NEW YORK — Jeremy Lamb sat in his chair during Big East media day, flanked by teammates Shabazz Napier on his right and Alex Oriakhi on the left. Mobbed by reporters, Lamb politely answered each and every question, occasionally glancing down at his phone and then looking back up to finish his answer.

To those who don’t know Lamb, that scene personifies the public’s perception of the Connecticut sophomore forward — quiet, laid-back, soft-spoken. But the assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth.

‘Once you get him behind closed doors, he’s loud, he’s boisterous, he’s gregarious, he’s funny,’ said Jesse McMillan, Lamb’s high school coach at Norcross (Ga.) High School.

‘When he’s around friends and people he feels comfortable with, he’s almost a clown. So we always laugh at the fact that he seems to have people snowed. And they think that he’s a quiet guy, and that’s not the case at all.’

Lamb’s true personality shined on the court last season for the defending national champion Huskies as they made their run through the Big East tournament and NCAA Tournament. He played second fiddle to Walker’s heroics, but without his consistent ability to be the No. 2 scorer, UConn never would have won the title.

Now, Lamb may very well hold the key if No. 4 Connecticut looks to win it all again. Lamb’s ability to be the next Husky superstar is one of many questions facing a UConn squad that surprised many on its way to 11 straight wins and a national title last season.

With Walker gone to the NBA, Napier, also a sophomore, must step in and run the point. Andre Drummond, UConn’s highly touted 6-foot-10, 270-pound freshman, is just another player that has this Huskies team buzzing.

‘Last year was a totally different team,’ Lamb said. ‘This is a new team. This is our time to build our new team.’

Walker’s departure was offset, in theory, by the addition of three impressive freshmen. That, coupled with the experience gained last year by UConn’s young roster, is the cause of increased expectations in 2011. Last season, Connecticut was picked 10th in the league’s preseason poll. This season, the team was picked in a tie for first with Syracuse in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

‘Last year, we weren’t expected to do anything,’ Oriakhi said. ‘So the key for us was all we had to do was play basketball, so that was easy. But this year, it’s definitely a different story.’

The rankings don’t deter UConn head coach Jim Calhoun, who enters his 26th season at the helm of Connecticut. He’s just fine with the expectations heaped upon his squad.

‘The favorite part doesn’t bother me,’ Calhoun said. ‘But being picked 8th-9th, 1-2, I like 1-2 because people think you’re good. We’re trying to be 1-2 anyways every year, and we have a good record of doing that, so it’s not really an issue for us being where we’re picked.’

Lamb’s phenomenal end to the season last year is one reason why people are thinking he’s going to be special in 2011-12. He was named to the AP Preseason All-America Team and will take over as one of the team’s leaders and the go-to scorer.

He’s gained 18 pounds since last year and spent this past summer honing his skills in Latvia on the United States U-19 team. His defensive ability and ball handling have improved, said McMillan, his high school coach.

Still, the expectations don’t bother the sophomore.

‘I don’t feel pressure,’ Lamb said. ‘I was talking to one of my coaches, and they just said, ‘You going to the gym at night, stuff like that, hard work pays off.’ I just have to stay in the gym and do what I know to do.’

Calhoun enjoys telling the story of how far Lamb will go in search of a gym. Every night, Lamb shoots 200 to 300 jumpers, but one night he called Calhoun from Europe and said he couldn’t find a gym in Latvia. He was disappointed, saddened. That’s how important the shots were to him.

It left an impression on Calhoun. The coach rattles off past superstars he’s coached: Walker, Ray Allen and Caron Butler, all players he said relished the burden of responsibility and grew in it. He feels the same way about Lamb.

McMillan was there for Lamb’s high school days and can back up that statement. His junior year at Norcross, Lamb came off the bench and backed up his older brother. He wasn’t one of the team’s top players. But entering his senior year, he completely changed.

‘He had such a jump in his level of play and his confidence,’ McMillan said. ‘Going into his senior year, we kind of saw flashes of where he is now, that potential.’

But unlike last year, when Walker was the undisputed star of the Huskies, Lamb has substantial support that has many, including UConn players and opponents, calling this year’s team better than the national championship squad.

Calhoun and Oriakhi rave about Drummond’s natural physical gifts and his ability to listen. Having another big man down low will also benefit Oriakhi and help him avoid double teams. And Napier, the new starting point guard, had a year to learn from Walker.

‘A lot of things (Walker) did last year, it was amazing,’ Napier said, ‘but when you look back at film, it was just simple. He didn’t make anything harder than what it was. All the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ he did were just because he was so fundamentally sound. And that’s what I’m trying to work on.’

Last season, Napier showed he has the ability to run the point — he was second on the team in assists behind Walker. But replacing Walker amounts to more than just filling the stat sheet.

After wins in the Maui Invitational and Big East tournament last year, Walker brought the trophy with him for the bus ride. Each time, his teammates gave him a standing ovation. The team, Calhoun said, relished Walker’s greatness. And as talented as this year’s team might be, the head coach acknowledges that no one can fill Walker’s shoes that easily.

‘We have more good players than we did last year,’ Calhoun said. ‘The only thing we don’t have, we don’t have anybody as magical right now. As talented as some of these young kids may be, they aren’t magical.’

But even if UConn has more talent this year, getting the pieces to fit together is a task in and of itself. Right now, the Huskies are 0-0, Calhoun tells his players. Last year’s title means nothing.

The season following UConn’s 2009 Final Four run was a regression. The Huskies lost in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. The result shocked Calhoun.

This time around, his thoughts echo those of his players — new year, new team, time to get back to work.

And UConn will look to Lamb to lead that new pursuit. No, he’s not magical like Walker. But he’s the new UConn superstar Calhoun and the eager Huskies will depend on in their quest for a second-straight title.

‘We’re not the defending national champs,’ Calhoun said. ‘We’re one of the teams that are eligible to win the national championship. So we aren’t defending anything. We got that. What we are is starting on a new pursuit, with a different team.

‘ … I don’t love this team like last year — yet. But they’re pretty likeable.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on November 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu