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I plan to have a more in-depth assessment of this issue soon, but for now, take a look at comments from a few top 100 prospects.

I asked each of them a simple question: How much does conference affiliation matter to you when choosing a school?

*Reggie Cameron, 2013, committed to Georgetown: “On a scale of 1-10, about a seven.” (Cameron, who had offers from B1G, ACC and Big East schools, added that coach and playing time are two more important factors).

*Jordan Bell, 2013, committed to Oregon: “None.”

*Adonys Henriquez, 2014, uncommitted and entertaining offers from every major conference: “Scale of 1-10, it’s a six.”

*Lori Zimmerman, mother of 2015 top 10 prospect Stephen Zimmerman: “Not much.”

*Terrence Samuel, 2013, committed to UConn: “Doesn’t matter as long as I’m a Husky.” (He’s learning fast).

Recruiting is already an uphill battle for Kevin Ollie, whose one-year contract likely played a role in Brandon Austin’s decision to attend Providence over UConn (though that has not been confirmed). This whole conference realignment dilemma is just another obstacle that Ollie must overcome while building for the future.

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UConn hit a funk Thursday evening and never snapped out.

What ensued was an ugly (and I mean truly hideous) 61-53 victory over New Hampshire. As I wrote in my game column, UConn is fortunate it put up such a stinker against UNH. If this was any other team, its doubtful the Huskies walk away 6-1.

Some pertinent info not included in the above article:

*After a slow start, Omar Calhoun has come alive, somewhat justifying the ridiculous amount of praise I gave him in the weeks leading up to the season. The 6-foot-5 freshman has now hit double-figures in five of UConn’s seven games, including Thursday’s 16-point, eight-rebound performance, his best all-around effort to date.

“I like is aggressiveness,” said UConn coach Kevin Ollie. “I like him getting 16 points and getting to the free throw line 11 times…I do like his improvement. I kept him in the game because he had eight rebounds.”

*The Huskies finally outrebounded an opponent, besting UNH on the glass 43-40. DeAndre Daniels pulled down 10 boards, but was largely ineffective offensively. He’s averaging just 6.8 points per game over his last four. The guards will obviously carry the scoring load, but the Huskies certainly need more from Daniels and Tyler Olander, who has been constantly plagued with foul trouble.

*Ollie on Shabazz Napier, who scored a season-low five points: “I have no idea. If I had the answer (to Napier’s inconsistency), a lot of people would be sitting on my couch and I’d be a psychiatrist or something. I don’t have a rhyme or reason. We coach the kid—the kid is a talent. Oh, he’s so good. He can do so many things on the basketball court. And I just don’t’ have an answer why he goes for five points. I just don’t.”

*A few good Ollie sayings:  “I’m not going to have a pity party because that’s not who I am.” (As Waterbury Rep-Am beat writer Ed Daigneault asked on Twitter, what exactly is a pity party?)

And one more from KO: “You don’t go through life, you grow through life.”

I like that one.

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In an anemic offensive effort from both sides, unranked UConn made enough plays —barely — to hold off New Hampshire, 61-53, and avoid a major upset Thursday night at the XL Center.

STAR OF GAME: Ryan Boatright scored 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting and added five assists. Boatright’s reverse layup wit 4:40 remaining gave UConn a 50-46 cushion, and he assisted on an Enosch Wolf dunk on the ensuing possession.

KEY TO THE WIN: New Hampshire drew within three points, 46-43, with six minutes left, but the Huskies, who struggled mightily on offense all night, found answers from Tyler Olander, Wolf and Boatright. An Omar Calhoun 3-point play on a pull-up jumper with 1:42 remaining put UConn up by 11, essentially sealing the victory.

*The first 20 minutes, in particular, were a miserable on all accounts: The two teams combined to go 1-for-18 from 3-point range and weren’t much better inside the arc, either. UConn, plagued by poor shot selection and some flat-out poor shooting, converted just 9-of-29 attempts. Conversely, UNH went 8-for-34 (23.5 percent).

*Olander, who has battled foul trouble for most of the season, scored eight points and pulled in just four rebounds in 16 minutes. He fouled out with 27 seconds remaining and UConn leading by six.

*Freshman shooting guard Omar Calhoun has now hit double-figures in five of the past six games. He registered 16 points and eight rebounds in 37 minutes.

*One game after making eight 3-pointers in 13 possessions, UConn connected on just one of its 14 long range attempts.

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UConn entered halftime with a 25-18 lead on New Hampshire in a lackluster offensive performance from both teams.

The Huskies made just 9-of-29 field goals (31 percent) while New Hampshire (24 percent) was even worse. The two teams combined to make 1-of-18 3-point attempts.

Ryan Boatright and Omar Calhoun combined for 17 points. Shabazz Napier went 1-for-5 from the field for two points.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder have sent rookie shooting guard Jeremy Lamb to its D-League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, according to a report in The Oklahoman Thursday.

Lamb, a first team All-Big East selection last season, was selected No. 12 overall by Houston and was traded to Oklahoma City as part of the James Harden blockbuster deal.

Normally, lottery picks aren’t sent to the D-League, but Lamb is a special case: Because he was traded to a contender, Lamb is buried on the Oklahoma City bench behind Kevin Durant, Kevin Martin and Thabo Sefolosha. A stint in the Developmental League at least gives him a chance to earn some minutes.

“I think it’s going to be great for him to get on the court and play,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks told The Oklahoman. “That’s the great advantage that we have in Tulsa, one, it’s right down the road…so we get to follow them and they do everything we do. And (coach) Darko (Rajakovic) does a great job. I’ve seen him in action, so (Lamb’s) going to get great work on the practice floor and game floor. But we like what he does. He has a very high skill set. He definitely needs to continue to develop his body and his game, but that’s a great position for him to be in.”

Lamb’s teammate,  former UConn big man Hasheem Thabeet, also was shipped to the D-League as a rookie. Thabeet is currently averaging 3.6 points and 3.6 boards in a reserve role with the Thunder.

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The buzz in Storrs Wednesday afternoon was conference realignment, not New Hampshire basketball.

Hard to believe, I know.

Still, we found some time to talk hoops before UConn (5-1 and unranked) hosts UNH Thursday night at the XL Center. Some of the highlights:

*Redshirt senior R.J. Evans (sternalclavicular sprain) has made “great progress,” according to Kevin Ollie. Evans did not practice Wednesday, but was able to shoot some free throws. He’ll miss the storied UNH rivalry, but could return next week. A UConn official said it would be “highly optimistic” to think Evans — the team’s sixth man — can play against N.C. State on Dec. 4. A more realistic goal would be Friday, Dec. 7 versus Harvard.

*Ollie touched on rebounding, which seems to be a topic of discussion after every game or practice.

Alex Oriakhi (AP)

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Well, can’t say we didn’t see this coming.

News broke late Tuesday night that Louisville was one vote shy of gaining an ACC invite. Early Wednesday morning, it became official: Louisville will become the newest ACC member in 2014 while UConn — the last original Big East member with an FBS football team — remains stuck in a league that can only be described as “deteriorating.”

My initial thoughts:

Warde Manuel and Susan Herbst (AP)

*Death sentence for the UConn? Not quite. It’s like the Huskies’ parole was just about to be up, and then the board turned them down, sending them back to the Big House for the foreseeable future.

Does this mean UConn will NEVER escape the hell-hole that is the Big East? Not at all. I’d be very, very surprised if Louisville to the ACC was the absolute last maneuver in conference realignment. So there may be other opportunities down the road.

As long as UConn is stuck in the Big East, football suffers far worse than basketball because football is still in the “building” stages of its program. And it’s going to be awfully difficult to build a program around an uninspiring head coach and a schedule that consists of Houston, Central Florida, Tulane and East Carolina.

With basketball, though, there’s still reason to believe UConn can maintain its elite status. As UConn President Susan Herbst said Wednesday, “We are a great athletics program across the board, so we’ll always be in national tournaments and will always, eventually, play the best teams in the nation.” If the Huskies can routinely make noise in the NCAA tournament (minus this year, of course), the winning tradition, the influence of Kevin Ollie and the new facilities can compensate for a watered-down league schedule.

Football is the real issue here. I’m not sure UConn can ever take a major step forward in this new-look Big East.