The first day of practice for the UConn men's basketball team has been daunting. The conditioning drills employed by coach Jim Calhoun over a span of about three hours have caused cramping and vomiting in the past.
But with only 11 scholarship players on the roster this season, Calhoun said Friday that he might have to scale it back today in an attempt to avoid injury. He expects Sunday's practice will be longer than today's.
"We're one short of where we thought we'd have,"
Calhoun said, referring to the recent expulsion of freshman Nate Miles. "Then all it takes is an ankle twist and now you're down to 10 and you've got to put together practice. It depends who it is, but it makes it more difficult for us. So we're going to have to kind of watch it much more carefully than we might."
Calhoun will also be watching senior point guard A.J. Price, who tore the ACL in his left knee during the first half of the Huskies' first-round NCAA tournament game March 21.
"I'll be anxious to see kind of how fearless he is going down the middle when we're going to have people coming because we'll be screening to get to the middle, jam the middle,"
Calhoun said. "If he doesn't go there, it will be more of a sign than anything else. But we truly believe that'll work out. He's had plenty of chances to play."
NO STRESS -- Kelly Faris, a 5-11 senior guard from Plainfield, Ind., sat in the front row behind the UConn bench Friday night without a care in the world. While three other women's recruits were sizing up the program with the recruiting process still in full effect, Faris could relax and enjoy First Night with her parents.
Faris alleviated all of the stress that the process can create by making an oral commitment to play for the Huskies in March. This was her second visit to UConn after attending an exhibition game against the U.S. Senior national team last November 2.
"It's hard to believe that I'm going to be here,"
Faris said. "It's Connecticut. You always dream of coming to a program like this. And to think that I'm actually going to be a part of it next year, it's relaxing and it's exciting. I have the decision made and it's just fun to be here and watch it all."
Faris was joined by senior Krista Gross, a 6-foot swingman from Concord, N.C., and juniors Samarie Walker, a 6-1 swingman from West Carrolton, Ohio, and Olivia Bresnahan, a 5-10 guard from Pittsburgh.
Bresnahan, who was making her first unofficial visit, still has a way to go before she will make a decision. She said the campus and the likeability of the players impressed her. Her goal is to get to know them and the coaching staff better during her visit.
"I'm just beginning the whole process so it's kind of overwhelming at first,"
Bresnahan said. "I'm just looking at all my choices and just taking it one step at a time. I probably want to (decide) before my senior year just so it's all over and the pressure's off."
