The Twitter handle says it all: @huskiesalltime1.
So many great UConn basketball careers have come and gone, yet the program’s scoring record still belongs to Bridgeport’s Chris Smith.
“It means a lot,” Smith said on the latest episode of the UConn Insider podcast. “No. 1 scorer in UConn history is pretty big, but doing it at a time when we were in such a [high-level] conference like the Big East — it was one of the best conferences in the country. The talent was there. [Playing against] the Alonzo Mournings and Dikembe Mutumbos. … So to do it at such a high level and really uplift UConn to a national status means a lot.”
You’ll hear Smith discuss his arrival in Storrs, which signaled a sea change on the recruiting trail for coach Jim Calhoun when the program was turning a corner (7:20); his memories of the Huskies’ breakthrough season in 1989-90 (10:30); winning the Big East Tournament MVP in 1990 with friends and family in the crowd at Madison Square Garden (14:30); the classic game against Clemson in the NCAA Tournament that the Huskies won when Scott Burrell’s full-court pass found Tate George in the corner for an unforgettable turnaround buzzer-beater (17:00); the loss to Duke in the next round (20:00); the reception that awaited the team at Gampel Pavilion (22:00); and his thoughts on Calhoun’s return to the coaching ranks (27:30).
The episode wraps up with Smith’s thoughts on the Huskies’ move to the Big East and his expectations for their first year in the league (29:00).
Chris Brodeur can be reached at cbrodeur@courant.com.
