UConn’s roster continues to work its way back to full strength, with Ice Brady set to make her debut for the Huskies after missing her entire freshman season with a dislocated kneecap.
Brady entered her freshman year as the fifth-ranked recruit in the nation, and buzz is building around her return, especially as the Huskies look to fill out their frontcourt.
“Now don’t get me wrong, she hasn’t played college basketball and there’s some issues that are going to rise and all that,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma told CT Insider. “But anytime a kid can make shots from the perimeter, score in the lane, (is a) really good passer; she just has that kind of game.”
Had Brady been healthy, she likely would have started her freshman season competing for minutes off the bench. But she would have been a big boost in an injury-riddled year for the Huskies.
“Ice is a great player. I was so excited for her to play last year so this year I’m even more excited,” Azzi Fudd said. “… She’d always be worried about what this year would look like for her, and I would tell her, ‘You’re gonna be the same player if not better than when you got hurt.’”
The injury helped Brady become closer with star guard Paige Bueckers, who missed the season with a torn ACL. With the return of the 2021 National Player of the year grabbing headlines, Brady has “flown under the radar,” Bueckers said.
But Fudd, who was Brady’s roommate all of last year, says the redshirt freshman has come back “better than I remember.”
