Adam Betz: Sanogo bears down on Kalkbrenner

Jan. 8—STORRS — After a tremendous performance for the fourth-ranked UConn men's basketball team in Saturday's 69-60 win over Big East foe Creighton at Gampel Pavilion, forward Adama Sanogo was asked perhaps the toughest question he faced during the entire press conference in its closing minutes.

Does he think of himself as more of a teddy bear or a grizzly bear?

The big man from Bamako, Mali didn't hesitate.

"Grizzly bear," he said with a chuckle.

The light-hearted question arose from something Huskies coach Dan Hurley had said earlier in the postgame presser.

"He's been seething the last couple of days," Hurley said. "The will of that man, it's like poking a grizzly or Kodiak bear. That's the wrong guy to poke. He's a rare person in terms of his will and just his internal toughness."

Why was Sanogo seething? Let's rewind.

The 6-foot-9 junior was named the Big East preseason Player of the Year in October.

Many observers agreed, while others thought Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner deserved the nod. Kalkbrenner himself was one of those dissenters.

During The Field of 68's Welcome to the Jay with Jahenns Manigat podcast that streamed on Nov. 7, Manigat asked the Creighton big man what Big East team he was most looking forward to playing this season.

Kalkbrenner replied: "Big East team is obviously UConn. I mean the teams have had a good rivalry, and then obviously they have Sanogo, who they picked as (Big East preseason) Player of the Year. I've got to bite my tongue a little bit about my thoughts about that selection. But definitely looking forward to that game and seeing what people think about Player of the Year after that."

Kalkbrenner also said: "It's just fun to go up against bigs that other people say are good. Me, I don't know about that. But last year, I obviously did really, really well against them (UConn). I'm just looking to repeat that performance because I think that'd go a long way in proving people wrong for making that selection."

Now I don't have a problem with Kalkbrenner espousing his belief that he should've earned preseason Player of the Year honors. He has a legitimate argument.

But at the same time — and before UConn Nation comes for my head — I certainly understand why Sanogo felt disrespected by Kalkbrenner's comments.

"He was saying some stuff. If you know me, you know I take stuff personal," Sanogo said Saturday. "So for him to say stuff like that, coming into this game, I was ready to go."

And ready he was.

If Sanogo was a grizzly bear, the court was his forest, and Kalkbrenner and the rest of the Bluejays were his prey.

Sanogo finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting — including 2-of-5 from deep — while adding nine rebounds and a block for the victorious Huskies (15-2, 4-2 Big East).

"He was the difference of the game," Hurley said. "He looked like the best player in the league."

And he came up big when his team needed him most.

Fourteen of Sanogo's points came in the opening 20 minutes, including making three consecutive UConn baskets to begin a 16-5 run that gave his team a lead it would carry until the 13:47 mark of the second half.

Creighton (9-7, 3-2) regained the lead, 43-42, before Sanogo put UConn ahead for good 26 seconds later. It was the first of eight consecutive points Sanogo scored for the hosts, and started a decisive 17-4 run.

"He was disappointed obviously in the Providence performance," Hurley said. "He was productive against Xavier but his defense wasn't great. So he was coming off of back-to-back sub-par games. Really the reality of this whole thing is you win because you have guys playing like Players of the Year and First-Teamers, and Adama looked like the Player of the Year in the league."

The game against the Friars Wednesday particularly stuck with Sanogo. He finished with a quiet 11 points that night.

"Coming off the Providence game where I didn't play well, I knew I had to be there (Saturday) for my team," Sanogo said. "I knew for us to win today, I had to play hard. So coming in, I wanted to give everything I've got because for my team to win the game, they need me to play well. ... So I was ready, and I think I did a good job."

Hearing Kalkbrenner's comments again only added to Sanogo's will to win Saturday, even if only a little bit.

"I'm not going to lie to you, we looked at the quote, we played the clip (Friday)," Hurley said. "Adama was in kill mode today anyway. So how much of a factor was it? Maybe one more jump hook? I don't know."

Hurley described what he meant by Sanogo being in "kill mode."

"He's coming over to you and telling you what to do on offense, the plays that he wants called for him," Hurley said. "It's like 'Yes Adama? Where do you want it again?'"

When asked how his job was easier with Sanogo playing like he did Saturday, sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins' reply was simple.

"Just give him the ball and get out of the way," he said.

Teammate Andre Jackson expanded on Hawkins' answer.

"It definitely makes it easier because he's a willing passer as well," Jackson said. "He's not just going for his shot. If he does see you open, he'll pass the ball as well. Just getting the ball to the guys in the right spots. ... If you got Adama down low and he seals his man and ducks him in, get him the ball and make a cut."

Sanogo used a plethora of post moves to get by Kalkbrenner and the rest of Creighton's defense Saturday, including spins, pump fakes and bodying his way into position.

"It definitely helps going against (UConn's 7-foot-2 freshman) Donovan (Clingan)," Sanogo said. "Donovan is good. So to score on him, you have to find a way to score against him. That's the same thing against Kalkbrenner. You have to find a way to score against him. So going against Donovan, he helps me a lot to go against (Kalkbrenner)."

Sanogo, along with Clingan, limited Kalkbrenner to nine points, four rebounds and 3-for-6 (50 percent) shooting from the field Saturday.

The 7-foot-1 junior center entered the game averaging 15.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 76.2 percent in 12 games.

"Sanogo's a heck of a player. Kalkbrenner's a heck of a player," Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. "Sometimes, one guy's going to get the best of the other. Tonight, it was Sanogo. He was really, really good."

Hurley said that Sanogo "made his statement on the court" Saturday.

Kalkbrenner will get his chance at a rebuttal when the teams meet again Feb. 11 in Omaha.

Adam Betz is a Journal Inquirer staff writer.

For coverage of UConn football and men's basketball as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.