Huskies fourth in conference poll

Sophomore Bouknight a preseason All-Big East second-team selection

The Big East coaches have welcomed UConn back to the league by picking the Huskies to finish fourth in the conference this season.

“The postseason order of finish and awards, to me, are the only things that matter,” coach Dan Hurley said. “I like where we’re at as a program, going into the season. I think we’ve got a lot of momentum, and we want to continue to build on that.”

Meanwhile, sophomore guard James Bouknight is a preseason All-Big East second-team selection. Bouknight, who averaged 13 points per game last season and was one of the better players in the country over the final few weeks of the season, didn’t take not earning first-team honors as an insult.

“I’m honestly honored that the coaches feel that I’m a top-10 player in the league,” he said. “I know everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, he’s coming from the AAC, the competition is much better (in the Big East).’ But I’m just honored that they think I’m a secondteam player.”

Added Hurley: “First team or second team, we have the highest expectations for the type of season James can put together. I think James is gonna prove himself to be, potentially, one of the best guards in the country this year.”

Hurley knows that there will be a lot of pressure and focus this season on Bouknight, a potential 2021 NBA first-round draft pick. But he believes the

consistently, every year.”

In fairness, Willard seemed to agree with that assessment.

“For the league in general, I think (UConn’s return) is great,” the 11th-year Pirates coach said. “Great program, great tradition, great history. I think the program, where it’s at now with Danny, it’s definitely on the rise. They have great players. I’m a big fan of what Dan does and how he coaches and how his teams play. And I think it’s only gonna make this league better. Obviously, we’ve been the best basketball league in the country three of the last four years. I think they just help us to continue that trend.”

At the 2019 Big East Media Day last October at Madison Square Garden, Providence coach Ed Cooley was vocal and honest about not looking forward to UConn’s return.

“I think it’s gonna be a bear to deal with,” Cooley said at the time. “Regionally, with Providence College and Seton Hall, in particular ... we’re gonna have our hands full when it comes to competing against them ... I think we gave Connecticut new life. We gave their fan base new life. They finally came to the conclusion that they are a basketball-centric school. They poured all their money in football, and in my opinion, it was going into a hole. When you’ve become a national brand in one sport and try to parlay into something it isn’t, shame on you for making the decision upfront.”

On Wednesday, Cooley took a far more politicallycorrect tone.

“Dan is a phenomenal coach,” the 10th-year Friars coach said. “We’re excited to have Connecticut back. It’s a regional game for us, they’re an original Big East member. It’s a natural fit. It’s gonna be exciting to go to Gampel or Hartford. The fanbase on both sides will be excited to play one another. He’s done a really good job building that program back. It’s a national program. I’ll be excited to see Geno (Auriemma), who I’m very, very close with. So, it’ll be a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to competing against a very, very good basketball team.”

Hurley returned the compliments for Cooley, the former Fairfield coach..

“It’s really a great, regional rivalry,” he said of PC-UConn. “It’s gonna have the highest level of intensity in those games. Providence has got a really incredibly passionate fan base. And they know basketball. The amazing coaches that have coached there, played there. To compete against Ed is always great. It’s always an honor to compete against a great coach like Ed, who’s had to earn it every step of his career. He had to prove himself at the low-to-midmajor level as a head coach, then turned Providence into a perennial NCAA program.”

Certainly, Providence and Seton Hall stand to be two of the teams that could be adversely affected by UConn’s return. The East Coast schools will be competing for many of the same recruits in the ensuing years.

“I can’t tell recruits, ‘ You know what it’s like to play at Tulane and East Carolina and those places?,’ ” Willard said at last year’s Big East Media Day, referring to a couple of UConn’s now-former AAC competitors. “It doesn’t work anymore.”

Indeed, Willard has already been hurt by UConn’s presence. Adama Sanogo, the Huskies’ talented, 6foot-10 freshman center, had told his high school coach back in April that he intended to commit to Seton Hall. A couple of weeks later, he committed to the Huskies.

But don’t tell Hurley that his recent success on the recruiting trail is completely tied to the return to the Big East.

“We were well on our way to getting the level of talent in here, back to the level we needed to be,” he said. “Our first recruiting class, when there was no hint of the Big East, was ( James) Bouknight, Akok Akok, Jalen Gaffney and (transfer) R.J. Cole. So, we were already recruiting at a very high level.”

“But,” Hurley added, “it certainly has enhanced that. It just adds to the excitement level surrounding us.”

As UConn does for the Big East, the coach surmised.

“We’ll be adding another element of excitement to the conference that will allow it to stand up to the ACC and the Big Ten and the SEC and the Big 12,” Hurley said. “That’s who we’re competing with, as a conference. We want to be considered the best basketball conference in the country, so logically, it would make sense to be excited about a program with UConn’s brand coming in.”