HARTFORD, Conn. — The wait is almost over. The UConn women’s basketball season officially starts in less than a month.
The Huskies open the 2022-23 schedule against Northeastern on Nov. 10 at Gampel Pavilion. The countdown to that 7 p.m. tipoff kicks into full gear this week; UConn has its first official practice and on Friday fans will be introduced to both the men’s and women’s teams at First Night.
There are lots of questions for coach Geno Auriemma’s squad ahead of this season, but they all center around one big one: How do the Huskies respond to losing Paige Bueckers? The superstar point guard tore the ACL in her left knee in early August and will be out for the entirety of the year.
With that in mind, here are five storylines to watch for Huskies this season.
What players make the biggest jump?
The Huskies have a big task in front of them to replace Bueckers’ production. Players and coaches have said it’ll be a group effort, with everyone on the roster asked to do a little bit more to help fill the void. Which players will make the biggest improvements to help the team?
What kind of leaps could Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme make in their sophomore seasons? They both made a big impact as freshmen as the third (12.1 ppg) and fourth (9.8 ppg) leading scorers on the team respectively, but figure to be even better coming back from injuries. Fudd was hampered by foot issues throughout last year and Ducharme had hip surgery in April.
Dorka Juhász also comes back from injury after fracturing and dislocating her left wrist in the Elite Eight. She averaged 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in her first season with the program after transferring from Ohio State, getting more comfortable and finding her stride in Auriemma’s system as the year progressed. Auriemma said in June that he thought Juhász could have the kind of season that put her in contention to be one of then top five or six players picked in the 2023 WNBA draft.
Also at the forward spot, what can be expected from Aaliyah Edwards? She had a slow start last season but turned things around in February and played a key role the rest of the way. The coaching staff mentioned wanting to see more more consistency from Edwards in her junior year. Also in the post is 6-foot-5 Amari DeBerry, who played 83 total minutes across 16 games as a freshman last year.
And then of course there’s Nika Mühl, who has a big task at hand in replacing Bueckers as starting point guard. Even before Bueckers’ injury, Auriemma mentioned wanting to see more offensive production from Mühl, and she worked a lot on her pull-up jumper this summer. Auriemma also said last month that Mühl is conscious of how much more disciplined she has to be in regards to fouls and other mistakes. She appears determined to step up to challenge; how does that play out on the court?
What kind of role will Aubrey Griffin have back from injury?
The lone returning player not mentioned in the section above is Aubrey Griffin, as she didn’t see the court at all last season. The 6-foot-1 forward last played in 2020-21 as a sophomore, dealing with a combination of ankle, leg and back injuries last year. She had surgery in January for a disc injury in her back.
When asked about Griffin in September, Auriemma said if the Huskies were to have a game the following day she would “definitely play.” He wasn’t sure how many minutes or how effective she would be at that point but seemed hopeful she’ll contribute in some way this season. What does that look like?
Griffin played just under 17 minutes per game in both her freshman and sophomore years. She averaged a little over six points and about five rebounds per game in each of those seasons. Athleticism was a key facet of Griffin’s game before the injury, so it’ll be interesting to see what she looks like back healthy. Beyond those physical aspects, Auriemma mentioned Griffin taking a more mature mental approach in finding a comfortable role for herself and having more confidence. How does that all come together?
How big of an impact will the newcomers make?
In each of the last two seasons, three newcomers have played at least 19 minutes per game for the Huskies. In 2021-22, it was freshmen Fudd and Ducharme along with Juhász as a transfer. The year before that it was freshmen Bueckers, Mühl and Edwards. Will that trend continue?
There are four new players on UConn’s roster: Fairfield transfer Lou Lopez Sénéchal, five-star freshmen forwards Ayanna Patterson and Ice Brady, plus recent addition Inês Bettencourt, a freshman from Portugal.
Lopez Sénéchal has gotten plenty of praise from the coaching staff so far. She averaged 19.6 points per game at Fairfield and brings a keen scoring ability, especially so in the mid range game. Coaches also pointed out her maturity and work ethic.
Patterson, the No. 4 ranked player in the 2022 class per ESPN, brings a lot of athleticism and has impressed teammates with her dunking ability at 6-foot-2. Brady, the No. 5 player in the class, has a lot of versatility at 6-foot-3 and got UConn fans excited with her performance for USA Basketball at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship this summer.
Bettencourt adds depth to the guard spot following Bueckers injury, but she’ll face a steeper learning curve than the other newcomers as a late addition. Plus she’s adjusting to an entirely new country and culture in her first time in the United States.
What does the rotation look like?
The answers to the prior three questions will surely impact this one: What does the Huskies’ rotation look like?
Auriemma had to toy with different lineups throughout the course of last season as UConn dealt with a myriad of injury issues. Nine different Huskies played at least 497 total minutes on the year, with each of those players earning at least 19.8 minutes per game when available.
Four of those players are now out of the equation. Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Evina Westbrook all graduated while Bueckers is sidelined with the ACL injury. Right there that’s three members of the starting lineup and four of the top five players in minutes per game. Fudd is the other.
It’s safe to say Fudd will be back in the starting five at shooting guard and we also know Mühl will take over as starting point guard. Based on factors of size and experience plus the aforementioned comments from Auriemma over the summer, Juhász seems likely to start down low as well.
If the above plays out as expected, between Ducharme (G, 6-2), Lopez Sénéchal (G/F, 6-1) and Edwards (F, 6-3), which two start and who comes off the bench? As for the remaining forwards, how are bench minutes distributed between Griffin, Brady, Patterson and DeBerry? Does Bettencourt see any minutes at backup point guard or could Fudd step in there at times?
With practice just starting this week, Auriemma and his staff will have plenty of time to evaluate what works best. And as is true with any team, lineups are sure to be tinkered with throughout the season as well.
Who steps up as team leader?
Beyond production, the Huskies are without key leadership, both on and off the court, from the players that graduated. Westbrook was lovingly referred to as “Momma E” by players over the last two years. Who takes over that team mom role to keep the team emotionally level-headed? Or is that load carried by several players?
Griffin, a redshirt junior, has been at UConn longer than anyone else on the roster while Juhász, a graduate student, is one of the most experienced returners. Mühl has talked about her desire to take on more of a leadership role in her junior season as well.
Though she won’t be playing, how does Bueckers play a factor here? The junior has dubbed herself “Coach P” and has described her role on the bench this season as the “players’ coach.”
