Breaking down the Huskies
Hurley examines UConn roster in detail during annual luncheon
Dan Hurley addressed the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday afternoon, a fall tradition for UConn men’s basketball coaches that began back in the early 1990s with Jim Calhoun.
Of course, this was the first time the annual luncheon has been done virtually, on Zoom. But, that’s 2020 for you.
While college teams were allowed to begin official practices on Wednesday, UConn isn’t starting until Friday. But Hurley has been working with his team for the past few months in more time-limited workout sessions.
Hurley likes this team. He likes the way UConn ended last season, winning its last five games and having a legit chance of winning the AAC tournament before COVID-19 shut everything down. He believes this year’s team is more talented and deep, with positional depth from 3-11 on the roster perhaps its biggest strength.
On Wednesday, Hurley went down the roster with comments on his 15 players.
Jalen Gaffney SOPHOMORE POINT GUARD
“Our improved offensive play last year coincided with him maturing, developing and being inserted into the lineup. He just has such a positive impact as a point guard, in terms of his poise, his IQ, his efficiency with the ball, being easy to play with. The ball moved so much better when Jalen was on the court for us.
“He’s a critical player. I don’t think people really understand how talented he is, athletically, how much upside he has. Last year he played around 170 (pounds), he’s up to around 188 pounds and has got more explosive athletically. He’s a real ‘X’ factor for us. If he can take a big sophomore step forward, that will really elevate what we can do.”
R.J. Cole JUNIOR POINT GUARD
“He’s a really, really beautiful offensive point guard. Along the same lines as Jalen, he’s a guy that’s really easy to play with if you’re one of the other four guys on the court, because he doesn’t overdribble, he’s got tremendous vision, and he gets the ball to people on-target and on-time.”
“That’s a heck of a point guard competition right there, to see who’s gonna start the opener (Gaffney or Cole). I’m very comfortable playing multiple guards or even starting two point guards, so those guys will play together a lot. I think at the point guard position, you’re gonna see a high level of play from us this year.”
James Bouknight SOPHOMORE GUARD
“Bouknight’s a stud. He’s becoming better as a vocal leader, through how hard he’s practicing, how urgently he’s approaching his work every day ... His maturity level and development as an individual has been really, really impressive.”
Hurley noted Bouknight is up to about 195 pounds now, after playing last season around 175.
“He’s got a chance this year, if everything breaks right for us and things go according
to plan, he can be as good as any guard in the country this year. He’s got so much game, so much skill, so much competitiveness. It’s like, he sees where this thing could go for him right now, and he’s tracking on it, big time. He’s got some of that Alpha male in him. He could have a special year.”
Tyrese Martin JUNIOR WING
“He brings a lot of positional versatility. He can play anywhere from a second guard to a small-ball fourman, in a four-guard setup. Super athlete, really, really physically strong at around 220 (pounds). Could be a high, high-level defender, big-time finisher, big-time on both backboards, and a guy who’s got a little bit of ‘dog’ in him, which I put a lot of value in.”
Isaiah Whaley SENIOR FORWARD
“When I get asked by a fan, ‘Who you think is gonna start?’ Two people come to mind, and everything else is a little bit up in the air: Bouknight and Whaley. Isaiah really established himself the last third of the season as a key piece, whether that’s playing big at the four, or a lot of his better minutes were when we played smaller and he played at the five. He’s as good a ball-screen defender as you’ll see on the college level, great on both backboards, tremendous defensive instincts as a shot-blocker, and an underrated passer/ballhandler ... He looks really good, he had a great offseason, so big year for Isaiah to kind of ride that momentum of last year.”
Brendan Adams JUNIOR GUARD
“Once he gets healthy and can get back on the court with us, he’s gonna have a chance as a junior to start, or at the worst, he’s shown us that, off the bench, he’s a guy that could give us starter’s minutes and play a key role on a good team ... He comes from a great basketball family, he’s got great pedigree ... If he can get that 3-point shooting into the low-40’s, and that’s a big jump from what he’s done ... his value will go through the roof with us.”
Akok Akok SOPHOMORE FORWARD
“Watching his recovery has been inspiring. The medical staff at UConn has been amazing ... He’s up to an hour and 15 minutes (of daily workouts), just doing work with the coaches. But we’re simulating offense and defense, he’s one of 10 individuals on the court when he works out.”
Hurley said he’s hoping that Akok could start going “live” in late-November or early-December.
“He looks great, he’s moving, doing all the defensive slides, backpedals, sprinting, running, shuttling. And he got in trouble with me (Tuesday) trying a 360 dunk that I think he wanted to post on Instagram. He got a little slap on the wrist for that.”
Tyler Polley SENIOR FORWARD
Polley just started going live late last week, after rehabbing from a torn ACL that ended his season in January.
“He’s a critical, critical guy for us as a stretch four-man. We really like him, especially recovering from the knee injury, I think it’s the best position for him to focus on this year. When we play bigger, he’ll play third guard, as well. He’s gained a lot physically, he’s just got to knock the rust off. But, a guy that shoots the ball like that, at 6-8, who can guard 1through-4, that’s a major weapon for us. One of the critical parts of our preseason is getting him ready for the opener.”
Richie Springs FRESHMAN FORWARD
“We’ve got a very crowded and very, very competitive, talented frontcourt. So, for him to carve our a roll and get minutes this year is gonna be a challenge. But he’s talented enough to do it. It all comes down to his personality. He’s only 19-years old, so he’s still just a baby. We’re just trying to get him to come out of his shell, develop a presence on the court, an intensity and an urgency, because he’s as good an offensive rebounder as I’ve ever seen. And his mobility, for a 6-9 guy who’s close to 230, is very, very impressive. We believe in Richie, but this year, he’s gonna have to work his tail off to get on the court.”
Adama Sanogo FRESHMAN CENTER/FORWARD
“What an amazing recruit he was for us. To be able to get a guy of his caliber, a center, frontcourt player that could play some four because of the work he’s done with his body — he’s up to the high-230s; he came in at close to 268, 270. He’s gonna lead us to a lot of great victories and, hopefully, championships. He’s just a special guy. He’s a rare individual, in terms of his work ethic and his daily approach. Young people can learn a lot of lessons from his blue-collar, no-excuses type of mentality.”
Josh Carlton SENIOR CENTER
“Looks great, lost a lot of weight, moving better than he’s ever moved here, athletically, in his career. He’s practicing with the urgency and effort that you’d expect from a senior who’s at a make-or-break point in his collegiate career ... I did a bad job of preparing him and executing that next step he needed to take as a junior. But Josh looks primed to really try to rectify that.”
Javonte Brown FRESHMAN CENTER
“Just a piece of clay. A legit 7-footer with tremendous upside, really, really nice skill set. Just got to figure out how to maneuver his body. He’s an 18-year-old, 7-foot, 265-pound puppy who is gonna be special. Right now, he’s got to sort things out physically, and figure out the intensity level of practice and everything a freshman’s got to do that way. But, big-time potential, very high ceiling, and unlike a lot of big guys, he loves to play. He plays with a competitiveness. He doesn’t play basketball because he’s tall, which a lot of tall guys only play basketball because somebody makes them play, because they’re tall. He plays basketball because he loves to play, and it shows up on the floor.”
Andre Jackson FRESHMAN WING
“Physically, (he was) a little bit underdeveloped when he came in around 185. He’s up to around 210 right now, in terms of his weight, and he looks like a junior, in terms of his physical stature. Tremendous passer. He’s gonna help us on both backboards, and he could guard 1 through 4. He could play point guard, or any gaurd spot. And he’s shot the ball better than we were anticipating. He’s gonna compete to start as a freshman, and have a chance to be one of the more impactful freshman guards in the country, if everything breaks right.”
Matt Garry JUNIOR GUARD (WALK-ON)
“He’s a great walk-on. He probably could be a scholarship player at the Division 2 level. He’s a great practice player, and a great guy to have in the program.”
Andrew Hurley FRESHMAN GUARD (WALK-ON ... AND HURLEY’S SON)
“Because we’ve had so many injuries, he was forced to playing live with our guys as a walk-on freshman. Shout-out to Drew, because he held his own. He has also not told my wife on me when I have chewed his butt out when he’s screwed up some drills. Drew, thank you for adhering to that man code, and not telling Mom.”
Elsewhere, Hurley was asked who might be the team’s biggest surprise this season.
“I’d go with Gaffney, because his numbers last year — if you look at them from a statistical standpoint, they’re gonna underwhelm you. His win/loss record and his impact on our play, along with Isaiah, was impressive. People don’t know how athletic he is. It’s just, when the lights come on, will it click with him where he develops that edge, that desperation you have to play with and compete with every second of every possession that you’re on the court.”
He said he hoped games could be played before at least partial crowds of 15 to 20-percent capacity, at some point.
“Sports isn’t nothing without the fans,” he said. “Losing fans in a sporting event, it changes the whole dynamic. That’s something we would have to be able to adjust to.”
Oh, and don’t tell Hurley that the Big East has led to his program’s improvement in recruiting.
“I think Bouknight, Akok Akok and Gaffney would all beg to differ. We recruited those three guys — two potential draft picks, and Gaffney, who’s a top-level player ... and R.J. Cole, before we even changed leagues. I see that (written), and to me it cheapens the efforts of my assistant coaches, Kimani and Tom recruited those guys. It’s kind of a lazy hot take. But, look, the league has helped us recently.”