Hurley knows a little more about the Huskies

UConn men show improvement in exhibition win

Storrs — The night before his UConn coaching debut, Dan Hurley had an uneasy sleep.

Just too many unknowns for his liking entering Friday's exhibition game.

"I have never coached any of these guys in a game situation in front of a crowd, so I had no idea what anyone was going to do," Hurley said. "I didn't sleep that well last night."

Hurley likely slept better Friday night after watching UConn dig its way out of a slow start and score a 96-64 rout of Division II Southern Connecticut State University before 5,646 fans at Gampel Pavilion.

While Hurley may have nightmares about his team's rebounding, which he called "scary bad at times," he saw some encouraging signs in the only exhibition game before Thursday's season opener against Morehead State.

"I saw a lot of positive things," Hurley said. "There were things that went on in that game that we can really build on, especially how hard these guys played. We were obviously vanilla offensively and didn't run a lot of stuff. We've just got to get them a little more responsible on the defensive end."

Two notable improvements from last year: the Huskies regularly pushed the tempo, scoring 45 points off the fast break, and extended their man-to-man defense full court, wearing down their overmatched opponent.

No doubt the Huskies will be a guard-powered team this season. Five perimeter players scored in double figures, including freshman Bren-

“They had a little nastiness in them. That's the way Danny coaches his team. And that's what is going to make them very good. They're long and their guards are strong and they're quick. They're definitely a better team this year.” SCOTT BURRELL, FORMER UCONN STAR AND SCSU COACH

dan Adams (17 points), senior Jalen Adams (16 points), graduate transfer Tarin Smith (12), redshirt sophomore Alterique Gilbert (12) and junior Christian Vital (11). Sophomore Josh Carlton led the frontcourt with nine points and a team-best seven rebounds.

Jalen Adams, an American Athletic Conference preseason first team pick, didn't enter the game until the 13:46 mark of the first half. On Thursday, Hurley said it would be a gametime decision whether Adams would play. Adams sat out Saturday's closed scrimmage against Harvard after violating a team rule.

"I've just got to do the right thing," Adams said when asked what he learned. "I've got to buy in 100 percent to coach's game plan and things will work out for me."

While Adams emerged from Hurley's doghouse, Vital entered it. Vital picked up a technical foul after saying something to a referee with 13:55 left, earning him a seat on the bench for the rest of the game.

"Just another symptom of what's been wrong with UConn basketball," Hurley said. "We're not going to tolerate that."

The Huskies looked like last year's team in the first 10 minutes. They suffered defensive breakdowns that led them to falling behind early on and trailing by as many six. They didn't grab an offensive rebound for the first 15 minutes.

"I think they were on the way to putting 110 on us," Hurley said.

But the Huskies gradually found their footing. Smith's two free throws handed UConn the lead for good at 27-26. The lead grew to 12 points at halftime and the Huskies ran away in the second half.

Southern Connecticut coach Scott Burrell, who was inducted into the Huskies of Honor during an emotional pregame ceremony, came away impressed with the Huskies.

"They had a little nastiness in them," Burrell said. "That's the way Danny coaches his team. And that's what is going to make them very good. They're long and their guards are strong and they're quick. They're definitely a better team this year." g.keefe@theday.com