A strong first impression
UConn freshmen making an immediate impact for Huskies
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has been mixing and matching rotations, trying to find the right fit. Though it’s still early, the newest Huskies are factoring prominently into the mix.
Two games into the 2020-21 season, the Huskies’ much-acclaimed freshmen are proving to be more than just hype.
In Tuesday’s Big East opener, a 92-65 victory at Seton Hall, they accounted for 48 points, with Paige Bueckers’ (25 points) and Aaliyah Edwards’ (17) performances the most eyeopening.
“We knew that Paige and Aaliyah were double-figure type players, “Auriemma said. “We didn’t know how much or how quickly it would happen, but they’re talented players. They have certain skills that are really difficult to teach.
“Our freshmen are good. They’re good. They’ve got a lot of things that are missing, but the things they do have, they’re good.”
That, of course, bodes well for the third-ranked
Huskies (2-0), who will be back at Gampel Pavilion Thursday (6:30 p.m.) to host Creighton. The sixplayer class — Bueckers, Edwards, Mir McLean, Nika Muhl, Piath Gabriel and walk-on Autumn Chassion — makes up more than half the roster, the team’s youngest in more than three decades.
“Nothing that they do surprises me,” Auriemma said. “Nothing.”
That includes the most hyped of them all — Bueckers, who thus far is averaging 21.0 points on 19-of-25 shooting. The reigning national high school player of the year, touted as the next Diana Taurasi, has shown a poise and court awareness that is rare for a
player her age.
“She just has a knack for the game,” Auriemma said.
Asked if she’s surprised herself, Bueckers said she’s just trying to play her game.
“I’ve done everything my teammates have asked me to do, my coaches have asked me to do, if that’s scoring, if that’s passing, if that’s making plays,” Bueckers said. “I think it’s big for me just not trying to force anything and not taking bad shots, which is why I think my numbers are good.”
More or less, Bueckers and Edwards have come as advertised. Auriemma called Edwards, a 6-foot-3 forward from Canada, the toughest player on the floor in Saturday’s opener against UMass Lowell.
“She’s the strongest person I know,” Bueckers said. “She comes in the game, rips off her mask. There’s an intensity to everything she does.”
Added Auriemma: “She’s different than anybody else we have in size and stature and mindset and the way she plays the
game. We knew that when we were recruiting her — how hard she plays, the intensity level that she plays at.”
McLean has shown promise, too. She contributed 10 points and six rebounds off the bench Saturday. And Muhl, who missed few days of practice during the preseason with a foot injury, already has displayed a knack for being a tough defender.
Auriemma, however, would like to see her cut down on fouling.
“A lot of these young players that I wanted to see, that I didn’t know, would they do the things that they’re good at? They did,” Auriemma said. “They did the things that they’re good at. Now we’ve got to build on that.”