Hurley's Huskies excited to start long-awaited season

A college basketball season is finally upon us and, at least for now, UConn men’s basketball is all systems go to begin their 2020-21 campaign.

The Huskies will officially open the season on Wednesday with an 8 p.m. matchup against Central Connecticut State inside Gampel Pavilion (FS1).

“It’s a blessing for us to be able to get on the court and do what we love to do,” said UConn coach Dan Hurley, who enters his third season with the program.

UConn also plans to welcome the University of Hartford to Gampel for an 8 p.m. game on Friday (CBS Sports Network), but the rest of the non-conference schedule appears to be day-to-day.

The Huskies have only been back practicing since last Thursday after spending 14 days in quarantine following an unnamed player testing positive for COVID-19.

“We ended up with about four realistic practices after missing the 14 days,” Hurley said. “It’s uncharted waters, so you write up a practice plan how you think you will be coming out of a two-week shutdown. There’s no road map for this - we tried to get them as many live reps without pushing them too hard.”

When asked about which areas his squad needed to address after emerging from quarantine, the Huskies' coach felt that improvements were needed “all across the board."

“Pretty much our focus the last couple days is try to work on our defense ... our culture and our togetherness,” Hurley said.

While out of action, the players could do little but workout on their own and "do old school stuff” like running and jumping rope. With the exception of sophomore Akok Akok (Achilles’ tendon), the Huskies enter the opener healthy.

“From a health standpoint, we look good right now.” Hurley said.

The game against the Blue Devils - coached by former Huskies great Donyell Marshall - is the 15th all-time meeting between the schools, with UConn holding a commanding 14-0 lead in the series.

UConn returns seven players from a 19-12 squad that won five straight heading into the final American Athletic Conference Tournament in Huskies' history. Topping that list is sophomore guard James Bouknight, a preseason All-Big East second-team selection who is on the preseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy and Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Awards.

“Bouknight is foaming at the mouth to get out there right now,” Hurley said. “We’ve tried to settle him down because he’s going 100 miles per hour.”

Senior forwards Josh Carlton and Isaiah Whaley, along with sophomore guard Jalen Gaffney, are also back after starting at the end of last season.

Polley (knee) comes back from a season-ending injury, while junior Brendan Adams is another holdover that has been sidelined within a foot injury for about three months.

“Basically I’m feeling good, my leg is feeling good,” senior forward Tyler Polley said. “I think we’re ready.”

When asked about what it means to finally start their season, Polley added, “It means everything how the world is now with COVID. Teams are getting shut down and all kinds of crazy stuff. It’s a blessing to go out and represent UConn, so I’m excited.”

A half-dozen players will make their UConn debut, led by junior guards R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin. Red-shirt freshman Richie Springs, along with freshmen Andre Jackson, Adama Sanogo, and Javonte Brown also enter the mix.

UConn opens Big East play on Friday, Dec. 11 when the Huskies will host St. John’s at Gampel Pavilion for a 7 p.m. showdown (FS1).

NOTES:

- Akok continues to make progress in his rehab and is now taking part in 5-on-5 half-court activities; Hurley said he came off a really good practice on Tuesday and called his recovery “kind of startling"

- Hurley declined to name a starting lineup for the opener, but here’s a guess: Bouknight, Gaffney, Polley, Whaley, and Sanogo