From Autumn Chassion to Mir McLean: How former UConn players fared this season
Five UConn transfers suited up for different teams across the country this year.
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Last week’s Weekly:
Elsewhere:
UConn signees Ice Brady and Ayanna Patterson named WBCA High School All-Americans (WBCA)
Moriah Jefferson waived by Dallas Wings (Dallas Wings)
How former UConn players fared this season.
This season, the number of one-time UConn women’s basketball players around the country reached a high watermark with five former Huskies suiting up for other programs. That number will drop with three players (Mikayla Coombs, Andra Espinoza-Hunter and Lexi Gordon) graduating, though one (Saylor Poffenbarger) will finally be eligible after sitting out while another (Piath Gabriel) will join the group after transferring from Storrs at the end of the season.
Autumn Chassion — LSU Eunice
After our midseason check-in with UConn transfers in January, Chassion played just a single minute the remainder of the season at LSU Eunice — a junior college in Louisiana. She presumably suffered an injury that kept her sidelined, which is backed by the fact that she was the sole player not dressed for sophomore day — the JUCO version of senior day.
On the court, Chassion finished with 7.2 points, 2.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 13 games (nine starts). She also made the school’s Chancellor’s List.
Mikayla Coombs — Georgia
Coombs’ career at Georgia came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when the Bulldogs fell to Iowa State 67-44. Coombs started and played in 30 of 31 games as a senior, averaging 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals, while playing the second-most minutes on the team at 27.4 per game. Amazingly, the guard didn’t take a single 3-pointer all season.
In addition to her success on the court, Coombs earned SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and made the SEC’s Community Service Team. While she does have one more season of eligibility thanks to her COVID year, it doesn’t look like she’ll be using it. Head coach Joni Taylor left Georgia for Texas A&M and Coombs’ name hasn’t appeared in the transfer portal. After five years of college, she may be ready to move on to the next phase in her life.
Andra Espinoza-Hunter — Seton Hall
After joining Seton Hall midway through the 2020-21 season, Espinoza-Hunter closed her career as one of the best scorers in the program’s history. She averaged 16.2 points per game over her two years in South Orange, third-most in the Pirates’ record book.
As a senior, Espinoza-Hunter averaged 15.1 points per game while hitting 36.4 percent from deep. On Feb. 2, she helped Seton Hall set a program record with 19 made 3-pointers against Georgetown by going 7-of-9 from beyond the arc. While the Pirates were left out of the NCAA Tournament field, they went on a run to the finals of the WNIT but fell to South Dakota State.
Lexi Gordon — Duke
Gordon spent her fifth season at her third school, transferring from Texas Tech to Duke. She started in 28 of 30 games for Kara Lawson’s squad, averaging 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds. Gordon reached double-figures 12 times — including a stretch in January and February where she did so four times in five games — but faded as the season progressed. Over her last six games, she didn’t total more than nine points in any contest and the Blue Devils were knocked out in the second round of the ACC Tournament by Miami.
Gordon entered her name in the WNBA Draft and even though she wasn’t selected, she was signed to the Los Angeles Sparks’ preseason roster. The team waived her on Apr. 29.
Mir McLean — Virginia
After transferring from UConn in December, McLean got a waiver to play at Virginia immediately, which meant she suited up for two different teams in a single season. McLean played in 11 games with the Cavaliers and saw the most playing time of her career, recording at least 20 minutes of action in every contest. She never saw more than 13 minutes in a single game with the Huskies.
McLean scored 10 points or more in eight of 11 games at Virginia and averaged 11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds on the year. While the sophomore found personal success, the Cavaliers finished with a 5-22 overall record on the year. As a result, Tina Thompson was let go and replaced by Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, formerly the head coach at Missouri State.
Next season, McLean will be a junior with three years of eligibility remaining thanks to the bonus COVID year.
Saylor Poffenbarger — Arkansas
Unlike McLean, Poffenbarger had to sit out after transferring to Arkansas mid-season. She’ll be eligible to play once the new campaign begins in November.
Best of social media
Geno took on the Kentucky Derby with Jeff Walz and Doug Bruno last weekend:
Batouly Camara came back to campus to speak at graduation:
Paige Bueckers vs. Azzi Fudd is always entertaining:
Some highlights of UConn commit KK Arnold:
