Huskies excited to kick off the season
STORRS — Akok Akok, normally a stoic sort, couldn’t wipe the smile off his face after practice on Thursday afternoon.
After about a 10month wait, the freshman forward will finally make his UConn debut on Friday when the Huskies kick off their regular season against Sacred Heart at Gampel Pavilion (7 p.m., SNY).
“I’m very ready,” Akok said. “This the moment I’ve been waiting for since January. Every single night, all this time in practice, workouts, all summer, I’ve been praying for this moment. Now that it’s here, I’m blessed.”
Akok, a 6foot9 forward, joined the Huskies as a nonplaying walkon last January. After watching from the bench all last season, Akok couldn’t contain his excitement prior to UConn’s exhibition bout with Saint Michael’s on Oct. 30 at the XL Center.
As the team’s cheerleaders and dance squad ran out from a runway onto the floor about 10 minutes before gametime, Akok started running out with them. Senior Christian Vital had to shout to Akok to come back and wait a moment before the team ran out together.
“I’ve been waiting for over a year,” Akok noted, that smile still spread across his face. “I’m very excited.”
Akok and freshman guard Jalen Gaffney will make their Husky debuts on Friday. Freshman guard James Bouknight will have to wait another couple of weeks, however. Coach Dan Hurley announced on Thursday that Bouknight will sit out the Huskies first three games this season due to an arrest on Sept. 27 for an oncampus vehicular incident.
Official practices started back on Sept. 28, so the entire UConn team is excited to get this thing going.
“We had a long, long preseason,” Vital said. “It’s just gonna be fun to suit up with my brothers.”
Vital, the team’s lone senior, will be playing in his final seasonopener at UConn. He has bad memories of his own UConn freshman debut — a stunning, home loss to Wagner on Nov. 11, 2016 — and doesn’t want this year’s crop of freshmen to have a similar experience.
“I definitely don’t want to start the way we did my freshman year,” Vital said. “Just tell (the freshmen) to stay poised, stay confident, keep a level mind. Just have fun, embrace it, and you’re not gonna be out there alone.”
Alterique Gilbert, a redshirt junior, also played in that Wagner game. He knows what UConn’s young players will be going through on Friday.
“A little bit of jitters, a lot of excitement, though, more than anything,” he said. “They worked really hard all summer. I think they’re ready.”
Of course, this could also be Gilbert’s final UConn seasonopener. He is on pace to graduate in May and has said he’s treating this season as if it’s his senior year.
“I haven’t thought about that too much, honestly,” Gilbert said. “I’ve just been thinking about the first game. I’m just excited.”
He’s not alone with that emotion, as Akok Akok’s megawatt smile proved on Thursday afternoon.
RIM RATTLINGS: Hurley was asked about assistant coach Kenya Hunter, who has taken a leave of absence from the team for a medical situation.
“He’s in good spirits. We miss him a lot. The players have all been in contact. We’ve all had a chance to see him and we’ve all been in constant contact with him. Hopefully, he’ll be back soon for us, at some point.” ⏩ There are still tickets remaining for Friday night’s seasonopener.