NFL
By: Ty Reeves
After a disappointing loss to Arizona in the final four, the UConn Women’s Basketball team is back with a loaded team and will look to rise to their former glory as the best women’s basketball program in the country. The Huskies will welcome back every member of their starting lineup while bringing in the number two ranked recruiting class. Let’s not forget that they still have the AP Player of the Year in Paige Bueckers. Now they get to pair her with the number one recruit Azzi Fudd as the two look to get UConn back atop the mountain.
Depth in the frontcourt
Over the course of her career, Olivia Nelson-Ododa has been the focal point of the UConn frontcourt. Last season as a junior she averaged 12 ppg and 7.8 rpg and was the Huskies’ main defensive presence in the lane. Something that the Huskies have struggled with over the past three seasons is what happens when she gets into foul trouble. You lose that much-needed size on both ends of the floor for a majority of the game. This season the Huskies won’t have to play with that fear. With the emergence of Sophomore Aaliyah Edwards as a powerful figure in the paint and the addition of Freshman Amari DeBerry and Graduate student Dorka Juhasz, the Huskies finally have the depth behind Nelson-Odada.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa was named to the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List!https://t.co/JQXCRlkBlh pic.twitter.com/9HWeFCKiyO
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) October 29, 2021
Edwards is a talent that will only get better as time goes on at UConn. She competed for Canada in the Olympic games this summer, gaining experience at one of the highest levels. She was named the Sixth Man of the Year after she averaged 10.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg off the bench. She was recently selected to the preseason All-Big East team along with Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams. To go with that, she and Juhasz were both named to the 2022 Katrina McClain Award watch list.
UConn also snatched up Dorka Juhasz from the transfer portal. The 6-foot-4 Ohio State graduate was a two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection and averaged a double-double her junior year. Juhasz will add more experience to an already experienced UConn team. She will bring something different to the UConn offense. She will be able to space the floor for the Huskies as she shot over 40% from three her sophomore year at Ohio State.
Aaliyah Edwards and Dorka Juhász were named to the 2022 Katrina McClain Award Watch List!https://t.co/PL3HaheyKn pic.twitter.com/Es4rjIjj76
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) October 28, 2021
The frontcourt will be rounded out by Junior Aubrey Griffin and Sophomores Mir McLean and Piath Gabriel. Griffin is a jack of all trades for the Huskies. Her athletic ability always stands out on the court. She will stuff the stat sheet while providing a defensive pressure that not a lot of teams have. The same goes for McLean, she’s undersized for her position, only standing at 5-foot-11, but she makes up for that with strength and her natural athleticism.
Piath Gabriel is an interesting piece for the Huskies. She’s currently recovering from a non-basketball injury that required surgery. The 6-foot-5 Sophomore did not see any meaningful minutes throughout the season last year. She came into UConn an unranked recruit with no one really knowing of her. One thing that is certain is that she has raw talent. It may take some time to work out the kinks but she will look to help the Huskies in any way she can.
The Freshies
In addition to Fudd, the team will welcome newcomers Caroline Ducharme and Amari DeBerry. Guard Saylor Poffenbarger, who joined the team early last winter, will also still be labeled as a Freshman. Ducharme, who hails from Milton, Massachusetts, is a slashing 6-foot-1 guard who was the number five overall recruit in the 2021 class. She won the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year award in 2020. She will add more depth to a guard-heavy UConn team but don’t read too much into it, she’s going to be a huge asset to the Huskies.
DeBerry is a 6-foot-5 forward who was the number 15 overall recruit in her class. The Williamsville New York native will offer much-needed depth in the UConn frontcourt. DeBerry will also have the perfect opportunity to learn this year sitting behind Nelson-Ododa and Juhasz, two very experienced bigs. Just because she is a Freshman doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any experience herself. She and Fudd were both a part of the U.S team that took home gold winning the FIBA U19 World Cup.
Azzi Fudd, the number one ranked recruit out of Arlington, Virginia is the player everyone is talking about. She has been talked about as a generational prospect, one of the best players to ever come out of high school. Her accolades tell a story of their own. She was a 2021 McDonald’s All-American, the 2021 Morgan Wooten HS Basketball Player of the Year, and a Three-time Gatorade Washington, D.C Player of the Year. And that’s not even scratching the surface. She has been labeled by Steph Curry as one of the best shooters in the game, even saying, “if you learn how to shoot, watch Azzi Fudd.” Not everyone gets a compliment for arguably the best shooter the NBA has ever seen.
Regardless of the accolades, Fudd is joining a team that needs to improve shooting-wise. Last season the team shot just about 36% from three. Respectable nonetheless, but with the addition of Fudd, the team will look to grow upon that number when it’s all said and done. UConn has now secured the Bueckers and Fudd package. Two years of back-to-back number one recruits. The fans from Storrs will be waiting anxiously to see what these two can do on the court together.
The Veterans
To go along with Nelson-Ododa, Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook are the team’s Seniors and their front line. After getting so close last season, the trio will be on a mission to bring a national championship back to Storrs, the basketball capital of the world.
Not ready to talk about them being seniors yet
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) October 18, 2021
Williams averaged 16.3 ppg for the Huskies throughout the 2020-2021 season. Her highest scoring average since joining the program in 2018. For Williams, scoring the basketball has never been an issue. She needs to find ways to be productive in other ways. Rebounding the basketball, getting her teammates involved. These are all things Head Coach Geno Auriemma has said Williams needs to do in order to contribute even more. Regardless, she has been a force during her time in Storrs. She was an All-Big East team member last season and has already been named to this year’s pre-season team. She’s been named to the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list along with her teammate Azzi Fudd.
Redshirt Senior Evina Westbrook decided to return to the Huskies for a fifth year instead of testing the WNBA draft waters. This will be Westbrook’s first normal season in a UConn uniform after sitting out her junior year due to the NCAA transfer rules and last season playing through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Westbrook is the most experienced guard in the UConn Backcourt and brings a very calming presence to the floor. She started and played in all 30 games for the Huskies last season averaging 9.4 ppg shooting 45% from the field. Her numbers might’ve taken a step back but people have to remember 2020 was her first time playing in almost a year and a half. Nonetheless, Westbrook is a crucial piece for this UConn team and her leadership and experience will be needed throughout the course of the season.
Paige Buckets
Paige Bueckers accomplished more in her freshman year than most collegiate athletes will accomplish in their entire careers. She was the first freshman to earn the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, and AP Player of the Year. The list of accomplishments goes on and on but the one thing that escaped her grasp was that national championship. She averaged 20 ppg and led the Huskies in assists and steals. After coming off ankle surgery during the off-season, Paige is going to be the player everyone wants to see once again. She has already been named the Preseason Big East Player of the Year and will be hungry to improve upon a season that is already considered by many legendary.
Paige Bueckers was named to the 2022 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List!https://t.co/okFJGeB3Tt pic.twitter.com/B7n5JcnCMD
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) October 25, 2021
UConn’s season gets going on Sunday, November 14th, as they square off against Arkansas, a team that handed the Huskies their first and only regular-season loss of the season. That game will be played at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Tip-off at 1 p.m. Est.
Comments 2