University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Morehead State University
Hurley Era Begins With Men's Basketball Season Opener
11/7/2018 5:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Expect Sellout Crowd At Gampel As Huskies Meet Morehead State
UConn Athletic Communications
Nov. 7, 2018
STORRS. Conn. --- The Dan Hurley Era at UConn is about to begin.
The new UConn men's basketball coach and his team kick off the 2018-19 regular season Thursday night at Gampel Pavilion (7 p.m.) as the Huskies play host to Morehead State in the Regional Round of the 2K Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project.
After a summer of limited workouts and six weeks of intense practice, the rejuvenated Huskies will open the season, backed by an expected sellout crowd at Gampel, on a mission to return UConn to national prominence.
"New coach, new blood, a great fan base that's re-ignited … there will be enough excitement," Hurley said. "But if we want the games to get bigger and better, we have to go out and perform. It's important for us to play well.
"We've tried to get across to them, that coaches have confidence about where we're at right now. We know we're going to play really, really hard. We've prepared as well as we can the last several months for this and they deserve to go into the game with a much higher level of confidence than they've displayed. With the work they've put in, they have earned the right to go out with some confidence and some swagger – with an attitude that they are ready to play a great game."
The 2K Empire Classic begins with two games at Gampel Pavilion – against Morehead State on Thursday and Missouri-Kansas City on Sunday (5 p.m.) – before moving on to New York's Madison Square Garden next week. There, the Huskies face Syracuse on Nov. 15 (7 p.m.) and either Oregon or Iowa on Nov. 16 in the 2K Empire Classic's Championship Rounds.
"We think we are ready to play this particular game," Hurley said Wednesday. "We know we're going to play hard, we're going to compete, we're going to get after them."
UConn fans are excited to see Hurley's signature style – a pressure-man, in-your-face defense and an upbeat offense that's constantly in motion. It's a style that the UConn players have embraced and are anxious to develop throughout the season – beginning Thursday night. It's a style they believe will excite the fans.
"I think everyone is hyped to see what the team is going to bring this year, especially with a new head coach," said senior Jalen Adams, the team's top scorer in each of the past two years. "Everyone knows the history behind Coach Hurley, how he changes programs and turns them into winners. Everyone is anxious to see what changes he brings. I think that's what the fans are waiting to see, and I think that's what we're going to provide. I'm just excited to get started.
"We want to get the crowd excited, get them into it so they keep coming to support us when we have those tough games at home. We need them."
The Huskies are hoping to carry into the first game some confidence from the 96-64 victory they had over Division II Southern Connecticut in last week's exhibition game.
"I think in the second half, we played really well at both ends," Adams said. "We didn't give any threes, we got out and ran, we had a lot of fastbreak points and that's the style we want to play. It was a good vibe to see everyone out there going up and down, having fun."
Led by Adams, the UConn guards figure to be a strength of the team, with redshirt sophomore Alterique Gilbert, junior Christian Vital, grad student Tarin Smith, and freshman Brendan Adams providing plenty of depth.
The frontcourt is led by senior Eric Cobb and sophomore Josh Carlton, as well as senior Kwintin Williams, sophomores Tyler Polley and Isaiah Whaley. An added boost is the availability of grad student Kassoum Yakwe, who has been cleared to play after recovering from an injured foot.
"I'm feeling great," the active forward said. "I'm ready to get on the court and help the team. Whenever Coach calls my name to play, I'm ready to go in. What I love to do is play defense and protect the rim … so, nothing easy."
Yakwe is still in the learning stages at UConn, but he is in the fast lane.
"Kassoum missed a lot of time, so he doesn't have a great idea of what we're doing yet at eather end of the court," Hurley said. "But the thing with Kassoum is that he has a high level of athletic ability. If he's a step or two out of position, he can make up for it because he's so explosive. I think he'll get a chance to play and we'll try to get him as many reps as we can."
Morehead State, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, provides an opponent that returns six of its top seven scorers from last year and opened the 2018-19 season with a 102-82 win over NAIA Kentucky Christian on Tuesday. It is the first of 31 regular-season games on the UConn schedule.
NEW GAMPEL PAVILION TRAFFIC PATTERNS
