‘Must-win’ strategy
For Hurley, managing Bouknight’s minutes, and his game, will be UConn keys at Georgetown
It’s no state secret that the UConn men’s basketball team revolves around James Bouknight.
How he plays — and how much — will be big factors in every game, and the Huskies’ latest “must-win” game, at Georgetown on Tuesday night, is no exception.
“Obviously, he’ll get in better game shape as we go here,” coach Dan Hurley said, after the Huskies arrived in Washington on Monday night. “We tried to get him more rest in the last game, but that’s easier said than done when you feel like, in a game like that vs. Villanova, where you can’t allow yourself to get more than a possession or two behind. ... But we’ve got to try to keep him closer to 30 minutes, or 32.”
Bouknight, in his second game
back after missing six weeks with an elbow injury, played 36 minutes at Villanova on Saturday, and though he would not cite fatigue as an excuse, he looked gassed down the stretch. He scored 14 points in the first 11 minutes, but finished with 21, and 10 rebounds.
Nowthe Huskies play a Georgtetown team that has won two in a row and appears far more dangerous than its sub-.500 record would suggest. And one of the Hoyas’ weapons is senior guard Jahvon Blair, who will draw Bouknight as a defender.
“Blair’s a terrific guard, and it’s a really challenging matchup for James defensively to guard him,” Hurley said. “He’s an older guard that’s a seasoned player that can really shoot it. ... They’ve found themselves, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence. This is a much different team than the one that lost to Navy [Dec. 1] and struggled early in conference play.”
Coach Patrick Ewing’s Hoyas (7-10, 5-7 Big East) have beaten Seton Hall and Creighton in February. UConn is 0-3 vs. those teams.
UConn (10-6, 7-6), at No. 54 in the NetRankings, is on the NCAA Tournament bubble and needs at least three wins in its last four games to stay in strong contention, so the urgency should be there. The Huskies need cohesiveness to match.
Against Providence in Bouknight’s first game back, the Huskies had ideal balance. Bouknight played 24 minutes and scored 18 points, Tyrese Martin added 18 and R.J. Cole 12. Against Villanova, the Huskies scored only 60 points as Bouknight, especially in the second half, tried to carry the team.
“Overall as a group, we’ve got to take a better approach to offense,” Hurley said. “I think we got caught against a really, really seasoned defensive team. We got caught watching James too much. James is going to find his offense within the flowof howwe play. He doesn’t have to hunt it, and we don’t have to stand around and watch him.”
As the season winds down, Hurley has basically shortened his rotation to eight, with Bouknight and freshman Andre Jackson, back from his wrist injury, in the mix. Junior Brendan Adams has not played in any of the last three games, and Akok Akok, still not close to being his old self after the Achilles surgery, has made only brief appearances the last two games.
Eight is enough, with Bouknight healthy and playing within a unit of complementary scorers.
“He’s got to be a two-way player for us,” Hurley said. “Great players, they’re on the glass; they defend people; they’re efficient offensively. We need James to come back and be a great player for us, not to try to put up these virtuoso offensive performances. Tyrese and R.J. have proven themselves to be pretty good complementary scorers on the perimeter. We’ve got some big men we can get the ball to. We’ve got some backup perimeter guys. Wehave talent. James has to be smart with how he uses his energy. We need him at both ends, we need him as a great player, not as someone we need to come back and save us with his ability to score the ball.”
Schedule update
UConn’s game at Seton Hall on March 3 will start at 6:30 p.m., and with New Jersey’s lightening of COVID-19 restrictions, there could be a small number of fans allowed in the Prudential Center. The Huskies’ final game, March 6 vs. Georgetown at Gampel, will start at noon on CBS. ... Bouknight, whoscored 39 points in two games, made the Big East’s honor roll Monday.