Geno Auriemma reflects on biggest "mental" challenge as 19-year-old Jana El-Alfy breaks into UConn starting lineup: "It's not going to be easy"

As Azzi Fudd returned to her starting role after a knee sprain earlier this month, Geno Auriemma also promoted freshman Jana El-Alfy to the main cast against Providence on Sunday.

Auriemma shared in the postgame interview after that his decision stemmed from the necessity to experiment. While he claimed that the path to restructuring UConn's identity would need patience, he urged his players to practice mental strength.

"We need to keep experimenting and see what does work, what can be better and just give us a different kind of look," Geno Auriemma said (17:00 onwards).

"I think the progress that we need to make in that area, it's going to take a while. It's not going to be easy, so we'll keep trying but I thought until she (Jana El-Alfy) missed a layup and then her own layup, I think she was okay. I think the biggest challenge for these guys is mentally staying present, I think that's the biggest challenge right now."

Sunday's contest was the 6-foot-4 center's first start of her college career, where she posted two points, two rebounds and two steals. However, due to Auriemma's experimental process, Jana El-Alfy only saw 10 minutes of action.

In her first 12 games off the bench, El-Alfy averaged 15.5 minutes of action. She saw 19 minutes of court time during the 101-68 win over Iowa State and has logged in 20 minutes twice.

Geno Auriemma's thoughts on Azzi Fudd's return

Azzi Fudd played during the UConn Huskies loss to USC Trojans on Dec. 21 but her impact was restricted as she saw only eight minutes off the bench. She was handed her usual sharpshooting role against Providence on Sunday. However, Fudd only scored eight points in 24 minutes, shooting 3-of-11 from the field and 2-of-6 from the 3-point line.

Geno Auriemma highlighted the importance of in-game shotmaking in comparison to high repetitions during workouts

"I think the quality of shots is really what you're searching for, you can practice shots all you want but getting them in the game and shooting them in the game and watching them go in-game action is a little bit different than how many reps you get in practice," Auriemma said (18:26).

Geno Auriemma believes that Fudd will soon find her touch from beyond the arc and impact the offense.

"It's good to get her back good, to get her out there and when she gets her legs under I think things will get even better. Right now, I think the process is we're kind of starting over again, it seems like we're constantly in a start-stop Azzi.

Azzi Fudd's knee sprain occurred when she was in the middle of her best game of the season. She had posted 18 quick points in 18 minutes against Louisville on Dec. 7 while shooting 6 of 10 from the field. She also scored 18 points on 72.7% shooting (28 minutes) in her third game of the season.