I must say at the outset that the 2020-21 team was better than anticipated by yours truly. I thought it would lose in the regional finals and so wrote in my personal bracket. Just making it back the the Final Four was a tremendous accomplishment, especially considering how inexperienced that Huskies are. The inexperience caught up against an inspired Arizona squad. I cannot think of any team except the 1994-95 one that has given me so much pleasure thanks to Paige Bueckers, Nika Mühl, and Aaliyah Edwards. They already rank among my all-time favorites.
What are the questions and what can we look forward to in next year’s team as we must endure more than seven months before the new season begins.
First of all, one of the biggest questions as the season approached its end was what Evina Westbrook was going to do. I thought that she would turn pro, but happily that is not the case. She is coming back because the team has unfinished business and hope that the entire team will approach the next season as did the 2001-02 championship team. They were pissed and were not going to lose again.
What about transfers? Will any of the current players enter the transfer portal for more playing time greener pastures, particularly since a loaded class of newbies will be descending upon Storrs during the summer and the vacancy expected by many has not occurred? Is there any possibility that UConn will accept/desire a transfer who can either provide some board muscle or Aari McDonald like quickness at guard? I doubt it.
As for the returnees, what can we expect? We know what we will probably be getting with seniors Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams, players who were expected to be of All-American quality but have fallen short thus far. Both played some high quality games over the past season and Williams had a good tournament despite some lapses on layups, foul shooting, and guarding Aari McDonald. ONO had only 1 point on 1-7 shooting against Arizona. If they can be solid role players and do what they do best, Williams driving to the basket and Ododa playing good defense and passing, that should be good enough. Westbrook will be a valuable return and a starter. As for rising juniors Aubrey Griffin and Anna Makurat, major questions remain. Can Griffin harness her aggressiveness, learn to play within the flow, and become a better shooter or shall she remain a bit player? Can Makurat rebound from what was largely a wasted season due to her injury by hitting the gym and working on getting her shot off quicker so that she can again be a major cog in the UConn machine? With regard to the second year players, we will continue to marvel at the play of Paige Bueckers and look forward to major improvements from Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl. Can, however, Mir McLean and Piath Gabriel, particularly the latter, improve enough to be part of the rotation? A team can never have too many bigs and it would be nice for UConn to have enough for once.
As for the fabulous frosh - Amari DeBerry, Caroline Ducharme, Azzi Fudd, and Saylor Poffenbarger - we all expect great things. Poffenbarger dipped her toes in the water this season and should be ahead of the curve in preparing for the fall. A big guard with quick release should prove to be invaluable. Caroline Ducharme pretty much fills the same bill and she is supposed to be a better shooter. Assuming they both get minutes, would they play together or would one substitute for the other? DeBerry is a tall player, but from reports she is more of the ONO mold than the Edwards. From pictures, it looks as though she has a little more meat on her bones. Can she provide some muscle inside? Finally, there is Azzi Fudd. If she is as good a shooter as reports say, then look out.
We have six months to argue and debate about the starting five. My bet is that it will be the one that ended the season before Nika’s injury. In addition, we can discuss how many games, if any, the team might lose.
In addition, we will be interested to see if any more players give UConn verbal commitments between now and the start of practice. Two blue chippers Isunah Brady and Ayanna Patterson have committed for 2022 and who will be the third? I doubt that it will be Kiki Rice. My money is on Nika’s younger sister, assuming she qualifies as part of the 2022 class.
It looks on paper as this will be the deepest team the Huskies have had since 1999-2000 and it will be interesting to see how Geno manages a wealth of talent. Of course, what seems like too many good players could well be a lot less should there be serious injuries. Remember, what seemed like a fabulous 2000-01 team, indeed the deepest in UConn’s storied history, fell short due to season ending injuries to All-Americans Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph. And, the absence of Nika at full tilt for most of the tournament. The downside is that 10 on the squad will be either first or second year players, but with Westbrook returning we should not have to worry too much about senior leadership..
A final note. Even thought UConn will be loaded next season, Baylor, South Carolina, and Stanford are too, and the Huskies are by no means certain to win it all in 2021-22. Moreover, there is the question of how many quality players will take advantage of the NCAA decision to allow an extra year of eligibility for those on the roster this season and what effect that might have on powerhouse teams.
Only six and one half months to the start of practice.
What are the questions and what can we look forward to in next year’s team as we must endure more than seven months before the new season begins.
First of all, one of the biggest questions as the season approached its end was what Evina Westbrook was going to do. I thought that she would turn pro, but happily that is not the case. She is coming back because the team has unfinished business and hope that the entire team will approach the next season as did the 2001-02 championship team. They were pissed and were not going to lose again.
What about transfers? Will any of the current players enter the transfer portal for more playing time greener pastures, particularly since a loaded class of newbies will be descending upon Storrs during the summer and the vacancy expected by many has not occurred? Is there any possibility that UConn will accept/desire a transfer who can either provide some board muscle or Aari McDonald like quickness at guard? I doubt it.
As for the returnees, what can we expect? We know what we will probably be getting with seniors Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams, players who were expected to be of All-American quality but have fallen short thus far. Both played some high quality games over the past season and Williams had a good tournament despite some lapses on layups, foul shooting, and guarding Aari McDonald. ONO had only 1 point on 1-7 shooting against Arizona. If they can be solid role players and do what they do best, Williams driving to the basket and Ododa playing good defense and passing, that should be good enough. Westbrook will be a valuable return and a starter. As for rising juniors Aubrey Griffin and Anna Makurat, major questions remain. Can Griffin harness her aggressiveness, learn to play within the flow, and become a better shooter or shall she remain a bit player? Can Makurat rebound from what was largely a wasted season due to her injury by hitting the gym and working on getting her shot off quicker so that she can again be a major cog in the UConn machine? With regard to the second year players, we will continue to marvel at the play of Paige Bueckers and look forward to major improvements from Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl. Can, however, Mir McLean and Piath Gabriel, particularly the latter, improve enough to be part of the rotation? A team can never have too many bigs and it would be nice for UConn to have enough for once.
As for the fabulous frosh - Amari DeBerry, Caroline Ducharme, Azzi Fudd, and Saylor Poffenbarger - we all expect great things. Poffenbarger dipped her toes in the water this season and should be ahead of the curve in preparing for the fall. A big guard with quick release should prove to be invaluable. Caroline Ducharme pretty much fills the same bill and she is supposed to be a better shooter. Assuming they both get minutes, would they play together or would one substitute for the other? DeBerry is a tall player, but from reports she is more of the ONO mold than the Edwards. From pictures, it looks as though she has a little more meat on her bones. Can she provide some muscle inside? Finally, there is Azzi Fudd. If she is as good a shooter as reports say, then look out.
We have six months to argue and debate about the starting five. My bet is that it will be the one that ended the season before Nika’s injury. In addition, we can discuss how many games, if any, the team might lose.
In addition, we will be interested to see if any more players give UConn verbal commitments between now and the start of practice. Two blue chippers Isunah Brady and Ayanna Patterson have committed for 2022 and who will be the third? I doubt that it will be Kiki Rice. My money is on Nika’s younger sister, assuming she qualifies as part of the 2022 class.
It looks on paper as this will be the deepest team the Huskies have had since 1999-2000 and it will be interesting to see how Geno manages a wealth of talent. Of course, what seems like too many good players could well be a lot less should there be serious injuries. Remember, what seemed like a fabulous 2000-01 team, indeed the deepest in UConn’s storied history, fell short due to season ending injuries to All-Americans Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph. And, the absence of Nika at full tilt for most of the tournament. The downside is that 10 on the squad will be either first or second year players, but with Westbrook returning we should not have to worry too much about senior leadership..
A final note. Even thought UConn will be loaded next season, Baylor, South Carolina, and Stanford are too, and the Huskies are by no means certain to win it all in 2021-22. Moreover, there is the question of how many quality players will take advantage of the NCAA decision to allow an extra year of eligibility for those on the roster this season and what effect that might have on powerhouse teams.
Only six and one half months to the start of practice.
