PHILADELPHIA – Typically, people notice size. But it’s hard for a big man to get lost at the University of Connecticut – especially if he plays basketball.
The Huskies, long one of the most explosive teams in college basketball, have turned out a long line of stellar perimeter players, including All-Americas like Richard Hamilton, Ray Allen, Donyell Marshall and defensive ace Ricky Moore. But with this year’s backcourt depleted, it’s become clear UConn will need more out of its frontcourt.
Point guard Khalid El-Amin has lived up to his billing as the Big East’s Player of the Year, and has long been the Huskies’ leader. But with Hamilton and Moore gone from last year’s team, more pressure has been put on the likes of 6-7 forward Kevin Freeman and 6-11 center Jake Voskuhl; and going into last night’s game with Villanova in Philadelphia, they’ve been up to the task.
When Voskuhl was struggling offensively early in the season, watching Souleymane Wane dominate in his place, Voskuhl stayed positive and kept working. And the work has paid off with the best offensive stretch of his career.
Entering last night’s tilt with the Wildcats in the First Union Center, Voskuhl had scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time at UConn. He was averaging 9.4 points and 6.2 rebounds in the Huskies first 19 games, but raised that to 14.6 points and 8.2 boards over that stretch for the ninth-ranked Huskies (15-4, 4-3 Big East).
“I’ve just been fortunate that I’ve made some shots and my teammates are looking for me more,” said Voskuhl, who’s gone to Pete Newell’s big man camp the last two years. “I haven’t really changed anything that I’ve been doing, I don’t think. I’m not worrying about scoring when I’m out there, really. I just want to play hard.”
He’s played hard through the highs and the lows. There was his scoreless performance against Notre Dame, and his two-point outing in front of his hometown crowd in Houston. But that didn’t stop him from working hard and living up to the responsibilities of a co-captain.
“We’ll probably use him for future reference with some of our younger kids,” said coach Jim Calhoun, who refers to Voskuhl as the “rock.”
“When Souleymane was playing well, averaging 10, 11 points a game in the first six, seven, eight games, leading us in rebounding and all that stuff, the biggest cheerleader for him was Jake Voskuhl. And I think when you use that in a positive mode, when you’re really supporting your teammate, when you really think of the team and all that stuff, what happens is the negativity never gets a chance to display itself.”
He’s shaken all the nagging criticisms about how he wasn’t tough enough down low and didn’t play with enough fire. Voskuhl held his own against two of the best big men in America recently. He went up to Syracuse and had a career-high 19 points to outscore the Orangemen’s Etan Thomas. And he shut down Texas’ Chris Mihm early, while the Huskies were running out to a seven-point halftime lead.
And Freeman has not only shown the ferocious rebounding he’s known for, but defensive versatility nobody knew he had. After Seton Hall shooting guard Darius Lane had scored 17 points in the first 10 minutes against the Huskies, Freeman switched to guard him and held him to four the rest of the way. That’s the kind of contributions they’ll need from their frontcourt as the make-or-break part of the schedule rolls around.
After last night’s game with ‘Nova, the Huskies will play five of their next nine games on the road. There’s the big one Saturday at No. 5 Michigan State, followed by trips to Big East opponents Notre Dame, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Rutgers.