A missed opportunity for Sanogo
NEW YORK — Adama Sanogo had 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks Friday night as the UConn men’s basketball team lost a Big East Tournament semifinal to one of the best teams in the nation at the heart of, perhaps, the sport’s most electric environment.
Sanogo didn’t disappear in the Huskies’ 63-60 loss to Villanova at Madison Square Garden. He didn’t cower. He just didn’t own the night.
He was a little off — lacking, maybe, the ferocity the defining moments of this event ask for. He didn’t come to New York for his debut in something that is truly a monster and wrestle it all together like he did various portions of his brilliant regular season.
“I think I made a lot of mistakes,” Sanogo said at a postgame press conference.
Even that experience was new, with some 50 unfamiliar faces looking on, picking through a game that, like any close loss, featured so many sequences where the differential could have been made up — those few UConn points squandered here, a turnover there, those couple of baskets Villanova made there, a ball out of bounds there, and so on.
More so than any other area, probably, it was Sanogo’s lost opportunities within a few feet of the basket.
“The ball got in there,” coach Dan Hurley said.
Yes, time and again, it did. Sanogo made 6 of 15 shots. As a tense game worked its way toward becoming what it actually became, a one-possession loss, there were several baskets he couldn’t convert, certainly baskets the Huskies wound up needing.
“A chance for him to really take over,” Hurley said. “And, unfortunately, just a couple of those spun out.”
Two questions for Hurley. What, in general, is the next step for Sanogo? And, specifically, could he have finished at times by going to power instead of finesse? This event is often about power — mental, physical — cutting through the energy that makes the MSG air thick. He hardly ever dunks.
“I don’t want to micromanage a guy that was [a] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar [Award finalist], top-five center in the country, firstteam all-conference,” Hurley said. “This guy has carried us. In large part, we would be nowhere where we are without Adama Sanogo coming into our program. Since he’s been here, the whole program has changed. And he’s still a young player. This guy’s a sophomore. And he is a special player. He’s just got to put this behind him and get ready for the NCAA Tournament. But this guy’s carried us the whole year and had incredible accolades.”
All of that is spot on. Sanogo is dominant. No player in college basketball goes through a season without a two-game frustrating stretch. No UConn player works harder. No one is more well-liked. No one put on the physical shows of force he has this season. It’s fair, already, to talk about him as one of the best UConn big men in history. His footwork is, in a word, amazing.
It’s just that March 10-11, 2022 were not the dates and New York City was just not the site for the emergence of the next level of his game. He was double-teamed and triple-teamed and that smooth footwork didn’t lead to the easy baskets that it does against most opponents, most nights, in most settings.
“I need to fix it going into March Madness,” he said.
Sanogo beat up DePaul for 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting to close the regular season Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. He had six points on 2-for-11 in Thursday’s quarterfinal victory over Seton Hall and, combined, had 21 points on 8-for-26 in two games at the Garden, which offered something he had never stepped into.
Yes, UConn actually played in this event last year, Sanogo included, and also reached the semifinals. But that was James Bouknight’s team, the building was empty. Everything was different.
The Huskies, this year, got exactly what they asked for, what they earned and probably what they needed out of a couple wild nights — just not exactly what it wanted. There’s still value there. UConn has likely earned a No. 5 seed for the NCAA Tournament and will gather for Selection Sunday having benefited from so much being packed into two days.
Only one team leaves the Garden with a trophy but every team is exposed for exactly what it is. For any team playing on Friday night, most of what is exposed is good. Sure, if Sanogo makes a few more shots or free throws (3-for-7), UConn probably wins. If he had more help from a scoreless Isaiah Whaley, the Huskies probably win. If they closed figured out ways to limit Villanova from the perimeter early, they probably win. If the Huskies got more out of their bench, they probably win. Any change in events to, oh, a dozen sequences and UConn moves on — or loses by 10. This was a tight game all the way through, with 15 lead changes.
Moving deeper into the New York week demands near perfection, particularly when facing a team that makes so few mistakes. All that makes this tournament worth celebrating also makes it incredibly difficult, especially for people who have never experienced it. Villanova’s coach, Jay Wright, has been through this for years and he remains in awe.
“There’s no atmosphere like this anywhere in the world,” Wright said. “The juice in there, man. You can feel it. The electricity, it’s incredible.”
When you lose in that setting, it’s painful. But beyond that are lessons, growth, so much to draw from.
It gets easier from here, remember. At least initially. UConn could be in, say, Buffalo, against a No. 12 seed. They enter having played in a snow globe of basketball insanity. All in all, the Huskies represented themselves well. UConn didn’t have to win this game. It had to experience it.
The Big East Tournament as it’s meant to be — and this is how it is meant to be — is reward and opportunity come Friday. It’s OK to get roughed up a little and get back to work. That’s what happened to its best player and, therefore, his team.
Sanogo is averaging 14.9 points and 8.7 rebounds. He’s still learning, still growing. He’s still just as likely as any UConn player to carry the team into the Sweet 16 or even beyond.
“What he’s meant to us the last two years, the guy is, in a way like James, he’s one of the most important players we’ve brought in,” Hurley said. “He’s changed everything about our program. He’s the hardest working guy you’ll meet. He’s harder on himself than I could ever be on him. It wasn’t his best night. But we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in as a program without what he’s done. He’ll get in the gym and continue to do what he’s always done, which is outwork everyone. And he’ll have a great NCAA Tournament.”