Morgan Cheli's versatility proving valuable for UConn
During Morgan Cheli’s early days at UConn, she practiced with the guards when the team split up for positional drills. Then one day, Geno Auriemma called her over and without saying much, he directed her to join the forwards instead.
“I'm obviously gonna listen to him,” Cheli laughed.
Since then, the freshman has become a frontcourt regular for the Huskies. As they’ve deployed a small-ball lineup with more frequency, Cheli has played a central role. Though typically utilized as a stretch-four, she can step in to almost any position. In high school, Cheli ran the point and has spent most of her career as a guard. But at 6-2, she has the size to line up in the frontcourt.
“There's not a way that you pigeonhole her and say, ‘She's this,’” Auriemma said. “She just contributes in a lot of ways.”
Cheli’s freshman campaign got off to a slow start — in part because she dealt with a slew of leg injuries throughout the summer and preseason — before breaking out with a five-point, five-rebound, three-assist, three-steal performance against Georgetown in mid-December.
Two games later, she helped Spark UConn’s second-half comeback against USC. Though Cheli only had five points and a board, the Huskies out-scored the Trojans by 15 when she was on the court.
“She just contributes in a lot of ways,” Auriemma said. “She's got a different skillset than Ice (Brady) and Jana (El Alfy) and even Sarah (Strong). I mean, it's just different. So you put her out there with Sarah — like we had her in that (USC) game — that's a tough matchup for the other team.”
Cheli should only get better as she gets more games under her belt, too. Even though she’ll step in wherever she’s asked, she admitted that she’s more comfortable out on the perimeter than down low.
“Like I said when I came in here, whatever I can do and whatever they need, I want to be willing — more than willing — to do that,” Cheli said. “So I've tried to just take it all and just go run with it. I've enjoyed it, I've learned a lot. I think it's helped my game.”
She’s gotten some help, too. Aside from the coaching staff, Aubrey Griffin has proven to be a perfect mentor. Before she went down with a torn ACL, the sixth-year wing slotted into a role that’s similar to Cheli’s. With plenty of experience bouncing between the frontcourt and backcourt, she’s tried to impart some wisdom on the freshman.
“She's also kind of an undersized post and so she's giving me some tips and whatnot, and just reminds me to stay confident when I'm in there. She's been a great help,” Cheli said.
The two have also developed a close connection off the court, so nobody is looking forward to Griffin’s return more than Cheli.
“I'm so excited,” the freshman said. “She's been practicing more and you can start to see her get more comfortable with her body and just playing at this pace. So I'm really excited to have her back.”
When UConn took on Ole Miss in The Bahamas, Cheli didn’t play — coach’s decision. A little more than a month later, she’s a fixture in the rotation and should only see her time on the court continue to increase as the season progresses.
“The more those minutes she gets, the more opportunity she gets then the better we're going to be — because of the versatility,” Auriemma said.