Hawkins, Jackson return to lead UConn to win
STORRS — With 3 minutes and 40 seconds left in the first half Friday night, the UConn men’s basketball team got a taste of what it’s been missing over the first three games of the season.
Andre Jackson Jr. drove from the top of the key and fired a pinpoint pass in the right-hand corner to Jordan Hawkins, who calmly swished a 3-pointer.
There was more. A little less than five minutes into the latter half, Jackson picked Jamarli Thomas’ pocket near halfcourt and quickly hit Hawkins in stride for a rousing slam dunk.
And late in the game, with UConn owning a 31-point lead, there was Jackson scrambling frantically on the floor for a loose ball — all energy and desire.
“He’s the best leader that I’ve ever been around as a player, and I’m not sure it’s even close,” coach Dan Hurley said of Jackson. “Total savage, man.”
Hawkins hadn’t played since suffering a concussion midway through the first half of the Huskies’ Nov. 7 seasonopener. Jackson hadn’t played all season after breaking his right pinkie finger in practice back in October.
But Hawkins’ silkysmooth jump shot and Jackson’s furious energy were back on Friday at Gampel Pavilion, giving No. 25 UConn a needed jolt in an 86-50 win over UNC-Wilmington.
Adama Sanogo led the way with 24 points and Alex Karaban added 12 as the Huskies improved to 4-0. But it was the return of Hawkins and Jackson that mattered most. And the duo didn’t disappoint.
Hawkins hit 5 of 8 3-pointers for a career-high 20 points. Even his misses looked true.
“He looked sharp,” Hurley said of the 6-foot-5 sophomore. “He let it come to him. A little rusty with the ball, but that happens. It’s the hardest thing to get back when you miss time is handeye coordination. The missed dunk, and he was bobbling the ball a little bit out there.”
“For a guy that’s been out, and against a team that plays as hard as they do,” Hurley added, “he looked pretty damn good.”
Hawkins, who missed all four of his field goal attempts before getting injured against Stonehill, started on Friday and was busy early. He drew a charge and grabbed a defensive rebound within the first four minutes, but also turned the ball over and missed an open dunk.