SUPER BOWL 2012

It seems there's always a player that gets a little more run than normal when George Blaney takes over for Jim Calhoun, and it appears that player this season is Niels Giffey.

Although Giffey played nary a second in UConn's Big East-opening win over South Florida on Wednesday, he got 14 minutes of run today and made the most of it with seven points and some effective overall play.

“He probably thought he was going to play (vs. USF) with me coaching, because I’ve always liked Niels, I like his game," Blaney said. "I just didn’t get a chance to get him in the last game. He had a good opportunity tonight. He gave us two 3’s, he gave us two steals, he even gave us a steal that he kicked the ball on that they didn’t call. He had a great box-out on another play and just played very, very well.”

"I was just happy that I had the chance to get involved, without playing down in Florida," the German sophomore said. "I used my minutes (well).”

Giffey had played exactly one total minute in UConn's prior two games and 12 total in the prior four contests. But you're not going to hear him complaining about PT.

"I don’t want to talk about minutes and stuff like that, that’s just not me," he said. "I would not complain about minutes or talk to coach about minutes. If the coaches think I deserve it, then I’ll be happy.”

Still, Giffey admitted he's been a bit disappointed with his playing time recently.

“Sure, because I was working hard over the whole summer. I had a great summer. That injury in the beginning of the season, that really threw me back. Now, I’ve got to just keep on sticking to it and keep working hard. Everybody’s supporting me.”

“I’m always working hard, working on my shots. It’s not always what’s on the court, but it’s what you do after the games, what you do in practice. That gave me a lot of confidence, and I could translate it to the court.”

Giffey figured to get some run today, not only because Blaney likes him but because Roscoe Smith was limited to just four minutes with a sprained wrist. DeAndre Daniels got the start and did some nice things with six points, three assists and decent defense on Red Storm leading scorer Moe Harkless.

Giffey also helped tag-team on Harkless.

“I think he’s a good matchup for me," he said. "I think he’s a harder matchup for some of the bigger guys.”

Giffey has another supporter in Shabazz Napier.

“Niels played well, which is a great deal for us, because we’ve got to fill that 3-spot," Napier said. "DeAndre, Roscoe and Niels, we’re tyring to figure out which one’s better to fit our offense. They’re all great players, but we’ve got to find out that one player. I think Niels got in there and played well.”

*** Napier's favorite baseball player must be Roy Halladay.

"A complete game is the best game for me," he said.

That's why he wasn't overly happy with UConn's 83-69 win over St. John's.

"I’m picky about how good we can play," Napier said. "If we had played 40 minutes straight and won by 25, I’d have been happy. But we played about 32 minutes good and eight minutes terrible."

One thing not lacking in UConn's game was the alley-oop. Napier connected with Andre Drummond for three dunks on lobs that no one else in the building (or the country) could have caught.

“The alley-oop is very important," Napier said. "It not only gets your team going, but it gets your crowd going. That sixth man, the crowd – that’s no joke. That gets you hyped. It gets you that second wind you’ve been dying for. It makes you want to work and work harder.”

Said Drummond: “We noticed in their zone, they put their shortest guy in the back, that’s going to be good for us. Me and Alex, they just throw the ball up, we’re going to get it, because that’s a 6-3 dude guarding a 6-10 and 6-9 power forward. There’s not much they can really do about that.”

Blaney was disappointed Drummond only had three alley-oop dunks.

“I would like to see them do it about 15 more times. I would like to see Andre get in position to do it about 15 more times. He’s still learning how to get in position. We’re trying to teach him how to offensive box out. That’s what he needs to do a little bit more, because he is so effortless about how he can rise up and catch it. He catches everything, he doesn’t miss anything when his hands are around it.”

*** Drummond's New Year's Eve plans? "Sleep."

That's all I've got for now.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

First off, some injury news to report:

Shabazz Napier sat out the latter part of today's practice as a precaution. He suffered a sprain to his left foot during Wednesday's win at South Florida and it's still nagging at him a bit. However, Napier -- who watched the last half of practice from the sidelines with an ice pack around his left knee -- should be OK for tomorrow's St. John's game, per George Blaney.

The news isn't as good on Roscoe Smith, who sprained his left wrist against USF and has sat out the last two practices. Smith's wrist is still a little swollen, though X-Rays have been inconclusive. He's "day-to-day," according to Blaney.

That could be a tough loss for UConn, as Smith would seem to be a strong candidate to guard St. John's fab frosh Moe Harkless. All Harkless did on Tuesday agianst Providence was go for 32 points and 14 rebounds. His scoring total was the most ever by a freshman in his Big East debut, surpassing a guy named Allen Iverson (1994) and Troy Murphy (1998).

“There’s been a lot of good players who have started in this league who haven’t put those numbers up," Blaney marvelled.

How good is Harkless (whose de-commitment from UConn has been well-chronicled on this blog)?

“I don’t think there’s anything that he doesn’t do,” Blaney said. “He’s big, he can handle, he can shoot it in or out, put it on the floor. And he rebounds – 14 rebounds (against Providence) shows me big-time stuff. Most importantly, he believes in himself.”

Added Andre Drummond, who played against Harkless in high school: “He’s like a Jeremy. He plays effortlessly, he just scores.”

*** UConn boasts significant size and depth advantages over the Johnnies, who have just eight scholarship players and don't dress a player over 6-8, and will make a concerted effort to get the ball down low to Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi.

*** St. John’s proved it can run and gun, with 91 points against Providence on Tuesday, but can also slow things down effectively.

“They want to run on your mistakes,” said Blaney, “so we need to take care of the ball and take good shots.”

The Red Storm certainly looked impressive in that win over Providence. But remember, it was Providence.

*** Surprisingly, UConn is looking to start off its Big East slate at 2-0 for the first time since 2003-04. It's also looking to end a two-game losing skid to the Storm, and the losses were ugly: 89-72 last year at MSG, and 73-51 two years ago in the Big East tournament.

Of course, the Johnnies have just one returning scholarship player (backup guard Malik Stith) back from last year's team.

Blaney still sees similarities between last year's St. John's team and this one.

“They play with the same energy," he said. "They’re an exceptionally confident, cocky group. After two wins against us in the last two years, I expect St. John’s to be good.”

*** Blaney said Jim Calhoun is going "berserk" not being able to coach these three games, but said he hasn't had any contact with him. As a matter of fact, he can't, per guidelines of the suspension.

Of course, there's a marked difference between when Blaney runs a practice or game and when Calhoun does.

"We're still running the same style," said Jeremy Lamb. "It's a little different not hearing him on the sidelines."

Blaney did, however, raise his voice a couple of times in practice today over UConn's lethargic defensive play.

Said Drummond: “Coach Blaney’s stepping up really well, he’s doing a great job. I really commend him for taking that position. He’s doing so well with it. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to take that role and do what he’s doing.”

*** Neither head coach will be on the sidelines tomorrow. Steve Lavin will miss his eighth straight game as he recovers from prostate cancer surgery.

Did you see where Moe Harkless dumped 32 points on Providence last night, the most by a freshman in his first Big East game in league history?

Why can't UConn get players like that? Well, it did: Harkless, of course, committed to UConn back in December, 2009. However, in June, 2010, he de-committed. Why?

I asked Jim Calhoun about it last week, and here's what he had to say:

"It ran back and forth. He felt the moment Roscoe (Smith) committed, he said, ‘How can I play with him?’ Well, Roscoe’s going to be playing with different people himself, because we’re bringing in a kid from Germany. But he didn’t want to hear about it. But he’s doing well at St. John’s. I hope he does exceptionally well, he seems like a nice kid. And Roscoe’s got a national championship ring, so he’s done pretty well. Things have a way of working out."

While the arrival of Smith (who committed in January, 2010 ... Niels Giffey didn't commit until a few weeks after Harkless had de-committed) may have played a role in Harkless's departure, it's safe to say there was more to it than that. No doubt, the controversy swirling around the UConn program at the time played a role. Calhoun had missed seven games that season for undisclosed medical reasons, and there were questions about his future with the program (even though he had signed a new contract extension a few weeks before Harkless de-committed).

Plus, the program was found to have committed eight major violations, and the punishments weren't known yet. There was talk that the Huskies could receive some sort of postseason ban.

All of this played into Harkless' decision to de-commit, according to those close to the situation.

But Calhoun is right: these things have a way of working out. Same with Cleveland Melvin, who has found the perfect spot at DePaul. Both Harkless and Melvin are the focal points of their respective teams and are putting up big numbers. There is no way either would be putting up the same numbers if they were at UConn right now. Or do you think Melvin would have averaged 18 a game last year with Kemba Walker here? Or Harkless doing the same this year on a team with Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier and Andre Drummond?

No chance.

We'll have more on this in a story for the Register in another day or two ...