STORRS – There is no question that the main spotlight on Friday, when the UConn men travel to Kansas for one of the most anticipated games of the season, will be focused on Donovan Clingan vs. Hunter Dickinson.
The dual between centers, tabbed as two of the best coming into the season, has attracted more than 30 credentialed NBA scouts, according to zagsblog.com. The scouts aren’t only focused on Clingan and Dickinson, though. Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton are both pro prospects for the Huskies in addition to Kevin McCullar Jr., Elmarko Jackson and others for the Jayhawks.
Stephon Castle, UConn’s touted freshman and projected lottery pick who’s missed the last five games with a knee injury, will not play, Dan Hurley said Wednesday. Castle had a doctor’s appointment Tuesday and has since been “trending up” since his participation has increased in practice.
“Things are trending up with him pretty good, he’s been able to do more, to transition from just kind of shooting and standing around to moving around in some of the non-live things, the defense, the offense, some dummy offense on air,” Hurley said. “As long as he goes, kind of day-to-day, with no swelling, no pain, no setbacks… I think he’s got a real shot for the Garden (North Carolina at MSG on Dec. 5), I don’t see any chance for Friday.”
Winning Friday’s game, a matchup against college basketball’s last two national champions, will require bounce-back performances from the rest of UConn’s starters, who seemed to all have an off night at once against New Hampshire on Monday.
The video session after the team shot 4 of 28 from the 3-point line and allowed 29 free throws in the second half, Hurley said, was tough.
“There were some things or categories where (we said), ‘This is not gonna work on Friday night,’ or ‘This is not what champions do,’” he said. “We have sessions like that, it’s just part of the standard that we set here for the amount of work that we put in together… the mistakes that we made against New Hampshire were just unacceptable based on the commitment that we all make to this.”
In order to give Clingan his best chance to be successful under the spotlight, others like Newton and Karaban, who combined to shoot 1 of 12 from beyond the arc Monday night, will need to bounce back.
“He’s gonna need his teammates to support him in a real way by getting him the ball in great spots, by maybe helping him when he’s on defense and he loses an angle in the post to Dickinson,” Hurley said. “He’s gonna need the guys around him to play well – just like Jordan (Hawkins) did, just like Adama (Sanogo) did – to shine.”
At Phog Allen Fieldhouse, one of the more intimidating road environments in the country, UConn is drawing on its experience from last year’s Final Four, playing in front of about 75,000 people, and looking forward to the adversity.
“They’re a top five team and it’s our first true road game, so (I’m) excited to play in front of a different crowd and trying to take (away) somebody’s joy of winning at home,” Newton said.