Sports

LuHi’s Facey picks UConn, his ‘dream’ school

Connecticut’s last national championship, the longshot it was at the time, is still paying off. It may have landed them Kentan Facey.

When the rapidly-improving 6-foot-9 Long Island Lutheran forward came to New York from Trelawny, Jamaica, in the spring of 2011, he couldn’t take his eyes off the Huskies as they went on an improbable run to the school’s third NCAA crown.

“That was the only school I knew anything about when I came to the states,” he recalled. “I was always a UConn fan, I always liked UConn.”

Soon, he will be a part of Jim Calhoun’s prestigious program. Hours after taking an unofficial visit with AAU coach Karriem Memminger to the Big East school, Facey verbally committed to UConn — as first reported by The Post — cutting short what figured to be a long recruiting journey.

“It just felt right at the moment,” Facey said after becomming UConn’s first Class of 2013 recruit. “Everything was just perfect — the situation, the campus is beautiful, the coaching staff is superb, all of that came together.”

Facey blew up in July, picking up a slew of high-major Division I scholarship offers from programs like USC, UCLA, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Memphis, St. John’s, Providence and Rutgers. He was scheduled to visit St. John’s on Friday and Rutgers on Tuesday. Instead, he’ll have a relaxing rest of the summer before his senior year at LuHi begins.

“Kentan is a kid who knows what he was looking for and I think he found that on his visit to UConn,” LuHi coach John Buck said.

During the visit, Facey met with school president, Susan Herbst, who eased his concerns about UConn’s ban from postseason play for poor classroom performance and the future of the 70-year-old Calhoun, who just underwent hip surgery and has two years left on his contract.

Herbst expects it to last just this coming season and she has brought in a new academic team to work with the players, a bonus for the academically-focused standout who plans to major in civil engineering.

“The president cleared up any doubt I had about the ban with the team,” he said.

His commitment ends one chapter in his life, one which began when he discovered by Stephen Johnston and his Jamaica Basketball Development organization in one of their camps and came to Long Island. He enjoyed a solid junior year for LuHi, serving as vital role as the Crusaders repeated as state Federation Class A champions.

His summer was even more impressive, Facey adding dimensions to his game that previously didn’t exist, from improving his motor to developing a medium-range jump shot. He shined at a series of showcases, such as the Nike-sponsored LeBron James Skills Academy and Amare’ Stoudemire Camp, against the nation’s top big men.

“Making the transition at first was pretty hard, getting used to style of play,” he said.”As soon as I got that down, everything started getting better. I’ve had a goal in mind and I’ve been working towards it.”

One Division I coach familiar with Facey thinks he can make an impact at UConn, initially as a rebounder and shot-blocker — his greatest strengths — and eventually on the offensive end. Right now, his best asset is his ability to run the floor.

“He has great athleticism and competes against bigger and stronger guys,” the coach said. “There aren’t many players who have taken as big of a jump in levels as Facey. He figured it out very quickly.”

Wednesday worked out as he had hoped when he first left Jamaica and began watching UConn on television, seeing Kemba Walker take the Huskies on that memorable run through the tournament.

“That was the dream,” he said. “I was working towards that.”

He’s there now.

zbraziller@nypost.com