UConn Junior Big Man Becomes First Husky Since 2015 To Accomplish This Feat

The Michigan transfer was quite productive in his first official game as a Husky

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The UConn Huskies routed Sacred Heart during Wednesday’s season opener, and UConn witnessed some excellent debuts from new players.

Freshman wing Liam McNeeley got his career in Storrs off to an excellent start with an 18 and 10 outing on 3-for-6 shooting from three.

McNeeley wasn’t the only UConn newcomer to excel, however.

Junior transfer from Michigan, big man Tarris Reed Jr., completely dominated Sacred Heart in the second half on the way to 15 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks.

With a double-double in his first game as a Husky, Reed joined McNeeley in becoming the first UConn players to debut with a double-double since Shonn Miller did it in 2015.

Reed was a man amongst boys during the second half. There was nothing Sacred Heart could do to keep him off the glass, and he exploded with a flurry of putbacks and post buckets that helped UConn pull away from the Pioneers.

Reed also displayed an impressive stroke from the free-throw stripe, given his size. You would never believe that Reed was just a 51.7 percent free throw shooter during his two seasons at Michigan.

Neither Reed nor UConn’s starting center Samson Johnson have good career percentages from the line. Johnson is 47.7 percent in 66 career games at UConn.

If Reed can keep getting to the line and get his percentage into a higher stratosphere (that his shooting form and touch indicate is possible), he might turn into a late-game asset for the Huskies if they don’t want Johnson’s free-throw shooting to be a liability.

Reed and Johnson were said to be battling for the starting center role during practice before the season, and it’s an interesting, ongoing battle to keep monitoring.

Johnson is more athletic and a much better lob threat (one of the best lob threats in the nation, actually), whereas Reed provides more strength and capacity to score off of post touches.

UConn is lucky to have both players. If healthy, they’ll form a two-headed monster at center, and it won’t matter who starts games as much as who finishes.

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