Dream Come True For Adrien

Jeff Adrien was one of the top players in the month of July. He dominated the field every chance he got. As the 6-foot-6, 225-pound power forward from Brookline, Mass., racked up the individual victories, he also earned several scholarship offers. Late Wednesday night, he decided to put his recruitment to rest and pick one of his boyhood favorites.

“It’s UConn,” Adrien told Rivals.com shortly after committing to the National Champions.

Adrien, the No. 47 ranked player in the class of 2005, shined at the Nike All-American camp, Peach Jam and AAU Super Showcase. The entire Huskies staff sat courtside at each of his games.

“I tried to play hard every game to earn a scholarship,” he said. “I think I proved to the country that I am a guy that will earn everything.”

UConn saw that in him. Adrien visited the Storrs, Conn., campus over the weekend and returned home from Pitt on Wednesday. He weighed the pros and cons on his flight home and chose the school he grew up watching.

“I wrote down all the pros and cons on each school and in the end, UConn just had more positives for me,” he said. “Staying close to home is big for me. My friends and family don’t have to watch me on national television. They can just come to the game now. In person is better anyways. Plus, coach (Jim) Calhoun is a great coach. I can’t wait to play for them.”

Adrien said Calhoun plans on using him at the four spot from the start and could make a shift to the small forward position by the time he graduates.

“I’m going in with the attitude that I want to earn my minutes at the four,” he said. “As the years go by, the coaches said they see me like a Donyell Marshall and a Kevin Freeman kind of player.”

“It’s a dream come true,” Adrien said. “That should be the headline.”

Note taken.