Entering the season UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley thought it would take time for his relatively new team to form a competitive cohesion that translated into winning. Unranked in the preseason poll, likely because of the same uncertainty, the UConn men have made an eager leap into the No. 8 spot after an 8-0 start.
“My fear was that we would maybe struggle in some of these bigger nonconference games and then get demoralized going into the Big East calendar,” Hurley said. “We knew the potential was there with the group in terms of what the quality could be at some point.”
The Huskies added four transfers and two freshmen who have all made significant contributions in the early going as the group carried a chip on its preseason unranked shoulder.
“No one’s drinking the poison,” Hurley said after practice Wednesday. “No one thought we were good, we were not ranked, no one had us in their top 25.”
That’s the mentality Hurley is preaching. But he also knows how fast things could get away as the Huskies get into upcoming games against Oklahoma State and Florida, then Big East play soon after.
“If you stray from your formula, which is like: you’ve got to do everything right, elite defense, dominate the backboard, move the basketball, play for each other and play harder than the opponent,” Hurley said. “That’s the script and we’ll stick to that. We get off Twitter – we all made our posts, we posted it and now we gotta get the hell off of there and focus on Oklahoma State.”
Wednesday’s matchup is part of the Big 12-Big East Battle, now in its fourth year. Hurley had high praise for the 5-2 Cowboys, who play almost strictly upperclassmen and boast multiple individual talents in the starting five.
“A McDonald’s All-American in (Bryce) Thompson, (Moussa) Cisse, who maybe would’ve been but he classed up, (Kalib Boone) is an NBA player, (Avery) Anderson’s an NBA player,” Hurley said, naming four of the Cowboys’ starters. “It’s a top-30 type of team, an NCAA Tournament team. Top 25 defense, they present problems on the backboard, deep – it’s going to be our toughest game of the year. We know that. We’ve gotta be really ready to go.”
Site: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Series: Oklahoma State leads, 2-0
Last meeting: Nov. 21, 2016 - Oklahoma State 98, UConn 90 in the first round of the 2016 Maui Invitational.
Notes
Sticking to their roles: When Hurley and his staff go out recruiting they make it a point to explain what sort of role would be expected of the player, what they could compete for and what is available as far as the rest of the roster goes. There are no promises, but it is all honest.
Now the Huskies, with the seventh-best scoring margin in the nation, are showing what it looks like when everyone does their job.
“Stick to the script, stick to your roles, stick to your identity and continue to just find your role on the team and expand your role on the team,” said team captain Andre Jackson, who is credited for bringing the group together on and off the court. “Nothing really changes from here on out.”
Staying connected, which extends to playing video games and going out for meals together, has helped the Huskies find chemistry early on. It only helps that players with lesser expectations have been able to increase their roles.
“We’re all locked into one plan and one agenda. Nobody has any ulterior motives or anything like that. We all are locked in and willing to sacrifice our own success for the team’s success,” Jackson said. “And that’s the biggest thing when you’re trying to win.”
Tristen Newton, who has found his spot as the Huskies’ point guard after he transferred in from East Carolina, continued: “Everybody knows their role. That’s pretty much it. Nobody tries to do too much everybody steps up when they need it.”
Better news for Samson Johnson: After suffering an injury to his foot during the season opener, forward Johnson has been sidelined in a walking boot for the last seven games. On Wednesday Hurley said he hopes Johnson’s return will come at some point in December without any setbacks. Alex Karaban had received the first two Big East freshman of the week nods while starting at the four with Johnson out, though Donovan Clingan took home the recognition in Week 3. Johnson’s return will provide even more depth.
Glory in Gampel: The UConn men have won 13 straight games inside Gampel Pavilion coming off a perfect 8-0 season in Storrs last year. Hurley has a 33-5 record in the on-campus dome. “Obviously playing at home isn’t gonna win the game for us, but having a great Gampel crowd where we’ve played very well in front of live crowds, it’s good,” Hurley said.
Huskies playing to ‘win something’: Hurley said, “It’s been awhile since I’ve been a part of a team that’s been on a roll. We won 18 in a row my last year at Rhode Island, we won the regular-season championship, wrapped it up quick. But I hadn’t won anything in a while and I want to be part of a group that wins something. [Wednesday] we got the Big 12-Big East [Battle], it gives us another chance to win something, like we’re playing for something.”
Managing the noise: The chip is on the shoulder, the Huskies are in the top 10 and the college basketball world was impressed watching them dominate on national television. But UConn knows as fast as they rose from unranked to No. 8, they could fall even quicker.
“I think it’s just every day trying to get better and knowing that the rankings change every single day and the best team right now it might not be the best team in March,” Jackson said. “So every day just taking it with that same approach and just trying to get better every day. That’s one thing that the coaches are definitely steady on. It helps when Coach Hurley is so hard on you, every day you come in here you have no choice but to bring it.”
