'Breathoffresh air': UConn women's basketball team prepares for Europe as Paige Bueckers returns

Aug. 11—The Huskies have spent the past week preparing for the trip, while incorporating Paige Bueckers back into the lineup for the first time since April 2022.

"I think basketball is a beautiful sport because it takes you around the world and you get to see so many different cultures and meet so many great people," Aaliyah Edwards said.

The Huskies will likely have 11 active players participating in the games in Europe. Bueckers, who is officially cleared after a year-long recovery from an ACL injury, returned to full contact practice on Friday. Auriemma said she will determine if she plays overseas based on how she feels following the next three days of practice.

Auriemma said he doesn't expect either Ayanna Patterson (knee) or Amari DeBerry (back) to participate in the exhibition games since both are recovering from off-season procedures.

Redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy will also not be playing since the Egyptian is recovering from a late-July Achilles injury and is out for the upcoming year.

"It was just really heartbreaking," Azzi Fudd said of El Alfy's season-ending injury. "I mean, she's so like happy and joyful and positive. So, you don't want to see that for anyone but especially last year getting to know her, like it was like this little tease having her here early not getting to actually play with her. ...But she has been super positive, and I was so surprised to see like how good her spirits have been dealing with all this so I'm really proud of her for that."

In preparation for playing in Europe, the Huskies have not only amped up physicality in practice but have switched to playing with an official FIBA (international) ball, instead of the normal NCAA-issued balls.

"It definitely is an adjustment," Fudd said. "I'm really glad that we're getting to adjust early not just when you get over there. ... It feels lighter almost, and it gets slippery a lot faster."

Mühl, who is known for her aggression on the court, is helping prepare the team for the level of competition they'll see in Europe. In Croatia, the Huskies are facing Croatian All-Stars on Aug.16 in Zagreb. Muhl said she knows a few of the players on the other team through playing with the country's senior national team.

"I think we'll handle it great," she said. "We've been playing against our practice players, playing against each other, beating each other up and playing with a different ball. I feel like everybody's going to react really good. I hope so because it's really physical out there. ... They have experience, the women we're playing against, you know, in Europe playing professional basketball, so I feel like it's gonna be a good challenge for us overall."

UConn will face Akson Ilirija in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Aug. 18 before facing Italian All-Stars in Bologna, Italy on Aug. 21. The Huskies' last game abroad will be on Aug. 23 in Venice against Pécs (Hungary), former Husky Dorka Juhász's former team.

"It'll be good," Edwards said. "It'll be interesting to see where we are, kind of set a tone for where we're going to be in the preseason. But I think the main thing is for us to just go down and have fun."

Bueckers' return has brought even more excitement this week ahead of the trip.

Bueckers, the 2021 National Player of the Year, was cleared to resume all basketball activities on Wednesday and participated in her first full-contact workout on Friday.

"It's just like a breath of fresh air and I think that we're all just pumped for her," Edwards said.

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Not only has her return added energy to the rest of the players, but Bueckers has come back stronger — both on and off the court.

"She's put in so much this past year, even these past two years with all her injuries, with her rehab, her discipline, like she's really changed her mindset she's grown a lot, matured a lot," Fudd said. "So, I think she's really ready to be back on the floor, as anyone would be but she's put in so much time, energy and just so much to be in this position. So, I'm glad that it's paying off."

Added Mühl: "I've seen like so much more will, you know, and like hope and faith and like, how she's handled it has been amazing for an individual. ... She's not any different. She's the same old page which is amazing. That's what we need."

The European trip will also be UConn's first with assistant coach Tonya Cardoza back on the sideline. Cardoza was hired by the team in July after previously serving as an assistant coach for the Huskies from 1994-2008.

"We brought her back because she has the ability to impact our players in a way that she understands this is what we want, this is who we are," Auriemma said. "And she has the experience to be able to do it."