Hurley has his teachable moment

STORRS — In some sense, the UConn men are in an ideal position after two games.

Despite the preseason quarantine, the Huskies have banked two nonconference wins, even if coach Dan Hurley wishes they were “secret scrimmages.” And the coach has his teachable moment.

“It’s really humbling how far we have to go,” coach Dan Hurley said after the 69-57 win over UHart. “Watching Villanova [Friday] night and Seton Hall [Saturday], the better teams in our conference, they don’t put 40 minutes of this type of undisciplined play on the court. I’ve got to get fixed before [conference play] Dec. 11. Unfortunately for us, we’re going to learn a lot of really, really hard lessons.”

For context, Villanova, which had to quarantine earlier than UConn, favored to win the Big East, beat Boston College and Arizona State, coached by Hurley’s brother, Bobby, in the Mohegan Sun bubble

on Wednesday and Thursday. Seton Hall came off a quarantine Monday, traveled to Louisville and four days later pushed the Cardinals to the edge before losing, 71-70.

To that, Hurley can point and show his players what it will take to climb the next rung on the ladder to national respectability in his third season, the maturity and toughness to handle whatever is thrown their way. The Huskies nearly let a 19-point lead disappear against Hartford, which Hurley considered “immaturity,” typified by James Bouknight’s fade after a dynamic start.

Down the stretch, senior Isaiah

Whaley got more involved with the offense and helped secure the game with the most important of his 10 points and 10 rebounds. He even had four assists and a steal-andscore.

“We need more of those guys,” Hurley said. “We’re in Year 3, they should be leading this group. They need to be a lot more vocal, have a lot more presence. Isaiah’s got the capability of doing that. We saw the version of Isaiah that brings the value late, but we need that from the tip. We needed a lot more solid play from Isaiah, Tyler [Polley] and Brendan Adams.”

So there the focus will be, on veteran leadership, as the Huskies step up in competition and step into “Bubbleville.” Vanderbilt, UConn’s opponent Tuesday, opened it season Friday with a 77-71 win over Valparaiso as Scottie Pippen Jr. scored 25.

A few more takeaways from UConn’s win over UHart:

Hawks time

UHart, after the initial UConn wave, played very well and earned its way back in the game. The Hawks’ defense is legit, especially against the 3-pointer, on which UConn was 5-for-19. Polley, UConn’s best 3-point shooter, didn’t get off an attempt in 15 minutes. Playing without starting center, Miroslaw Stafl, who was suspended by coach John Gallagher, they nearly outrebounded the Huskies. They reached the America East Conference final last March, and look like they will again be a tough out in their league, though they were sixth in the preseason poll.

“They’re a good team,” Hurley said. “John does a hell of a job, they’ve got a hell of a culture, very organized. Playing against a 1-3-1 defense this early in the season when you’re trying to get your bearings is a tough thing to do.”

Best of all for UHart: Gallagher sees this roster staying together for the next three seasons.

X-Factor

Gallagher named R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin as “X-factors” for UConn, players who can make the difference as the Huskies start winning.

Martin, the 6-foot-6 transfer from Rhode Island, who sat out the first game due to an NCAA suspension for playing in a nonsanctioned summer league game, debuted off the bench and played 25 minutes, getting six points, three assists and 10 rebounds, his plus/minus at seven. He defended hard, but was called for just one of the Huskies’ 25 fouls.

“First game out, he showed a physical presence,” Hurley said, “and an ability to help you on the backboard, stealing you baskets. Just a big, athletic player. If he got a two-game suspension from the NCAA instead of a one? It might’ve been a bangbang game at the end. He was a difference-maker in 25 minutes.”

Foul trouble

UConn, it ’s defense more aggressive, was called for 24 fouls to UHart’s 15. The Hawks took 27 free throws to the Huskies’ 14. At times in the second half, it seemed like UConn was whistled each time down the floor.

Hurley’s take: “Dumb fouls. R.J. picking up his fourth foul 60 feet from the basket. We just weren’t in a stance, we were just sloppy, immature. They shot 32 percent from the floor, our close-out, 3-point line defense was so much better, we did a good job with a couple of other things. But it was just low level, low focus.”

Minutes watch

In a much tougher game than the opener, Hurley played nine of his 12 scholarship players. Neither senior Josh Carlton, redshirt freshman Richie Springs nor freshman Javonte Brown got off the bench. Hurley made it known Carlton is going to have to fight hard to win back the minutes to which he’s accustomed. The others are developing big men. With no mid-majors left on the schedule, it will be challenging to find time for them.