by David Borges, New Haven Register, Conn. , New Haven Register

After Adrien notched his 38th career double-double -- tops among active Big East players -- with a workmanlike 13-point, 12-rebound effort Saturday against Cincinnati, the senior forward drew praise from the people that mean the most: his teammates and coach.

"Jeff is the one steady guy that we really have," Price said. "We wouldn't be where we were if it weren't for him. He just continues to work, continues to battle. A lot of people say he's undersized, but he works so hard and plays like a warrior in the middle. He's consistent."

Same stuff, different day, according to Adrien.

"I've been doing that the last four years, even back to high school I've been doing that," Adrien said of his consistent play. "You can count me in. Even if I have a terrible game shooting, I'm going to do something else to help the team. Today, I didn't score as many points as last game, but I got more rebounds than last time."

Adrien's effort was all the more important as center Hasheem Thabeet got into some first-half foul trouble and finished with just eight points and three rebounds. Still, it's Thabeet who'll be a first-round NBA draft pick in June, it's Price who'll garner the headlines from Saturday's game ... and it's Adrien who will continue to be overshadowed.

"It doesn't matter, as long as my team's winning," Adrien said. "At the end of the day, everybody knows it's my team, I've been here the longest. I'm a leader, the guys look up to me. Like A.J. was saying, if we need a bucket or something, you can count on Jeff for whatever it is. So getting overshadowed or anything like that is really nothing to me."

IN THE ZONE

Jim Calhoun doesn't detest playing zone as much as, say, Bob Knight used to, but it's certainly not a preference. But with Thabeet saddled with a pair of fouls and fellow 7-footer Charles Okwandu back in Storrs due to a makeup class, Calhoun went with a 2-3 zone for the final 7 1/2 minutes of the first half Saturday -- to positive results.

With little-used Jonathan Mandeldove --yet another 7-footer -- manning the middle, the Huskies held over that span and maintained a four-point lead (38-34) into halftime.

"It saved us, really," Adrien said. "We didn't play unbelievably, but we got some stops, and we got some buckets out of it. That's why we practice it every day. You never know when you're going to need it."

NO REDSHIRT FOR 'DOVE?

It appears that by playing for five minutes, Mandeldove may have lost his chance at a medical redshirt this season.

According to NCAA Bylaw 14.2.4, a player can only receive a medical redshirt if an injury occurs prior to completion of the first half of the season, or when the player has not participated in 30 percent of the school's scheduled contests.

Saturday was the exact midpoint of UConn's 30-game schedule, though Mandeldove has played in just four (27 percent) of those contests. Mandeldove, who last played on Dec. 20 against Gonzaga, has been battling a bad back for much of the season.

When asked if this eliminates the possibility of a medical redshirt for Mandeldove, UConn associate head coach George Blaney said he wasn't sure.

VISITATION RIGHTS

When the Huskies play host to Seton Hall on Jan. 18, they'll have at least three high school teams in attendance. South Atlanta High, featuring class of 2009 top-rated center Derrick Favors, American Heritage High out of Plantation, Fla., and Mater Dei High from Santa Ana, Calif., are all expected to attend. All three will be among the schools playing in the Hoophall Classic at Springfield (Mass.) College Jan. 18-21.

Favors, a 6-9, 220-pounder who is scout. com's top-rated big man for his class, is still unsigned. Mater Dei is the school from which UConn commit Jamaal Trice graduated (he's currently at Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C.).

Speaking of Trice, UConn assistant Patrick Sellers went to watch him play last week and he scored 28 points.

David Borges can be reached

at dborges@nhregister.com

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