With full roster, UConn's summer workouts are 'more grueling, tougher and more competitive' so far

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With full roster, UConn's summer workouts are 'more grueling, tougher and more competitive' so far

In recent years, UConn’s biggest problem has typically been a lack of available players. After injuries devastated the team, the Huskies often couldn’t run full practices due to a lack of numbers. On one occasion, they had to postpone a game because they didn’t have enough healthy bodies.

Now they have the opposite problem. With 15 players on the current roster, UConn can deploy three separate units on the court. That comes with its own set of issues.

“I’m not crazy about it,” Geno Auriemma admitted.

The Huskies didn’t load up in response to their previous injury troubles, though. Instead, they recruited a fairly standard three-player freshman class then hit the portal for two more to fill some immediate needs.

“I don't know what to tell you. I just know that the circumstances have led to a full roster,” Auriemma said.

The aforementioned injuries have played a factor. Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme both would’ve already graduated had they stayed healthy throughout their careers but instead, they received medical redshirts and returned for fifth years.

UConn has just three true second-year players but the sophomore class is twice that size because Jana El Alfy and Ayanna Patterson both sat out entire seasons while Kayleigh Heckel came in through the portal.

The Huskies also have plenty of players who retain a high upside but can’t be counted on for one reason or another. To account for that, they solidified the team with more established pieces.

But regardless of how it came together, Auriemma doesn’t expect to keep a full roster on an annual basis.

“I don't think it can stay like that. It's not feasible in today's day and age,” he said, alluding to the transfer portal. “I think you have to settle on ‘These are the 12 and let's go with it.’ But this year, we're at 15.”

Historically, it’s rare for UConn to use all 15 scholarship spots. It last happened in 2000-01 when the Huskies had 16 players in total thanks to a walk-on. In more recent times, the Huskies have typically featured smaller squads. Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, they never had a roster larger than 11. In 2018-19 and 2019-20, they had just 10 available players by the end of the year.

Now with a full allotment, UConn’s coaching staff will have its work cut out. Not only do they have to evaluate who’s worthy of playing time, they’ll also need to build a functional rotation and figure out which lineup combinations work best.

But compared to recent years, those are good problems to have. The Huskies will no longer be so reliant on a handful of players and will have more options off the bench if things aren’t going well. They got a taste of it last season, though they should have even more depth this year.

“The last four or five years, we had six or seven guys on the team and everybody knew, ‘This is my role.’ There was no fighting for roles. There was no competition for spots, for playing time,” Auriemma said. “They would look around [and think], ‘What, coach is not gonna play me? They'll play who instead?’ Now, ‘He might not play me, he might play her instead.’ So it's been really, really good.”

The players are already aware that they’ll have to earn every minute this season. Even though they’re only two weeks into summer workouts, the battle has already begun.

“It's been really competitive in our workouts because everybody wants to play. The problem is not everybody's going to play as much as they think they're going to play or they want to play,” Auriemma said. “I think the workouts are more grueling, tougher and more competitive.”

UConn isn’t even at full strength yet, either. Sophomore Morgan Cheli is still working her way back from ankle surgery in February while freshman Blanca Quiñonez has yet to arrive on campus while finishing school in Italy. Both players project to be contributors, so the competition should only continue to get more fierce as the season nears.

But considering how thin some of the Huskies’ recent teams were, that’ll be a welcome change.

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