Cruising through Jeff Adrien’s bloodstream is an overabundance of adrenaline.
Adrien, a jacked and jacked-up 6-foot-7 forward who epitomizes the ultra-physical Big East player, feeds off his own high energy attitude. His workmanlike game (one which he’s added a shallow jumper to) and a heart that pumps lion’s blood revs up the crazy, at times crass, UConn fan base.
A Brookline, Mass., native, Adrien speaks softly but carries a big stick on the hardwood.
He poured in 18 points, 17 of which came before the midway mark of the second half, as UConn cruised to a 68-51 drubbing of Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals. Adrien also tore down seven rebounds as the Cardinals got too much from Terrence Williams (game and career-high 26 points) and too little from everybody else.
Earl Clark turned in easily his worst performance of the season, a la John Starks in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA finals. Clark shot an abysmal 2-for-16 from the floor as Louisville (17-4) suffered its first Big East loss.
Adrien’s emergence as Hasheem Thabeet’s bruising buddy down low has been an aspect paramount success. The signature shellacking of Louisville gives UConn a 21-1 record, leaving just one Big East team – Marquette – with an unblemished record in conference play. The formidable frontline seems to inject fear into opponents, keeping scorers out of the paint more often than not.
UConn’s relative balance in the scorebook and ability to seal the basket shut (Thabeet had four blocks and altered the trajectory of shot after shot) threw Louisville into a paltry 22-for-64 shooting night. It’s become a pattern with the two behemoths down low.
“We made our presence known,” said Adrien, following the Huskies’ 94-61 thrashing of Providence at the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs Saturday.
“Me, Hasheem, and Gavin (Edwards) just want to prove that we’re here, that we’re going to get some buckets regardless,” Adrien added. “The win gives us great momentum. We were playing a team that had been hot, you know? Almost similar to Louisville, a team that we’re playing (Monday night).”
Adrien is almost similar to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Off the court, he’s as soft-spoken as they come. He’s a chill, muscle-bound kid who slaps hands with an army of students on his way to the cafeteria. On the court, he’s in-your-face, cleaning up the glass, and grappling for loose balls as if he just downed a ginseng/taurine mix drink.
He’s the kid who busted out a Superman shirt and cape during UConn’s First Night. The kid who’s registered more double-doubles than any Big East player. The kid who swipes a ball out of an opponents hands after they commit a travel. The same kid Calhoun had to pull from a game against Pittsburgh in the first half last year – for being too revved up. Yes, he’s also the kid that bops and weaves in pre-game boxing matches with the air.
The kid with adrenaline-laden veins is a lot of things. A go-to-guy isn’t really one of them. Yet with his new shallow water jumper, coupled with his penchant for putbacks and his knack for attacking the basket, Adrien has evolved into the Huskies’ leading scorer.
And UConn has become the leading team in the national polls, as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team looks to keep rolling.
