How Many More Blows Can UConn’s Roster Take?

Almost two months ago, UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma found himself so vexed by injuries that he could hardly describe the feeling.

“I get to the point where I don’t have words. … It just sucks every year to look down and not see who’s playing. It’s gotten overbearing. I mean, I can’t even explain it,” Auriemma told reporters at a tournament in November. “Some of these kids, man, that’s all they know. They don’t know anything about playing with a full team.”

It was difficult to argue with him. The program had been hit hard over the last two seasons. Last year’s UConn team was so riddled with injuries and illness that it had to postpone a game because it could not meet the required minimum of seven players. That squad ultimately lost in the Sweet 16—UConn’s earliest tournament exit since 2005. But this season was supposed to be a reset. The Huskies’ core was expected to be healthy. This, finally, was meant to be a chance for this talented group to jell and unlock its potential together.

But that summery optimism felt distant by the time Auriemma made those comments in November. And it feels even more so now.

The No. 13 Huskies have seen four players go down this year with season-ending injuries. Freshman Jana El Alfy ruptured her Achilles tendon at the FIBA U-19 World Cup. Electric junior guard and former No. 1 recruit Azzi Fudd tore her ACL and meniscus during practice in November—excruciating news for a player who’d recovered from a torn ACL and MCL in high school and had periodically been sidelined by other knee injuries throughout her time in Storrs. Sophomore forward Ayanna Patterson spent the early part of the season recovering from surgery and learned in December that she would be out for the year. And just this week, UConn announced that fifth-year player Aubrey Griffin had torn her ACL, ending the season for a key veteran presence.

Even this list does not fully capture the toll of injuries on this team. Junior guard Caroline Ducharme has been sidelined with neck spasms since November with no timetable for her return. This means that of UConn’s six leading scorers from last season, just one is now available for the team, with three of the remaining five being injured and two having graduated. It’s frankly remarkable the Huskies have managed to be as competitive this season as they have.

But the news of Griffin’s torn ACL this week stands out even in this crowded field of injury announcements. It’s another serious blow to a program that could ill afford one more. And it feels like a potential breaking point.

Griffin was a starter last year who averaged career highs in points (11.3) and rebounds (4.2). Her role shifted this season, however, and she embraced being the Huskies’ top reserve. Griffin was still averaging more than 25 minutes per game and projected as a potential WNBA draft pick. But her coming off the bench gave the team more flexibility as freshmen eased into starting roles. UConn has won eight games in a row after starting the season 4–3. The first game of that winning streak was the first game where Griffin had moved back to the bench. For a squad that has already seen its options compromised so dramatically this year, Griffin offered crucial versatility and veteran leadership. (To say nothing of her strong perimeter defense.) She has one season of eligibility remaining—the additional year granted to athletes during COVID-19—should she choose to take it. For now, however, Griffin’s injury has UConn operating from a contingency plan yet again.

There is still plenty of talent here. There’s Paige Bueckers, of course, the former National Player of the Year who’s finally back after being sidelined for much of the last two seasons and looking even more lethal than she did as a freshman. She’s joined by a pair of seniors who have been a steady presence through much of the program’s injury-inflicted instability over the last three years: inside force Aaliyah Edwards and defense-minded guard Nika Mühl. Meanwhile, freshmen guards Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold have capably stepped into starting roles, and there’s now an opportunity for additional players to do the same. (UConn’s next game against a ranked opponent is versus No. 18 Notre Dame on Jan. 27.) But this leaves the Huskies with just nine healthy players. Their margin for error is gone; this team remains talented, a potential threat in March, but they can’t afford to absorb any more blows.

There are valid questions about what this means for the program this year, next year, whether all this is ordinary (or extraordinary) bad luck or a sign of something amiss with injury prevention or strength and conditioning. But there’s a point where it’s hard to go beyond what Auriemma said in November. It’s gotten overbearing. He can’t explain it. And it just sucks.