The UConn women’s basketball team is aware that it will be shorthanded for its first exhibition, which is in exactly one month. Geno Auriemma announced on Thursday that Azzi Fudd (torn ACL), Aubrey Griffin (torn ACL), and Caroline Ducharme (head) will all be out for the duration of the season.
He declared, “None of them will be ready.” If I were to speculate, I would say that Azzi would most likely return before everyone else. Carol, that’s just conjecture, so I’m not sure. Without a doubt, Aubrey will pursue Azzi.
Fudd tore her ACL on Nov. 14 last year and didn’t have surgery to repair the knee until a few weeks later. Auriemma indicated that the team is comfortable with her current timetable.
“Azzi is on her regular schedule,” he said. “We’re not going to see her playing 5-on-5 for a little bit.”
Still, the Huskies are hopeful she’ll be back sooner rather than later.
“Before we get into the biggest, most important parts of our schedule, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she can be with us,” Auriemma said.
Meanwhile, Griffin went down with a torn ACL in January, so she’s a few months behind Fudd in her recovery. It was always unlikely that she’d be back in time for the new season.
Auriemma remarked, “Aubrey is probably the one that’s (furthest off) since she hasn’t really done anything.”
Regarding Ducharme, she has had mental health problems ever since her first year of college. Last season, she participated in four games for UConn before being sidelined for the remainder of the campaign due to severe turbulence during the team’s journey to the Cayman Islands. Ducharme is out of commission for good.
According to Auriemma, “she’s trying to do as much as she can and then we try to see how it feels.” However, it remains somewhat of a guessing for her. Let’s see where that leads.
Morgan Cheli was the only other player who didn’t participate during the portion of UConn’s first official practice open to the media. While Auriemma didn’t specify why the freshman was out, he mentioned that she was dealing with a hamstring issue over the summer. Even with the ailment, Cheli should be on the floor for the Huskies’ first game.
“Morgan’s had some lingering stuff from last year in high school and she’s doing more and more every day,” the coach said. “I would expect Morgan to be (ready for the start of the season).
Even with the bad news, the Huskies are still getting healthier as a team. Jana El Alfy (achilles) and Ayanna Patterson (knee tendinitis) were both full participants in the 30-minute window of practice that media watched. The arrow appears to be pointing up for those two.
Auriemma stated, “I’m happy where both of them are right now.”
There’s yet more excellent news. With four players out right now, UConn still has a lot of players to work with. When the Huskies ended the previous season with just eight healthy players remaining on the roster, that represents a significant change.
“Compared to where we were, having 10 players on the floor most of the time is a huge bonus,” said Auriemma.
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