Dyson has to wait for senior debut

HARTFORD - Anybody waiting to see the return of senior Jerome Dyson from his season-ending knee injury Wednesday night will have to wait at least one game longer. Dyson - along with junior Donnell Beverly and freshman Jamal Coombs-McDaniel were held out of the game pending evaluation of recently submitted paperwork pertaining to their annual eligibility.

Coach Jim Calhoun wouldn't get into specifics over what transpired, but mentioned that he expects all three to be eligible for Sunday's exhibition game against UMass-Lowell. The announcement did come as somewhat of a surprise, however, as Calhoun found out about Dyson and Beverly only two hours before the game.

Coombs-McDaniel, who was a high school teammate of fellow freshman Alex Oriakhi was disappointed by the news.

"He was really disappointed, he didn't even get to sit with us on the bench," Oriakhi said. "But he wasn't too upset about it. He knows he'll be back and coach wants him back."

The issue should be resolved soon, as early as today even, but if Kemba Walker and Stanley Robinson play like they did against AIC, the Huskies might be able to make do without them.

Walker's 28 points - shooting 9-for-12 from the floor - more than made up for the absence of Dyson. Robinson added 25 points of his own, while taking down seven rebounds.

With Dyson out it provided Walker the opportunity to step up and take charge - and he did. Despite being only a sophomore, Walker was a leader.

"I definitely had to pick up the slack in scoring," Walker said.

Freshmen make an early impact

Oriakhi had some big shoes to fill in coming to UConn. Not only does he come in as one of three players vying to fill the void left by Hasheem Thabeet's early depature but by wearing Thabeet's 34, the comparison is surely there. After scoring 16 points and adding 16 rebounds in his college debut, Oriakhi may have aleviated some concern.

Calhoun is certainly happy with Oriakhi's play but kept it in perspective. Oriakhi made some freshman-like plays against an undersized opponent. That being said, his offensive production was nice to see.

"We're trying to get him between power and finesse, he's all finesse," Calhoun said. "When he's all finesse, that's too much muscle wasted."

For Oriakhi it was a long time coming to make his Husky debut after watching and attending games for so long - and he made the most of it. He knows that it might not always be this easy.

"I'm happy, but never satisfied," Oriakhi said. "Coach said, 'it's only going to get harder from here.'"

Oriakhi was not the only freshman to have an impact Wednesday night. With the surprise announcement that Dyson would not be playing, freshman Jamaal Trice was thrown into the starting lineup and, like Oriahki, he stepped up. Trice finished the game with nine points, yet it was his effort on defense that really made him stand out.

"Defensively he didn't blend in," Calhoun said. "They didn't get by him, he was very smart on screens. He made the night a lot better for everybody."

Starting in one's first collegiate game is enough to make anyone nervous, and according to Walker, Trice was not immune.

"He was real nervous," Walker said. "But he didn't show it."

Trice had a different version of things, however.

"I wasn't nervous at all. I'm never going to forget it," Trice said. "I was so happy out there."