Update on UConn

I’ve been getting asked by a lot of friends and family members about the whole UConn scandal.  To be honest, I’m not going into details about the investigation because No. 1.) I don’t believe it’s that big of a deal, and No.2) I refer you to Kevin Duffy’s article in the Daily Campus.  His thoughts are my thoughts.

Anyhow, since most of you know I work for UConn Athletic Communications, I’ll tell you what I do know about the whole scandal: it’s not effecting the team.  Honestly, if you’re not convinced by the last two games they won, then what I have to say can hopefully quench your anxiety.

I attended a portion of the men’s practice today.  The chemistry was great.  The team practiced extremely hard.  They did not seem at all distracted by this latest scandal.  The team is not losing focus, like the 2005-06 team.

“I think there are a lot of differences in focus,” said A.J. Price.  “I actually think the [2005-06 team] was a better team than we are as far as personnel wise, but I think this team is more focused.  We understand what we need to do.  We’ve made it further than them.  They probably had a lot of other agendas going on with so many pros on that team and so many guys who were thinking about going pro.  I think our mindset – we’re in a much better place than they were.”

“We stay focused,” said Hasheem Thabeet.  “We have a lot of guys that know what we need to do to win the game.  We work hard all the time and we have a great teacher in Coach Calhoun.  We call him teacher.  He’s taught us a lot.  When you watch us practice, it’s always hard and we used to hate it, but now we know why the practice was hard.  He’s prepared us so well for this postseason play and all we can do right now is thank him.  Our guys, you know every time we step through the lines, we work hard.  We’re not worrying about any distractions.  We can take care of basketball but the other stuff we don’t have the power to take care of.  All we have to do is come out and play ball.”

Towards the end of practice, in what was a hilarious display of events, the team tried to mimic Lebron James underhand shot from 60 Minutes.

Craig Austrie started the whole thing.  Price followed and made an underhand half-court shot on his second attempt (he ended up making two more).  The whole team eventually joined in, but no one else was successful.  It was pretty funny to watch the managers fetch about 16 basketballs throughout the stands though.

Hasheem (Thabeet) was probably the funniest though.  As the media was talking to Jim Calhoun towards the center of the court, Hash would continually throw the ball up, look at the direction of the ESPN camera and then walk away like it was nothing.  However, the closest he came to making the underhand shot was a clank off the top of the shot-clock.  Needless to say, he didn’t give up and tried about 35 times until he was pulled away for quotes.  Hopefully, this is the kind of “never give up attitude” UConn exhibits throughout their next game against Michigan State, and hopefully against Carolina or ‘Nova.

Kemba Walker was also pretty funny.  Kemba was sitting in the first row of the stands waiting for the media to come over and interview him.  After waiting for about two minutes, Kemba decided to try the underhand shot from the first row.  He was hilarious.  The first three times he shot, he looked to the throng of media surrounding Calhoun and yelled out, “Where’s ESPN at?  ESPN, watch this.  First take.  This is the first take!”  However, the closest he came to sinking it was hitting the left-side of the backboard.

Price, however, wouldn’t be denied.  He was sitting next to Kemba and called for a ball.  Much like his half-court shot, on his second attempt he swished the shot.  After sinking it, he put his arms up and yelled, “That’s four, that’s four!”

As a fan who wants UConn to win the title more than anything, I was really nervous with how the team would be dealing with this upcoming week.  I was pretty happy to find out they were excited and having fun with the opportunity that awaits them, while being serious as well throughout the entire practice.  I got a good vibe after watching the team, and trust me, I’d be the last person to feel confident going into this weekend.  However, the team’s mentality today seemed to ease my concerns.

Also, Jerome Dyson looks like he could play right now.  He was shooting from about 40 feet away and swishing a lot, and I mean A LOT, of shots.  Don’t worry about rust from Dyson next year.  He’ll be ready to go.  Here are Price's thoughts on Dyson:

“I haven’t spoken too much [to him] about [his injury].  He’s just been a great teammate, just being around and being vocal.  He’s at practice and giving everything he can from the bench during games.  You know, I’ve been there before even though it was only one game.  I kind of know the mind set he’s going through.  I felt what he’s feeling right now.”

During the 2005-2006 season you were out with an injury.  Can you relate to what Jerome is going through?

“Yeah, definitely.  I didn’t play on the team but I still felt like I was a part of that team.  I think the guys on that team felt like I was part of that team because I knew those guys.  I came in and those were my friends.  I was able to watch them go through the Tournament.  It is very difficult not to be out there and seeing the guys battling, trying to do something special, and having the opportunity to play for a championship.  It’s a very difficult transition, but I think he’s handling it and doing a great job just by being vocal and letting everybody know that he’s still there with them.”

I hope this helps for all the fans of UConn out there who are nervous like me.  Let’s cheer on our Huskies like mad come this weekend.  U-C-O-N-N, UConn, UConn, UConn!!!

Throughout the next week, show your Husky pride.