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With apologies to the Ines Post Game Presser thread, I feel compelled to post this separately....for several reasons, among them that Ines came from the Azores, not the hotbed of basketball that the US is. Last-minute Ines - exactly that as a recruit - made her mark in UConn WBB lore in the last minutes of the game against Princeton to preserve the victory. When it mattered most, after making several "what-to-do?" moments that led to mistakes, everything seemed to suddenly slow down, her fluttering nerves throughout her on-court time steels and only the basketball, the hoop and her were left - a world she has become intimately familiar with.....every discouraging event before that now forgotten.....then cooly converted 3 of 4, 2 straight in the most pressure-filled moment. There is much to look forward to that these moments presaged for the young lady.
Though her recruitment is a familiar story, it is worth revisiting in the aftermath of those crucible moments.
UConn announced Bueckers’ injury the first week of August and that Bettencourt would join the team at the end of August.
So much for her original plan to attend Northwest Florida State College. She arrived just in time for the start of fall classes.
“Her flight over here took longer than the recruiting process, so that tells you how long we recruited her,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “The one thing I admire about the kids over there, and Inês fits it to a tee, ‘Do you want to come play here. Yes. Have you ever been to America? No. Do you know where we are? No. Do you know anything about it? No. Are you sure you want to come? Yeah.’
Auriemma shook his head.
“Coach put me in the game so I’m going to show him he can trust me,” Auriemma said. “I’m just going to punch their point guard as soon as she touches the ball. She has the wrong role model on our team. She should listen to me instead of Nika. Then because you smacked a kid for no reason you put them on the free-throw line. So later in the game she won’t go near a really good 3-point shooter because she’s afraid to foul her. So she’s trying to find her way out there.
“But at the very end of the game before her free throws when we inbounded the ball she came really, really hard to the ball like I wanted. That speaks volumes about her. She is not smart yet, but she’s not afraid. I can probably fix the one, but I can’t make you not afraid. She’s getting baptism by fire. I don’t think they have this kind of stuff in the Azores. The kid has never been in a situation like this in her life.”
It’s likely she’s never seen half of her team be sidelined by injuries at once. But Auriemma and his staff have preached to every player for decades — even the ones at the end of the bench — to be ready if and when your name is called.
Bettencourt was.
“With all the injuries that we’ve got, and with Nika getting hurt, I felt like I had to step up and help the team,” Bettencourt said.
www.journalinquirer.com
Though her recruitment is a familiar story, it is worth revisiting in the aftermath of those crucible moments.
UConn announced Bueckers’ injury the first week of August and that Bettencourt would join the team at the end of August.
So much for her original plan to attend Northwest Florida State College. She arrived just in time for the start of fall classes.
“Her flight over here took longer than the recruiting process, so that tells you how long we recruited her,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “The one thing I admire about the kids over there, and Inês fits it to a tee, ‘Do you want to come play here. Yes. Have you ever been to America? No. Do you know where we are? No. Do you know anything about it? No. Are you sure you want to come? Yeah.’
Auriemma shook his head.
“Coach put me in the game so I’m going to show him he can trust me,” Auriemma said. “I’m just going to punch their point guard as soon as she touches the ball. She has the wrong role model on our team. She should listen to me instead of Nika. Then because you smacked a kid for no reason you put them on the free-throw line. So later in the game she won’t go near a really good 3-point shooter because she’s afraid to foul her. So she’s trying to find her way out there.
“But at the very end of the game before her free throws when we inbounded the ball she came really, really hard to the ball like I wanted. That speaks volumes about her. She is not smart yet, but she’s not afraid. I can probably fix the one, but I can’t make you not afraid. She’s getting baptism by fire. I don’t think they have this kind of stuff in the Azores. The kid has never been in a situation like this in her life.”
It’s likely she’s never seen half of her team be sidelined by injuries at once. But Auriemma and his staff have preached to every player for decades — even the ones at the end of the bench — to be ready if and when your name is called.
Bettencourt was.
“With all the injuries that we’ve got, and with Nika getting hurt, I felt like I had to step up and help the team,” Bettencourt said.
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), her absence might give Inês some valuable floor time that could ultimately lead to some key development. Remember that it’s Paige’s absence that has allowed Nika to show us just how good she’s become. Again, I would never wish or want an injury, but sometimes there’s a silver lining if you look close enough.
