Spring Break
Guard play keys home rout of Hartford
Backcourt trio of Austrie, Walker, Dyson comes up big in place of injured Price
Kevin Duffy
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: Sports
With 12:37 to play and the Huskies leading by just six points, Dyson stole a pass at halfcourt and had nothing but open floor and Hartford point guard Jaret von Rosenberg in front of him. Dyson went right at von Rosenberg, attacked the left side of the basket and then put the ball behind-his-back while in the air before converting a layup. The nifty move sent a confused von Rosenberg to the ground, an ecstatic crowd out of their seats and - essentially - a deflated Hartford team out of contention.
Dyson finished the game with 18 points, four assists and two steals. Through two games, Dyson is the team leader in assists and has compiled an impressive 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is a far cry from his career ratio - 0.86-to-1.
"He's looking like a point guard out there now," Austrie said. "He has great vision, he's playing under control. It's a different Jerome this year."
Walker, UConn's first McDonald's All-American, was not to be outdone. The freshman point guard shook off a slow start and finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds and zero turnovers. It took a little jawing with Hartford point guard Andres Torres to get Walker fired up, but once he did, the floodgates opened.
"He definitely picked me up," Walker said. "He was talking trash the whole game, he definitely got me going."
According to Calhoun, Walker can ignite a fastbreak unlike "anyone we've had here in a long time," but given all his speed and ability, he still leaned on Austrie in the beginning.
"He needed Craig," Calhoun said. "Craig was the stabilizer tonight."
Dyson finished the game with 18 points, four assists and two steals. Through two games, Dyson is the team leader in assists and has compiled an impressive 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is a far cry from his career ratio - 0.86-to-1.
"He's looking like a point guard out there now," Austrie said. "He has great vision, he's playing under control. It's a different Jerome this year."
Walker, UConn's first McDonald's All-American, was not to be outdone. The freshman point guard shook off a slow start and finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds and zero turnovers. It took a little jawing with Hartford point guard Andres Torres to get Walker fired up, but once he did, the floodgates opened.
"He definitely picked me up," Walker said. "He was talking trash the whole game, he definitely got me going."
According to Calhoun, Walker can ignite a fastbreak unlike "anyone we've had here in a long time," but given all his speed and ability, he still leaned on Austrie in the beginning.
"He needed Craig," Calhoun said. "Craig was the stabilizer tonight."
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