Calhoun has a long road in front of him to become competitive and does not have a stellar group of upperclassmen to count on.  Most of these guys were used to playing against lesser talent and were absolutely overmatched last season.  It’s not that these kids aren’t good players but they are nowhere near big or athletic enough to hang with the big dogs of the Big East.  For instance the starting frontline goes 6’8, 6’5 and 6’5 which is pretty good in the Yankee League but gives up about four inches per player in this league.  And sadly the backcourt maybe worse as there are a couple of nice shooters but they were embarrassed at times trying to ‘keep up’ with the superquick studs of this new league.  Calhoun did bring in a couple of studs last year who have already shown they belong at this level but unless this coach has the greatest recruiting class ever or he can pull rabbits out of his sleeves the Huskies will be looking up at the big boys for the time being. 

 Seniors Toby Kimball and Art Quimby are the vanguards of this program up front.  These are two of the best board men inch for inch in the country.  The problem is that they just don’t have that many inches between them.  Kimball goes a solid 6’8 220 and has been grabbing rebounds since he got here from Belmont Massachusetts three years ago.  He put up some ridiculous stats his first two years while playing in the Yankee but those were tempered last year trying to hang with the Ewing and Ellis’s down low.  He still averaged a double double and is without doubt the favorite to start at center once again but if Calhoun can find a bigger version of this tough kid who can also guard the rim a bit better Kimball might go the way of his namesake and become a fugitive. Quimby was even better on the boards than Kimball once upon a time but he is only 6’5 and his days almost certainly look numbered in Storrs.  Calhoun most definitely gave him his chance last year but he had a heck of a time banging down low with guys that much bigger than him though nobody is ever going to say this kid is not tough.  Calhoun did bring in some other big men who by the end of the year were getting a majority of minutes in the paint. 

Sophomore Corny Thompson is a slightly bigger version of these two and brings a bit more offense to the table.  Thompson goes 6’8 225 and trundled in from Middletown last year.  Cornelius eventually became the primary option down on the block and had a great second half of the season.  He goes in as the probable starter (remember that terminology baseball fans) next to Kimball but does not really bring anything more to the rim protection and is nowhere near as good as his senior teammates on the boards but he can score in the paint.  Fellow Sophomore Cliff Robinson brings the kind of raw athleticism and size this program needs to compete at this level.  Robinson is an athletic 6’10 225 who shuffled in from Buffalo last year.  He showed last year that he can play any of the front court positions and did.  Robinson is long and can jump and is the new breed of basketball player as he would rather play the perimeter, even at his size, than bang inside.  He is a bit inconsistent from the perimeter but he does not mind launching threes.  And oh can he finish.  He runs like a deer as can flat put one down on the break.  Clifford is also a solid defender who can guard anyone up front.  He blocks shots from the weak side (with authority) and has the athleticism to guard small forwards when asked.  He did not start any games this year as Calhoun loved using him off the bench but he should this year at some point.  That is unless of course Calhoun has found a couple of seven footers who can block shots and supposedly he has brought in a couple of big guys who do just that.  On the long list of needs for the Huskies going into this season that might be number one as they were dominated in the paint last year and primarily by perimeter guys getting to the hoop.  That should not and cannot happen at any level of basketball but especially not in this league!  

Another huge need for the team is establishing a point guard who can keep up with the speed racers of this league.  Going into the season the incumbent is junior Bobby Boyd but he was pushed hard last year by sophomore Tate George.  I would have to think George is the favorite as he this Jersey kid goes 6’5 and has the athleticism to match up in this league.  George is a clutch performer and has already became a fan favorite after hitting some huge shots in his first year in Storrs but also had some issues guarding big east point guards.  Calhoun actually had him guarding the other team’s two guard (he has the size) but this team needs somebody to hang with the Ernie D’s and Pearl’s of this world.  Boyd was an absolute stud in the Yankee but only goes 5’11 and though he is quick is not Big East quick.  Neither one of these guys is the epitome of a point guard and Calhoun is bringing in a batch of freshmen to compete for this job. 

The wings for the Huskies are not up to par as well.  Senior Wes Bialosukunia and junior Tony Hanson almost for sure will start and are both solid contributors at least on the offensive end.  The Poughkeepsie Popper as Bialosukunia has been dubbed led the team in scoring last year at almost twenty a game.  This Mad Bomber has incredible range on his jump shot and openly welcomed the three point line.  Easily the most popular Husky (especially with the ladies) Wes B will likely lead the go to guy from the perimeter for UCONN but he must get better defensively if he is going to get to the next level.  Hanson is a 6’5 pure small forward from Waterbury who was just behind his fellow wing in scoring last year.  Hanson is an inside-out player that Calhoun counted on for offensive firepower and he did deliver with a solid-mid range game.  He has not developed a perimeter game, however, and in today’s basketball ‘threes’ are expected to be able to launch from behind the arc.  Still, Hanson gives Calhoun a consistent offensive threat and unless a pair of wings fall from the heavens themselves this duo will be starting one more year together and should be the primary offensive weapons. 

As for depth on this team this season sophomores Earl Kelley and Phil Gamble give the team some offensive options at guard.  They are diametrically opposite as Kelley (6’1) is an undersized scorer who loves to roam in the key and Gamble is a terrific long-range shooter who goes 6’4 and could really push for minutes at either wing.   Kelley tried playing point and is okay there and with today’s modern shoot first guards might just fit in there. Senior Worthy Patterson (best name in the world) is a defensive specialist who lost minutes last year and will probably be lucky to get on the court this season for more than just mop up duties.  Up front Seniors Bill Corley, Walt Dropo, Al Cooper and junior John Thomas got some minutes last year but like Patterson will almost assuredly be passed up by some of the freshman Calhoun is bringing in.  I hope the others have a backup plan like Dropo does as he might not even play this year as his future is baseball and made it all the way to Triple A for the Red Sox farm team last summer and the 6’5 first baseman can really smash the ball.  As for this vaunted frosh class these kids have an opportunity most kids at this level don’t usually get.  They will get playing time and if they show they can compete at this level they will be the building blocks for the future of Husky basketball.  That is easier said than done and in the mighty Big East you better be able to fly high and shoot straight if you are going to make it there!  But Storrs Connecticut is not the Big Apple nor Beantown for that matter and Coach Calhoun is a true believer of building a program his way.  And that means finding talent wherever it is hiding and if he has to go to DC or Texas or Israel this coach will find you.