Notes/Quotes from DePaul: “He’s like Gronkowski. He catches everything.”

Thursday, February 16, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy

George Blaney was acting like a stand-up comedian, Shabazz Napier was furiously whipping a towel after Enosch Wolf scored his first basket of the season and chants of “Ky-le Bai-ley” rained down from a half-full student section.

If that doesn’t spell blowout, I don’t know what does.

When you win, it’s all smiles afterwards. Especially when you’ve lost six of your last seven.

George Blaney (AP)

UConn deserves credit, certainly. The Huskies moved the ball much better than they have in previous games (it wasn’t dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, contested jump shot). Instead, UConn got out on the break and took advantage of athletes like Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi. And, let’s face it, DePaul just isn’t very good. The Blue Demons aren’t even average. They’re a very bad basketball team getting pounded in a very competitive conference.

Anyway, here’s the recap of Wednesday’s massacre, some relevant information and then a sample of Blaney’s post-game stand-up.

* Jim Calhoun will miss at least two more games, UConn announced Friday.

* Roscoe Smith (sore Achilles) was in uniform, but did not play. His absence freed up Alex Oriakhi for some more playing time. Oriakhi responded with his third double-double of the season.

* UConn, projected as a No. 9 seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, is No. 20 in the RPI.

“We are in a very good position if we just start getting some wins,” Blaney said.

In my opinion, UConn’s magic number is 20. The Huskies are at 16 wins right now.

*UConn tied a season-high with 23 assists and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.

And now for some Blaney one-liners…

* “Alex has been giving us such an effort and leadership and then Shabazz with 11 assists and no defense on the 3-point shot in the second half.”

* On Andre Drummond: “He’s like Gronkowski…he catches everything.”

* On Jeremy Lin (not Jeremy Lamb): “Oh, Linsanity? I always love players, especially point guards…you’re given decisions in a game, and when you look at his play, most coaches are going to agree that he has made the right decision almost every time.”

* On serving as head coach with Calhoun out: “Well, I’m just hoping that I live…the way I was coaching tonight, I’m not so sure.”

George Blaney’s jokes remind me of my dad’s. And I think my dad is hilarious.

Only one thing went wrong Wednesday: Kyle Bailey didn’t get any burn.

But Bailey, Ben Stewart, PJ Cochrane and Alex Oriakhi were all honored before the game for achieving a 3.0 GPA or higher last semester. Hey, you guys had me beat. Good work.

Categories: General

Live coverage: UConn-DePaul, Fairfield-Saint Peter’s

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by:Ben Doody

With UConn and Fairfield both in action tonight, we’ll have both games covered here in this live blog. Join us just prior to the UConn-DePaul tip, and stick around for Senior Night coverage from the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2fcbc41a23" >Wednesday night hoops</a>

Categories: General

Calhoun to miss at least 3 more games

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy

Jim Calhoun will miss at least three more games as he receives treatment for spinal stenosis, UConn announced Wednesday.

Calhoun, who took a medical leave of absence on Feb. 3, has been through several evaluations as doctors attempt to diagnose the best course of treatment for his lower back.

“I am happy that we seem to have located the problem and I am currently moving forward with treatment,” Calhoun said in a statement. “We have to give that treatment time to see whether or not it is effective. I’m hoping by the middle of next week, we will have a much clearer picture of where we are and when I can look forward to getting back to doing what I do.”

By the middle of next week, UConn (15-9, 5-7) will have a much clearer picture of where its NCAA Tournament hopes stand. The Huskies have lost six of their past seven games heading into tonight’s matchup with DePaul (7 p.m., Gampel Pavilion). Calhoun has missed the team’s last three games – a 26-point win over Seton Hall, an 80-59 blowout at Louisville and Saturday’s 85-67 defeat at Syracuse.

UConn is 3-3 without Calhoun this season. He missed the first three Big East games while serving an NCAA suspension.

In Calhoun’s tenure at UConn, the Huskies are 12-12 when he sits out of a complete game.

Associate head coach George Blaney said Tuesday that Calhoun’s pain seems like it has “intensified.”

“He’s still trying to sift through all the information and make a decision,” Blaney said. “As we all know, there are so many answers to back ailments as far as what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. That’s what he’s sifting through right now. Hopefully, he’ll be able to make a decision shortly and hopefully it will be a quick cure.”

Calhoun’s presence has been sorely missed during UConn’s slump.

“Coach Blaney, (Kevin Ollie), all the assistants, they’re all real smart and they’re doing a great job, but coach Calhoun is the backbone,” said UConn freshman Ryan Boatright.

The earliest game in which Calhoun could return is a Feb. 25 rematch with Syracuse in Storrs.

Categories: General

Gameday: DePaul at UConn

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy

Pretty much a must-win for UConn tonight against DePaul.

A loss to the lowly Blue Demons would force ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi to seriously reconsider his recent projection, which slates UConn as a No. 9 seed.

Some things to look for tonight:

HUSKIES HURTIN’: Andre Drummond (ankle), Jeremy Lamb (toe) and Roscoe Smith (achilles) have all been limited over the past few days. Drummond and Lamb were full participants in Tuesday’s practice and both are listed as probable tonight. Smith, however, is considered questionable. He did not practice Tuesday.

CALHOUN UPDATE: UConn associate head coach George Blaney said it seems like the pain in Jim Calhoun‘s lower back has “intensified.”

THE CLEVELAND SHOW: Former UConn commit Cleveland Melvin burned the Huskies for 25 points and a season-high 12 rebounds in his only game against the Huskies last season. Will he have a similar impact tonight?

* Read the game preview here

* Is the Calhoun era at UConn near its end? USA Today cover story by Marlen Garcia

DePaul at UConn

WHEN: Tonight, 7

WHERE: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs

RECORDS: DePaul 11-13, 2-10 Big East; UConn 15-9, 5-7

LINE: UConn by 14

ON THE AIR: SNY (Justin Kutcher, Kara Lawson); WTIC-AM 1080

UP NEXT: Saturday vs. No. 12 Marquette, noon, XL Center (ESPN/ESPN2)

DEPAUL

Charles McKinney G 6-3 Fr.: 4 ppg, 2.3 rpg

Worrel Clahar G 5-11 Jr.: 51.4 FG percentage

Cleveland Melvin F 6-8 So.: 18.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg

Jameee Crockett F 6-4 Fr.: 30 3-pointers made

Derrell Roberston Jr. 6-10 Fr.: 20 blocks on season

Jeremiah Kelly G 6-0 Sr.: 86 assists, 42 3-pointers made

Moses Morgan F 6-6 So.: 8.3 ppg, 44 3-pointers made

Brandon Young G 6-3 So.: 14.9 ppg

Donovan Kirk F 6-9 So.: 3 ppg, 3.2 rpg

UCONN

Shabazz Napier G 6-0 So.: 11 pts, 7 asts vs. Syracuse

Jeremy Lamb G 6-5 So.: Made 7 of last 33 3-point attempts

Ryan Boatright G 5-10 Fr.: 14 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts vs. Syracuse

Tyler Olander F 6-9 So.: 7 pts, 3 rebs vs. Syracuse

Andre Drummond C 6-10 Fr.: 13 pts, 7 rebs vs. Syracuse

Niels Giffey G/F 6-7 So.: Scoreless in past 4 games

Alex Oriakhi F 6-9 Jr.: 6.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg

DeAndre Daniels F 6-8 Fr.: First DNP of season vs. Syracuse

Roscoe Smith F 6-8 So.: 2 pts, 3 rebs vs. Syracuse

– KEVIN DUFFY

Categories: General

Calhoun Update: Pain Has Intensified

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy

Barring a major turn of events, Jim Calhoun will miss his seventh game of the season when UConn takes on DePaul Wednesday night.

Associate head coach George Blaney said the pain in Calhoun’s lower back seems like it has “intensified” recently.

Funny quote from Ryan Boatright about Calhoun: “Coach Blaney, KO, all the assistants, they’re all real smart and they’re doing a great job. But coach Calhoun is the backbone. You’ve got to do something right or….you all know how Calhoun is.”

Categories: General

Notes/Quotes from Valentine’s Day: “He’s a great trainer. If I was on my own, I’d still be stuck in my room to this day.”

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy

UConn’s MVP of the past few days?

If you ask Andre Drummond, it’s trainer James Doran, who has helped Drummond recover (kind of) from a sprained ankle suffered in Saturday’s loss to Syracuse.

Drummond was limping noticeably about a half-hour following the game. The next morning (as is the case with all ankle injuries), it got much worse.

Andre Drummond (AP)

“I texted James and was like ‘You might want to come get me because I can’t walk,’” Drummond said. “I was struggling to get out of my bed, he loosened it up for me. He’s a great trainer man, If I was on my own, I’d still be stuck in my room to this day.”

Drummond spent Monday’s practice on the sidelines alongside Ray Allen, who drove down from Boston and gave the Huskies a locker room speech.

“It was vintage Ray Allen; it was a vintage talk,” said UConn associate head coach George Blaney.

“What do you do when you’re having trouble? How do you respond?” Blaney continued. “And approaches a little bit, too. Sometimes you get mad at each other, whatever it is you need to do to get everybody on the same page. Whenever you lose, you lose a little bit of that…and that’s what you have to get back.”

*Drummond (ankle), Jeremy Lamb (toe) and Roscoe Smith (sore Achilles) all missed Monday’s practice. Lamb and Drummond are both practicing as I write this, which likely means they’ll go tomorrow vs. DePaul. Smith is not participating in practice.

* After losing five of six games, UConn players have taken some heat — not from the media — but from fans. In this new age of Twitter (really, the first time fans can directly interact with players), college and professional athletes have been forced to adjust to a new avenue of criticism. Check the paper later this week for a story on that.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” said UConn forward Tyler Olander. “You’re going out here and you’re playing your hardest. Especially when people say they’re your fans — when everything goes good they say ‘Oh yeah, go UConn,’ but when you’re down, they just want to kick you when you’re down. That’s frustrating.”

Categories: General

West Virginia Leaves Big East

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy

West Virginia got its wish Tuesday and the Big East officially lost its most competitive football program.

The Big East conference board of directors voted to terminate West Virginia’s membership, effective June 20, 2012.

The Mountaineers will join the Big 12 – in all sports – for the 2012-13 season.

According to a Big East release, West Virginia must “fulfill its obligations under a settlement of agreement with the conference that resolves the litigation between the parties.” West Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Big East on Nov. 1 to let it join the Big 12 immediately.

Therefore, UConn football’s “rivalry” with the Mountaineers has mercifully come to an end.

Pat White (AP)

Since 2003, the Huskies have lost seven games to West Virginia by an average score of 41-17. Their only win in the series came in 2010 when the Mountaineers fumbled seven times – including their lone possession in overtime – as UConn escaped with a 16-13 victory. That win helped propel the Huskies to their first-ever BCS bowl.

West Virginia leaves as the only Big East school to win multiple BCS bowls. Most recently, WVU set a bowl record (that’s all bowls ever) by scoring 70 points in a rout of Clemson at the Orange Bowl.

It was the most points West Virginia had scored since it hung 66 on UConn in the 2007 regular season finale, a game that decided the league’s BCS berth.

“You had to gear up and say your prayers and everything,” former UConn cornerback Terry Baltimore told Hearst Connecticut after West Virginia announced its intentions to bolt for the Big 12. “Those boys came to play — and they had a whole bunch of talent. Between Pat White, who could score at will when he wanted to, and Steve Slaton and Noel Devine, they were loaded.”

Added junior cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson: “(West Virginia) has had a lot of national exposure and success, so every time we played them, it was something we looked forward to. It’s going to be hard for the Big East to replace a team like that.”

For 2012, Big East football has just seven members, which creates scheduling problems. Memphis, Boise State, SMU, Houston, Central Florida and San Diego State are set to join in 2013. It seems unlikely that any of the above schools would be able to make the move before the 2012 season.

The Idaho Statesman recently reported that Boise State is considering an early exit.

But Boise State President Bob Kustra didn’t seem too optimistic.

“It’s too late,” Kustra told the Idaho Statesman. “I can’t imagine how anyone can pull that off. We would never want to pull it off in a fashion that dealt shabbily with our existing partners in the Mountain West. I don’t think that could ever work.”

Read the Associated Press report here.

Categories: General

Calhoun Makes Statement on AD Hire

Monday, February 13, 2012 by:Kevin Duffy

Jim Calhoun was not present for Warde Manuel’s introduction Monday , but the Hall of Fame coach issued the following statement regarding the school’s new athletic director:

“I know our senior administrators have been working very hard to find the best candidate available to become our new Director of Athletics and they are very excited to be able to hire Warde Manuel.

He seems like the perfect fit for us — someone who is going to help lead us into the future. I am happy and excited to welcome him into the UConn family and I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”

A few links from Monday’s press conference:

* Herbst hails Warde Manuel as ‘rock star’

* Chris Elsberry: Cleaning up APR mess is Manuel’s biggest task

* What they’re saying about Warde Manuel

Note: Calhoun is still seeking a resolution on his lower back. It is unlikely he’ll coach Wednesday versus DePaul (7 p.m., Gampel Pavilion).

Categories: General