The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Gaffney an ‘X’ factor
Sophomore ready to unleash his skills, athleticisim
He was a highly-touted, ultraathletic freshman point guard who was playing well during the preseason a year ago when a high ankle sprain injury sidetracked things.
Initially only supposed to be sidelined for a couple of weeks, Jalen Gaffney wound up about six weeks behind. When he returned to action, he was tentative, rusty, could barely dunk or move laterally. It took a toll mentally, as well, after a remarkably injury-free prep career.
It showed in the early stages of UConn’s season, going scoreless — and barely attempting any shots — in his first three collegiate games. Midway through the season, the confidence and production improving, he was thrust into the role as starting point guard. The numbers improved, the wins started piling up, but the explosiveness and overall athleticism were never fully unleashed.
That will change this season. Indeed, there’s a lot that UConn fans can still learn, things they may not have known a year ago, about Jalen Makanaokeakua Gaffney. Let’s start with that middle name.
Gaffney’s mom, Christy, was born and raised in Hawaii. All of Christy and AD Gaffney’s five children have Hawaiian middle names.
“They all have meaning to what’s going on at that time,” AD reported.
One son’s middle name, for instance, translates to “Open the Gates of Heaven” in Hawaiian. For Jalen, the Gaffney’s middle child, Makanaokeakua translates to “Gift from God.”
No one is expecting Gaffney to be God’s gift to basketball this season. But the expectations are high. When asked recently who he thought could be the team’s biggest surprise, UConn coach Dan Hurely was quick to single out Gaffney.
“He’s a critical player,” Hurley said. “I don’t think people really understand how talented he is athletically, how much upside he has. He’s a real ‘X’ factor for us. He can take a big sophomore step forward. That will really elevate what we can do.”
The coach noted that Gaffney, who played at around 170 pounds last season, is up to about 188 after a summer weightlifting and training regimen under new strength and condi
tioning coach Mike Rehfeldt.
“He got more explosive, athletically,” Hurley reported.
Not that Gaffney’s freshman season was a wash. Far from it. After taking over the starting point guard role from struggling senior Alterique Gilbert in a Jan. 29 game against Temple, Gaffney helped direct the Huskies to nine wins in their final 12 games — including five straight to close out the season.
Gaffney scored in double figures in three of those games, including a careerhigh 12 against SMU on Feb. 12. More importantly, he was a steadying presence who restored some order to a backcourt that had been turning the ball over at far too high a rate.
“Our winning and our improved offensive play last year coincided with him maturing, developing and being inserted into the lineup,” said Hurley. “He just had such a positive impact as a point guard on our team, in terms of his poise, his IQ, his efficiency with the ball, just being easy to play with. The ball moved so much better when Jalen was on the court for us.”
It wasn’t all perfect. Taking over for Gilbert, a respected veteran, and jumping into a lineup led by senior Christian Vital and other multi-year starters, Gaffney was still a little tentative. Even his high school coached noticed.
“When I watched Jalen play, I definitely saw that he
was turning down some shots that I thought he should take,” said Seth Berger, head coach at Westtown School in West Chester, Pa. “But he was just transitioning into a point guard who’s there to serve his team. He didn’t want to be that guy coming in and taking shots from his teammates.”
“I was a little timid last year,” Gaffney confessed, “just trying to run the team and not trying to do too much or make any mistakes. I think this year, I’m a lot more confident in my skill and my play, so I’ll definitely be able to show a lot more.”
That means displaying the type of boundless athleticism he showed at Westtown, where Gaffney had “arguably the best individual season any Westtown player has ever had” as a senior, according to Berger.
“He moves so effortlessly around the court,” said Hurley. “He doesn’t look like he has a ton of speed, but he’s very effortless, in terms of his mobility, the way he gets off the floor. You saw it last year, the reverse layup at XL against Central Florida, the spinning layup against Houston. You saw flashes of athleticism, just not the above-the-rim (athleticism) — which I think you’ll see this year.”
‘HE’S A LOT MORE CONFIDENT’
After COVID-19 wiped out the remainder of the college basketball season last March, Gaffney returned to his Columbus, N.J. home and stayed sharp and in shape, by running and by requesting the re
turn of an adjustable basketball hoop to the family’s driveway.
For years, the Gaffneys would host family and neighborhood basketball battles. But as the kids got older, the hoop got wheeled away.
Now, with gyms closed and public courts shut down, Jalen needed to get his shots up.
“Dad,” he told AD, “we need a hoop.”
It took a while to find one in the midst of the pandemic, but eventually, the Gaffneys got a new driveway hoop. Once things started opening up a bit, Jalen began working out at a training facility in Colts Neck, N.J., with several of his former Team Rio AAU teammates and even AD himself, a former Brooklyn College and University of Portland star and childhood friend of UConn associate head coach Kimani Young.
When Gaffney returned to UConn this summer, he began an extensive workout regimen under Rehfeldt, the well-respected strength coach that UConn poached from Cincinnati in July.
The extra muscle will benefit Gaffney in many ways.
“Just getting by people and not getting bumped off his move,” Hurley noted. “I think you’re gonna see that from him. When he makes that initial burst with the dribble, people aren’t going to be able to bump him quite as easily, because he’s up 15 pounds and he’s got upper body strength, and lower-body strength that’s gonna allow him to play more north-south.”
His teammates have
taken notice.
“He’s a lot more confident on offense,” senior forward Isaiah Whaley said. “I feel like last year, he was a little passive at times. He never really looked for his own shot sometimes. Now, he’s a lot more aggressive. That gives an advantage on offense, when you’re point guard is able to attack and force the defense to play him. He’s gonna have the opportunity to dish it to more people.”
Of course, Gaffney, who returned to practice on Friday after missing a few workouts due to a minor knee issue, isn’t even guaranteed a starting role on this deep and talented team. He’s currently in a fierce — but friendly — battle for the starting point guard spot with R.J. Cole, a high-scorer who sat out last season after transferring from Howard University.
“We’re definitely competing for minutes with each other,” said Gaffney, “but me and him are the best of friends. Off the court and on the court, we compete with each other every single day. I’m glad to have R.J. as a teammate.”
“That’s kind of one of the great things about who Jalen is,” said Berger. “He’s such a great kid. He probably needed a year just to get comfortable. He’s a great teammate, first and foremost. He’s a really unselfish kid, despite the fact he’s so talented.”
That’s Jalen Makanaokeakua Gaffney, maybe not God’s gift to basketball, but a “Gift from God,” nonetheless.