Cinderella Team? : U. of Conn. Turns Heads With Upsets of Syracuse, Georgetown

Folks in Connecticut are going crazy over the Huskies--the hottest team in the Big East after dropping both Syracuse and Georgetown last week.

On Route 44 from Hartford to Storrs, congratulatory signs were posted immediately after Connecticut (16-3) defeated the Hoyas by 5 points Saturday. The Sugar Shack--Coach Jim Calhoun’s favorite doughnut shop--served free coffee to celebrate. And Monday, 1,895 students lined up for 800 sets of tickets to Saturday’s rematch with St. John’s in Storrs.

Huskie-mania never has reached this proportion. Tickets to the Georgetown game, normally $11, were said to have been scalped for $70.

The whole state apparently has fallen in love with Nadav Henefeld, a 21-year-old freshman fresh out of the Israeli army. “Words can’t even explain the things he does,” teammate Rod Sellers said.

“The best thing that can happen to a coach is to have the ball in his hands,” Calhoun said. “I’m not that bright. It only took me about 12 games to figure out we should start the young man.”

If it sounds as if Henefeld is being elevated to cult status, he is. He’s got the most active hands in the league, ranking second in the nation in steals with 83 in 18 games.

One of his girlfriends has been on the cover of Vogue; another just spurned an offer from the Ford Modeling Agency in order to serve her mandatory three-year stint in the Israeli army.

Henefeld was named co-Big East Player of the Week with Providence’s Eric Murdock for his 32 points, 12 rebounds, nine steals, seven assists and eight-for-12 three-point shooting against the Hoyas and Orangemen. It was the first time a freshman has won the honor.

What’s more, he’s good in the clutch. He was four for four from three-point range in the second half against Georgetown. His first tied the game at 40, his second gave the Huskies a 45-42 lead. His third put UConn back on top, 58-56, with 6:16 to play, and his last gave the Huskies their final lead, 63-60, with 3:33 to go.

The 6-7 Henefeld is averaging 10.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 2.6 assists while shooting 51.9% from the field and 44% from three-point range.

Georgetown Coach John Thompson didn’t seem to grasp what all the Huskie fuss was about. “They’ve won a game, not a championship,” he said.

On Wednesday, UConn coasted to 99-77 victory over Central Connecticut in the final game at the Huskies’ aging, leaky-roofed Field House at Storrs. The Huskies will open the 8,100-seat, $28.5-million Gampel Pavilion Saturday against St. John’s.