http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/ en Copyright 2008 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:56:24 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tyler Lorenzen and WR D.J. Hernandez were in pads and went through warm-ups but did not take any reps with the offense today. Coach Randy Edsall is probably just being cautious and resting his starters. -- LB Lawrence Wilson, DE Lindsey Whitten, LB Greg Robinson, DE Mike Cox, WR Brad Kanuch, LB Doc Goudreau and DB Jerome Junior did not practice. Wilson's left foot was in a brace but he was jogging up the Memorial Stadium stairs relatively easily. Robinson was limping rather badly. -- Darius Butler and Jasper Howard worked with the first group on kick returns. Jordan Todman and Donald Brown were the backups Tuesday. -- Tony Ciaravino booted a 55-yard field goal during the place kicking action, causing his teammates to cheer loudly and mob the senior. Updates coming later tonight... -- Neill ]]> http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/some_walking_wounded.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/some_walking_wounded.html Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:56:24 -0500 Tyler Lorenzen is back practicing with the first team offense, coach Randy Edsall said. "I don't know if it's sending a message," Lorenzen said. "He just wants people to peform at their best." Lorenzen says he was glad Zach Frazer is improving. "Zach's playing well and he's come a long way," Lorenzen said. "That's great for our team." -- WR Brad Kanuch is "week-to-week" with his hamstring injury, Edsall said. -- LB Lawrence Wilson, RB Robbie Frey and LB Greg Robinson all rolled ankles in practice and are "day-to-day" -- Kashif Moore, D.J. Hernandez and Ellis Gaulden are the starting wide receivers as of now. Alex Molina, Mike Smith and Marcus Easley are the second-stringers. -- Freshman Jordan Todman will play soon. “There will be a role for Jordan this year,” Edsall said Friday. Todman will probably return punts, might return kicks and could play some offense, too. Todman and Smith are the only true freshman who are slated to play this season, though that could change. "He can catch the ball, he can return the ball, he can run the ball," Edsall said of Todman. "He is an athlete. We'll try to put together a package where he might be able to aid us in scoring points through special teams and also on offense." Todman might be the fastest Husky. He said he hasn't been timed in the 40-yard dash in two years, but would probably run a 4.3. "That's the question. No one really knows how fast he is," Hernandez said. "We scratch our heads every day. He's explosive and fun to watch." -- Neill]]> http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/tyler_back_with_1s.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/tyler_back_with_1s.html Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:36:43 -0500 UConn wide receiver Brad Kanuch was among 71 college football players nominated for the 17th annual All-State AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Good Works Team Wednesday. From the 71 nominations submitted by sports information directors on behalf of their teams, a committee will select two 11-player teams _ one from the Bowl Subdivision (which everyone still sensibly calls Division I-A) and one from the Championship Subdivision (Division I-AA), Division II, Division III and NAIA. Among the other players nominated were James Laurinaitis (Ohio State), Tiquan Underwood (Rutgers), Lavar Lobdell (Syracuse), Richard Sheppard (Temple), Scott McKillop (Pittsburgh), George Selvie (USF) and Tito Gonzales (West Virginia). http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/kanuch_does_good.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/kanuch_does_good.html Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:56:26 -0500 Zach Frazer earned a surprise promotion and was with the first team offense. "I'm very excited. I can't wait," Frazer said of perhaps seeing some playing this season. "I sat out last year, redshirted at Notre Dame, so it's been a while." Coach Randy Edsall said he wasn’t sure how long Tyler Lorenzen would be working with the second team. "It's practice. I want so see what certain people can do," Edsall said. "If there are people that aren't producing out here on the practice field or if they're not executing and doing some of the things they're being taught in the meetings…if things are happening not fast enough or not being executed that way, I'm going to switch anybody's position." Frazer looked good but not great. Lorenzen was vocal and up beat all day, but he wasn’t awesome on Tuesday either. -- Wide receiver Brad Kanuch pulled his left hamstring and departed the practice field early. He was limping a bit with an ice pack on his leg following the workout. -- Mike Hicks was back with the first team at right tackle. Dan Ryan probably has plenty of chances to take the spot back, however. -- Cornerback Josh Massey, a walk-on from Notre Dame-West Haven, is not practicing with the team currently. The redshirt freshman is slated to rejoin the squad when UConn's fall semester begins and the NCAA's limit on a team's total number of players is lifted. Massy was arrested for sixth-degree larceny after an incident at the UConn Co-op in April. He was accused of taking two items valued at $31.34. The Hamden native was a standout football and track performer in high school. -- Guard Zach Hurd briefly left Tuesday’s practice with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. While he was being treated by the UConn medical staff Edsall bellowed “You have to hit somebody to get hurt!” Edsall was especially displeased with Hurd and fellow guard Alex LaMagdelaine, each of whom committed an ill-timed false start penalty. "Those are the things that will kill you," Edsall said. "And those are the things that we avoided last year." -- Cornerback/wide receiver Darius Butler took some playful jabs from his defensive teammates after dropping what appeared to be an easy interception. "I thought you had hands But!" safety Robert Vaughn yelled. "Don't you play receiver?" linebacker Scott Lutrus said. Butler quickly redeemed himself. On the very next play Frazer lofted a high pass into the end zone, trying to find D.J. Hernandez. Hernandez got his hands on the ball but Butler ripped it away and came down with an interception. -- Aaron Bryant blocked a field goal late in Tuesday’s practice and leveled Frazer (who was serving as holder) with a block that sprung Terry Baltimore for a touchdown return. Frazer insisted he was fine, joking that Bryant might be a little woozy. "AB? He'll be all right,” Frazer said. Frazer says he doesn’t mind a little contact. "I want to run someone over but it hasn't come to that," Frazer deadpanned. -- Freshman Jordan Todman had the disorderly conduct charges he was facing dropped. The Dartmouth, Mass., native was charged before his high school prom June 5. "We talked to him back when it took place and we were appraised of the situation," Edsall said. "We felt that what ended up happening in the legal system is exactly what was going to happen when this all occurred. "You just hope that if they do make a mistake or something happens, they'll learn from it," Edsall said. "I know Jordan learned from it as soon as it happened." -- Donald Brown is UConn’s starting running back. It may not last until Aug. 28, though. "There are a lot of guys who have been told that they're starters, but things can change," Edsall said. -- Edsall is being careful about praising his players too much early in the season. "We gave somebody some sugar the other day and it was bad," Edsall said. "There's no sense giving anybody sugar after five days. You give them sugar and they might get fat and happy. Then they don't do what they're supposed to." - Neill]]> http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/a_new_qb.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/a_new_qb.html Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:57:27 -0500 Beau Brunelli before, but not knowing exactly big he was, I relied on the information UConn provided when mentioning his name in Saturday's paper. UConn listed Brunelli as being 5-foot-9 and 193 pounds. That sounded small to me, but I went with it. A mistake, apparently. UConn has since corrected its error and I would like to the same. Beau Brunelli is 6-foot-2 and 255 pounds as measured by the school recently. That's decent size for a freshman defensive end. This new math would be nice to apply if UConn ever puts out a roster of beat reporters covering the team. Maybe then I could weigh 193 pounds, too. Of course, if a similar percentage of weight was removed from the likes of oh, say, our friend Ed Daigneault of the Waterbury Republican-American, he might have a program weight of about 98.5 pounds. - Neill]]> http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/heavy_issue.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/heavy_issue.html Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:18:04 -0500 Jim Calhoun’s second annual elite camp was in full swing, so here are a few notes. -- Stanley Robinson, who Calhoun has said would miss at least the first semester this season, was at the camp and confirmed that scenario. “Sticks” says he plans to return in January to the school and the program, though that still seems like a longshot. Robinson is living with his uncle in Connecticut and will be taking a course at a local community college. Stanley said he expects to pass the course and return to UConn. It’s not clear that academics were the sole reason for Robinson’s departure, however, and the process might not be that simple. Also, UConn has reached its allotment for scholarships (assuming everyone who is scheduled to arrive in the fall does so), so Robinson would have to pay his own way. The most likely scenario involves Robinson sitting out the entire year and coming back to school and to the team in 2009. That’s a long time to sit, but Robinson doesn’t seem ready to give up on the Huskies yet. One thing is fairly clear: the 6-foot-9 small forward hasn’t lost any of his hops. Robinson was still his high-flying self during a workout Sunday. -- A number of the nation’s top recruits were on hand for the camp. Here’s a short (meaning long) list. FYI, there are bound to be misspellings in here, for which I apologize. The source material had many typos. Anali Okoloji, Nelson Laquan, Mattieu Johnson, Kamren Belin, Andre Drummond, Richard Peters, Tobias Harris, Jordan Williams, Emeka Okoloji, Patrick Young, Mike Buffalo, Anthony Jernigan, Greg Langston, Tyler Rich, Eric Copes, Dominic Cheek, Durand Scott, Josh Turner, Keran Iverson, Torrel Harris, Kadeem Green, Jakarri McCallup, Ryan Genva, Daniel Orton Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, the longtime UConn commits, missed a flight out of Orlando following an AAU tournament and weren’t in Storrs Sunday. They were expected to arrive Monday, along with their teammate Gerard Coleman. -- A couple of cursory observations: Orton is big. Really big. And he’s smart. And he seems to have family/friends/advisors who know the ropes. Cheek sounds like he really likes UConn. Of course, many players like the school they are visiting at the moment of their visit. But Cheek’s time playing with incoming UConn guard Kemba Walker could give the Huskies an unexpected boost in the recruiting game. Young is a very nice young man, and a quickly improving basketball player. Peters is only starting his high school career, but watch out. He’s just 15 years old and going to be good. More in Monday’s Connecticut Post. - Neill]]> http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/mr_robinson_in_the_neighborhoo.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/mr_robinson_in_the_neighborhoo.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:35:22 -0500 * The position switches made this spring that were designed to make UConn's defense faster were switched back this week. Scott Lutrus is moving back to Husky (the hybrid linebacker/safety) and is vacating the middle. Dahna Deleston is moving back to strong safety and won't be the Husky anymore. Greg Lloyd Jr. is taking over at middle linebacker. The coaches had to put one new starter on the field, and they felt Lloyd was most ready to play, hence the moves. Much more on this in Saturday's paper. * It’s kind of odd not to have a quarterback question with the Huskies. This is the first August since Dan Orlovsky left town that the starter is a given. That being said, incumbent Tyler Lorenzen had a pretty bad day throwing the ball on Friday. It’s no big deal, though, at least he was better than his other previous first days. Coach Randy Edsall said Lorenzen was much worse during Day 1 in the spring of 2007 and he was worse on the first day of practice last August. "I hope he's a lot better than he was today," Edsall said with a laugh. Lorenzen put some of the blame on the NCAA-mandated no pads practice. He was yearning for a little contact (just a little, mind you). “I hate no pads. You'd think a QB wouldn't care," Lorenzen said, "but you get a better sense of things when the pads are on. It's more lifelike. It's real football." * Edsall might have made a New Year’s Resolution to swear less. Although he raised his voice a number of times during Friday’s practice to motivate his team, there weren’t many vulgarities. "A couple of times when I raised my voice I could tell the execution was a little better," Edsall said. One of Edsall’s most heated rants? “God Bless America! I can’t believe we can’t complete a simple pass!” * News flash: Jordan Todman is fast. Very fast. The freshman running back/returner showed a number of shifty moves and pure speed. "Yeah he is," Edsall said when a member of the media mentioned Todman’s wheels. "Pretty quick, pretty fast." * New faces: There were nine walk-ons making their practice debut Friday. Among them were the huge Zac Zielinski (a 6-foot-7, 354-pound offensive lineman), the local boys Beau Brunelli (Greenwich defensive end) and Clark Maturo (New Haven offensive lineman), and the quarterback Jon McEntee (freshman from Fullerton, Calif.) - Neill]]> http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/long_cold_winter.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/08/long_cold_winter.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:53:58 -0500 UConn picked up a major commitment Monday afternoon when Ater Majok called the Huskies to say he was coming to Storrs next season. Majok is a 6-foot-9 forward originally from the Sudan who now lives in Australia. He finished an official visit to UConn just last week. Numerous schools had interest in Majok, though he ultimately chose UConn over Kentucky. http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/04/majok_on_board.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/04/majok_on_board.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:23:17 -0500 UConn center Hasheem Thabeet will return for his junior season, the school announced Sunday. The 7-foot-3 junior had been considering a leap to the NBA. "I am excited about the opportunity to stay at UConn and continue the mission that we started this season," Thabeet said. "I also want to thank my family and close friends for all their help and support. As a team, we took a step in the right direction this year, but I look forward to us working together to win a Big East championship and making a run at a national championship." http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/04/hasheem_staying.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/04/hasheem_staying.html Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:55:11 -0500 Sorry for not blogging much...not a lot of news. One tidbit from today's Blue White Game at Rentschler Field (spring game): Tackle Mike Hicks will not play and will not be allowed to participate in any team activities for two weeks. He's not suspended technically, a UConn official said, but he is being punished. No word yet on what the infraction was. http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/04/and_were_back.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/04/and_were_back.html Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:19:04 -0500 UConn guard A.J. Price was named Wednesday as one of 10 nominees for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's player of the year award. The winner receives the Oscar Robertson Trophy. The players are: D.J. Augustin (Texas); Michael Beasley (Kansas State); Chris Douglas- Roberts (Memphis); Shan Foster (Vanderbilt); Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina); Luke Harangody (Notre Dame); Robbie Hummel (Purdue); Kevin Love (UCLA); A.J. Price (Connecticut); D.J. White (Indiana). From the list of nominees, finalists for each award will be announced later this month. The presentation of the award will take place at the USBWA's annual awards breakfast at Sunset Station in conjunction with the Final Four in San Antonio. Each award is voted on by the entire membership of the association, which consists of nearly 800 journalists. The following coaches have been nominated for the Henry Iba Award (best coach): Rick Barnes (Texas); Keno Davis (Drake); John Calipari (Memphis); Mike Krzyzewski (Duke); Lon Kruger (UNLV); Sean Miller (Xavier); Matt Painter (Purdue); Bruce Pearl (Tennessee); Rick Pitino (Louisville); Bo Ryan (Wisconsin); Herb Sendek (Arizona State); Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt). The Oscar Robertson Trophy is awarded to the USBWA's player of the year. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA's first player of the year in 1959. The USBWA renamed its player of the year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998. http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/03/aj_in_good_company.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/03/aj_in_good_company.html Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:39:29 -0500 It’s rare that a team openly admits it is out for revenge. It’s an extremely common motivational factor in sports, but few teams talk about such things with media types like myself before a game. So when UConn coach Jim Calhoun came out Wednesday to discuss his team’s matchup with Providence the following day, it came as no surprise that he downplayed the issue. Providence hammered UConn 77-65 on Jan. 17 in Hartford, but Calhoun said revenge wouldn’t be a factor Thursday. "They'll say it's payback and all that stuff, but it really isn't," Calhoun said. That comment should have prepared me. Calhoun was sort of letting it slip that his players certainly felt differently. When reporters were given a chance to speak with the Huskies, that was clear. The UConn players felt they were disrespected in that game and that the Friars did too much talking and laughing at UConn’s expense. “They don't know how to win, in my opinion, and it showed,” A.J. Price said. "We've been thinking about it since the last game," Doug Wiggins said. Price went so far as to wish for a blowout. "I usually have a little more respect for teams," Price said. "But they didn't show a lot of respect last time." UConn forward Jeff Adrien said there were “a lot of things said” that upset him the last time the Huskies faced Providence. Like what Jeff? "The kind of thing I can't say on camera," Adrien said. "Maybe I'll say it in the game." Adrien was then asked if the Huskies would respond to their earlier treatment by keeping their mouths shut and playing really hard this time. "I don't think there will be any mouth-shutting," he responded. http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/03/we_gonna_get_em.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/03/we_gonna_get_em.html Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:34:06 -0500 UConn’s center does at least one thing very, very well. This just in: Hasheem Thabeet can block shots. He’s third in the nation right now in blocks (4.4 per), and in Big East play he’s even better (5.1). Thabeet will probably pass Donyell Marshall (245) Saturday and will be second in UConn in history in that category. Only Emeka Okafor (441) will have more. "He's a huge factor because he guards the rim so well," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said Friday while discussing his team’s matchup with UConn. "I think he's blocking more than all but a couple of the teams in the Big East. He certainly fortifies their inside for them and makes it awful tough to get easy baskets." But the 7-foot-3 giant does have some problems guarding perimeter players. And that’s what West Virginia has plenty of. John Beilein recruited most of these guys, which means even the 7-footers can shoot. "They're going to spread you and space you," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "We've had varying degrees of success against that." Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody isn’t a perimeter star (at least, he wasn’t before turning into Jack Sikma Thursday night against Louisville) but he took Thabeet outside when they last met. And everyone knows what Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert did to Hasheem (don’t tell me again how it wasn’t a fluke John Thompson III. If it’s not a fluke, why doesn’t Roy shoot out there all day. I mean if you have a 7-footer who can shoot….OK, OK, sorry about that rant. Back to the subject at hand). Thabeet is generally taught to stay put in the paint when his man goes outside. He’s too valuable a defender to be pulled away and, besides, most big men can’t hit from out there. But West Virginia will often play without a true center on the floor, and even if someone like 7-foot Jamie Smalligan is in the game, he’s a pretty good passer from the top of the key so you have to go out and play him a little. So what does UConn tell Thabeet to do Saturday? "Both,” Calhoun said. “We're going to have him play the lane in certain situations, and then we're going to have him come out and pressure the ball.” http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/02/chip_off_the_old_youknowwhat.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/02/chip_off_the_old_youknowwhat.html Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:33:10 -0500 A few notes from the RAC now that my wireless card is back working and the chants of R....U....R....U have faded: -- UConn Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway offered a few words about football coach Randy Edsall’s new contract Tuesday, while also briefly discussing a few other issues going on in his department. On UConn’s proposed 11-game series with Notre Dame: "We never comment on any games that we don't have a contract for," Hathaway said. Hathaway said he has no plans to make an announcement soon. "These conversations have gone on for a couple years," Hathaway said. "But at this time we don't have any contract with Notre Dame." Regarding the contracts of Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma, who may be a tad envious of football coach Randy Edsall’s new deal (Calhoun still makes more, for now): "I don't think that's all interconnected," Hathaway said. "What we do is we look at the marketplace for each coach within their sport. That's what we've done in the past and that's what we'll continue to do." When asked about the end of Jerome Dyson’s suspension and the goings on as a whole over the last month with the men’s basketball team: "I never comment on disciplinary cases," Hathaway said. "Never have. Never will. … I think student-athletes and students as a whole are always entitled to privacy.” -- Calhoun took a few jabs at the Rutgers fan base, many of which didn’t show up Tuesday at the RAC. "This is the smallest crowd I've ever coached against down here," Calhoun said of the 5,833 fans. Calhoun said it affected the game. "They (Scarlet Knights) would have been a lot better if some of their fans had turned out for them." -- Jeff Adrien hit seven of his eight free throws Tuesday, not bad for a player who entered the game shooting 60 percent from the line and who had been having difficulty there recently. Adrien said after the game that he re-positioned himself to the left of center when shooting his free throws, which has helped his accuracy. "I tend, like the game against Villanova, I tend to miss right," Adrien said. "So I moved over to the left a little bit. "I was on a good roll when I was more to the left. It started with the Georgetown game," Adrien said. "Then I was talking to Donny Marshall and he said 'No, I told you go back to the right.' " Following the former UConn forward’s advice, Adrien moved back to the middle. It resulted in a few efforts from the line, so Adrien moved to the left again. "I went back to the middle and I started missing a lot more," Adrien said. "Then I went back to the left. http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/02/am_i_what.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/02/am_i_what.html Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:22:38 -0500 Jerome Dyson practiced with his teammates Monday for the second straight day in preparation for Tuesday’s game against Rutgers. Teammate A.J. Price admitted it was kind of weird to have the sophomore guard back at practice. "A little bit. Not having him out there for the past eight games or whatever it was, to get him back and adjust it did take a little longer in the first practice," Price said. "But I don't think we'll have a problem (today)." As for his ability to play, Price says that’s not much of an issue. Dyson is apparently in good shape. "He looked good. It looked like he was in good shape," Price said. "He didn't get winded, really, and he was very aggressive. So that was good to see." Dyson was not allowed to talk to the media by UConn officials. Coach Jim Calhoun has not says if Dyson will play tonight (expect him to, though) and says he definitely won’t start. "He's not being punished,” Calhoun said. “He was already punished by me for two games and the university, I guess, for the other period of time." http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/02/dyson_on_deck.html http://forum.connpost.com/uconn/2008/02/dyson_on_deck.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:23:14 -0500