Basketball media days are the perfect opportunity to crank the hype machine into overdrive, and Geno Auriemma can do it better than anyone. UConn brought five players to Big East media day on Tuesday, more than any other team, and Geno used the occasion to raise everyone’s expectations for those players and the rest of his roster.
As always, take everything you hear from players and coaches in October with a big heaping glob of salt. That said, two hours of bouncing between Geno and the two tables set up for UConn players (Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards, Azzi Fudd, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Christyn Williams) shed some light on a stacked roster.
Paige Bueckers
It’s unreasonable to expect Paige to make a big freshman-to-sophomore leap, simply because she was so damn good as a freshman.
“If you’re Paige, you say to yourself, what numbers can get better?” Geno said. “What didn’t she do? She shot the ball great, she passed the ball great, she handled the ball, she rebounded, she’s become a really good defender.”
The differences Geno noted are that she is more sure of herself, as any sophomore would be compared to a first-semester freshman, and that she has more talent around her — a frightening proposition for the rest of the Big East.
Paige was able to get more specific on what she’s worked on, which would be expected from someone who, her coaches say, works as hard on her game as anybody.
“This year I’ve just been focusing on the little details more,” she said. “I sort of brushed those away last year. I wouldn’t wait for screens, I wouldn’t set up screens. So when coach is harping on the little details with me I just focus really hard on them.”
A fun competition to follow this year: whether Paige or Azzi is a better shooter. Paige says she is because Azzi hasn’t proven it in a game yet, but also frequently asks Geno for his opinion. Geno says he changes his answer depending on who he wants to piss off more that day.
Amari DeBerry
DeBerry is a McDonald’s All-American, the No. 15 recruit in her class, a 2021 FIBA gold medalist, and somehow overshadowed on this roster. That started to change on First Night when she threw down a dunk which made the opposite hoop collapse in shame, putting an early end to the festivities.
Amari DeBerry joining in on the dunking fun pic.twitter.com/fy0mxPaz1l
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) October 16, 2021
Geno, unprompted, had this to say about his 6’5 forward in practice so far:
“Once we get Amari going — which the last couple days I’ve seen the change — that kid is skilled as hell. That kid is very skilled. More skilled than I thought. Around the basket, with the ball, shooting it, she just really knows how to play. I’ve been so impressed. But like I’ve said, we got to get her up to college speed.”
Thankfully for DeBerry, she can play behind Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards while she catches up.
Aaliyah Edwards
Edwards spent her summer about as productively as you could ask by participating in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo as the youngest member of the Canadian national team. She says she used that time to soak up everything she could from WNBA teammates like Kia Nurse, Natalie Achonwa, and Bridget Carlton. It allowed her to practice against them in the lead-up to the games, something that Edwards believes will benefit her down the road.
“Being with the national team, you’re playing with older girls, so they’re gonna be stronger than you, they’re gonna be bigger than you,” she said. “So you really have to go battle it out with them, so you could say, yeah, I probably got aggressive from being in that experience with them.”
A more aggressive Aaliyah Edwards sounds fun. So does an Aaliyah Edwards who can play on the perimeter.
“In the summer I got the chance to be more of a perimeter player, so you know guarding guards, and working on different skills that way,” she said. “So bringing that back to the team, [I’m] really expecting to improve and be better this coming season.”
Geno added: “She showed us that she can play physically at a real high level and play with an intensity level that great players have. What she didn’t show us is: can she make enough shots from the perimeter?”
Azzi Fudd
The preseason Big East Freshman of the Year seemed a little overwhelmed by the attention and the situation at hand — sitting in front of a horde of reporters on the floor of the World’s Most Famous Arena. She seemed to be soaking up the moment, which she’s been doing since arriving on campus.
“I’ve learned so much in these past few months in just reading and learning to react,” she said. “I think I’m a good shooter but if [the haterzzzzzzz] think that’s all I can do, I just prove them wrong when I play.”
Azzi’s a great shooter, for sure. It’s the part of her game that you’re going to see first as the rest of what she does catches up to the college level — something she admits has been a challenge through the summer.
“She’s really easy to play with,” Paige said. “When you pass it to her she makes it. She has a really high IQ. She plays hard, she plays with effort she has a great work ethic, and I think our games just mesh really well with our guard abilities that we have.”
The two are best friends and, over the past few months, Paige has been a mentor to Fudd.
“[Paige] kind of just tells me to stay focused, not to worry about all the outside noise,” she said. “The only opinions that matter are from the coaches and our teammates.”
Piath Gabriel
Gabriel, who is still working her way back from a stomach surgery over the summer, was the most unexpected recipient of excessive hype on Tuesday. Geno called her the player of the week in practice and her teammates backed that up.
“She really shined in practice, especially yesterday,” Nelson-Ododa said. “She had great moments and she was just finishing strong and doing things you know she’s capable of doing.”
Geno said he wasn’t sure if we would see Gabriel make a huge impact this year, but Williams seems to think the sophomore has a shot.
“She’s been doing a tremendous job at finishing and catching the passes from the guards,” Williams said. “I’m really excited for her and I think she’s gonna have a big year.”
For Geno, he’s starting to recognize the potential he saw when was recruiting her.
“None of it was there last year,” he said. “I saw her in high school and last year I think she was just shell-shocked the whole year. But now I see it. I really like her. She’s got a world of potential upside. She’s way longer than anyone we have, she’s got great feet, she’s quick. She uses her length.”
Nika Muhl
There wasn’t much to report about Muhl, but Geno reminded us all why she became a fan favorite last year.
“If you can make shots you’re gonna play. If you can play some defense and make shots, you’re gonna play a lot. And Nika plays defense, Nika plays hard, Nika’s passionate. She’s everything a coach would ever want in a kid… That’s one tough kid man. I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with her. She’s fearless.”
Olivia Nelson-Ododa
After averaging 12-and-8 last year, it sounds like ONO is coming back to school as a more well-rounded player. Geno says she’s a better defender than last year, has made more shots from the perimeter, and is a better ball-handler.
“I’ve been working on trying to contribute more on offense,” she said. “Being more versatile in expanding my range, able to make moves off the dribble, working on better post moves, stronger post moves, better finishes.”
She needs to be better, too. If even some of the media day hype is to be believed, then DeBerry, Edwards, and possibly Gabriel — not to mention transfer Dorka Juhasz, Aubrey Griffin and Mir McClean — could all make for a crowded front court. ONO is at the top of the pecking order, but nothing is guaranteed.
Christyn Williams
Williams is going to be on a WNBA roster next year. How many minutes she gets, Geno says, depends on how well she develops her three-point shot. Whether Williams can do that, oddly, may depend on her defense.
She shot 41 percent from three in the postseason last year (so over the final eight games) and that roughly coincides with when Geno decided to trust Williams to guard the best player on the opposing team.
“That relieved all pressure from my offensive game and everything just flowed,” she said. “So that’s literally what happened. No secret, no special potion, it was just changing my mindset to defense.”
