James Bouknight and UConn are looking to make some noise in return to Big East

Editor’s note: This offseason The Athletic is again exploring the college basketball landscape with in-depth examinations of 75 key programs. This story is a part of that continuing series.

A marked man.

That’s what James Bouknight is for the Huskies this season, Dan Hurley says. Bouknight had already begun garnering attention toward the end of his freshman year. But as UConn returns to the Big East from the American Athletic Conference and Bouknight prepares for his second go-around in college basketball, he has ascended to the national stage in preseason rankings and expectations.

“That’s a different type of mentality and a mindset,” Hurley says. “The edge that you’ve got to be able to bring with you every day on the practice floor, game night, where you thrive when people come after you and try to make a reputation off him now.”

The 6-5, 190-pound standout will be tasked with the burden that comes with becoming the face of the program. It’s a different role than he had last season. It was a learning experience for him, watching former Huskies Christian Vital and Alterique Gilbert pave the way toward an end-of-season run. UConn was 19-12 heading into the AAC tournament, where it was expected to make a run at the title, largely because of Vital but also the emerging Bouknight.

Once Bouknight got rolling, he defined his play with electrifying dunks and athleticism. He became an NBA prospect but put speculation he would declare for the draft to rest in April, allowing the deadline to pass. He later explained the plan was always to stay for two years. Given his late success, Hurley says the move showed self-awareness and maturity.

Bouknight’s freshman year started late following a three-game suspension due to an off-court incident. That experience has impacted how Hurley and his staff are helping prepare Bouknight for his new role. The coach says the big thing for Bouknight is he has to make great decisions and not stray from what has been working. “Hurley keeps stressing that I’m going to be a target,” Bouknight says. “So just pushing myself to play 110 percent, any drill, workout, even attacking school and mind. Hurley’s been stressing about learning more, being a smarter individual.”

Associate head coach Kimani Young says Bouknight is ready to take the next step and that has shown in his focus and enthusiasm since he returned to campus. Bouknight says he hasn’t had one bad day of practice since coming back.

Bouknight says the heightened attention won’t change the way he plays his game. Instead, he says he’s going to accept the challenge that comes with being the focal point of a game plan. For him, that means acting as a professional and being an example for his teammates — going hard on the practice floor and in games. He has worked on his 3-point shooting and ballhandling. After watching his older teammates last year, he’s trying to be that guy by talking to them if they make mistakes and helping them find a rhythm.

“I think his confidence is very high,” Hurley says. “His personality is changing in terms of his leadership. He’s an alpha right now with potential lottery-pick talent.”

The big question

How will a team that was peaking at just the right time last season not only transition to an entirely new conference but also into a pivotal third season under Hurley? There’s certainly momentum and excitement among the fan base since the move back to the Big East on July 1. The return has already helped UConn’s recruiting — unless a player leaves, the Huskies closed out a highly ranked Class of 2021 in August. But what will this season’s product look like on the court?

“We have a lot of momentum going in, but we’ve got to take that next big step in Year 3 and it’s not an easy one,” Hurley says. “It’s one that we think that we’re capable of making, but Year 2 wasn’t easy. The end result, the last third of the year, showed the progress we made. But the first two, it was a lot of struggle and there’s going to be some more struggle. But we have a lot of talent and our culture is in a really good place.”

Down the stretch, Young says the Huskies started figuring out what it took to win: learning how to compete every day and what was required in practice. “Those are things that our returning players can lead by example with and help our younger players transition into this season,” Young says.

With two years of Hurley culture embedded into the program, the older group has been infused with a talented collection of younger players. It will be interesting to see that blending of a deep, 13-man roster at the same time the program heads back to one of the best conferences in the country. For Hurley, the team’s health — two 2019-20 starters are recovering from major injuries — is one of the biggest questions he has along with who starts, given the roster’s athletic and talented lineup. “We haven’t arrived yet,” Hurley says. “We’re promising, but we still have to answer the question.”

Roster analysis

Guards

With Gilbert gone, the point guard job will fall to the tandem of sophomore Jalen Gaffney and redshirt junior transfer R.J. Cole. Adjusting to the college game in the first half of the season, Gaffney started every game after Jan. 26 but Senior Night and averaged 3.9 points and 2.1 assists in 19.1 minutes across 31 games.

After a season on the sideline, Cole is ready for his UConn moment. The 6-1 Cole arrived from Howard; as the MEAC Player of the Year in 2018-19, he averaged, 21.4 points, 6.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game. Hurley has called him a difference-maker on and off the court, and he has been tasked to step up as a leader. “What he brings to the table is a high basketball IQ, experience and unselfishness,” Young says. “That comes out when we start getting up and down playing five-on-five, but he’s shooting the ball better, he’s in tremendous shape, his body looks great so we know he’s going to be a valued member of the team.”

While the two could share the point role, they also could play together, highlighting each other’s skills and facilitating for their teammates. It’s certainly plausible, with the depth this year and given that Hurley resorted to a four-guard lineup in some games last season after losing Tyler Polley and Akok Akok to injuries. “Me and Jalen together, that would be probably one of the amazing things,” Cole says. “We’re both playmakers. We’re unselfish.”

Wings

There aren’t a lot of certainties when it comes to the starters due to the team’s depth and ability to play multiple lineups. But James Bouknight is a sure-fire starter. Athletic with the ability to maneuver all over the court, he finished the year as an All-AAC third-team pick and was a unanimous All-Freshman team selection. Bouknight started the last 16 games of the season, averaging 15.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game during that stint. He will be the Husky with the most on his shoulders, and the progression from freshman to sophomore will be fun to watch.

The Huskies received good news last week as the NCAA granted Tyrese Martin a waiver, making him immediately eligible. The 6-6, 215-pound Rhode Island transfer adds two years of experience, and he averaged 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season, starting in all 30 contests. Over two seasons he shot 42.7 percent from the floor and 31.7 percent from 3. “I can’t think of the last guy that had his combination of his size and athleticism,” Young says. “I mean, he’s an elite, elite, elite athlete. We’ve got to continue to develop his shot, but he’s tough (and) he can guard multiple positions. He’s a Swiss Army knife.”

How Tyler Polley rebounds from a torn ACL is still to be determined, but the coaching staff is anticipating he’ll be back for the start of the season. He averaged 9.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season and had just played his best game before his injury. He led the team in 3-point shooting, and Hurley says that and underrated defensive abilities were missed after the injury. “As a big third perimeter player and when you play small with four guards, to have a (6-9) guy that you can play as a fourth guard or to go big with him as a third guard just does so much for you defensively in terms of length.” Hurley adds that guys such as Bouknight, Gaffney and Cole plus the improved frontcourt will put Polley in a position to shine.

Brendan Adams can’t be forgotten. He was a big boost off the bench for the Huskies last season, improving on his freshman stats by averaging 7.4 points. The 6-4 Adams is also rehabbing his foot, but Hurley says he’ll be ready to go by the season’s start. “Brendan is a rock solid person,” Young says. “You know what you’re getting every day. The dude shows up to work with a lunch pail and hard hat; he’s always ready to go.” Then there’s the addition of freshman Andre Jackson. The 6-6 wing is athletic, and his high school coach says he can guard one through four. Expect Jackson to take a role similar to that of Bouknight last season.

Josh Carlton averaged 7.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game last season. (David Butler II / USA Today)

Bigs

The Huskies have a balanced roster, with depth up and down the lineup. That’s a different story than when Polley and Akok Akok went out with injuries last season. While seniors Josh Carlton and Isaiah Whaley leading the big men, there are also plenty of fresh faces to be excited about.

Whaley averaged 3.6 minutes and less than a point per game as a sophomore, struggling to find his role. But as a junior he was breakout contributor in the absence of Akok, even when Hurley played smaller lineups. Whaley most likely will continue to fill that role and seems ready to assume a leadership position. “The way he played for us down the stretch last season, it’s no doubt he’s one of our best players and has a tireless work ethic and just carries himself the right way,” Young says. Carlton struggled last season, a year after being named the 2019 AAC Co-Most Improved Player of the Year. The 6-11 Carlton transformed his body this offseason, losing 20 pounds, and now feels he’ll be more explosive.

Akok, a 6-9 forward who can play multiple positions, was another breakout freshman last season before rupturing his Achilles in February. With a tall, lean frame, Akok ranked in the top 10 in the country in blocks per game before his exit, providing big defensive moments. He’s expected to be ready to return for conference play in January and Hurley has repeatedly said he’s recovering well.

Redshirt freshman Richie Springs will also have a chance to earn meaningful minutes. With a year on the sideline, he adjusted to the physicality of the college game during practices and improved his perimeter abilities. Coaches have highlighted his rebounding, so expect that to be a jumping-off point for the 6-9 Springs. Freshmen Adama Sanogo and Javonte Brown are young, the staff is excited about the prospects of their anchoring the Huskies’ frontcourt of the future.

Can Gaffney step into a bigger role as a sophomore? (David Butler II / USA Today)

Spotlight on: Jalen Gaffney

Gaffney arrived at UConn as a top-100 recruit and the No. 16 overall point guard. But the adjustment took a little longer than he expected. “I came in with high expectations and I really wasn’t meeting them, especially at the beginning of the season,” Gaffney says. “It was kind of built-up nervousness and adjusting to the flow of the game and the strength and everything about college basketball.”

Taking over the point in the final 12 games last season, Gaffney helped UConn to a 9-3 record. He became more comfortable and finished the year with a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Gaffney called the year a learning experience and now believes he can build on that. He already has developed physically, adding about 15 pounds since returning to campus. At 6-3, he’s up to 185 pounds but would like to be at 190 when the season starts. Even with the weight gain, he says he’s just as fast and his vertical leap is up three inches. The physical transformation mirrors his growing confidence, and coaches hope he’ll continue to evolve into a leader.

“Just the steadiness about him — tremendous athleticism,” Young says. “He’s a coach’s dream because you’re never guessing what he’s going to do with the ball when he has it. You know he’s going to make the right play. We want to see him become a little more aggressive, but that will come with time.”

Recruiting

Hurley had already snagged an impressive duo in Jackson and Brown for the Class of 2020 before the season’s end. Then, two openings were created with the transfers of Gilbert and Sid Wilson. The Huskies responded by signing Martin from Rhode Island and picking up Sanogo in May after he reclassified from the Class of 2021. This left UConn with the No. 23 class in the country and No. 2 in the Big East, according to 247Sports.

The good recruiting news continued into the summer with Hurley locking down what is currently ranked as a top-10 class for 2021. Within a three-week span, UConn landed Rahsool Diggins (No. 55), Jordan Hawkins (No. 48) and Samson Johnson (No. 78). The trio completes the 2021 class unless anyone transfers or goes pro early. Given Bouknight’s rise, it’s fair to believe he’ll leave after this season. If that’s the case, the Huskies will be losing its game-changer in addition to a sharpshooter in Polley and two big bodies in Whaley and Carlton, all to graduation. Jackson (No. 50 in the Class of 2020) is a highly touted recruit who will add another dynamic player to the floor, replacing Bouknight or playing off of him if he does return for a junior season.

Brown is a 7-footer with an upside that’s through the roof, according to Young. Like Sanogo, Brown reclassified to 2020. He has great fundamentals, so Young says it will be about getting acclimated to the physicality of the college game.

Martin was a perfect transfer fit for the Huskies after originally committing to Rhode Island while Hurley was the coach there. But he never played under Hurley, who took the UConn job in the spring of 2018. Martin gives UConn another experienced wing to play alongside Bouknight and Jackson.

The bookend of the class, Sanogo, Young says, was a surprise given the reclassification, but says he has tremendous hands and feet. “He comes in college-body ready,” Young says. “It’s going to take him some time to just pick things up, but long term he’s going to be a guy that fans and people around this program are going to talk about for a long time.”

Schedule analysis

With the season finally having a Nov. 25 start date, now the work of scheduling and logistics can be undertaken more seriously. But how that plays out really won’t matter too much for UConn fans looking forward to hoops and a new conference: UConn and the Big East just sound good back together.

The nonconference schedule will depend on the allotted amount of time built into the conference one. The Huskies were scheduled to play in the Legends Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn along with Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and USC. But the Gazelle Group, which operates events at Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center, has been working with Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., in an effort to create a bubble for two weeks in December.

The ceiling

The next step is making the NCAA Tournament and competing for the top of the Big East. The Huskies have a good track record of player development over the last two seasons and are now combining the fruits of those labors with a group of fresh (and talented) faces. Having missed the tournament since 2016, fans are hungry for March Madness. Strong campaigns from Bouknight, Gaffney and Cole, plus a healthy roster, will bode well, and UConn should be able to do just that.

The floor

It would be detrimental if Polley and Akok don’t return to pre-injury form. The Huskies were competitive last season with Vital rallying his teammates through a series of close finishes. Who replaces him as the alpha guiding the team through those moments? Any regression that leads to last-second wins turning back into nail-biting losses would be the worst case for UConn, and could result in the team not making the tournament.

Final report

UConn being back in the Big East is good for the fans, conference and the program. The storied history and rivalries were hard to develop in the AAC. What makes the return so great is the group of players Hurley has assembled as they make the jump. There’s an excitement to watching Bouknight, Akok and the rest of this roster come together. If UConn maintains its competitiveness from last season and is successful in the conference, this team could be special as a new era begins. The Huskies are truly relevant again.

(Top photo of James Bouknight: David Butler II / USA Today)