Hurley: Freshmen can win if surrounded by the right cast

NEW YORK — The first talking point of the NCAA Tournament is the end of the one-and-done era. John Calipari, who rebuilt the Kentucky empire with five-star freshmen, hasn’t won it all since 2012 and on Thursday was stunned by Oakland in the first round.

“The era of taking these young freshmen and trying to play against older players is over,” former Villanova coach Jay Wright said during the CBS telecasts.

Name-imagine-likeness has players staying in college longer, the extra year due to COVID has some players staying until age 24.

But Uconn, which has had only one “one-anddone”

in its history, Andre Drummond in 2011-12, is expected to have another in Stephon Castle. The Huskies are 32-3, the defending champs and top overall seed in the tournament. Castle is surrounded by older players: Cam Spencer will turn 24 on April 6, Hassan Diarra is 23, Tristen Newton, a fifth-year player, turns 23 in April..

So Dan Hurley’s approach to program building is becoming a desirable blueprint.

“Number one, you’ve got to insulate big-time freshmen like Steph Castle around the core of returners to your program every year,” Hurley said, after Uconn’s 91-52 win over Stetson in the first round. “And then supplement with the (transfer) portal.

So you can’t miss on high school kids, you can’t miss on player development.

“I think you’ve got to do it in a strategic way. And Jaylin Stewart is another freshman that right now is helping us as a freshman but has a chance to be a star as a sophomore. So I just think there’s a timing and a planning that comes, the way that you construct and architect your roster. And it’s got to be a mix of portal, high school players, insulated by also a core of returners to your program.”

Uconn led 52-19 and became just the third team in 20 years to lead an NCAA game by at least 30 at the half in the last 20 years. Nevertheless, Hurley told CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson as he walked off the court: “Everything should be automatic this time of year and just, defensively. It’s human nature I guess but just to throttle down right there like that late, that’s not championship-level,” he said.

Stetson closed the half with four consecutive makes, slimming down what was once a 36-point Uconn advantage. … Nine different players scored in the first half for Uconn. … Uconn has now won its last seven NCAA Tournament games by double digits, the fifth time in Tournament history that has happened. The record in this area is nine by Michigan State from 2000-01 … With FAU’S loss to Northwestern, former Husky Jalen Gaffney played his 159th and final college game.