STORRS -
— At one point during UConn's first practice Saturday, Jamaal Trice drove the lane and got knocked around. This was his introduction to college basketball.
"I'm used to being the one doing the hitting," he said.
All that mattered to Trice and coach Jim Calhoun was his ability to handle it. When the 3 ½-hour practice ended, the freshman guard from Los Angeles figured it was time to heed his father's advice.
"My pops always told me that I have to start icing or else I'm never going to last," he said.
And if you want to last, you also have to impress coaches. Trice already has.
"Jamaal Trice probably surprised me as much as any player," Calhoun said. "In structure, he played very well. Some kids don't. When the kids used to have pickup games years ago in the Field House, when Nadav Henefeld was here, they said, 'Well, he can't shoot; he doesn't appear to be a jumper or a leaper.' But as soon as we got into a 2-2-1 press and things, he stole everything in sight and got every rebound."
The 6-foot-5 Trice comes to UConn lacking the identity and build-up garnered by the other four freshmen.
Forward Ater Majok has been labeled a starter in waiting. Forward/center Alex Oriakhi was a McDonald's All-American. Guard/forward Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel has the size and range to play multiple positions and already has been called UConn's best three-point shooter. Calhoun said "remember the name" of guard Darius Smith, whom he called among the quickest players in program history.
There's something nondescript about Trice's game, but that's not necessarily a knock. If UConn's first official workout gives any indication, he's simply strong and sturdy enough to be effective.
"Everyone is going to fight for playing time," Trice said. "That's natural. It depends on how hard you work and how bad you want it."
Really, Just A Bruise
Jerome Dyson knocked his left knee against Coombs-McDaniel about two hours in and sat out the remainder of practice. His right knee was surgically repaired in February.
"It looks purely like a contusion," Calhoun said. "I've heard that before, by the way. But, no, he's walking around and not having problems."
When Dyson went down with a torn meniscus in February, it was initially diagnosed as a contusion. He missed the final 12 games of the season and spent about five months rehabilitating before being cleared for full workouts.
In recent weeks, Dyson had been occasionally sore because he went the entire offseason without lifting weights. Back in the weight room, Dyson's muscles are talking back to him. He sat out the Husky Run Wednesday but held up fine Saturday before his collision.
"It's nothing serious," Dyson said.
Quick Study
Coombs-McDaniel got an earful from Calhoun and sustained a bloody lip along the way, but no bruised ego. "I got yelled at a few times but the assistants said to me, 'If he wasn't yelling, that would be a problem,'" Coombs-McDaniel said. "I didn't have the best practice, but I went hard, which is what he wanted. He knew everybody wasn't going to be perfect today. But things will get better." ... Majok, out for at least another week with a stress fracture of the left tibia, was in full practice gear and watched from the baseline. ... Calhoun interrupted the infamous box-out drill, a rebounding exercise of mental and physical stamina, to emphatically applaud the effort of Oriakhi and Gavin Edwards, who toppled over each other while fighting for a loose ball. ... Today's practice, Calhoun said, would be "shorter but harder." ... Of junior Donnell Beverly having to fight freshmen Smith, Coombs-McDaniel and Trice for playing time, Calhoun said, "It helps everybody. Donnell has been in games at Indiana [in 2007-08], in other games where he's slipped in to help us. He's a big, strong kid. He loves the program, a big part of the program. There's a leadership quality, too." ... Recruits Cory Joseph and Roscoe Smith, both on official visits, watched practice from the front row.
"I'm used to being the one doing the hitting," he said.
All that mattered to Trice and coach Jim Calhoun was his ability to handle it. When the 3 ½-hour practice ended, the freshman guard from Los Angeles figured it was time to heed his father's advice.
"My pops always told me that I have to start icing or else I'm never going to last," he said.
And if you want to last, you also have to impress coaches. Trice already has.
"Jamaal Trice probably surprised me as much as any player," Calhoun said. "In structure, he played very well. Some kids don't. When the kids used to have pickup games years ago in the Field House, when Nadav Henefeld was here, they said, 'Well, he can't shoot; he doesn't appear to be a jumper or a leaper.' But as soon as we got into a 2-2-1 press and things, he stole everything in sight and got every rebound."
The 6-foot-5 Trice comes to UConn lacking the identity and build-up garnered by the other four freshmen.
Forward Ater Majok has been labeled a starter in waiting. Forward/center Alex Oriakhi was a McDonald's All-American. Guard/forward Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel has the size and range to play multiple positions and already has been called UConn's best three-point shooter. Calhoun said "remember the name" of guard Darius Smith, whom he called among the quickest players in program history.
There's something nondescript about Trice's game, but that's not necessarily a knock. If UConn's first official workout gives any indication, he's simply strong and sturdy enough to be effective.
"Everyone is going to fight for playing time," Trice said. "That's natural. It depends on how hard you work and how bad you want it."
Really, Just A Bruise
Jerome Dyson knocked his left knee against Coombs-McDaniel about two hours in and sat out the remainder of practice. His right knee was surgically repaired in February.
"It looks purely like a contusion," Calhoun said. "I've heard that before, by the way. But, no, he's walking around and not having problems."
When Dyson went down with a torn meniscus in February, it was initially diagnosed as a contusion. He missed the final 12 games of the season and spent about five months rehabilitating before being cleared for full workouts.
In recent weeks, Dyson had been occasionally sore because he went the entire offseason without lifting weights. Back in the weight room, Dyson's muscles are talking back to him. He sat out the Husky Run Wednesday but held up fine Saturday before his collision.
"It's nothing serious," Dyson said.
Quick Study
Coombs-McDaniel got an earful from Calhoun and sustained a bloody lip along the way, but no bruised ego. "I got yelled at a few times but the assistants said to me, 'If he wasn't yelling, that would be a problem,'" Coombs-McDaniel said. "I didn't have the best practice, but I went hard, which is what he wanted. He knew everybody wasn't going to be perfect today. But things will get better." ... Majok, out for at least another week with a stress fracture of the left tibia, was in full practice gear and watched from the baseline. ... Calhoun interrupted the infamous box-out drill, a rebounding exercise of mental and physical stamina, to emphatically applaud the effort of Oriakhi and Gavin Edwards, who toppled over each other while fighting for a loose ball. ... Today's practice, Calhoun said, would be "shorter but harder." ... Of junior Donnell Beverly having to fight freshmen Smith, Coombs-McDaniel and Trice for playing time, Calhoun said, "It helps everybody. Donnell has been in games at Indiana [in 2007-08], in other games where he's slipped in to help us. He's a big, strong kid. He loves the program, a big part of the program. There's a leadership quality, too." ... Recruits Cory Joseph and Roscoe Smith, both on official visits, watched practice from the front row.