UConn Sports Blog

The Day has answered a lot of questions around the puzzling Stanley Robinson saga. According to the Day, Calhoun said:

”He will not play in the first semester,” Calhoun said Wednesday. “I’m not keeping him out. The NCAA is not keeping him out. But we asked for a medical redshirt. We just filed it. … We’re just going to keep him out of school.”

I think this is actually great news compared to what was being reported before. Stanley has also asked Calhoun to turn down any inquiries about him from other schools. Sounds like Stanley is having some problems at home and prioritizing his academic career along with his athletic career. Calhoun is remaining tight lipped on this as he normally does in order to protect these kids privacy, which is the right move. This article makes me feel that Stanley is determined to get things right and get back to Connecticut. Lets hope he can step it up and get things together so that we can have him in the future.

The Hartford Courant reports that Curtis Kelly has made his decision to transfer to the Kansas State Wildcats. Kansas State had some great success last season riding on the shoulders of Michael Beasley, who left early to enter the NBA draft. The Wildcats are looking for some reinforcements at the forward position after losing both Beasley and Bill Walker to the NBA Draft. Curtis will have to sit out a year before having 2 years of remaining eligibility. Best of luck to Curtis as I think he found his way onto a team that has a chance to compete again in the future and he should see considerably more playing time at Kansas State. After coming into UConn as a top recruit, he never really developed into the player he was “supposed” to be and this was truly the best move for everyone involved.

Barack Obama and John McCain have been out there hitting the campaign trail hard. And Randy Edsall has joined them? In an article in the Connecticut Post, Rich Elliott focuses on Edsall’s visit to Fairfield County as of late. UConn’s head coach has taken a lot of criticism by fans in the past by not being able to sway homegrown recruits to play for the State U. His performance has picked up as shown by some big in state commitments in this years and next years recruiting class.

I like that Edsall is making these appearances and hopefully extending the fan base of the Huskies into this talent bed for high school football in Connecticut. Fairfield County consistently produces top talent in the state and Edsall’s iffy relationships with the coaches and fans in this area has needed improvement. While I have always maintained that recruiting from Connecticut is not necessary for UConn to build a successful team, the increase of instate interest may be indicative of the off field success. Lets hope that Randy is making nice with some of the high school head coaches as well.

Every great player needs a nickname … well not every great player but it is fun to hand them out. Lets have a little fun and throw some names around (even if some players think they have theirs set).

Tyler Lorenzen: a.k.a. TL4. That is right, MV7 (That is Michael Vick for all those who don’t know) is off the map and in jail. TL4 may not run like Vick but he also doesn’t run an illegal dog fighting ring. The kid needs some flair. He is an Iowa boy whose parents run a soy farm … it doesn’t get more bread and butter than that. Throw a little controversy and a little fun and in comes TL4. (Runner ups: Soy Sauce)

Donald Brown: Yea, I know….they call him ‘Hollywood.’ Well I don’t like it one bit. He will always simply be Do Brown to me because of the back of his jersey last year. ‘Do’ pronounced ‘Dough’ deserves a better name though. Donald Trump? Donald Rumsfeld? Donald Duck?
It’s too easy, he’s the doughboy.

D.J. Hernandez: Quick trivia question, What does D.J. stand for? Dennis John. The obvious route would be to call him Dennis the Menace. But it does not quite fit and that is just too easy. the way DJ finds holes in the defense when running reminds me of scribbles on a paper. You can just call him DJ Skribble (after the famous DJ).

Brad Kanuch: Brad “The Show” Kanuch. The kid may be quiet on the field at times but I still remember that spectacular catch he had his freshman year when he laid for a ball that was overthrown.

Jarrell Miller: Nicknames don’t always have to make since right? I am calling the big boy, Miller Light.

Scott Lutrus: The Homestate hero. The Connecticut native who took the league by storm last year. He seemed to be robbing the opposition of some completions in his debut season. Lets hope “The Loot” can keep the expectations high.

There not the best but its what I have got right now. Anyone else have some names that would be sign worthy for a gameday at the Rent?

As has been known for a little bit now, Stanley “Sticks” Robinson will most likely not be joining the Huskies for their next season. Mike Anthony portrayed a Stanley Robinson who just never fit in at Storrs, CT.

It does seem that Stanley just never did fit in with the Connecticut Huskies. He had his ups and his downs on the team. Stanley was one of my favorite players but he was also the most frustrating player. He could play like a unstoppable star one night and would slide away into oblivion the next. There were games when you simply forgot that he even played.

That being said, I hope Stanley is successful wherever he goes. I hope he surfaces somewhere and becomes the star that he can become. He has the talent and skills to go to the NBA and help out his two kids back in Alabama. Best of luck to you Sticks.

With a roster spot now open, who will fill it? Nate Miles finally passes the NCAA clearinghouse. I have said before that Miles would probably never wear the Husky Blue but it looks like I will have to eat my words on that one. Nate Miles is a talented player who should be able to contribute immediately.

So at the disappointing end of last season, there was still hope because the Huskies returned EVERYONE from their team. However, in the postseason, Curtis Kelley, Doug Wiggins, and Stanley Robinson have left. But Hasheem Thabeet is staying and the Huskies have picked up considerable talent in their recruiting class. There is a plethora of new talent coming in to Storrs again. Lets hope the likes of Kemba Walker and Nate Miles are ready to compete immediately in contrast with our last star recruiting class.