UConn’s Juhász facing former team in Sweet 16
SEATTLE — During the cold, harsh winters in Columbus, Ohio, Dorka Juhász and Rebeka Mikulášiková — both thousands of miles away from their home countries of Hungary and Slovakia — found comfort in American Christmas songs.
The two would belt out the lyrics to Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas is You,’ in their apartment, each attempting to reach the high notes despite the holiday still being weeks, if not sometimes months, away. But it never mattered how well they sang, because the song always made them feel that less homesick.
“I think Christmas for me is being with my family and my teammates,” Juhász said Friday morning inside a locker room at Climate Pledge Arena while Mikulášiková was out on the court practicing. “In some years when I wasn’t able to go home, it’s been a little bit struggling for me to be away from them but (Christmas) just always gives me, you know, nice warm feelings (of) just having my family.”
After playing against each other as teenagers in Europe on their national teams, Juhász and Mikulášiková lived together for a year playing together for Ohio State.
The two reunite Saturday on the basketball court, however, this time again as opponents as Juhász is now a starting forward for UConn Women’s basketball.
Juhász will play her former team Saturday when the No. 2 seeded Huskies face No. 3 Ohio State in the Sweet 16 (4 p.m. ET/ABC) at Climate Pledge Arena.
“I think for me it’s just excitement,” Juhász said. “There’s no negative feelings about that. I still have a lot of friends and I always have a lot of respect for my old coaching staff and everybody that helped me there because at the end of the day, I wouldn’t be here without them.”
UConn is playing in its 29th straight Sweet 16 and is 27-2 all-time in the round. The Huskies last loss in the Sweet 16 was in 2005, falling 59-76 to Stanford. UConn advanced to Saturday’s game by defeating No. 15 Vermont (9552) and No. 7 Baylor (7758) in last weekend’s first and second rounds.
Ohio State is making its second straight Sweet 16 appearance after beating No. 14 James Madison (8066) and No. 6 North Carolina (71-69) in its opening rounds.
Saturday’s winner will advance to Monday’s Elite Eight (9 p.m. ET) and face the winner of No. 1 Virginia Tech-No. 4 Tennessee for a chance to advance to the Final Four.
“You’ve been kind of waiting all year for this opportunity and everybody knows what’s at stake and certainly everybody knows that the teams that are here are all capable of winning and going to the Final Four,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “So, it’s the most exciting part of the year up to this point.”
As a 17-year-old Juhász made the trans-Atlantic move from Pecs, Hungary to Columbus, Ohio in 2018 to begin her collegiate career.
Juhász spent three years with the Buckeyes, starting 73 of the 75 games she played. She averaged 13 points and 9.6 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game. She was named to the First Team All-Big Ten team both as a sophomore and junior.
But Juhász wanted more. She wanted to grow and challenge herself both on and off the court.
After completing her undergraduate degree in three years, Juhász transferred from Ohio State to UConn in the spring of 2021.
“I mean, definitely being in the Sweet 16 was one of them (reasons), why I chose to come here,” Juhász said. “Also, obviously, playing and competing for a National Championship, just being in the situation to put myself out there to help a team. I think that’s definitely like the number one reason (why transfered).”
UConn faced Ohio State twice while Juhász was still a Buckeye. The Huskies won both games: November 2018 in Storrs (8553) and November 2019 in Columbus (73-62).
Three players remain on the Buckeye’s roster from that 2019-2020 team, including Mikulášiková, while the only current player on UConn that faced Juhász in that game was Aubrey Griffin.
Does Auriemma remember facing Juhász during those games?
“I’ll be really, really honest with you I said, ‘CD (Chris Dailey), I don’t remember her one iota,’ ” Auriemma said. “… I had to watch film to really, really get a feel for her and when I saw her on film, I said, ‘Yeah, I kind of vaguely remember.’ But you know when I watched the film when I saw this is how she likes to play, I said, ‘Well, that fits in.’ And then I met her and I spent a long time talking to her and I liked her as a person. And so that was the two things I needed to find out.”
But just because she didn’t stand out in the games, doesn’t mean Auriemma wasn’t impressed by the 6-foot-5 forward once he met her after she was in the transfer portal.
“I liked the fact that Dorka had finished school and wasn’t just, you know, walking out on her team; it was, ‘I finished school here and I think I have a chance to do something a little bit different and have a different opportunity,’ ” Auriemma said. “And her style of play, and what we were looking for at the time, were perfect. She has the skills that complement our offense and complement the way we play the game at Connecticut. And she’s done exactly what we expect her to do.”
Juhász averaged 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game during her first year in Storrs last year. She started 15 of 32 games, coming in for former starting center Olivia Nelson-Ododa. She decided to return to Storrs for the fifth and final year of her collegiate eligibility before the team’s Final Four run last spring to continue growing, especially after suffering a gruesome, wrist fracture in the Elite Eight against NC State.
Juhász has taken full advantage of her last year in the college game. She’s grown on and off the court and is now averaging 14.2 points and a team-high 9.9 rebounds in 33.5 minutes as a full-time starter.
She’s not only grown her own game but put herself in the national spotlight. Juhász was a Top-10 candidate for the Lisa Leslie Award, which annually recognizes the nation’s best center. Some WNBA Mock Drafts, even have the graduate forward as a projected firstround pick.
“I think just my growth as a player and a person has been tremendous,” she said.
Added Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff: “I enjoyed coaching her. She did a great job for us. I think this was a good opportunity for her to get into one more program, in a great one at that, where they have a history of helping young people grow and develop. … I’m assuming this has been a really good two years for her and that she’s even further strengthened her position to go on and be a good pro.”
Juhász at most has four games left of her collegiate career, at the least she has just Saturday.
She’s made life-long friends both in Columbus and in Storrs, earned three degrees, gone through countless up and downs on the court, and become a fan-favorite not just at UConn but nationally.
It’ll be a full-circle moment for Juhász to face Ohio State Saturday, yet she’s grateful for her time with the Buckeyes in helping her develop into the person and player she is now.