UConn sports

Kemba Walker has 13. Jeremy Lamb 8.

Huskies are getting out-rebounded 24-21.

- Neill

We’re here in Gampel Pavilion for the big UConn-FDU tilt. OK, it’s not that big but it’s a somewhat important game for both side.

UConn wants to head into its exam break on a high note, perhaps with the rest of the Huskies helping out Kemba Walker even more than they did against UMBC.

FDU wants to show they can play with the big boys.

We’ll see which, if either, happens tonight.

- Neill

Just back from my trip to Rockville:

By Neill Ostrout

Staff Writer

VERNON _ UConn offensive lineman Greg McKee turned himself in to police Wednesday morning on child pornography charges and is being held on $75,000 bond.

McKee, 18, was charged with one count each of obscenity, promoting a minor in an obscene performance and importing child pornography material.

Wearing a navy blue UConn T-shirt and matching pants, McKee appeared briefly in Rockville Superior Court later Wednesday. His public defender, Leslie Cunningham, asked that McKee’s bail be reduced to $25,000 but Judge Laura Baldini denied the request.

McKee is due back in court Dec. 22.

McKee was suspended indefinitely from the Huskies late Tuesday night. A 6-foot-6, 290-pound freshman from Chicago, McKee did not play in any games for the Huskies this season and was expected to redshirt.

UConn is getting ready to play Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, though McKee certainly would not have played in the game.

McKee turned himself in at the Troop C State Police barracks in Tolland early Wednesday morning after learning of a warrant out for his arrest.

The investigation that led the charges started when state police at the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an internet posting. A user on the site ning.com had uploaded videos that appeared to contain child pornography, and police traced the e-mail addresses and IP addresses back to a UConn account. Police said they later learned that account was used by McKee.

According an officer that reviewed the posted videos, they appear to show children ranging from age 8 to 15 engaged in sexual acts.

State and campus police searched McKee’s room at UConn’s Rosebrooks Hall Nov. 16 after applying for a search warrant. During that search, police said they seized a laptop computer that contained approximately 20 videos and 20 still images of child pornography.

According an arrest warrant application, McKee told police at the time that downloaded the files from links he received from someone he had met on the internet. This person, McKee told police during the November search, that the person indicated he would pay McKee for posting the videos online. But McKee said he was unable to contact that person after and did not receive any money.

Running back Jordan Todman, after rushing for 1,574 yards, 14 touchdowns, and helping the UConn football team reach its first-ever BCS bowl was named the Big East’s offensive player of the year Wednesday.

Todman is the second Husky ever to win the award, joining former teammate Donald Brown. Todman’s rushing total this season is second in UConn history only to Brown’s 2,000-plus yard effort two years ago.

Todman was hardly the only Husky honored Wednesday. Randy Edsall was named the league’s co-coach of the year, sharing the award with Louisville’s Charlie Strong.

In addition to Todman, OG Zach Hurd, OT Mike Ryan, K Dave Teggart, DT Kendall Reyes and LB Lawrence Wilson were all named First-team All-Big East.

C Moe Petrus and return specialist Nick Williams earned second-team honors.

The full list:

BIG EAST CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut (Jr., North Dartmouth, Mass.) *

BIG EAST CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh (Sr., Hollywood Hills, Fla.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Lindsey Lamar, WR, USF (So., Tampa, Fla.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville (RFr., Jonesboro, Ga.)

BIG EAST CONFERENCE COACHES OF THE YEAR

Randy Edsall, Connecticut

Charlie Strong, Louisville

ALL-BIG EAST CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Pos. Player School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School

WR Armon Binns Cincinnati Sr. 6-3 210 Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena

WR Jon Baldwin Pittsburgh Jr. 6-5 230 Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa

OT Mike Ryan Connecticut Jr. 6-5 332 Tamaqua, Pa./Marian Catholic

OT Jason Pinkston Pittsburgh Sr. 6-4 305 Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin

OG Zach Hurd * Connecticut Sr. 6-7 323 Waterford, Conn./Waterford

OG Mark Wetterer * Louisville Sr. 6-5 306 Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson

C Sampson Genus USF Sr. 6-1 314 Lake City, Fla./Columbia

TE Cameron Graham Louisville Sr. 6-4 242 Inglewood, Calif./Inglewood

QB Zach Collaros * Cincinnati Jr. 6-0 216 Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville

RB Jordan Todman * Connecticut Jr. 5-9 190 North Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth

RB Bilal Powell Louisville Sr. 6-0 204 Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson

K Dave Teggart Connecticut Jr. 6-0 209 Northborough, Mass./Algonqun

RS Lindsey Lamar USF So. 5-9 160 Tampa, Fla./Hillsborough

DEFENSE

Pos. Player School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School

DL Kendall Reyes Connecticut Jr. 6-4 287 Nashua, N.H./Nashua North

DL Jabaal Sheard * Pittsburgh Sr. 6-4 260 Hollywood Hills, Fla./Hollywood Hills

DL Terrell McClain USF Sr. 6-3 302 Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola

DL Chris Neild West Virginia Sr. 6-2 301 Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg

LB Lawrence Wilson Connecticut Sr. 6-1 217 Tuscaloosa, Ala./Paul W. Bryant

LB Doug Hogue Syracuse Sr. 6-2 226 Yonkers, N.Y./Roosevelt

LB J.T. Thomas West Virginia Sr. 6-2 225 Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Ely

CB Johnny Patrick Louisville Sr. 6-0 186 Deland, Fla./Deland

CB Keith Tandy West Virginia Jr. 5-10 198 Hopkinsville, Ky./Christian County

S Dom DeCicco Pittsburgh Sr. 6-4 230 Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson

S Robert Sands West Virginia Jr. 6-5 221 Carol City, Fla./Miami-Carol City

P Dan Hutchins Pittsburgh Sr. 5-11 195 Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township

* unanimous selection

ALL-BIG EAST CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Pos. Player School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School

WR D.J. Woods Cincinnati Jr. 6-0 172 Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville

WR Dontavia Bogan USF Sr. 6-1 188 Thomasville, Ga./Central County

WR Tavon Austin West Virginia So. 5-9 173 Baltimore, Md./Dunbar

WR Jock Sanders West Virginia Sr. 5-7 179 St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg Catholic

OT Justin Pugh Syracuse So. 6-5 287 Holland, Pa./Council Rock South

OT Don Barclay West Virginia Jr. 6-4 304 Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley

OL Jason Kelce Cincinnati Sr. 6-4 283 Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights

OL Byron Stingily Louisville Sr. 6-5 300 Country Club Hills, Ill./Joliet CC

OL Jacob Sims USF Sr. 6-5 290 Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park

C Moe Petrus Connecticut Jr. 6-2 292 St. Laurent, Que./Vanier Prep

TE Ben Guidugli Cincinnati Sr. 6-1 240 Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands

QB Geno Smith West Virginia So. 6-3 210 Miami, Fla./Miramar

RB Isaiah Pead Cincinnati Jr. 5-11 194 Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor Academy

RB Delone Carter Syracuse Sr. 5-10 215 Copley, Ohio/Copley Senior

K Ross Krautman Syracuse Fr. 5-7 154 Franklin Lakes, N.J./Ramapo

RS Nick Williams Connecticut So. 5-9 182 East Windsor, N.J./The Hun School

DEFENSE

Pos. Player School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School

DL Brandon Lindsey Pittsburgh Jr. 6-2 250 Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa

DL Chandler Jones Syracuse Jr. 6-5 251 Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott

DL Scooter Berry West Virginia Sr. 6-1 287 North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon

DL Bruce Irvin West Virginia Jr. 6-3 235 Walnut, Calif./Mt. San Antonio CC

LB JK Schaffer Cincinnati Jr. 6-1 228 Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle

LB Jacquain Williams USF Sr. 6-3 216 Tampa, Fla./Riverview

LB Derrell Smith Syracuse Sr. 6-1 232 New Castle, Del./Paul Hodgson

CB Mistral Raymond USF Sr. 6-2 192 Palmetto, Fla./Palmetto

CB Brandon Hogan West Virginia Sr. 5-10 189 Manassas, Va./Osbourn

S Hakeem Smith Louisville RFr. 6-1 174 Jonesboro, Ga./Riverdale

S Jared Holley Pittsburgh So. 5-10 180 Easton, Pa./Easton Area

S Joe Lefeged Rutgers Sr. 6-1 205 Germantown, Md./Northwest

P Rob Long Syracuse Sr. 6-3 190 Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West

- Neill

Offensive tackle Greg McKee, a freshman on the UConn football team, has been suspended from the team indefinitely the school said in a brief news release Tuesday.

We’ll see what this is all about…

- Neill

Art Quimby

It’s a sad day in UConn basketball circles. Former Husky great Art Quimby has died.

Quimby, a New London native who played at UConn from 1951-55, remains the school’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,716. He also scored 1,398 points for the Huskies, the 19th-best total at the school.

Quimby holds the NCAA all-time record for rebound average by a senior (24.4/game in 1955). Over his junior and senior seasons at UConn Quimby had 46 double-doubles in 51 games.

“Growing up in Braintree, Massachusetts, I was able to get WTIC and listen to the incredible rebounding totals that Art was able to put up,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said in a statement. “They are numbers that are inconceivable today and still make him among the best rebounders in the history of the college game. I was fortunate to get to know Art Quimby in my time here at Connecticut and not only was he a great player, but he was an even better person and ambassador for the state of Connecticut and Connecticut Basketball.”

Quimby scored 49 points against Boston College on Dec. 13, 1954, still the third-best single game total in UConn history. He pulled down 40 rebounds against Boston University on Jan. 11, 1955, the best rebounding game at UConn.

He was a three-time All-Yankee Conference performer and a two-time All-New England honoree. His teams were 80-19 overall with an NCAA Tournament bid in 1954 and the team’s first-ever NIT bid in 1955. Quimby was named to UConn’s All-Century Team in 2001.

Quimby was selected by the Rochester Royals in the 1955 NBA Draft.

- Neill

Taking a few hours off from football, we’re back on the UConn men’s basketball beat today. (Some smart-aleck media types around here call me a part-timer with the more well-known Huskies. But I guess I’ve called them much worse over the years.)

Anyway, No. 7 UConn is getting ready to host Fairleigh Dickinson Wednesday night in Gampel. Here are a few notes from our meeting with the Huskies today:

– It’s something of a sad day in UConn basketball circles. Former Husky great Art Quimby has died.

– UConn coach Jim Calhoun expects his team to finally see a ton of zone defense. In watching FDU on tape the UConn coaches have seen all zone.

“We have seen a minute out of them yet man-to-man,” Calhoun said. “FDU plays 2-3 matchup, 1-2-2 and a regular 2-3.”

– Calhoun says he is trying to arrange a trip to Phoenix to see the UConn football team play in the Fiesta Bowl. The Huskies have an off day on Jan. 1 but Calhoun would have to hustle back.

“I’ve got some friends who are trying to arrange us flying out and getting home at 4 or 5 in the morning and going to the game,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun has long been a fan of the football team and has attended nearly all of their home games over his years in Storrs. He didn’t think something like a BCS bowl was even possible for UConn.

“Twenty-five years ago I never would have expected this,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun also, like many people, didn’t think the Huskies could turn things around after starting 0-2 in Big East play.

“There was no reason for any of us to believe, except for Randy (Edsall) and his kids, that that was going to happen,” Calhoun said.

Veteran UConn radio color man Wayne Norman then pointed out that one of his best teams ever started 0-2 in league play and turned out OK.

Norman, who works at WILI in Willimantic and on the UConn Radio Network that includes WTIC in Hartford, was obviously referring to the 1989-90 Dream Season.

“That was a pretty good year, you’re right,” Calhoun said.

– Today’s game is the Huskies’ last game before 12-day break for final exams.

“Of course we want to end with a bang and with a solid win,” guard Kemba Walker said. “It’s going to be a while before we play again.”

– Calhoun says he’ll start the same five he did against UMBC: PG Kemba Walker, SG Jeremy Lamb, SF Roscoe Smith, PF Tyler Olander, C Alex Oriakhi.

– FDU features forward John Galvin, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound senior from Weston High.

Galvin is averaging 1.7 points and 3.2 rebounds so far this season.

– FDU has won three straight games after starting the season 0-3. It came from 14 down to beat CCSU on Saturday 48-46.

– Former Seton Hall wing Marcus Tony-El is in his first year as an assistant coach with the Knights.

– FDU is 5-45 against Big East teams in its history. It’s last win was Nov. 18, 2006, a 76-71 victory over Seton Hall.

The Knights lost to Villanova last season 84-61.

– Some Kemba Walker numbers to chew on:

He has 204 points through seven games. That’s the most in UConn history.

He continues to lead the nation in scoring (29.1 ppg).

He’s coming off a game in which he recorded the 8th triple-double in UConn history (24p, 13r, 10a).

“It’s over. It was definitely good, it was a good feeling at the time but it’s over now,” Walker said of the triple-double. “Hopefully I can continue to get my teammates involved.”

That’s Calhoun’s goal, too.

“As I keep saying, I’m not going into every building thinking that Kemba’s going to fail,” Calhoun said. “But I do know that there will be occasions that he won’t be able to get the number of shots up that he needs. He’ll have to kick the ball off. And when he kicks the ball off to other people and sets other people up, we’ll have to have those people score points for us.”

– Looking waaaaay ahead, UConn’s 7-0 start is moving up the list of best starts in school history.

The record still belongs to the 1998-99 national title team that started 19-0.

– The only other time UConn and FDU played was in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament at the MCI Center in Washington.

Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin and company (the year before they would win it all) pulled away for a 93-85 win.

But that wasn’t before a little guard named Elijah Allen lit them up a bit. Allen scored 43 points, hitting 14-of-17 from the field including 6-of-7 3-pointers.

Hamilton had 30 and El-Amin 28 for the Huskies in their win.

– This could be UConn’s last game before 7-foot German C Enosch Wolf joins the Huskies. He’s currently at Wilbraham and Monson (Mass.) Academy but can join the Huskies after the first semester.

Calhoun doesn’t know the exact date Wolf will arrive in Storrs.

“The paperwork’s in, he just has to actually sign the papers,” Calhoun said.

Wolf has apparently put on some weight

“He’s working on getting back in shape. He’s done a reasonable job of that,” Calhoun said. “He’s probably 260 right about now. We’d like to have him at 255 or 250,” Calhoun said.

What are Calhoun’s expectations of Wolf?

“My expectations are let’s see what he does in practice and go from there _ just like everybody else,” Calhoun said. “Except I hope his learning curve to be a little better. He’s played a lot of basketball. The kid I saw play was a very smart basketball player, and he is big.”

– Calhoun’s 12th annual holiday food drive will be Thursday. The coach, his family and many UConn players will be at two locations in Hartford Thursday distributing food to 1,000 needy families.

Calhoun will be at the North End Senior Center and then the Pope Park Recreation Center later in the evening.

- Neill

A few notes to pass along:

– Today’s story on coach Randy Edsall, already a hot coaching commodity.

– I know a lot of you are already aware, but UConn’s bowl packages are up on its website.

- Neill