UNCASVILLE – Na'jai Hines came off the bench in UConn's first exhibition game against Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena, but once he checked in, it was hard to look away.
"You saw, he was the most impressive player on the court," coach Dan Hurley said after his new big man powered the Huskies to a 72-52 win over their old Big East rival.
It took a bit for the rust to get knocked off – almost five minutes of game time before the first field goal was made by either team – but Hines immediately changed the tune of the game with his paint presence alone the moment he checked in. The 6-foot-11, 278-pound powerhouse was responsible for the first few crowd pops as he threw down an alley-oop dunk from Jayden Ross and later found himself in position for a noisy putback that gave the Huskies some early breathing room.
Hines finished with a game-high 17 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field, 7 of 8 from the foul line, and grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and made a steal in just 17 minutes.
His play on Tuesday suggested he will be next in the line of great UConn big men. So why didn't he start?
"Listen, he's talented like Adama (Sanogo), he's talented like Tarris (Reed Jr.)… The time he spent at Seton Hall with Shaheen (Holloway) was very helpful," Hurley said. "We've just got to get him where he's doing it like you just saw, and like he did three practices ago, every single day he steps on the court. Same focus, same intentions. We want him to really, really earn it. I think we've got a responsibility – across the board, I think we give young people a lot, but you still have to make them earn some things… We know how important he is to what we can contend for this year, so we're just… we're on his (bleep)."
It was also a strong first introduction in CT for Duke transfer Nik Khamenia as he knocked down a trio of 3-pointers on five attempts and got the Huskies going in what turned out to be a strong shooting night as they made 8 of 20 from deep (40%). Khamenia finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Silas Demary Jr. assumed his role as quarterback and, despite an off shooting night (3-for-12), provided 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Big East Preseason Player of the Year made a 3-pointer and Wofford transfer Nils Machowski hit a jumper as the first half buzzer sounded to give the Huskies a 31-26 lead at halftime. They forced nine Syracuse turnovers and limited the Orange to just seven made field goals in the opening frame.
"Silas, Jayden Ross, I don't worry about what they're gonna look like. Nik Khamenia, we already know how good those guys are," Hurley said. "It's mostly those younger guys (that I had some questions about)."
Those younger guys, freshmen Colben Landrew and Junior County, looked pretty good on Tuesday night.
Landrew started with Braylon Mullins sidelined (undisclosed injury) and made 3 of 6 shots from the field to get to eight points, along with his four rebounds and two steals. County made a trio of 3-pointers in the second half as the lead ballooned to as many as 24 points with about four and a half minutes to play. He ended his collegiate (preseason) debut with nine points and seven rebounds.
After a 5-for-17 start, UConn shot 23-for-56 (41.1%) from the field and limited its turnover problem in the second half to finish the game with nine. A handful of the giveaways came as a result of offensive fouls as the Huskies were whistled 23 times to Syracuse's 21.
Notably, starting center Oskar Giltay, the Stanford transfer, fouled out with four points and two rebounds after 18 minutes of action. Jayden Ross was also limited to just two points in 20 minutes after his own early string of fouls – "I think J-Ross could've fouled out in about five minutes just based on what was going on," Hurley quipped.
"They've got a potentially really good defensive team and it's so early, offensive execution is gonna be a mess. So I was okay with how it played out, it's probably what we kind of hoped for. We knew we wouldn't be sharp on offense, we really guarded, we were plus-11 or 12 at halftime on the glass, we forced them into a lot of turnovers. I was kind of happy with it, considering Bray didn't play and we had a bunch of young guys," Hurley said. "It was a pretty physical exhibition. I just think we showed a high level of defensive potential… This could be one of our best defensive teams."
UConn held the Orange – in Year One under head coach Gerry McNamara, a former Orange point guard trying to get his alma mater back on track – to just 30.6% (15-for-49) from the field and 4-for-19 (21.1%) from beyond the arc. The Huskies capitalized, too, scoring 19 points off of 16 turnovers.
And Hines was the motor.
"The way we practice, the way that we come in every day and have a certain mindset – to play harder than any of our opponents – and I showcased it today, some of my teammates also showcased it. We were crazy on the boards today (plus-eight)," Hines said.
On coming off the bench: "I trust my coach, no matter what. Whether he feels it's better for me to come off the bench or to be in the starting lineup, I trust him. I'm going to continue to represent this program as best as I can."
The Huskies will travel to East Lansing for their second exhibition game on Tuesday at Michigan State, which is set to tip at 7 p.m.
