The
Connecticut Huskies are showing me all the signs of a program that is back with a vengeance this season, but I must warn you: I'm not sure any of our customary college basketball storylines will apply really well to the Huskies. If you ask me whether Kevin Ollie's team is going to win its conference title, for example, I'll tell you it sure isn't going to be easy, not with Louisville hanging around in the American for one season before the Cardinals head to the ACC. (Although the Huskies might have what it takes to push the Cards for the top spot; more on that later.)
Or if you ask me who the amazing freshmen are on this team, I'll tell you all about
Amida Brimah's considerable potential on defense -- which, to be fair, probably isn't what you meant by "amazing freshmen" in the first place.
Maybe I can't slot Connecticut seamlessly into the usual major conference categories, but I can tell you that this projects to be a very strong team. Ollie has a veteran group that's forged itself into a cohesive unit, and in that sense it might be easier to think of UConn as a seasoned mid-major peaking at the right time.
Make that an exceptionally talented mid-major. Call it what you will, I expect to see this team play its way to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, if not beyond. Before the Huskies get that far, though, we'll see them in the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, where they'll be tested against Boston College
(Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and then either Indiana or Washington.
Jim Calhoun left Ollie the best legacy of all -- talent, in the form of three exceptional guards added to the program in three successive years:
Shabazz Napier,
Ryan Boatright and
Omar Calhoun. For two full seasons, Napier and Boatright have functioned, in effect, as co-point guards, and last season Omar Calhoun joined that mix as a 6-foot-6 dual-threat wing. Add in 6-9 junior
DeAndre Daniels, and Ollie has the luxury of an experienced and skilled nucleus, one that few coaches nationally can match.
You can make a case that Napier has been unfairly overshadowed throughout his career, first by teammates (
Kemba Walker and
Jeremy Lamb) and later by league rivals (such as the Cards'
Russ Smith and Syracuse's
Michael Carter-Williams). Maybe this is the season when Napier finally gets his due. During UConn's 4-0 start, he's logged 218 possessions, and in that sliver of action he's been content to defer to his teammates while capably handling the point-guard duties. His best outing was his 18-point effort in the Huskies' 78-77 opening-game win over Maryland at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Napier is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter who had by far his best season inside the arc as a junior (shooting 49 percent on his 2s). If he continues to be productive from both sides of the line as a scoring point guard who takes good care of the ball, Connecticut may well deliver on the offensive potential the team has shown in November.
To this point, UConn has scored a red-hot 1.25 points per trip. Part of that's the quality of the competition, of course (in addition to the Terrapins, Ollie's team has defeated Yale, Detroit and Boston University). But even when the team is no longer making 53 percent of its 3s (as I said, red hot), recent history suggests the Huskies will minimize turnovers and get good looks at the rim.
As a combo guard, Boatright will play a big part in helping the offense maintain its early momentum. To this point in his career, the 6-foot junior has been more likely to attack the paint than launch a 3, and since he's maintained a very low turnover rate while drawing fouls (he shot 78.5 percent from the line last season), the Connecticut offense has reaped the benefits.
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AP Photo/Fred BeckhamThe addition of Omar Calhoun gives coach Kevin Ollie arguably the nation's best backcourt.
Though Calhoun wasn't able to find the range from the perimeter as a freshman (shooting just 32 percent), his 76 percent career free throw shooting constitutes an encouraging signal that maybe that will change this season. As it is, Calhoun has already shown he can make half his 2s and get to the line.
That backcourt is enough for any opponent to have to scout right there, but thus far on the young season, it's actually been Daniels who's been (by far) the UConn player most likely to launch a shot while he's in the game. To date, the junior has been something of a specialist. If you're looking for assists, rebounds or made 3s, you might want to look elsewhere. But when it comes to converting touches inside the arc into made 2s, Daniels can get the job done. (Let it be known he also blocks an occasional shot.)
While we're on the subject of looking for rebounds, that's one thing that's probably fair to worry about with this group. The Huskies weren't very good on the defensive glass last season, posting the No. 10-rated defensive rebound percentage in Big East play, and the early returns so far this season look similar. Ollie will work to change that, and whether the rebounds come from 6-foot-10 sophomore
Phillip Nolan, 6-7 senior
Niels Giffey or someone else entirely, they'll need to come from somewhere.
And while I already mentioned him in passing, definitely keep an eye out for 7-foot freshman Brimah when he comes off the bench. The young man recorded seven blocks in just 24 minutes against Yale. He might turn out to be a chip off the old UConn interior-defense block.
It might seem odd to say this about a program that won the 2011 national championship, but Connecticut hasn't had a strong regular season for a long time now. The Huskies entered the 2009 NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed, but following that season, UConn finished sixth, sixth, seventh and fourth in the Big East.
I'm envisioning a better finish than that this season for Connecticut in the new American, likely in the top two. The Huskies can score from both sides of the arc, protect the tin and, rather remarkably in this new era of high-foul hoops, keep the opponent off the line. This program hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since its run to the title in 2011, but that streak will end in 2014. UConn is back.
