New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
No hiding Nolan’s love for swimming
Richard Nolan climbed out of the pool Thursday night and onto the bulkhead for the award presentation at the Big East swimming and diving championships. Each place was designated to stand socially distanced for a photograph.
As he stepped off the bulkhead at SPIRE Institute in Ohio, the Villanova freshman from Wilton and Fairfield Prep was asked if he’d do a quick interview for the Big East broadcast. Nolan, who won the 200 individual medley, awaited the finish of the women’s 50 freestyle, put on the headset and looked into a camera affixed to a tripod.
This is life in the COVID world. And so is Nolan’s mask, one with the school’s easily identifiable logo. Fewer than 10 minutes after his own race, that V rose and fell with each of his heavy breaths.
“I never expected it, I was swimming along, got to the freestyle leg, saw the swimmers next to me and I’m thinking, ‘I’ve got a shot at this,’ ” Nolan said early Saturday afternoon. “I just put my head down to the finish. Then I looked up.”
His teammates were shouting. The board showed he was first with a time of 1:49.51.
Richard Nolan said he loves swimming and putting a smile on people’s faces. In a 56-second interview with John Fanta of the Big East, he showed how much he loves it.
In the moment when they were chitchatting, Fanta had to say, “We’re not live yet. Save some for the interview.”
He was thinking about his family in the U.S. and Ireland cheering for him. His friends in Connecticut and at Villanova and, of course, his teammates.
“I just had this crazy feeling,” he said. “It’s hard to explain. All the energy just came out in the interview. I was so jacked up.”
When they did begin, Nolan waved to the camera. Clapping his hands, arms flapping, body rocking, he talked about how awesome it was just be at the
and Bryce Hamilton, a 6-4 junior guard who averaged 17.9 points last season at UNLV, are the type of immediate-impact transfers that could be among the Huskies’ top scorers next season and also fit into the team’s culture, something strongly valued by Hurley.
Still, the transfer portal isn’t exactly Hurley and his staff’s cup of tea. Hurley stated a couple of weeks ago that he didn’t want UConn to become “Transfer U.” He’d prefer to build a program largely through recruiting top high-school talent, mixing in a quality transfer here and there.
With that in mind, UConn is still mining for high school talent for next season. It could come in the form of a player who reclassifies from the 2022 graduating class, or a player who could use a year of development as a sit-out and wouldn’t immediately be in search of minutes.
It could also be a juniorcollege transfer. The Huskies are in the market for a few different JUCO players, who would also likely have three years of eligibility left due to NCAA rule changes.
UConn could also bank one of its remaining scholarships, particularly if Polley decides to return. Managing a roster with 15 scholarship players wouldn’t be easy.
Whaley’s return likely changed the Huskies’ focus of bringing in another power forward-type. UConn had contacted a few of those players on the “transfer wire,” but with Whaley back, along with Big East All-Rookie Adama Sanogo, a presumably healthy Akok Akok, rising sophomore Richie Springs and talented incoming freshman Samson Johnson, the Huskies boast some pretty good frontcourt depth.
The Huskies could be in the market for an athletic small forward/power forward type of player. Interestingly, two of the players UConn had contacted that fit two of their potential needs — skilled scoring wing, skilled power forward — committed to Seton Hall over the past few days: Kadary Richmond, a 6-5 wing who just finished his freshman season at Syracuse, and Alexis Yetna, the 6-8, 240-pound Putnam Science Academy product who played three seasons at South Florida (though he’s more of a classic four-man rather than a skilled, stretch four).
Perhaps Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, who has famously voiced his opposition to UConn’s return to the Big East and lost out on Sanogo at the last minute in May, feels a sense of revenge.
Among the other players UConn has reportedly reached out to include Marcus Carr, a high-scoring point guard from Minnesota who, like Hamilton, intends to first test the NBA Draft waters; Seth Lundy, a 6-6 forward from Penn State who shot 39 percent from 3 as a freshman but dipped to 32 percent this past season; David Collins, a veteran guard familiar to UConn fans from his USF days but who isn’t particularly skilled; Tyler Kolek, a 6-3 Rhode Island native who was the Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year at George Mason this season; and Tre
Mitchell, a mega-talented 6-9 UMass sophomore whom the Huskies recruited heavily out of Woodstock Academy.
Kolek, who averaged 10.8 points and shot 35.8 percent from 3, has also been courted by Providence, Marquette and a few more Big East schools, among others, but is in no hurry to make his decision.
“I’m going through the process, there are new schools daily,” he said. “I’m looking for a place where I have a chance to have the right opportunity and hopefully go to the NCAA tournament.”
Mitchell has more pressing personal concerns: a fire last month destroyed his home, and his family has been displaced ever since. His stepfather, Tony Bergeron, coached him at Woodstock Academy and came along with him to
UMass two years ago as an assistant coach (though he won’t be an assistant there next year).
As far as Mitchell’s recruitment, Bergeron said: “Let’s put it this way — it would be easier to say who hasn’t offered than who has. We’re looking at what’s best for Tre ... It isn’t hard to figure out who wants you.”
Whaley’s return (and Sanogo’s progress as a freshman) would make Mitchell highly unlikely for UConn. Typically, prioritized transfer prospects have heard from other head coaches by now. It’s worth nothing that, as of late this week, both Mitchell and Kolek have heard from UConn assistant Tom Moore, but not from Hurley.