Geno Auriemma\u2019s UConn Huskies are gearing up for a new season and have some fresh faces to introduce as well. Incoming transfers Serah Williams and Kayleigh Heckel are expected to shine in new threads playing college hoops.<\/p>\n
However, there is one player who might end up taking a backseat to let these players shine. This is what analyst Mark Zanetto touched upon in the latest episode of the \u2018The Hoops Cap<\/a>\u2018 podcast.<\/p>\n Zanetto talked about Jana El Alfy\u2019s next role in Geno Auriemma<\/a>\u2018s squad, saying she would be comfortable adapting to a bench role and likely embrace it. He said (3:59):<\/p>\n \u201d I think Jena is likely going to be the one that kind of, to me, she\u2019s going to be like this year\u2019s Ice Brady, because Ice took a kind of a backseat this year to Jena, to SErah and others, um, and even Morgan Shelley. And at some parts in the year, we\u2019re trying to be more of a team player and realise that either they\u2019re better than you or they\u2019re just playing better than you at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Zanetto also stumbled upon the scenario of Jena El-Alfy being minutes restricted this season. But that doesn\u2019t diminish the fact that she played a crucial role in the Huskies winning the national championship last season. For UConn to run it back again, perhaps it would be best for Jena El Alfy to take a backseat.<\/p>\n Zanetto highlighted how Geno Auriemma hasn\u2019t seen Serah Williams in a \u2018big spot\u2019 yet. However, he trusts his players to make decisions to help his squad grow and develop. Perhaps, in a way, Auriemma ensures he builds champions in his Huskies, who go on to become legends in the WNBA in the future.<\/p>\n Also Read: When Geno Auriemma Used Tom Brady\u2019s $40,000,000 Paycheck to Explain NIL\u2019s Impact on Young Players<\/a><\/p>\n Geno Auriemma\u2019s Possible Retirement Should Not Mirror Pat Summitt\u2019s at Tennessee<\/p>\n In the same episode, Zanetto also spoke<\/a> about what the future would hold for the UConn Huskies when Geno Auriemma retires. It has been a long time since Auriemma has been in the UConn coaching scene, and when he retires, a plan has to be chalked out.<\/p>\n However, following the same blueprint as how Tennessee dealt with the late Pat Summitt\u2019s departure should not be the case for UConn. In this case, Zanetto talked about hiring outside UConn alum, unlike how Tennessee tried Holly Warlick and Kelly Harper.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw this play out with Tennessee right? They hired Holly Warlick and then Kelly Harper. Those were two Tennessee alums with direct ties to Pat Summitt and there was always like an emotional weight to it that felt unfair,\u201d Zanetto said (27:40).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tennessee quickly rectified that by adding Kim Caldwell to the mix. Sometimes, it\u2019s not necessary to hold on to a legacy, which might be similar to holding on to a certain kind of grief. Aiming for the same bar can be disappointing and heartbreaking, especially when there\u2019s an emotional component involved. Hence, it becomes difficult to fire that person.<\/p>\n Related:<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe She Should Keep Her Mouth Closed\u201d: Angel Reese Faces Fans\u2019 Wrath as Sky Sideline\u00a0Their\u00a0Star<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018I Will Forever Be Grateful\u2019 \u2014 HC Kim Caldwell Graciously Thanks Tennessee Lady Vols After Elite Eight Exit<\/a><\/p>\n Jason Whitlock Brings Up Angel Reese\u2019s Troubled Past With Kim Mulkey As Chicago Star\u2019s Suspension Continues<\/a><\/p>\n College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in\u00a0football<\/a>,\u00a0basketball<\/a>, and more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Geno Auriemma\u2019s UConn Huskies are gearing up for a new season and have some fresh faces to introduce…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":212529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[1339,1317,1337,1338,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-212528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115173772752732964","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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