In one forty minute game on Tuesday night, UConn showcased just how much they’ve changed since last year. The Huskies defeated a competent New Hampshire team in front of an alleged sell-out crowd in Storrs.
In the victory, the Huskies showed depth, speed, rebounding and three-point shooting that were all absent from their arsenal a season ago.
Sterling Gibbs and Rodney Purvis ignited the offense from outside. Facing UNH’s zone defense, the duo hit five threes each, and lead the team in scoring with 21 and 20 points, respectively.
Daniel Hamilton overcame a slow start to finish with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. New Hampshire coach Bill Herrion even dropped a Magic Johnson comparison on the forward in lauding his passing. The combination of outside shooting and interior passing neutralized the zone, another consistent problem for UConn last year.
Starting forward Shonn Miller struggled, finishing with three points, but the front court back-up combination of Phil Nolan and Kentan Facey combined for 11 points and 16 rebounds, more than making up for Miller’s quiet night. And that was without freshman Steve Enoch making an appearance as he was benched by coach Kevin Ollie.
The UConn offense was remarkably efficient. Despite a paltry six fastbreak points, the Huskies racked up 85 points by shooting a red hot 52.6 percent from the floor.
New Hampshire managed to stay in the game with some hot three-point shooting of their own. UNH made seven threes in the second half, adding some slight intrigue to a game that UConn dominated at times, and was never truly in doubt.
Also aiding the Wildcats’ cause were some bizarre first half substitutions that relegated both Gibbs and Purvis to the bench in the middle of their hot streaks when it felt UConn could have scored at will. Purvis hit his first two three-point attempts before being subbed out at the 15:18 mark in the first half. Gibbs had six of UConn’s 13 points when he went to the bench with 12:58 left.
Gibbs returned two and a half minutes later with UConn leading by only one point. Purvis did not get back on the court until the 7:58 mark. Both hit a three-pointer in their first shot attempt after reentering the game.
Ollie has been adamant early in the season that these games are a laboratory for him to test his players and experiment with varying lineups. But several players — most notably Gibbs — admitted after the game that it can be difficult to stay in rhythm with large-scale substitutions happening frequently.
Ollie will have one more warmup game, as the Huskies take on Furman this weekend, before their first real test in the Bahamas against Michigan. It will be interesting to see if the lineup experimentation continues or if the rotation begins to settle into the version best suited for high-caliber opponents.
While an interesting dilemma, it is one that could not have occurred last season. UConn’s depth is a virtue and that was on full display on Tuesday night.
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