7′3 junior Hasheem Thabeet
25 points, 20 boards, and 9 swats in Saturday’s win over Seton Hall. Though Connecticut could be in trouble further down the road (actually as soon as Monday vs. Pitt) with Jerome Dyson out for the season. A.J. Price and Craig Austrie (Dyson’s replacement) were a combined 4-20 from the field. If UConn is to stay on top, Thabeet, along with Jeff Adrien (14 points and 15 boards on Saturday), are going to need to be sensational in every way imaginable. Losing Dyson is bigger than pundits seem to be leading on.
6′10 sophomore Blake …read more

Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List (Based on a preseason poll)
(Freshmen are not eligible for the preseason list)
My ingenious comments in italics.
A.J. Abrams, G, Sr., Texas- No more D.J
Wink Adams, G, Sr., UNLV- Anybody gonna cover Jo’Van?
DeJuan Blair, F, Soph., Pittsburgh- Skilled big
Jon Brockman, F, Sr., Washington- Rebounding machine
Derrick Brown, F, Jr., Xavier- Trenton Hassell 2.0
Chase Budinger, F, Jr., Arizona- Style over substance?
Nick Calathes, G/F. Soph., Florida- Multidimensional
Dionte Christmas, G, Sr., Temple- It won’t come early
Earl Clark, F, Jr., Louisville- Upside city
Sherron Collins, G, Jr., Kansas- Stocky playmaker
Darren Collison, Sr., UCLA- All around fundamental
Lee …read more

Hasheem Thabeet is the focus of my fifth prediction.
After this last season ended in depressing fashion for the Huskies, Hasheem knew he wasn’t ready to contribute at the next level and knew he still eagerly wanted to conquer a NCAA championship, so instead of making a few million bucks while playing sparingly for an NBA team, he decided to hop on board the college scene once again.
UCONN is talented, well represented from a point source position, has a good mix of veterans and young-uns, and most importantly, is coached by Jim Calhoun.
Not only does the team boast good …read more

UConn and Memphis will be squaring off in the championship game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic at MSG this evening, and I wanted to do a running commentary of the game. I want to see if Derrick Rose is the real deal, and if Memphis can challenge for the national title this season.
UConn coach Jim Calhoun just said that Memphis is the most athletic team in the country. Memphis coach John Calipari called the Tigers offense “Princeton on steroids”…they are always attacking the basket, always pushing the ball, lots of motion. The Huskies are going to have their …read more