BlueJays in the first half, they did a much poorer job in the second half. Again and again, silly turnovers killed UConn’s chances to take the lead even as its defense played excellent. Turnovers were a problem throughout Saturday’s game. They first led to a long scoring drought at the end of the first and beginning of the second, and then helped Seton Hall rally and get within two baskets in the final five minutes. In both games, many of the turnovers were easily preventable. They included moving screens, passes that were either dropped out of bounds or uncatchable, and the players wasting too much time to initiate the offense and losing the ball as they rushed to make shots. In addition to Clinigan, Sanogo and Newton were major culprits, with Newton committing 7 turnovers in the two games.

At this point, UConn’s propensity to commit turnovers is a legitimate weakness and not just an occasional bad habit. It commits almost a higher percentage of turnovers than almost any team in the Big East, and almost any team in either the metrics or AP polls (12.9 per game on the season). Teams that commit turnovers at this level rarely go deep in the NCAA tournament, even if they have many strengths otherwise. What’s especially frustrating is that the same types of turnovers are happening from game to game despite many being preventable, and a result of either general sloppiness or poor decision making offensively at the most costly moments. I don’t know how much Dan Hurley works on correcting these mistakes in practice, but this weakness is arguably the biggest reason why UConn is just a pretty good team and not a great one.

Tristen Newton is Mia on Offense Again

Newton has been an enigma all season. The senior is UConn’s best player at getting to the basket and handling the ball, and can be an elite rebounder and passer when playing at his best. And yet it’s always two steps forward and one step back with Newton, and way too much of the time he plays disengaged. After scoring in double digits six straight games and putting up a triple-double against Marquette, Newton scored just 2 points against Creighton and 6 against Seton Hall on 2-8 shooting, while committing 7 turnovers against just 6 assists. Newton did not attack the basket in either game and failed to reach the line against the BlueJays. His passes were risky at times, and Newton did a poor job of moving without the ball to get open for perimeter shots. With the senior not in the flow of the offense and his defense not quite up to par, it’s no surprise Hurley has given more time to an aggressive Diarra in the last two games.

At this point of the season, there is no excuse for a player as talented as Newton to disappear this frequently, especially when UConn needs him the most. When he was playing at a high level in late January and early February, Newton was consistently attacking the rim, getting to the free throw line and taking solid care of the ball. While Hurley arguably had Jackson handle the ball more against Creighton and Seton Hall in an effort to get him going offensively, that doesn’t give Newton an excuse for being passive offensively and either attacking the basket or finding ways to get open on the perimeter when the opportunity presented itself. If I were Hurley, I would have Newton handle the ball more against Providence and have Jackson focus on playing defense and rebounding and getting open on the baseline for easy scoring opportunities, while emphasizing to Newton that he needs to attack the basket. Newton’s size should give him a good advantage over the Friars guards, and he has a great opportunity to get to the rim and reach the free throw line. If Newton doesn’t get his act together, there is a good chance he will play fewer minutes and could leave Storrs with the reputation of being a disappointment.

UConn Still Isn’t Demonstrating That it Can Play Well Down the Stretch

The Huskies biggest weakness this season along with turnovers has either coming back to win against opponents in the final minutes of games or being inefficient when they have leads in the final 1o minutes, allowing opponents to outplay UConn and make them sweat even in wins or even coming back for improbable comebacks, as we saw at Seton Hall in January. The team has still not one a game by five or fewer points this season. In my mind, there are a few connected reasons for why this keeps happening:

UConn waits too long to initiate its office down the stretch no matter if they are leading or trailing. Against Creighton and especially Seton Hall, the Huskies spent a ton of time dribbling before running offensive plays. This results in rushed shots, turnovers and generally a lack of communication. Against the Pirates, a great example of this was Sanogo getting the ball late in the shot clock multiple times and hesitating between whether he should shoot a 3-pointer or drive the ball, resulting in multiple turnovers. I don’t know how much of this offensive strategy is based on Hurley’s orders or the players just not executing well (I suspect more of the latter), but UConn should start running the plays earlier in the shot clock even if they have a lead late in the game, as it should allow it to either have more time to get an efficient shot or offensive rebounds to extend the possession.
As I already discussed, UConn is susceptible to a variety of sloppy turnovers, particularly if it is pressured.
The Huskies frequently do a poor job of inbounding the ball when other pressure, resulting in poor passes and turnovers and sometimes even 5-secound calls. If the team works on doing this a lot in practice it doesn’t seem to pay off, as either the guards don’t do a good job of getting the ball to either Jackson or one of the bigs, who usually have a height advantage over the defenders on an inbound.
Dan Hurley doesn’t regularly call timeouts when UConn is having trouble inbounding, even if he has multiple timeouts remaining. As a result, 5-second calls and turnovers can occur, and Hurley isn’t able to draw up plays to make inbounding easier and plan out what plays the team wants to run after it gets quality inbound passes.
A seeming lack of mental toughness, which I have already discussed on the site. UConn consistently gets tense and makes unforced errors late in games, while sometimes reflecting the demeanor of their coach. While it’s understandable that the freshmen could have these jitters, it’s hard to understand how players as skilled and experienced as Sanogo, Jackson and Newton to suffer the same issues.

Dan Hurley’s Recent Coaching

Hurley’s in-game coaching and ability to make adjustments has always been inconsistent, but it has been especially questionable the past few games. I have been particularly concerned about Hurley’s late-game coaching, with his hesitancy to call timeouts, make changes to inbound plays and encourage the team to play faster seemingly causing UConn to be undisciplined down the stretch. It’s not just then, however. I believe Hurley doesn’t have UConn push the tempo enough in general, and that he encourages the team to take too many 3-pointers even when they are struggling . He seems to not always hold starters accountable for listless plays and mistakes, especially Jackson, and that he doesn’t have Newton be the primary ball-handler enough so that he is consistently involved in the action. While UConn’s defense has been much better, I still believe that Hurley isn’t creative enough with the lineups, especially using zones or double bigs defensively and not playing Clinigan enough in general. I will give credit fore realizing that Diarra was having a great game against Seton Hall and sticking with him with Newton struggling. Still, Hurley seems to be playing checkers too much against opposing coaches when they are playing chess. He will certainly be forced to make adjustments against Ed Cooley and Providence.

Starter Grades With a Month Left in the Regular Season

I wrote this article ranking the performance of the bench players on No. 21 UConn prior to the Marquette win last week, with an explanation of why I chose the grade. Now, I am publishing the article I wrote but did not publish last week assigning grades to the Huskies five main starters. I will provide updated grades/evaluations on the individual starters performance against Creighton shortly. This was a lot of work, but I enjoyed much of it. I look forward to seeing your feedback!

Jordan Hawkins: B+

Hawkins got a ton of press prior to the season for the improvement in his perimeter shooting and overall offensive game, and was named to the preseason All-Big East Second Team. It was evident that the sophomore would be UConn’s go-to scorer along with Sanogo if he played up to his potential. So far, Hawkins has mostly lived up to the hype offensively, and has been playing his best all-around basketball recently even if the team has been inconsistent overall. The season still has a long way to go, but Hawkins is making a case to be seen as one of the best shooters in UConn program history.

In 23 games (he missed three due to a concussion), Hawkins is averaging 16.4 points on 42.1% shooting overall and 40.1% on 3-pointers, while also making over 86% of his foul shots. These are all a huge leap from Hawkins freshman season, when the freshman showed a lot of potential but also delt with injury trouble and confidence issues and shot just 35.3% on 5.8 points per game.

Hawkins has been on fire in the last seven games, dating back to the loss to St. John’s on Jan. 15th. In that stretch , he has averaged 21.1 points and shot 50% on 88 attempts, while also draining 44.2% of 3-pointers and 92.5% of foul shots. Hawkins has had four 20-point games during this run, including 26 at DePaul in a win, and 31 in the heartbreaking loss to Seton Hall. For the season, Hawkins has scored 20 or more in nine games and in single digits just three times.

Hawkins has been a dangerous scorer all season, but he has flipped a switch in the last month. His movement without the ball, confidence and quick and fluid shooting form has allowed Hawkins to be lethal on 3-pointers coming off of screens. He has benefited greatly from UConn recently improving its screening on the perimeter, as it has given Hawkins open looks from beyond the arc. Earlier in the season and especially during the first month of conference play, Hawkins had struggled to get open looks at times because defenders were keying in on him and being as physical with Hawkins as possible without earning fouls. He also has shown the ability to go on individual runs and carry the Huskies for multiple minutes at a time and make clutch shots against tough opponents. Hawkins nearly led UConn back from a 15-point halftime deficit against Xavier, and his multiple treys early against Marquette gave the team momentum and put it in control for the remainder of the game.

As great as his 3-point shooting has been, what has especially impressed recently is Hawkins newfound focus on attacking the basket. Earlier in the season, he frequently focused on just shooting from deep and thus could disappear from games if defenders stuck on Hawkins . Since the beginning of January however, Hawkins has regularly used his athleticism and size to attack the basket for quality layup attempts, while also pulling up for quality midrange jumpers. Hawkins has recognized that the threat of his 3-point shot allows him to effectively fake out defenders and then drive for open looks, particularly in the paint. Hawkins has improved at finishing at the rim over the course of the season, and he is outstanding at forcing contact (including behind the 3-point line) to earn free throws, where he is money. Hawkins has made 55.6% of his shots inside the arc during this aforementioned hot streak.

Hawkins has also improved his offensive game as a sophomore in other areas. Hawkins is averaging 4 rebounds per game, double his average from last season, and has especially improved on the defensive boards. Hawkins has grabbed at least 5 rebounds seven times since the start of the New Year. He reacts quickly when in good position to grab rebounds, and his athleticism allows him to beat other guards to loose balls off the boards. While Hawkins ball handling still leaves a lot to be desired, he has improved his dribbling and passing this season and cut down on turnovers. Hawkins has committed more than three turnovers in a game just once. Meanwhile, Hawkins had dished out multiple assists in seven games.

On defense, I believe Hawkins has improved the most from one season to the next that I can remember by a UConn guard in recent program history. As a freshman, Hawkins lacked the strength to effectively guard bigger guards, and his footwork wasn’t efficient enough to stay in front of his man at times. This resulted in cheap fouls when Hawkins tried to force steals to make up for being beat off the dribble. While Hawkins upper-body strength will need to improve for him to be successful in the NBA, the strength training he did in the offseason has allowed Hawkins to better body up defenders. At the same time, he has improved his footwork and ability to force turnovers without fouling. Hawkins is averaging nearly one steal per game, and has earned multiple steals in six games. Hawkins size and agility has helped him develop the ability to block shots after not showing that skill as a freshman. He has blocked 15 shots and has four games with 2 blocks.

Hawkins can still continue to improve the remainder of the season in multiple areas. While it can be difficult for him to get quality perimeter shots in a game because of how much opponents focus on containing him, Hawkins needs to do a better job of being effective over 40 minutes. He has a tendency to explode on offense for a short amount of time and then disappear. Depending on when this occurs, Hawkins doing so can make it much more difficult for UConn to win, especially if his teammates are inconsistent. Hawkins can also fall into a tendency of focusing on taking 3-pointers at the expense of everything else, even if he is cold. Slowly but surely, Hawkins has developed more variety in his offensive game, but he can still run hot and cold like many shooters. I don’t know if Hawkins can do much to improve his ball-handling in season, but he still needs to strengthen his handle if he enters the NBA draft in the offseason. On defense, Hawkins can still be more disciplined and avoid either biting on fakes or reaching for the ball and picking up silly fouls that limit his playing time. Like seemingly all of the Husky guards, Hawkins sometimes fails to provide help defense or communicating on that end with teammates, allowing for easy drives to the basket for opponents.

As frustrating as this season has been for UConn as a whole, they have gotten nearly everything they could ask from Hawkins. He is developing into a great all-around player and not just a shooter, and has even displayed vocal leadership skills during games, a far cry from his lack of confidence as a freshman. Hawkins is one of the best players in the Big East, and has supplanted Sanogo as the Huskies best player. Hopefully, Hawkins will decide to return to Storrs for a junior season even if he has projected as a first-round pick. Either way, however he is capable of leading UConn on tournament runs and creating a memorable legacy.

Adama Sanogo: B+

Sanogo was selected as the preseason Player of the Year in the Big East and was also put on the Wooden Award watch list. While Sanogo’s season has probably not gone as smoothly as expected, he still has frequently been dominant offensively and a centerpiece for UConn alongside Jordan Hawkins.

Sanogo is averaging 17.2 points in 25 games, 2.4 more than last season. He has also been much more efficient offensively and is shooting more than 58% from the field, a significant improvement from last season. Sanogo has shown even better touch in the paint this year, while still bullying opposing bigs. Fans heard that Sanogo was working on his midrange and perimeter shooting during the offseason, and he has showed great form on 3-pointers while making over 39% on 33 attempts. Finally, Sanogo is shooting 75.9% on free throws, an excellent percentage for a big man. This efficiency has resulted in Sanogo having double-digit scoring performances in every game but two, eight 20-point games, and four double-doubles.

As great as Sanogo is offensively, he has been a black hole at times, especially during UConn’s January struggles. The offense has had a bad habit of feeding the ball to the junior at the expense of getting other players involved and creating good scoring opportunities for the entire lineup. Sanogo’s teammates have also failed to move without the ball towards Sanogo in these situations so that he has open passing lanes when guarded. At the same time, Sanogo has continued his habit of taking way too long to take shots in the paint, and not passing the ball out and repositioning when well-guarded. As a result, teams have easily been able to double-team Sanogo consistently and either force him into difficult shots or turnovers.

After UConn’s loss to Seton Hall, Hurley and the team made a few important adjustments offensively that has allowed Sanogo to still be effective, but within the normal flow of the offense. Hurley has positioned Sanogo at the top of the key and had him set screens for the guards regularly, allowing the Huskies and particularly Newton and Hawkins to get around defenders and attack the basket effectively. Instead of attempting all his shots in the paint or beyond the arc, Sanogo has attacked the basket from the top of the key a few times a game on layup attempts. Because of Sanogo’s strength and agility, this has been a very high-percentage play. Finally, Sanogo has finally started to pass the ball out of the paint more and shown better accuracy when doing so. He has averaged 2 assists over the last five games while committing just four turnovers. Sanogo’s growth as a player bodes well for the Huskies success during the remainder of the season.

While Sanogo’s scoring has continued to be elite, his rebounding and defense hasn’t lived up to the expectations he set last season. His rebounding has dropped from an average of 8.8 last season to 7.2, as have the percentage of both defensive and offensive rebounds he has grabbed. I would be very surprised if Sanogo reached last season’s mark of 10 games with double-digit rebounds unless UConn goes on a tournament run. Although part of Sanogo’s rebounding numbers going down is the result of having strong rebounding guards in Hawkins and Newton and the addition of Clinigan (even if they rarely play together) and Hurley having him defend on the perimeter, I believe that Sanogo has also demonstrated less effort on rebound opportunities and when boxing out. There could be a few reasons for this in theory, including Sanogo wanting to focus more on scoring or trying to avoid foul trouble, but it is disappointing to see Sanogo giving less effort on the boards at times. I hope that as UConn hits tournament play, Sanogo ramps up his effort on theboards andbecomes the elite rebounder he was last season.

Sanogo’s defense has also left something to be desired at times. With his strong footwork, Sanogo continues to be an effective one-on-one defender against most bigs. However, his help defense has been very inconsistent. Sanogo has been late on cutting off drives, and while he still does a solid job of altering shots he has ceased to be a shot-blocking threat. Sanogo has blocked just 16 shots this season and had multiple blocks in a game just three times, after averaging 1.9 per game last season. It is understandable that Sanogo wants to avoid defensive fouls considering how much responsibility he has on offense, and UConn’s system of having Sanogo consistently run high-hedge defense makes it difficult for him to get back and help teammates defend the paint. Still, Sanogo needs to stop getting caught watching the ball or half-heartedly blocking out defensively. UConn needs him to be a skilled two-way player to capture their remaining must-win games and tournament victories.

Tristen Newton: B

Newton’s season has been a bit of a roller coaster as well. The highly touted senior guard transfer had a tough time adjusting to UConn’s early on in nonconference play, but eventually appeared to be learning how to run its offense and be a complimentary scorer by the time of the Phil Knight Invitational. However, Newton’s scoring began to drop off a cliff at the end of the nonconference schedule, and through the first half of conference play in December until the middle of January. Newton wasn’t picking up the slack enough elsewhere on offense or defense to mitigate his disappearance, leading heavily to UConn’s struggles after starting 3-0 in the Big East. Since an ugly loss to St. John’s however, Newton has had a resurgence and flashed all the talent Huskies fans have heard about, and the team has subsequently fled off his versatility and energy. UConn needs a quality point guard, and Newton is finally filling the role.

Newton is averaging 10.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. He is averaging 4.4 assists, but has committed 2.3 turnovers per game. Newton ‘s shooting percentage inside the arc has dropped significantly due to his struggles, but he has continued to improve his 3-point shooting from last season and is now up to 34.9%. Newton continues to be money from the foul line, making 80.7 of hid free throws. He has scored in double figures 12 times and 20 or more points on four occasions. Newton earns a lot of his assists at his best, and has five games of at least six dimes. Finally, he has gotten to the 4-rebound mark 12 times. Newton has earned multiple steals in seven games.

Newton has been on a tear since the St. John’s loss on Jan. 18th. Since, he has averaged just under 15 points in six games, including 20-point performances at DePaul and against Xavier, while shooting 46.6% overall ,38.1% from deep and over 80% at the line on 38 attempts. Before this stretch, Newton had scored in double figures just twice in Big East play. He has done a little bit of everything else as well, averaging just over six assists and under five rebounds while grabbing two steals. Newton’s most impressive performance came in the signature win against Marquette, as he recorded 12 points and assists and grabbed 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. It was Newton’s second triple-double already this season, with Shabazz Napier being the only other Husky to accomplish this feat.

After an All-AAC Conference junior season at East Carolina in which he averaged roughly 17 points and 5 assists, expectations may have been too high for Newton. Yes, he was a versatile guard with size and strength and a nose for the basket, but the level of competition was a big step up for a player who is not a natural point guard, especially after the conference has had more depth than preseason reports indicated. It was always going to take him a while to create chemistry with players in regular season competition, and that only became harder when Andre Jackson returned to the starting lineup and the two had difficulty co-existing on the floor while Jackson tried to take on a point guard role that he unfortunately wasn’t well suited for.

After being generally effective on offense the first month-plus of the season and relying on his ability to get to the line to rack up points, Newton steadily faded to the background for a while. He stopped being aggressive offensively and rarely attacked the basket when the team desperately needed him to (From the first Xavier loss to the St. John’s game, Newton took jut 9 free throws and made 5). Newton looked reluctant to shoot a significant amount of the time, making difficult passes in the paint instead of attacking the basket for layup opportunities. Newton’s disengagement with the rest of the team offensively and relative defensive struggles was a direct reason why the Huskies became a one-trick pony on offense and suffered their 2-6 stretch in January.

Since that team, Newton has looked completely different. It appears that Dan Hurley talked to him and urged Newton to attack the basket more and initiate the offense quicker, and Newton embraced the challenge. He is now consistently driving the ball and playing more quickly, while also moving without the ball on the perimeter and getting better 3-point looks. Newton has also been highly effectively in the zone defenses UConn has employed and especially at pressuring ball handlers in the full court with his size and strength. He has consistently seemed to be having fun, and appears to be taking on a bigger leadership role during timeouts and other game situations. The UConn offense flows much better when Newton has the ball frequently, especially during significant moments. He is the lynchpin and floor general right now that UConn fans were looking for. A team needs a reliable point guard to have postseason success, and this version of Newton can finally bring it to the UConn program.

Andre Jackson: B-Jackson has been up-and-down as a player since the moment he arrived in Storrs, but his junior career has been a special case. When the junior is at the peak of his powers, he is extremely versatile, a team leader, and an absolute joy to watch. But when Jackson has played his worst, he has played out of control on both ends and been a black hole on offense, where his confidence has been shaken.

Jackson is averaging 5.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in 22 games, while shooting 36.4%. The point forward ‘s PPG and field goal averaging have gone down compared to his sophomore season, although Jackson’s assist-to-turnover ratio has improved significantly. He has four double-digit games for both points and rebounds, although he hasn’t scored in double digits in the new year. Jackson has dished out six or more assists in seven games, and come up with multiple steals in a significant number of games. Even if Johnson doesn’t score a lot of points in a game, at his best he’s a stat stuffer.

Jackson’s worst tendencies have slowly emerged however, with the New Year’s Eve loss at Xavier being the jumping off point for these struggles. In the 11 games since, Jackson has seen his scoring average and shooting percentage go slightly down. While he is averaging nearly the same assists, Jackson has Bommited multiple turnovers seven times. Even if Jackson’s raw stats have only gone down a little bit, he has made multiple mistakes on offense during crucial moments in each loss, while playing with a lack of intelligence on defense.

Jackson had had two distinct stages this season, with the last two wins against Georgetown and Marquette possibly signifying the start of a third stage. Starting with the Phil Knight Invitational Thanksgiving week until the end of December, Jackson contributed heavily on both ends and was the team’s sparkplug. The junior was doing a great job running the offense alongside Tristen Newton and finding scoring opportunities for teammates, while also grabbing offensive boards. Jackson was doing just enough to score via floaters, baskets at the rim and the occasional three, and with his teammates scoring so efficiently Jackson’s scoring wasn’t really needed. Most importantly, Jackson was playing exquisite defense, pressuring his man constantly and forcing turnovers and poor shots.

As the calendar flipped to the new year however, Jackson’s quality of play plummeted on both ends along with the team’s as a whole. He lost all confidence shooting the ball, and frequently had poor selection when doing so. Jackson frequently refused to attack the basket and occasionally turned the ball over when doing so. His floater (Jackson’s go-to-shot) deserted him, and he began to be bated into taking risky 3-pointers when defenders stay off of Jackson. This led to ugly shooting lines on threes like a 4-12 performance at Xavier and 0-3 marks against both Providence and the Musketeers. While Jackson continued to rebound well, he began to play out of control when running the offense and making risky passes that either led to turnovers or teammates not being in the right position to score.

What was more frustrating then Jackson’s struggles on offense was his disappearance on the defensive end. After living up to his accolades as a defender early Jackson declined heavily in the first half of the Big East schedule. Jackson become overaggressive on defense, committing silly fouls and having to be removed by Dan Hurley as a result, and repeatedly tried to block his man’s shots from behind instead of working harder to stay in front of players. Combine all of this with Jackson’s shaky help defense, and he was the player most responsible for the Huskies defensive decline when they lost six of eight games. Jackson’s defensive struggles carried over to the offensive end and caused the junior to become disengaged at times while not fulfilling his status as UConn’s leader.

After the Huskies second loss to Xavier and Jackson’s 2-point performance against DePaul, he and Hurley said that the coaches and Jackson were working to tighten up his defense and putting him in situations on offense where he could make plays more efficiently. In the wins since against Georgetown and Marquette, Jackson has demonstrated this hard work paid off. Jackson’s defense has continued to be aggressive while also more disciplined and focused. He held Hoyas star Primo Spears scoreless, and was et defending multiple Creighton players while helping to force poor shots and defenders. Jackson’s rebounding and passing was solid in multiple games, especially against Georgetown. Instead of taking jumpers and 3-pointers, Jackson focused on getting open for scoring opportunities around the basket on layups and putbacks and dunks, resulting in a combined 12 points on 5-12 shooting. It has been great to see Jackson not just more effective, but having a lot more fun on the court in these wins. When he is playing loose and with energy, all the other Huskies feed off of it.

The remaining regular season and tournament games will be huge for Andre Jackson’s legacy at UConn. Can he prove that he and the team have truly righted the ship? Can Jackson show improvement on offense while playing up to his potential in other phases of the game? And maybe most importantly, can Jackson truly be the leader of the next Huskies team that goes on a tournament run? Jackson is capable of answering all these questions with a triumphant yes. Now it’s just time for him to be a great player, and not just a great athlete.

Alex Karaban: B+

If Dan Hurley wanted to create a freshman big who is well-rounded offensively in a lab, he probably couldn’t do any better than Alex Karaban. The freshman power/small forward from Massachusetts’s has already demonstrated that he can score from nearly anywhere on the floor, particularly in the paint and behind the arc. When you combine that scoring ability with quality passing, solid rebounding and quickly-improving defense, and you have a Husky who is qualified to be the Big East Freshman of the Year.

Karaban, whom UConn has relied on heavily at forward with Samson Johnson out nearly the entire season, is averaging 9.8 PPG, 4.1 RPB, and 1.8 APG in 28.7 minutes. He is shooting 46.9% on field goals , 39.7% on 3-pointers and 82.1% at the free throw line. Karaban’s offensive metrics on KenPom and elsewhere are off the charts, especially for a freshman. He has scored in double figures 15 times, and has hit his season high of three 3-pointers in eight games, most recently in the last two wins. Karaban has scored in double figures five of the past eight games, with a high of 17 in the first matchup with Marquette. While Karaban doesn’t have any games with a huge amount of assists, he has dished out multiple ones in 12 games. Karaban was named the conference Freshman of the Week for the week of Jan. 29th after averaging 7.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4 rebounds, which was the fifth time this season he has received the honor.

Karaban ‘s best offensive skill right now is shooting 3-pointers. He is excellent at moving without the ball, has quality form and does not hesitate no matter the moment, has evidenced by his 3-pointer late at Georgetown that gave UConn a 63-61 lead it never relinquished. Karaban has already established a solid post game and can score effectively on both layups and post-ups. As Karaban works on getting stronger in the offseason, it could allow him to score more effectively in the post while also stretching defenders out beyond the 3-point line. In addition to scoring Karaban’s court awareness and basketball IQ has allowed him to be a quality screener in the pick-and-roll and an excellent passer, especially compared to the average freshman. Adama Sanogo and Donavon Clinigan have particularly benefited from Karaban’s passing skills.

On defense, Karaban has also consistently gotten better. While he needs to add a lot of upper-body strength and doesn’t have the athleticism a lot of the power forwards he’s facing in the Big East (a conference with excellent big men), Karaban has learned how to challenge shots and go after rebounds inside without fouling, and how he can position himself to challenge shots. Karaban’s recent improvement at avoiding foul trouble has allowed him to make a more consistent impact on offense, particularly from beyond the arc.

Alex Karaban quickly proved himself to be an indispensable player for the Huskies. Currently, I would argue he is their third-most reliable player beyond Jordan Hawkins and Sanogo. If Karaban is this developed as a freshman, I cannot imagine how good he will be as a junior or senior. Slowly but surely Karaban is building a legacy in Storrs, one that may lead to a tournament run in March.

Season Grades for Each Bench Player so Far

With the Huskies having seven conference games remaining before the Big East tournament at this time last month, I thought it would be a good time to give grades to each player on the team for how they have played up to this point of the season. I decided to first focus on the bench, before moving on to the starters after the Marquette game tonight. This article focuses both on the player’s strengths as well as their weaknesses, and what they can do better in these final weeks. I will update this article after the Marquette game. Enjoy!

Donovan Clinigan: A-

Clinigan may have hit a little bit of a freshman wall recently, but there’s no denying that he has been a huge surprise on both ends and helped solidify the UConn frontcourt.

Coming into the season, Clinigan was still viewed as a project by many fans and reporters, even despite reports out of stores in the preseason that he looked much more game-ready than the staff had predicted. A large part of this was Clinigan dominating at Bristol Central instead of at a prep school, where many fans thought he should have gone for a post-grad season. However, the combination of losing weight and practicing against Adama Sanogo in practice every day has helped Clinigan become one of the best freshmen bigs in the country.

Clinigan is averaging 7.8 points on 72.7% shooting, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in just 13.6 minutes per game. He has an offensive rating of 119.1 (103.8 in the Big East) with an effective field goal percentage of 69.4. While Clinigan almost never shoots more than five feet from the basket, his strength and improved athleticism allows him to bully almost any defender. Clinigan is already very strong at finishing shots and is a constant threat to score on dunks and lobs as well as put back shots due to his great offensive rebounding (he has rebounded 18.3% of opportunities this season). His one weakness is at the free throw line, where he shoots 52.4%. Clinigan’s rate and per-40 minute stats on offense are insane, and he definitely is more effective on that end than Sanogo as a freshman.

On defense, Clinigan has also established himself as one of the best shot blockers in the country already. He has blocked multiple shots in 13 games and four or more in five games, and his percentage of shots blocked is 14.9%. He has excellent hands, and his size and quick reaction speed allows Clinigan to constantly block and alter shots. He is also an excellent defensive rebounder, and has gobbled up more than 34% of opportunities in Big East play. Clinigan has a rebound in every game he has played and four games with 10 or more. Clinigan does struggle to guard without fouling due to over-aggressiveness and being fooled by his man, but I am confident he will learn to control it with his basketball intelligence, especially as referees give Clinigan more respect.

There’s no telling what heights Clinigan can reach as a sophomore and junior at UConn if he stays, and he arguably has the upside of someone like Zach Eddy, who is on his way to winning the Wooden award. Clinigan is struggling right now defensively and playing less due to foul trouble, but I am confident he will figure things out just like Alex Karaban did. Marquette could be a particularly good matchup for him, as he had 20 and 10 with 5 blocks in the first matchup with the Golden Eagles.

Hasan Diarra: C+

Diarra’s biggest selling point when UConn grabbed him from the transfer portal last season was that he had a reputation as a strong on-ball defender and high-energy point guard off the bench at Texas A&M. These traits have been on display throughout the season and during conference play. In just 14.5 MPG, Diarra is averaging nearly a steal a game and a steal percentage of 3.5%, and he’s had five games with multiple steals. Diarra is also plenty capable of blocking a shot despite his 6-2 frame. He generally does an excellent job of using his strength and athleticism to pressure ball handlers and pick off passes. If UConn pressured more on defense like I want them to do against certain opponents, he would be especially adept at doing so.

So why does Diarra have such a mediocre grade? As anyone who has watched UConn a decent amount this season, it’s because of his lack of production on the offensive end. Diarra is averaging just 2.9 PPG on 32.9% shooting., with an effective percentage of 37.1%. While he is putting up 2 assists per game, he also has a career-high turnover percentage of 28.9%. Diarra was never a great shooter at the line with the Aggies, but he has shot just over 53% at the line, nearly 20% worse than last season. Couple with that Diarra’s lousy perimeter shooting and habit of making costly turnovers, and there is a reason that he has never started this season even when Newton was struggling heavily. Unless there is an injury, I am sure Diarra won’t see the floor for more than 10 minutes at most the remainder of the season. It will be interesting to see how much playing time he gets next season with the arrival of Stephen Castle and possibly another strong transfer point guard to replace Newton.

Naheim Alleyne: C

When Alleyne transferred from Virginia Tech to UConn for his senior season, I said that he should be a better version of Tyler Polley, as the two has a similar game but Alleyne plays much better defense. Alleyne has mostly lived up to the expectations on the defensive end, but his outside shot has pretty much deserted the guard for the entire season, leading to a bad domino effect for the entire team at times.

First, the good: Alleyne has been a strong perimeter defender for the Huskies, particularly during the first two months of the season. The 6-4 guard does a good job using his length to affect shots and has the athleticism to stay in front of his man. The biggest issue with Alleyne on the defensive end is his propensity to be too handsy and pick up fouls, a bad habit which has gotten worse against the tougher competition in practice. While Alleyne’s defense has still been better than most of his teammates in the last month as UConn struggled, he has not done as good of a job keeping his man in front of him and limiting penetration. Hopefully, Alleyne’s individual defense will pick up along with the team down the stretch.

Alleyne’s struggles from beyond the arc has been inexplicable this season, especially since it’s lasted all season and not just in conference play. After shooting over 38% from three during his ACC career, Alleyne is at 27.9% this year (28.6% in the Big East). He has not made more than one trey in a conference game, and only did it four times in nonconference games. Alleyne’s percentages inside the arc have also plummeted in conference play, and he rarely gets to the charity stripe. It’s no wonder Alleyne has not scored more than five points in a game this year and had his minutes dwindle consistently, and I am not surprised he has not started for Jackson at any point recently despite his struggles. Along with Calcaterra, Alleyne shooting closer to his career average on 3-pointers the rest of the season would make the Huskies a much bigger threat to end the regular season well and go on runs in March.

Update: UConn fans were waiting for Alleyne to have a breakout conference game and he finally came through on Tuesday, draining three 3-pointers on his way to 13 points. Alleyne’s treys constantly came at big moments, including one at the end of the first half that gave the Huskies a 16 point lead going into the break. Alleyne’s form looked great on the 3-pointers, and UConn’s excellent screening and passing gave the senior space on each shot. Alleyne’s defense was also steady as always and he played disciplined on that end, committing zero fouls. He recorded his highest point total of the season, and hit a trio of threes for only the second time. With Alleyne’s big bench performance and his general improvement over the last few games, I am bumping his grade to a C+. Even more than Calcaterra, Alleyne’s stronger overall game and accomplished history as a shooter can make him a microwave scorer for UConn thest last few weeks as long as he maintains confidence.

Joey Calcaterra: B

It’s been a roller-coaster season for Joey California. The fifth-year transfer from San Diego was the least heralded of Dan Hurley’s transfers but was a star for the first two months of Big East play. He averaged 9.1 points through 13 games while shooting over 50% from three and had a habit for coming up in the clutch moments. Combine this with Calcaterra’s energy and nifty passing, and it’s no surprise that he became a folk hero quickly for the whole fan base. Calcaterra was one of the biggest reasons for why the Huskies started 14-0.

After the high-water of a 14-point performance against Georgetown on December 20^th in which he led the team to a 14-point performance, Calcaterra has crash-landed in the last 11 games. He has not scored more than 6 points in a game since and is now shooting 27.3% on three’s in the Big East. Calcaterra is similarly struggling inside the arc and has gotten to the line just once! Overall, his offensive ranking in conference games is 91.7 and true shooting percentage 36%.

Calcaterra has never been a particularly good defender due to his lack of athleticism. He was able to hold his own to some extent in the nonconference season, but he has predictability struggled against the stronger and more athletic guards in the Big East and been unable to keep his man from penetrating. With Calcaterra’s shooting struggles and lack of defense, his playing team has decreased significantly. Even if his shooting pics up again, Calcaterra will get fewer minutes than the first half of the season as Hurley shortens his roster.

This rating is probably a little too generous. However, I cannot imagine that Calcaterra’s shooting improves somewhat down the stretch, and it already has slightly over the last six games. Before the end of the year, I believe Calcaterra will give us a few more unforgettable moments and clutch shots. Long live Joey California.

Update: Calcaterra played within the flow of the offense in his 10 minutes. He moved the ball and screened effectively, and picked up a layup as well as earning an assist and rebound. Calcaterra surprisingly did not take a three. It was nice to see Joey California contribute without scoring, but he desperately needs to have a game where his shooting touch returns and Joey gains some confidence. Just like Alleyne, UConn is not going to reach his full potential if Calcaterra isn’t making big threes against good teams.

but on Johnson: Incomplete

Johnson has had a tough two years in Storrs, and so far appeared in just four games due to an ankle injury. After sustaining the injury in the opening game and missing two months, Samson finally returned on the 22^nd against Butler. Johnson hasn’t looked bad in the limited minutes he has played, scoring a combined 11 points on 4-8 shooting, and grabbing six rebounds. However, he hasn’t played more than 7 minutes since returning and is getting back into game shape. I expect Hurley to give Johnson spot minutes here and there the remainder of the regular season, but don’t think he will play against any big-time opponents like Marquette barring significant foul trouble. While Johnson may not have the experience and stamina to fill the rim protection role UConn desperately needs yet, I hope decent minutes the remainder of the season and an offseason of working on his game will allow Johnson to unlock his potential next year.

Update: Nothing has changed. Johnson did not play at all against Marquette, and I would be shocked if he did against Creighton. There have also been no updates about how many minutes Johnson is capable of playing in a game. It looks more and more like this will sadly be a lost season for him.

Richie Springs: N/A

The 2023 season was obviously not destined to be we unleashed Springs. His only apparence in Big East play came for less than a minute against Butler, despite actually playing fairly well in the few minutes he got during the nonconference schedule. If Hurley isn’t willing to use Springs for even two or three minutes as a big body and rebounding threat as a junior, then I don’t think Storrs is theplace for Springs. Let’s hope for his sake that Springs transfers in the offseason and finds a low-major program where he can get valuable minutes and prove himself.