Happy to be holding court again
Huskies take first step in preparing for their return to the Big East
Prior to UConn's first official basketball practice of the 2020-21 season, the Huskies received a brief history lesson.
Dan Hurley pointed out how far they've come as a program since he was hired as head coach in March 2018.
And how far they still have to go. He backed that up by showing some video clips.
The arduous climb continues as UConn returns to the Big East.
"We showed the players a breakdown," Hurley said during a Zoom press conference on Friday. "We're 939 days since my press conference, so we've been building to where we are today for 939 days. We've had to fight every single day to improve... We've got another big step to take this year.
"We're not where we want to be. People are going to pick us relatively high in a new league. We're not being seduced into thinking that we've arrived. We are in year three of a rebuild. We've got to show up with an edge because we're still climbing the mountain. ... We're not going to allow ourselves to become complacent. We're still incredibly hungry." Hurley certainty isn't letting up. Entering his third season in Storrs,
Hurley finally has the deep and athletic roster that will allow him to play the high pressure, attack-mode basketball that he prefers.
Hurley turned up the intensity in the roughly two-hour practice on Friday, although he said he was much tamer than his first practice as a first-time college head coach at Wagner in 2010.
"I didn't have a really good grasp," Hurley recalled. "The areas where I was still developing as a coach I replaced with getting after somebody and yelling and screaming and ranting and raving and creating such an energy and intensity that it was overwhelming."
Freshman Andrew Jackson, an athletic guard with a promising future, embraced the challenge of his first UConn practice.
"It was really intense," Jackson said. "We've been really working hard in our workouts that came before this, so it wasn't a huge adjustment. A lot of more defensive focus and definitely a lot more energy today. I think it went well."
Jackson said he was "messing up a lot," which he expected to do as a freshman. His goal is to get better every day and stack up as many good practices in a row as he can.
Frontcourt newcomers Adama Sanogo and Javonte Brown might not have fared as well as Jackson in their first official college basketball practice.
"I imagine Adama and Javonte are probably back in their room right now with steam coming out their ears, eyes and mouth," Hurley said. "It was overload today."
The Huskies are dealing with some injuries, so not everyone participated Friday. Transfer Tyrese Martin ( quad strain) and junior Brendan Adams (foot) sat out while Akok Akok, who's making a comeback from a torn Achilles tendon, worked out on the side.
Martin is expected to be back by next week while Adams likely won't be able to go full speed until mid-November. Akok could be ready by late November or December.
Jackson, Jalen Gaffney and Tyler Polley practiced on Friday but are all on minutes restrictions while bouncing back from injuries.
"We've got to get healthy," Hurley said. Hurley plans to alter the way he runs practice this preseason to better prepare the Huskies for the upcoming season, which is scheduled to start on Nov. 25.
"It's very, very important for us to play as much five on five basketball as we can, as much live scrimmage as we can because these guys really haven't played five on five basketball since March," Hurley said. "So we're going to do a lot more live and scrimmaging than we've ever done before."
Very little has gone according to plan since March when the coronavirus pandemic hit. So Hurley might be forced to make more adjustments.
At this time last year, the Huskies kicked off the season with First Night festivities before an enthusiastic crowd at
Gampel Pavilion.
This preseason is unlike any other. "It's hard to wrap your mind around how the season is going to be on us in five or six weeks, or 41 days or whatever there is, when there's no First Night, no secret scrimmages or no exhibition," Hurley said. "Usually, those are markers for us, like hey, wake the hell up.
"... From that standpoint, it doesn't feel the same. But the practice today, we got after it. And we played and had the intensity and energy of a first practice."
News and notes
First-year assistant coach Kevin Freeman had a reputation as a tough guy during his UConn playing days. On Friday, he shook off a dislocated pinky finger, which he suffered a few minutes into practice. "He went off to the side and he demanded that the trainer pull it and he entered right back into practice," Hurley said. "All the guys of that '99 team would have been proud of Kevin." ... Senior Isaiah Whaley on the team's mindset starting this season compared to his previous ones: "We're coming in a lot more positive, especially off of last year. We have a lot of momentum. We're coming in with a lot of confidence. We're still figuring a lot of things out." ... UConn's schedule is still being finalized. Hurley: "I think we'll have more of an idea of a starting date for the Big East opener soon. There's some adjustments, which is creating some issues with what we have slated currently for the non-conference.”