UConn women's recruit Cheli excited to embrace challenge with Huskies

Apr. 15—Morgan Cheli's heart was broken.

Cheli and the Archbishop Mitty High girls basketball team had the program's first California State Open Division title in their grasp on March 11 with a seven-point lead on Etiwanda and 2:30 to go. But Etiwanda would have the last word as Jada Sanders' rebound basket at the buzzer capped a 12-3 closing run that stunned the San Jose school, 69-67.

"It didn't end the way we wanted, but we fought hard the whole way," Cheli said this week. "We left it all out there. We knew that it would be a challenge and to come up just short was tough to take.

"But my first thoughts were wanting to get back out there. Every time I step on the court from now on I'm going to use that game as motivation to push myself, push our team, so we can get back in that position and this time seal the deal."

The love of the game showed the next day when Cheli — who finished with 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in the loss — took to the court in preparation for her AAU season with the CalStars in the EYBL.

It's the dedication that has her headed to play for coach Geno Auriemma at UConn. The 6-foot-2 junior point guard made her verbal commitment to the Huskies public on April 6. She had more than 40 offers.

"There's no other program quite like UConn," Cheli said. "They know how to win and the right way to play. The coaching staff knows how to help their players improve and how to get the best out of them.

"There were other programs I was interested in, though I never publicly put out a top five or anything like that. UConn was truly it for me all along."

Cheli is ranked the No. 17 recruit in the Class of 2024 by ESPN and is the second member of the class to choose UConn. Guard Allie Ziebell from Neenah, Wisconsin — ranked No. 6 — announced her commitment in December.

The public announcement by Cheli was two months in the making. She gave her commitment while on an unofficial visit the weekend of Feb. 4. The next day she was at the XL Center to watch the Huskies take on No. 1 South Carolina.

So she had a front-row seat as Auriemma picked up a technical foul with 3:57 left after spiking his water bottle on the court.

"It was a special moment in a way," Cheli said. "That showed how Coach Auriemma is willing to fight for his players at any time. It made an impression. For him to show that kind of emotion was really cool."

Cheli returned to her home in Los Altos, California with a secret but kept it to herself, her family, and her coach with the CalStars Kelly Sopak.

That is until the morning of April 6 when she posted her decision on Instagram. But she made sure as she went to school that morning her friends could figure out what was going on.

"Absolutely!" Cheli said with a laugh. "I walked in with my UConn hoodie on. Some of my friends and teammates were surprised but I think most knew that UConn was probably going to be my destination. They were all really happy and supportive and it was a really special day.

"I kept it quiet because I didn't want to be a distraction or take away from what we were doing during the high school season."

While a number of people offered congratulations in response to her post, the one that stood out to her came from former Archbishop Mitty star Haley Jones, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2019.

Jones went on to Stanford and won a national championship with the Cardinal in 2021. She was taken by the Atlanta Dream with the sixth overall pick in Monday's WNBA Draft.

"That was incredible," Cheli said. "I grew up watching Haley play and my sister played against her. I've been of fan of hers since watching her play in high school and then going to playat the highest level. To hit me up like that for something I'm doing was such a cool thing for her to do."

Cheli earned All-State honors as a sophomore at Archbishop Mitty by averaging 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.3 steals. The Monarchs finished 30-2 and advanced to the Open final.

She was then invited to USA Basketball's U-17 national team trials and made the 12-player roster guided by her coach at Archbishop Mitty, Sue Phillips. She averaged 6.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and a team-high 3.0 steals as the Americans went 7-0 and won the gold medal at the 2022 FIBA U-17 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary.

"It was my first trials and I wanted to leave everything I had on the court," Cheli said. "It was an amazing experience to represent our country and play alongside amazing players. It definitely helped elevate my game."

Phillips agreed.

"Morgan can shoot so she can play off the ball," Phillips said. "She gets on the glass, because she has great size. She is a good 6-2, on her way to 6-3. She is still growing.

"She is a really wiry kid who is athletic and can really wreak havoc defensively. She has great anticipatory skills, and with her length she gets a ton of deflections. We kind of let her loose a little bit when we play in fullcourt pressing situations. She is great about getting into passing lanes, and with her length and quickness we can put her on the ball, too."

A sprained left foot cost her a good portion of her junior season and for a number of games upon her return she was on a minutes restriction. In 14 games, she still averaged 15.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.0 steals.

Cheli will spend her summer playing for CalStars. She said she has not heard from USA Basketball whether she'll be invited to next month's U-19 national team trials.

She'll sign her letter of intent in November. Then she'll try to lead Archbishop Mitty to that elusive Open title before heading to Storrs in May, 2024.

One of her goals at UConn is to win national championships.

"I think I'll be able to add to the team in a variety of ways," Cheli said. "My versatility really helps me. I love getting after it at both ends of the floor. I can be a scorer at all three levels but I can also be a playmaker and contribute to my teammates' success. I'll play hard and do whatever the coaches want because I want to win every game."

The Huskies' coaches will give their all to develop Cheli's game further. But she'll arrive with something that will aid her that they can't give her.

The heart of a champion.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.