Miller makes immediate impact for UConn
Storrs — He’s far from the nervous new kid.
Before stepping on the court for the first time as a member of the UConn basketball team on Sunday, Shonn Miller already had 85 career games under his belt during his days at Cornell.
Still, his UConn exhibition debut in an 88-72 victory over Division II Tampa was definitely a new experience for Miller, a 22-year-old graduate student.
“It’s a new program and a lot more people at home games,” Miller said. “Once you start playing, it’s not really nerves, you get excited because a lot more people are rooting for you. Once I got into the flow of the game, I was comfortable and just played.”
A rugged 6-foot-7, 222-pound forward, Miller started and played like a veteran. He showed off his versatility, finishing with a team-best 18 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 28 minutes.
“Shonn is definitely one of our best players right now,” coach Kevin Ollie said. “He just brings a toughness and attitude that we want. I thought he performed very, very well out there.”
During one possession early in the second half, the versatile Miller grabbed a rebound in traffic and managed to convert an off-balance shot while getting fouled. He displayed a nice shooting touch around the basket, converting eight of 11 shots.
“Whatever is needed, is what I’m going to do,” said Miller, a two-time All-Ivy League first team pick at Cornell.
As expected, Ollie went deep into his bench, using 11 players — including four newcomers. No one played more than Miller’s 28 minutes.
Ollie experimented with numerous lineups, starting with transfer Sterling Gibbs and junior Rodney Purvis in the backcourt, and Miller, sophomore Daniel Hamilton and ju-
nior Amida Brimah in the frontcourt.
Five Huskies scored in double figures, with freshman Jalen Adams (14 points), Purvis (14), senior Omar Calhoun (11) and Hamilton (10) joining Miller as the most productive players on the offensive end. Ball movement was another positive.
UConn held just a six point edge (36-30) at intermission before gradually pulling away in the second half. The Huskies were never seriously threatened, extending their exhibition winning streak to 43 in a row.
“I just wanted those guys to play and learn,” Ollie said. “It’s good to see who can perform with the lights on. ... It was just the first game. I saw a lot of good things out there and saw a lot of things that we’ve got to improve on.”
Adams, a combination guard with a scorer’s mentality, certainly is a keeper. Whenever he was on the floor, the Huskies played at a faster tempo. He finished off a fullcourt fast break dash with a layup and also buried a pair of 3-pointers. He can run the team when Gibbs (eight points, five assists) is on the bench.
“Jalen played exceptionally well,” Ollie said. “Jalen changed the whole tempo of the game when he started pushing the ball up the court. That’s how fast we want to play. He’s the push-guard that we’ve been missing.”
Adams also had some freshmen moments, committing five turnovers and making some defensive mistakes. “I was more worried about defense than offense, because the offense is going to come naturally,” he said. “On defense, you’ve got to work hard and stay in front of your man.”
The Huskies had their share of blemishes. They shot just 54 percent (13-for-24) from the foul line, gave up 13 offensive rebounds, held a slim 4641 rebounding edge and lacked intensity at times. They also had only two steals and forced just 12 turnovers, so the defense needs work despite limiting Tampa to 37 percent shooting.
There’s still time for the Huskies to polish the rough edges before the regular season opener on Nov. 13. They play their exhibition finale Saturday against New Haven.