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Top transfer Sterling Gibbs elevates expectations for UConn next season
The outlook for UConn improved dramatically over the weekend when the Huskies landed maybe the most accomplished graduate transfer to change schools this spring.
Sterling Gibbs, Seton Hall's leading scorer this past season, announced he has chosen UConn over Ohio State, Pittsburgh and a handful of other top suitors.
The addition of Gibbs, fellow graduate transfer Shonn Miller and a pair of top 100 recruits gives UConn hope of bouncing back from a 20-15 campaign last season that ended with an opening-round NIT loss. The Huskies have enough talent to potentially crack the preseason top 25 despite the graduation of star guard Ryan Boatright.
There's no bigger reason for optimism than Gibbs, who should replace Boatright as UConn's main perimeter threat to score himself or create for others. The 6-foot-2 rising senior averaged 16.3 points and 3.8 assists and shot 43.6 percent from behind the arc this past season for a Seton Hall team that ascended into the top 25 in early January but crumbled amid injuries and internal dissension thereafter.
Playing alongside Gibbs in the backcourt will be returning wings Daniel Hamilton and Rodney Purvis, both promising double-digit scorers who struggled with consistency this past season. Sometimes Hamilton and Purvis would perform like the scoring threats UConn needed alongside Boatright last season. Other times Hamilton would struggle with shot selection and Purvis would all but disappear, leaving Boatright to attempt to carry the offense by himself.
The other insurance policy against that this season is the arrival of high-scoring guard Jalen Adams, Rivals.com's No. 23 recruit in the Class of 2015. He'll likely begin the season as Gibbs' primary backup at lead guard but also should see plenty of playing time alongside the Seton Hall transfer when coach Kevin Ollie opts to go to a lineup with multiple ball handlers who can attack the rim.
UConn appears to be in solid shape in the frontcourt as well with defensive anchor Amida Brimah returning and Miller and promising freshman Steve Enoch joining the fold. Brimah is an elite shot blocker who is blossoming into a threat to score around the rim, while Miller averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season at Cornell and should help cover up Brimah's weaknesses on the glass.
The quality of that supporting cast is a big reason Gibbs selected UConn over the other programs who were pursuing him. He needed to be sure he was making a good decision after previous stops at Texas and Seton Hall did not go how he planned.
At Texas, Gibbs was a lightly used freshman on an NCAA tournament team, unsatisfied with his playing time and unsure if he could carve out a bigger role with fellow guards Sheldon McClellan and Myck Kabongo set to return the following season. At Seton Hall, Gibbs had all the playing time he wanted but it was for a team in disarray and a program that hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since 2006.
At UConn, Gibbs hopes to have the best of both worlds. He'll have the chance to showcase his ability for a team that has a chance to return to the NCAA tournament and do some damage after the disappointment of sitting home this past March.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
