'Stars of Storrs' team brings together UConn men's basketball alumni of different eras

Norwalk — Chris Smith, one of the all-time UConn basketball greats, surveyed the talent on the floor in the Brien McMahon High School gym on Monday afternoon.

There were national champions in Ryan Boatright, DeAndre Daniels and Joey Calcaterra.

Other former Huskies like RJ Cole, who played a major role in coach Dan Hurley’s restoring the program to an elite level, worked out. Jeff Adrien, Jerome Dyson and Rodney Purvis also had distinguished careers in Storrs.

They’re all playing for the Stars of Storrs, a team that will compete in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), starting this weekend in the Pittsburgh regional.

Smith, who’s serving as the team’s head coach, has watched all these Huskies over the years, so he’s familiar with them. Tyler Olander, one of Smith’s assistants, won two national titles (2011, 2014) while at UConn.

“It’s wonderful,” Smith said. “Some of these guys didn’t even know each other and now they’re getting to know each other. Once you’re from UConn, you’re family. Everybody woke up every single day and practiced hard either for Hurley or Jim Calhoun or Kevin Ollie. Everybody did something that was similar.

“That’s what makes us family. We know what we went through to make it.”

Marc D’Amelio came up with the idea of entering a team of former Huskies in the TBT, an open tournament with a 64-team field held during the summer months. A grand prize of $1 million goes to the champion.

A 1991 UConn graduate, D’Amelio is actively involved in supporting UConn athletics. He’s the founder of the D’Amelio Huskies NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) Collective.

D’Amelio grew up in Norwalk.

“We went out last night and everybody bonded,” D’Amelio said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. I’m excited. It’s my hometown. Bringing everybody here to Fairfield County where there’s a big alumni group, to get them all to do this here is pretty cool.”

“... I feel like I owe so much to the University of Connecticut. It’s just my way of giving back. Plus, it’s really cool.”

It also was really cool to watch the matchups during practice drills on Monday.

At one point, Calcaterra, who was on the 2023 national title team, guarded Boatright, a 2014 national championship winner.

Like some of their Stars of Storrs teammates, they’re both in terrific shape coming off a season playing basketball on the professional level.

They jumped at the opportunity to be part of the UConn alumni TBT team.

“I’m excited,” said Boatright, who played in Israel and Greece last season. “Obviously, I played with DeAndre and those guys. RJ and some others came after me. I bleed blue so I’ve always been tapped into the program. I talked to RJ a lot when he was in school and after he graduated. Jeff and Jerome, I watched them growing up. They would always come back when I was in school. I know them all and have met them all before but we just never played together.

“… It’s just good to be back in Connecticut playing basketball.”

Calcaterra, who spent just one season in Storrs as a graduate transfer, is accustomed to making adjustments to new teammates during his career. He played for the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’ G League team, in California last season.

He’s only met Cole and Boatright before.

“A lot of good alums are coming back, so I’m excited to play with all of these guys,” Calcaterra said. “It’s my first time playing with everyone. … But it’s just basketball. A lot of these guys spend a lot of time around the game playing professionally, so they know how to play the game.”

Cole may be best remembered for scoring the game-winning basket and drawing a charge in the final seconds to clinch a dramatic win over Villanova in Hartford in February 2022. He’s coming off winning a league championship in Lithuania where he’ll play again next season. While overseas, he stayed up late at night to watch UConn win the 2024 national championship.

He’s fully embracing this summer’s TBT experience.

“I love it,” Cole said. “It feels like college again. I was part of that Dan Hurley era of bringing it back. I’m happy I’m able to be part of this first opportunity in the TBT.”

Smith kept Monday’s first Stars of Storrs workout on the short side. The Stars of Storrs team headed to a team dinner event that night.

On Tuesday, they’ll travel to Storrs for a closed workout at Gampel Pavilion and then return to Brien McMahon for an open practice (tickets required) on Wednesday before leaving for Pittsburgh on Thursday.

The Stars of Storrs open TBT play on Saturday.

With a roster loaded with proven winners, they’re optimistic about their chances.

“We’ve got a good roster,” Boatright said. “I like our team. As long as we show up and compete and play the right way, play real basketball, we’ve got a shot to win this thing.”

At the very least, the TBT is a chance to bring former UConn players from different teams together on the court for the first time for a tournament.

“It’s crazy,” Purvis said. “It just shows the brotherhood. Everyone wants to come together, not just guys from different teams but from different eras. It’s great. We’re just going to make the best out of it.”

g.keefe@theday.com