Storrs — Dan Hurley has created a successful blueprint for rebuilding a college basketball program.

It's a well-thought out plan developed and polished during previous coaching stops at Wagner and Rhode Island, two struggling programs that he turned into winners.

He knows exactly what a program should look like at various stages of a project.

UConn appears to be right on schedule in Hurley's second season.

So, what can Husky fans expect in year two?

"We'll be better," Hurley said. "I think we'll be a tougher-minded team. We'll win more of those close games. We'll be better defensively. We'll look more like an organized program. We'll be a better team than we were last year. It will look cleaner.

"Because we're going to rely so much on the freshmen, there will be some high-end moments where we'll make plays that remind people of what explosive talent should look like here. And then there will be some low points where we struggle because we're going to be relying on freshmen so much.

"... You'll be able to see what's coming down the line. Because the young players will be on the court flashing talent that someday will turn into great success. You'll be able to see it where as last year there was a lot of older players and guys that fans have seen for years."

While UConn took a step forward last season, it is still far from a finished product. The Huskies were more competitive, losing 11 games by eight points or fewer, but still suffered the program's third straight losing season, finishing 16-17.

Both Wagner and Rhode Island significantly increased their victory totals from year one to year two under Hurley.

Wagner jumped from 13 to 25 victories while Rhode Island went from eight to 14. It took Rhode Island until Hurley's third year to post a winning record and qualify for the NIT. In the final two of his six years at URI, Hurley guided the Rams to consecutive NCAA tournament berths as well as an Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament title before departing for UConn.

Hurley sees some similarities between those two programs and what's happening at UConn.

"We recruited very similarly at Wagner," Hurley said. "We had a great first recruiting class — junior college players, freshmen that were above our league. The thing that allowed us to flip it so quick at Wagner is I inherited guys that had underachieved but had talent. ... There was some pieces that really elevated their game which allowed us in the second year to go to 25 wins. At Rhode Island, it took longer. It took until the third year just because the cupboard wasn't stocked exactly the same way.

"Here (at UConn), I'm not sure where we are, to be honest with you. A lot of that is going to depend, at the end of the year do we have guys voted to the all-conference team. That's always a really good sign. Can Josh Carlton and Tyler Polley, can some of these guys that we inherited, can we develop them to a high enough level ... can we get closer to that Wagner year two as opposed to that 8-14 wins deal (at URI). None of us want that. We want the Wagner year two badly."

There's reason to be optimistic about the Huskies, who opened their season Friday night with an 89-67 win over Sacred Heart.

The players clearly have a better understanding than last season of Hurley's expectations. They've bought into their coach's culture and aggressive style of play. They've bonded with their head coach.

There's still work to do to elevate the program even higher. And it's more than just about improving the talent, depth and athleticism, all which is better this season but not where it needs to be.

Hurley is still trying to instill a swagger, intensity and urgency in his team. He's trying to turn a bunch of "nice guys" into fierce, fight-to-the-end competitors.

He saw a lack of spirit and excitement in the Huskies against Sacred Heart. The only exception was fiery senior Christian Vital, whose raw emotions are always on display.

"It's all about personality," Hurley said. "You've seen it with the players that have played here. You've got to come out on the court with charisma and joy and swagger and with a kill or be killed mindset. We've got a lot of nice guys, like quiet guys. You've got to leave that outside the lines. When you get on the court, you've got to turn into something else. And we don't have with the team.

" ... These guys have got to adopt that fire. I'm a fiery guy. Christian is a fiery guy. That's got to run through the veins of the entire team, though. Christian almost looks like an outlier out there at times, just with the passion and competitiveness and the aggression. Just need more of that from everyone across the board."

Whether the Huskies exceed expectations — they are picked to finish sixth in their final American Athletic Conference season — will depend on their returning seven players, especially the trio of Vital, redshirt junior Alterique Gilbert and junior Josh Carlton who are all capable of having all-conference type seasons.

The Huskies also will need Polley and junior Isaiah Whaley, sophomore guard Brendan Adams and redshirt sophomore swingman Sidney Wilson to achieve their goals. None of them averaged in double figures last year.

So what would Hurley consider to be a successful season?

"I think that's hard," Hurley said. "I think everybody wants a number. And in this type of situation, it's a challenging thing. We're in year two. We're rebuilding a championship program that had fallen quite a bit from the top of the mountain.

"So we're rebuilding a program but then we also have some older players that, if Alterique can take it up a notch, if Christian can take it up a notch, Josh and Tyler, then we've got a chance to compete in this league, compete at the top of the league, potentially compete for postseason."

These Huskies have experienced nothing but losing seasons. While they're determined to chase championships, they have no idea what it takes.

It's a good thing Hurley has a blueprint.

"If every guy would give us their best and really be determined, have a determination and a will and a spirit about them, like a killer instinct, a warrior mentality, really get after it and play like winners and be able to get that losing stench out of their bones, there's some upside to this team.

"But also no one's proven it. That's what makes you not sleep quite as well. Doing it is doing it."

g.keefe@theday.com