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
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He went through lay-up lines in his warm-up jersey and game shorts with no brace or tape on the left ankle that he twisted Friday versus Western Carolina.
But then the starting line-up was announced - and Price wasn't in it.
Then, a minute-and-a-half into the game, seldom-used reserve guard Donnell Beverly checked into the game. So did back-up Scottie Haralson.
At that point, it became clear that Price - UConn's second team All-American point guard, the player who couldn't come out of games last season without the backcourt going into total disarray - was merely a spectator.
And guess what? It didn't matter.
UConn's backcourt trio of Craig Austrie, Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker combined for 60 of the Huskies' 99 points and sparked a 46-9 second half run that turned a nail-biter into a complete blowout.
Coach Jim Calhoun was quick to praise the play of all three, but he specifically pointed out the play of Austrie, who scored 21 points, dished out four assists and knocked down 10-of-11 free throw attempts.
"Through the whole thing, I thought Craig Austrie was terrific," Calhoun said. "I can't over-praise what Craig Austrie meant to us. He never changed expression and instead of casting up 3's, he stepped into gaps and made the 15-footer."
Calhoun wasn't the only one to take notice - former UConn stars Donny Marshall (now an announcer for Comcast SportsNet) and Donyell Marshall (a 14-year-NBA veteran who currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers) congratulated Austrie after the game as well.
"They said 'that's the way to be a leader out there, that's the way to play like a veteran,'" Austrie said. "It feels great; those guys, they've been here, they've been in the NBA, they've done it. To have them come in here and compliment me, it felt good."
While Austrie did his damage in a fundamental manner-the Hartford coach said Austrie made "at least six" foul-line jumpshots-Dyson and Walker used their superior athleticism to deliver the knockout punch.
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