‘I like our chances’
Auriemma expects Huskies to be back in Final Four
MINNEAPOLIS — Geno Auriemma was only beginning the complicated task of processing the past five months and its painful final hours Sunday night when the conversation shifted to a topic he could address with clarity. Future expectations.
“This year was a perfect example of how you plan for some things and then all of a sudden your plans get blown up,” Auriemma said during a press conference following the UConn women’s basketball team’s loss to South Carolina in the national championship game. “I like our chances. Provided we don’t have to navigate a season like we did this year, knock on wood, if we stay healthy, I expect to be back here next year.”
The 2023 Final Four is in Dallas. Would it be irresponsible to book a flight already?
For however many imperfections were exposed by a bigger and better South Carolina team at the Target Center, there are more reasons to know that the Huskies are well positioned to keep pushing seasons into April.
There is important work to be accomplished, of course, if title No. 12 is to be won in Dallas or in Cleveland in 2024. But the 2022-23 Huskies will be built around junior Paige Bueckers, sophomore Azzi Fudd and a core of experienced players who already put the program on the brink of another Hartford parade. That is a good starting point for the next phase of a project that enters Auriemma’s 38th season.
On the 141st day of season No. 37, a season unlike any other, UConn players were smacked with a hard look at what taking that next step actually requires. The Huskies’ post players were overwhelmed by South Carolina, who return national player of the year 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. Rightfully so. South Carolina and UConn were 1-2 in the preseason poll. There was a clear separation at the Battle 4 Atlantis in November, a 73-57 Gamecocks victory, 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, having everybody back from their (2021) championship team. This particular South Carolina team was the best one they’ve had, I think. What does that mean for next year? I don’t know. But you go into next season thinking they’re probably going to be in your way at some point if you want to win the whole thing. And you look at the makeup of your team and the makeup of other teams around the country and you go, ‘What are we