UConn head coach Dan Hurley speaks during a news conference ahead of a national championship NCAA college basketball tournament game against Michigan at the Final Four, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Jeff Roberson/AP
STORRS — Dan Hurley was talking about the many facets of the UConn men’s basketball team’s complex offensive system on Friday afternoon.
“There are a lot of concepts and formations we want to play out of,” he explained to a group of reporters, “whether it’s ‘horns’ or ‘inverted horns,’ or five-out with the center at the key, or five-out with the center in the corner or opposite the ball, or box sets or floppy sets or secondary-break sets …”
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Get all that? You don’t really have to. But UConn’s players do, particularly the newcomers. It’s a lot to take in for any college kid, but even more so for freshmen.
Yet the Huskies’ pair of incoming freshmen, Colben Landrew and Junior County, seem to have grasped Hurley’s offensive terminologies and sets over their first summer on campus. For the most part, anyway.
“There’s a lot of film you have to watch, a lot of thinking you have to do, slowing down what coach says to you, playing it over in your head before you do it,” said County, a point guard. “You’ve definitely got to think a lot when you’re out here. But, I’d say over the course of the year it’s gotten a little bit easier.”
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Then again, Hurley said that County, who played his prep ball under coach Paul Peterson at Wasatch Academy in Utah, is “one of the most prepared freshmen we’ve had come in here.”
UConn’s Junior County speaks to members of the media after a summer practice at the Werth Family Basketball Champions Center in Storrs, Conn., Friday, August 7, 2026.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
“His maturity level … he came in with great pedigree,” Hurley continued. “You have summers where you love the way a player comes in. And he probably stands out more than anyone this summer.”
It’s been a bit of a tougher learning curve for Landrew, the 6-foot-6, 236-pound forward out of Georgia who is also County’s roommate.
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“It’s very detailed,” Landrew said of the Huskies’ offense. “It was kind of hard for me. But, the more practices I get under my belt, it’s getting easier. I’m getting more confident.”
Still, it’s not just grasping “inverted horns” or “floppy sets” that have presented a challenge to Landrew. It’s the intense nature of practices, the demanding nature of Hurley and his staff, the six-day-a-week grind through the summer that can challenge any freshman.
“At first there was a little adjustment because it’s UConn, one of the best programs, it’s fast-paced,” Landrew reported. “But I’m getting used to the coaches, how they run things, the standards. It’s been getting better day by day.”
In Friday’s intrasquad scrimmage before about 100 season ticket-holders at Werth Family Champions Center, Landrew held his own on the boards but wasn’t much of a factor on offense, going scoreless. The summer grind may have caught up with him a bit.
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“It’s the hardest work he’s ever done in his life,” Hurley noted. “You have a hard Wednesday, you’re tired and sore, you’ve still got Thursday, Friday, Saturday to put your work in. He’s going through that right now. As his body and mind and emotions learn to handle that, he’ll unleash all his abilities.”
And those abilities, Hurley added, could get him to the NBA … relatively soon.
“Colben is talented like these early-entry guys to the draft look like,” the coach said. “He’s talented like those guys.”
Feeling at home
Landrew is the more heralded of UConn’s two 2026 freshmen, rated the No. 26 recruit in the nation by 247Sports.com and widely thought to be a McDonald’s All-American Game snub. He was once a highly-touted wide receiver in high school, drawing interest from SEC powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn and Georgia before dropping the pigskin to focus on hoops.
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“It was fun,” he said of football, “but I like basketball more.”
But Landrew noted that football got him “a little tougher,” as well as stronger, via the weight room. That physicality allows him to go up against taller, stronger players and “bump with the big men,” while also able to guard perimeter players.
UConn’s Colben Landrew speaks to members of the media after a summer practice at the Werth Family Basketball Champions Center in Storrs, Conn., Friday, August 7, 2026.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
It’s that versatility and pedigree that has Landrew more likely than his roommate to crack UConn’s starting lineup this season. The only starting position seemingly up for grabs, at least right now, is at small forward. Landrew will likely battle senior stalwart Jayden Ross for that spot, though he’s in for some tough competition. Ross not only has 94 career games under his belt but, per Hurley, has been the team’s MVP this off-season.
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“He’s probably had the best summer of anybody,” Hurley said of Ross on Friday.
Landrew is just happy for the opportunity.
“It’s crazy,” he said, “knowing that I have a chance to have an impact my first year.”
While Landrew may have the better chance of cracking the starting lineup at some point this season, County may have the inside track on more guaranteed minutes. Silas Demary Jr., a potential All-American and Big East Player of the Year, is the starting point guard. That’s a no-brainer. But the staff has felt comfortable that County can jump right in and be Demary’s primary backup at the point, even as a frosh. And he’s shown no signs to the contrary this summer.
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County finished with eight points in Friday’s scrimmage, including consecutive baskets over the final couple of minutes in regulation that helped send the game to overtime. He seemingly already has the clutch gene of both Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, a pair of pretty good former UConn point guards who did their apprenticeships as freshman backups, as well.
“I’d say I’ve kind of earned that role,” County said, confidently. “It’s really whatever you do in practice, that’s the role you’re going to earn.”
County hails from Utah, but he feels right at home in Storrs. His father, Adolph, was a junior college football teammate of UConn athletic director David Benedict, and he’s bumped into him a few times this summer.
“Every time I see him,” Junior said, “it’s like seeing family.”
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Similarly, Landrew, who was born in Mississippi, grew up in Alabama and most recently lived in Georgia, is adapting nicely to the northeast. Even if grasping Dan Hurley’s complex offensive schemes hasn’t always been a breeze.
“I get to play for one of the best coaches of all-time,” Landrew said. “I came here because I know Hurley is going to push me every day. I feel like I need that as a player, to get to the next level.”
Added County: “The coaching staff, the players … I feel very at home. It hasn’t been too big of a change. There are some hard days, but getting through adversity with the guys, that’s really been everything.
“It’s been a great summer. It’s gone by really fast. I can’t wait for the season to start.”
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Rim rattlings
Hines said he only knows a few songs, and noted that he also plays piano and flute.
“I’m a music guy,” he said.
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So, who’s his favorite guitarist? Hines said he wasn’t too well-versed on particular guitar players, but added that the guitarist for the alternative-metal band Deftones, Stephen Carpenter, was one he admired.
What role might Jacksonville State transfer Jaye Nash play for the Huskies? The 6-foot-2 junior from Memphis is likely third or fourth on UConn’s point guard depth chart, behind Demary, County and, possibly, combo guard transfer Nils Machowski.
But that doesn’t mean he’ll be chained to the end of the bunch. Last season, third point guard Alec Millender, an IU Indy transfer, played some significant minutes, including some non-garbage time run in an NCAA Tournament game against Furman.
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“That’s more the role that he brought me in for, we talked about that,” Nash said. “I’m just trying to take it day by day. Whatever Coach needs me to be for him, that’s what I’m going to be.”