Huskies land a player with ‘quiet’ courage
MILFORD — It could have ended when John Neider learned in eighth grade he had Type 1 diabetes.
It didn’t. Neider has to wear a pump and a device to read his blood sugar, but it didn’t stop him from playing football, becoming a star in high school.
“It was rough for me when I was first diagnosed,” he said. “I just accepted it. It’s part of my everyday life. I hope I can help those who are struggling with the same thing, make them feel more comfortable.”
It could have ended his freshman year when he took an especially hard hit in a game at East Haven, but he surprised everyone when he got back up and continued.
“It was a hit that, even a senior might’ve stayed down for a little while,” Jonathan Law High athletic director V.J. Sarullo remembered.
Neider’s dream could have been delayed, or denied when he told his parents he wanted to continue to play with his friends in the Devon section of Milford rather than go the more fashionable prep school route.
“He wanted to stay with his friends, he wanted to go to Jonathan Law,” his mother, Kelly Neider said. “It’s not so much where you go, it’s what you do with where you go.”
So this part of John Neider’s life has the ending wanted, the ending he has worked for. On Jan. 14 he got the call from Uconn’s John Marinelli offering a scholarship. Characteristically Neider was working, helping a friend with cutting some trees in town, when he took this most important call. He then called his mother, who was grocery shopping.
“They offered a scholarship, they offered a scholarship,” John shrieked. “I gotta get back to work, but I wanted to
ago. It helped Tuesday that Adama Sanogo, the preseason Big East player of the year, played up to expectations and was an unstoppable anchor down low.
The trio combined for 72 points on Tuesday while shooting over 60% from the field.
When the Huskies were playing “immature” basketball and let Depaul within six in the second half, erasing a 20-point lead Uconn held six minutes prior, it was Newton who stepped up with a massive four-point play.
Early in the season Uconn’s guard production was a glaring issue. It wasn’t clear if Newton, who transferred in from East Carolina, could handle the starting point guard role and mesh with the rest of the pieces. It took Hawkins a bit to realize that he is typically the best player on the court whenever he’s on it, and to play with the aggression he’s played with as of late.
“Tristen’s really evolving, improving, playing more like a guy that’s in his second year with us in terms of picking his spots to be more aggressive and driving the ball,” Hurley said, comparing Newton’s trajectory in Connecticut with that of last year’s point guard, R.J. Cole.
The losses, six of the last nine games, had Hurley and the team suffering. When the fifth-year head coach returned from his short bout with Covid that caused him to miss the game at Seton Hall (where his team collapsed in the second half ), he said the players “looked like dogs in an animal shelter” at practice. “It felt as if we weren’t going to win another game,” he said.
In stark contrast Tuesday night, jokes were cracked and smiles plastered faces as the team exited Wintrust Arena. Relief.
Defensive issues still focal point:
The 76 points Depaul scored were the most Uconn has allowed in a win this season. Before Tuesday the Huskies had lost five of six games where they allowed the opponent to score 70 or more — the only win came in a 84-73 final against Georgetown at Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 20.
There were times where the defense was exposed — specifically allowing 43.5% shooter Javan Johnson to have wide-open looks early on. He scored 10 of the Blue Demons’ first 12 points before adjustments slowed him down until halftime. And, of course, there was the lackluster effort in the second half that kept things interesting.
“I think I was encouraged by our first-half defense and obviously I’m discouraged by our second half — or the last 15 minutes of the second half — defense,” Hurley said.
Depaul was held to 39% shooting from the field in the first half, and upped its shot-making to 50% on the same number of attempts in the second.
For those wondering why Hurley hasn’t been a fan of playing Sanogo with 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan on the court at the same time, just look back at the eight-minute mark in the second half. Sanogo, dominant all game, held the ball just beyond the free throw line. Clingan posted up with good position in the middle of the paint and called for a pass, but Sanogo had other plans.
The team’s co-captain waved his right hand at Clingan, urging him to get out of the way, then put the ball on the ground and got to the basket with ease for a layup. The offensive play style for both centers, both at their best scoring at the rim, clogs up the paint. The chemistry required to navigate that congestion is not there yet.
After Alex Karaban rose up for a rare two-handed slam (he flushed it through contact) 10 minutes in, he retreated back on defense with a youthful smile. He appeared to be laughing at something; it could’ve been the no-foul, or maybe the fact that he had at least six feet of open space when he caught the ball and the time it took for his two steps was enough for two defenders to get over and contest the shot. Nonetheless, that was the only field goal Karaban needed to make. He finished with four points (two free throws) with four rebounds and a team-high five assists.