12th-ranked Huskies entertain Tribe in season opener

Storrs, CT (Sports Network) - The 12th-ranked Connecticut Huskies open up their 2009-10 season this evening in Storrs, as they welcome the William & Mary Tribe to Gampel Pavilion.

Jim Calhoun's Huskies won 31 game a year ago and finished second in the Big East with 15 conference victories. The team did not win the conference tournament, but still advanced to the Final Four last year, before losing to Michigan State (82-73). Calhoun, who has led the Huskies to national championships in 1999 and 2004, leads all active coaches in Division I with 1,147 career games.

Tony Shaver's tenure at William & Mary is not as distinguished, but he has made the Tribe competitive and on the verge of winning the Colonial Athletic Association title most years. Last year was not one of them however, as the team posted a rather disappointing 10-20 record.

This is just the second all-time meeting between these two teams on the hardwood. The only other matchup took place in 1967, with UConn coming out on top, 51-49.

The Tribe had posted two straight decent seasons and seemed on the verge of becoming a real player in the CAA, but last season the team finished with a mere 10 victories overall and a dismal 5-13 mark in the conference. Four starters return, so the hope is that an experienced group entering 2009-10 can turn things around. Senior guard David Schneider (14.1 ppg last year) leads the charge. Schneider is on the cusp of 1,000 points for his career and is the team's top sniper, having amassed 73 three-pointers a year ago. Senior Danny Sumner (13.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg) provides the balance in the frontcourt. Sophomore forward Quinn McDowell (9.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg) is an athletic wing, who was named to the CAA All-Rookie team last year after shooting .500 from the floor.

Standouts A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet and Craig Austrie are all gone, and while that would cripple most teams, UConn has a revolving door in terms of talent that can compensate and keep the team among the top squads in the Big East. Calhoun will rely on players like Jerome Dyson, Kemba Walker and Stanley Robinson this season. Dyson will be the go-to-guy at the offensive end, and should improve dramatically on his 13.2 points per game from a year ago. Walker started just two games last season, but he still went for 8.9 ppg and 3.5 rpg, while handing out 104 assists. The squad doesn't have a defensive presence like Thabeet anymore down low, so it will need to be a team-effort in the paint this time around. Robinson (8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) can both score and rebound and will be the top contributor up front. Veteran Gavin Edwards (6-10 senior) needs to step up and freshmen Alex Oriakhi (6-9) and Jamal Coombs- McDaniel (6-7) will need to be force-fed this year as well if the Huskies are to remain in the hunt in the Big East.