Missing nearly an entire season is tough for any basketball player, let alone their first year of college basketball. But that was the reality for UConn Huskies forward Ice Brady who was sidelined for the entirety of her freshman season last year after suffering a knee injury before the season began.
Brady was a highly-touted recruit coming out of Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, CA. She was named to the McDonald's All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and was considered the No. 5 ranked recruit in the 2022 class by ESPN.
But the Huskies had to wait until this season for her to make her UConn debut. Although Brady was unable to play last year, she kept herself focused by still making herself a part of the team, soaking up and learning what she could from her teammates and her coaches.
“I would say just being locked in and being a sponge with everything. When you're out, it's easy to kind of just get into your own world and not focus on anything but yourself,” Brady told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “It's just always pouring into the team. . .listening to the coaches and their feedback and just always being ready honestly is the key. But I'm definitely super excited to be back and be a part of this team.”
If Ice Brady was healthy last season, she most likely would have played a key role for UConn off the bench. This season, her minutes have fluctuated at times as Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma has figured out how to use her in the rotation.
She played a regular season-high 27 minutes against Georgetown back on Feb. 16 when she dropped ten points on a perfect 5-5 shooting. But the next game against Creighton, she played only 13 minutes and missed the only shot she took.
But when the Big East Tournament rolled around, an unfortunate injury to starting center and projected WNAB Draft pick Aaliyah Edwards forced Brady into a key role. With Edwards sidelined due to a broken nose, Brady stepped into the starting lineup and gave UConn exactly what they needed from the post.
In the Big East semifinals, she finished with ten points and five rebounds in 40 minutes. She followed that up with a 13-point, eight-rebound performance in the championship game in another 40 minutes of play. But whatever role Brady has been asked to play, she's been ready for it.
“It's always just about being a great team player and being a great teammate. Whether that's literally one minute in a game or 40 minutes, it doesn't matter. It's just always getting ready for whatever it is we need to win,” Brady said. “As long as that's the only focus, then nothing else really matters. It's staying ready and having the goal of winning, that's all it is.”
Ice Brady's versatility makes UConn a major threat
Ice Brady appeared in 32 games for UConn this season, including two starts at a little over 17 minutes per game. She averaged 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 25 percent from the three-point line and 60 percent from the free-throw line.
Although Brady doesn't take many three-point shots and her season percentage might not reflect that, she is in the mold of the new type of big forward who can space the floor and shoot it consistently from the perimeter. But she's versatile offensively in that she can be a major threat in the post, that's her bread and butter. She has good size, can pass out of the post and has the ability to be a mismatch for opposing teams.
Before she got to UConn, Brady knew that she would ultimately have to become a dependable threat from the perimeter if she wanted to carve out a role for herself.
“Coming into college, everything's new, people are bigger, stronger, faster. . .within the flow of our offense, finding those shots and my confidence and things like that, it's definitely grown since the beginning of the season,” Brady said. “I still have a lot more that I want to work on during the postseason. Being able to be versatile is definitely important to me, just doing everything my team needs for us to keep winning.”
The Huskies are appearing in their fourth straight Sweet 16. It would have been more than that but the 2019-20 NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They'll square off against Duke for a chance at the Elite Eight. In 2022, UConn advanced all the way to the championship game before falling to South Carolina. Last year they were eliminated by Ohio State in the Sweet 16.
But however far UConn advances in the NCAA Tournament, Brady already considers this season a major win for her from a mental standpoint. Being able to come back from a devastating injury and play a key role on one of the best teams in the country is something she doesn't take lightly.
“Honestly, mentally I overcame so many challenges and struggles and stuff like that. I would say this was a big year for me mentally just growing and learning a lot about myself and about what it takes to be not just a college player, but a player here,” Brady said. “Just mentally growing and learning and holding myself accountable on all aspects.”
Follow Us
Subscribe