UConn men’s basketball team prepares to take on Maryland-Eastern Shore with new-and-improved mental toughness
As the UConn men’s basketball team continues to climb up the rankings (No. 17 in the latest AP Top 25 poll), the Huskies (6-1) are doing so with mental toughness.
For UConn players and coaches, that was never more evident than in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. In its first test against quality opponents, UConn proved its mettle.
UConn beat a tough then-No. 19 Auburn team in double overtime, narrowly lost to Michigan State down starter Isaiah Whaley and put away a pesky VCU in overtime all in the span of three days.
“I learned how tough we were mentally,” said Whaley after practice on Monday. “I kind of didn’t get a good look at it playing the lower-level teams, but playing high-level teams we showed how tough we were mentally and physically.”
For Whaley and company, this UConn team has a different feel than previous years.
“Mental toughness gets you through a lot of tough times,” Whaley said. “Each one of the games there are moments where in my past years we would have just folded and gave in. Just through experience and mental toughness, we came through.”
UConn coach Dan Hurley credits last year’s games for helping to improve the Huskies’ toughness.
“Last year we learned how to win,” Hurley said.
“As bad as we played in the VCU game, there wasn’t a point where a group in a timeout didn’t look like they felt they weren’t going to win the game. The huddles were lively, and it didn’t look like a dead team.”
Hurley leans on three veterans to spark the Huskies: R.J Cole, Tyrese Martin and Whaley.
“Those guys play with either tremendous force like Tyrese and Isaiah, or R.J. that just charges, a critical charge or a loose ball or hockey assist,” Hurley said.
“A play like Tyrese makes against Gabe Brown, who is potentially a first-team All-Big Ten-level player, blocks his jump shot at a critical point then beats two guys to the ball and then goes down and dunks it.”
For UConn, there is still plenty to improve upon. One of the biggest keys for upcoming games, including Tuesday’s against Maryland-Eastern Shore (2-4), will be limiting turnovers. The Huskies struggled against the defensive press and averaged 18.3 turnovers in the three Bahama games.
“We need to be more poise and more aggressive. We were hesitant a lot of times,” Whaley said.
Hurly reiterated that the focus for the Huskies has been limiting turnovers and how they handle defensive pressure.
“Most importantly take care of the ball, “Hurley said. “The two turnover games we had out there makes it challenging to win. ... We need to play better against pressure, and the guards need to handle the ball better.”
Here’s everything else you need to know about Tuesday’s matchup against the Hawks:
The basics
No. 17 UConn vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore
Time: 7 p.m., Tuesday
Place: XL Center, Hartford
Series: UConn leads 2-0
Last meeting: UConn 84-50, Dec.17, 2012, at XL Center
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: CBS Sports Network (Jason Horowitz, Steve Lappas, Sherree Burruss) UConn Sports Network (Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman). 97.9-ESPN Hartford, Sirius-137, XM-206, SXM App-965, WILI-1400-AM (Willimantic). WATR-1320-AM (Waterbury). WAVZ-1300-AM (New Haven). WGCH-1490-AM (Greenwich).
UMES (2-4) probable starters, sixth man
Da’Shawn Phillip, G, 6-5, Jr.; Kevon Voyles, G, 6-3, Jr.; Dom London, G, 6-1, Jr.; Zion Styles, G, 6-3, Sr.; Nathaniel Pollard Jr., F, 6-5, Sr,; Chace Davis, G, 6-3, Fr.
No. 17 UConn (6-1) probable starters, sixth man
R.J. Cole, G, 6-1, GS; Isaiah Whaley, F, 6-9, GS; Tyrese Martin, G/F, 6-6, Sr.; Adama Sanogo, F, 6-9, So.; Andre Jackson, G/F, 6-6, So.; Jalen Gaffney, G, 6-3, Jr.
The matchup
UConn’s offense: The Huskies need to get Sanogo going early against a short Hawks team. He only had six points on 2-for-3 shooting for UConn in its last game against VCU.
UConn’s defense: UConn has four players averaging at least one steal per game (Cole, Gaffney, Jackson and Sanogo). Look for these four to cause havoc and lead to easy fast-break points for the Huskies.
UMES offense: Styles leads the Hawks in scoring with 12.5 points per game. In his last game against Liberty University, Styles had a rough shooting night, going only 4-for-11 from the field with 10 points.
UMES defense: The Hawks have allowed an average of 65.8 points per game. Look for UConn to play with pace and get its big scorers (Sanogo, Cole and Martin) going offensively against a Hawks team that lacks height and length in its starting lineup.
UConn key: Force turnovers on the defensive end, while limiting turnovers on the offensive end. UConn had 22 turnovers in its last game against VCU.
Player to watch: Cole. He played UMES four times (4-0) in his two seasons at Howard and averaged 20.5 points in matchups with the Hawks.
About UMES coach: Jason Crafton has coached for 18 years, including his last stop in the NBA G-League with the Delaware Blue Coats before joining the Hawks on Apr. 24, 2019.
UMES mascot: The hawk was chosen in 1948.
Famous alumni: Former NFL player Art Shell.
