UConn sports

Just finished the day job covering UConn-West Virginia in Morgantown.

Yes, thank you for asking, John Denver was again at the top of his game.

During the action, however, neither team was outstanding. What they both were, however, is tough.

Toughness is a category UConn teams have historically scored high on and this one may be no different.

After 12 lead changes and eight ties, UConn pulled ahead for good.

Plenty of offensive rebounds, plenty of defense and a tough 61-55 win to start a three-game road trip (it’s not really a trip, they’re going back-and-forth to Storrs, but the phrase sort of fits).

“It’s great,” said Jerome Dyson, who had a driving layup with 35 seconds left that sealed the deal. “It really gives us a little momentum to carry with us on these next two away games.”

Also:

– West Virginia went scoreless for the final 2:27 with guard Alex Ruoff missing several tough (and a few open) shots.

– Jim Calhoun earned win No. 787 Tuesday, moving him past Lefty Driesell into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time list.

Next up is Eddie Sutton at No. 6 with 804 wins.

– UConn is now 15-15 in Big East road openers, 13-10 under Calhoun.

– Jeff Adrien, who scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, went over the 1,300-point mark in the game.

Adrien now has scored 1,316 points, 23rd all-time in UConn history.

– This just in: Stanley Robinson can jump.

And jumping helps in rebounding.

“I kept rebounding. They kept coming my way,” Robinson said after snaring a career-high 15. “That’s a great job on my part. I think I did pretty good.”

– West Virginia’s Ruoff was 4-of-16 from the floor and scored 13 points. He is the second straight “star” two-guard the Huskies have handled. (Rutgers’ Mike Rosario was 2-for-13 on Saturday.)

Some, perhaps the UConn coaches, are going to expect Dyson to hold everyone down like that.

“I think so,” Dyson said with a chuckle. “I’m not worried about it. I look forward to the challenge.”

– Calhoun called it the biggest win of the season. He’s probably right but there’s going to be games that score higher on that scale if the Huskies turn out to be as good as they think they are.

– This was just the second time all season West Virginia has been out-rebounded. UConn did it big time, gaining a 52-33 edge.

– A.J. Price was 0-for-9 from the floor and looked a step slow or a bit tired. The UConn brass says he isn’t sick, but I’m not sure.

- Neill

Now who doesn’t love a little John Denver?

Oh, OK then. I won’t bring him up again.

Greetings from the Waterfront Place Hotel in lovely Morgantown, W.Va. Just finished speaking with UConn coach Jim Calhoun, WVU coach Bob Huggins and a few of the combatants in Tuesday’s game.

No major news on the UConn side but here’s a taste:

– It’s the first of three straight road games for the Huskies.

“We definitely want to try to handle business and get it off to a good start,” point guard A.J. Price said. “We don’t want to overlook anybody but we understand this is probably going to be toughest challenge of the three games. It’s important for us to come out and be ready.”

In Calhoun’s tenure in Storrs the Huskies have faced this kind of test (three straight road games) seven times before. Never have the Huskies gone 3-0.

– UConn fell to No. 5 in the polls. About as expected.

There are now nine Big East teams in the top 25 with West Virginia getting in at No. 25.

– Calhoun appeared to be feeling a little better than he did against Rutgers, though he was still perhaps a step slow.

“I felt lousy during the game,” Calhoun said. “I talked to George (Blaney) and I said ‘Let me see how I feel at halftime.’ ”

He didn’t feel better and left the team in Blaney’s hands. Calhoun was, however, pretty confident the Huskies would win.

“I felt a comfort level defensively and, at the end of the half, offensively,” Calhoun said.

– Huggins’ plan to attack UConn center Hasheem Thabeet?

“Just throw it in there and let him block ‘em,” Huggins said Monday night.

Oh, so it’s the sarcasm route we’ve chosen for this question-and-answer session. Well, that will be fun for all of us (read: Huggins only).

Huggins offered a few (a very few) insights about Tuesday’s game but he was at least gracious enough to give us poor scribes from Connecticut a few minutes of his time.

– Calhoun has plenty of praise for the job Huggins has done already at West Virginia. He also gave him credit for using some of what former coach John Beilein left in place.

“To throw out what John Beilein has taught kids _ for any of us _ would be absolutely crazy,” Calhoun said. “The one thing Bob is not is crazy.

“He’s nuts but he’s not crazy.”

– UConn is 14-15 in Big East road openers, 12-10 under Calhoun.

– Rhode Island native Joe Mazzulla, WVU’s starting point guard for much of the year, isn’t likely to play because of a shoulder injury.

Too bad. He played well in the postseason last year and I was looking forward to seeing him in person again.

– No Joe Alexander any more for the Mountaineers. (Collective “whew!” by UConn coaches and fans).

Calhoun, though, says it’s not time to party yet.

“They are, in total, a better team without Joe Alexander,” he said.

– West Virginia will likely use a matchup zone defense, something the Huskies have sometimes been stymied by.

“We’ll be tested mentally as much as anything else by the matchup,” Calhoun said. “I don’t think we should be, by the way, because we’ve faced matchups before and handled them pretty well.”

- Neill

One small note as I wait for the lovely drive from Pittsburgh down to Morgantown.

UConn’s Jan. 15 game against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden will be seen on ESPN, the big wigs announced Monday. It will tipoff at 7 p.m.

The game had been listed as an ESPN or ESPN2.

- Neill

One night after missing the second half of his team’s game due to illness, UConn coach Jim Calhoun was back at practice.

Calhoun put his team through its paces Sunday morning in Storrs, including center Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet went down briefly in the Rutgers game with a hip-pointer.

The Huskies will travel to Morgantown, W.Va., Monday afternoon and play the Mountaineers Tuesday night.

- Neill

The end of a long day for UConn observers culminated in the men’s basketball team’s 80-49 throttling of Rutgers at Gampel Pavilion Saturday night.

Here are a few of the highlights:

– UConn coach Jim Calhoun was feeling ill all day and did not come out for the second half. It was a case of shingles and a cold that did him in, UConn spokesman Kyle Muncy said.

If you’re counting, it’s the 20th game Calhoun has missed all or part of due to illness in his 23 years at UConn.

Associate head coach George Blaney, who thought Calhoun caught a cold in Seattle that he hasn’t shaken yet, took over in the second half.

“He called me during the day and said he wasn’t going to make shootaround (which was 1:30 to 2:30), that he would be in about 4:30 or 5 o’clock,” Blaney said. “He looked alright when he got here and was talking OK, seemed pretty good. But during the game it just looked like he was getting tired.”

The Huskies seemingly played better with Blaney at the helm, which drew some laughs and smiles from the players afterward.

Hasheem Thabeet struggled to explain when asked.

“It doesn’t change anything…just the intensity…the guys get…I don’t know,” Thabeet said.

The center then put on his best face and tried to be honest.

“We need him sometimes to motivate us when we’re down,” Thabeet said. “Some plays were made today that if coach were there, I don’t think some people would try to throw them (there were a half-dozen alley-oops). At the same time we’re going to need him down the road to toughen us up mentally.”

Good answer.

– Rutgers played No. 1 on Sunday, No. 3 on Wednesday and No. 2 on Saturday. And easy week of basketball, no?

Well, no.

The Scarlet Knights weren’t exactly whipped, but they weren’t exactly energetic either. Coach Fred Hill said his team got worn down mentally in the second half.

So which team is best? North Carolina, Pittsburgh or UConn?

“UConn played their rear ends off and really impressed me,” Hill said. “North Carolina can score with anybody in the country. This was the best defensive team tonight out of the three that we faced.”

– Rutgers freshman star Mike Rosario missed his first nine shots and finished 2-of-13. Jerome Dyson did most of the defensive work on the McDonald’s All-American.

“First I just tried to deny him the ball, make sure he didn’t get it,” Dyson said. “And if he did get it, just make sure I stayed in front of him and not give him any easy shots.”

Blaney called Dyson one of the best defenders in the nation. He also pointed out that Craig Austrie helped.

“Craig played him differently,” Blaney said. “We asked Craig to take the ball away from him, over play him and don’t let him have it back. And he did a good job with that, too.”

– Calhoun, despite only working half the night, tied Lefty Driesell for seventh place on the all-time Division I wins list. He now has 786 victories.

- Neill

The UConn men are up 29-18 but coach Jim Calhoun has seen enough.

The coach didn’t come out of the locker room to start the second half, staying behind because he was feeling ill.

The coach has been fighting off a cold, which could be the problem.

Associate head coach George Blaney is running the show. Good job so far, UConn is on a 2-0 run to start the half.

- Neill

Rather than be in chilly, snowy Canada, I’m coming to you from chilly, snowy Storrs. Big difference, don’t-cha-know.

Anyway, it’s full steam ahead with the basketball team.

Football team? You’re dead to me. (just kidding, of course, good luck against Buffalo)

Here’s an update from practice Friday at Gampel Pavilion:

– Stanley Robinson will be back in the starting lineup Saturday against Rutgers.

The three-guard starting lineup is on the shelf for now, with Craig Austrie now slated to come off the bench.

“I’m really excited,” Robinson said. “I’m going to give 110 percent.”

Coach Jim Calhoun says the move isn’t about anything Austrie has or hasn’t done. Besides, he points out:

“Minutes-wise it’s probably not going to mean all that much.”

– For the first time in a million years (OK, maybe a few less) UConn will be facing a team that blocks more shots than it does.

UConn, which has led the nation in blocks every season since 2001-02, is blocking 7.25 shots per game. Rutgers, with junior C Hamady Ndiaye and freshman PF Gregory Echenique, is blocking 7.93 per.

“It’s going to be a challenge for us inside,” guard A.J. Price said. “This is a good game for our guys inside to really make a statement. They’re leading the Big East in blocked shots. It’s usually us.

“If we go at them early inside with Hasheem (Thabeet) and Jeff (Adrien), try to get them in foul trouble and impose our will early, it’ll make a difference,” Price continued.

– Speaking of Thabeet, Price doesn’t think he’ll have hard time getting motivated to play Saturday. First of all, he’d like to make up for that stinker on Monday against Georgetown.

“I’m pretty sure he does. He didn’t play particularly well the last two games,” Price said when asked if Thabeet wants a good showing. “I know he’s looking for a chance to make a statement. And I know how he feels about the kid Ndiaye, too, so I’m sure he’ll be going hard.”

Thabeet, it seems, wants to be at his best when facing those also from his continent.

“I don’t think he likes other Africans,” Price said with a smile.

– Robinson swears he’s in better shape since he returned to the team. He’s in “sprint shape” now, not just “Husky Run shape” like when he debuted.

There is a problem, however.

“My wind’s OK but I have like sinuses still,” Robinson said. “It’s been stuffed up for like six years.”

Did he just say six years? Uhhhh, yes.

“Seriously!” Robinson said. “I have to get it checked out.”

– Don’t be surprised if UConn uses (gasp!) a zone against Rutgers.

“We certainly could use a zone against them or anybody else,” Calhoun said.

(Also don’t be surprised if it only lasts one or two trips).

– Looking at the tape of the game, Calhoun wasn’t any happier with the Huskies’ performance.

“I’m still surprised at the way we started the game,” Calhoun said. “We did fight back, but I expect that. Georgetown played, on tape, awfully, awfully good. They didn’t make many mistakes. And we made a lot of mistakes.”

– Rutgers freshman guard Mike Rosario is good. And he’s made Rutgers “a better team than we faced last year” Calhoun said.

“He’s good. He’s very, very talented. He’s got a green light. He plays very free and easy,” Calhoun said.

– Ater Majok took his usual spot in the front row to watch practice again Friday.

If he ever gets onto the team, it’s going to be a difficult adjustment from the plastic chairs in the stands to the padded metal seats on the bench.

Too soon for that joke?

OK, sorry. No word on the young Sudanese/Australian star’s eligibility yet.

– Best line of the day from the coach?

During a scrimmage a dunk attempt by center Charles Okwandu bounced straight up off the rim and glanced off the shot clock before coming back down into play. About half of the Huskies kept playing and the other half stopped, expecting a whistle from the coaches for a dead ball. (the clock is out of bounds)

Calhoun wasn’t too displeased (we think) with either group.

“Yeah it hit the 35-second clock,” Calhoun said. “But some officials wouldn’t know the difference, either.”

- Neill