Just over three weeks before the season opener, the UConn men's basketball team is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps even more so than the previous few seasons. The Huskies have undergone significant changes since the last time they stepped on the court for the national championship game against Purdue and walked away with the program's second straight title on April 8 in Arizona.

Dan Hurley wouldn’t schedule Rhode Island as one of UConn’s nonconference opponents. That program, one that he helped build up before taking on a new project in Storrs, fits into the same category with the likes of Yale or Arizona State and others – frisky teams or those with personal connections.