The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
How UConn’s El Alfy prepared for collegiate debut
The 2022-23 season had ended, and the UConn women’s basketball players were dispersed all across the country, and the world, back home with their families.
That’s when head coach Geno Auriemma got a call from redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy’s dad, Ehab.
“He said she’s a whole different person than the one that left to come over here in January,” Auriemma told media of the call recently.
That growth in El Alfy was the goal, the reason she accelerated her high school academics and enrolled a semester early at UConn. And the reason she packed up her life in Cairo, Egypt, and moved across the Atlantic to arrive in Storrs, Connecticut, during the middle of a snowstorm in January.
After spending the spring semester focused on learning and improving, both on and off the court, the 6-foot-5 center will make her collegiate debut this fall. The head start to college was well worth it as she’s already become a staple in the Husky locker room among her teammates and impressed coaches out on the floor.
“I’m really excited, honestly, being able to get here early also helped me a lot, you know, I settled in quickly thanks to my teammates for sure. And I’m really excited for this year,” she said last week.
El Alfy sat on the bench during every UConn game alongside Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady (both missed the year due to injury) dressed in street clothes. Sure, the Huskies could have used an extra body out on the floor multiple times last season (the team at one point only had six available players), but if she had played even just once, she would have burned a whole year of eligibility.
Instead, she took the opportunity to observe and learn. She watched how hard Aaliyah Edwards and Dorka Juhász played under the basket, how they used their bodies to demand space and always knew where to
look for an open teammate.
“She was still very present, you know, always trying to learn, always trying to up her game and her skill set,” Edwards said. “It’s one thing I like about Jana, she’s always trying to seek more and always learning. I mean, we love those types of people. I love those types of people as a teammate because it just helps you as a person and just basketball IQ rises it for sure.”
El Alfy participated in practice, learning postplayer drills from coaches Chris Dailey and Jamelle Elliot. While her first few weeks were spent getting adjusted to the physical demands of the college game, she was quick to adapt and improve not only her strength but her talent. She became comfortable asking questions and asking for help when she was struggling, often spending time after workouts getting shots up.
“She’s on a mission and her body has changed in the time that she’s been here,” Auriemma said. “Her game is improving every day and her physicality is so impressive. Here’s a kid that competes every day against our practice players one-onone, and when she loses, she is (frustrated). She’s not a happy camper. She’s competitive in everything that she does.”
He added: “She’s exceptionally talented. She just needs game experience.”
El Alfy says the biggest growth she noticed in herself has been her mindset.
She began noticing the small, yet important details. How fast she needs to get back on defense during a game, how she needs to turn her body after a rebound to create space for a pass. Being able to slow down has also helped her off the court as she says her time management skills have improved.
“That’s what I’m really really proud of,” she said.
It doesn’t hurt that El Alfy also leaned on the advice of one of UConn’s former All-American forwards: Napheesa Collier.
Collier, who’s friends with one of El Alfy’s cousins, got in contact with the current Husky and gave her advice on how to adjust to life in Storrs. When El Alfy first stepped foot in Werth Champions Center, one of the first things she noticed was Collier’s All-American banner hanging on the wall. She wears No. 24 in honor of Collier.
“She told me it’s gonna be hard at first,” El Alfy said. “She talked to me a lot about the coaches and how I am gonna improve quickly and there’s no place like Connecticut.”
That thirst to learn impressed both Auriemma and Dailey. It’s a trait they’ve come to expect from international players.
“I always say, you know, kids that come 6,000 miles or whatever the hell far it is that she’s come; they don’t come here to screw around,” Auriemma said. “They don’t come here just because they can write home and send pictures of Storrs. She’s here for a purpose.”
Added Dailey: “I just think she’s got a little bit of an edge to her. I don’t think you’ve come all the way from Egypt, you know, wanting not to play and play well. She’s hard on herself. She has high expectations.”
With Juhász now gone and graduated, El Alfy will be looked at to help Edwards in the frontcourt with her size and athleticism. Edwards said she’s seen growth in the Egyptian just from learning the last six months.
“She’s just more confident in what she’s doing, how she’s moving, how she’s playing off of our offense and how she’s playing off the making reads off defense,” Edwards said.