Freshman Kemba Walker weaves through the lane in a swarm of Hartford defenders Monday night.

Guard play keys home rout of Hartford

Backcourt trio of Austrie, Walker, Dyson comes up big in place of injured Price

By: Kevin Duffy

Posted: 11/18/08

A.J. Price looked like he was ready to go.

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.

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."