UConn sports

The UConn men’s basketball team will try and make it to 10-0 Wednesday night at the XL Center when it hosts Harvard.

Coach Jim Calhoun would obviously like a more “extended” performance than the one his Huskies gave in beating Coppin State 76-64 on Monday.

– Don’t assume tonight’s game will be a blowout. Harvard (7-2) is pretty good and has already killed Colorado and nearly won at Michigan.

The Crimson lost 79-73 in Gampel last season as Jeremy Lin (now of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors) scored a game-high 30 points.

“Harvard doesn’t present a tune-up,” Calhoun said. “It represents a step into reality, a team that can play.”

UConn guard Kemba Walker believes the Crimson to be good.

“Harvard’s supposed to be pretty good,” he said. “But we’re going to come out with a lot of intensity, try to pick it up from (Monday) night.”

– The UConn staff is especially impressed with Harvard F/C Keith Wright. He’s averaging 15.7 ppg and is shooting 66.3 percent.

“The big kid is a terrific player. Guys think he’s a pro prospect,” said Calhoun.

– It’s the last game of the season to put a dent in one of UConn’s “big” streaks.

The Huskies are 113-4 under Calhoun against non-conference New England opponents and have won 110 of the last 111 such games.

– UConn leads the all-time series 13-2.

– Calhoun is 6-4 in his career against Harvard, 2-0 at UConn and 4-4 at Northeastern.

– Calhoun is 8-1 coaching against Tommy Amaker, 7-1 while Amaker was at Seton Hall.

– Harvard hasn’t played a team ranked this high (No. 4) since losing to No. 1 Duke 118-65 on Nov. 30, 1991. Amaker was an assistant on the Duke sidelines then.

– Harvard is 7-38 against Big East teams in its history.

– Harvard is 2-2 on the road this season, beating Mercer and Bryant while losing to Michigan (65-62) and George Mason (66-53).

- Neill

As one of my favorite coach/broadcaster/personalities might say: Not so fast, my friend.

Just when you think Enosch Wolf is the answer to UConn’s lack of depth up front, Charles Okwandu shows the Huskies they might have had it all along.

About to leave the XL Center following UConn 76, Coppin State 64, but before we do here a couple quick hitters:

– Wolf’s debut was sort of quiet. He had four points (one hoop on a nice feed from Okwandu and one on a nice reverse) on 2-of-4 shooting, 1 rebound and 1 turnover in 3 minutes of action.

“It’s difficult to judge him, but he knows how to play basketball,” coach Jim Calhoun said. “He was in the right spot.”

It was Okwandu, however, who showed he might know more than you think. The Nigerian big man had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks in 24 minutes of action.

“I know he had a better game, at least statistically, against Notre Dame last year but that was his best game I’ve seen in a Husky uniform,” Calhoun said. “I don’t care who he was playing. He was there physically. He turned and dunked the ball, which is something we haven’t seen much of from this group of guys.”

Okwandu and Calhoun apparently had a little sit-down after the FDU game _ just before the half in that game they exchanged a few words as Okwandu was walking off the court.

“He was really down and out in the last game,” Calhoun said. “We had a long talk about that. We had a short talk during the game but we had a long talk after the game.”

– Kemba Walker had 20 points (two off his season low), 5 rebounds, 4 assists and three steals.

“Kemba was Kemba,” Calhoun said.

Jeremy Lamb added 16 and Alex Oriakhi 12.

– The game was won because UConn went on an early 19-0 run Coppin State couldn’t overcome.

And also because UConn controlled the glass in every way. The Huskies won the rebound battle 58-29.

“I told them it was going to be a tough one. I told them it was going to be physical,” Coppin State coach Ron “Fang” Mithcell said of his pregame message to his team. “I think they didn’t recognize what that meant.”

“UConn is exactly who they are: very strong and physical inside,” Mitchell added. “Any time someone gets 27 offensive rebounds against you, that’s going to the boards.”

Calhoun couldn’t complain about the rebounds.

“I like the effort on the glass, without question,” Calhoun said. “I don’t like the fact that we aren’t finishing plays in there.”

– It was a strange game, all agreed, one that Calhoun couldn’t really get a handle on.

“It’s a strange game for me to assess because at times we really locked them up,” Calhoun said. “And then we let their 3-point shooting take us back a little bit. … The best thing to do is kind of move on.”

– Coppin State cut what had been a 25-point lead with 13 minutes to go in the game down to 10 with five and change to play.

That was mainly because they started hitting three’s from every angle and distance. Twenty-five feet, 30 feet, banks, etc.

It wasn’t like they didn’t “deserve” the points however.

“Teams have shot three’s against us all year,” Calhoun said. “As I reminded the team, that’s not exactly accidental.”

– Lamb had plenty of good and plenty of bad all in one evening of play.

“I think Jeremy, defensively, is awful right now,” Calhoun said, “and getting awfully good at rebounding and awfully good offensively.”

– A moment of silence in honor of the late Walt Dropo was observed prior to the game.

It was a nice touch, obviously, it’s just too bad the Huskies have been forced to have a few of these recently (Art Quimby’s recent death)

- Neill

Halftime here in Hartford. The Huskies lead 38-21.

It was close for a while then Kemba Walker blew up and the Eagles shut down.

Walker ignited a 19-0 UConn run and now has a game-high 14 points.

Enosch Wolf played the final 45.1 seconds of the half. He missed two chippies in traffic.

UConn has a 36-13 edge in rebounds right now.

- Neill

We’re in the lovely Lee-McGinley Press Room at the XL Center here in Hartford waiting for UConn-Coppin State.

Tonight is the debut of 7-foot-1 German center Enosch Wolf, and the Huskies’ first game back from an 11-day break for exams.

– A bit of a change to the starting lineup for the Huskies tonight. No, Wolf hasn’t been inserted. But Charles Okwandu is back in to give UConn a big, big quintet.

It’s Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, Roscoe Smith, Alex Oriakhi and Okwandu to start things off.

I’m sure we’ll see Wolf at some point.

Check back for updates on the blog and, as always, you can keep an eye on twitter (@NeillOstrout) during the game.

- Neill

We’re here at the Burton Family Football Complex for a little info from the UConn football team before they leave for the Fiesta Bowl.

UConn coach Randy Edsall had his usual Tuesday-style chat with reporters, and we met the players for a little more talk later.

Here are a few highlights:

– Much as UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun did Sunday, Edsall offered some unsolicited praise for Geno Auriemma and the record-setting UConn women’s basketball team Monday.

“I want to congratulate Geno, his staff and his players for tying the mark. And I’m sure they’re going to erase the mark on Tuesday night,” Edsall said.

“I hope people really appreciate what they’ve done,” Edsall added. “That’s something special.”

– Oklahoma’s offense is obviously a bit intimidating to watch on film.

“We can not simulate in practice the speed with which their offense gets lined up and runs plays,” Edsall said, noting that the Sooners run some 85 plays per game.

– One of the few “negative” numbers on OU’s stat sheet is their red zone defense. Teams are 29-of-32, 91 percent, in the red zone against the Sooners, that’s 112th nationally.

“Maybe if we get the ball down inside the red zone we’ll have a chance,” Edsall said.

– Some of the usual QB Zach Frazer talk. Yes, he’s not too pretty sometimes.

“Quarterbacks are usually judged by how many they win and how many they lose,” Edsall said. “It’s not about the style points all the time.”

Never the swiftest of runners Frazer’s even running a little more, when he has to. It won’t change the offense, of course.

“We don’t have any designed quarterback draws in there for him,” Edsall said with a smile. “We don’t run the quarterback option.”

– The secondary (which will be challenged big-time against OU) has improved as the season has gone along.

“We didn’t play as much man-to-man coverage, which will sometimes cut down on the big plays,” Edsall said. “What really happened is our kids starting playing better fundamentally.”

– The rewards of making a BCS bowl (recruiting) hasn’t come around just yet.

But Edsall says his program should be viewed a bit differently now.

“I don’t know if anybody’s going to say we’re an up and coming program any more,” Edsall said. “I think we’ve erased that kind of stigma.”

– Edsall said he never benched PK Dave Teggart but that he did “alternate” kickers in practice following the Louisville game (where Teggart missed a 29-yarder).

Teggart has made 14-of-15 FG’s since.

– OT Mike Ryan (leg) and DT Twyon Martin (leg) have returned to practice, it seems.

Edsall said last week that both “should” be available for the Jan. 1 game.

“Everybody’s really full go,” Edsall said.

Backup long-snapper Adam Mueller (mono) might not be available but that’s about it.

– Edsall says no players have departed, for academic or other reasons in the last month. All the grades aren’t in, however.

– No changes to the UConn depth chart from the finale against USF. We’ll see if bowl week brings any surprises.

– In case you missed it, backup Oklahoma running back Roy Finch will miss the Fiesta Bowl with a left foot injury.

– Ticket update: A UConn official says the number of tickets UConn has sold (or at least allotted) now is in the 4,300 range. The number was 4,000 last Monday.

Edsall was asked if he’s disappointed in the ticket sales so far.

“That’s a loaded question. I can’t win answering that question,” Edsall said.

- Neill

It’s Sunday morning and we’re here in Gampel Pavilion. Must be basketball season.

The Huskies are getting ready to face Coppin State Monday, and UConn fans are getting ready to get their first look at C Enosch Wolf. The German big man made his practice debut Sunday and will play in his first game Monday (7 p.m., ESPNU) at the XL Center.

– Wolf had an OK practice. He made a couple baskets, struggled here and there, and tired near the end.

“I think it’s going to take a while because I have to make up a lot of athleticism and get in better shape. They’re obviously in very good shape,” Wolf said. “I was getting better at the prep school I’m coming from.”

What is Wolf’s plan to contribute:

“They expect me to rebound the ball a lot. That’s the main thing: rebound the ball and block shots, then we’ll go from there,” Wolf said.

Coach Jim Calhoun likes what he sees, though doesn’t expect Wolf to dominate.

“I love his basketball IQ and he brings some different things that we don’t have right now,” Calhoun said. “He’s not going to be an Emeka Okafor athlete or an incredible shot blocker. But he certainly can do some things.”

– So how much will Wolf play against Coppin State?

“I hope I can get some minutes just to get used to it before the very hard schedule starts,” Wolf said. “I think I can get some minutes but that’s coach’s decision.”

Calhoun was reluctant to promise anything.

“He may get a chance to get in the game (today), he may not,” Calhoun said. “We’ll play it as we always play every game: to win and to get better. If the opportunity comes to play him, we will.

“It’s my opinion he can help us,” Calhoun added. “It’s got to be on Enosch to prove that. Not today and not if the gets an opportunity (Monday) or doesn’t get an opportunity, but over a period of time.”

– Wolf has been talking to his fellow German native, UConn F Niels Giffey, in advance of his debut.

“I’ve been in contact with him. We’ve been texting a little bit now and then,” Wolf said.

– Shabazz Napier was the star of Sunday’s practice. His four-man squad (along with Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Roscoe Smith and Charles Okwandu) dominated the shell drill.

Many of Napier’s off-balance or very deep shots came at the expense of Kemba Walker.

As he flipped on up from 10 feet over Wolf near the end of the drill, Napier said “That’s good, too” as the ball was less than halfway there.

“Shabazz makes bad shots. That’s what he did,” Calhoun said. “That’s what Kemba was telling me right now. ‘How do you play defense on bad shots?’ I don’t know but if they’re going in, they’re not bad shots. They’re good shots.”

Walker seemed frustrated, though, that’s a positive in Calhoun’s mind.

“He continues to be the last guy you have to worry about,” Calhoun said.

– Calhoun spent a good five minutes talking about the UConn women’s basketball team’s streak. Calhoun said he believed it to be something different than the UCLA streak of John Wooden’s teams but said it was no less impressive.

“They’re proving they’re the greatest women’s program in the history of women’s basketball,” Calhoun said. “The streak is the greatest women’s feat you can have. I’ve always felt the two are separate but Geno (Auriemma) has said that.”

The same or different, Calhoun said, it’s still remarkable.

“If people want to compare it, that’s their choice,” Calhoun said. “My only comparison is you win 88 games in Parcheesi, you’re doing something special.”

Calhoun called Auriemma the best coach in his sport.

“They’ve already done it, the women’s streak, but even as you get to the numbers they’re at now, there’s no doubt in my mind _ none _ that he is…who has been a better coach in women’s college basketball? Nobody,” Calhoun said.

“It’s just an incredible accomplishment. I truly, sincerely mean that,” Calhoun said.

– Calhoun offered a few words about the recently deceased Walt Dropo:

“The Moose from Moosup, they didn’t have guys like him back in the day,” Calhoun said. “He was a big man, a big, strong, physical guy. And you could still see it when you saw him (later).”

A three-sport star at UConn Dropo, who died Friday at 87, was the AL Rookie of the Year with the Red Sox but had chances to play pro football and basketball, too.

“There wasn’t anything the guy couldn’t do,” Calhoun said.

– Kemba Walker has scored 225 points (28.1 ppg) in his first eight games this season, the most in UConn history.

– UConn is averaging 8.25 blocks per game (first nationally). C Alex Oriakhi is averaging 2.75, which leads the Big East.

– After entering the season out of the top 25 UConn has started 8-0 and is now ranked fourth in the nation.
This is the fourth time under Calhoun UConn has started a season unranked and moved into the top 10. The others were 1993-94 (as high as No. 2), 1989-90 (No. 4) and 2001-02 (No. 10).

– Coppin State is in the middle of the pay-for-play portion of its schedule. The Eagles go from playing at UConn Monday to at Wisconsin Wednesday to at Kentucky Dec. 28 to at Texas Dec. 31. They’ve already played (and lost) at Oklahoma.

– This is the fourth meeting between the two teams with UConn winning each of the previous three. The last game was an 84-41 win on Dec. 27, 2006, in Hartford.

Jeff Adrien had 16 points and 11 rebounds that day, while Hasheem Thabeet also had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. A.J. Price (11 points, 8 assists) and Craig Austrie (10 points, 5 assists) played pretty well too but the game was easily the best of Curtis Kelly’s brief UConn career (14 points on 7-of-7 shooting in 14 minutes).

– Coppin State is 4-0 at home and 0-3 on the road this season.

– UConn and Coppin State have one common opponent already this season. The Huskies beat UMBC 94-61, while Coppin State beat UMBC 71-69 in overtime.

“Some of these games become a little more on us,” Calhoun said. “Do we handle their stuff well? Do we give teams confidence? We allowed, for example, New Hampshire to play that pace. We allowed them to play that pace and we knew it was not a good pace for us _ and a great pace for them.”

– It’s a short turnaround after the Coppin State game. The Huskies host Harvard Wednesday night back in Hartford.

– Both assistant coaches Kevin Ollie and George Blaney missed Sunday morning practice. Both were on the road, apparently.

– Calhoun’s line of the day during a full-court drill when a player couldn’t in-bound the ball:

“You can run the baseline! They put in that rule about 30 years ago!”

It was longer than that, but we’ll give the coach points for a good line.

- Neill

Walter “Moose” Dropo recognized as the greatest three-sports star in University of Connecticut athletic history, died Friday. He was 87.

Dropo, affectionately known as the “Moose from Moosup”, was raised in the small Northeastern Connecticut village of Moosup and entered UConn in the early 1940s. Dropo played football, basketball and baseball for UConn with his college career interrupted by three years of military service in Europe during World War II.

Dropo completed his college career in 1946-47 as UConn’s all-time leading scorer in basketball, and more than 60 years later still ranks No. 2 all-time at UConn in career scoring average at 20.7 per game. He was a two-time All-New England selection at UConn and also starred on the school’s football and baseball teams.

“Walt Dropo was the forerunner of all the great student-athletes we have had here at UConn,” Dee Rowe, UConn’s Special Adviser for Athletics said in a statement released by the school. “Wherever he went, he had UConn on his jersey. People around the country knew of UConn because of Walt Dropo. If Walt was here today, he would be talking about how the football team was going to the Fiesta Bowl, the national rankings of the men’s and women’s basketball team and going to the NCAA baseball tournament last year.

“He was a giant of a man and very proud of his family and heritage. When he walked into a room, he had has this great presence. You knew he was there and he just captured everyone.”

Dropo was one of three brothers who traveled from Moosup to the UConn campus _ joining Milton and George as athletic stars. Following their graduations, the Dropo brothers were lifelong major benefactors to their alma mater, including establishing the first fully endowed athletic scholarship at Connecticut.

“There is not a baseball player on the UConn team that doesn’t learn about the Dropo family’s contribution to our program and our University,” current Husky baseball coach Jim Penders said in a statement. “I am glad I had the pleasure to know Walt and will never forget the first time I shook hands with him when I was a UConn freshman. He said ‘Ted always told me to meet the ball, just meet the ball’ and he was referring to his teammate Ted Williams. We were in awe. Our condolences go out to the Dropo family and I bet there are three brothers having a heck of a game of pepper today.”

“Walt and his family were very giving people,” said Andy Baylock, UConn’s former baseball coach (1980-2003), who now serves as the Director of Community and Alumni Development for the Husky football program. “They would do anything for UConn. The three brothers were so close and whenever they came to campus it was very special.”

Dropo was a first round draft pick of the Providence Steamrollers (fourth overall pick) in the 1947 pro basketball draft (UConn’s first “lottery” pick) and was also drafted as an end in the ninth round of the 1946 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

Despite those two professional opportunities, Dropo signed a professional baseball amateur free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1947.

He played in minor leagues starting in 1947 with stops in Scranton of the Eastern League (1947), Birmingham of the Southern League and Louisville of the American Association (1948), Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League (1949). He is a 2007 inductee into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame. He led the team to a Dixie Series victory over the Forth Panthers by hitting a co-team-high .359. That mark is still the ninth-highest average recorded by a Barons player in a single season. Among his many Barons highlights was one of the longest home runs at historic Rickwood Field, hit in that same Dixie Series: a 467-foot blast memorialized with a permanent plaque at the field behind the left-centerfield wall.

In 1950, as a 27-year-old rookie first baseman with the Red Sox, Dropo enjoyed one of the greatest rookie seasons in major league history, leading the American League in runs batted in (144) and total bases (326) while batting .322 and hitting 34 home runs. He was second in the AL in home runs, slugging percentage (.583), and extra base hits (70).

Dropo’s 1950 season saw him become baseball’s first-ever rookie to top 100 RBIs with more RBIs than games played (144 RBI in 136 games).

Dropo became the first Boston Red Sox player ever named American League Rookie of the Year (topping New York Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford in the rookie voting) and he finished sixth in voting for the AL’s Most Valuable Player. He was also named to the American League All-Star squad. A fractured right wrist slowed Dropo’s career in 1951 and he never was able to match the remarkable exploits of 1950 during the remainder of his lengthy 13-year major league career.

“Walt Dropo was one of the greatest player the Red Sox had in the post-World War II era,” said Dick Bresciani, the Vice President/Publications and Archives for the Red Sox. “He was an outstanding gentleman and did a lot of good things for our organization in the community when his playing days were over. The Red Sox send their condolences to his family.”

In 1952, shortly after being traded from the Red Sox to the Detroit Tigers, Dropo tied a major league record that still stands today when he collected 12 hits in 12 consecutive trips to the plate.

In his 13-year major league career, Walt Dropo hit .270, playing in 1,288 games for the Boston Red Sox (1949-52), Detroit Tigers (1952-54), Chicago White Sox (1955-58), Cincinnati Redlegs (1958-59) and the Chicago White Sox (1959-61).

Dropo has repeatedly been honored by his college alma mater. In 1969, he was a member of an 11-member All-Time football team named by UConn during a celebration of the 100th anniversary of college football. In 1998, Dropo was named to UConn’s 100th Anniversary of Connecticut Football All-Time Team.

In 2001, Dropo was honored as a member of UConn Basketball’s All-Century Team and in 2006 he was part of UConn Basketball’s inaugural class of inductees to Connecticut’s Huskies of Honor _ a program that pays visible tribute in the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion to the top players in UConn basketball history.

Dropo is survived by his daughters Carla and Tina and his son Jeff predeceased him in 2008. Carla is a 1980 graduate of UConn and was a member of the women’s swimming team, serving as captain her senior year.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

- Neill

UConn’s Randy Edsall was named head coach of the year Thursday by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston.

Edsall, who also won this award in 2007, earned the nod for coaches in New England at the FBS and FCS level (Division I-A and I-AA). J.B. Wells of Endicott College won it for Division II/III.

UConn (8-4) will take on Oklahoma Jan. 1 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Edsall will receive his award at the Club’s annual dinner on Jan. 13 at the Westin Waltham Hotel. Tickets are $50 each or $500 for a table of ten. They may be ordered online at www.gridclubofgreaterboston.com.

Also on Thursday SNY announced a stocking-full of UConn football programming leading up to the Fiesta Bowl.

The network will air a Fiesta Bowl preview show Dec. 30 at 9:30 p.m., and a postgame show immediately following the game. Among the talent in studio for both is former UConn DT Sean Mulcahy and former Syracuse QB Don McPherson.

SNY also plans a marathon of “Huskies Power Hour” (full games condensed into one-hour slots) on Christmas Day, preceded by a re-airing of the BCS-clinching win over USF.

UConn-USF will be replayed at 2 p.m., and will be followed by “Power Hour” versions of Husky games against West Virginia (5 p.m.), Pittsburgh (6 p.m.), Syracuse (7 p.m.), Cincinnati (8 p.m.) and USF (9 p.m.)

- Neill