MEMORY POLICE – Geno Auriemma first began on the complicated task of dealing with the last five months and its painful last hours on Sunday night as the conversation shifted to a topic he could deal with clearly.
Future expectations.
“This year was a perfect example of how to plan some things, and then all of a sudden your plans get blown up,” Auriemma said during a news conference following UConn’s women’s basketball team loss to South Carolina in the national championship game. “I like our chances. Provided we do not have to navigate a season like we did this year, knock on the tree if we stay healthy, I expect to be back here next year.”
The Final Four 2023 is in Dallas. Would it be irresponsible to book a flight already?
For no matter how many imperfections were revealed by a larger and better South Carolina team at Target Center, there are several reasons to know that the Huskies are well positioned to keep pushing seasons into April.
Of course, there is important work to be done if title No. 12 is to be won in Dallas or Cleveland in 2024. But 2022-23 The Huskies will be built around junior Paige Bueckers, sophomore Azzi Fudd and a core of experienced players who have already set the program on the brink of yet another Hartford parade. It is a good starting point for the next phase of a project that enters Auriemma’s 38th season.
On the 141st day of season 37, a season unlike any other, UConn players were beaten with a hard look at what it really takes to take the next step. The Huskies’ post players were overwhelmed by South Carolina, which returns this year’s national player Aliyah Boston and a wealth of talent and experience, and their guards were overwhelmed by one of the great defenses in the sport’s recent history.
The Gamecocks 2022-23 expectations?
“Same as this year,” Boston said.
Deservedly. South Carolina and UConn were 1-2 in the preseason poll. There was a clear separation at Battle 4 Atlantis in November, a Gamecocks victory of 73-57 and again Sunday night in Minneapolis.
“They’re in the same situation,” Auriemma said. “They have a lot of players coming back. But so did Stanford, who got everyone back from theirs [2021] championship team. This particular South Carolina team was the best they have had, I think. What does this mean for next year? I do not know. But you go into next season and think they’ll probably be in your way at some point if you want to win it all. And you look at the composition of your team and the composition of other teams around the country, and you say, ‘What are we missing, and what are our strengths?’ You try to address them in the low season. That’s what we’re always done, and that’s what we’re going to do. ”
UConn is likely to explore the transfer portal to meet two needs – a guard and a mail player. The depth of the team fell short in areas of physical prowess in those areas.
Bueckers already need more help on the perimeter, and now Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook are traveling. Junior Aliyah Edwards and senior Dorka Juhasz will form the basis of a front line losing Olivia Nelson-Ododa. UConn’s inner game was wildly inconsistent this season.
On Sunday, the Gamecocks had 16 offensive rebounds in the first half, 21 in the game. Their mail players only owned the area near the basket, but were versatile enough to move out and make life possible for UConn guards trying to create attacks.
Striker Aubrey Griffin, who becomes red shirt junior, missed the entire season with a back injury and should be a functional role player next year. Juhasz is expected to need four months to recover after surgery to repair a broken wrist that was inflicted in an Elite Eight victory over NC State.
Amari DeBerry, a novice, was called up for three minutes of the championship game and could, if her offseason development goes as planned, become a central frontline figure. Guard Nika Muhl, this year’s Great East defender, returns as a junior.
Caroline Ducharme, the freshman who shone in opportunities that might not have been available if not for all the injuries around her, was slowed by a head injury late in the season, playing a strong championship game, with nine points and in 21 minutes , before it struck out. . Fudd fell ill Saturday night, missed Sunday’s shootaround and was not himself for 17 minutes against South Carolina, making only one shot. Nelson-Ododa struggled with a groin injury he suffered on Friday against Stanford.
The Huskies are ready to add two freshmen: Ayanna Patterson, a 6 foot 2 wing from Indiana and Isuneh “Ice” Brady, a 6 foot 3 striker from California. They are the fourth and fifth ranked recruits in the country, according to ESPN.
None of that meant enough to get away with believing that UConn was robbed of the circumstances or should have won. UConn needs to get better through improvements and additions. The Huskies were only the second-best team in the nation, coming out of a national championship game for the first time without adding another title to their record total of 11. South Carolina won its second.
UConn was really good again. It needs to get better. South Carolina and UConn are likely to be 1-2 in the 2022-23 preseason poll.
“You have to be really well balanced, and you have to be all the things that South Carolina is,” Auriemma said. “You have to have a good guard game. Your big guys need to be able to dominate either end. Then you need a little luck.
“The 11 times we won, I would say – maybe all 11, but at least 10, we had the better team. We played as if we were the better team and we were well balanced and we had all the bases covered, and we had everything you needed to win a championship.We said when we got here that we would need a little help from Stanford on Friday night and they did not shoot the ball as they usually do and we should have need a little help. [against South Carolina]and they did not cooperate. “
So UConn experienced something new and tried to envelop the mind around what was and what will be. While the players teared up and went to the locker room, the South Carolina players remained on the field for a party that continued through Auriemma’s press conference and even a long side conversation with the Connecticut media.
When Staley finally took the stage for her own press conference, she said: “I do not think that winning two national championships or going to the Final Four back to back is considered a dynasty in my time and age. … Just look at the tradition with UConn and what they were capable of.They are the standard.If it takes to win 11 national championships to be a dynasty, I’ll probably fall short because I’m not going to be in the game long enough to that we can win 11. ”