By Aidan Joly
Heading into year three of the Dan Hurley era at UConn, the Huskies have the highest expectations there have been in years.
After Hurley’s first time going over .500 in Big East play since his arrival, the team returns to the Big East to renew rivalries with Villanova and Georgetown and a rematch of the 2011 national title game against Butler. That as well as returning multiple key players and bringing in new talent, brings unmatched hype to Storrs for this year.
This squad’s backcourt will be the most interesting aspect in the first handful of games. The team’s leading scorer from last year, Christian Vital, is gone. However, replacing him is sophomore James Bouknight. If you haven’t heard that name yet, you will soon. He averaged 13 PPG in 25.8 minutes per game as a freshman this past year. Bouknight, a legit NBA prospect down the line, is more of a scorer than a playmaker but has the ability to be a go-to guy for the Huskies.
A big question mark in the backcourt is RJ Cole. Cole sat out last year after transferring in from Howard, averaged over 20 points per game in his two seasons with the Bison and won the MEAC player of the year in 2018-19. Of course, you can’t compare the level of competition of the MEAC to the Big East, but it will be interesting to see what he can do in his first year with a high-major program.
Off the bench, junior Brendan Adams (brother of Jaylen) should see key minutes and provide some scoring after averaging 7.4 PPG in 22 minutes per contest last year, as well as potentially Jalen Gaffney.
As for the frontcourt, Josh Carlton returns for one final season as the only one Sharpied in as healthy at the start of the year. He started every game last season and averaged 7.8 PPG in just over 21 minutes and will probably have a similar role this year.
Akok Akok was fantastic in his freshman season, but a torn Achilles ended his season prematurely and he is unlikely to be back until at least December. Until he’s back, Isaiah Whaley is likely to start after averaging 6 PPG and 5 RPG last season. In addition, Tyler Polley recently became available after missing some time due to a knee injury. Polley’s outside shot will be critical, shooting 40.5% from three-point range last year to go along with 9.5 PPG.
That means two freshmen, Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson, are likely to see minutes day one. Sanogo is seen as a fantastic rebounder, which is good since defensive rebounding was a major issue last season (221st in the country). Jackson is a slasher who can drive to the rim and is has a similar skill set to Akok. Jackson will likely see meaningful minutes right out of the gate.
Overall, in the frontcourt you have five guys, including Akok, in the mix. The big question here is how Hurley will divide up playing time among them.
UConn is a national brand, and the fanbase expects a lot. Four national championships since 1999 and firing Kevin Ollie after back-to-back tournament misses four years after winning a national title (that was mainly some other stuff though) will do that.
For this group, the ceiling is finishing top three or four in the Big East, and the floor is bottom half and making the NIT. Personally, I think it’s going to be closer to ceiling and the Huskies will be back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.
AJ Hoops 