Earlier this evening I wrote that this season would be measured by effort, hustle, heart and determination. Wins and losses will come but will not define this team. For the first 20 minutes of tonight’s game vs. AIC, UConn failed to measure up to even the most modest of expectations. The offense was stagnant and disjointed. The defense was slow and unresponsive. Rebounds went missing. Shots weren’t falling. As mistakes added up, the look of last year’s team started to set in on the faces of Ryan Boatright and Shabbaz Napier – the look of frustration.
It was an unremarkable beginning to Kevin Ollie’s first game as head coach. UConn went into the half down 29-28 and out-rebounded.
After intermission, UConn returned to the court with renewed focus and energy. Napier and Boatright appeared a step quicker. The hilarious front-court tandem of Tyler Olander and Niels Giffey hit the glass to the best of their ability. Omar Calhoun showed a glimpse of what may be a special career and UConn pulled away to a solid 78-63 win.
Some general thoughts:
- Omar Calhoun was incredibly impressive and, by far, the bright spot of UConn’s offense which struggled at various points throughout the game.
- Get ready to love RJ Evans. In the first half, when UConn looked complacent and slow, Evans ignited the offense with several hard drives to the basket. Evans is built like a tank and looks closer to Ollie’s age than his teammates but was the most energetic player whenever he was on the court.
- Freshman Phil Nolan looks raw. He (impressively?) managed to foul-out in about 5 minutes of play. He missed 2 consecutive layups under the basket. He is, however, the clear backup big to Olander and should improve with more minutes. First impressions imply there’s a heap of talent there ready to be developed.
- Shabbaz Napier and Ryan Boatright still need to work on playing together. There are flashes of absolute brilliance. In the 2nd half, Boatright turned up the energy and was clearly the best player on the court. Napier looked tentative – especially in the 1st half – and seemed much more concerned with getting his teammates the ball than looking for his shot. A noble idea under some circumstances, but not when your team needs a leader, a spark and points in a hurry.
- The crowd was…we’ll be polite…weak. Gampel Pavilion had large swaths of empty seats. The student section was respectable but the white-hairs didn’t put on a very good showing.
- After a mini-run in the 1st half, Big Red got up to do his famous UCONN chant and nobody noticed! Around the first “N” the crowd perked up and half-heartedly joined in. Sit on your hands? OK. Boo your own players? Who am I do judge? But, damn, show Big Red some respect!
- Jim Calhoun was courtside for the whole game, sitting next to Athletic Director Warde Manuel at a table behind the home basket. It was unimaginably weird seeing Calhoun just sit there. At one point, Omar Calhoun mistook a referee for a teammate and hurled a chest-pass right into the breadbasket of the unsuspecting zebra. If nothing else, I hope Jim enjoyed that.
Next up: The final exhibition game vs. hated rival UMass-Lowell. Sunday, November 4th at the XL Center in Hartford.
