Heckel to UConn (merged threads)

[HuskyNan]

 

[Vancat]

https://x.com/UConnWBBy90/status/1925164911237239172

 

[donalddoowop]

The No. 13 player in the class of 2024, Heckel spent her freshman season with the USC Trojans, averaging 6.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 16.9 minutes per game.

She’ll slot in as UConn’s backup point guard behind KK Arnold and will provide some much-needed ball-handling. Without Heckel, the Huskies would’ve needed to rely on Azzi Fudd, Morgan Cheli and Kelis Fisher — none of whom are true floor generals — to spell Arnold, which would’ve left them vulnerable if anything happened to the rising junior.

UConn signs USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel

The Huskies add a much-needed ball-handler in the backcourt.

www.theuconnblog.com

I think Morgan could have handled it just fine.

 

[darrell]

 

[darrell]

 

[oldude]

I don’t see a comparison. Kaitlyn Chen played three years at Princeton and was a proven performer. To be blunt, there is no way that at least one of Allie, Morgan, Kelis, KK or Ash won’t feel ‘recruited over’, especially because Heckel has 3 years of eligibility. I know, they all have equal opportunity to earn minutes, but this is a lot of competition. Hopefully, I’ll be wrong, but I don’t see this as a net positive.

Would it have been any better if Geno brought in 3 successive senior pg’s with one year of eligibility each? If you haven’t done so watch the national HS championship semifinal game between Monteverde Academy and Long Island Lutheran from 2 seasons ago. Both teams were loaded with D1 players. The game came down to an epic battle between Monteverde’s Jaloni Cambridge, heading to tOSU, and LI Lutheran’s Kayleigh Heckel, heading to USC.

After watching that game, I was absolutely sold on Heckel. She can score at all 3 levels, drop dimes to her teammates and play relentless defense. More importantly, Kayleigh possesses that rarest of basketball powers. She has the clutch gene, coming up biggest when her team needs her the most.

I get not wanting to recruit over players you brought in from HS. But college sports is a different world than it was before NIL and the portal existed. UConn suffered through several seasons when their short roster was made even shorter through a rash of injuries to key players. If I’m Geno, I am going to fill every scholarship I’ve got with the best players I can find anywhere on the planet.

 

[Dogstar]

I think Morgan could have handled it just fine.

You may be right but if Geno thought tht way thn way did he offer Heckel?

 

[DemonDeac22]

View attachment 109594

For the pros Serah would be a F but in college would she not be both a F and a C? She can definitely play with her back to the basket and run the high post.

 

[HuskyNan]

I think Morgan could have handled it just fine.

I know Morgan played PG in high school but so did Gabby Williams. It’s not the natural position for either one of them

 

[browns]

Great news..only saw a few of her games but was impressed..should fill in as a terrific backup point guard

 

[FormerCTrez]

Imagine an AAU roster of 15 where everyone MUST play, necessitating three five-woman rotations.
C- SerahJana,Gandy
PF- Sarah, Ice,Ayanna
SF-Carol,Blanca,Morgan
SG-Azzi,Ash,Allie
PG-KK,Kayleigh,Kellis

There is Zero chance Geno will pigeonhole the players in this way, but it does illustrate just how incredibly deep this roster really is. 25-26 may require Geno’s greatest coaching job, because keeping everyone satisfied will be an enormous challenge. Withstanding injuries, however, may end up being the least of his problems

I like this PG-K theme!

 

[oldude]

I know Morgan played PG in high school but so did Gabby Williams. It’s not the natural position for either one of them

I would also add that the demands of playing pg in college, particularly for a sophisticated motion offense like UConn’s, are “next level.” KK can do it. Heckel certainly has the skill set to do it. Azzi can do it in a pinch, although I’d much rather have her roaming around the perimeter dropping catch and shoot 3’s. After that, I’m not sure any other guard on the roster can effectively run Geno’s offense.

That takes me back to several years ago when an injury to Crystal lead to Kia Nurse playing pg for a game or two. Kia was a great player and the NDPOY. But while she was running the point, UConn’s offense sputtered and frequently got stuck. Everyone was happy once Crystal was back running the show.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Don’t forget Kashlynn

...and hopefully Karoline!

 

[HuskyNan]

I would also add that the demands of playing pg in college, particularly for a sophisticated motion offense like UConn’s, are “next level.” KK can do it. Heckel certainly has the skill set to do it. Azzi can do it in a pinch, although I’d much rather have her roaming around the perimeter dropping catch and shoot 3’s. After that, I’m not sure any other guard on the roster can effectively run Geno’s offense.

That takes me back to several years ago when an injury to Crystal lead to Kia Nurse playing pg for a game or two. Kia was a great player and the NDPOY. But while she was running the point, UConn’s offense sputtered and frequently got stuck. Everyone was happy once Crystal was back running the show.

More recently, Momma E (Evina) was forced to play the point out of necessity.

There’s a reason the Huskies’ turnovers declined dramatically last year over the few previous years - UConn had multiple capable ball handlers rather than converted wings running the offense. Geno’s right; you can never have too many guards

 

[mauconnfan]

More recently, Momma E (Evina) was forced to play the point out of necessity.

There’s a reason the Huskies’ turnovers declined dramatically last year over the few previous years - UConn had multiple capable ball handlers rather than converted wings running the offense. Geno’s right; you can never have too many guards

Ezactly and the men suffered that this year. Too much on Diarra and actually McNeeley. This is a huge pick up for the women!

 

[oldude]

More recently, Momma E (Evina) was forced to play the point out of necessity.

There’s a reason the Huskies’ turnovers declined dramatically last year over the few previous years - UConn had multiple capable ball handlers rather than converted wings running the offense. Geno’s right; you can never have too many guards

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.

 

[CL82]

https://x.com/UConnWBBy90/status/1925164911237239172

 

[jazz]

I’m having trouble reconciling these two statements. Anyone on this roster who can enter the game with no drop off is almost by definition a great talent. And I completely agree with second one — this is exactly my expectation too.

Great to me equals AA.

 

[CL82]

Would it have been any better if Geno brought in 3 successive senior pg’s with one year of eligibility each?

From the fans' perspective, certainly not. It's much more fun to watch kids come here and develop and grow over multiple years. I realize I'm preaching to the choir on that, but I do worry sometimes that what was one of the most fun aspects of college basketball will fall to the wayside given this new era of de facto free agency.

 

[jazz]

If you compare her freshmen overall per minute numbers to KK, Ashlynn and Kaitlin as freshmen, they are all very close to each other. Different in certain categories, but overall very very close. A certain amount of sophomore jump should be expected. KK and Ash showed substantial bumps last year, but I do think at least some of that was due to not being forced to play excessive minutes in their first year due to injuries.

I believe KK has another factor that could produce another significant bump this year. She finally gets to spend most of her court time at her natural PG position. She had Nika two years ago, and Kaitlin last year consuming most of those minutes, and of course usually had another PG on the floor in Paige. This should make a big difference.

K9 can back her up and also be considered some at the 2, particularly if Ashlynn winds up getting a lot of minutes at the 3. With this addition, if healthy, we can be pretty much assured of having a high level backup at every position, and one injury to the guards could be covered pretty easily.

I thought KK had a bump up during the year as well.

In my view she was really good down the stretch and consistently made the right decision with the ball in her hands. This is hard to do for a player that has her foot on the pedal at all times, but she really showed good composure and decision making, especially in the last dozen or so games. Now if she can shoot a bit better (I'm not sure if last year is a good indication since she only shot about 1 three per game), she is going to be really tough.

I do think GA may prefer her in short spurts since she uses so much energy however...hence the arrival of K9.

 

[BobbyJ]

Would it have been any better if Geno brought in 3 successive senior pg’s with one year of eligibility each? If you haven’t done so watch the national HS championship semifinal game between Monteverde Academy and Long Island Lutheran from 2 seasons ago. Both teams were loaded with D1 players. The game came down to an epic battle between Monteverde’s Jaloni Cambridge, heading to tOSU, and LI Lutheran’s Kayleigh Heckel, heading to USC.

After watching that game, I was absolutely sold on Heckel. She can score at all 3 levels, drop dimes to her teammates and play relentless defense. More importantly, Kayleigh possesses that rarest of basketball powers. She has the clutch gene, coming up biggest when her team needs her the most.

I get not wanting to recruit over players you brought in from HS. But college sports is a different world than it was before NIL and the portal existed. UConn suffered through several seasons when their short roster was made even shorter through a rash of injuries to key players. If I’m Geno, I am going to fill every scholarship I’ve got with the best players I can find anywhere on the planet.

Your last sentence is the key. Having the numbers and talent is your only hedge against the roster ups and downs of the NIL and portal worlds. Have to keep the shelves stocked if you want to compete for NCs.

 

[uconnever]

I know Morgan played PG in high school but so did Gabby Williams. It’s not the natural position for either one of them

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.

 

[boontonbomber]

I’m sure I’m a very tiny minority, but I’m not over the moon about this addition. I thought the team seemed complete without Kayleigh and that we already had quality players who would sit for lack of playing time.

I'm with you on this. Wonder how Kelis feels about it.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

All valid concerns Rocky. I personally am much more pre-season optimistic about this team than any in a bunch of years. The addition of Kayleigh fills a real need by providing another true point guard. I suspect we are going to be a high energy team that will score a lot of points and play in your face defense. We aren't going to be underdogs in any of our OOC games this year. This team has the makings of a kick butt team like UConn teams of old.

I don't disagree. I just thought we were getting a little too ebullient.

 

[Bone Dog]

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.