Huskies Are Passing the Big Test
PROVIDENCE – Needing a win, Connecticut gutted out a 94-89 double overtime win at Providence on Tuesday night. When we say “gutted out”, we’re not speaking figuratively, either, as head coach Jim Calhoun said a number of the Huskies have had the flu lately, missing practice time here and there.
Nonetheless, the Huskies kept going Tuesday night and pulled out another win. Normally, February is when Calhoun’s teams tend to pick things up, eventually peaking once they hit March, but right now his team is getting a serious test. Between the illnesses that have befallen them of late, as well as the skin abscess that has leading scorer Rashad Anderson hospitalized just when he was starting to come alive and several games being played within two days of each other, the Huskies have had major challenges on their plates lately.
The Providence game serves as an example for their season. They played the Friars just two days after a 77-70 loss to North Carolina, a game they certainly had a chance to win. Winning their would have given them another signature win, though they got one last Monday at Syracuse and should be just playing for a seed in the NCAA Tournament at this point. Nothing they have done thus far suggests that they will collapse down the stretch, though things sure won’t be easy. The Friars were hardly an easy opponent, as their record is quite deceiving – they have lost several close games and have the second-best RPI of a team with an overall record below .500. Calhoun expected that this would be difficult, and as such was happy that his team pulled it out.
“For a young team, I think we came into a very hostile building, played a team who really wanted to compete and win, which is what this sport is all about, and when I drive home – this is the only game I bring my car to because I live about 35 minutes from here – I’ll be feeling an incredible sense of pride that I was involved in a game with that kind of competition,” Calhoun said.
Connecticut has been able to ride the play of its big and stellar frontcourt to success all season long. Led by sophomores Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva and talented freshman Rudy Gay, the Huskies have been outrebounded just three times this season, as they lead the nation in rebounding margin. Until the five-game stretch that started with the Huskies’ 76-66 loss to Pittsburgh and ended with their 68-46 win against St. John’s, Anderson was shooting just 29 percent on three-pointers. In that five-game stretch, he made 16 of 32 attempts from behind the arc while shooting over 54 percent overall. He played 24 minutes in the Syracuse game before the injury, but only got four shots. In other words, until just before the injury, he wasn’t having a major carryover effect from his excellent shooting in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Anderson’s injury makes this team that much more dependent on their frontcourt, as well as sophomore point guard Marcus Williams. Williams has had a season of learning on the job, as he was academically ineligible for the second semester last year. He was able to practice, and felt he learned from the veterans they had, but he knows there is no substitute for actually being out there.
“It was tough not being in the situations in the Big East, playing against Syracuse and Pitt,” Williams said.
Through Tuesday’s game, Williams has a nearly 2.5 assist/turnover ratio, which ranks third in the Big East. It’s clear that he has done well in the learning process, but he’s also the only reliable point guard they have. A.J. Price was expected to back him up, but he nearly lost his life when he suffered an intracranial hemorrhage on October 4, and basketball is certainly not the first concern as he continues to recover from a condition known as Arteriovenous Malformation, for which he recently underwent radiosurgery to eliminate it. Freshman Antonio Kellogg has had his moments, but also moments when he has been very ineffective running the team. That means Williams has had to play major minutes; though he averages under 29 minutes per game, he has averaged over 30 per game in Big East play and over 39 in the last three games, including 47 minutes Tuesday night. His minutes only serve to underscore the importance of him to the team in the coach’s eye.
“I keep reminding Marcus, and I continue – if you can get the reigns around this team, we will be good,” Calhoun said.
“Coach has been riding me about taking the team over, making the correct decisions, and I think I’ve come a long way,” Williams said.
He felt the win over Providence was one of his best games as a collegian, and it’s hard to argue. He had a double-double with 15 points, 13 assists and just two turnovers, and three of his points were important as they rallied from four-point deficit in the final minute of the first extra session. He drove into the lane, made the shot and was fouled, making the free throw for an important three-point play.
Williams is getting control of the team, and the Huskies’ play reflects it. He not only runs the show, but as a sophomore on this young team, he’s also leading the team out on the floor. They need him to do it given the relative youth and his position as the team’s point guard. He’s encouraged teammates to keep playing through this big test and through sickness, while playing through his own for the past couple of weeks; there have been a few games where it was not a certainty that he would play because of how sick he felt just hours before the game. He also got Charlie Villanueva (22 points, 10 rebounds) ready to go in this game.
“I told him before the game, we need a big game out of you and I’m going to help you out. And he came through,” Williams said of Villanueva.
From the look of things, the Huskies may be turning the corner, as they usually do around this time. Calhoun knows they still have work to do, but they appear to be more ready to make their run now than at any other time. If Anderson is able to return and even play like he had been prior to the injury – which is certainly an open question – they are that much better off. The evolution of this team is certainly not lost on the coach.
“We lost a game at UMass that started out like this game tonight,” Calhoun reflected. “UMass is certainly, in my opinion, nowhere near as good as Providence. We let it get away from us. As we’ve evolved as a team – even without Rashad Anderson, our leading scorer – we’re not letting games get away from us. I think I know more about my basketball team today, certainly than I did at any other time.”
Calhoun has said that the team’s focus is on being an NCAA Tournament team. Certainly, if they get there, it’s a new season, and one that the Huskies are getting good preparation for right now.
