Sure, Thanksgiving break may have temporarily slowed our blogging output, but it did not stop the Huskies who are now 7-0 and, as expected, are very good. They have beaten up on their usual diet of early season also-rans (Hartford, Bryant and Delaware State I'm looking at you) but they did also add quality wins against Miami and Wisconsin.
Some early notes on the season after the jump:
First and foremost, Jerome Dyson, appears to have returned to his freshman-year form. Earlier, I wrote that Dyson had the potential to be a scoring machine as long as he cut down on his turnovers. So far, he has done just that (though again, not against the world's best competition). Since last year, he has limited his turnovers from 2.7 per game to 1.7. His points per game are up from 12.5 to 16.7 and he has jumped from 2 averaging assists to 3.3.
However impressive Dyson's efforts have been, he has been overshadowed in the press by Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet, who was named ESPN.com's player of the week last week, has spent the early part of his season proving that when you are 7'3" and your opponent is 6'7", you are taller than they are. Against Bryant on Saturday, Thabeet had 16 points, all of which were scored on dunks or free throws. That being tall thing seems to be working out, as Thabeet is averaging a double-double and more than four blocks a game.
Other quick thoughts:
- Gavin Edwards has improved amount and is a great asset on the bench, he scored a career-high 17 on Monday against Delaware St.
- A.J. Price has gotten off to a slow start, but it has been hard to notice because fan-favorite Kemba Walker has been playing so well to start his career.
- Speaking of fan favorites, freshman Scottie Haralson has been getting a ton of support from the crowd. Haralson was brought in to be a 3-point threat and promptly started his career by going 0-7 from beyond the arc. Things seem to be turning around for him though, he hit his first career 3 in the closing seconds against Bryant and went 2-2 against Delaware St., with each of the shots earning him loud cheers from the crowd and his teammates.