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STORRS, Conn. — Felisha Legette-Jack took it all in. Sitting on the end of press row in Gampel Pavilion an hour and a half before tipoff Monday evening, she watched her team get loose. The UConn student section was already packed. The Huskies’ 12 national championship banners loomed overhead.

She’d been in this building several times for March Madness and never come out with a win.

Being there, though, looking over Geno Auriemma’s legacy, served as a reminder of what Syracuse wants to become. Of course, becoming the next UConn isn’t feasible. There’s a reason there’s only one UConn. But Legette-Jack can’t help but desire the results Auriemma’s dynasty has achieved. Who wouldn’t?

If Monday’s 98-45 loss to UConn showed the Orange anything, though, it’s that they have lots of work to do to become a top women’s basketball program. There’s no way around that. UConn ran circles around SU and handed it its worst NCAA Tournament loss in program history.

Even being there, though, would’ve been a distant dream this offseason. The Orange were picked 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Poll. Most of their roster was unproven at the college level. Yet, through a swift rebuild this season, Legette-Jack showed she’s built for the modern era, a competitive marketplace where she must fight to retain her best pieces and continue to attack the transfer portal year after year.

As Syracuse Athletics changes around her — with a new chancellor, athletic director and men’s basketball head coach — investing in her work could make SU a legitimate national presence. If her history is any indication, SU won’t regret betting on Legette-Jack.

“In order for it to go higher,
those people are gonna have to help me take it higher,” Legette-Jack said of Syracuse’s new administration. “And I trust that it’s going to happen.”

When Legette-Jack last occupied this stage — a March contest at Gampel — her roster construction was far different. The squad consisted either of transfers from Buffalo, whom Legette-Jack brought with her in 2022, or SU’s own recruits. The Orange enjoyed a special season with Dyaisha Fair helming the offense before bowing out to the Huskies again.

Zoey Grimes | Design Editor

But with Fair leaving, Legette-Jack failed to capitalize on SU’s momentum in one of her first offseasons of the name, image and likeness era. Syracuse picked up just two players in the portal, neither of whom made significant contributions in an abysmal 12-18 season that brought the Orange crashing back down to Earth.

Legette-Jack admitted she questioned her satisfaction with the program at the time. She knew, to get her love for coaching back, there needed to be changes.

“Things can go sideways pretty quickly,” Auriemma said. “Felisha came in and started to get the thing back to where it was — and it’s never a straight line uphill — going upwards.”

To do so, Legette-Jack reset hard in the offseason. She brought in eight new players: four transfer additions and four new freshmen. Just about every pick was a gamble, but Legette-Jack hit the nail on the head.

First was USC transfer Dominique Darius, who played sparingly in four years at UCLA and USC. When the former four-star recruit committed to the Orange in April 2025, she did so sporting a career scoring average of 3.6 points per game. She finished the year as one of the top point guards in the ACC, averaging 12.6 points with SU.

Laila Phelia was, on paper, Legette-Jack’s biggest get of the portal cycle. The former All-Big Ten First Team selection was one of the best scoring guards in the nation at Michigan before a retinal detachment shortened her lone season at Texas. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be the same player.

When she entered the transfer portal last offseason, Phelia told The Daily Orange she only spoke with a few schools, including powerhouse programs LSU and South Carolina. But Legette-Jack was the only coach who understood what Phelia needed to be back at her best. With Legette-Jack’s trust in her senior year, Phelia became SU’s go-to scorer.

“(Legette-Jack) was the one coach that really, truly felt and understood exactly what I was going through,” Phelia said with teary eyes after the UConn loss. “Her confidence in me straight off the bat, it just gave me a sense of belief.”

The most revolutionary addition of the offseason was Uche Izoje, who practically came out of nowhere to become the ACC Rookie of the Year. Auriemma joked that he wished Izoje would hurry up and be WNBA Draft-eligible so he wouldn’t have to play her again. She went from an unknown prospect to one of the brightest stars in college basketball.

“(Legette-Jack) does an incredible job of identifying talent,” Auriemma said. “She took a big chance on (Izoje). She’s the best player we’ve seen this year.”

Retaining that generational talent Auriemma spoke of — Izoje — should be priority No. 1 this offseason. Syracuse had a budding superstar fall into its lap. It can’t allow her to leave for greener pastures, and the deciding factor will likely be NIL. Without a significant investment, Legette-Jack can’t possibly retain her current stars while actively searching for her next ones.

Syracuse center Uche Izoje posts up UConn’s Azzi Fudd. Izoje was the ACC Rookie of the Year this season, but will be difficult to retain this offseason. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor

After the UConn loss, Izoje said she has “not yet decided” whether she’ll return to the Orange next season, but she will “very soon.”

Meanwhile, Darius — who missed most of the postseason due to a left hand injury — is in the process of applying for another year of eligibility. If the Orange can return her or Izoje to pair with soon-to-be-senior wing Sophie Burrows, the foundation is set.

Keeping them will come with a price, though. That price has been the separating factor between Syracuse and the upper echelon of collegiate basketball programs.

The reality is that Syracuse will never be the next UConn. Much has been made of Legette-Jack’s emotional postgame rant, railing against SU’s repeated scheduling against the Huskies in March. They’re a feared program, something Legette-Jack wants Syracuse to one day become. The two programs’ latest meeting led to utter humiliation at Gampel. There was no better reminder SU has work to do.

But the signs of potential sustained success are hard to ignore. Legette-Jack’s laid the foundation for something special. Her swift rebuild of the Orange this season showed she has the skills to make Syracuse a legitimate contender in college athletics’ new era.

Should this new regime of Syracuse Athletics choose to invest in the program, perhaps Legette-Jack could one day help SU hang one of those banners in the rafters of the JMA Wireless Dome.

Harris Pemberton is an Assistant Sports Editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at harrispemberton@gmail.com or on X @HarrisPemb6.

Published on March 25, 2026 at 11:05 pm
Contact Harris: harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6