STORRS, Conn. — The UConn men’s basketball program opened the doors of its practice facility on Friday, refreshed as it took part in a short open practice before local media and a small number of donors.

Nothing was kicked or thrown in frustration by coach Dan Hurley, who spent most of the five-on-five scrimmage portion watching off to the side with his son, Andrew, as assistants Luke Murray and Kimani Young directed the squads divided into gray and blue practice attire.

Following last season, the first in three years that didn’t end in a national championship, potential pulsated from the deep mix of experienced returnees and quality newcomers — a roster that, on paper, should be back in national contention.

“To get back on a relentless pursuit is refreshing,” Hurley said. “To be chasing, to be hunting again, to be relentlessly pursuing again …”

Hurley goes back and watches the previous season’s games every July. He then imagines his new players on the court in place of the old to see what might work with the personnel and what might have to change. He got caught up on last year’s “dreadful” transition defense and its struggles guarding the ball, everything that caused him and his staff to attack this offseason the way they have.

Getting physically stronger was a major emphasis: “We felt like at times last year we got bullied in league play, we felt like the older teams in particular really physically handled us,” Hurley said. On Friday it was impossible to ignore the physical development of players like Alex Karaban, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

Karaban and junior sharpshooter Solo Ball each looked to be in all-league form, knocking down shots and using their improved strength on the defensive end.

“I think Alex, having gone through a year like (last year), what you learn from that,” Hurley said. “I think you saw how sharp his game looked today, making hard shots, making contested threes. Going through a hard year in your life and your career, it makes you a lot stronger. I think he’s really strong going into this year and confident.”

This team’s depth, even with Dayton transfer Malachi Smith and freshman center Eric Reibe sitting out of live drills, was impressive.

“To be in the rotation and to get minutes you’re gonna have to bring real value to the team. You’re gonna have to play well and help the team play well to get minutes on this team,” Hurley said. “I think we’re gonna be a lot better defensively than last year, which was kind of an off season for us. I’m excited about the point guard play, I think there’s some great potential there with Silas (Demary Jr.’s) size and Malachi as a proven player, and Alec (Millender) as a veteran, too.”

Demary, in all likelihood the Huskies’ new starting point guard, didn’t look to score often but was effective when he did during Friday’s scrimmage. His progression, Hurley expects, will be similar to that of Tristen Newton, who turned into an All-American by the time he left Storrs.

“There’s a learning curve that’s gonna go on throughout the year. By the time we got to March of Tristen’s first year, he was an awesome player for us come tournament time. … I see a guy that’s gonna be a lot like Tristen, I see with Mali (Smith) a guy that’s gonna be a lot like Hassan (Diarra). Malachi’s a really good player,” Hurley said. “We’ve got a lot of answers (at point guard).”

Braylon Mullins, playing in front of fans for the first time with a UConn logo on his chest, stood out as he showed off the shotmaking and offensive IQ that helped make him a McDonald’s All-American and Hurley’s third five-star recruit in as many years. Hurley packaged the freshman with Ball and Karaban as players who will be “among some of the best shooters in college this year,” and said he has the toughness and seriousness to hold his own defensively.

At center, Tarris Reed Jr. flipped a switch a few minutes into the scrimmage and dominated down low, using his simplified post presence to get to the basket and repeatedly finish through contact inside. He even picked up a loose ball and heaved a 3-pointer that banked in at the end of the shot clock. The Huskies will count on him to fill a role as an anchor similar to that of Adama Sanogo during the 2022-23 national championship season.

“You need certain things to happen for it to all come together,” Hurley said. “On paper it looks great, it makes sense. But there’s no magic dust at UConn that when they get on campus we sprinkle it over their head and they become a champion. These players are the magic dust. Obviously we’ve got a way of putting these guys in position on a daily basis to improve every day and to work with urgency and to be about winning and improvement. But a lot of it comes down to, do we have the right group of people together?”

Health update

Smith, who had a minor knee surgery in late June, warmed up without a brace but didn’t participate in live action on Friday. Hurley said, “He’s coming up on a point where he’d probably be healthy enough, but he’s a guy that we’ve got to make sure we have this winter so he’s unlikely to do anything live with the team until we get back end of August and get him ready for the year.”

Reibe came out of the FIBA U19 World Cup with a “little bit of a foot (injury),” Hurley said. “We were just very cautious and shut him down immediately and are just giving him kind of two weeks to let that foot settle down and then hopefully he’s able to go.”

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