The UConn Huskies men's and women's basketball programs won't be playing their first regular season games at Gampel Pavilion for another week and change, but the programs were back at Gampel on Thursday to get a look at their new locker rooms.

Both locker rooms look the same and are certainly befitting of the "Basketball Capital of the World."

Look, winning sells itself. On that note, UConn will always be a top destination for recruits, but let's also be real: 16-18 year old high school players are also wowed by NIL dollars and amenities, and this locker room is just about at the top of the amenity list.

You can see how impressed the current UConn players, including KK Arnold and Sarah Strong. Apparently, there's even video games in the locker room.

It's the same story here. The men's program has been to three national title games in the last four years, so that will always sell itself. Continuously putting players into the NBA helps too.

But this locker room will also go a long way toward landing recruits who are impressed by the lengths the university is willing to go to cultivate a winner. Look at the reactions from Silas Demary and Na'jai Hines, who are at the front of the line in this video.

After the tour of the locker room was complete, Demary stood up and spoke, presumably to the athletic department who greenlit the project, and thanked everyone for giving the program all the resources it needs to be successful. It was a nice admission and understanding of the commitment it takes to build a winning program. It's about more than just the players or the coaching staff.

1) The UConn women are currently 2-0 in the exhibition season and they'll finish up their preseason slate on Sunday afternoon at Gampel against Army. After that, the Huskies will open the regular season on Nov. 2 against Cornell at Gampel.

2) The UConn men are also 2-0 after beating the Syracuse Orange and Michigan State Spartans. They'll finish up their exhibition slate on Tuesday at PeoplesBank Arena against Purdue.

They'll open the regular season on Nov. 2 as well, also at Gampel. They'll play against Gardner-Webb before embarking on one of the most difficult non-conference schedules we've ever seen. 

The women's team also faces one of the most difficult non-conferences schedules we've ever seen and it should be quite the winter in Storrs.