What Connecticut Basketball Can Do to Win the Puerto Rico Tip-Off

After opening the season with a sloppy victory against Bryant University, Connecticut basketball is scheduled to play more challenging opponents in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament this week. Senior captain Ryan Boatright, who poured in 24 points in the season opener, will look to lead the Huskies past the College of Charleston on Thursday afternoon. If victorious, UConn will move on to play either Dayton or Texas A&M. 

Should they move on to the winner’s bracket, the 17th-ranked Huskies have a chance to meet New Mexico, Boston College, George Mason, or West Virginia. Let’s explore the team’s strengths, what challenges it will face, which potential opponents pose the biggest threat to its success and, finally, what it must do in order to bring home some hardware in the early-season tournament.

The strength of this season’s Huskies squad lies in its backcourt depth. Boatright is joined by transfer Sam Cassell Jr. (son of the former NBA veteran), former five-star recruit Rodney Purvis (after he sat out last season due to NCAA rules after transferring from North Carolina State), returning players Terrence Samuel and Omar Calhoun and freshman Daniel Hamilton (who has NBA potential).

The loss of leader Shabazz Napier—who graduated and now plays for the Miami Heat—will certainly be felt, but Boatright will be leaned on heavily this season to become the next go-to scorer (especially in late-game situations). However, it will be Purvis who will make the largest impact and determine how far this team gets in March.

A former McDonald’s All-American player in high school, Purvis chose to play for Mark Gottfried at North Carolina State (where he averaged 8.3 points in 25.6 minutes per game). Apparently this was not sufficient for the highly-touted guard. He bolted after just one season, choosing to transfer to Connecticut, which was the program he didn’t choose back in 2011 when he cut his choices down to the final two schools on his list.

Purvis explained, via Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant, that N.C. State was simply not the right fit, and that he was excited about his future at the University of Connecticut. “At the end of the day, it’s about what’s best for you and your family,” Purvis noted. “My ultimate goal is to play at the next level, and I felt at UConn I will be able to show my skills and get to that level whenever the time is right.”

An extremely gifted scorer, Purvis will make his long-awaited debut on Thursday against the College of Charleston, after sitting out the first game due a suspension for playing too many summer-league games.

Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. This is the team’s major challenge for the second straight season. Despite cutting down the nets last year, the Huskies were among the worst rebounding teams in the country. They averaged 35.4 boards per game, which ranked 149th in the NCAA. With a somewhat thin frontcourt rotation, Connecticut will rely on a pair of sophomores to dominate the glass this season.

Kentan Facey turned in a standout performance in the season opener, bringing down 11 rebounds in the victory over Bryant. He showed an ability to rebound the basketball last season in his limited time on the court, but now that he is in a starting role with more minutes available, the Huskies will rely on his length and athleticism—especially on the defensive end.

Amida Brimah, a lanky 7’0" center, showed that he was particularly effective in the defensive paint last season. His ability to redirect and block shots is noted, but he needs to improve his rebounding numbers from just 3.0 per game last season. As Charles Barkley has often quipped, rebounding is all about wanting the ball and showing tenaciousness in pursuit of it. Last season’s team lacked that ability. Wins will come easier to this year’s squad if it is hungry for the ball off of the rim.

Connecticut will struggle when defending strong, physical, productive big men in the paint. As noted, Brimah is very lanky and (despite his size) can be easily pushed around by a slightly shorter, bulkier opponent. Bob Huggins’ West Virginia Mountaineers have two of those types of forwards in Devin Williams and Jonathan Holton. Through the first two games, Williams averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds per game, while Holton averaged 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Add in productive guards Juwan Staten and Jaysean Paige, and West Virginia might have what it takes to knock off the defending national champions (should they square off at some point).

To top it off, Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant wrote an entertaining column on Wednesday that detailed the fact that Ryan Boatright committed to West Virginia and Huggins four years ago. However, when Boatright and his family found out Huggins was also recruiting guard Jabarie Hinds, they became furious. This led to Boatright decommitting and ending up at UConn. That should lead to quite an interesting narrative, should the matchup occur. 

The Huskies may also have a hard time with a potential second-round opponent in Texas A&M (a team that pulled down 52 team rebounds in its season opener).

However, fully expect Connecticut to succeed in this tournament and win it all. Its backcourt depth and skill, combined with its winning culture, should give it the edge against any potential opponents in the field. Despite Connecticut's past struggles in rebounding the basketball, coach Kevin Ollie should guide this team to it’s first championship of the 2014-2015 season. Who knows—this may not be the only championship that this talented group wins.