UConn Tops Bridgeport In Exhibition Play

Box Score [html]
Box Score [pdf]

STORRS, CT (November 4, 2004) – Junior Denham Brown (Toronto, Ont.) scored 19 points to lead four teammates in double figures as the defending National Champion University of Connecticut Huskies opened up exhibition play in the 2004-05 season with a 97-64 win over Bridgeport before a sellout crowd of 10,167 at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.

On the night where the Huskies unfurled their second championship banner in five seasons, UConn picked right up when they left off despite playing for the first time without three starters (Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon and Taliek Brown) from last year’s squad.  UConn trailed their in-state Division II rivals 7-6 before going on a 24-4 run over an eight minute span to take control of the contest.  Brown scored 11 points in the first half, while sophomore Charlie Villanueva (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10.  The Huskies led 52-26 at the break as UConn shot 54% from the field.

The second half saw head coach Jim Calhoun substitute freely, as freshman Rudy Gay (Baltimore, Md.) (photo below) put on a dazzling display, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds.  Villanueva also finished with 17, while junior Hilton Armstrong (Peekskill, N.Y.) ended with 13 on a perfect six-for-six shooting effort.  Sophomore point guard Marcus Williams (Los Angeles, Ca.) had a game-high 10 assists, while committing just one turnover.  Brown made five of eight three-point attempts for UConn.  Junior transfer Ed Nelson (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench for UConn.

Ramel Allen scored 17 and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Purple Knights, while Kevin Jeffreys had 16 points.

The Huskies conclude the exhibition portion of the season when they play host to Bryant College on Thursday, November 11 at the Hartford Civic Center.  Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and tickets are still available.

UConn Head Coach Jim Calhoun

On Bridgeport

They should be a heck of a Division II team. They’re a very good basketball team. We’ve played some lower Division I teams, and they’re equal to them, I thought, in the sense of trying to run stuff. They were fearless, I thought, once they got over their early butterflies. Once we got that big lead, they played us pretty even inside and had no fear of us whatsoever.

On frontcourt

For the night, anyway, we are not the best frontcourt in the country. We didn’t perform that way. Guys, I thought would be much better – I thought Charlie would be better. He had points and rebounds but I didn’t think he played very well. I thought Josh had one of his poorer outings at UConn….I thought Ed did a nice job. Hilton did, in flashes, a terrific job. Marcus White got posted too many times, but, once again, provides us with hustle and rebounds. It’s tough to rotate those five guys, in fairness to them. Josh Boone has 16 minutes. Hopefully, he’ll be a 25 to 30 minute player.

Best players tonight

Rudy Gay is going to be just fine. Either he or Denham were our best players tonight, which was encouraging.

On Rashad Anderson

We’re going to make Rashad stay off his foot. He sprained that foot and re-sprained it in the second half. He should have told me that he re-sprained it in the first half – we would have been a lot easier on him, because he played like he had a sprain from the time they threw the ball up, and did not perform very well…I think he thought he was still in San Antonio…He played like it was going to be easy tonight.

On defense

We gave up 38 percent. We gave up 36 percent in the NCAA Tournament. That means that they played better against Vermont, DePaul, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Duke and Georgia Tech, at least shooting-wise. In our own building, they shot better than those six teams. So, something has to be not really good.

On backcourt

Both point guards showed things that were pretty good. Both point guards showed things that weren’t so good, bad decisions. I thought our fast break was an adventure.

At times we played good minutes, but we’re certainly a long way from a 40 minute team.

I’m not disappointed. Some of it I expect by the way we coach. You’re not going to win by 50 points, not with bad desire. I usually play a lot of people, so some kids get shortchanged, like a Josh Boone, for example, tonight. If he was playing the way Rudy was, than he would have gotten 26 minutes.

On A.J. Price

It was great to see A.J….The team was really happy to see him. It was really emotional when he came in and all the kids got a chance to see him. He hugged every single kid.

UConn Player Quotes v. Bridgeport

Charlie Villanueva

How did it feel out there?

It felt good – the first game out there. It was good to see the young guys out there and get some first time experience with them. There are a couple things we need to work on, but I’m pretty happy with the way we played. The young guys played well, and Ed, as well, he’s not young guy but this is his first year suiting up.

Last year is done with. It was a great time, but we have to look forward and take care of this season.

Is it good to get to play against someone other than your teammates?

It’s definitely a great thing. I’m sick and tired of playing against the same guys.

On the first pass from Marcus:

We planned that from the beginning.

On Hilton Armstrong’s play:

He came back hungry and stronger and he’s going to be a big factor for us.

Hilton Armstrong

Did you think the team played well?

We have a lot of things to pick up on. We were real loose today. We weren’t as tight as we should be. Rudy played excellent. I loved Rudy’s game today – he played so hard – and Ed. But as a team, we don’t look as good as we should right now.

Marcus Williams

Did it feel good out there tonight?

I think we were too antsy, too anxious to get out there.

Josh Boone

On Rudy Gay’s play:

Rudy brings a completely new element to this team. He’s such a unique player in that he’s 6’ 8” but he can play the three and do just about everything on the floor. It’s great to have a type of player like that, and you saw what he’s capable of. He showed little flashes of brilliance here and there, especially with the play at the end where he got the dunk and the foul.

Can you compare this team with last year?

I try not to think about last year at all because if we think about that we’ll stay stagnant and not move forward at all. If you did want to compare it, we’re not nearly as good a team right now. That’s just being honest. We haven’t played enough basketball yet to even compare. We don’t run as well. We don’t play defense nearly as well, and we don’t rebound as well. But all of that will come with practice.

Marcus White

Is it great to get back to playing basketball after almost a year off?

I kind of miss the suits (on the bench). It was fun to get into the game. There’s nothing like running up and down the court hearing the fans scream, just being able to contribute. I was trying to give everything I had last year emotionally. Now I can give it physically, too. If I can give the whole package, that always feels good.

Rudy Gay

Of course I had the jitters – it was my first college game ever.

We saw a lot we have to work on in practice.

Were you comfortable out there at this level?

I’m comfortable because my team is with me. The team helped me through everything. Whether it’s Bridgeport or Syracuse, my team’s going to help me out, tell me where to be, and help me with everything.