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STORRS, Conn. -- UConn coach Kevin Ollie is hoping his young Huskies can gel early and peak late.The defending American Athletic Conference tournament champions have added a highly touted recruiting class of five freshmen and VCU transfer Terry Larrier to a solid core returning from last years 25-11 squad.But the Huskies roster includes just three players -- seniors Rodney Purvis, Kentan Facey and Amida Brimah -- who have played more than one season for Ollie.The fifth-year head coach said that means his biggest challenge is getting everyone to mesh before a tough non-conference schedule in November and December.I dont want to throw away games early in the season, like we did last year, Ollie said.About 60 percent of the Huskies scoring from 2015-16 is gone with the departure of seven players, including Daniel Hamilton for the NBA draft and Sterling Gibbs and Shonn Miller, the former graduate transfers who used up their eligibility.This years backcourt is expected to pick up much of that scoring slack. The preseason conference freshman of the year, Alterique Gilbert, joins Jalen Adams, who received the same honor last year, and Purvis.Purvis, who averaged just under 13 points a game last season, said he believes there will be many times when all three guards will be on the court at once.We dont have positions, Purvis said. Once we get in the flow of the game and coach gets to throwing different lineups out there, your position dont really matter.The Huskies could also go big, with the 6-foot-8 Larrier at small forward, joining 6-10 Facey or 6-11 sophomore Steven Enoch and the 7-foot shot blocker Brimah down low.Freshmen Christian Vital, Vance Jackson, Mamadou Diarra and Juwan Durham are also expected to compete for playing time.Here are some other things to watch for as the Huskies defend their conference championship:OUT OF CONFERENCE TESTSThe early season includes a trip to the Maui Invitational, with first-round opponent Oklahoma State and North Carolina on the Huskies side of the bracket. Oregon, Tennessee, Georgetown and Wisconsin are on the other side. UConn also faces out-of-conference games with Syracuse, Ohio State and Auburn in November and December before visiting the Hoyas in January.GROWING RIVALRY:The Huskies have been picked by the leagues coaches to finish second behind Cincinnati. UConn beat the Bearcats in the conference tournament last season with the help of Adams, who sent the game into a fourth overtime with a 3-pointer from well beyond half court at the buzzer . The rivals wont play until Feb. 4 in Ohio and close the season against each other on March 5 at Gampel Pavilion.NUMBER CHANGE:Rodney Purvis has changed his number from 44 to 15 following the death of a close friend. Tryek Coger, who lived for a time with the Purvis family in North Carolina, was planning to wear the number 15 this season for Oklahoma State. The guard died after a July workout of an undiagnosed heart condition. The two were to meet on the court in November at the Maui Invitational.ARMENIAN STAR?Enoch spent part of the summer playing for the Armenian national team. The Norwalk native has no Armenian ancestry, and had never been overseas before this summer. He received dual citizenship in order to play at the FIBA Under-20 Division B European Championships, were he averaged 17.2 points and 15.3 rebounds in six games.BRIMAHS BACKBrimah, UConns center, played just 25 games last season because of injuries. But he still managed to black 67 shots, giving him 280 for his career. That is third in program history behind Emeka Okafors 441 and Hasheem Thabeets 417. Brimah also shot 66 percent from the floor last season, in large part because of his ability to catch and dunk lob passes. Cheap Canucks Jerseys . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Custom Canucks Jerseys . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. http://www.customcanucksjersey.com/ . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Custom Canucks T-shirts . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Custom Kirk Mclean Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. SEATTLE -- When Dan Quinn left Seattle for his opportunity to be an NFL head coach in Atlanta, he wanted to create an identity unique to the Falcons.Quinn didnt want Atlanta to be a replica of what he experienced in Seattle, even if the principles he wanted for the Falcons were similar.Can the team be featured in the very best way of how we wanted to utilize the players? The messaging, the identity, the toughness that we wanted to play with, having that really come to life? Quinn said. I think it took going through some tough lessons and developing some resiliency through last year with some difficult losses. ... Those were scars that were painful as hell to go through, but on the other side of it we grew tougher, we grew stronger.Quinns former team will get an up-close look at what hes created in Atlanta when the Seahawks host the Falcons on Sunday in a clash of teams that look to be among the top contenders in the NFC.Its an enticing matchup, featuring Atlantas No. 1 offense against Seattles top-ranked defense thats had an extra week of rest and preparation. And its a reunion for Quinn to see the defense he helped create in Seattle during his two seasons as coordinator, and whether it can slow down Matt Ryan and the Falcons.Its going to be fun. Its going to be a fun matchup for our defense to go up against their offense, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said. They throw the ball a whole lot, Matt Ryan has been having a phenomenal year, so were going to have a good time with that challenge.The Falcons went down this path a year ago, starting 6-1 before losing six straight, finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs, so there is still hesitation about the validity of Atlantas start this season. But a win in Denver , followed by a win in Seattle would certainly quiet doubters.When something bad goes bad, you have to forget it and get the next play. You cant let that determine the outcome of the game if you had one bad play, Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones said. Thats how we were last year as a team. One negative thing happened and then it was like a snowball effect on us. This year were definitely a different ballclub as far as the mentality of the team.Heres what else to watch:JULIO vs. SHERM: No individual matchup will top the expected battle between Jones and Sheerman.dddddddddddd Jones is two weeks removed from having 300 yards receiving against Carolina, while Sherman has started to follow specific wide receivers on a more regular basis. He did that for most of Seattles win over the New York Jets, shadowing Brandon Marshall.Others Sherman has followed in the past include Dez Bryant, Antonio Brown and Torrey Smith.What the fans should expect is two real dog competitors wanting to go battle for it. Thats one of the coolest parts about our game, Quinn said.HERES JIMMY: If there was any question, Jimmy Graham is back and hes finding a prominent role in Seattles offense. Graham is coming off consecutive 100-yard receiving games, the first time hes accomplished that feat since early in the 2013 season. Grahams 12 catches in the past two games has come without quarterback Russell Wilson forcing the ball his direction. Rather, the throws are coming to Graham within the rhythm of the game plan.BACKFIELD MATES: The Seahawks are concerned about containing the combo of Atlanta running backs Tevin Coleman and Devonte Freeman. Coleman had a career-high 132 yards receiving last week against the Broncos, while Freeman is averaging 5.3 yards per carry, seventh best in the NFL.Theyve got to be really fired up about those guys because they have a lot of stuff they can do with them and we cant zero in on it because of that. Theyre very fortunate, Carroll said.BEASTLY BEASLEY: The pass rush potential of Vic Beasley flashed last week against Denver.Beasley had 3 + sacks and two forced fumbles in the victory. Beasley has 4 + sacks in the first five weeks, after having just four sacks his entire rookie season.BACK TO HEALTH: The early bye week played into Seattles favor. Wilson got an extra week of treatment on his sprained knee and sprained ankle. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett is expected to be more involved after being limited the past two games with a sprain knee suffered in Week 2 against Los Angeles. Others such as Doug Baldwin, Germain Ifedi, Jarran Reed and Graham got a break after a bruising first four weeks when injuries quickly started adding up.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '