Why Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli are the "perfect fit" for UConn

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Headlines

Game coverage

• UConn's depth shines in season opener: 'That's the way we used to play'

• UConn women’s basketball upset by NC State, 92-81

• What went wrong in UConn's upset loss to NC State

• 'Everything they did was better': Geno diagnoses UConn's problems

News

• Chasing Perfection: Is it too early to be worried about UConn?

• UConn women’s basketball signs two 2024 recruits

• How will UConn's rotation evolve this year?

Last week’s Weekly:

• 'Just like old times, huh?': Paige Bueckers makes long-awaited return in UConn's season opener

Elsewhere:

• UConn fell to No. 8 in the AP Poll after its loss to NC State.

• Qadence Samuels earned Big East Player of the Week honors.

Why UConn's two 2024 signees are the right fit for the program

UConn women’s basketball racked up plenty of airline miles recruiting its two 2024 signees. To get to campus next year, Allie Ziebell, the No. 4 player in the class, will travel halfway across the country from Neenah, Wisconsin while Morgan Cheli, the No. 18 player, will go from one coast to another as a Bay Area native.

But even though they grew up a long ways from Storrs, they both knew it was the place they wanted to be college — and weren’t afraid to let the UConn staff know on the recruiting trail.

So after the two signed their national letters of intent to play for UConn last Wednesday, which allowed Geno Auriemma to speak about them publicly, the first thing the coach said had nothing to do with their basketball abilities.

“The most rewarding thing about recruiting both Morgan and Allie was how incredible the fit is — that this is where they wanted to come and we knew that as we were recruiting them,” he said. “There was no extraneous bullshit to the recruiting process. It was very straightforward, very upfront, very transparent with the parents, the kids. There was complete buy-in almost right from the beginning so you knew you're getting a kid — both of them — that are tremendously committed to UConn women's basketball and what it means.”

It helps that neither are lacking in their on-court talents, though. Ziebell, a 5-foot-10 guard, has a knack for putting the ball in the basket by whatever means necessary.

“I've seen a lot of basketball players in the past — and I'm not putting any pressure on her whatsoever — but I don't know that during the summer season I've seen a lot of kids just take over games single-handedly and win games. And I don't mean against the bad players. I’m talking about the best players,” Auriemma said. “She's one of those kids that knows who she is and she's not afraid. She's got some of that Azzi (Fudd) and Paige (Bueckers) in her that ‘Every time the ball leaves my hand, I think it's going in.’ So she's a scorer… She scores points.”

Meanwhile, Cheli is a classic UConn recruit. While she made her decision in February, she didn’t announce it publicly until April so she didn’t take attention away from the end of her high school season or the NCAA Tournament. On top of that, she fits into one of the Huskies’ archetypes: At 6-foot-2, she’s a big, versatile guard.

“How many 6-2 guards do we have? Zero. So Morgan fits a tremendous need that we have. And how many great rebounding guards did you see on Sunday (in the loss to NC State)? Zero. Morgan, more than anything else, I think she's a fearless rebounder — for whatever reason, because she don't look like one, but she is. She doesn't necessarily need to score any points to impact the game,” Auriemma said.

In modern basketball, no team can ever have too many scorers and UConn always loves big guards — like Caroline Ducharme or Qadence Samuels on the current roster or Katie Lou Samuelson in the past.

Ziebell and Cheli check off those boxes — at least on paper. Auriemma often mentions it’s almost impossible to know how much of an impact a recruit will have until they arrive on campus as a freshman. Before then, it’s just a guess.

Still, a hallmark of UConn’s program is that it prioritizes getting the right people above all else. In that regard, the coach is confident he picked correctly.

“From a [standpoint of], ‘This is the place I want to be. This is the place I want to play. This is what it means to me. This is what I can add. This is who I am,’ I think it's a perfect fit,” Auriemma said.

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