The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Cole thriving in new role off the bench
It’s been an eventful second season at UConn for R.J. Cole, to say the least.
After sitting out last season as a transfer from Howard, Cole beat out sophomore incumbent Jalen Gaffney for the starting point guard role and has quickly learned the challenges that come with it.
A couple of good games to start got him off on a good foot. A couple of missed free throws in an overtime loss to Creighton showed him the pressures of being a starting point guard in the Big East. He even felt compelled to tweet out an apology to UConn fans after that game.
A stretch of inconsistent play ousted him from the starting lineup. Now, consecutive strong games off the bench — capped by Saturday’s season-best 24-point, seven-assist gem in a win at Xavier — present the dilemma of moving him back into the starting lineup, or keeping him in his role as a “Microwave” off the bench.
For Cole’s part, he’s fine either way.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” the 6-foot-1 junior insisted. “I’ll play whatever position my team needs me — come off the bench, starting, whatever it is. I just want to be here for my teammates. As long as I can provide my input, my spark, I’m fine, no matter what my role is.”
Cole started UConn’s first 11 games, averaging 11 points, shooting 35.7 percent from the floor and 33.9 percent from 3. His assistto-turnover ratio was about 2-to-1. Good, but coach Dan
Hurley was expecting more.
After Gaffney had a career-best 20 points off the bench in a Feb. 6 loss to Seton Hall, Hurley decided to switch things up and insert Gaffney back into the starting lineup and bring Cole off the bench. It certainly seemed to light a spark under Cole.
In Wednesday’s loss at Providence, Cole had 10 points and five assists at halftime as the Huskies owned a one-point lead. He didn’t do much in the latter half, however, with just
four points and an assist, and PC rolled to a 70-59 win.
“He’s had really good halves,” Hurley noted, “and then he hasn’t given us that second half in games that could put us over the top.”
So, when Cole popped off the bench for another good first half on Saturday at Xavier (12 points, five assists), Hurley challenged him at halftime to keep it up.
“He’s been trying to push another gear from me,” Cole acknowledged. “Coach told me that you have to put a second half together now, this is the time to do it.”
This time, he came through. Cole scored a dozen more points in the latter half and hit 5 of 7 3-pointers overall in by far his best game as a Husky. It was a far cry from his best statistical game of his career — Cole averaged 23.7 points per game as a freshman at Howard, 21.4 as a sophomore and once poured in 42 points in a game against UNC-Wilmington.
But considering the level of competition and how desperate UConn was for a victory, this may have been the defining game in Cole’s career to this point.
“This is the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Cole said after the game. “I was just happy I could be there for my teammates today. It took me a while to get to this point, but I’m happy I could do that today.”
Added Hurley: “If you’re gonna win in a league like
this, you need to have guys that have those types of performances.”
Now, the dilemma. Gaffney hasn’t played very well in his two games back in the starting lineup (seven points, three assists, three turnovers) and has played far less minutes than Cole in both games. Does Hurley switch things up again and bring the hot hand back to the starting lineup? Or does he keep Cole in his role as instant offense off the bench?
An interesting decision. Either way, R.J. Cole is fine with whatever role allows him to help his team win.
“I mean, to me, it’s basketball,” he said. “Big East, anything, it’s basketball. You’ve been doing this for your whole life. Competition is what you want to be a part of. Just figuring out how I can fit in and try to incorporate myself into the flow of the game here, I think I’ve found it. I’ve been struggling earlier in the season to get that flow. I think I figured it out. It came down to my teammates and coaching staff believing in me, and me believing in myself.”