National title hasn’t stopped UConn’s hunger to repeat

Dan Hurley and UConn were picked third in Big East despite winning national championship last year, but Huskies’ coach has dismissed projections while motivating his team. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — Not often does the reigning national champion go into its title defense flying under the radar, in a sense.

But when two staid brand names within the same conference command offseason headlines by luring a sitting coach to another school in the same league, and another hires a Hall of Famer for its biggest splash in decades, such is life.

Under the radar is a generous description of the Connecticut Huskies entering a season that will tip off just over seven months after UConn was the last team standing for the fifth time in its program’s rich history. Dan Hurley’s Huskies were picked third in the Big East’s preseason coaches’ poll, trailing defending regular season and tournament champion Marquette, as well as Creighton. Yet when asked about the prognostications, the brutally honest Hurley served up a dose of truth tinged with his trademark bravado.

“It’s all bull,” he quickly said, dismissing the speculation. “It’s all a bunch of s***, so it doesn’t matter. Jordan Hawkins was not picked on an all-conference team last year, and he led us through a dominant run and was a lottery pick. Some of the stuff, I get this year probably more than other years. It’s a great league. It’s hard to be picked first or second.”

“We’re fully aware that people want what we have. We had the most successful year in the country last year, but if people really know how we work, we won’t be caught sleepwalking. I promise you that.”

UConn lost Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo to the NBA in the wake of its national championship celebration, but in point guard Tristen Newton, the Huskies still have a qualified floor leader to steer the ship as Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer and highly touted freshman Stephon Castle learn the ropes.

“I think at times last year, he felt underappreciated,” Hurley said of Newton. “And rightfully so, overshadowed by some great performances from some other players that are no longer with us. He’s got every opportunity this year to get everything he wants, lead this team the way Andre Jackson did, the way Jordan Hawkins did, the way Adama Sanogo did, and produce like those guys did for us. He’s perfectly positioned to keep UConn where we are and to get all the accolades and opportunities that he wants.”

Castle was named the Big East preseason rookie of the year at the conference’s media day, and is already being guided by Hurley to become the best version of himself possible, something the coach prioritized in the offseason as he cited the need to coach freshmen early and often rather than wax poetic about them before they even see the floor.

“He doesn’t need more hype,” Hurley said of Castle, a 6-foot-6 combo guard from south Georgia. “These kids that come into college basketball, these big-time freshmen, they don’t need hype, they don’t need branding. They need a coach, and they need a coach that’s pushing him to reach his potential and making him aware of all the things that he’s doing wrong.”

“He’s mocking in the Top 10 and he’s got a lot of expectations. He’s got a big target on him. Players are gonna be gunning for him, teams are gonna be gunning for him. So I’m getting him ready, I’m toughening him up, I’m humbling him and building his confidence as we get closer to opening night. He’s a phenomenal prospect and he’s the most physically ready freshman that I’ve ever had the pleasure to coach.”

Hassan Diarra also returns to the backcourt for the Huskies, with freshman Solomon Ball also joining the program. Up front, Alex Karaban is poised for a breakout sophomore season, but the lion’s share of attention will go to 7-foot-3 Donovan Clingan, the gentle giant who has stepped out of Sanogo’s shadow and is eager to make a greater name for himself this season. Clingan was talked about as a pro prospect last year, but the homegrown talent felt another year of learning under Hurley and assistant coach Tom Moore would be best for all parties involved.

With Adama Sanogo having gone pro, Donovan Clingan will lead UConn frontcourt as sophomore is poised for a dominant campaign. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

“I just feel like I need another year of development in my game, just another year of maturity,” Clingan said. “I wanted to give more to UConn just because they give a lot to me, a lot to us. It’s just right to give back and go try to win another natty.”

“I don’t know that he’ll have the same numbers as a Hunter Dickinson this year, but it’s almost like what he does for the others is what makes him such an important piece,” Hurley added. “The thing that makes Donovan special is what he does vertically in the ball screen game, the pressure he puts on the rim, which creates threes and driving lanes, and then his rim protection and running. I think that’s why the NBA loves him so much, and what makes him so different is how he runs, how he rolls, how he blocks shots, and the vertical pressure he puts on the rim for other teams’ defenses.”

UConn’s season resembled a roller coaster at times last year, but a largely tame ride at that. The Huskies started the year undefeated and climbed to the No. 2  ranking in the nation before going through a patch of adversity early in the conference season, then got back on track heading into March. While a Big East tournament loss to Marquette threatened to derail the momentum, UConn stayed the course and followed a time-tested formula to cut down the nets in Houston. No national champion has repeated the following season since Florida in 2006 and 2007, but Clingan says the program’s hunger to leave Arizona with a sixth title has not been satiated just yet.

“We’re all hungry,” he proclaimed. “We have a lot of new guys who want to go win a national championship, so no one’s satisfied, no one’s complacent. We’re all just in the gym trying to do everything we can to go get back to the level we were last year. Last year, we had a great team, and this year, we have a very good team with a lot of talent. We just have to put it all together and follow the coaches’ script, because we have a lot of hungry dudes in the locker room who want to go win.”

“We’re all about ball, we’re all about pursuing championships,” Hurley echoed. “Storrs, Connecticut is the basketball capital of the world whether we get as much hype as other national brand programs that, in the last 25 years, haven’t done as much as us in terms of producing big results. We’ll come into the season with maybe more of a chip on our shoulder, or maybe two chips, and maybe that’s why the program’s been as successful as it’s been, because we don’t carry complacency and we don’t get softened by the branding or the hype.”