Chassion chased her dream to walk-on with Huskies
The outcome wasn’t in doubt. UConn was running a clinic offensively, and built up a 20-plus point lead on Providence midway through the third quarter. All that was left was to run out the clock.
But apparently Geno Auriemma wasn’t satisfied. The Huskies weren’t communicating on defense. So during a timeout, the Hall of Fame coach, on the verge of his milestone 1,098th win last month, handed his clipboard to Autumn Chassion and left the team huddle.
“They aren’t listening to me, so maybe they’ll listen to you,” Auriemma told her.
And Chassion, a freshman walk-on, went through with it.
“Me and Coach have that kind of relationship,” Chassion said last week. “We can joke and kind of clown around. ‘Hey, he wants us to talk on defense. We can’t hear you all on the bench. We can’t hear anything. It sounds quiet out there.’ (Associate head coach Chris Dailey) reiterated the same thing. ‘We’re getting confused because we aren’t talking.’”
The Huskies started talking again. Go figure.
Chassion still gets a kick out of that. How many, she asks herself, are fortunate
enough to play for Auriemma? To learn from him?
“Just being here is a blessing,” she said. “This experience has been everything I’ve imagined and even more. I’m definitely grateful to be here.”
This was Chassion’s dream, to suit up for women’s basketball’s most decorated program. The Louisiana native — and high school valedictorian — passed up offers from lower-level Division I schools to make sure it became a reality.
“She did something that you’re supposed to do in life,” Auriemma said. “She wanted to come here so she made sure that she came here. It would’ve been easy for her to sit and go, ‘Yeah, I hope coach Auriemma calls me because I’d really like to be a walk-on at Connecticut.’ She made sure that it happened. She pursued it, she worked at it. She’s a great student, so she left nothing to chance.”
Chassion is the Huskies’ first walk-on since Ansonia’s Tierney Lawlor, who appeared in 123 games between 2013-17, and one of seven freshmen currently on the roster.
As expected, Chassion’s playing time has been minimal. She’s logged just 15 minutes over eight games with the top-ranked Huskies, and last saw action Feb. 5 against Marquette.
Nevertheless, the 5-foot-8 guard has endeared herself to her teammates because of her tenacity and persistence.
“By no means is she scared, timid,” redshirt junior Evina Westbrook said. “That’s one of the things that I told her, and that’s one of the things I love about her. She’s not afraid to make mistakes, she’s not afraid to get in there and be physical with us. We don’t even look at her as a walkon.”
She’s not afraid to shoot, either. It’s something Auriemma, a notorious needler, has razzed Chassion about in practice. He’s had to remind her that offensive stalwarts like Paige Bueckers and Christyn Williams should have the ball most often.
“It’s all joking,” Chassion said. “He definitely hasn’t said, ‘Autumn, stop shooting.’ Until I hear that, I’ll continue to get up shots when I’m open and try to find the open man.”
Said Auriemma: “She’s a confident kid, man. I love it. I love that about her.”
Over the course of the year, Chassion’s mindset has been simple: “Be great at your role,” her father, Tehmi, tells her.
Chassion, who had missed time during the preseason with an undisclosed medical issue, made her debut Dec. 15 against Seton Hall, playing the final two minutes of a 92-65 victory. Her first basket — a 3-pointer — came Jan. 19 versus Butler at Gampel Pavilion. She scored five points that day, and has eight on the season on 3 of 7 shooting.
When she checked her phone later that night, she had over a hundred text messages and direct messages, some from people she didn’t even know.
“Oh my God,” she recalled. “There were so many text messages just congratulating me. ‘Hey, I’m so proud of you watching from Louisiana.’ It was overwhelming knowing I had that many people in my corner.”
Months later, it still seems surreal to Chassion. Here she is, living out her childhood dream, playing for the 11-time national champions, even consulting Auriemma — albeit, jokingly — in the huddle. She doesn’t know what the future holds, but would love to return next season if the opportunity’s there. Her spot is on a year-to-year basis.
“When we’re in the huddle and he asks a question that’s non-basketball related, it’s always, ‘Autumn, how are diamonds made?’” Chassion said of Auriemma. “He made the analogy that they’re made under pressure and heat. So under pressure, you’ve got to turn into diamonds.
“He’s always super smart with his words. I never really know where he’s going with things, but they always make sense in the end.”