Mike Anthony: James Bouknight dominated, then disappeared, in UConn’s victory over Hartford

James Bouknight managed to personify UConn’s potential and UConn’s concerns Wednesday night by essentially setting the stage for his own disappearing act.

He was headed toward a signature performance, owning the early segment of what became a 69-57 victory over Hartford.

And then he was effectively absent, scoring just two of his team-high 18 points in an uncomfortable second half that should have been a foot-to-the-throat moment for a player looking to prove he’s as talented as any guard in the nation.

How does that happen? Where did he go? There’s no hiding in an empty arena, but Bouknight appeared to try.

“He had a brilliant start,” coach Dan Hurley said. “And he just lost concentration, lost focus. It felt like he was on his way to 30. That’s a game where, if you want to be that guy as a sophomore at UConn, that’s probably a 34-point game.”

Bingo.

“To end that game with 18 and to have the defensive issues he has, we’re not going to get where we want with that,” Hurley said. “He wants the burden. He can handle the burden. He’s got to improve his focus and his intensity, and we need other people to help him.”

Bouknight scored 12 of UConn’s first 16 points, picking apart the Hartford zone and pushing the Huskies to a lead they would not relinquish. He sliced through the lane, dunked, splashed three-pointers, twisted for layups. He looked like an All-American. He looked like an NBA lottery pick.

Then he looked a bit lost, disengaged, as Hartford cut a 19-point lead to five. All-Americans and lottery picks daggers into such comeback hopes. Hurley mentioned immaturity over and again during his postgame press conference, and that particular issue was spread throughout the lineup. But Bouknight — given his ability, given his opportunity, given his role — should have been the one to take hold of a game UConn didn’t need to squirm through.

The very best don’t build resumes through flashes. They build them by wearing down one opponent after the next. They build them by knowing they’re the best, being hellbent on showing they’re the best and doing so late in games, not early, not only occasionally.

Bouknight is still trying to figure this out. He will.

“If he wants to be that guy this year, that full-game focus and maturity has got to be there,” Hurley said. “He’s off to that brilliant start … and I just think he relaxed and lost that focus and concentration. We’re going to coach the hell out of him. We were hard on him. He wants to be that guy. We all want him to be that guy this year. We were very hard on him in the postgame. We’re going to be very hard on him in the next couple days, about playing a full 40-minute game. He played in spurts again.”

Look, UConn is 2-0 and Bouknight has 38 points in two games. He has made 14 of 27 shots. That’s fine, as an overall body of work. But this 2020-21 project is about to escalate in its difficulty, starting with a game against Vanderbilt scheduled for Tuesday at Mohegan Sun Arena, and it would be nice to know exactly what Bouknight will bring to Bubbleville and beyond.

We learned early last season — and were reminded throughout 2019-20 — that Bouknight is tremendous in so many ways. The Huskies have a gem. They will win many games because of him this season. He’s a remarkable talent. Hartford coach John Gallagher said Bouknight reminds him of a young James Posey.

Right now, Bouknight is learning some hard lessons, though, being made to understand being “The guy,” is a full-time job. He scored 14 of his 20 against Central in the first half and 16 of his 18 against Hartford in the first half. He was only along for the ride thereafter, making just one of three shots in the second half and picking up four fouls after halftime.

Bouknight fouled out with 32.9 seconds remaining Friday, a sloppy play that produced a head-to-head collision with Moses Flowers instead of the breakaway dunk Bouknight probably envisioned. It was a head-scratching moment. Fitting, too, for the way he was trending before the game reached garbage time.

After Vanderbilt on Tuesday, UConn will face either Southern Cal or BYU at Mohegan on Thursday, then N.C. State on Saturday. Big East play begins Dec. 11 against St. John’s.

“Into the gauntlet,” Hurley said.

UConn will get more from its opponents from here.

So it must demand more from its best player.

Bouknight, who was not the among players made available in a postgame virtual press conference, is an asset few teams have. He has to look like that from tip-off to final buzzer. Patchy performances that pushed UConn past CCSU and UHart won’t necessarily get them past many more teams on the schedule. Hurley is hammering home that reality.

Bouknight has tremendous responsibility.

When he’s on, UConn looks like a team of boundless potential.

When he’s off, UConn looks like a team with legitimate concerns.

“If you want to be a guy who can carry a team that is competing towards the top of the Big East, you’ve got to play a full 40,” Hurley said. “There are some monsters waiting for us in this league and if he shows up like this it’s not going to go the way that we planned this thing to go.”

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