The UConn Huskies deadline is January 1st. Head coach Geno Auriemma said he will learn the identity of the roster this season.
Auriemma has a list of items to work on in order of importance to ensure a successful 2022-23 season. Keeping the roster sane is at the top of that list, probably typed in bold, underlined and emphasized.
“I’m excited to see what it will look like once everyone is healthy and on the court at the same time,” the coach told CBS Sports.
Last season was an injury-plagued season, with a constantly changing line-up and nine players starting over 11 games. While some players are close, they haven’t recovered 100% from their surgeries, so the team isn’t technically clear yet.
Graduate student Dorka Juhász is still “speeding up” as she recovers from a broken wrist and long-term knee problems. Caroline Dusharmer has yet to fully recover after having hip surgery in April. It’s officially been cut short after having back surgery in January.
And of course, when Paige Bookers tore his ACL in the summer, the team was hit hard and the Huskies lost their most impactful player.
Bookers missed 19 games last season after undergoing surgery for an anterior tibia plateau fracture and a torn lateral meniscus in his left foot. Auriemma said the team was “chaotic” in the immediate aftermath of the incident, but Kristin Williams eventually emerged as the top scorer in her absence. Bueckers came back and gave her team an extra push to enter her NCAA tournament her championship her game. But now Buckers is out, Williams is gone, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Evina Westbrook are gone.
I’m not saying the well is dry. After all, this is he UConn. However, Auriemma says it’s hard to predict how the roster will perform without last year’s top contributors.
“I know what to expect from last year’s players, but when they’re on the floor and three of last year’s starters aren’t there, I don’t know what to expect from them,” he said. Said. “They look good now. Let’s see how they look with the rest of the team.”
Success requires the efforts of the whole team, but Aji Fad is the star.
Fudd missed playing time last season dealing with a leg injury, but overall she had a good freshman season and is on the 2022 Big East All-Freshman team. She was third on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game and had double figures in 15 games. Fudd was also her 3-point shooter, her best on the Huskies, with her 43% from across the arc.
Auriemma said Fudd was already poised to take on a bigger role starting last season and was looking forward to seeing her play alongside Buckers for a year. It has to be in the spotlight.
“My conversation with Azzie was that in every area of the game you have to be better than you were last year. What does it mean? It means everything. It means you’re not just good at it.
It’s a big job, but the coach said that from the first day of practice, Fudd was “by far” the best player on the floor every day.
The strength of the team is the offense. Fudd is the best shooter ever, but Caroline Ducharme and Lou Lopez-Senechal are also “very good shooters,” according to Auriema. He describes Lopez as a “natural scorer” who knows how to reach the basket and also has a good midrange game.
The coach is a big fan of Lopez, who played four seasons at Fairfield and led the Stags to the 2022 MAAC championship.
“She’s a veteran and solid. No need to worry about Lou,” Auriema said. “She shows up every day and it’s the same every day. I wish she had 12 Ruths.”
He further said that Aubrey Griffin has won a good number of baskets and Nika Mule has improved significantly, especially with a 3-point percentage.
“Overall, I think we have the potential to be a really great shooting team. It’s just a matter of how hard you have to work to make those shots without Paige,” said Auriemma. rice field. Defense is not very good so far.
“No one can stop the scoring, so we’ll probably have to take all the shots.”
Auriema said her basketball IQ definitely helps a lot on defense, so Buckers’ absence will hit them hard in this area. The team is also struggling with rebounding.
Mühl is Big East Defensive Player of the Year, but she needs help. Depending on how quickly she adapts to college basketball, freshman Ayanna Patterson could be part of the solution to this problem.
“Ayanna is probably our best athlete,” said Auriemma. “She’s going to be one of our great defenders and one of our great rebounders. Her offense will show up as the season progresses.”
Patterson was ESPN’s #4 player. Class of 2022, and just one place below her is Isuneh “Ice” Brady.Auriemma said Brady has a very mature game for a freshman. She plays at a good pace and doesn’t rush. She can also make shots of her open, but the main problem Auriemma has is how quickly she can condition herself to college level, even though she’s already made “tremendous” progress. Is it possible to raise the level of
A third freshman, Ines Bettencourt, also has a unique learning curve to tackle. Some days she fits perfectly into her D-1 college level, other days she struggles. According to Auriemma, it’s perfectly normal for young players.
This roster has a lot of potential, but the potential is always questionable.
“I don’t know what our young players will do. How will they play and react to the Texas game? At the North Carolina game? At the Maryland game, Notre Dame?” In a game in? In all these games… What we’re trying to do is it’s all before Christmas,” said Auriema. “It’s going to be a big challenge for them, but January 1st will tell them, ‘This is who we are and this is what we have to deal with.'”
Auriemma believes honesty is the best policy and is open about where the team is at the moment so fans can see for themselves when the UConn season officially kicks off on November 10. I said that you can also
He said he had a year of confidence in his team and would publicly predict that the Huskies would win the national championship. Not one of the seasons.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t win if you’re lucky, but if you ask me, is it good enough to win? No,” said the coach. “If Paige was playing you would say we would win, but without her we wouldn’t win. But if we got lucky and somebody screwed up, you never know. .”
That’s a big statement, but Auriemma said November should be taken with a grain of salt.
“It’s a long season,” he added. “No matter what anyone predicts today, it will be irrelevant in March.”
