The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Huskies hope to set pace against DePaul
STORRS — Things may be a bit chaotic for Geno Auriemma and Co. Monday in Chicago.
At least, that’s how life normally is for anyone facing DePaul.
The Blue Demons’ playing style is unconventional, to say the least. Offensively, they play at a frenetic pace, chucking up 3pointers at a rate that hardly anyone in the country can match. Defensively, they press, trap and try to create chaos.
“There’s nobody else in the country, I think, that plays like this,” the UConn coach said Saturday.
The Blue Demons are so unpredictable that preparing for them is a difficult, sometimes even
impossible, task.
“There’s no rhyme or reason to what they do. … They will press you in many different ways, and there’s nothing you can do to prepare for it,” Auriemma said.
It tends to work in DePaul’s favor — just not against UConn. The Blue Demons have won two straight and four of the six Big East titles since the Huskies landed in the American Athletic Conference. This season, they’re off to a 91 start that has them ranked 16th in the country.
However, No. 2 UConn is 161 alltime against DePaul. The Blue Demons’ only victory in the series came way back in 1983, when both Auriemma and his friend, Doug Bruno, were assistants at other schools. Monday’s matchup at Wintrust Arena (8 p.m.) will be the Huskies’ first against a ranked opponent this season.
Teams that are successful against DePaul are patient and able to exploit mismatches, Auriemma said. The Blue Demons don’t have a lot of size — their two tallest players, Kiara Dallmann and Nadege Jean, are both 6foot2 — but they are extremely deep. Twelve players are averaging at least 10 minutes per game, led by Chante Stonewall, who is also the team’s No. 1 scorer (17.1).
“Are they going to impose their will or are we going to be able to stay and say, ‘No, this is who are we, this is what we do,’ and not get caught up in that?” Auriemma asked, rhetorically. “How many 3s are they going to get? As many as they want. What kind of 3s they get, that’s going to be the challenge.”
Only one team in the country has attempted more 3pointers than DePaul (353). The Blue Demons hoisted 44 attempts from behind the arc against the Huskies last season — a record for a UConn opponent — and 43 the year before. UConn won those games by 36 and 34 points, respectively.
“DePaul is unlike any other team in the country,” senior point guard Crystal Dangerfield said. “You have to focus on what they want
to do a little bit more.
“I remember going down there my sophomore year, and the first five minutes of the game I’m like, ‘What are we doing, all this running?’ We want to make sure that we go down there playing our game and not get too whacked out about the pace of it.”
Coming off a sevenday break for Thanksgiving, the Huskies (80) are wellrested, which should benefit them if Monday turns into a track meet. Obviously, they’d prefer if it didn’t.
“They’ll play that way, and they’ll play that way the whole entire game” senior point guard Molly Bent said. “It’s a test of our stamina too because they play that way every game, so they’re in great shape. They’ll be up in your grill the entire game. It should be fun.”
dbonjour@ctpost.com; @DougBonjour
NEW YORK — The 2020 Heisman Trophy race will start with a couple of clear frontrunners and plenty of room for other stars to emerge, the way LSU’s Joe Burrow did this year.
Six contenders for 2020, ranked from most likely to least.
Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State: The only Heisman finalist likely to be back in college next season. Unless Fields’ teammate, Chase Young, shocks the college football world and decides to come back for his senior year. Fields is not likely to have teammates like Young and running back J.K. Dobbins cluttering up the Heisman field. He will be the clear top Buckeye. Expectations will be sky high after he threw 40 touchdown passes and just one interception in his first season at Ohio State.
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson: Fields and Lawrence both played their high school ball in Georgia and were in the same recruiting class. They were Nos. 1 and 1a among quarterback prospects in 2018, so it seems appropriate they would battle it out for the Heisman — and then maybe to be the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Lawrence’s 2019 Heisman campaign never gained traction after he played less than his best over the first month of the season. He played great over the final two months, but Clemson was so overwhelming that Lawrence and the Tigers were sort of forgotten. Glancing ahead to the Clemson’s 2020 schedule, there is a chance that could happen again.
Jake Fromm, QB, Georgia: Fromm did not play very well for much of this season, with a 139.67 efficiency rating that ranked 55th in the nation. But remember, last year Burrow finished with a 133.21 rating that ranked 65th in the country. If Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart can go the route LSU coach Ed Orgeron did and find someone to revamp Georgia’s offense, maybe Fromm takes off next season like Burrow this year.
Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma:
ASooners quarterback has been a Heisman finalist the last four years. The next one up should be a little different from the last three in that he likely won’t be a transfer. Rattler was a huge recruit in the 2019 class and the frontrunner to slide into coach Lincoln Riley’s Heisman machine.
Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina and Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State: The Heisman almost always goes to a player on a playoff contender. An exception is occasionally made for a player who lifts his team above its usual standards. Think Robert Griffin III at Baylor in 2011 or Lamar Jackson at Louisville in 2016. Howell was the most productive freshman quarterback in the country this season, with 3,347 yards passing and 35 touchdown passes. Purdy is fifth in the nation in yards passing at 313 yards per game. If either could push his school into nine or 10victory territory, maybe Heisman buzz will follow.
A RUNNING BACK
The Heisman is a quarterback’s award now. Seventeen QBs have won the award since 2000. Running backs have a hard time even breaking into the group of finalists. This season featured some wildly productive runners such as Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin (fifth in the Heisman voting), Dobbins (sixth), Chuba Hubbard of Oklahoma State (eighth) and Travis Etienne of Clemson (ninth). None made it to New York and there is a good chance all will be off to the NFL next year. You could slot Alabama’s Najee Harris or Georgia’s D’Andre Swift into this spot if they come back for their senior seasons. But what are the chances of that?
Javian Hawkins of Louisville is likely to enter next season as the leading returning rusher among Power Five conference players after going for more than 1,400 as a freshman. But realistically, if a guy with the resume of Taylor can’t get an invitation to New York, what running back can?
EXTRA POINT
Three more names to keep in mind: Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU; Kedon Slovis, QB, Southern California; and Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Memphis.