UConn men open season vs. New Haven

STORRS – The games officially count for the UConn men’s basketball team starting Monday against New Haven, but the Huskies don’t have an opening-night mentality.

They’ve already warmed up and broken in the new roster with a pair of exhibition games in front of large Connecticut crowds, beating Boston College at Mohegan Sun and Michigan State at PeoplesBank Arena.

For Monday’s game, the first time suiting up at Gampel Pavilion for two-thirds of the roster, coach Dan Hurley would like to see a continuation of the work the team has been putting in since it first got together in June.

His wish list is quite long:

“Just go out there and play with force, physicality without fouling, the defense, the rebounding, offensive execution, shot selection, ball security, everyone giving you something, the running game, the transition defense, but an assertiveness,” he said. “This is Game Three for us… What you’re looking for right now is those baseline things that you should be really, really good at and to just see the improvement.”

The Huskies won’t be fully healthy as they welcome the Chargers to Division I.

New Haven ready to jump into Division I fire with first-ever game at UConn

Star freshman Braylon Mullins and classmate Jacob Furphy, who sprained his ankle in practice this week, will both be out. And senior center Tarris Reed Jr., who missed both exhibition games with a hamstring injury, will be a game-time decision. Reed returned to practice this week, but the Huskies will want to avoid reinjury.

“We just kind of want to see how he’s feeling after four straight days of being in it, but he looks good. He looks real good, so we’re excited about that,” Hurley said.

“He looks great, he’s been moving great, he’s been super physical with us. So he’s gonna be awesome, we’re just hoping he continues to stay healthy,” said senior captain Alex Karaban.

Whether Reed plays or not, freshman center Eric Reibe will continue to see significant minutes. He has already shown he can hold his own against tough competition, and the UConn staff believes his offensive game will continue to come along.

“That (Michigan State) game coupled with Tarris coming back to practice were the best things that could happen for Eric,” Hurley said. “Both for him and Dwayne (Koroma), to play against somebody of Tarris’ size and athleticism, plus (the physicality of Michigan State and Boston College), it gives these guys a chance tomorrow to be able to be ready to play against good frontcourt players.”

Silas Demary Jr., who missed the first exhibition against BC with a calf injury, admitted he had some nerves putting the UConn jersey on for the first time. He settled in quickly after making his first two 3-point shots, but was one of several players who had their momentum slowed by foul trouble.

The benefit of those preseason matchups is that the Huskies have a clear outlook on where they need to improve, especially before the heat of their nonconference gauntlet really kicks on with a top-10 matchup against BYU less than two weeks away.

“I’d definitely say we want to play fast, but we’ve got to be smart about fouling,” Demary, the Georgia transfer, said. “We fouled too much the last game, so we’ve just got to be able to hone in – not be too aggressive, but still be aggressive at the same time and get out and play in transition.”

Hurley on New Haven: Exciting for Connecticut

New Haven announced its move up to Division I and the Northeast Conference in May. The Chargers have only one returning player, Bridgeport’s Najimi George, and 11 freshmen, with several hailing from Connecticut.

“Obviously it’s great for the state, especially with losing Hartford and to have another team that’s competing Division I, an opportunity for another team to potentially have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, bring excitement to the state, I think it’s great,” Hurley said. “Watching them play on offense you can see they run a lot of good stuff … I think we kind of play offense in a similar way, so you develop an appreciation for what they’re building now, but also the way they play basketball on offense, especially. We may steal a couple things from these guys after the game.”

Hurley goes viral (again) for coaching

TV cameras love Dan Hurley. Other fans on social media? Not so much.

The Huskies’ demonstrative coach was in midseason form during the Michigan State exhibition. After the Huskies allowed a series of offensive rebounds on missed free throws, the cameras stayed on his huddle long enough for a 30-second clip that went viral.

“I was on the court during that, so it was definitely my fault and the four other players’ fault that led to that moment,” Karaban said. “I mean, Coach is just coaching us at the end of the day. He sees that we weren’t tough enough in rebounding, he’s gonna let us know … It’s tough love. Just making us tougher.”

Jim Calhoun book signing

Hall of Fame former UConn coach Jim Calhoun will be signing copies of his new book, More Than A Game: How the UConn Dynasty Was Built on a Culture of Caring, co-authored with The Courant’s Dom Amore, before tip-off from 5-7 p.m. at the UConn bookstore across from Gampel Pavilion.

The book is available in stores across Connecticut and online at Amazon or WoodhallPress.com.