After giving a detailed breakdown of his UConn basketball team, Dan Hurley joked that he barely took a breath during his informative talk.

He just kept zooming along during a Zoom session at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce virtual luncheon.

Entering his third season, Hurley is clearly excited about his improved roster, the return to the Big East and just about anything else dealing with the state of the program.

"Program building, it's all about momentum," he said. "We've got tremendous momentum going into this season. Obviously, we're excited to get started. ... We do feel from a roster standpoint and a momentum standpoint the timing of the move is great for us."

Hurley covered a wide range of topics in his roughly 30 minute talk before taking some questions.

Here are the highlights:

• For the first time in his tenure at UConn, Hurley has his type of team, one that's deep, versatile and athletic.

"We've got a deep team," he said. "I think the strength of the team, we could go 10, potentially 11 deep when we're fully healthy. That's the way I like it, because I want to play a pressure system at both ends of the court. And we've lacked the depth the last two years to really implement the way I want to play. We can do that this year."

• Competition for playing time is fierce.

Whenever Hurley is asked about the starting lineup, only two players come to mind — rising sophomore star James Bouknight and Isaiah Whaley, a senior forward coming off his best season.

"Everything else is a little bit up in the air competitively," Hurley said.

Hurley added that transfer R.J. Cole and sophomore Jalen Gaffney are battling for the starting point guard spot.

"That's a heck of a point guard competition right there to see who is going to start the opener. I'm very comfortable playing multiple guards or even starting two point guards at the same time. Those guys will play together a lot."

• Judging from Hurley's comments, Michael Rehfeldt, director of sports performance, has made a significant impact since joining the staff in early July. Some Huskies have added much-needed muscle and weight and others have improved their conditioning.

Gaffney has gone from 170 to 188 pounds, and is more explosive offensively while Bouknight is nearly 200 pounds after playing at 175 last season.

"Physically, he looks impressive," Hurley said of Bouknight.

Freshman Andre Jackson has made great strides, upping his weight about 25 pounds. He has a chance to be one of the top freshmen guards in the country, according to Hurley.

"He looks like a junior in terms of his physical stature," Hurley said. "Obviously if you've seen any of his clips, he's a freak athlete in every way."

Freshman forward Adama Sanogo has worked hard on his physical condition, according to Hurley. After arriving in Storrs over the summer at 268, he now checks in around 240.

"He's done a tremendous job working on his body, becoming leaner," said Hurley, who added that Sanogo also has improved his mobility.

Senior Josh Carlton is moving better than he's ever moved athletically in his UConn career due to weight loss, according to Hurley. He's listed on the roster at 245.

• During a question and answer period, Hurley was asked which player has the most potential to surprise people this season.

Hurley picked Gaffney.

"Because Gaffney's numbers weren't great (last season)," Hurley said. "He was a top 100 player and the guy was recruited by some pretty good schools. He's very, very talented. People should not underrate his talent."

• Redshirt sophomore Akok Akok and senior Tyler Polley, two key players, are both far down the road to recovery from injuries that shortened their season last year.

Polley started to take part in live practice action with the team at the end of last week for the first time since suffering a knee injury in January.

"He's gained a lot physically from our strength program," Hurley said. "He's just got to knock the rust off. ... One of the most critical parts of our preseason is getting him ready for the opener and getting him ready for the season because he's a key, key piece."

Akok, who tore his Achilles tendon in mid-February, is making great progress while working out on his own during practice. Hurley said watching Akok's recovery has been inspiring.

"He's worked his tail off," Hurley said. "He's up to an hour, 15 minutes. He's still just doing work with the coaches. ... If I look a little stiff, I'm having to simulate offense and defense right now at 47 years old with Akok just to try to get him ready for December, late November for when he's going live with the team. He looks great.

"He's doing all the movements. ... And he got in trouble yesterday for trying a 360 dunk that I think he wanted to post on Instagram, so he had a little slap on the wrist for that one."

g.keefe@theday.com