Jim Mora begins his second season as coach of the UConn Huskies football team. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
Football camp opens as Big 12 talks swirl
The Story: UConn football opened its fall camp on Monday in Storrs, but the discussion was not only what’s happening on the field; it’s also what’s happening in the board rooms of the Big 12 and Pac-12 that has the Huskies on edge.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Conference realignment is never-ending, or so it seems, and the Huskies appear to be ready to jump to the Big 12 if the offer comes. They are a strong candidate for one of the last spots. Yes, this is legit, but as we know, nothing in realignment is certain until it happens.
• Colorado left the Pac-12 (more like 9 now) to return to the Big 12. The Big 12 needs a 14th member at a minimum but could go for one, two or all three schools among Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.
• UConn, it appears, is next in line as the commissioner, Brett Yormark, has a manifest destiny vision of basketball for the Big 12. Think of the Big East of 2005-12 on steroids from coast to coast.
• Here’s what we can gather: Arizona is the next domino to fall. If the Wildcats stay with the Pac-12, then UConn will be the 14th member of the Big 12. If Arizona wants to go the Big 12? Well, the Wildcats have an Arizona State problem (as in, the same board of directors), and that might make the conference go to 16 schools.
• In that scenario, it’s Utah or UConn for No. 16. Who knows what politics will play out there?
WHAT DID JIM MORA SAY? “I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you it’s back here percolating a little bit. Because there are things happening and there is so much uncertainty. I think that, today, for me, I flipped the switch to it’s all about 2023. And I haven’t really thought about it today. But yesterday I thought about it a little bit. I’m like anybody. I’m going to jump on Twitter and you see the rumors and I might know a little bit more than some of these people that are saying some things. So, I want to hit the comment and say, ‘You don’t know!’ Which you can’t do, obviously.”
OUR TAKE: We are in wait-and-see mode. UConn’s reason for leaving the Big East is simple — money, stability, and a long-term football home. It will also be the best basketball conference ever as the Big 12 has decided that college basketball is actually a valuable sport.
But we’ve been here before. UConn was nudged out by Pitt and then Louisville in the ACC and has flirted with the Big 12 before. UConn should be a Power 5 team, but the Huskies always seem to be the first school left out.
NOW, HOW ABOUT FOOTBALL? Ya know, Mora’s second year begins with a lot of expectations. UConn finished 6-7 in 2022 and has not had a winning season since 2010. That said, the Huskies are healthy and return a bevy of players from last year.
• Yes, QB remains an interest to us as Ta’Quan Roberson, last year’s starter out of camp, is back healthy after tearing his knee up on the second drive of the season. The competition between him, incumbent starter Zion Turner, and Maine transfer Joe Fagnano will be intriguing to watch.
• Jackson Mitchell is back at linebacker and once again figures to be one of the more productive defensive players in the country.
• The season opener is Aug. 31 against NC State. That’s likely the best home game of the season for the Huskies against a potential preseason Top 25 opponent.
— John Silver
El Alfy Injury Leaves Sizeable Hole
The Story: For the third time in the past two summers, the UConn women’s basketball team has lost a player to a season-ending injury. Redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing in her final game of the FIBA U19 World Cup in Spain.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The 6-foot-5 center from Egypt was scheduled to have surgery last week at UConn Health Center. And now Geno Auriemma and his newly expanded coaching staff must figure out how to compensate for the loss of El Alfy, who was expected to play a key role in the Huskies’ front court.
HOW DID IT HAPPEN? Facing Italy in her seventh and final game of the tournament, El Alfy went down at 5:33 of the second quarter with Egypt leading 19-0. After missing her second of two free throws, she backed away from the line, planted her left foot and then fell to the court (it’s at the 39:41 mark in the game video).
• El Alfy was escorted off the court in a wheelchair, and without its best player, Egypt lost the game, 64-56.
HOW GOOD IS SHE? At the FIBA tournament, El Alfy dominated. She was the leading scorer (21.4 ppg) and the fourth leading rebounder (11.0) among all players. She put up 38 points in one game vs. Chinese Taipei, and she scored eight of Egypt’s 19 points before her injury occurred.
• How does that translate to UConn? El Alfy enrolled early at UConn and has been practicing with the Huskies since January. Although she has yet to play a game for the Huskies, she had already impressed Geno with her talent, physicality and competitiveness.
• With the departure of Dorka Juhasz to the WNBA, there’s no doubt Geno was envisioning a front court that included returning All-American Aaliyah Edwards and El Alfy.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: Over the final three months of last season, El Alfy sat in street clothes on the bench along with Paige Bueckers (knee) and freshman Ice Brady (patella dislocation), who were last summer’s injury casualties.
• While their injuries left the Huskies’ roster thin and vulnerable, the additions of Lou Lopez Senechal (transfer portal) and point guard Inês Bettencourt (Portugal) helped ease the pain – especially Senechal, who was an all-Big East performer and the No. 5 pick in the WNBA draft.
WHAT NOW? The Huskies, who feature a very guard-heavy roster, still have one scholarship available for this season and could elect to fill it with a front-court player through the transfer portal.
• But because the portal has been picked clean since the end of May, UConn is more likely to rely on its current roster and hope the remaining front-court players will be able to elevate their games. Among those are Brady, a 6-3 forward, sophomore Ayanna Patterson (6-2), and junior Amari DeBerry (6-6). Last season Patterson and DeBerry combined to average 18.2 minutes and 4.4 points per game.
OUR TAKE: With the return of Bueckers, UConn has a one-season window with her in the lineup to win a national championship before she leaves for the WNBA. But the El Alfy injury complicates that effort for one rather large reason – a lack of front-court depth.
• Regardless of El Alfy’s international background, it would have been unrealistic to expect a redshirt freshman with no game experience to compete at a high level immediately. But once she would have made it through the preseason schedule and the Big East regular season, it would have been more realistic to expect her to be battle-tested and ready for March Madness and the Huskies’ biggest championship obstacle – LSU.
• Not only is LSU the defending champion, but Kim Mulkey reloaded her roster, adding the two most significant transfers of the offseason – guard Hailey Van Lith (Louisville) and forward Aneesah Morrow (DePaul). Morrow, whom the Huskies know well, joins Angel Reese in what is likely the nation’s most formidable front court.
• Without a doubt UConn, led by Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Nika Muhl and Caroline Ducharme, will have an elite backcourt to compete with LSU. But Edwards will need plenty of help inside. With Juhasz gone and El Alfy out, the question is, which player(s) among Brady, Patterson and DeBerry will be the solution?
GOLD FOR ZIEBELL: Team USA, which beat Spain in the final to win gold in the FIBA tournament, included 2024 UConn commit Allie Ziebell, a 5-10 guard from Wisconsin.
• Ziebell was one of only two current prep players on the U.S. squad. She averaged 6.7 ppg and scored 20 points in the round of 16 game against Argentina.
BETTENCOURT IN LITHUANIA: When one FIBA tournament ends, it seems like another one begins. UConn point guard Inês Bettencourt is busy representing Portugal in the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship, which began Saturday in Klaipeda and Vilnius, Lithuania.
• So far Portugal is 1-1 in the group phase. Bettencourt had 15 points, four assists and two steals in Portugal’s tournament-opening win over the Czech Republic, 83-68, on Saturday.
• But Bettencourt, who’ll be a sophomore this fall, struggled in Sunday’s 77-59 loss to Serbia. She finished with three points, going 1-for-7 from the field and committing four turnovers.
• Portugal plays its final game of the group phase Tuesday against Israel. The championship game takes place Sunday.
— David Kull
