Huskies seek more production from bench

Majok mania hits Hartford today. So does the back end of what's projected to be a major snowstorm.

While those two head-line grabbers will certainly dominate conversation today at the Central Florida-UConn game at 1 p.m. at the XL Center, there's an underlying topic worth discussing.

Coach Jim Calhoun kept bringing up his concern about depth following Friday's practice when not talking about the debut of promising freshman Ater Majok.

Returning from an exam break, No. 14 UConn (6-2) is out to improve bench production.

"You have to get wins," Calhoun said. "And then, secondly, you have to get your total team better. … The bench, to me, still becomes the critical issue. We're fortunate enough not to run into a situation where it actually hurt us."

Then Calhoun added that lack of depth actually did hurt UConn in losses to Duke and Kentucky. With starters Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson playing marathon minutes, the Huskies wore down and faltered in the final minutes.

With the addition of Majok, the Huskies will be deeper in the frontcourt. He'll help out in the rebounding and scoring departments. He's considered the best shot blocker on a team that already ranks first in the country in that department.

Freshman center Alex Oriakhi welcomes another big body — Majok is 6 feet 11, 233 pounds.

"He's going to help us so much especially with his shot-blocking ability," Oriakhi said. "I've never seen anything like that in my whole life, the way he blocks shots. He'll be the baby Hasheem (Thabeet) of the team.

"He plays so hard. I don't see why he wouldn't be a big impact when he starts off. With me and him down low, it's going to be nightmares for other teams."

Calhoun is unsure whether he'll start Majok or stick with junior Charles Okwandu. Senior Gavin Edwards, who is averaging 13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in the last five games off the bench, will remain in his role as top frontcourt reserve.

Majok won't solve the depth problem in the backcourt and at small forward. Calhoun is reluctant to trust his inexperienced reserves.

Freshmen Jamaal Trice, Darius Smith and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel all showed positive signs in practice during the 10-day exam break. Junior Donnell Beverly is a steady but limited contributor. Those four combined are contributing only 7.1 points per game.

"We certainly need a bench," Calhoun said. "You're never going to get one unless you use it. They've got to give me a reason to use it, too.

"I've played six-man teams before, too. But I don't want to do that. We've kind of virtually played a six-man team for the first quarter of the schedule."

Today's nonconference game is an opportunity for extended minutes for UConn's reserves. Central Florida (7-3) is one of the youngest teams in the nation with only three underclassmen on its roster.

The Golden Knights' best wins are against UMass and Auburn. They've also lost to two Big East teams - 90-72 at Notre Dame on Dec. 6 and 69-65 at South Florida on Wednesday.

"I saw the (South Florida) game almost by accident," Calhoun said. "I was looking for the (Memphis) Grizzlies game and I got them. … Central Florida is a pretty good team. We've got to prepare ourselves to play whoever we have to play."

UConn's next three games serve as tuneups for the Big East opener Dec. 30 at Cincinnati. Maine and Iona visit the XL Center on Tuesday and Dec. 27, respectively.

"We need to focus on it now," Edwards said of the Big East season. "We had 10 days off since we last played. So we have to get back in the groove and get ready for the Big East and all the big games we have coming up."

g.keefe@theday.com