The UConn Fast Break - 8/5/2022

We've got football starting this month, and lots of offseason news from around Husky athletics.

Welcome to this week’s Fast Break, and thank you for being a subscriber. Are you ready for some Week 0 football in 22 days??

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Paige Bueckers tears ACL

UConn women’s basketball guard Paige Bueckers tore her left ACL in a pickup basketball game Monday. The school announced the news on Wednesday and the injury will force the superstar to miss the entire 2022-23 season.

Bueckers has already damaged this knee, as it’s the same one in which she tore her meniscus and suffered a tibial plateau fracture in December 2021 in the final seconds of a game against Notre Dame. She missed 19 games and returned in time for the postseason.

In Bueckers’ stead, UConn will lean more heavily on returning guards Caroline Ducharme, Azzi Fudd, and Nika Muhl, in addition to Fairfield transfer Lou Lopez Senechal in an attempt to win the program’s 12th national title. However, Bueckers has been the best player on this team since she stepped on campus and will not be easily replaced, both on and off the floor.

Weekly Rewind

Men’s Basketball

2022-23 non-conference schedule released - Dan Hurley and his squad will head to Florida to play the Gators and to Oregon for the Phil Knight Invitational.

Women’s Basketball

Paige Bueckers watch - The Chasing Perfection crew recorded an emergency podcast following the devastating news of the guard’s injury.

KK Arnold named to Team USA U-18 3x3 team - In brighter news, the UConn commit will head to Hungary to represent the U.S.

UConn WBB Weekly - The latest version of the newsletter takes a look back at the highlights from the 2021-22 season.

Men’s Hockey

Huskies add two - The 2022-23 roster is likely complete after Vermont transfer Andrew Lucas and freshman Samu Salminen both committed to UConn.

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Highlights

After five seasons with the UConn baseball team, Christian Fedko is playing independent ball with the Eastside Diamond Hoppers in the United Shore Professional Baseball League. He got this pitch down and away and sent it way over the fence on Thursday night for his first professional home run.

Memory Lane

Last Thursday, Sue Bird took the court for potentially her final game in the state of Connecticut, facing off against the Connecticut Sun. Like most of the other times she played in the Nutmeg State, she was effective, grabbing 14 points and seven rebounds, though the Sun beat Seattle, 88-83.

UConn, Great Pic

Football is back! Fall camp began this week and our own Ian Bethune was on the scene on Tuesday to snap some pics.

You can also check out the latest coverage from our football newsletter and podcast, which includes previews of position groups, an overview of the schedule, key roster changes, and more!

Parting Thoughts

Basketball season is right around the corner. While the conference schedule is yet to be announced, both the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams know their highlights.

The women’s slate is full of heavy-hitters, including South Carolina, Notre Dame, and the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Oregon, with multiple highly-ranked opponents on the docket.

For the men, it’s a little more feast or famine, but the schedule is much improved from last season. The Huskies are guaranteed to face Oregon and either Alabama or Michigan State, in addition to solid top-150 programs, according to their KenPom finish last season, in UNC Wilmington and Buffalo, with just one sub-300 team in Delaware State. The team faced several sub-300 teams last season, so these games should be slightly more competitive, while still offering relatively easy wins.

We are just outside four months until the season kicks off in November and for both squads, it should be an exciting year.

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