This season has told one story for the University of Connecticut: they are ready to embarrass every team they play against. Wednesday’s game was not only the same story, but it was also an example of how stylish the Huskies can do it.
Andre Jackson, the 6’6 sophomore, played the best basketball of his college career. The lengthy guard was on another level, whether that was a demoralizing block on the Sharks or a destructive dunk that left Gampel Pavilion crowd shouting for more.
“He’s by far the best athlete I’ve ever coached,” said UConn head coach Dan Hurley. “It’s a joke what he can do.”
Jackson ended the night with 14 points, the first time he has achieved that level of impressive play in his career. Not only did Jackson reach a new scoring height for his career, but he did it efficiently and eloquently. Hurley admitted post-game that the amount of athletic things that a player like Jackson can do is unparalleled.
“There’s a lot of clips that we can’t post on social media from practice because the guy that he did it to would not recover,” said Hurley on Jackson’s athletic talent.
While Jackson was a star on Wednesday night, he was not the only Husky who played well. Forward Tyler Polley had 17 points in an excellent bounce-back game from his poor performance against Coppin State University. The fifth-year player had just two points and went 0 for 5 in Saturday’s blowout contest. While the forward had a poor start to Wednesday’s game, Polley redeemed himself as the game progressed.
“We need his shooting,” said Hurley. “Tyler’s a critical guy.”
A notable point of this game was the off-night from big man Adama Sanogo. Sanogo, averaging 20 points before tonight, was held to just 11 points as the big man got into foul trouble early and simply couldn’t affect the game as he had in his past two appearances.
“Adama, who was obviously in foul trouble, had probably one of the worst games he’ll play all year,” said Hurley.
On top of Jackson’s career night on the court, the Huskies had two more highlights of the game. Jordan Hawkins had his long-awaited Huskies debut and put up five points in eight minutes. The guard looked aggressive as he attempted to score within just 30 seconds of stepping on the court.
“You see a guy who moves just like a big-time player,” said Hurley on the guard’s small sample size on Wednesday. “You could see the athleticism and clean shooting ability.”
For fans, the biggest highlight of the game was the first career points of junior Matt Garry. “MVP” chants could be heard throughout the packed student section as Garry drained two free throws to deafening cheers throughout Gampel Pavilion. Fans can undoubtedly agree that whatever the Huskies can accomplish this year, Garry’s performance on Wednesday will be one of the highlights of an already promising season for the team.
UConn’s win on Wednesday propels the team to a 3-0 record. The team will travel to Hartford and the well-known XL Center for a matchup with Binghamton University. There will be one question to ask before Saturday’s upcoming game: how much better can this team get?