UConn’s Cole taking charge
Guard might be Huskies most important player
R.J. Cole was honored prior to Wednesday night’s game for having scored his 2,000th career point a few weeks earlier at Marquette.
If Cole continues his tenacious, fearless play on both sides of the ball, he could be feted for taking his 2,000th charge by season’s end.
OK, bit of an exaggeration. But along with currently leading UConn in scoring, assists and steals, Cole is far and away the team’s leader in drawing charges. He drew four charges in UConn’s 86-78, overtime victory over St. John’s on Wednesday at Gampel Pavilion. And while no such official records are kept, that matched what might have been the school record he set in a win over Coppin State on Nov. 13.
Cole has now drawn 14 charges this season. Again, no official records are kept, but that has to rival whatever number charges the human Visa, Phil Nolan, drew during any of his four seasons at UConn from 2012-16.
Taking charges isn’t for everybody. It’s a true skill, where a player has to have the coordination to keep his feet still while bearing the brunt of upper-body contact from an offensive player, not to mention the bravery to essentially fall backwards onto the hardwood.
“It’s natural, instinctual, just having a good feel for where you’re at on the court, and being at the right spots,” Cole said back in November. “And it’s personnel, knowing what the other team likes to do, so you can take those opportunities.”
Cole’s charge total was hardly the only impressive number he put up on Wednesday. The grad point guard scored 19 points, hit a couple of big 3-pointers, and doled out eight assists against just two turnovers in 38 minutes. He also helped hold Red Storm point guard Posh Alexander, who entered the game averaging 15.8 points, to a relatively harmless 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting (including 0-for-4 from 3).
It was quite a difference from a year earlier, when Alexander scored 18 points and hit a trio of 3-pointers as St. John’s rallied for a comeback win at Gampel.
“We needed him to win that matchup (Wednesday),” head coach Dan Hurley said after the game. “He didn’t win that matchup in the game that we lost here.”
So while Adama Sanogo put up the gaudiest numbers — 26 points, a careerhigh 18 rebounds and six blocked shots in 40 minutes — Cole may have played a more integral role in the