More than six months have passed since the UConn men’s disappointing loss to San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

In 2006-07, UConn was inexperienced and flat. In 2007-08, the Huskies were better on all fronts. In 2008-09, they are deep and balanced.

While the roster has a slightly different look, the Huskies return an experienced core that appears capable of pushing the team toward the top of the Big East and, perhaps, the national picture.

The work begins this week. First Night festivities are tonight. Practice begins Saturday, when freshmen will be introduced to a new side of coach Jim Calhoun‘s personality.

The man in the middle: For the second year in a row, UConn’s most important recruiting victory was Hasheem Thabeet’s decision to return. Thabeet was the national defensive player of the year last season as a sophomore.

“Hasheem has improved more in three years than any player I’ve ever coached in 36 years, ” Calhoun said. “I really want to see if Hasheem can be one of the best players [in the nation]. Can he be the No.1 player taken in the draft? I think he can. ”

A.J. OK? Point guard A.J. Price expects not only to be fully recovered from ACL surgery — he was cleared for full workouts last month — but also to be stronger and quicker. Price, a first-team All Big East selection last season while averaging 14.5 points and 5.8 assists, says his whole body has benefited from a rigorous rehabilitation process. It will be interesting to see how long it takes him to recover from an offseason without basketball, however. Expect him to peak just before Big East play.

Steady inside, steady outside: Seniors Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie, the only players entering their fourth season, have been versatile and reliable. Adrien, first-team All Big East last season, is a strong rebounder and scorer and the perfect fit for a front court anchored by Thabeet’s shot-blocking. Austrie has done whatever’s asked of him during his first three years. He is in tremendous shape after working with a personal trainer over the summer and figures to log plenty of minutes in a three-guard lineup.

Support: At one point, it looked like the Huskies would have five new players in uniform this week, but they will only have three. Freshman Nate Miles was expelled. While he is appealing, a decision isn’t expected for quite some time and the odds of him rejoining the team this season, if ever, are slim. Also, 6-foot-10 forward Ater Majok remains in Australia and will not join the team until after Christmas break as his grades and transcript could not be approved in time. Still, in Kemba Walker (point guard), Scottie Haralson (guard/forward) and Charles Okwandu (center), UConn has addressed needs in play-making, shooting and size.

Eight games without Sticks: Stanley Robinson (10 ppg, 6.4 rpg last season) will remain away from the team for the first semester (the first eight games) as he sorts out personal issues. He is expected to rejoin the Huskies (through student loans, not a scholarship) Dec. 15.

“He’s not NCAA ineligible, ” Calhoun said. “If we wanted to use him, we could. But a decision was made that we weren’t going to use him because he had some things he needed to square away with himself. Nothing to do with drugs or anything of that nature, he just needed to get his life squared away. We took a chance by doing that and Stanley took a chance. But … we are so encouraged by what has happened with him. ”

Jerome Dyson: He missed nine games while suspended last season, and UConn played its best basketball during his time away. Dyson remains one of the team’s most talented players, but he must play smarter and function better as part of the lineup. “I think Jerome is on a mission to prove he can be the type of player and person we all know he can be, ” Calhoun said.