Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they are in Durham, NC for a matchup with the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

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UConn Women’s Basketball links

Elizabeth Williams dishes on Breanna Stewart [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

No Time To Be Chicken and Waffle: UConn To The ACC NOW! [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Introducing Saniya Chong [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Jen Rizzotti On Duke’s Elizabeth Williams [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Game preview: UConn women at Duke [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Hayes Unfazed By Not Making Wooden Award Midseason List [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Auriemma Hoping Huskies Play Well At Duke Monday [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Duke Up Next For `Big Game’ Bria [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

No. 3 UConn & No. 5 Duke on ESPN2 For “Big Monday” [UConnHuskies.com]

Hartley one ‘confident kid’ for UConn women’s team [CT Post]

Tough Road Games Test Huskies [Hartford Courant]

Matchup with Duke features pair of freshmen phenoms [New Haven Register]

UConn Women’s Basketball Glance — UConn at Duke [The Hour]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Boatright Returns to Action [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Boatright Looking to Put Issues Behind Him [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Jim Calhoun’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Wrapping Things Up [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

the rapidly sinking wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Post-game breakdown, video: Notre Dame [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Notes/Quotes from Notre Dame: “This is one of the few games where I look down at the sheet and say ‘I don’t know who to praise.’” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Ryan Boatright reacts to return [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Pulling Hair [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Calhoun: Lamb’s Late Miss Not The Cause For Loss [UConnHuskies.com]

Lackluster Huskies fall to Notre Dame [CT Post]

UConn men: What we learned [CT Post]

Everything’s A Struggle As UConn Loses To Notre Dame [Hartford Courant]

Ryan Boatright Back On One Court; Mother Looking At Another [Hartford Courant]

Ryan Boatright And The NCAA: A Great Gray Area [Hartford Courant]

Huskies fall short against Irish, drop third straight [New Haven Register]

NCAA handling of Boatright case leads to more question [New Haven Register]

UConn men have lost their way [The Day]

Questions aplenty, answers too few for UConn men [The Hour]

UConn Football links

New Jersey LB Jazzmar Clax Commits To UConn [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn Offensive Coordinator George DeLeone: A Light, Then Serious Notes About QB Situation [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

DC also answered a few questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Drew Ghio Looking Forward To Walk-On Role At UConn [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

W. Ice Hockey. UConn Falls in Skating Strides Game to Providence, 5-2 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Swimming. Gallagher Sets Two School Records; Huskies Top Colgate [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Swimming. Huskies Top Colgate By 151-82 Score [UConnHuskies.com]

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UConn Huskies football coach Paul Pasqualoni has made two additions to his staff adding two graduate assistants, Jordan Orlovsky and Michael Digman.

Here’s the release from UConn:

STORRS, Conn. (Jan. 30, 2012) – Jordan Orlovsky, a 2009 graduate of Miami (Fla.), and Michael Digman, a 2007 Missouri graduate, have been named graduate assistant football coaches at the University of Connecticut for the 2012 season.

Digman, who will work with the offense, was the running backs and tight ends coach at Blinn College (Brenham, Texas) during the 2010 season. He was also the offensive graduate assistant at Buffalo (2010) and Austin Peay (2008-09). Digman was a student assistant coach at Missouri, working with the quarterbacks, in 2006.

Most recently, Digman was an offensive assistant coach at Fort Pierce Central High School, in Fort Pierce, Fla. He also coached wide receivers and kickers at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Ark., in 2007 and 2008.

Digman played his college football at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., as a quarterback. He is also a graduate of Arkadelphia High School.

Orlovsky, who will work with the defense, spent the 2011 season as a program aide in the UConn football office. He was a quality control coach at Miami during the 2008-10 seasons after serving as an intern at Miami from 2005-08.

He earned his undergraduate degree in business management at Miami and also has a graduate degree from Miami in education that he completed last May.

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Earlier on Sunday morning, the laywer for Tanesha Boatright, the mother of UConn Huskies freshman point guard Ryan Boatright, released a statement about the NCAA’s release of personal info with their statement.

Now the NCAA has once again responded turning this into a case of he said, she said.

Here’s the lastest statement from the NCAA:

Scott Tompsett’s allegations are not accurate. The NCAA statement regarding Ryan Boatright is factual and in response to numerous public misstatements and the resulting inaccurate reporting by some media. The NCAA acted appropriately to ensure the misleading accounts did not continue. The NCAA did not violate the student-athlete or family’s privacy in anyway, nor did it imply that the benefits were used to influence Ryan Boatright to attend the University of Connecticut.

In fact, both UConn and Boatright should be commended for their cooperation throughout the process to gather information. The school and student-athlete’s dedication to uncover the facts should be viewed as a positive example, not somehow construed negatively. Had Boatright’s mother cooperated fully from the beginning, this matter could have been settled months ago.

I’m fully expecting Tompsett to respond to this again at some point on Sunday.

My problem is that while the NCAA released their statement to the public, Tompsett probably shouldn’t have responded by sending the email to the media. Yes, I understand he wanted to get his side of the story out there.

But this would be better handled privately instead of in the media. And at least for now, that’s not happening.

The Boatright family has been through enough as it is.

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New Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms. Same old stagnant UConn Huskies men’s basketball offense.

After losing two straight games, the Huskies were hoping the return of Ryan Boatright would give them a lift on both ends of the court. While he was able to do just that, other things in the game didn’t bounce UConn’s way.

A 13-0 run by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to start the second half helped them a 50-48 win over the Huskies in front of a sold-out XL Center in Hartford, CT on Sunday afternoon.

UConn had a few chances to take the lead or tie this one up late.

Trailing by three at 45-42 after a Boatright layup with 1:02 to go, Roscoe Smith stole the ball and got it to Shabazz Napier, who missed the three. Andre Drummond committed a foul and Pat Cannaughton hit both free throws to push their lead back to five.

After a Drummond dunk cut it back to three, the Huskies forced the Irish into a five second call. But Napier missed the three again and the Huskies had to foul sending Jerian Grant to the line where he hit both free throws to make a five-point advantage. Jeremy Lamb cut the Irish lead to two points with a three pointer with eight seconds left.

Lamb sent Grant to the line where he hit the first but missed the second free throw. Grant’s high basketball IQ came into play as he fouled Lamb instead of letting him get a good look at the three. Lamb made the first free throw but missed the second. He got his own rebound but his last ditch effort to tie the game bounced off the rim giving the Irish the win.

Lamb led all scorers in the game with 16 points and added five rebounds. Drummond added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds while blocking four shots.

Eric Atkins paced the Irish with 13 points while Grant had 11 points. Scott Martin chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. Luke Harangody Scott Cooley also had seven rebounds while scoring eight points.

Alex Oriakhi got the Huskies on the board quickly out of the gate but then they went cold from the floor while the Irish took a 5-2 lead. The Huskies battled back to take a 6-5 lead before Notre Dame went on a 9-4 run to open up a four point lead at 14-10.

Once again, UConn came back as they scored six straight points to take a two point lead. Connaughton gave the Irish the lead with a three and five possessions the teams would exchange the lead with one nother.  After a Notre Dame turnover with 28 seconds to go in the half, Boatright’s floater with one second left gave UConn a 24-21 halftime advantage.

But it was that 13-0 run to start the second half that buoyed the Irish to the win. It took UConn 7:10 to score in the second half and that came on a Drummond jumper.

When Boatright was out the UConn offense was terrible. They really weren’t any better with him.

The Irish played a zone for most of the game and as we know, UConn has trouble with them. They weren’t moving the ball at all, players were standing around and they couldn’t penetrate the zone at all. That tough Notre Dame defense forced the Huskies into some bad shots. And that all figured into the Irish’s 13-0 run to start the second half.

When the Huskies take the court next on Wednesday night, I’m pretty sure they’ll be unranked. And of course that game will come against a nationally-ranked Georgetown Hoyas squad at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

To continue reading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ UConn Huskies 1.29.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Jim Calhoun and Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. Their also quotes from a few of the UConn players as well.

The starting five for the Huskies was Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Daniels, Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.

After shooting 50% in the first half, UConn finished the game shooting 40.4% (19-47). The Irish shot 36.2% (17-47).

The Huskies had nine assists on their 19 made baskets.

UConn was 3-of-13 (23.1%) from beyond the arc while Notre Dame was 7-of-22 (31.8%).

The Huskies were 7-of-10 (70%) from the free throw line. The Irish were just as good at 9-of-12 (75%).

Notre Dame outrebounded UConn 33-29.

The Huskies outscored the Irish 26-10 in the paint while Notre Dame outscored UConn 9-2 on the fast break.

Notre Dame had nine second chance points to five for UConn.

The Huskies had eight points off of ten Irish turnovers. Notre Dame had 10 points off of nine turnovers.

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As we learned late yesterday afternoon, UConn Huskies freshman point guard Ryan Boatright had been reinstated to play effective immediately. Shortly after, the NCAA released a statement as well as timeline of the events surrounding their investigation into Boatright.

Well if you read the letter below from Boatright’s lawyer, Scott Tompsett, apparently their release contained some false info and that Boatright and his mother Tanesha may sue the NCAA.

I am astounded that the NCAA released confidential information about Ryan’s case. Ryan and his mother Tanesha cooperated fully with the NCAA with the clear understanding that the information they provided would be kept confidential and would not be released to the public. The NCAA has violated the Boatrights’ privacy by releasing their personal information.

Moreover, the NCAA’s statement contains false and misleading information. For example, the statement implies that the benefits in question were provided to influence Ryan’s decision either to attend UConn or chose an agent, if and when he goes pro. That is false and the NCAA knows it. In fact, the two individuals who provided the benefits are friends of the Boatrights. They were simply helping the family with no expectation of repayment or reciprocation. And there’s not a shred of evidence that they influenced Ryan’s decision to attend UConn or that they intend to represent Ryan if he ever goes pro. The public also should know that the NCAA never told Tanesha and Ryan who made the accusations about them or told them the substance of the accusations so they could defend themselves. Further, contrary to the NCAA’s statement, neither Tanesha nor Ryan received a car from anyone.

Until the NCAA released its statement, the Boatrights considered this matter closed. But the NCAA’s improper release of private and false information has caused the Boatrights to consider their legal options.

This whole situation involving Boatright has seemed fishy as it is. Now the NCAA allegedly making false statements makes it even more so.

When you read the NCAA’s statement, it sounds like Boatright should have never been “suspended” again.

It will be interesting to follow the developments of this if a lawsuit goes forward.

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Photo credit: UConn Huskies Facebook page

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn men’s basketball team as they’ll host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this afternoon. Tip is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on SNY. Don’t forget, the Huskies will be wearing their new Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms.

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UConn Men’s Basketball links

Boatright’s Back: ‘No Words to Describe It’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Susan Herbst on Boatright Situation [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Can Huskies Rediscover Confidence, Chemistry Vs. Notre Dame? [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Game preview: UConn men host Notre Dame [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Kemba Walker Triple-Double in loss to Wizards [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Time to put NCAA behind bars [CT Post]

Analysis: Boatright’s path to prosperity hasn’t been easy [CT Post]

UConn Men Get Lift From Boatright’s Return [Hartford Courant]

Boatright reinstated after receiving more than $8,000 in cash, impermissible benefits [New Haven Register]

All is clear for UConn’s Ryan Boatright [The Day]

UConn Men’s Basketball Glance [The Hour]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Dolson has a monster game against USF [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Emotional day for Tiffany Hayes, Huskies [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

A week to remember for Breanna Stewart [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez Once Called Geno “Coach” [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

An Emotional Day For Tiffany Hayes [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Riding The Road To Redemption [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Howard’s Memory A Source Of Motivation For Hayes [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Dolson, Hayes lead UConn to 77-62 win over South Florida [CT Post]

UConn women: What we learned [CT Post]

Huskies Beat Bulls Inside And Out [Hartford Courant]

Auriemma Has Connection To Patriots’ Hernandez [Hartford Courant]

Emotional Hayes shines on slain friend Jasper Howard’s birthday [New Haven Register]

UConn’s Tiffany Hayes (33 points): ‘Play every play’ [The Day]

UConn Football links

JUCO TE Neil Shortell Of Butler County (Kansas) CC Commits To UConn [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Football Recruits Gutierrez, Clax At Basketball Game Today [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

WR Ricky Gutierrez, son of the former MLB player, Commits To UConn [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Beatty’s hard work has helped him shed ‘soft’ label [CT Post]

Casey Cochran: State High School Favorite Aims For UConn Success [Hartford Courant]

UConn Football Recruits [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Red Sox Bobby Valentine Highlights Preseason Baseball Dinner [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Ice Hockey. Huskies Open Weekend With 2-0 Loss at PC [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. Heather Wilson Brings Home 800m Title At PSU [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Men’s Hockey Sweeps Holy Cross With 3-0 Victory [UConnHuskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.