‘Hungry’ Huskies tournament ready

There was a symmetry in this Jersey win that — unless the pandemic has one more horrible March trick up its sleeve — puts UConn in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

That is five years for most humans.

That is a 50-year drought for UConn basketball fans.

Yes, an undeniable symmetry of two frontcourt players, one arriving and one nearly ready to leave. And a resulting tribute, really, to what a coach has done with what he inherited in 2018 and what he and his staff have done to recruit and develop bigger, stronger and more talented players for the step back up to the Big East.

Here was Isaiah Whaley who couldn’t get off the bench a couple years ago, an afterthought of the Kevin Ollie era, turning in the kind of senior performance that has made him such a valuable piece of the program’s turnaround hammered, chiseled and sculpted by Dan Hurley.

The 6-foot-9 Whaley had a season-high 17 points, 10 rebounds and, on the other

end of the floor made a long night for Sandro Mamukelashuvili, one as long as his last name. Mamu needed 20 shots to get his 20 points and he had to work for every one of them.

“Isaiah was obviously MVP of the game,” Hurley said.

And here was the other guy, a hulking 6-9, 240pound freshman who with each passing game looks a little less hulking and a lot less like a freshman. Adama Sanogo had career-highs with 16 points and nine rebounds and, in this 69-58 victory over Seton Hall, showed much more than a glimpses of how good he will be. One-handers, running hooks, moves with the ball, passing, Sanogo has gotten smoother and smoother, more confident, more and more dangerous in the post.

“Adama was phenomenal for a freshman in this spot,” Hurley said. “Josh Carlton is a really good player, a starting-caliber center, Division I-quality guy. (Sanogo) won that battle, beating out a two-year starter as a freshman. Adama’s hands, his touch, the way he goes about his business. That guy is going to be a champion. A special player.”

Have you noticed we’ve written more than 300 words on one of the most important UConn wins of the past five years and none of them are James Bouknight? Bouknight had his 16 points, although most came on late free throws. It wasn’t a Bouk Burning. Not this game that clinched third place in the Big East for UConn.

No, this was a Wednesday night in early March of Hurley’s third year where we could sit back and admire the fuller picture of what he has built at UConn.

The performance was not a work of art. UConn’s offense wasn’t sharp enough to suggest such. It was a terrific defensive and rebounding effort (plus-12), all while staying away from the trail the Pirates beat to the free-throw line (27 of 31) at Storrs last month. It was a Big Boy payback game for that 80-73 loss to the Pirates, the seventh road win, and one that should sufficiently fill out their NCAA resume even before the start of the Big East tournament.

And they’re not nearly done. You don’t want to play UConn. Not now. Not anymore.

They have Bouknight. And because of Bouknight’s early season elbow injury, something Hurley is now calling a “blessing in disguise,” they have depth that found confidence while he was out and is now unafraid to step up and produce in vital moments.

Like Whaley. Like Sanogo. As a freshman, Whaley was a jumping jack who had the occasional put-back dunk. As a sophomore, he was lost. The way he came on during his junior year, capped by that career night of 18 points and 14 rebounds at Temple, was a sight to behold.

“Listen, Isaiah improved a lot,” Hurley said. “His first year (with Hurley) was tough. He wasn’t ready to play. He had a great summer and started getting minutes his junior year and he just kept improving. He changed his body.

“Players decide minutes. I don’t. His breakthrough performance at Houston, off the bench when he gave us great minutes, is when he started to grow into his role. As he has continued to get better and better, he has become invaluable.”

On this night, Whaley hit a 3 as the shot clock was about to expire. That’s an unexpected blessing. In the closing seconds of the first half, Ike Obiagu blocked Bouknight, but Whaley was there on the putback to give the Huskies their first lead of the night. That’s Pork Chop at his best.

In the second half, he was rewarded for his work, that included two blocks. A missed shot, a tip back, the ball caromed forward off Cole, through fallen bodies and — thank you very much — to Whaley alone at the basket.

“I’ve come a long way,” Whaley said, pointing to the support from his teammates and the staff. “Just putting my head down and working hard. We’re enjoying the journey together.”

Whaley was effusive talking about Sanogo and his increasingly slick post moves in games. Here’s a young guy who reclassified from 2021 to 2020, who played soccer as a kid and started the game late in Mali. A year ago, he was at The Patrick School in Jersey having just badly disappointed Seton Hall by not joining Kevin Willard. Now here he was beating the Pirates.

“It was fun,” Sanogo said. “To win this game against Seton Hall and to play well, New Jersey is kind of like a home for me. I’m happy right now.”

Whaley marveled how Sanogo and Carlton go at it every day at practice and how this has hastened Sanogo’s development. Despite the competition for minutes, Sanogo said he and Big Josh have become like brothers. He also credits assistant Kevin Freeman for working with him most every day before practice.

“None of (what he does in games) surprises me at all, especially with what he does in practice,” Whaley said. “It’s actually crazy how big he is and how much touch he has. He amazes me all the time. I know he’s going to be really special.

“With big Josh, banging on him every day, he’s just going to keep getting better.”

Hurley insists the winning mentality was formed in the final stages of last season, one cut short by COVID-19. More maturity and growing talent and toughness have made them NCAA Tournament ready.

“We’re hungry,” Whaley said.

Look at the spring of 2018, when Hurley took the job: UConn’s KenPom ranking was 179. The RPI was 126. The BPI was 173. As of last night, they were 34, 25 and 26. When a program has four national championships, one must be careful not to declare the glory days have returned. But, swear to Jim Calhoun, we can see them ahead.

“This is what (athletic director) Dave Benedict hired me to do,” Hurley said. And he is doing it.

With that, the Jersey Boy with a big Jersey W made a promise: “We’re going to lock our guys in their room and make sure we stay clean here. This is certainly the part of the year where you do not want to pop a positive (for COVID).”