When the UConn Huskies took the court against the New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday, fans expected a one-sided game. While the defending Champions did cater to their admirers, what stood out was a major flaw from one of their star players. So much so that even the Huskies head coach Dan Hurley didn’t mince words in admitting to the issue, although he covered it up with his wit and chuckles.

In Saturday’s post-game presser, Hurley came to the fore to expound on his player’s issues and how the latter could have performed better. “He’s got stop doing it. I know you’re exasperated with the question. I mean it’s dumbfounding. I just don’t know how he put him. Why he keeps putting himself in these situations? I think he’s such a great guy… And he wants to do well so badly that he’s… you know he’s pressing, and he’s fighting for every inch. And he’s playing with a level of desperation that’s admirable,” Hurley stated.

With the Huskies’ major players either getting drafted or graduating, their center Samson Johnson has assumed a major role in the team. Last season, he played 40 games starting in just 7 of them. However, this year, he has started in both the initial games. And maybe that has driven him eager to perform his best, so much so that he committed 4 personal fouls in a span of 11 minutes that he played.

“But in playing with that level of desperation, he’s mulling people. Now some of them, I’m not sure they were fast. Like which is a whole other thing that we can get into here, which I’m not sure that I necessarily want to, and get that ball rolling this early in the year. But you know… We’re a back-to-back defending… you know going for a third straight national championship. I don’t know,” Hurley added.

The Huskies are going for the treble this year and Johnson’s ordinary performance of 2 points and blocks did put a lot of pressure on the Hurley-coached team. It put more pressure on Tarris Reed Jr. who hit 11 points and 8 rebounds to help the Storrs-based team maintain its lead. In the end, the Huskies emerged victorious in the game by a 92-53 margin, albeit Johnson’s mistakes stood out.

“I think some of the… you when people wall up at the rim… you. I don’t know that was a foul, his third foul. I thought he did a beautiful job of walling up at the rim, all right?,” Hurley concluded by supporting Johnson. However, this wasn’t the first time that he had committed such errors.

Samson Johnson disappoints all with 5 personal fouls in season opener

When the Storrs opened their season against the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Wednesday, Johnson plied his trade for a paltry 16 minutes. However, trying his level best, to prove his worth, he again committed errors. During his short stay on the floor, the Huskies had to take 5 personal fouls because of him. Maybe Hurley is right and the center’s mistakes could be attributed to his eagerness for his role.

“I feel I have to grab every rebound. That’s my job, that’s what I have to do as a big man. It’s work in progress for me,” the senior guard had stated in October before the beginning of the season. And he is trying his best to make a difference with his rebounds grabbing 3 against the SHU and one against the Wildcats, but not without fouls.

However, this can be quite tricky of a situation when UConn locks horns with better teams and the pressure of the competition increases. Meanwhile, it won’t be long before Hurley will be impressed by his mentee and applaud him in the post-game press conference.