The NBA season is underway, and that means it is time for the Husky Dream team.  Thirteen former Husky heroes still call the NBA home, as only one UConn alumni has hung up his sneakers since last season.  Jake ‘The Snake’ Voskuhl is unofficially retired. 

Some other veteran Husky hoop stars are still hanging around but have changed teams since last we saw them.  Donyell Marshall left Seattle before the Sonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. Kevin Ollie was a Sixer, but didn’t stick around to play with his former teammate; he is now in Minnesota, getting more minutes for the Timberwolves.

A young supposed up-and-comer also made a move.  Marcus Williams was shipped out of New Jersey and sent to the Golden State Warriors.  On paper, this seemed to be a good fit, but Williams came into camp out of shape and has yet to break into the rotation for Don Nelson’s up-tempo team.  Williams left Josh Boone behind, who remains a Net and tries to build on his successful second half surge of last year.

Of course, Ray ‘He Got Game’ Allen remains in Boston, defending the NBA title with his Celtic teammates.  His top rival in the league, Richard ‘Rip’ Hamilton, is still in Detroit, but he has a new running mate as the Pistons pulled the trigger on a mega deal trading Chauncey ‘Big Shot’ Billups for Allen ‘The Answer’ Iverson.

The other NBA All-Star Caron Butler is continuing to put up solid all-around numbers in Washington, but the Wizards have turned back into ‘Le Wiz’, going 1-10 to start.

Rudy ‘It’s Good to Be Gay’ and Ben ‘Baby Bull’ Gordon are off to potential All-Star starts.  Gordon, coming off a bad year in Chicago has returned to his big game form, averaging over twenty points a game.  Gay, playing on a bad Memphis Grizzlies team, is also averaging over twenty a game.

Emeka Okafor and Charlie Villanueva continue to be inconsistent. Okafor is underachieving again in Charlotte, while Villanueva shows signs of being an elite player but continues to miss games due to nagging injuries.

Hilton ‘Towers’ Armstrong has developed into a nice role player, getting solid minutes for the potential top team in the Western Conference, the New Orleans Hornets.

All this has added up to the worst start in the three-year fantasy hoops Husky Dream team history.  The team is a dead last, and miles away from being competitive.  I’d still take them in a regular game, but not one that is controlled by stats.