Huskies are facing a ‘big’ test against Trojans
Dan Hurley was going to decide following Sunday’s practice whether his UConn men’s basketball team would play three games or just two over the ensuing week.
Then, midway through the practice, the decision was made for him when Vanderbilt pulled out of Tuesday’s slated Roman Legends Classic opener with the Huskies due to COVID-19 issues.
“I’m not gonna tell you which way I was leaning,” Hurley said on Wednesday.
Either way, UConn (2-0) will now play just the two games this week, which appeared to be Hurley’s preference from the start. The first comes on Thursday, when the Huskies face USC in a Legends Classic bout inside the “Bubbleville” at Mohegan Sun Arena (7 p.m., ESPN). It won’t be easy.
USC (3-0) is coming off a 79-53 dismantling of a good BYU team on Tuesday night in Bubbleville. Led by the Mobley brothers — Evan, a 7-foot freshman and likely 2021 NBA lottery pick, and Isaiah, a 6-10 sophomore and likely future NBA player as well — the Trojans boast size and talent that far outweighs anything UConn faced in its first two games against low-majors Central Connecticut State and Hartford.
“Unlike the first two games, you actually get a chance to go for what would be a really good win, as opposed to avoid losing a game that would really blow up your season,” Hurley explained. “Especially if you aspire to be a team that’s playing in March. It’s exciting to have a chance to not have to go after a win that you might have to apologize for if you don’t win by enough or play well.”
After an on-campus practice on Wednesday, the Huskies bused to Bubbleville, arriving just before 5 p.m., getting tested for COVID-19 and retreating to their hotel rooms, which are all on one floor and guarded tightly by security.
The Huskies will remain under lock and key, like all teams in Bubbleville, over their stay through Saturday, when they face NC State at noon.
“It’s the equivalent of an MTE-type of an event, where you see teams physically, that have the highmajor talent, high-level athletes,” Hurley said. “These are high-major games. They’re exciting games to play, because you’re gonna find out a lot about your team and what’s the best course of action coming out of it.”
Hurley wasn’t happy with his team’s overall effort in either of its first two games, saying that the past few practices have been a “cauldron of intensity” and that there has been a revolving door of players going from the starting team to second team.
“There’s a standard of toughness that you’ve got to uphold if you want to play for me, on the backboard, as a guy who’s out hunting shots,” Hurley said. “Every
one’s position on this team has been up for grabs the last two days. We weren’t happy the first two games ... My teams, historically, have been known for relentless toughness and competitiveness. I’ve got to get five guys on the court at all times that reflect that.”
These two games this week may not be UConn’s last non-conference tests before beginning Big East play on Dec. 11 against St. John’s. Hurley reported that the Huskies are looking to find the “right dance partner” for a game on Monday.
“We were looking to do three games before Big East play, he said. “So, we’d be looking for a really good game.”
But first things first: a “big” test on Thursday night against USC in Bubbleville.
“It’s exciting to play an exciting game. If you want to be a team that plays in the NCAA tournament, you’ve got to beat quality opponents.”
RIM RATTLINGS
1 Akok Akok participated in 5-on-5 drills in practice the past couple of days, but suffered a slight hamstring strain and was shut down for practice on Wednesday. Hurley won’t put a timetable on a return to game action for Akok, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear in Febr uar y, but noted: “Don’t look for him in the next couple of weeks.”
1 James Bouknight has been named to the watch list for the John R. Wooden Award, presented annually at the end of the season to college basketball’s most outstanding player.
Bouknight, a sophomore, is one of 50 players named to the preseason watch list. He is one of four Big East players on the list, joining Villanova’s Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah RobinsonEarl and Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski.