Whaley pops off
Forward helps Huskies roll past Saint Michael’s in exhibition
HARTFORD — Isaiah Whaley used to go by the nickname “Pork Chop” — something he picked up when he was in fifth grade in a class with another kid whose first name was Isaiah.
“The teacher asked me what my favorite thing was,” Whaley recalled. “I told her my favorite thing was pork chops. You might was well start calling me ‘Pork Chop.’ ”
It stuck, to the point where UConn coach Dan Hurley and his teammates called him that last season. They’ve got a new nickname now, however.
“Poppers,” Whaley revealed on Wednesday night. “Since I shoot a lot of midrange pops now.”
As if to illustrate the new moniker, the 6foot8 junior forward popped in 14 points in UConn’s 10364, exhibition game win over Saint Michael’s at XL Center — many of them from his newfound range.
Alterique Gilbert led the Huskies with 21 points, Christian Vital added 15 points, a teamhigh nine rebounds and six assists and six steals, and Brendan
Adams (14) and Tyler Polley also scored in double figures in a game coach Dan Hurley wasn’t exactly losing much sleep over.
“You just want to get out of there without anything really bad happening,” the secondyear Husky coach said. “We got out of it healthy, and now we can just lock in at Sacred Heart.”
The Huskies begin their regular season on Friday,
Nov. 8 against Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion. This was UConn’s lone exhibition game this season.
It appeared for a bit it could be a bad night for the Huskies, who only led by eight over the vastly outsized Purple Knights early in the second half. But UConn ripped off an 180 run, highlighted by 10 points — including, at one point,
seven in a row — by Gilbert.
The rest of the game was pretty much a chance for the Huskies to flex their muscles. And no one does that better these days than Whaley, who put on about 20 pounds of muscle since the end of last season.
It’s the result of staying on campus while many of his teammates went home — Whaley hasn’t been home since spring break — and working hard to get better.
“I knew I was gonna lock myself in the gym, because I really want to contribute to this team, and I want to help us make a run to do something special,” Whaley said. “I knew I was gonna work the hardest I ever worked before.”
Whaley was one of the few UConn players, along with Vital and Josh Carlton, to stay on campus during May session last spring.
“Every day, I told myself to get better at something,” he recalled. “Even though I wasn’t playing, I still was trying to get Josh better by challenging Josh every day. By challenging him, I got better, too. During the offseason, I knew it was gonna be a huge offseason for me to prove a lot of people wrong and showcase what I can really do.”
“No one really saw the work he was putting in,” Vital said. “He was one of the few guys, myself included, who stayed during that May session. A lot of guys go home, but (he) knew the challenge that coach had for him. He took it personally, but in a good way. He accepted it. Today was just a small glimpse of the work that he put in over the summer, and just a small showing of what he’s going to be able to do this whole season.”
Whaley, who noted that former Husky Kentan Facey was also there helping him a great deal in May, played sparingly last season. But he never let it get him down.
“Usually, you can see on a guy’s face during the course of the season, guys in a limited role are superfrustrated and may have one foot out the door on you,” Hurley noted. “But he never really showed us that side of him. He worked hard all of last year. Once I met with him, postseason last year, he’s been shot out of a cannon ever since.”
And those shots were true and accurate for “Poppers” on Wednesday night.
RIM RATTLINGS
Freshman Richie Springs was deemed a partialqualifier by the NCAA Clearinghouse and will use the 201920 season as an academic redshirt year. The problem had more to do with coursework than any academic shortcomings. Springs, a 6foot9 forward from MacDuffie School, will continue to practice with the team, but will not play in games or travel with the team to road games. He will maintain four years of eligibility, beginning with the 202021 season.
“Richie would have been the third big behind Isaiah, because he’s probably not really ready to get minutes at the four yet ,” said Hurley. “We’re losing a thirdstring center, and maybe a guy who would have pushed Sid for some minutes at the four. But Richie is a bigtime future investment for us, and he’s gonna be a bigtime player.”
James Bouknight, the freshman guard who was arrested on Oct. 21 on charges stemming from a Sept. 27 oncampus incident, sat on the bench in street clothes but did not play. The school had nothing new to say about Bouknight’s status.
“Stay tuned for that,” Hurley said.
UConn welcomed a new “teammate” at halftime. Rylan Ellingwood, 7, of Ellington signed an “official” letter of intent to join the Huskies through Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit organization that connects children facing serious or chronic illnesses with college athletic teams. As a team member, Rylan will attend UConn practices, games, team dinners, events and more.
“This guy possesses the qualities we want our Huskies to (have) — determination, work ethic, highcharacter, toughness,” Hurley said.