No. 6 UConn, with a bigger target on its back, resets for a run at back-to-back national titles

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STORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn coach Dan Hurley has enjoyed an offseason of celebrating a national championship. He says the best part of his job is building a contender, not admiring the finished product.

That gives him a lot to enjoy this fall as Connecticut rebuilds, looking to fill a void left by the loss of the three biggest stars from last season’s 31-8 team that ran through the NCAA Tournament, winning each game by an average of 20 points before a dominant win over San Diego State in the title game.

“Becoming is always better for me than being,” Hurley said. “The chase for me is always the exhilarating thing, the exciting thing. The accomplishment fades quickly in your mind. Very quickly it gets to the process that you love.”

Part of the process this year was to show his players film of the Florida teams that won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

The Huskies hope to stay on top by building an offense around returning 7-foot-2 sophomore post Donovan Clingan, who showed a potential to dominate on both ends of the floor last year while backing up Adama Sanogo — the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament.

Sanogo is gone to the professional ranks, along with NBA first-round draft pick Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson, a second-round selection.

FLOOR LEADERS

Leadership roles will go this year to Clingan, fellow sophomore forward Alex Karaban and graduate guard Tristen Newton.

Clingan, who played just 13 minutes a game last season and averaged 6.9 points, suffered a foot injury last month. The team has been cautious with his rehab, but Hurley is hopeful his star will be healthy in time to lead the Huskies against Northern Arizona in the season opener on Nov. 6.

“The evolution for (Clingan) is to demand the ball and demand that his teammates play up to a certain level,” Hurley said. “I mean sometimes you’ve got to be the bad guy too. You just can’t be kind of the jolly giant. Sometimes you’ve got to be the angry giant.”

SOME HELP

The Huskies returning core…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/no-6-uconn-bigger-target-044038362.html

Author : Associated Press

Publish date : 2023-10-26 04:40:38

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