TheRoundUp 11/1: UConn basketball is back tonight, get excited

Kevin Duffy: New-look Huskies ready for debut - Connecticut Post
So far, it's been all smiles, all positive vibes in Storrs. Now let's see what happens when UConn actually has to play somebody, starting with Thursday's exhibition opener against American International College (7 p.m., Gampel Pavilion).

AIC At UConn - Courant.com
The Huskies will unveil Ollie's faster-paced offense, but to make it work they will have to fight for rebounds. "I like our transition," Ollie said, "with Shabazz and [Ryan] Boatright, our transition has been real good. But we have to work on rebounding, on the things I feel you can't take off. We have to be willing to hit first."

Jeff Jacobs column: New UConn Coach Kevin Ollie Ready With A Sermon - Courant.com
"We've always got to take the stairs," junior captain Shabazz Napier said Wednesday after practice. Really? "Yeah," Napier said. "Never an escalator."

UConn goes into season with a new coach in Kevin Ollie and an NCAA tournament ban - The Washington Post
"Nobody thinks we’re good enough," said sophomore guard Ryan Boatright, one of just five players with notable playing time returning from last year’s team. "But we feel like we’ve got enough here to have a successful season and to open a lot of people’s eyes this year, and to prove everybody wrong. I feel that’s the chip we’ve got on our shoulders, to prove the world wrong."

Notes/Quotes from Halloween: Wolf out for Thursday’s exhibition - UConn Basketball - Connecticut News
Enosch Wolf (concussion) will not be available for Thursday’s exhibition against AIC. He participated in non-contact drills Wednesday and is expected to be a full-go by Saturday. Judging by his progress, it seems he’ll almost certainly be ready for next week’s season opener versus Michigan State.

UCONN HOOPS: Kevin Ollie era begins tonight in exhibition - SFGate
The Huskies host American International College at 7 p.m. in their first of two preseason exhibition games. The game may not count in the standings, but it will provide UConn fans with their first glimpse of new head coach Kevin Ollie, who took over the reins after Calhoun retired last month.

The Day - It's a whole new game for UConn | News from southeastern Connecticut
"With this kind of a team, we can't let that happen," junior Tyler Olander said after practice on Wednesday. "We're not as talented. We don't have three or four projected lottery picks. That's not this team. This is a team that just works hard."

UConn Needs Big Game From Chandler: UConn Needs QB Chandler Whitmer To Come Up Big Vs. South Florida - Hartford Courant
Whitmer (142 of 246, 1,831 yards, seven touchdowns, 11 interceptions) is a gamer, but right now the Huskies need their sometimes high-risk offensive leader to be cool and steady. He's going to have to become low-risk, taking care of the ball when he's running and not forcing passes that lead to interceptions, which he has shown a tendency to do.

Big East football: Big East Notebook - Hartford Courant
Pasqualoni got his wish Tuesday. He said he was hopeful that the team could resume preparation Tuesday afternoon, and that target worked perfectly. The Huskies did practice late Sunday night (9 p.m.), so they have not lost a practice yet since Sunday was scheduled to be an off day.

Local roundup: UConn cross-country coaches honored - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin
The UConn women’s cross-country staff was honored by the Big East as the 2012 Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Huskies to the program’s best finish at the conference championships. UConn captured second place with 68 points.

UCONN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Former Husky Deb (Baer) Fiske joins radio broadcast team - SFGate
Fiske replaces Kara Wolters, who accepted a studio analyst job at SNY for UConn games.