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Junior County is breathing easier these days. The air around him is more oxygen-rich than he was used to, at 5,925 feet of elevation in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, and he feels right at home in his new surroundings at UConn. Here, the air is a different sort of rarified, it’s expectations that are a mile high.
“Utah, we have pretty high elevation, it gets bad sometimes to breath,” he said. “It’s definitely a lot easier. … My junior and senior years of high school, going to Wasatch Academy and Coach Paul (Peterson) really prepared me to do hard things, overcome adversity. You really had to pull from your reserves when you were out there, you were in the gym more than you were sleeping and you were in the middle of nowhere.
“You really had to dig deep down and ask yourself if you really want it.”
Changing times, with so many other options, allows Dan Hurley and his staff to be more selective than ever in choosing freshmen. From all early indications, he has chosen freshmen who align with life and the high standards in the UConn men’s basketball program.
UConn’s Dan Hurley makes another impassioned plea on hot topic: ‘We can’t go on like this’
When he met Colben Landrew in Georgia, Hurley posed a signature question.
“First time he talked to me, he was asking me, ‘Do I love basketball. Do I love being in the gym,'” Landrew said. “I was kind of nervous talking to one of the greats, honestly. He loves basketball, stays in the gym. I said, ‘Yeah, Coach, I love it.”
County, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, and Landrew, a 6-6, 235-pound small forward, have made strong impressions in their first weeks among their new teammates, especially senior Jayden Ross, who has survived four seasons at UConn.
“They’re really impressive,” Ross said. “They both bring so much value to the floor. They honestly surprised me a little bit, being as prepared as they were. Talking with those guys, understanding where they came from and how hard they worked, you could tell they were definitely prepared for this, the way they were trained mentally and physically. They have the mindset to be here.”
To break into the Huskies’ rotation as freshmen, it’s important to stay healthy and on the court during this period. Once a newcomer falls behind, it’s hard to catch up with talent alone.
“It’s definitely more a mental game at UConn, with our sets,” County said. “You have to think the game more than you play. Getting a feel for it has been great. I’m sticking to my principles, watching film, paying attention to details. My film watching has definitely had to jump up a lot more since being here. He’s going to ask you questions and you’ve got to be prepared, answer wrong and it can set you back.”
Landrew, former wide receiver, has a massive upper body and thick frame, not the usual thin freshman look.
“My AAU season last year, being in dogfights and I know at UConn we’re going to be in a lot of dogfights,” Landrew said. “And playing football got me stronger. Usually you’ve got to adjust in the weight room, but I feel I’m a little stronger than most freshman and that will help me out a lot. ”
At UConn, Landrew has learned why Hurley asked that question. “He’s on 10 every day,” Landrew said. “He pushes us hard every day, takes no days off. That’s great for me.”
Hurley is talking in superlatives about his newcomers, always a good sign in August.
“Colben is talented like these early entry guys to the (NBA) Draft,” Hurley said. “This is the hardest thing he’s ever done in his life, the hardest ever worked in his life. You have a rough Wednesday, you’re tired and sore, and you’ve still got Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He’s going through that right now, and as his body, and his mind, his emotions learn how to handle that, he’ll unleash all his abilities. He’s got early-entry NBA ability.
“Junior is one of the most prepared freshmen we’ve had come in here. His maturity level, from his high school program, his parents. You have summers where you just love the way a player comes in and he probably stands out more than anyone this summer.”
More for your Sunday Read
The Sun’s decision to honor Alyssa Thomas as one of the franchise legends was a popular one. A near capacity crowd at Mohegan Sun chanted “A-T, A-T” as she took the microphone. Thomas played 11 seasons for Connecticut, and set a record for triple doubles. She was called “The Engine,” driving several successful teams.
“It’s a place that’s true and dear to my heart,” Thomas said before the Sun played Phoenix, her current team. “A lot of years and memories put into this place, definitely sad to see it go. I was drafted on Mohegan’s floor, so it was inevitable I was going to be here. Just truly thankful for them believing in me, drafting me, supporting me through the years. Going out in this community, so many people loved and support this team, it meant a lot to us.”
Thomas’ visit ended with a disappointing finish as the Sun defeated her Mercury, 75-72. She came up short of her patented triple-double but still had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
‘Honey’ Fitch, UConn’s first Black basketball player, endured racism in 1930s to blaze the trail for future Huskies
In February 2021, The Courant told the story of Harrison “Honey” Fitch, the New Haven native who in 1934 became the first Black basketball player at UConn. He faced racist taunts at most road games and at Coast Guard Academy, was not allowed to play, which enraged teammates and the campus community back in Storrs.
Since his largely forgotten story was brought back to light, Fitch was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion in 2022 and his son, Brooks Fitch, has been doing great things with his legacy. The Harrison “Honey” Fitch Leadership Fund endowed at UConn to provide custom fellowships and support for students from underserved communities through the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute and the Institute for Student Success.
Its educational programs have reached more than 2,700 young people, UConn and Hartford public schools students and Coast Guard cadets among them, and awarded scholarships to deserving students. Brooks Fitch, a 1964 UConn grad, wants the fund’s messaging to be not so much on athletics, but on education, inclusion and leadership, the broader qualities he believes Honey Fitch, who died in 1984, stood for.
“We’re dedicated to leadership, character, perseverance,” Fitch said. “Qualities that are critical for all of us to find the greatness within and broaden the horizons for young people.”
Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters and a dozen one-hitters; since few of today’s greatest pitchers will even throw 19 complete games in their careers, his accomplishments may seem like fiction, but they are fact. In “Nolan — The Singular Life of an American Original,” long-time, highly esteemed baseball writer Tim Brown tells the story of the unassuming, nonpareil Nolan, the 300-plus wins, the 5,000-plus strikeouts, the fastball that never faded in a remarkably long career and all that went along with it. Find it on Amazon, and booksellers everywhere.
*Jim Calhoun will be among 15 Hall of Famers signing autographs on Saturday at the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
*Former Sacred Heart basketball player Kinnon LaRose made a drastic career shift a few years ago to training thoroughbred race horses, and he’s in the thick of things at Saratoga this month. In his first year since taking over for retired mentor Tom Amoss, LaRose’s 64-horse stable has amassed more than $1.3 million in winnings.
*In case you missed it, former UConn men’s captain Andre Jackson, who never got a real shot in Milwaukee, hooked on as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors.
*New Haven’s Desmond Claude, who has played for Xavier, Southern Cal and Washington in a college career that began in 2022, has proclaimed on social media that, in light of the court ruling against the proposed five-in-five rule, he has another year of eligibility, he’s fully healthy and ready to play for a fourth school.
*UConn men’s soccer has a promising season brewing. The Huskies are ranked 24th in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Poll, first time the program has been ranked in a while.
*Yale football, under new coach Kevin Cahill, is the heavy favorite to win the Ivy League. The Bulldogs were ranked first in the preseason poll, with 15 of 16 first-place votes.
*Jeff Bagwell, the baseball Hall of Famer from Xavier-Middletown and UHart, is the guest for a longform conversation on the season premier of “The Road to Cooperstown,” a weekly podcast collaboration of SiriusXM and the Hall of Fame. It dropped this week.
Dom Amore: Baseball, football, this former CT high school star flirts with dual sport career at UConn
*If the Yankees continue to pitch this well, they will be a tough out in October, with or without their injured sluggers. But if the Red Sox continue to play this well, nothing anybody in the AL does will matter. Boston’s 32-5 stretch, from a team that was 14 games under .500, in last place in late June — and expected to be there — has risen to “never-seen-anything-like-it” level … and I’ve been following baseball closely since 1972.
*Have never been a fan of the annual MLB trade deadline frenzy, especially since the deadline moved later than June 15 to late July and now Aug. 3. High-impact players should not be moving so late in the year. The expanded playoffs should be limiting the number of sell-offs, but this year you saw teams only three or four games out of a playoff spot, like Toronto or Detroit, selling. Other teams, like Pittsburgh, as far or further behind, were buying. Nope, don’t like it. In a righteous world, sellers should have to refund presold tickets after they unload the players those fans paid to see.
New Boston College men’s basketball coach Luke Murray, former UConn assistant, took some heat this week, unfairly, when the Eagles’ radio broadcasters were let go. His AD, Blake James, took responsibility for the decision, as he should. Further, I’m hearing Murray made no such demands on this, just participated in a departmental meeting on game-day experience a while ago.
The August timing was unfortunate and it could have been handled a lot better, but having familiarity with similar situations in other places I can say this: When a team is hiring a new coach or manager, the smart play for its broadcasters is to maintain radio silence, if you will, until the decision is made and then say, “Great hire, exciting times, let’s get to work.”
Once the games start, they should call it like they see it. But if a broadcaster publicly questions or disparages the viability of candidates, especially the front-runner, as Kevin Collins did on social media during BC’s search process, employers keep those receipts and consequences should be no surprise. Play-by-play man Josh Maurer’s primary job is with the Brewers in Milwaukee and BC’s athletic department evidently saw a need for someone who could do all its games.
Continue reading...
“Utah, we have pretty high elevation, it gets bad sometimes to breath,” he said. “It’s definitely a lot easier. … My junior and senior years of high school, going to Wasatch Academy and Coach Paul (Peterson) really prepared me to do hard things, overcome adversity. You really had to pull from your reserves when you were out there, you were in the gym more than you were sleeping and you were in the middle of nowhere.
“You really had to dig deep down and ask yourself if you really want it.”
Changing times, with so many other options, allows Dan Hurley and his staff to be more selective than ever in choosing freshmen. From all early indications, he has chosen freshmen who align with life and the high standards in the UConn men’s basketball program.
UConn’s Dan Hurley makes another impassioned plea on hot topic: ‘We can’t go on like this’
When he met Colben Landrew in Georgia, Hurley posed a signature question.
“First time he talked to me, he was asking me, ‘Do I love basketball. Do I love being in the gym,'” Landrew said. “I was kind of nervous talking to one of the greats, honestly. He loves basketball, stays in the gym. I said, ‘Yeah, Coach, I love it.”
County, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, and Landrew, a 6-6, 235-pound small forward, have made strong impressions in their first weeks among their new teammates, especially senior Jayden Ross, who has survived four seasons at UConn.
“They’re really impressive,” Ross said. “They both bring so much value to the floor. They honestly surprised me a little bit, being as prepared as they were. Talking with those guys, understanding where they came from and how hard they worked, you could tell they were definitely prepared for this, the way they were trained mentally and physically. They have the mindset to be here.”
To break into the Huskies’ rotation as freshmen, it’s important to stay healthy and on the court during this period. Once a newcomer falls behind, it’s hard to catch up with talent alone.
“It’s definitely more a mental game at UConn, with our sets,” County said. “You have to think the game more than you play. Getting a feel for it has been great. I’m sticking to my principles, watching film, paying attention to details. My film watching has definitely had to jump up a lot more since being here. He’s going to ask you questions and you’ve got to be prepared, answer wrong and it can set you back.”
Landrew, former wide receiver, has a massive upper body and thick frame, not the usual thin freshman look.
“My AAU season last year, being in dogfights and I know at UConn we’re going to be in a lot of dogfights,” Landrew said. “And playing football got me stronger. Usually you’ve got to adjust in the weight room, but I feel I’m a little stronger than most freshman and that will help me out a lot. ”
At UConn, Landrew has learned why Hurley asked that question. “He’s on 10 every day,” Landrew said. “He pushes us hard every day, takes no days off. That’s great for me.”
Hurley is talking in superlatives about his newcomers, always a good sign in August.
“Colben is talented like these early entry guys to the (NBA) Draft,” Hurley said. “This is the hardest thing he’s ever done in his life, the hardest ever worked in his life. You have a rough Wednesday, you’re tired and sore, and you’ve still got Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He’s going through that right now, and as his body, and his mind, his emotions learn how to handle that, he’ll unleash all his abilities. He’s got early-entry NBA ability.
“Junior is one of the most prepared freshmen we’ve had come in here. His maturity level, from his high school program, his parents. You have summers where you just love the way a player comes in and he probably stands out more than anyone this summer.”
More for your Sunday Read
Sun flowers for Alyssa Thomas
The Sun’s decision to honor Alyssa Thomas as one of the franchise legends was a popular one. A near capacity crowd at Mohegan Sun chanted “A-T, A-T” as she took the microphone. Thomas played 11 seasons for Connecticut, and set a record for triple doubles. She was called “The Engine,” driving several successful teams.
“It’s a place that’s true and dear to my heart,” Thomas said before the Sun played Phoenix, her current team. “A lot of years and memories put into this place, definitely sad to see it go. I was drafted on Mohegan’s floor, so it was inevitable I was going to be here. Just truly thankful for them believing in me, drafting me, supporting me through the years. Going out in this community, so many people loved and support this team, it meant a lot to us.”
Thomas’ visit ended with a disappointing finish as the Sun defeated her Mercury, 75-72. She came up short of her patented triple-double but still had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
‘Honey’ Fitch, UConn’s first Black basketball player, endured racism in 1930s to blaze the trail for future Huskies
Honey Fitch’s story still inspires
In February 2021, The Courant told the story of Harrison “Honey” Fitch, the New Haven native who in 1934 became the first Black basketball player at UConn. He faced racist taunts at most road games and at Coast Guard Academy, was not allowed to play, which enraged teammates and the campus community back in Storrs.
Since his largely forgotten story was brought back to light, Fitch was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion in 2022 and his son, Brooks Fitch, has been doing great things with his legacy. The Harrison “Honey” Fitch Leadership Fund endowed at UConn to provide custom fellowships and support for students from underserved communities through the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute and the Institute for Student Success.
Its educational programs have reached more than 2,700 young people, UConn and Hartford public schools students and Coast Guard cadets among them, and awarded scholarships to deserving students. Brooks Fitch, a 1964 UConn grad, wants the fund’s messaging to be not so much on athletics, but on education, inclusion and leadership, the broader qualities he believes Honey Fitch, who died in 1984, stood for.
“We’re dedicated to leadership, character, perseverance,” Fitch said. “Qualities that are critical for all of us to find the greatness within and broaden the horizons for young people.”
Summer Reading
Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters and a dozen one-hitters; since few of today’s greatest pitchers will even throw 19 complete games in their careers, his accomplishments may seem like fiction, but they are fact. In “Nolan — The Singular Life of an American Original,” long-time, highly esteemed baseball writer Tim Brown tells the story of the unassuming, nonpareil Nolan, the 300-plus wins, the 5,000-plus strikeouts, the fastball that never faded in a remarkably long career and all that went along with it. Find it on Amazon, and booksellers everywhere.
Sunday short takes
*Jim Calhoun will be among 15 Hall of Famers signing autographs on Saturday at the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
*Former Sacred Heart basketball player Kinnon LaRose made a drastic career shift a few years ago to training thoroughbred race horses, and he’s in the thick of things at Saratoga this month. In his first year since taking over for retired mentor Tom Amoss, LaRose’s 64-horse stable has amassed more than $1.3 million in winnings.
*In case you missed it, former UConn men’s captain Andre Jackson, who never got a real shot in Milwaukee, hooked on as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors.
*New Haven’s Desmond Claude, who has played for Xavier, Southern Cal and Washington in a college career that began in 2022, has proclaimed on social media that, in light of the court ruling against the proposed five-in-five rule, he has another year of eligibility, he’s fully healthy and ready to play for a fourth school.
*UConn men’s soccer has a promising season brewing. The Huskies are ranked 24th in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Poll, first time the program has been ranked in a while.
*Yale football, under new coach Kevin Cahill, is the heavy favorite to win the Ivy League. The Bulldogs were ranked first in the preseason poll, with 15 of 16 first-place votes.
*Jeff Bagwell, the baseball Hall of Famer from Xavier-Middletown and UHart, is the guest for a longform conversation on the season premier of “The Road to Cooperstown,” a weekly podcast collaboration of SiriusXM and the Hall of Fame. It dropped this week.
Dom Amore: Baseball, football, this former CT high school star flirts with dual sport career at UConn
*If the Yankees continue to pitch this well, they will be a tough out in October, with or without their injured sluggers. But if the Red Sox continue to play this well, nothing anybody in the AL does will matter. Boston’s 32-5 stretch, from a team that was 14 games under .500, in last place in late June — and expected to be there — has risen to “never-seen-anything-like-it” level … and I’ve been following baseball closely since 1972.
*Have never been a fan of the annual MLB trade deadline frenzy, especially since the deadline moved later than June 15 to late July and now Aug. 3. High-impact players should not be moving so late in the year. The expanded playoffs should be limiting the number of sell-offs, but this year you saw teams only three or four games out of a playoff spot, like Toronto or Detroit, selling. Other teams, like Pittsburgh, as far or further behind, were buying. Nope, don’t like it. In a righteous world, sellers should have to refund presold tickets after they unload the players those fans paid to see.
Last word
New Boston College men’s basketball coach Luke Murray, former UConn assistant, took some heat this week, unfairly, when the Eagles’ radio broadcasters were let go. His AD, Blake James, took responsibility for the decision, as he should. Further, I’m hearing Murray made no such demands on this, just participated in a departmental meeting on game-day experience a while ago.
The August timing was unfortunate and it could have been handled a lot better, but having familiarity with similar situations in other places I can say this: When a team is hiring a new coach or manager, the smart play for its broadcasters is to maintain radio silence, if you will, until the decision is made and then say, “Great hire, exciting times, let’s get to work.”
Once the games start, they should call it like they see it. But if a broadcaster publicly questions or disparages the viability of candidates, especially the front-runner, as Kevin Collins did on social media during BC’s search process, employers keep those receipts and consequences should be no surprise. Play-by-play man Josh Maurer’s primary job is with the Brewers in Milwaukee and BC’s athletic department evidently saw a need for someone who could do all its games.
Continue reading...
