Huskies hoping Wilson makes a ‘splash’
BRANFORD — It’s been an up-and-down start to Sid Wilson’s college basketball career, to say the least.
Committing to St. John’s (over UConn) while at Brewster Academy in 2017, he wanted out shortly after arriving in Queens for summer classes and had transferred to UConn by September.
Hoping to garner a waiver to play immediately for the Huskies in 2017-18, he never got one — apparently with no help from St. John’s — and wound up merely a spectator the entire season.
Ready to finally get his playing career going at the start of last season, he was forced to sit out the Huskies’ first six games due to a violation of university policy that had occurred the prior season.
When Wilson finally got to start playing last season, the results were similarly up-and-down — literally and figuratively. The 6foot-7 jumping jack struggled to find a spot in the rotation for a while, contributing a thunderous block shot or monster putback jam — “splash plays,” coach Dan Hurley calls them — until finally finding his way into the starting lineup on Feb. 10 in Memphis.
Wilson responded with a career-best effort (16 points, six rebounds) but struggled to maintain consistency and, ultimately, finding himself coming off the bench again by season’s end.
Wilson’s second season of playing at UConn will be a critical one. The Huskies need his athleticism. They also need more consistency and maturity.
“This year is a good year for Sid to really understand what it is, and the work that he’s got to do, physically on his body, and obviously his offensive skills, to develop a game at that end of the court,” Hurley said on Wednesday at the UConn Coaches’ Road Show’s second stop at Stony Creek Brewery. “Sid’s got big upside, he’s got a chance to be a great player for us. It’s a big summer for him to develop. This is a big season for him, kind of in a similar way with Josh and Tyler, just to be better and show improvement.”
Wilson, who wound up averaging 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game last season, doesn’t seem to have a set position. However, he boasts something that has been largely missing from recent UConn teams.
“He brings the ability to make game-changing plays — a weak-side block, a tip dunk, getting in the passing lane,” Hurley noted. “Those are critical. To have players that can steal points athletically is a huge asset. It’s developing some nuance in his game, developing that skill-set (that needs work). Sid has to be an impact player for us to get the program moving in a quicker direction forward.”
Hurley was asked about Wilson’s work ethic.
“It’s getting there. It’s getting there,” the coach said. “Sid had a great spring, he’s got to follow that up with a great summer. The same way that Josh and Tyler, in particular, had a great summer and spring last year ... Sid’s got to keep that commitment to the game at a high level (and have) the mental toughness to fight through the season as he’s still a developing player.”
RIM RATTLINGS
⏩ While Kevin Ollie’s hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions earlier this month was likely filled with enforcement staff members and lawyers, there was at least one other interesting — or, perhaps, interested — onlooker: Dan Hurley.
While Hurley obviously had nothing to do with the alleged infractions that occurred on Ollie’s watch and led to his firing, the NCAA often requests — even mandates — that coaches who take over for the coach appearing before the committee attend the hearing. So, Hurley was in Indianapolis a few weeks ago.
While unable to provide any specific details about Ollie’s hearing, an NCAA spokesperson noted that this is not uncommon. The NCAA often requests the new coach to attend these private hearings, either to answer certain questions (which certainly doesn’t appear to be the case with Hurley) or, at the very least, for observational purposes. ⏩ UConn could be heading overseas in the summer of 2020. The Huskies are eligible for a foreign trip and are hoping to do so next summer, most likely in Europe. Such trips, which usually last 7-10 days, are seen as excellent teambonding opportunities.
Hurley took Rhode Island on a summer trip to Italy Aug. 2-12, 2013, prior to the start of his second season at the Rams’ helm.