American Stories – UConn Returns Deeper, Hungier After 2017 Disappointment

PHILADELPHIA – Nothing lasts forever.

But until UConn’s storied women’s basketball team lost to Mississippi State, 66-64, in overtime at the Women’s Final Four in April, it looked like the Huskies’ dynasty might go on indefinitely.

This was not Geno Auriemma’s best team. The Huskies had to replace three All-Americans – four-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. Nonetheless, UConn extended its record to winning streak to 111 games (including a convincing win over eventual national champion South Carolina) before the roof unexpectedly caved in.

The end came suddenly and unexpectedly at the Women’s Final Four in Dallas. Morgan Williams, the Bulldogs’ tiny 5-5 guard who scored 41 points in a regional final victory over Baylor, made a 15-foot jumper over 5-11 forward Gabby Williams at the buzzer to end UConn’s dream of the program’s 12^th national championship.

“Sometimes in these situations, you almost have to smile a little bit,” UConn’s Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma said at the American Athletic Conference Basketball Media Day on Monday.

“It’s no one’s fault. I always think of scenarios where the kids are trying, trying to go over the hump and they come up short and they use it as fuel to fire them up going forward. It just seems funny that kids who have never lost are now going to be in a situation where after losing they’re going to react in a way I can’t believe this happened and somebody’s going to pay for this.

“Are you kidding me? This should have happened to you guys a long time ago and it didn’t and I think if anything, it was a reminder to me that this is real world and if you don’t play well, you going to lose. And these kids, in their college careers, whether they played well or whether they played poorly, they won.

“This was a reminder: You snooze, you lose.

“To me it was just like getting dropped into the real world for one day. And I think it was refreshing that they think it’s the best thing that ever happened. Best thing that happened to some of these kids, best thing that happened to our program, our fans, best thing that happened to women’s basketball.

“It was refreshing. The worst thing that could have happened was Connecticut wins another championship in a down year. What’s that say about everybody else? I can understand if you can’t beat us with Stewie and those guys. But if you can’t beat us now, there’s something wrong.”

Picking up the pieces shouldn’t be hard. The players have long memories.

“It was pretty devastating,” junior guard Katie Lou Samuelson admitted. “They played us differently than any team. We went down a lot. We fought pretty hard to get back in game. We had never been in game like that before. It should give us motivation heading into this season.”

One look at the talent Auriemma brought with him to The American’s media day – Napheesa Collier, a 6-1 All-American and American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year; the 6-3 Samuelson, who along with Collier was invited to USA Basketball World Cup minicamp, three-year starter and two-time NCAA champion Kia Nurse, and Williams – should be enough to convince you the Huskies have the best and deepest returning roster in the country.

And the fact that UConn adds both the size and quality depth they didn’t have last season. Both 6-6 junior center Azura Stevens, a transfer from Duke who is a rim protector with a diverse set of offensive skills, and 6-2 sophomore, shot-blocking Kentucky-transfer Barb Camara bring size. Sophomore guard Crystal Dangerfield, a 5-8 jet who bloomed during the off-season will give the Huskies another threat along with 6-1 freshman Megan Walker, the consensus high school national player of the year.

Stevens, who was born in Pawtucket, R.I., averaged 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds and was named to the ACC’s all-conference first team while at Duke. She was the starting center on the U.S. U19 world championship team and scored 18 points and six rebounds during a 78-70 over host Russia in the gold medal game.

If Auriemma goes big, he can play Stevens and use Samuelson at off guard, giving the Huskies a mismatch for almost any team they play during the regular season, including Notre Dame and Maryland, whom they play in the non-league at the XL Center in Hartford and Storrs.

If they use Dangerfield,  a skilled ball-handler – at the point and move Nurse to the two in a more traditional lineup, the Huskies will be quicker at the perimeter.

Not surprisingly, the Huskies should be No. 1 in the preseason national poll. And they are an easy pick to win The American, where they are 82-0 since the league was formed.

The team got to experiment with its new personnel this summer on an 10-day exhibition tour of Italy that included stops in Rome, Florence and Vicenza and Venice and four games against the Dutch national team, the Italian All-Stars and Celje, the winner of the Slovenian and Adriatic League. The Huskies finished 3-1, losing to Celje, 79-59, in a game where Collier did not play because of an ankle sprain.

The Huskies should have more time to concentrate this season. Last year, HBO sent a crew to cover their every move during what could have been an historic season.

“I thought they were extremely professional,” Auriemma said. “Maybe the players, after five months, had enough. We won’t have that issue this year. This year is going to be normal, as normal as can be at Connecticut.”