ANDRE the GIANT
Jackson shines at both ends as Huskies rout LIU in a dunkfest
STORRS — Andre Jackson saw the play developing as a trailer on a 3-on-1 fast break. He coiled up and sprang towards the rim for an alley-oop pass.
Only the pass wasn’t meant for him, or even for his team. Long Island University guard Tre Wood tried to set up teammate Kyndall Davis with the lob for a dunk. Davis caught the ball, but was rejected at the rim by Jackson in a stunning display of athleticism.
It was hardly the only highlightreel play for Jackson and his UConn teammate’s in Wednesday’s 93-40 romp over LIU at Gampel Pavilion. Jackson had a couple of rafter-shaking, breakaway dunks, and the Huskies turned the second half into little more than a dunk competition, with seven total, including a few alley-oops that had no chance of being rejected at the rim.
No. 23 UConn (3-0) forced 26 turnovers, held the Sharks to 27.5% shooting and swatted away 10 shots — many of them thunderous, though none more impressive than Jackson’s.
“That was more out of instinct,” Jackson, the 6-foot-6 sophomore, said of the play. “I saw a man running ahead, I knew he was going to throw the lob, so I went and tried to block it.”
LIU’s Ty Flowers managed to grab the rebound and hit Eral Penn for a dunk, one of a mere six field goals the Sharks had in the latter half and somewhat spoiling the moment for Jackson. Still, it was a breath-taking play from a player who already boasts several in his collection — some of them not even for public consumption.
“He’s by far the best athlete I’ve ever coached,” said UConn head man Dan Hurley. “Speed, quickness, above the rim — it’s a joke what he can do. And he’s physically strong, and he’s an intense individual. He does freakish things all the time. A lot of clips from practice, we can’t put on social media, because the guy he did it to would not recover.”
Jackson did a little of everything
before 8,481 at Gampel, surpassing his career-high scoring mark by halftime and finishing with 14, including 2 of 3 3-pointers, to go with five rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals.
“He was in all the right spots defensively,” Hurley said. “He was flying around, making impact, winning plays. There are some things we’ll be able to do in games when he’s not making shots, things we’ll unveil as the season progresses and the opponents change. But it was about his energy and his integrity on defense, and the way he was all over the court. That’s his super-power.”
Despite the blowout victory and reels of highlight footage, no other UConn player truly stood out. Tyler Polley led the Huskies with 17 points, despite going just 2-for-8 from 3. Adama Sanogo added 11 in 20 foul-plagued minutes, Jalen Gaffney also netted 11 despite shooting 2-for-8, and Tyrese Martin finished with 10 points and seven boards.
Highly-touted freshman Jordan Hawkins finally got in on the act, making his college debut after missing UConn’s first two games with an ankle injury. The 6-5 guard checked in with 12:44 left in the second half and lofted up a 3-pointer 30 seconds into his career that was off the mark. He quickly came up with a steal, found Jackson on the break for a rousing dunk, and finished with five points, four rebounds and three steals.
“We wanted to give him some second-half time,” Hurley said. “If he comes out of it today, we’ll get him in earlier next game. This gives him a chance to be a factor for us, potentially, heading out to the Bahamas.”
Oh, and even walk-on Matt Garry joined the fun. The Southington product knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled on a fast-break layup attempt with 24 seconds left, breaking an 0-for-6 career slump at the foul line for the first two points of his career.
“Thank God, because that was weighing on all of us,” Hurley quipped. “It’s turned the last 2, 3 minutes more stressful, almost than the first 37. He’s such a great guy, he has so much pride in playing. He just needed to score. Unbelievable.”
The Huskies needed Jackson’s energy and allaround game in the first half, when they looked sloppy at times, making just 5 of 15 3-pointers and shooting 39 percent from the floor. Isaac Kante, LIU’s 6-foot-8 force in the middle, had a game-high 16 points at halftime, and the Huskies owned a 16-point lead.
Flowers scored on a transition dunk to open the latter half, but UConn scored the next 14 points to put the game away. Kante scored just one point in the latter half.
The win capped a tough few days for Hurley. Ryan Preston, who Hurley recruited to Rhode Island and played for Hurley as a freshman in 2017-18, died in a car accident in Bahrain earlier in the week. An emotional Hurley offered condolences to Preston’s family and high school coach.
“Such a tragic loss of life, for a guy who was born into circumstances that most people would never be able to overcome,” Hurley said. “The way he thrived at Rhode Island, under the tutelage of David Cox, to have a professional career overseas building ... Thoughts and prayers the rest of my life to him.”
Hurley also had a “minor” medical situation that forced him to miss Tuesday’s post-practice media session. He had a bandage on the right side of his neck on Wednesday.
“I’m feeling good,” he reported. “We’ve had a bad couple of days. Ryan hit hard, I had some minor medical stuff, but we’ve got some incredible doctors in this state ... (but) it led to a rough couple of days.”
RIM RATTLINGS
New UConn football coach Jim Mora attended the game and addressed the crowd during a timeout, saying UConn fans have made him feel “so welcome here and already a part of the community.” He also implored the student section to show up for the Huskies’ season finale on Nov. 27 against Houston at Rentschler Field.
Grad forward Isaiah Whaley was a “gametime decision” after suffering an ankle sprain in Saturday’s win over Coppin State. Whaley wound up playing 13 minutes an finished with a quiet two points, five boards and two blocks, but impressing his coach nonetheless.
“He dragged himself out onto the court, probably 80 percent today,” Hurley said. “I’m really proud of The Wrench.”
It was a rough day for Waterbury’s Flowers, who entered the game as LIU’s leading scorer at 17.5 per game. Flowers, a 6-9 grad forward, finished with just four points on 2-for-9 shooting. He also fell for the oldest trick in the book, rushing up a shot as the home crowd counted down to zero, even though there were still several seconds left on the shot clock.
Bristol Central 7-footer and UConn signee Donovan Clingan, who joined Hearst CT Media’s UConn Report podcast earlier in the week, was at the game. So was former Husky star Josh Boone.