Connecticut
October 13, 2003 04:42 PM | General
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2002-03 Record: 23-10
Postseason: NCAA third round
Big East Repeat Opponents: Notre Dame; Pitt; Syracuse
Non-Conference Schedule: Yale; Sacred Heart, Lehigh; Army; Quinnipiac; Iona; Ball State; Massachusetts; Rice; Oklahoma; North Carolina
Head Coach: Jim Calhoun (647-296, 31 years)
Players to Watch: C, Omeka Okafor (15.9 ppg., 11.2 rpg.); G, Ben Gordon (19.5 ppg., 4.7 apg.)
Bob Gibbons Top 300 Newcomers: Charlie Villanueva (#8); Marcus Williams (#64)
Preseason Capsule
Senior Tailek Brown leads an experienced Connecticut backcourt
BIG EAST photo |
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No team in the Big East, or in the country for that matter, appears stronger on paper than Connecticut. The Huskies have all of the ingredients needed to make another run at the Final Four.
Veteran coach Jim Calhoun has one of the best backcourts in the country in senior point guard Taliek Brown and junior shooting guard Ben Gordon.
Center Omeka Okafor led the nation with an average of 4.7 blocks per game to go along with averages of 15.9 points and a Big East-best 11.2 rebounds per game. The one soft spot in the UConn lineup was taken care of when Calhoun managed to sign 6-foot-10 prep forward Charlie Villanueva last summer.
Villanueva had entered the NBA draft but withdrew prior to the deadline. Most observers believe Villanueva will be one and done for Connecticut and UConn supporters are hoping Villanueva’s one season translates into the same results delivered by Syracuse sensation Carmelo Anthony last year.
Small forward Denham Brown and swingman Rashad Anderson combined to average more than 15 points per game last year.
The Huskies have a favorable non-conference schedule but must face games against Oklahoma and North Carolina, along with repeat Big East games against Notre Dame, Pitt and Syracuse.
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