UConn is in trouble. Even if they had not lost two key players for the season, with two more in recovery (or not), rarely has a Geno Auriemma-coached team looked so ineffective on both sides of the ball as they have so far.
Trouble in Storrs (on the road)
This was to be the year of fantastic outside shooting and efficient, effective post play. The Huskies were going to press on defense with their surfeit of guards, Aaliyah Edwards was going to become an All-American, and 6-5 freshman Jana El-Alfy was going to become the program’s next great center.
Just weeks in, every part of that plan needs to be scrapped, and the offense and the defense changed from both the expectations of this year, and the past practices of years of UConn dominance.
The epidemic of injuries the team suffered all last season has returned with devastating effect already, as talented guard Azzi Fudd, who had just returned from sitting out last year with injury, is out for the season again with another one. Guard Caroline Ducharme, another elite scorer, has been a day-to-day scratch since a series of concussions suffered midway through the 2022-23 campaign.
El-Alfy – expected to be the dominant big this year – ruptured her Achilles playing for the Egyptian National Team over the summer, and will miss the entire season.
The post
The Huskies have no post game. The defensive schemes that were so effective last year will be no good in 2023-2024, because of the injuries. The expectation of 10 made threes (and 25 attempts) each game is no longer even a dream.
“We’re not the biggest team in the country,” assistant coach Jamelle Elliott said before the start of the season. “We’re not [even] the biggest team that we’ve had in several years now.”
With the graduation of Dorka Juhasz’s size, smarts, rim protection, and offensive contributions (14.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 50 percent shooting), UConn needed a post player to keep teams from focusing entirely on Edwards.
With El-Alfy unavailable, the coaches hoped that 6-3 redshirt-freshman Ice Brady would be that post player, but thus far, she has not shown even a glimmer of meeting that need.
In losses to unranked NC State and No. 2 UCLA, the Huskies have been out-rebounded 41-29 and 44-36. Opponents have grabbed 64 offensive rebounds to their 59. Edwards has been ineffective in both games, despite her history of playing…
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