Ken Davis

It was one moment of confusion, one flash of inexperience, carelessness and indecision all rolled into one. It was only an exhibition game, but the pass thrown by Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet was no ordinary mistake. In a twisted kind of way, it was symbolic of everything the Huskies have encountered the past year.

Thabeet found himself alone, facing the basket, with no clue where to pass the ball against the defensive alignment presented by Division II Bryant University. In other words, this shouldn’t have been this hard. Whether it was panic or a simple case of brain-freeze, Thabeet tossed the ball in the direction of the only open person he recognized. But coach Jim Calhoun was standing out of bounds — and he didn’t catch the ball. He was too stunned.

Calhoun fought off the impulsive urge to bench Thabeet. Actually, assistant coach Andre LaFleur convinced Calhoun to leave the big man in the game another two minutes.

“Even though you want to take the ball and throw it back at him,” LaFleur said, “give him another two minutes, because he’s got to get going.”

That is the odd balancing act Calhoun has faced since the start of last season, a tiny cartoon devil tapping him on one shoulder, while an angel whispers in his other ear.

Calhoun listened to the devil a lot last year and promises a more angelic approach to substitutions this season. It won’t be easy. The facts tell you as much. Calhoun spent his summer trying to figure out how to get through to a group of young players who began last season 11-0, finished 17-14, and became the first UConn team to miss postseason play since 1987.

“I’m never ready for that,” Calhoun said recently when asked if he had braced himself for such disappointment.

The Hall of Fame coach — and UConn fans everywhere — certainly don’t want to go through that type of season again. The very thought of missing the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons is repugnant to followers of the 1999 and 2004 national champions. It wasn’t long ago that UConn reached the Elite Eight, but since that loss to George Mason in 2006 very little has gone right.

And now, no one really knows what to expect.

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Two games into this season, the Huskies already face a crossroads of sorts. They have deposited victories over Morgan State and Buffalo but realize that does very little for their balance. What they really need is to cash in on their trip to Madison Square Garden. With a win Thursday over Gardner-Webb, college basketball’s newest Cinderella team, the Huskies could take the stage in the championship game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic against either Memphis or Oklahoma.

“If we go down to New York and put on a good show in these two games, I think nationally, we’ll be back on the scene,” point guard A.J. Price said. “Everybody understands this is a different year, even though it’s pretty much the same players returning from last year. We have a chance early on to prove that we’re better.”

Junior forward Jeff Adrien agrees that the Huskies can make a statement in New York. “I wanted to play Kentucky, I guess, because of the name. But Gardner-Webb beat them and I’m looking forward to playing Gardner-Webb now. Win two games in the Garden and things change. People look at you differently. Maybe you become nationally ranked.”

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The disappointment over not playing Kentucky is understandable. That 11-0 start last season came against an easy non-conference schedule and it created a false sense of security among all associated with the program — including Calhoun. After defeating Mississippi, the only team from a major conference in that run, the Huskies were 4-0 and Calhoun thought his team would be “pretty good.”

Losses at West Virginia and LSU quickly changed the mood. Calhoun admits now that the psychological make-up of his team was never right. He has tried to figure out why, but it may forever remain a mystery. Players didn’t understand their roles. A team leader never emerged. Confusion ruled on the court and frustration surrounded the Huskies. UConn almost didn’t make the cut for the Big East tournament. By that time, only so much could be blamed on youth.

“In the Big East’s history no one had ever had nine first-year players,” Calhoun said. “I tried to bogart our way psychologically and make them believe we’d keep on marching. We’d have more downfalls, but eventually get better. Then we went to LSU and opened [the Big East schedule] at West Virginia.”

Should the Huskies depart New York 4-0, there won’t be any grand celebration. That’s the lesson of last year. Should UConn’s weaknesses be exposed again by No. 3 Memphis — a distinct possibility given the talent of John Calipari’s team — it will be critical to guard against a major loss of confidence.

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