UConn announced most of  its start times for the football season, and surprisingly, not all are noon starts. Relevance, here we come.

While three games are still up in the air, the remaining nine of the 12 games have been set.

Here’s a brief visual of the schedule so far, because I’m too lazy to re-type everything and, well, I’m always willing to cater to my audience:

The Big East also announced its first three conference games of the week, and UConn was not slotted for any. So much for that whole relavance thing.

Posted under Football

Rick Pitino has already RSVPed and agreed to bring the mint.

The Big East announced conference matchups today, and the Huskies will play both Louisville and Notre Dame twice:

Home: Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Seton Hall, West Virginia.

Away: Cincinnati, Georgetown, Lousiville, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova.

A few brief thoughts on first glance:

• My, that road schedule seems harder than the home schedule. The Huskies get home games against three of the four worst teams last season, while they seem to take on every heavy-hitter, sans West Virginia, on the road.
• The Mountaineer makes his return to Gampel/Hartford. Connecticut rejoices.
• Louisville, Notre Dame and Cincinnati are three solid home-and-home opponents. All six games are winnable, but they’ll  be competitive.
• Levance Fields is no longer around to be the muse of sign-makers across the state.

Posted under Basketball

With Ben Gordon and Charlie V. joining Rip in Detroit, coaxing players to attend charity functions will be much easier for Coach Cal. (right pic: Wizznutzz)

Collecting UConn players has apparently become the newest craze to sweep the nation.

Husky fever — catch it. Detroit Pistons GM and consummate square Joe Dumars certainly has.

Noticing the fun (and success) the Grizzlies had in acquiring Rudtih Gay, Hasheem Thabeet and (at least for the next few weeks) the woyah, Dumars assembled his own Connecticutian triumvirate. Thursday, the Pistons lured both Ben Gordon and Charles Villanueva off the free-agent market and to Detroit, where the duo will team up with former UConn guard and masked avenger Rip Hamilton.

PRBL (Puerto Rican Basketball League) All-Star and Piratas de Quebadillas star Marcus Williams was set to sign a contract as well, but Williams pocketed the pen at the negotiation table. Talks strangely broke down thereafter.

In a somewhat depleted market, Charlie V. and Gordon were probably two of the best options available. And with the stain left by trading away their best and most popular player still fresh, Dumars was willing to throw every bit of the cap space the team had to put a band-aid on their problems.

The signing does give the team a pretty formidable core. Although they’ll likely let Rasheed Wallace walk in free agency, the three UConnites, Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince form a nice five. And on the bench they also have some decent pieces, such as Jason Maxiell and Walter Hermann, one of maybe three NBA players to ever sport a pony tail and not understand the irony of it and who would be that much better (both in basketball and in life) if he went by Walter Herman.

But the additions are also a bit puzzling. Not only does it leave Detroit a bit thin in the frontcourt, but it creates a logjam in the backcourt, as Hamilton and Gordon will have to share time at the 2. The supposed rationality behind this is Dumars is trying to create a three-guard rotation similar to the one he was in with Vinnie Johnson and Isiah Thomas during the Pistons’ badboys days.

But first, the whole three-guard thing didn’t exactly work when the team brought AI over. Now, Gordon certainly doesn’t have the ego AI had and Gentle Ben probably knows he’s going to be a sixth-man, not a go-to scorer. But he’s the type of player that needs the ball a lot to be productive.

And secondly, why do people think that just because things worked in the past, it’ll work again? As Nebraska showed by optioning its way to the Big 12 cellar, things sometimes work back in the day for a reason. Maybe Dumars isn’t trying to recreate the badboys backcourt. Similar to the way most automatically assume the Knicks are interested in every European player just because Mike D’Antoni has ties there, maybe we’re reading into it too much. But if he is, it could end up blowing up in his face. The backcourt her has now assembled may have similar talents, but who knows how the three personalities will mesh? Rip certainly didn’t enjoy his time on the bench last season. And without a coach in place, will the team have someone capable of managing it. Chuck Daly’s not walking through that door. And with any hope, Bill Laimbeer won’t be, either.

The team certainly has potential, and if Dumars can swing a trade to add some size in the frontcourt — John Hollinger suggests (Insider) Tyson Chandler — it should make Detroit a legitimate contender in the East.

Problem is, with the Cavs’ trade for Shaq, the Magic’s trade for Vince Carter and the Celtics getting back Kevin Garnett, the Pistons are probably only the fourth-best team in their own conference.

Posted under Basketball

Credit: Rivals.com

When I first saw the news that athlete Yawin Smallwood became the first commit in the class of 2010, I was pretty excited. But more so for the headline potential than for the actual announcement.

I was first contemplating playing up the Superman angle, but soon remembered that it was Smallville, not Smallwood.

No worries. I could still use the Wizard of Oz angle. Unfortunately, Smallwood is a Doherty Memorial (Worcester, Mass.) prospect; he’s not from Dorothy Memorial.

Horray, literacy!

So I guess he’s just some guy named Yawin. What fun is that?

Anyway, Smallwood, a no-star prospect (which means he’ll probably end up a two-star) who plays OLB in high school, gave Randy Edsall a call this morning to let him know he was coming to  Storrs next fall. He was also receiving interest from B.C., Duke, Maryland and Rutgers, with his final choice coming down to UConn and B.C. I’ll let you guess what happened next.

Per The Courant:

“[UConn was] on me a long time ago and stayed with me,” Smallwood said. “I put a lot of trust in them. They offered me early, too. When I was there I was just comfortable with everything and everybody. It was an easy decision.”

Smallwood initially set a July 15 deadline for himself on his decision, but after hearing what Big E had to offer, he couldn’t wait that long. And it’s probably only conincidental that around the same time, B.C. said it wanted to wait to see his academic records.

Which is fine. Even if a problem arises, I’m sure the athletic department hass the NCAA Clearinghouse on speed dial by now.

As far as his talent is concerned, ESPN’s Brian Bennett broke out Smallwood’s Scout Inc. profile, and he certainly sounds like a UConn football recruit: Not really a great player, but athletic enough to maybe be molded into one.

“Smallwood is an impressive athlete from a physical standpoint and has a lot of raw tools to mold and develop at the next level. A bit raw from a fundamental standpoint but is a good athlete doubling as productive running back and linebacker. “

And considering he probably went though a helluva childhood with the last name “Smallwood,” he probably has some thick skin.

While Smallwood’s commitment is the first for UConn, the rest of the conference is already working on making it into the double-digits. Considering Big E usually doesn’t rope in any five stars and instead shoots for the under-the-radar guys –  strategy I’m convinced he uses just so he can run through the same “I’m smarter than Rivals.com” speech on signing day — I guess it’s not a big deal. But the only list in which Rutgers should be ahead of us is blowouts (both the hair and men’s basketball variety). (Too soon?)

Posted under Football

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) point guard Brandon Knight, known for his ability to make middle-aged men swoon, made and unofficial visit to UConn Saturday.

Knight, the Gatorade POY in Florida last season as a junior, is the No. 1 player in the Class of 2010 and someone whom Coach Cal seems to have the hots for. It’s a bit unusual for Cal to be in the mix of a top prospect who could end up being a one-and-doner (the last Top 5 player to sign was Rudy Gay in 2004), but after reading his write-up on Rivals,  I can see why.

“Knight might not be a freak athlete like the top point guards before him, but he possesses a complete game of an elite nature. His physical strength and tight ball handling get him wherever he needs to be on the court. And his shooting skill and court vision allow him to consistently finish plays. On the other side of the ball he is an elite defender who more than adequately rebounds his position. Top off all of this with high level competitiveness, and you have the top prospect in the country.”

Definitely sounds like a Cal-type player.

But with pretty much every other team in on him, I’ll wait until he narrrows his choices before I get too excited.

Posted under Basketball

Unfortunately for Mouthpiece Sports, Jeff Adrien won't be returning to Chicago. Somewhere, Brain Dryfhout is weeping.

Two days after going undrafted, Jeff Adrien has found a home.

Or more like he set up a cot in the Grizzlies’ garage while Lionel Hollins told  him to pull his weight or you’ll be out on the street.

Either way, Adrien decided the Memphis Grizzlies will be the team with which he will continue his sojourn toward an NBA roster spot, according to the Boston Globe’s Marc Spears.

Maybe Hasheem was too busy dying of heat stroke in his air-conditioned hotel room to respond to his calls, but Adrien somehow didn’t get the memo that Memphis is the worst franchise in the L.

But I suppose that doesn’t matter to much for an undrafted free agent. I guess he should worry about making the team before criticizing its abysmal past. It’s like in Scarface, when Al Pacino was proposing that big deal with Sosa to Robert Loggia, and Loggia reminds him it’s the guys who fly under the radar that survive. And then the two have a big laugh over how two Italian Americans were cast as Cuban gangsters.

In that case, I guess the Grizzlies aren’t too bad a team to sign with. They’ve been going through a rebuilding phase since 1995, so no one really has a firm grip on his roster spot, and right now, the team is lacking options at power forward. Darrell Arthur and Hakim Warrick manned the position last season, but they’re both probably best suited to play the  3. So Adrien could have a semi-decent chance at making the team.

Then again, the Griz reportedly tried to trade for Zach Randolph during the draft — because  the team decided adding headcases was a logical next step — and with Thabeet in the mix, Marc Gasol seems destined to shift to the 4.

But aside from Warrick, Marko Jaric, shooting guard Mike Buckner and the newly acquired Quentin Richardson, the team doesn’t have any other bench player on the books for  next season. (Interesting note: Cybertoine, whom I just saw on an episode of “Pros vs. Joes,” was their highest-paid player.) Chris Mihm, Hamed Haddadi and Darius Miles are currently the only other options in the frontcourt, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see everyone let go.

First-round pick DeMarre Carroll will fill one of those spots, and second-rounder Sam Young will also likley make his way onto the roster. But with players like Mike Wilks and Quinton Ross also coming off the books, the opportunity to make the cut should be there.

There will also be familiar faces in Memphis, as the team has taken note of the awesome forces Coach Cal churns out in Storrs and tried to acquire as many as possible. I doubt Rudy Gay will be in Vegas for summer league action, but Thabeet should be there. In fact, he should probably buy property there. He may be making a few summer trips before his career is over. So maybe Adrien will have a place to stay after all.

(H/T: The Boneyard)

Posted under Basketball

This is Marcus Campbell. Say goodbye to Marcus Campbell, everyone. At least for this season.

Hey, remember Marcus Campbell?

No?

Well, no big deal, because the junior defensive end will not be enrolled at the school nexfor the fall semester, the university’s athletic dept. announced in an e-mail today. The Courant is reporting that Campbell, of Bloomfield, was ruled academically ineligible.

With Julius Williams and Cody Brown now in the NFL, Campbell was slated to start at DE opposite Lindsey Witten. His departure leaves the end spots pretty thin. While DT is pretty deep, Witten and Mike Cox are now the only players outside with any experience.

Witten should be able to fill one of the spots, as he’s been expected to have a breakout season for about 10 seasons now. But the other side is going to be an issue. The team has a few freshmen who could step in, such as Trevardo Williams, A.J. Portee or Jesse Joseph, or they could move someone from a position with some depth, like linebacker Greg Lloyd  or DT Kendall Reyes.

Kendall Reyes started outside, so it’s possible he could be the one replacing Campbell. But do you really want to mess up the inside combo of him and Twyon Martin? After taking over for Rob Lunn and Alex Polito, the more … uh, athletic duo shined. The duo only had 42 tackles and three sacks between them, but considering they were both redshirt freshman, it wasn’t too shabby. Plus, ever since they were paired together, everyone’s been gushing about their potential; Brian Bennett even put them on his Big East all-freshmen team.

If they’re going to follow the Randy Edsall Plan on defense, which requires playing everyone at a position they need 50 more pounds for (i.e., safeties to linebackers, ‘backers to ends), this wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense; one of the reasons Reyes was put in the middle in the first place was because he has good speed for a DT, but only moderate speed for an end. So it’s probably best to just leave Reyes where he is and rely on a rotation until someone emerges.

More Departures

In addition to Campbell, the school announced four others will likely not be with the team next season. Probably the biggest among them are incoming freshmen Mike Osiecki and Leon Kinnard. Both are recovering from surgery and won’t enroll in the school until January. 2010.

Not a huge blow considering they are two-stars that might have been redshirted anyway, but both seem like they have some potential. Kinnard brings a lot of speed and versatility and was receiving interest from pretty much every good eastern team. With 4.4 speed (SEC speed, one might say) he could be involved in Wildcat packages right away or help out in the slot, which is probably where he’ll end up after trying to make it at QB.

I think Osiecki, the Connecticut Gatorade POY, could be great, too. But he probably would have redshirted anyway, as linebacker is stacked with depth right now.

Also sitting out will be WR Brian Parker and TB Nathan Sherr. Parker is ineligible while Sherr is transferring to Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Which is fine. UConn is loaded at tailback, and after receivers hauled in a whopping one TD last season, the team definitely doesn’t need any help there.

Posted under Football

Sixty picks went by, and none of them were used to select Jeff Adrien.

While Hasheem Thabeet was taken by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall selection and A.J. Price by the Pacers at No. 52, Adrien’s sojourn to the NBA will have to start as an undrafted free agent.

It’s not the worst thing in the world. Since second-round picks aren’t guaranteed money, Adrien has just as much of a chance of making a team as he would have had he been drafted. This might actually be even better for him. As Blane Dog pointed out, getting him into the right system could really decide if he’ll be playing in the U.S. of A. or overseas.

UPDATE: Just read on Adrien’s Twitter page that he will be “headed to Cleveland Saturday,” which one would assume means he’ll be signing with the Cavs. In a separate Tweet, Adrien said the Celtics offered but wanted him to play overseas.

In true woyah fashion, he responded by saying, “not going out like that.”

UPDATE 2 (Friday): Prehaps Adrien jumped the gun a bit with his first Tweet. Now the woyah is apparently weighing his options.

Posted under Basketball

A.J. Price is headed to Indiana.

Fifty selections after Hasheem Thabeet was walking in Memphis in his space suit, Lawrence Bird and the Pacers selected Price with the 22nd pick of the second round (No. 52).

The Pacers went into the draft looking for a point guard, but with four off the board when they were on the clock at No. 11, the team instead went with professional goofball Tyler Hansbrough, the basketball equivalent of a 4-A player.

But that actually works in Price’s favor, as it leaves Indiana without an impact player or anyone with a real future with the team at the position right now. The Pacers traded for T.J. Ford, but the former Texas product (shockingly) hasn’t really turned out to be what they had hoped for; Ford averaged 14.9 points and 5.3 assists a game, but also turned the ball over 2.4 times a game. Jarrett Jack also saw time at the 1  — and judging by their depth chart, he and Ford ended up starting in the backcourt together because of injuries — but he’s really not the answer and is a free agent anyway.

Behind them, Travis Diener (who has a player option) is a corpse and Jamal Tinsely is in exile. So unless the team acquires some backcourt depth, Price not only has a good chance of making the team, but he could also work his way into heavy minutes.  And with the two-guard also kind of up in the air, he could also see some time there.

The Pacers already have a budding star in Danny Granger, so if the team gets a few more good pieces over the next few seasons, Price could be a part of something good in Indy.

UPDATE: Chad Ford’s take on the pick

“The Pacers wanted to get a point guard in the first round but couldn’t pass on Hansbrough. With Price, they get a solid guard who doesn’t do anything spectacularly, but he’s steady and they could use that. If Jarrett Jack doesn’t re-sign, Price could make the team.”

Posted under Basketball

The odds that either Thabeet or David Stern knew what the other was talking about on stage? Probably 6 percent.

Prepare to toil in obscurity, Hasheem.

After the Clippers went through the formality of wasting most of the five minutes allotted to pick Blake Griffin, the Memphis Grizzlies, as expected, selected the UConn junior center with the No. 2 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft.

With the pick, Thabeet also ties Emeka Okafor in 2004 as the highest-drafted player in school history. He’s also the fifth UConn player to be taken in the Top 5. Okafor, Ben Gordon (third in ‘04), Ray Allen (fifth in ‘96) and Donyell Marshall (fourth in ‘94) are the others.

After doing the podium deal — looking mighty daper in a platinum ensemble that made him look like an astronaut — and being run through the media wringer, Thabeet and Griffin wept in each other’s arms for a good five minutes before taking off to meet their “NBA” franchises.

Thabeet luckily will have a familiar face in Memphis with which to share his misery in former Husky Rudy Gay. They can have slumber parties together where they  tell ghost stories about Blane Dog and when Coach Cal got so made he almost decked Doug Wiggins/Marcus Williams.

With Thabeet now in the fold, the Griz have a seemingly solid, young, NBA Live-esque starting five with O.J. Mayo and Mike Conely in the backcourt, Gay on the wing and Marc Gasol and Thabeet in the frontcourt.

It seems like it, but I’m sure they’ll still win fewer than 30 games.

Posted under Basketball