Heckel to UConn (merged threads) | Page 6 | The Boneyard

Heckel to UConn (merged threads)

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Bone Dog said:
My rational brain has to admit that Morgan is not a “natural” PG. But my heart reacts reflexively to any criticism of Momma E, even if it’s only implicit. And my lizard brain is genuinely curious about Morgan as a PG.

I know that even though she was the starting PG in high school, her coach has a habit of playing forwards at PG, as she did with Haley Jones. This experiment doesn’t always work so well, but it seemed to with Morgan. What struck me from watching a bunch of her games is that she was especially effective on defense where she played the tip of the spear in the full court press. She also engineered a close victory over LuHi with Heckel and Koval in her senior season. Also worth noting is that she was effectively a player-coach that season.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to rant about how Morgan has to be a PG in D1. I get it. D1 is harder on PGs than high school ball is. The one conclusion I draw is that she can assume some of the ball handling responsibilities when needed, like against pressing defenses, rather like Sarah or Aubrey or Aaliyah could, and also that she can also lay at the tip of the press even at this level.

Also, I’m sold on KK and Kayleigh as a PG platoon just as Kaitlyn and KK were. And I imagine we’ll even see them on the floor together at times.
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Geno is also preparing his players as pros. No way Morgan would be a pg in the WNBA
 
HuskyNan said:
Geno is also preparing his players as pros. No way Morgan would be a pg in the WNBA
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Nan, are you trying to reason with a lizard brain? I’m not a fully rational creature when it comes to some of our players, like Momma E or Morgan. You are clearly right, but the heart wants what it wants. And then it nods off, thank goodness.
 
Being able to play point in a pinch for short stretches is quite different than locking it down for the whole season. We have a very good one in KK and now I think another in K9. Then there is Kelis, whose future I think should be at point, and she could be better than both KK and K9.

So no need for Morgan or anybody outside of those three to be playing point for long stretches or any stretches really.
 
donalddoowop said:
I think Morgan could have handled it just fine.
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Bone Dog said:
My rational brain has to admit that Morgan is not a “natural” PG. But my heart reacts reflexively to any criticism of Momma E, even if it’s only implicit. And my lizard brain is genuinely curious about Morgan as a PG.

I know that even though she was the starting PG in high school, her coach has a habit of playing forwards at PG, as she did with Haley Jones. This experiment doesn’t always work so well, but it seemed to with Morgan. What struck me from watching a bunch of her games is that she was especially effective on defense where she played the tip of the spear in the full court press. She also engineered a close victory over LuHi with Heckel and Koval in her senior season. Also worth noting is that she was effectively a player-coach that season.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to rant about how Morgan has to be a PG in D1. I get it. D1 is harder on PGs than high school ball is. The one conclusion I draw is that she can assume some of the ball handling responsibilities when needed, like against pressing defenses, rather like Sarah or Aubrey or Aaliyah could, and also that she can play at the tip of the press even at this level.

Also, I’m sold on KK and Kayleigh as a PG platoon just as Kaitlyn and KK were. And I imagine we’ll even see them on the floor together at times.
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No Morgan could not of handled the point guard duties at this time, We needed Kayleigh's point guard skills .
 
Bald Husky said:
Welcome Kayleigh, now I don't have to check my computer 4 times a day looking for your decision. It should be interesting when UConn travels to USC this coming year. We will see what kind of fans they are way over on the left coast. Pumped for next year, no way we won't win again.
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What?? Only four times a day?? However, even with my "multiple"
check ins..... I can "honestly" (??) say: " I knew it all the time"!!!. As my
great/famous mentor once told me: "What Me Worry?" ......
 
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Bigpetunia said:
I don't know a "heck" of a lot about Kayleigh's game, but I am told by folks whose knowledge exceeds mine that she is regarded to be a particularly strong defender, always a good thing. Can anyone edify me?
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one example: In the NCAA Tournament game, Southern CAL vs UConn;
for a part of the game who do you supposed was guarding Paige? Answer:
#9 for the Trojans, Kayleigh Heckel! Watch the game and the highlight
reels... USC did not put a weak defender on "BUCKETS".
 
Bigpetunia said:
I don't know a "heck" of a lot about Kayleigh's game, but I am told by folks whose knowledge exceeds mine that she is regarded to be a particularly strong defender, always a good thing. Can anyone edify me?
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Go back and watch the Regional Final game . She did a great job on Defense (not defence) even while guarding Paige. It also struck me that she seemed to play similar to Ash, by going to a corner of the court although she doesn't seem to be a 3 pt shooter like Ash.
I was impressed focusing on her as I watched that game last night. Her Offensive go-to play seemed to be similar to the "freshman KK", driving into the lane with only one option-throw the ball up, but I'm sure the Husky staff can cure her of that much like they did with the "Soph KK.". She also seems to have a little PB and in her as she pulled up to take a couple of dribble-penetrate 8-10 footers.. All in all I think she sill fit in great.
 
huskeynut said:
So the suspense of over. K-9 is a Husky.

Now the fun really begins. Geno is going to have a field day putting this team together. If people thought he out coached the competition on the way to #12, I think it's safe to say "you ain't seen nothin' yet."
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To use an old phrase, Geno was playing chess while the USC, UCLA and So. Carolina coaches were playing checkers, maybe even tidley winks. The 3 of them need to go watch their tournament losses so see the difference a real HOF coach can make.
 
uconnever said:
Exactly, I don’t know why people keep saying this, Morgan can handle it for a few moments from game to game, but a back up point guard, no way! We play a team with real defensive pressure and she would have problems. I like her and can’t wait to see her game develop, but she’s no point guard. We definitely needed another real point guard.
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Morgan may or may not be in the regular rotation if everyone is healthy, but she could be in the mix at positions 1-4 if someone gets injured, and could be the third best option, that then becomes the principle backup at any of the 4.
 
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oldude said:
UConn put up a lot of impressive stats on their way to a championship this year. IMO the single most impressive stat was the 1.96 A/TO ratio, which lead the nation by 20% over the next closest team.
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Led by Paige at nearly 4.0 A/TO after the Sweet 16 game for the year. Hopefully, the youngsters had this skill engrained into their toolbox for next season.

Can hardly wait for next season to start.

Go Huskies!!!
 
I really think that Kayleigh Heckel brings a Nika Muhl like "toughness" to UConn. This can only be a good thing.

I'm really looking forward to the possible 3,003 (5) person teams Geno comes up with.
 
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If there is weakness at UCONN its at the shooting guard position, maybe that Bianca's natural position?
 
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Bone Dog said:
Looking back at that moment, Paige's flex may have been a tip of the hat to a fellow dog. She didn't commit to UConn in spite of that flex, but because of it.

K9 did Kelsey Plum's guard camp with KK and they bonded. And she knows exactly what the backcourt depth chart is. I think this means she's coming to UConn, not because she wants an easy path to more minutes, but because she wants to have better competition for playing time. That's a true Husky!

Welcome home, Kayleigh!


edit: I wonder what sort of conversations Geno had with Lindsay Gottleib about this transfer.
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edit: I wonder what sort of conversations Geno had with Lindsay Gottleib about this

I wondered same thing…they seem to have a deep respect for each other.
 
Boreifs said:
On paper, shooting guard is the strongest and deepest position on the team, (Azzi,Ash,Allie). I have no idea how you would think otherwise, let alone state it in print.
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love it!!
 
Geew1992 said:
Yes, that's my point. Why wouldn't she be in the rotation next year?
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adding 2 transfers to the 6 players returning who played meaningful minutes in the championship
along with a player (CD if 100 percent) who had been a starter previously along with a freshman
who by all accounts is a potential star means
that getting in the rotation( 8players) will be very
difficult
 
For me, and I know some will disagree, it doesn't bother me that Geno keeps recruiting good/great players. If you want to call that "recruiting over someone", so be it.

First, KK is a true PG. So is Kayleigh. I'd say she has more scoring pop than KK, but still, she's a PG.

Azzi is a shooting guard. Allie is a shooting guard. Ash is a shooting guard. Kelis is a combo guard. Morgan, Caroline, and Blanca are combo wing/forwards. Sarah, Ice, Ayanna, and possibly Serah are all forwards. Gandy and Jana are centers. Geno needed a PG, and whether he got several 1 year "rentals", or a player like Kayleigh with 3 years left, he needed one.

Having said that, Azzi and Morgan both have really good ball handling skills and both have played PG at times (probably out of necessity or lack of teammate talent in HS). Blanca and Caroline are supposed to have good outside shots and both are "tall and long" enough to play forward. Ice and especially Sarah can step out and hit 3's. Not sure about Serah.

My first point is, Geno could play with 3, or even 4 guards on the floor, He could go big with Sarah at the 3. He has almost limitless combo's to mix and match and play "positionless basketball". I suspect for much, if not most, of the season, he will play around with different lineups to see what works best.

My second point is that we have had SO many injuries over the past 5+ years, it's no surprise he wants 15 HS AA's on the roster (not all were but you get my point). PT is going to be competitive. Qadence saw the writing on the wall and decided to transfer, and as much as I loved her as a teammate and player, I have no issue with her getting "recruited over", if that's what you want to call it.

Add to that, top recruits just don't leave UConn. Players ranked outside the top 15-20 have, on occasion, but the top kids don't leave. And if they did, it likely would be for lack of PT which would probably be the result of them not improving as much as they needed to. AND not a single player has ever left UConn and gone on to have a great AA type college career and a solid pro career.

Having said that, NO issue with Q leaving. She saw no path to more PT at UConn, and over the next few years, it would not surprise me to see a few more leave. Juggling PT for 14-15 really good players ain't gonna be easy for Geno and co.

Last point, is UConn supposed to forego quality players because they don't want to "hurt someone's feelings"? WCBB is the big leagues, not T-league where everyone plays and everyone gets a trophy. If someone doesn't get as much PT as fans think she should, too bad. The player can work harder, get better, figure out how to contribute more, and discuss with the coaches.

Ayanna and Caroline are huge question marks - no one knows how good they will be even if 100% healthy after their long term injuries. Morgan is coming back from a season ending injury. Allie needs to show a lot more than she did last year. Gandy, by all accounts, is incredibly raw. Blanca has not played in the US. Ice hasn't improved as much as you'd expect from a top 5 HS recruit. Kelis was ranked outside the top 20 by most of the recruiting services.

Given that and the injuries, is it any surprise Geno has gone hog-wild with recruiting talent?!!! For me, I LOVE it!
 
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