PHILADELPHIA _ UConn has graduated its share of exceptional talent over the years; but this past season's losses of Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson hit a little harder than most.
Collier and Samuelson, the last two UConn players from the Huskies' most recent national championship team to graduate, accounted for 45% of UConn's scoring last year. And while this year's UConn squad was still picked to finish first in the American Athletic Conference and returns newly named co-AAC Preseason Player of the Year Crystal Dangerfield _ as well as All-AAC First-Team pick Megan Walker and second-team selection Christyn Williams _ there are no clear heir apparents that can replace Samuelson and Collier's dominance, at least one week into official practices.
"Generally over the past number of years, whenever we graduated two players like the two that just graduated this year, we always have ready-made replacements that have already proven themselves to be like All-American-type players, so the transition isn't as drastic," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said on Monday at AAC media day in which the preseason accolades were announced. "This is one of those years where not only did we lose the most points we've ever lost combined with two kids, but there's no easy answer to where we're going to get all those points ... everything's in a state of flux."
The Huskies are coming off their first multi-loss season since 2012-13 after a pair of regular-season defeats _ the program's first since 2014 _ at the hands of eventual national champion Baylor and Louisville. UConn ended the season with a 35-3 record and having reached its 12th consecutive Final Four, bowing out of the NCAA Tournament after a 81-76 loss to Notre Dame in the national semifinal.
The Huskies remain undefeated in conference play since joining the AAC, but face tough non-conference competition, including regular season matchups against the other three 2018-19 Final Four teams and South Carolina.
"You watch practice, and we'll go through stretches where I'll be like, 'damn, this looks really really good,'" Auriemma said. "And then we'll go through a half an hour where I don't think we can beat anybody. I think it's going to be a lot of that until we get into after January."
That doesn't mean all hope is lost for the Huskies; it just means that everyone _ from returning contributors to freshmen _ is going to have to step up.
With Collier and Samuelson gone, on-court productivity and leadership will mostly fall on Auriemma's three returning starters: Dangerfield, a senior point guard who was unanimously named AAC preseason co-player of the year alongside UCF guard Kay Kay Wright; Walker, a junior forward, and Williams, a sophomore guard.
"Really, those three guys are going to have be great every single night, especially against the good teams," Auriemma said.
Dangerfield, UConn's only returning senior starter, is the team's top returning scorer (13.4 points per game). Last season, she accrued the most steals on the team (60) and ended the season with the second-most assists in a season in program history (225). She'll have a plethora of options to which she can distribute the ball this season, with this year's team being particularly perimeter-orientated.
Dangerfield spent the summer recovering from a late May hip surgery, and though she is back practicing, she is still experiencing some pain. Dangerfield says she is making sure to listen to her body and to not overdo it, but that she is on track to be good to go by the start of the season.
Walker, the only remaining member of UConn's 2017 recruiting class after multiple transfers, averaged 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 2018-19, the latter stat second-highest on the team behind Collier. Auriemma says the team will need Collier-levels of production from her for the team to be able to get where it wants to be.
Five unanswered questions for the UConn women's basketball team as official practices get underway �
"It's probably a lot to ask, but she's going to have to have the kind of season that Pheesa had for us to go to the Final Four," Auriemma said.
Williams, last year's AAC Freshman of the Year, averaged 11.7 points and started in all 38 contests for UConn. Her 443 points were eighth most of any freshman in UConn history and she is coming off a summer full of 3x3 play, having participated in the Pan-Am Games with teammate Olivia Nelson-Ododa as well as the inaurgural FIBA Women's 3x3 Series.
But Dangerfield, Walker, and Williams can't do it all alone, and they won't be expected to. Unlike in previous years where a handful of players could get away with carrying the load, Auriemma recognizes that "everybody has a lot that they have to do, and we can't win if anyone doesn't do their part."
Part of that equation undoubtedly includes a big sophomore year jump for Nelson-Ododa, who provides the Huskies with some much needed size in the paint, and smooth transitions for new additions Evelyn Adebayo, a transfer from Murray State, as well as freshmen Aubrey Griffin and Anna Makurat. Seniors Batouly Camara, Kyla Irwin, and Molly Bent will have to be ready to provide a punch off the bench when their numbers are undoubtedly called.
A final piece of the team's puzzle for this season, however, may not be resolved until right before gameday: The program is still waiting to hear about the waiver status for Evina Westbrook, a transfer from Tennessee. While her eligibility is in question, she has also been working from coming back from an offseason knee surgery and has been limited in practice. As such, Auriemma is trying to incorporate her into practices enough so that she can be properly prepared if she's deemed eligible, but not too much to the point where the team relies upon her presence in the rotation.
