She actually played some very good defense today

[ctfjr]

Better than pretty good. The whole team was a defensive machine today

 

[HoopsFan21]

It's disappointing that the entire basketball watching world equates one's defensive ability with their weight. Read other message boards and all you hear about Kaleena is how she's slow, unathletic, gets beat all the time on defense, can't run in transition, and on and on. I mean Kaleena should be on the bench, never mind a starter on the best women's basketball team, right? Watch Kaleena during a game. What she lacks in speed she makes up for with basketball IQ and then some. Amazing for such a terrible defensive player, she always seems to be in the right place at the right time and is tipping balls and stealing leading to the offense going the other way. Oh yeah, she's so slow that she's basically the go to player in transition. How many times do we see Mo kick it out to her? Clearly she's fast enough in transition to keep up with Mo to receive her kick out pass to drain all those 3s.

 

[UcMiami]

Hoops - to be fair to Moriah's speed, she is usually kicking it out to Kaleena from near the basket and Kaleena is at the top of the key extended. But absolutely agree with your premiss.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Hoops - to be fair to Moriah's speed, she is usually kicking it out to Kaleena from near the basket and Kaleena is at the top of the key extended. But absolutely agree with your premiss.

I just hate to see people bag on a player I really like and have enjoyed watching these last 4 years. Kaleena is everything a UConn player is supposed to be and has given it her all. With the exception of Kaleena, no one was happier to see her name go up on that wall than I was. I am now hoping that Mo gets to enjoy that same privilege.

 

[ursusminor]

It's disappointing that the entire basketball watching world equates one's defensive ability with their weight. Read other message boards and all you hear about Kaleena is how she's slow, unathletic, gets beat all the time on defense, can't run in transition, and on and on. I mean Kaleena should be on the bench, never mind a starter on the best women's basketball team, right? Watch Kaleena during a game. What she lacks in speed she makes up for with basketball IQ and then some. Amazing for such a terrible defensive player, she always seems to be in the right place at the right time and is tipping balls and stealing leading to the offense going the other way. Oh yeah, she's so slow that she's basically the go to player in transition. How many times do we see Mo kick it out to her? Clearly she's fast enough in transition to keep up with Mo to receive her kick out pass to drain all those 3s.

This x1000.
I sometimes refer to KML as "The Brick Wall Who Runs". She has a frame like a big post player. The shoulders, the hips, and the torso between are all just plain bigger than most guards or wings. Frame and body type dictate how a person carries weight and shows (or doesn't show) muscle definition. She's got a rib cage that probably spans 30+ inches (I'm guessing using myself for reference, and I've got about 32-34 inch ribs). I really want to ask all the people making nasty comments how they expect a person to be smaller than their bones.

 

[uconnfan68]

It's disappointing that the entire basketball watching world equates one's defensive ability with their weight. Read other message boards and all you hear about Kaleena is how she's slow, unathletic, gets beat all the time on defense, can't run in transition, and on and on. I mean Kaleena should be on the bench, never mind a starter on the best women's basketball team, right? Watch Kaleena during a game. What she lacks in speed she makes up for with basketball IQ and then some. Amazing for such a terrible defensive player, she always seems to be in the right place at the right time and is tipping balls and stealing leading to the offense going the other way. Oh yeah, she's so slow that she's basically the go to player in transition. How many times do we see Mo kick it out to her? Clearly she's fast enough in transition to keep up with Mo to receive her kick out pass to drain all those 3s.

and she runs the whole game... she'd run her critics into the ground.

 

[rocky rococo]

The thing I notice about KLM's critics is that they are the same people that make a point of pride and principle that they never watch a minute of a UConn game. So, what would they know, any way?

 

[Zorro]

Uh...at a guess, Rocky, nothing.

 

[ndmb]

It's disappointing that the entire basketball watching world equates one's defensive ability with their weight. Read other message boards and all you hear about Kaleena is how she's slow, unathletic, gets beat all the time on defense, can't run in transition, and on and on. I mean Kaleena should be on the bench, never mind a starter on the best women's basketball team, right? Watch Kaleena during a game. What she lacks in speed she makes up for with basketball IQ and then some. Amazing for such a terrible defensive player, she always seems to be in the right place at the right time and is tipping balls and stealing leading to the offense going the other way. Oh yeah, she's so slow that she's basically the go to player in transition. How many times do we see Mo kick it out to her? Clearly she's fast enough in transition to keep up with Mo to receive her kick out pass to drain all those 3s.

I'm not going to make the argument that KML doesn't get more flack than she should because of her weight. And I agree that, even at the next level, conditioning isn't an issue. But KML simply does not have the lateral quickness to keep guards/quick forwards in front of her reliably, and that's going to be a major liability in the WNBA. It's the only reason that she's not the unanimous, unquestioned #1 pick in this year's draft. It seems like you're implying the only concerns about her defense are because of superficial judgements about her weight, but that's simply not the case.

 

[vtcwbuff]

The thing I notice about KLM's critics is that they are the same people that make a point of pride and principle that they never watch a minute of a UConn game. So, what would they know, any way?

I don't see how fans can question her conditioning. She plays major minutes and runs the floor well. What she doesn't do well is defend dribble penetration. I don't know if it's a lack of lateral quickness or if she is just a slow to react, but she gets beat often.

If you were watching closely you would see how many times KML gets beat on defense. Auriemma has commented on her defense and I think Lawson and Lobo made mention of it yesterday - something like "it's nice to have shot blockers when a player blows by you."

 

[OldAlum]

KML is not "quick". Maybe (or maybe not) she could be quicker if she were lighter, but she would never be quick. It is the way she is made, body frame and muscle type (more slow twitch vs fast twitch). So she can get beat by quick players. You will often see her (and other UConn players) overplay one side of their player so that they funnel that player towards the help if they get beat. She actually was playing guard when Stokes was in, so it is not surprising that her player was faster. I think she has learned to compensate pretty well.

 

[jsloanjr]

KML is a player that every Top WCBB team would love to have on their team.........She is an amazing player and al she does is WIN>>>>

 

[ctfjr]

Holy Smokes, how the hell did this thread get where it is?

My original post was a picture of her on defense. All I pointed out was that she had a great defensive game, not usually the strongest aspect of her play.

 

[EricLA]

Holy Smokes, how the hell did this thread get where it is?

My original post was a picture of her on defense. All I pointed out was that she had a great defensive game, not usually the strongest aspect of her play.

I think because people (other fans - and maybe even some UCONN fans) have often been not only critical of her defense, but also of her weight. Folks here were pointing out how it IS possible to be built like her and still play really solid defense...

 

[calpedaler]

Holy Smokes, how the hell did this thread get where it is?

My original post was a picture of her on defense. All I pointed out was that she had a great defensive game, not usually the strongest aspect of her play.

I think the word actually got this thread here.

 

[Sonny44]

Holy Smokes, how the hell did this thread get where it is?

My original post was a picture of her on defense. All I pointed out was that she had a great defensive game, not usually the strongest aspect of her play.

It's called "thread morph" ctfjr. I think it's a result of poor attention span. Whatever, it comes with our territory.

 

[ChicagoGG]

Your headline could be construed as damned by faint praise "she actually played some very good defense." K is very good on defense, quite often.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I'm not going to make the argument that KML doesn't get more flack than she should because of her weight. And I agree that, even at the next level, conditioning isn't an issue. But KML simply does not have the lateral quickness to keep guards/quick forwards in front of her reliably, and that's going to be a major liability in the WNBA. It's the only reason that she's not the unanimous, unquestioned #1 pick in this year's draft. It seems like you're implying the only concerns about her defense are because of superficial judgements about her weight, but that's simply not the case.

I agree totally. KML is a great kid and a great talent and she does a wonderful job of compensating for her lack of lateral quickness by her basketball acumen but there have been times where she has been beaten badly because of that deficiency. To ignore the 500 lb elephant in the room is just silly. You're so right to note that a number of the people criticizing were NOT attacking her, just stating their observations that have come through on broadcasts by people like Doris Burke and others who are very good at basketball analysis. I do feel that there are people on this board who will not tolerate anything being said about anyone on this team that could somehow possibly be construed as negative and I think that's a bit over the top. I wouldn't want to see any player getting run over the coals but it's a fact of life that there have been times where she's been beaten badly by quicker players and it's resulted in either points scored by an opponent or possibly a foul being called on a teammate who's tried to react to defend that player KML let slip past or both.

 

[ursusminor]

I agree totally. KML is a great kid and a great talent and she does a wonderful job of compensating for her lack of lateral quickness by her basketball acumen but there have been times where she has been beaten badly because of that deficiency. To ignore the 500 lb elephant in the room is just silly. You're so right to note that a number of the people criticizing were NOT attacking her, just stating their observations that have come through on broadcasts by people like Doris Burke and others who are very good at basketball analysis. I do feel that there are people on this board who will not tolerate anything being said about anyone on this team that could somehow possibly be construed as negative and I think that's a bit over the top. I wouldn't want to see any player getting run over the coals but it's a fact of life that there have been times where she's been beaten badly by quicker players and it's resulted in either points scored by an opponent or possibly a foul being called on a teammate who's tried to react to defend that player KML let slip past or both.

You're absolutely correct that she isn't very quick, relative to many of the people she has to defend, and that it can cause some issues. The broadcasters who point out when she gets beat on defense aren't wrong.

It's just very tiring for some of us to see, every time this issue comes up, people attacking her conditioning and her weight. Even the articles about voting for the mock WNBA draft, being discussed in another thread here, make disparaging comments about her conditioning. Quickness and conditioning aren't the same thing.

 

[BigBird]

Unless my eyes have failed me, there are several players in the WNBA who aren't "cat quick." KML is slow when compared to Moriah. So what? My Corvette is slow compared to Moriah! Go Huskies!