Ready for their close- up
Men’s roster deep, talented but unproven
UConn is back in the Big East. And if you ask any fan, reporter, coach, player or anyone else involved in college basketball, back where it belongs.
Now, it’s time for the Huskies to prove it.
Dan Hurley has assembled a deep, impressive roster as the Huskies return to the Big East for the first time since 2012- 13. But it is a largely unproven roster, at least at this level.
The one definite would appear to be James Bouknight, the 6- foot- 5 guard who could very well be an NBA lottery pick next summer. Bouknight is a second- team AllBig East preseason pick by the league’s coaches, but there aren’t five better players in the league. There may not be any.
Still, even Bouknight must prove he can dominate in a league much tougher than the American, where he averaged 13 points per game as a frosh. There are plenty of other talented players on this roster, and plenty more questions:
Can R. J. Cole ( Howard) and Tyrese Martin ( URI) be as productive as they were against lesser competition at their prior stops? Can Akok Akok ( Achilles) and Tyler Polley ( ACL) get back to their same level of pre- injury effectiveness?
Can Isaiah Whaley continue his vast jump in improvement from the tail end of last season? Can Josh Carlton bounce back after a subpar junior year? Will we see the real Jalen Gaffney, now that he’s not hampered by a preseason injury?
Can freshman Andre Jackson be what Bouknight was last season? How much production can we expect from fellow frosh Adama Sanogo, Richie Springs and Javonte Brown? Will the real Brendan Adams please stand up?
Lots of talent, lots of depth, lots of questions. Potentially lots of postponements and cancellations, too, thanks to COVID- 19. It could be a very strange year, but also a very fun one for UConn, which, if nothing else, is back where it belongs.