2025 Recruiting: Blanca Quinonez

[Molisanos]

Blanca’s interview with english subtitules
For fans who want to know more about Blanca Quiñónez, this is a great interview.

 

[Charliebball]

Blanca’s interview with english subtitules
For fans who want to know more about Blanca Quiñónez, this is a great interview.

From listening to her, you'd think she was a college senior not an incoming freshman.........I suspect she will have a huge impact on the team from day one.......

 

[Sluconn Husky]

 

[Scud49]

Like everyone else, I'm uber excited for this upcoming year. But I have to admit, of all the new faces, Blanca is the one that really captures my fancy the most- she seems like one super kid with so much promise...!

 

[oldhusky]

Like everyone else, I'm uber excited for this upcoming year. But I have to admit, of all the new faces, Blanca is the one that really captures my fancy the most- she seems like one super kid with so much promise...!

Agreed! I think Blanca has by far the best chance to make a big impact on this program among the newcomers. I feel like Kayleigh, Kellis, and Gandy are all expected to be solid contributors down the road, but perhaps only Kaleigh this year. Serah should be very good and a great fit for this year, but of course we only get her for one year.

If Blanca is the real deal, she could be a four year starter at the 3, and a future All America candidate and WNBA player. Maybe expecting her to step right in as a freshmen as a starter is too optimistic, but the foreign experience may put her further down the development curve than many freshmen. Obviously Ash as a 5th starter is a distinct possibility, but Ash is a 2 not a natural 3 like Blanca is, and I believe Blanca's upside at least at the 3 is much higher if she is ready.

 

[Bone Dog]

If Blanca is the real deal, she could be a four year starter at the 3, and a future All America candidate and WNBA player. Maybe expecting her to step right in as a freshmen as a starter is too optimistic, but the foreign experience may put her further down the development curve than many freshmen. Obviously Ash as a 5th starter is a distinct possibility, but Ash is a 2 not a natural 3 like Blanca is, and I believe Blanca's upside at least at the 3 is much higher if she is ready.

If Blanca is the real deal, as I sincerely hope, I have a feeling her impact will be felt at the 4 as much as the 3. She’s a pretty good outside shooter, but she seems really comfortable operating in the paint too on offense and defense. I suspect we’ll see her and Sarah out on transition a lot in the coming years. In the small lineup, she and Morgan might become perfect complements to Sarah.

 

[Bone Dog]

Just to expand on that last remark: during Paige's years transition mainly looked like Christyn or Aubrey streaking down the court for a touchdown pass from Paige. It's easy to forget that Liv also was on the receiving end of a few of those passes. Aaliyah found herself running in transition, though more often it was as a result of steals out past the top of the key. Geno likes having the bigs get out in transition because even though opposing guards will likely be quicker, they typically can't handle a big moving at speed toward the rim.

This season, the transition target was very often Sarah who was always looking for an opportunity to break down the court after a rebound. This was practically a signature play. I'm reminded of a beautiful one in the NC game where KK has the ball and Sarah is out in front but not yet sprinting and an SC guard (Milaysia?) is tracking her. At a nod from KK, Sarah turns on the jets and gets a surprise step on the guard, and KK hits her with the pass. And Sarah flips the ball into the hoop.

Next season, I expect we'll see a lot more breaks led by the bigs -- Sarah of course, but also Serah who can be a good finisher. And we have a plethora of 6'2" players who are at least as speedy as Sarah, like Morgan and Ayanna and Carol. In this group, Blanca stands out as the speediest, and I fully expect Geno to encourage all of them to get out in transition after any defensive rebounds. Blanca is a great finisher, she runs like Aubrey, and she's too big for little guards to handle. I'm hopeful that Blanca will play defense like Sarah does, with quick hands and smart blocks, but also with sure-handed rebounds. Maybe not this season, but perhaps by her sophomore season, I will not be surprised to see Blanca and Sarah as the anchors of the small lineup and the transition game will feature the two of them.

 

[Crossover]

Her maturity jumps off the screen, and she is wise beyond her years.

 

[ec33]

If Blanca is the real deal, as I sincerely hope, I have a feeling her impact will be felt at the 4 as much as the 3. She’s a pretty good outside shooter, but she seems really comfortable operating in the paint too on offense and defense.

The UConn offense is relatively position-less (especially last season when UConn ran multiple PG-capable people and had Sarah in the post). The "position numbers" are more about defensive matchups and Blanca seems to have the speed and size to handle most people outside of true posts and PGs.

 

[oldhusky]

The UConn offense is relatively position-less (especially last season when UConn ran multiple PG-capable people and had Sarah in the post). The "position numbers" are more about defensive matchups and Blanca seems to have the speed and size to handle most people outside of true posts and PGs.

I agree with relatively position-less, and that Blanca could play the 4, and guard 2-4, but so far with her stats and highlights I don't see much evidence of her being a big time rebounder. At least for this season if obviously Sarah and Serah will get major minutes, the only way for Blanca to get 25-30 is if most of those are at the 3.

If those three are in together, Blanca at the 3, Sarah at the 4 and Serah at the 5 seems like the obvious best use of those three simultaneously IMO.

 

[Bone Dog]

I agree with relatively position-less, and that Blanca could play the 4, and guard 2-4, but so far with her stats and highlights I don't see much evidence of her being a big time rebounder. At least for this season if obviously Sarah and Serah will get major minutes, the only way for Blanca to get 25-30 is if most of those are at the 3.

If those three are in together, Blanca at the 3, Sarah at the 4 and Serah at the 5 seems like the obvious best use of those three simultaneously IMO.

My guess is if Sarah and Serah are in the game together in November-December -- in other words, it's a big lineup -- Geno is likely to use three guards to maximize speed and outside shooting, not Blanca. That says to me any three of Azzi, Ash, KK, Kayleigh, and Allie. I include Allie for her perimeter shooting, and also because Sarah and Serah can erase a lot of defensive mistakes. Here's why: on offense and defense, I suspect Geno will have them taking turns occupying the low post and the top of the key. In one version, Serah is an offensive force in the low post, which means opposing teams will be tempted to cheat down to double her. Having perimeter threats will discourage this and unleash Serah with single coverage.

I'd mainly expect to see Blanca in lineups with only one or another of them, not both. In other words, a small lineup. Blanca could supply muscle and speed in such a lineup, whether it's as a 3 or a 4. If she's on the floor with Sarah or Serah and include all the big guard/wings, it's a small lineup with a surprising amount of length. If Ayanna is on the floor, then Blanca is nominally a 3. I could picture Geno having KK and Kayleigh (or Ash) on the floor together in such a lineup. The point would be to maximize defensive pressure and transition offense, while giving Azzi and/or Sarah a rest.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Blanca’s interview with english subtitules
For fans who want to know more about Blanca Quiñónez, this is a great interview.

An awesome read. Thanks for sharing.