UConn to redshirt freshman forward Richie Springs

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — UConn freshman forward Richie Springs will sit out this season as an academic redshirt.

Springs is a 6-foot-9 power forward from Brooklyn. He graduated this spring from the MacDuffie School in Granby, Massachusetts.

The 18-year-old made the decision in August to forgo his planned postgraduate year and enroll at UConn this fall.

He joined a class that included guard James Bouknight, who played with Springs at MacDuffie. Bouknight’s status with the team is in question following his arrest earlier this month after fleeing from police at the scene of a one-car crash near campus.

Other freshmen include guard Jalen Gaffney and forward Akok Akok, who enrolled in January, but did not play last season.

The announcement was made prior to the team’s exhibition game Wednesday against Division II St. Michael’s of Vermont. The Huskies open the regular season on Nov. 8 against in-state rival Sacred Heart.

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