JALEN ADAMS

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 195

Year: Senior

Position: Guard

⏩ Hometown: Roxbury, Massachusetts

⏩ Career points: 1,267 (tied with Denham Brown for No. 31 all-time at UConn)

⏩ Honors: First-team all-AAC (2017), Second-team all-AAC (2018), AAC Tournament all-tourney team (2016, 2017) ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

as a coach is to do that with him, or else I’m cheating him every day with my job. This is a talented guy, a likeable guy, a guy that could be one of the best guards in the country. He’s got NBA talent. From here on forward, we’re accepting nothing less than him performing day-in and day-out like great players do.”

Adams agreed.

“I’ve just got to do the right thing and fall in love with the process,” he said. “There are no shortcuts to success, so I’ve got to buy in 100 percent to the coaching staff ’s game plan, and I’m sure things will work out for me.”

Thus far, Adams’s legacy at UConn is a 75-foot shot. He wants more. He wants to get back to the NCAA tournament.

“I really just want our team to experience what it’s like to get to the postseason and to continue to play in March,” he said recently. “That’s when the excitement’s happening and everyone’s watching. That’s really when the dreams do come true. I really want our team to get that experience. We really work so hard during the summer, don’t take many days off. It would be really great for our team to get that experience.”

It’s hardly out of the question. Hurley has made a habit of turning around college programs. He brings a no-nonsense attitude that should be good for a team that had developed bad habits the past couple of years — and especially good for Adams.

“Coach Hurley is exactly what Jalen needs his senior year,” said Smith. “As a prep player, in AAU, at Cushing and Brewster, Jalen’s so talented, I think at times it was too easy for him. I think what you’re gonna see this year as a senior with Danny, he’s gonna be that tough S.O.B. that Jalen needs. He’ll understand, ‘This is my last go-round, I’m gonna take this team to the tournament.’

“I think you’ll see him have a monster season.”