The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
SMILES ABOUND AS UCONN HITS STRIDE
STORRS >> All Rodney Purvis could do was smile. Amida Brimah had just blocked his third Temple shot in about a minute’s span, sending this one well into the stands. Brimah screamed out in joy, the small but enthusiastic Gampel Pavilion crowd of 6,582 was revved up, and a wide smile spread across Purvis’s face.
“When you’re playing against him in practice or when we used to play pick-up, that’s you on the receiving end, getting your shot blocked,” Purvis explained. “So I’m just happy that somebody other than me and our teammates are getting shots sent out of bounds. It just ignites the crowd and it gets us going. He’s just an energetic guy. We feed off his energy.”
“When he’s punching shots to Hilltop Apartments,” Purvis added, “there’s nothing better than that.”
Smiles have been scarce for UConn for much of this injuryriddled season, but they’ve been more frequent lately. Paced by double-doubles by Kentan Facey (career-high 23 points, 10 rebounds) and Jalen Adams (11 points, career-best 12 assists) along with Brimah’s block party, the Huskies cruised over Temple 73-59 on Wednesday night.
UConn backed up its best overall effort of the season, a 64-49 win over UCF on Sunday night, with perhaps an even better one. The Huskies are now 7-9 overall, 2-3 in the AAC, and their modest two-game win streak matches
their best of the season.
Most important, as Purvis’s smile indicated, the Huskies seem to be truly enjoying themselves.
“We’re having fun out there, everybody’s smiling and we’re amped up to play,” said Adams. “I feel like now, we love playing with each other. Before, we liked playing with each other, but now, we love playing with each other and playing for each other.”
UConn is certainly playing a fun brand of ball. Adams hooked up teammates left and right, including a trio of alley-oop dunks to Brimah — one starting the game, one starting the second half, and the final one capping a 12-3 run late in the game that gave the Huskies an insurmountable 16-point lead.
Facey was a model of efficiency, scoring his 23 points on just 11 shots, a variety of mid-range jumpers and inside hoops. Frosh Vance Jackson stayed hot, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and finishing with 10 points.
It was enough to make you feel like this team is starting to hit its stride, its players finally starting to feel comfortable in their roles.
“We’re all learning each other,” Purvis noted. “We have a totally different team. The early struggles, I knew were gonna be there. We stuck with it, we’re staying positive, and I think we’re just getting better.”
“I just want us to stay connected,” said coach Kevin Ollie. “Each and every day, there’s gonna be adjustments we have to make. We’re gonna have to keep playing this way. That’s my main thing. It looks like they’re learning that, but the thing is, we’re staying connected. We’re sharing the basketball, we’re playing with enthusiasm and effort, and we’re playing for each other.”
Really, it all starts with Brimah. His energy knows no bounds, especially when he’s unsaddled by foul trouble. He had all six of his blocks in the first half, two of them reaching the stands (if not quite Hilltop Apartments) and added 13 points.
“Everyone feeds off everyone’s energy,” the 7-foot senior center said. “When everyone’s doing well, you can feed off everyone’s energy. We’re just happy for each other. When I’m doing good, everyone is happy and everyone just goes off that energy.”
Added Adams: “When he gets hyped up, everybody gets hyped up.”
Facey continued his strong play of late. Over his last nine games, the 6-9 senior is averaging 9.2 rebounds.
“I feel like I’m playing at a different level than I was before,” Facey said. “My teammates are on me every day to be more aggressive, and getting me the ball in positions where they know I can score.”
This appears to be a team hitting its stride. It’s certainly dug itself a deep hole, and there’s a long way to go. But for the first time all season, the Huskies are playing well, playing loose, playing together — and having fun.
That was as evident as the smile spread across Rodney Purvis’s face.