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Despite limited playing time, Amari Debery prepares for opportunities
UConn’s frontcourt has been thinned by Ice Brady’s season-ending knee injury and Dorka Juhas’ broken thumb, while sophomore Big Amari Debery has struggled to break into the lineup. Her game time averaged just 6.2 minutes, all after the match was decided.
However, DeBerry showed potential in her limited actions. At Notre Dame on Sunday, she hit her 3-pointer on her first touch and finished with her 5s, her fourth-highest on the team. In her sophomore year, she also scored six points against both Northeastern and Providence games, and only twice did she play more than five minutes. She had seven rebounds against the Flyers.
No matter how you look at it, DeBerry has come a long way since freshman year.
“I can’t even measure [her growth from last year to this year] Because last year she had a hard time finishing practices,” said associate head coach Chris Daley. “This year she’s been able to and understands (much). She’s an accomplished post player and we have to develop that further.”
So why run out of playing time?
First, DeBerry needs improvement in two key areas: physicality and pace of play. Geno Auriemma describes her as one of the most accomplished post-her players in the program, but that’s not enough to keep her on the court.
“She has to be more physical. The game isn’t a finesse game. It’s a physical[game],” says Dailey. “If you look at Notre Dame for example, or you look at the Texas post player, or you look at the national post player, it’s physical. must be accepted.”
Sophomores took a step forward in that direction. She spent the entire summer on campus focusing on strength training.
“I worked with (Andrea) Hudy almost every day during the summer. [doing] Heavy lifting,” DeBerry said Thursday. “Definitely just to build my power. I will make a second effort not to give up when it comes to fighting stronger people.”
She also needs to get better at playing at a faster, college-style pace, but Daley believes DeBerry has made progress in that regard, too.
“The pace at this level and the pace we want to play is different,” Daly said. “It’s really hard. It’s hard for high school kids to go to college and do that, but I think that’s Amari’s biggest growth. She’s starting to understand the pace.”
For DeBerry, these are both important areas of improvement that she should focus on so she can get more playing time.
“Honestly, sometimes you don’t have a lot of chances, not just because of what you do, but because the people in front of you are playing really good,” Daly said.
To DeBerry’s credit, she hasn’t let herself down. continued.
“There’s a reason my coach (Auriemma) brought me here, and that’s because he’ll do whatever it takes for me,” DeBery said. “Now I need another body. Step up. Ready to help with anything.”
best of social media
There was a small reunion of the Mule family in South Bend.
Nika Mule’s sister, Hana, visited her in Notre Dame today. She is a freshman at Ball State University, two and a half hours from South Bend. pic.twitter.com/M75tUkklWN
— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) December 5, 2022
Nika Mule remains the best:
Highlights of UConn’s two commits of 2023:
