The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Brady ‘climbing ladder’ to star status
Isuneh Brady tries to keep a low profile, if that’s even possible for a prospect of her stature.
She’s not on Twitter, so it was her AAU coach, and not Brady herself, who announced her commitment to UConn last month.
“I feel like it’s a timesucker, to be honest,” her father, John, said recently by phone. “There’s not a lot of return. It’s just not our philosophy. Just for what we do and how we maneuver, that’s not her thing.”
“It’s almost like your number’s not in the phone book,” he added, with a laugh.
Better known as “Ice” — which was a nickname given to her by her father — Brady became the first Huskies’ first commitment in 2022, and a big one at that. The 6-foot-3 sophomore from Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego is rated as the third-best prospect in her class by ESPN.
Her decision to attend UConn was quick, but calculated. She made visits to California and UCLA, but considered UConn her “dream school.” A trip to Storrs earlier this season only reinforced her desire to play for Geno Auriemma.
“She really loved the culture,” John said. “She got a real taste. They did a good job of showing her how they do it up there. She got to meet some of the kids. They were all great kids — warm and welcoming. What you see is what you get. She said, ‘It’s a perfect fit, dad.’ When you know, you know.”
John said she’s always been the “big kid, head and shoulders bigger than everyone else.” She stood 5-10 in eighth grade, when she received her first scholarship offer from San Diego State. Of course, her recruitment picked up from there. Eventually, schools from all over the country came calling.
But she gravitated to UConn.
“You can go and try on a bunch more shoes, but if it feels good, it feels good,” John said. “To her, it was kind of a no-brainer. After she went there, she didn’t feel like she was looking for anything else.”
Brady figures to fit in well. The 6-5 Olivia NelsonOdoda graduates the year before Brady arrives. If all goes well, Brady will be a fixture in the frontcourt, joining the likes of 2020 prospects Aaliyah Edwards (6-2) and Piath Gabriel (6-5). Auriemma has also landed commitments in 2021 from Amari DeBerry and Saylor Poffenbarger, who are 6-5 and 6-2, respectively.
The SoCal prospect is off to a strong start this season, averaging 19.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
“We’re scratching the surface of what she’s trying to accomplish,” John said. “This is just climbing the ladder, if you will.” Another shakeup: UConn rose to third in Monday’s Associated Press Top-25 poll, jumping over Stanford, which lost 87-55 to Oregon this week. Meanwhile, South Carolina and Baylor remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
The Gamecocks received 22 first-place votes and the Lady Bears landed six. The remaining two went to fifth-ranked Louisville.
Stanford, Oregon State, NC State, Mississippi State and UCLA rounded out the top-10. The Bruins were the country’s last remaining unbeaten before falling 70-68 in double overtime to USC on Friday.
Additionally, Tennessee rose to No. 23 ahead of Thursday’s rematch with the Huskies.
Weekly honors: UConn junior Megan Walker was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 19 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals in wins over Memphis, UCF and Tulsa. Meanwhile, teammate Anna Makurat was tabbed the league’s Freshman of the Week after scoring a career-high 21 points against the Golden Hurricane.