WEST HARTFORD: One year ago at this time, the UConn women’s basketball team had just completed its on-campus summer session, and its roster of 14 players was ready to play for the program’s record 12th national championship.
Despite having eight players injured at the end of the season, the Huskies managed to advance to the NCAA Final Four in Cleveland. The final four NCAA Tournament games, including the two-point semifinal loss to Iowa, saw six players play all but 14 minutes.
Three more months have passed, and the Huskies are back in the summertime grind with a new 14-man roster. Four players joined; three were freshmen and one was a transfer. Two players left; two went to the WNBA.
How does it appear at the end? Nobody can be certain.
During his “Geno for the Kids” charity tournament at Hartford Golf Club on Tuesday, UConn coach Geno Auriemma stated, “I do like having more than six players on my team, contrary to popular opinion.” “Having 15 players on my team isn’t something I particularly enjoy. However, they are not forced to stand there and say, “Those are my starting five.” And five more guys are staring at me, asking, “When is my turn?” And like, “Really?” said five other guys.
You are not capable of doing things in an efficient or easy manner. Does any coach enjoy using eight, nine, or ten players when they can? 100% of the time. Does every coach enjoy playing ten players when it’s time for the NCAA Tournament? No way, no way. But yes, throughout the season. If you can find ten guys who are truly capable of playing and the difference between three and ten is not that great, then 100% A team like that, I would take any day of the week.”
Five players averaged more than 30.0 minutes per game for the second consecutive season despite a dearth of injuries: Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards, Nika Mühl, KK Arnold, and Ashlynn Shade. They made up 768.8% of the total playing time. Just seven Auriemma era freshmen (Kris Lamb, Pam Webber, Jennifer Rizzotti, Ann Strother, Bria Hartley, Christyn Williams, and Bueckers) averaged 30.0 minutes per game prior to the previous season. Arnold and Shade were the first teammates to do this.
A few minutes are freed up by Edwards and Mühl leaving. However, in addition to three 2024 McDonald’s high school All-Americans, two more players who came off the bench, five players back from injuries that ended the season, and the current three-time Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player, there are still players who want to play and get more minutes.
“We work really hard to bring in kids that fit in easily,” Auriemma stated. It’s a pain in the butt when you have to work extremely hard to plug someone in, not as a gamer, but as a person. If you’re always thinking, “This kid is a downer,” or “This kid is hard to fit in,” it gets to you. Therefore, we don’t usually have that. It’s better some years than not. It might be one of those years this year.
“When there is rivalry for playing time, that is something else you hope is helpful and that needs to be managed. That’s when your true chemistry is put to the test. Everyone recognizes and accepts that the person who succeeds will receive more minutes than the person who fails, provided that everyone is given equal opportunities and a fair shake.”
With Bueckers having an All-American season as a power forward and Jana El Alfy (Achilles), Ayanna Patterson (knee), Caroline Ducharme (head/neck), Azzi Fudd (knee), and Aubrey Griffin (knee) all out, Auriemma was forced to use a four-guard lineup.
Bueckers shouldn’t have to endure that again and shouldn’t have to take the physical beating that she endured for a large portion of the season thanks to the return of El Alfy and Patterson as well as the acquisition of freshman forward Sarah Strong, the top recruit in the country. However, there are plenty of guards to go around thanks to the acquisition of Princeton graduate student Kaitlyn Chen and freshmen guards Morgan Cheli and Allie Ziebell.
“You never know what’s in store for you,” Auriemma remarked. “Putting your best five players on the floor as much as possible should always be the aim, in my opinion. It’s not important to care about the position they play. Simply aim to keep your top five players on the court for as long as you can. We’ll ascertain who exactly that is.
“KK and Ash didn’t come here with the intention of transferring if they didn’t play for thirty minutes. Every night for three minutes, they were content to play specific games in specific scenarios. It is much more difficult to get freshmen to come in and declare, “I just want to win,” in today’s society. There wouldn’t be 1,200 children using the transfer portal annually if that was the only consideration.”
Shade made the most of her chance to compete and won the Big East Freshman of the Year award. Arnold was selected for the all-freshman team in the conference.
Can they still produce at the same level even if their minutes decrease?
Auriemma stated, “Ash’s role is going to be different.” Someone exclaimed, ‘Whoa, why?'” “Perhaps it won’t be different,” I responded. Perhaps Azzi will decide that she would like to play just five minutes and come off the bench. People tend to forget that roles shift when you add additional individuals. However, this does not necessitate a change in the production. KK is the same. There will be a shift in her job. Did Nika shoot four or five times per game? We’re going to play differently this year, so there will likely be a lot more shots available.”
Chen is expected to be involved.
Playing under former UConn standout Carla Berube, she scored over 1,200 points and ranked third on the Tigers’ all-time assist list while leading Princeton to a 74-16 record, three Ivy League regular-season and tournament titles, and three NCAA Tournament invitations in her three seasons as a player. Dec. 8, 2022, saw Princeton lose to UConn at Gampel Pavilion, and she finished with 18 points and seven assists.
Auriemma remarked, “She’s a really tough kid and she plays really hard.” “She practices in the same manner that she did in the game when she played us. She’s quite skilled with the basket. She is quite violent. She’s eager and incredibly athletic.
“They played a lot of pretty excellent teams at Princeton, for sure, but not every day like she will be playing here. Practice at Princeton was undoubtedly excellent, but things are a little different here. She’s accepting it. She uses the gym even though she shouldn’t be there. She can’t wait to depart. We made a really wise choice there.”
The Huskies’ summer is going nicely, then. The athletes will spend a few weeks at home following the conclusion of the summer session before returning to campus to begin the fall semester.
High hopes are held, but June is still young, as Auriemma pointed out.
June 21, 2024
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