With both preseason exhibitions over, the UConn men’s basketball team now looks forward to its regular season opener this Friday against Stony Brook. And while the team has performed well in the exhibitions, some questions still remain.
Besides Kemba Walker, it remains unclear who else will start the regular season opener against Stony Brook. But the preseason exhibitions have indicated who will see the floor, and Calhoun has indicated that this is “a 10-man team.”
“We’re building, hopefully, this 10-man team,” Calhoun said. “I would like in a month from now, playing games in December sometime, to be talking about our 10-man team.”
At guard, Walker will be the primary point guard, alongside freshman Jeremy Lamb, who Calhoun said would most likely be the two-guard.
Shabazz Napier and Donnell Beverly will comprise the rest of the rotation at guard. Up front, Alex Oriakhi figures to be the primary guy at center along with Charles Okwandu, and the two forward spots will likely be shared by Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Roscoe Smith, Niels Giffey and Tyler Olander.
The one thing that seems certain, however, is that this is most definitely Walker’s team.
“He just seems to be at a different speed than everybody else,” Calhoun said.
Overall, the team performed well, successfully pressing a small Bridgeport team while shooting 52.9 percent from the field. In the first half, the Huskies also shot the three very well, but couldn’t get the shots to fall from behind the arc in the second half.
“I thought we really shot three-pointers well the whole game,” Calhoun said. “I think we’re capable of putting up 12 or 14 for 20.” Freshman Standouts
Coming into the season with a 10-man rotation consisting of five freshmen, the Huskies will need to get significant contributions from their young guns early if they plan on winning games. After a solid 80 minutes of preseason action, the freshmen have demonstrated their poise and strengths, as well as their youth and weaknesses.
Perhaps the most impressive freshman has been Lamb. Though Lamb played timidly in the first game against AIC, he came out far more aggressively against Bridgeport, and the difference showed. Lamb scored 17 points with six rebounds, two assists, three blocks and a steal, shooting 7-9 from the field including 2-4 from behind the arc.
“We try to enforce on him a lot to be more aggressive,” Walker said. “We need him to score baskets. I’m not going to score every night, so we need guys to step up. He’s one of the guys who has the potential to step up.”
Top Performers
Just like in the first preseason game against AIC, Walker was the leader of the Huskies on offense. After scoring 25 points against AIC, Walker came out and scored 21 points against Bridgeport, including 17 in the first half.
Also key to the Huskies success was Oriakhi, who scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in just 19 minutes of play.
The Quotable Jim Calhoun
“I thought Coombsie shot threes that he’ll make,” Calhoun said about Jamal Coombs-McDaniels, who was two for eight from behind the line.