Redshirt sophomore Rodney Purvis has been suspended for UConn's season opener against Bryant University on Friday.

Purvis violated an NCAA rule by playing in more than one summer basketball league, according to UConn. He competed back home in North Carolina and at the Greater Hartford Pro-Am in Waterford.

After conferring with the NCAA, UConn announced a one-game suspension for Purvis, who will be fully eligible for the remainder of the season. He practiced with the team on Thursday.

"It is what it is," coach Kevin Ollie said after practice. "That's life. He's here and you deal with it. He'll be ready to play in Puerto Rico. He's going to coming out and have a great season for us. He's just got to wait about 40 minutes and he'll be all right."

Purvis, a 6-foot-4 guard, sat out last season after transferring from North Carolina State. He started both exhibition games and struggled, averaging 6.5 points. He went just 5-for-18 from the field and had seven turnovers.

With Purvis out, redshirt sophomore Sam Cassell Jr. and sophomore Terrence Samuel are possible candidates to step into the starting backcourt.

The Huskies also will be without junior Omar Calhoun, who continues to recover from a sprained right MCL. He's making progress, according to Ollie, and will likely be ready to play next week.

Ollie will have only eight scholarship players available tonight against Bryant.

"You play with the guys that you've got," Ollie said. "Those guys worked hard all summer. They look at it as an opportunity to play more minutes. Hopefully, they stay hungry and they have the attitude to go out there and take care of that opportunity." 

The defending champion Huskies are looking forward to starting the season.

"We've been waiting for this day for a long time," senior Ryan Boatright said. "We finally get to beat up on somebody else. ... I'm excited and the team is excited."

A few other items:

The Huskies plan to practice in Gampel Pavilion the day before they're scheduled to play a game there. They'll be in the Champions Center for their other workouts.

Ollie talked about his biggest concerns after UConn's two exhibition games.

"We've got to make open shots and our free throws. We were a great free throw shooting team. We ended up being 77 percent from the free throw line last year, so we've got to pick that up."

The Huskies shot 42.1 percent from the field and 60.4 percent from the line in two exhibition games.