The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Poor shooting, fouls plague Huskies
Exhibition benefits hurricane relief
UNCASVILLE — UConn couldn’t shoot, and that could be a big issue. And the Huskies didn’t defend the shot too well, either, allowing Providence to hit a whopping 67 percent from the floor.
They were too foul-prone — but then, the referees seemed particularly whistle-happy against both teams.
They wound up losing by 14 points, and it wasn’t that close. For parts of the second half, UConn as if like it was playing in Moody Coliseum or the KFC Yum ! Center — two of its perennial houses of horror.
But, considering all the new bodies, youth and inexperience on the Mohegan Sun Arena floor for UConn Wednesday night — not to mention the talent and experience of its opponent — it actually could have been a lot worse. In truth, there were some positives for the Huskies in their 90-76 loss to the Friars — besides the fact that all proceeds from the exhibition before 6,415 fans between former Big East rivals went to hurricane relief.
Perhaps that’s why coach Kevin Ollie, who hates to lose even foul-shooting contests at charity events, didn’t seem overly perturbed by the rather onesided setback.
“We’ve got a lot of things to correct,” Ollie admitted. “Providence is a really, really good team. They’re gonna go deep in the NCAA tournament. To play against them, it’s a win-win for us … We’ve got a lot of things to correct, but that’s what exhibitions are all about.”
UConn looks like it will rebound better this season, led by 280-pound JUCO transfer Eric Cobb, who was impressive off the boards in the few minutes he wasn’t saddled with foul trouble. Freshman Josh Carlton showed a few things in 16 foul-plagued minutes, and fellow frosh Isaiah Whaley and Tyler
Polley were active.
The Huskies were outrebounded 34-29, but snagged 11 offensive boards and only allowed the Friars to grab three.
“I really thought our young guys played very, very well, once they settled in,” Ollie said. “I was really proud of that.”
Jalen Adams and Christian Vital didn’t shoot well but showed their usual moxie, leading the Huskies with 22 and 17 points, respectively.
Terry Larrier was extremely rusty, shooting 3-for-14 and missing all five 3-point attempts. But that’s to be expected from a kid who played just 3 1⁄2 games in the prior two seasons.
“It felt good, just got to knock the rust off a little more,” the wiry, 6-foot-8 swingman said. “The more I play, the more comfortable I’ll get.”
Mamadou Diarra, who missed all of last season with knee issues, and Alterique Gilbert, who missed all but the first 2 1⁄2 games due to a shoulder injury, didn’t have much of a chance to show what they can do. Both players, along with Cobb, picked up two early fouls, and all three also picked up their respective third fouls in the opening minutes of the latter half.
Diarra wound up fouling out; Gilbert put on a little spurt at the end and finished with eight points.
If nothing else, the Huskies certainly didn’t appear to be the disjointed mess they were last November, when they lost their first two regular-season games — with a full complement of players — at home.
“We all stayed together,” Vital said. “I don’t think you’ll find on film any two players arguing with each other. Obviously, the score was what it was at certain points of the game. But we all stayed together, and I really do appreciate that from my teammates, us staying together with the score being like that.”
And did we mention that PC is good? Maybe not 67-percent shooting good, but good.
UConn, right now, is not particularly good. There is a lot of work to be done. But on a night where the Huskies never led and never really were in it, there were some positives.
“I’m not hanging this loss over our head at all,” said Vital. “Obviously, they beat us by a lot of points. Give them credit, they’re a good team. But I like our chances later on in the season against anybody.”
RIM RATTLINGS
Makai Ashton-Langford, who de-committed from UConn last spring and wound up at Providence, was impressive. The freshman point guard scored 10 points on some strong slashes to the hole.
“Makai looked good,” said Adams, who was a teammate of Ashton-Langford’s on the Mass Rivals AAU team. “It’s great seeing a guy I grew up with, pretty much, playing at a high level. It was great seeing him out there. He was getting to the basket, and I really liked the way he was facilitating at the one-spot.”
1 In a game officiated by Connecticut resident (and former UConn guard) John Gwynn and Providence resident Michael Stephens, there were 55 fouls called and 66 free throws attempted.
1 UConn grad transfer David Onuorah fell on his hip during practice on Tuesday and didn’t play. Sidney Wilson, a transfer from St. John’s, is still waiting for the NCAA to rule on his appeal for a waiver and also didn’t play.
1 Former longtime UConn assistant coach George Blaney was at the game. His son, Brian, is an assistant on Providence’s staff. George Blaney, who retired in 2013, is living on Cape Cod.