Huskies may have a different look this season
Dan Hurley had a lot to say about his team at a media availability last week , giving reports on just about every player on next season’s roster except recent grad transfer commit Joey Calcaterra (who hadn’t signed his financial aid papers at the time, thus preventing Hurley from talking about him).
Here are a few the things Hurley said that particularly stood out, revealing what type of team he plans to run out there in his fifth season at the helm.
“DRE WILL BE ON THE BALL … A LOT”
Conventional wisdom dictates that Tristen Newton, the high-scoring senior who transferred from East Carolina in April, will be the Huskies’ starting point guard. Maybe so, but Newton may be more valuable as an elite scorer who can take the ball to the hole and/or knock down 3’s. Hassan Diarra, the gritty New Yorker with the clutch gene, would figure to be Newton’s back-up at point. But again, that’s narrowing down Diarra’s abilities a bit too much.
“The beauty of guys like Tristen and Hass,” said Hurley, “is they can play on the ball and get you into stuff, create for others, but they’re comfortable playing off the ball, letting Dre take it and create in transition, or create in the ball-screen game, where Dre is a really outstanding passer and creator.”
Ah yes, Dre. That’s Andre Jackson, the versatile, 6-foot-6 wing who can also man the point. He may not match Pistol Pete Maravich, one of his idols, as a ballhandler, but Jackson proved last season that he can facilitate on the fast break, find his big man on the low post and get his team into its offense.
“Dre will be on the ball a lot,” Hurley promised. “He’ll be facilitating around an outstanding 5-man (Adama Sanogo) and three other guys who can shoot and score. It’s going to create driving lanes for him, and passing options.”
The Huskies want to play a four-out style where Jackson is the worst perimeter shooter of the four. With guys like Newton, fellow transfer Nahiem Alleyne, a theoretically much-improved Jordan Hawkins and freshman sharpshooter Alex Karaban in the fold (not to mention possible long-range help from Calcaterra and Samson Johnson), the Huskies may have the right combination to do that. And that’s impressive, since despite an unorthodox shooting style, Jackson was actually third on the team in 3-pointer percentage last season at 36.1 per
AL HORFORD, PT. 2?
Adama Sanogo wants to play in the NBA as badly as any Husky since Ryan Boatright. The latter never got his chance, but Sanogo still feels he will, if he contours his body and his game to the NBA style.
The 6-foot-9 center wants to get his weight down to about 235 pounds and play away from the basket a bit more. He’s working on improving his handle, his passing, his ability to face up, take bigger guys away from the basket and drive them.
Oh, and also to knock down a few 3-pointers. He’s only attempted one in his first two seasons in Storrs, but expect more attempts this season. And by several accounts, he can make them.
“He saw how Al Horford changed his body,” Hurley said of the Celtics’ veteran big man, who attempted the second-most 3-pointers of his career this past season. “He’s looking to re-invent himself for today’s game, be a switchable defender and play out in space.”
Sanogo will almost certainly be the Huskies’ starting five-man to begin the season, with 7-2 freshman Donovan Clingan backing him up. But the idea of Clingan and Sanogo sharing the floor, perhaps even in the same starting lineup, isn’t out of the realm at
some point this season. Both players are uniquely skilled big men, but both are also looking to step out and extend their game to 15 feet — or more.
A BAKER’S DOZEN?
Hurley said last month that UConn may leave one or two of their 13 available scholarships open, for at least the start of next season. Last week, he stated that the Huskies will fill their 12th scholarship by “Summer 2” — which means the first week of July, when the second summer session begins. So, we should hear about the newest Husky at some point over the next couple of weeks. With virtually all of the top 100 transfer prospects already spoken for, expect it to be another role player, a la Calcaterra.
Or, it could be Class of 2022 recruit or 2023 reclass. Hurley also said it’s possible UConn would fill its 13th scholarship, as well, if they can find some players with “high upside.” That likely would mean a player who could use a year of development at the collegiate level. Hurley, after all, believes he could lose Sanogo, Jackson and Hawkins to the NBA Draft next summer.
Still, it’s more likely the Huskies stop at 12. Either way, barring any last-minute surprises, don’t expect UConn’s 12th and/or 13th players to have a major impact right away.