UConn men’s basketball notes: Hurley envisions Ross as defensive stopper; could Mahaney be next Joey California?

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It appeared DePaul’s Troy D’Amico had an easy layup under the basket, which would’ve cut the Blue Demons’ deficit – once as large as 22 points – to just seven with less than eight minutes to go in Wintrust Arena Wednesday night.

But UConn forward Jayden Ross flew in from the perimeter, loaded up behind him and swatted the shot off the backboard.

He pushed the ball down the court to initiate UConn’s offense, four passes setting up a 3-point shot from Alex Karaban to end DePaul’s 15-2 run. At that point, Huskies fans could rest knowing there would be no New Year’s miracle run in Chicago, that UConn would hold on to win the game despite its defensive missteps in the second half.

Dan Hurley has stressed that this year’s UConn team will only go as far as its defense allows, and Ross is the player who he envisions raising the ceiling.

“Our defense is not what it’s been. He’s the type of player that could help us,” Hurley told reporters in Chicago after the 81-68 victory, the team’s seventh in a row. “If we could get him into the 20 minutes a game range, with his length and athleticism on the perimeter, he could be a stopper type like we’ve had with (Stephon) Castle, like we had with Andre Jackson.”

Ross certainly has the athleticism to jump with those two – just ask East Texas A&M forward Josh Taylor, who he posterized at Gampel Pavilion in November. He’s been said to be a better offensive player, 3-point shooter, than he’s shown (7-for-33, 21.2%), and his wingspan provides upside as a 3-and-D weapon.

Playing 15.3 minutes per game, Ross is averaging 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds. He scored in double figures twice in two early-season games against low-major opponents, but hasn’t scored more than four points in any of UConn’s last six.

“We need his offense to come along a little bit that way, but that was a huge play. I thought his finish on the baseline was a huge, huge play. But he’s part of the reason why we were able to guard the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/uconn-men-basketball-notes-hurley-180700367.html

Author : Hartford Courant

Publish date : 2025-01-02 18:07:00

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