Price continues to be right for UConn |
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They may have missed the tournament a year ago, but the UConn Huskies seem to have firmly placed last year in a box, dug a hole out back and buried it six feet under. This year’s squad is a completely different team, thanks largely to the superb play from junior guard A.J. Price. While the absence of guard Jerome Dyson has hurt (Dyson was suspended indefinitely by coach Jim Calhoun following an arrest for underage drinking, and the University followed up with a 30-day suspension after Dyson failed a drug test), Price has put the Huskies on his back, thrusting UConn back into the Top 25 polls, as well as contenders in the Big East.
Price has been the maestro Calhoun has been craving for to run the UConn offense. The Huskies are in the midst of a six-game winning streak in which Price has averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 assists per game. They’ve beaten ranked teams in Marquette and Indiana (on the road, just one day after Calhoun suspended Dyson and Doug Wiggins). They’ve pulled out squeakers at home against Louisville and Pittsburgh, and came up with tough, hard-fought victories on the road against Cincinnati and Syracuse. Certainly, Price has all the tools to be a fantastic point guard, and he’s unquestionably turned into the best point guard in the Big East. He can score and he’s extremely unselfish. Case in point, he leads the Huskies in scoring (14.6 ppg) and assists (6.0 apg). But more valuable for the Huskies has been his maturity. He’s turned into the leader for UConn, the guy that his teammates know they can count on. Price has become a very special player and he’s blossomed into the X-factor, the straw that stirs the drink at the offensive end of the floor. Granted the Huskies could certainly use the services of Dyson once again, without Price playing the way he has, it’s hard to imagine UConn would be having the type of resurgence they’re enjoying right now. The Huskies have turned into a top 3 team in the conference, winning games this season in ways they wouldn’t have won last year. This team wouldn’t have gone on the road and beaten a top-10 team in the form of Indiana a season ago, without one of their best players. The Huskies have learned how to win and how to get it done. This Price has been right, and then some for UConn.
by Frank Minniti
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