NEW YORK, New York — The University of Connecticut men’s and women’s basketball teams, who each had successful seasons in last year’s return to the Big East conference, were honored at Big East Media Day at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
On the men’s side, UConn was picked to finish second in the preseason conference poll.
Graduate student forward Isaiah Whaley, who was named Co-Defensive Player of the year a season ago, knows that this time around isn’t like quite last year, when the Huskies’ third place finish was a surprise.
“My past few years at UConn, nobody really expected anything from us,” Whaley said. “So to be like the team that has the target on our back now, it's a way different feeling.”
It wasn’t just team success for the Huskies either – three UConn players were preseason All-Big East selections:
- Senior guard Tyrese Martin named to All-Big East Second Team
- Sophomore forward Adama Sanogo named an Honorable Mention
- Graduate student guard R.J. Cole named to all-conference Second Team
While he doesn’t mind the attention, Cole is taking it all in stride.
“We’re noticed this year, but that doesn't mean much to us,” Cole said. “We still got a lot of work to do, and we're not gonna let the ranking stop us from doing what we need to do.
Head coach Dan Hurley, meanwhile, is looking even further ahead.
“This is a group that truly has championship aspirations, in terms of what we believe we can accomplish this year,” Hurley said. “We feel like we're gonna give our fans a better version of what they've seen from us these first three years.”
On the women’s side, UConn is expected to maintain its top spot in the Big East.
The Huskies finished undefeated in league play last year, and in turn, they were voted the unanimous preseason favorite.
Three Huskies were named to the all-conference team:
- Senior guard Christyn Williams
- Senior forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa
- Sophomore forward Aaliyah Edwards
Sophomore guard Paige Bueckers was named the Big East’s Preseason Player Of The Year. But, even with the all the preseason hype, the sophomore guard, who won four national awards along with the conference player of the year award, has one goal in mind.
“National championship, for sure, that's on the back of my mind,” Bueckers said. We didn't get it last year, so that's definitely what I'm aiming for this year.”
With UConn’s storied history, it’s not lost on head coach Geno Auriemma that the Huskies are often the hunted year in and year out, so gameday motivation is always in full supply.
“You go into every game knowing we need our A game today,” Auriemma said. “Because [playing UConn] is everyone's Super Bowl. This is everyone's NCAA championship game.”
The Huskies will be in full swing next month – the men will open their season at Gampel Pavilion hosting CCSU on Tuesday, November 9 while the women host Arkansas at XL Center on Sunday, November 14.
Nkwa Asonye is a sports reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at nasonye@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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