Storrs — Dan Hurley feels good about a lot of things.

He feels good about his recovery from back surgery and being around his UConn basketball program fulltime again.

He feels good about the progress his veterans made since the end of last season. And the head coach especially feels good about his newcomers.

And his team?

"They look good," Hurley said last week. "We know that we've got a lot more depth. I feel like we're going to be able to play a much deeper rotation, a much more athletic team. The five new guys obviously add a lot of quality to the practice. And then we return a number of guys that have experience on the college level and that can hopefully lead the way for us."

UConn holds its first official basketball practice of the 2019-20 season Saturday at the Werth Center. The Huskies have been working hard since the summer months to prepare.

Entering Hurley's second season, the Huskies are determined to vastly improve on last year's 16-17 overall season. They've added talent and depth with the addition of Jalen Gaffney, James Bouknight, Akok Akok and Richard Springs along with transfer R.J. Cole, who's sitting out this season.

There's been a noticeable jump in the competitive level in practice.

"Just that youthful infusion of talent, it just kind of gives everybody a spark," Hurley said. "It wakes everybody up because there's young players in the program looking for roles and minutes and it brings another layer of energy into a program."

Gaffney and Bouknight, two freshmen, are competing for playing time in the backcourt while Akok, a 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman forward, could crack the starting lineup. Springs, just 17, has potential but likely needs time to develop before becoming a regular frontcourt contributor.

When asked what newcomer has opened his eyes, redshirt junior Alterique Gilbert answered: "All of them. ... I'm excited for all of them, really."

Gilbert is eager to pass his wisdom on to his young teammates.

"It's not hard just because they're willing to work so hard and come in and learn right way," Gilbert said. "Their ears are open. I feel like they're ready."

Hurley's first recruiting class at UConn is living up to his expectations so far.

But a long, demanding first season lies ahead for the newcomers.

"The freshmen are all exactly what we thought they'd be," Hurley said. "They're going to have their ups and downs but they're all very talented players. They'll be great for us someday but it is going to take them some time."

"... We're obviously going to have to coach those guys hard over the course of the next month, six weeks and throughout the season. It's not always about having crazy athleticism and an effortless type of talent. You've got to be in the right spots on defense. You've got to space the court the right way. There's a lot that goes into it."

The Huskies are already ahead of where they stood last year when they were adjusting to Hurley's coaching style and new system.

Returning veterans now understand how Hurley wants to be and what he expects as far as intensity and commitment on a daily basis. They've built strong bonds with the coaching staff.

The newcomers have heard Hurley's message since the recruiting process, so their getting acquainted period is over.

"It's great for us," Hurley said of everyone being on board. "Returning players can communicate and have bought into the program and into our system, into the way we do things.

"The second part of that, these guys we recruited, we told them what this was going to be like — the effort and our expectations, and they bought into what we wanted. Everyone that's here wants to be here and believes in what we're doing and wants to bring a relentless work ethic about them every single day and a competitive mindset and a mindset of constant improvement.

"We were really starting last year pretty rudimentary for how we want to play. There's a lot more people in the gym that are equipped athletically to play the way we want to play. And also they have a better base because they were with us for a year for how we want to play."

The Huskies have one exhibition game — Oct. 30 against St. Michael's College, a Division II program, in Hartford — before their season opener Nov. 8 against Sacred Heart in Storrs. For the second straight year, they'll play Harvard in a closed scrimmage.

g.keefe@theday.com