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Calhoun, entering his 18th season, has 6-foot-10 freshman Charlie Villanueva, 6-10 sophomore Hilton Armstrong, 6-8 sophomore Marcus White and burly 6-5 senior Shamon Tooles all battling for minutes at the position. Josh Boone, a 6-10 freshman, is being projected by Calhoun as the backup center to junior Emeka Okafor, a candidate for national player of the year.
Villanueva is the most heralded of the power forward quad. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native was a McDonald’s All-American at Blair Academy in New Jersey last season and decided at the last minute to withdraw from June’s NBA Draft. Villanueva can also play small forward and will see minutes there when incumbent Denham Brown leaves the game.
Armstrong has impressed Calhoun with the 15 pounds of muscle he put on in the offseason. Armstrong started 22 games as a freshman but averaged just 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, often getting pushed around because of his 209-pound frame.
White emerged as the leading minutes guy at power forward down the stretch last season, averaging 5.6 rebounds, but Calhoun has been a bit down on the Chicago native because he didn’t add any weight to his 215-pound frame in the offseason.
Tooles started the first three games of last season but likely will see significant minutes only when the Huskies play an opponent with a smaller and quicker power forward. That won’t happen much after UConn gets into the Big East schedule after the New Year.
EARLY IMPRESSIONS
Villanueva admitted he was in culture shock after his first taste of Calhoun’s practices last weekend.
"It definitely was difficult," Villanueva said. "I learned that you have to stay focused for three hours. In high school it was two hours maybe and it wasn’t even that serious. I never ran that much before as we run here. I kind of expected it, but to be honest I was a little scared during that first day."
Villanueva has seen time at both power forward and small forward and said he believes he will thrive in both slots.
"It’s going to depend at who we play and the matchups," Villanueva said. "I’m comfortable at the three (small forward) and the four (power forward)."
Villanueva figures to see plenty of playing time. The only thing that could keep him off the court early in the season is a possible NCAA ruling that could suspend Villanueva for as many as three games.
The NCAA is investigating Villanueva’s travel expenses for when he worked out for NBA teams last spring prior to the draft. If it is found that Villanueva didn’t pay for all of his expenses, he could be suspended.
"They (the NCAA) said it will be resolved before the season starts," Calhoun said.
MOST IMPROVED
Calhoun gushed Thursday about the play of Brown during the first four practices. Brown has added 11 pounds and now weighs 221. Calhoun said he grew an inch over the summer to 6-6.
"Hilton (Armstrong) and Denham (Brown) are the two most improved players," Calhoun said. "And Denham has been the hardest worker out there."
FREE THROWS
Several NBA scouts are expected to make their way to UConn’s practices during the preseason. Bernie Bickerstaff, new coach of the NBA’s expansion team in Charlotte, N.C., and Chicago Bulls scout B.J. Armstrong have already been to Gampel. ..UConn plays Team Nike in its first exhibition Nov. 3 at Gampel Pavilion.
The Huskies will play the Beltway Ballers of Baltimore in its other preseason game Nov. 13 at the Hartford Civic Center before opening the season against Yale in the preseason NIT.
Sean O’Rourke can be reached at sorourke@nhregister.com.
