How good is Blanca

[SVCBeercats]

As a poster alluded above, the key for Blanca may be how well she takes to UConn's coaching.

Typically, the EuroLeague coaches are in control and the players (must?) listen to them. Having said that; Nika was quite stubborn about listening to Geno early in her UCONN career.

 

[Staven]

I've watched numerous clips on Blanca and several posters summed her game up nicely including her playing style and the level of competition she has played against. I can't make any predictions as to how good she can and will be once she arrives in Storrs, but I will say if Geno feels that she will be a major contributor who the hell am I to say she won't be.

 

[EricSD]

Does anybody have a reasonable idea of where she might rank if she was in HS this year? Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, etc. How does she compare to the best threes at the HS level coming out this year?

Very hard to tell obviously because not only has she not played against other US players in high school or the AAU, but she's not been any "all star" games either (Jordan brand, McDAA, etc.).

Several of us have discussed this off the board - our consensus seems to be top 10 for sure, probably even top 5. For example, we feel she's better than Makeer, currently ranked #6 on HG's top 100...

But who knows really? we are just a bunch of older dudes trying to guestimate teenagers talent level with no direct way to compare, save for video footage...

 

[Longtime fan]

I think we will find out.

She has been playing in a professional league for a few years, but it isn't the highest level of European competition. She is competing with and against perhaps the back end of the bench level of WNBA players at best and mostly the ones that get cut before the season starts. (And occasionally she has played against solid roster WNBA players.) That still puts the competition above the majority of NCAA teams, and much more mature that the HS circuit.

How she adapts to Geno and how quickly she integrates with the team will be the issue - she has the skills and experience to be very good.

One advantage for her be that she isn't 'leaving home' to come to Uconn - she left home a few years ago to play in Italy - so while it will still be a culture shock, it shouldn't include 'home sickness.' And she has experience with the 'culture shock' process.

But the food has to be better in Italy than in Storrs. So there is that adjustment.

 

[Longtime fan]

I like Blanca’s chances for a starting spot. It may not materialize until January depending on how quickly she picks up Geno’s system. But I’ll be very surprised if she isn’t a rotation player from November on.

It’s tempting to look at her international experience as a sort of guarantee that she comes in a fully finished AA. But I am pretty confident there will still be a learning curve. As @Cuango and @oldhusky have already pointed out, her natural position at the 3 is already a crowded spot. But she comes in as the healthiest and most athletic of her likely competitors, Carol and Morgan, and bigger and quicker than Allie.

The interesting competitor at the 3 is Ash, who is a better shooter but is a lot smaller. Ash is also practically the definition of the defender Geno loves. How long will it take Blanca to catch up to Ash’s defensive intensity? That’s the main limiting factor here, that and her perimeter shooting.

A second pressure point on Blanca’s playing time at the 3 is Sarah. She is a more dangerous player in all areas than pretty much everyone in D1 WCBB. If Geno want to play Serah next to Jana or Ice or Ayanna in the frontcourt, it seems likely that Sarah will see some times at the 3. This will cut into Blanca’s minutes, especially if it takes longer for her to prove herself on defense.

As @Molisanos has pointed out, she could be part of an interesting lineup of medium big players. I have no idea if this would appeal to Geno, but I can imagine a lineup that could feature Blanca next to Sarah, Morgan, Azzi and Ayanna. The problem ordinary big lineups face is team speed. But this group would be much quicker than most teams could keep up with. Of course, it would only work if Azzi and Morgan could manage the PG responsibilities in it. Also, with only 2 proven perimeter shooters, a lot would depend on Morgan and Blanca improving their consistency.

It is also possible that Blanca could see some minutes at the 4 backing up Sarah. Ordinarily, I’d see Ayanna as a better fit in such moments, but Blanca might bring better offensive punch than Ayanna.

Blanca occupies a sort of sweet spot at her size, since she brings speed and quickness. UConn is stocked with 6’2”+ players, and this competition will surely be really good for her. Her versatility is a great asset especially because it allows her to compete for minutes in several directions.

As for how Blanca compares to other top recruits in this class, I’d guess she’d come in somewhere in the top 5. Betts, Chavez, and Davidson are significant talents too. Any one of them could prove to be game changers at this level. And so could Blanca. She has had more challenging experience in Italy, but some of them seem to have more polished skills already, like Chavez and Davidson.

We just have to wait, see and hope. I hav heard everything from Tamara Catchings to Maya Moore by way of comparison. Let's just relax. She will be the equivalent of neither Catchings nor Moore. Bt she might still be terrific and the is what we hope. The mystery superwoman.

 

[meyers7]

We just have to wait, see and hope. I hav heard everything from Tamara Catchings to Maya Moore by way of comparison. Let's just relax. She will be the equivalent of neither Catchings nor Moore. Bt she might still be terrific and the is what we hope. The mystery superwoman.

Tamika Catchings. (one of the 3 Meeks) . And I've read/heard the same thing.

 

[HuskylnSC]

After my extensive and detailed evaluation of the Italian competition, ranking Blanca to players on this year's team; I would place her as a little less than Paige but a little more than Q. You're welcome.

 

[jazz]

Very hard to tell obviously because not only has she not played against other US players in high school or the AAU, but she's not been any "all star" games either (Jordan brand, McDAA, etc.).

Several of us have discussed this off the board - our consensus seems to be top 10 for sure, probably even top 5. For example, we feel she's better than Makeer, currently ranked #6 on HG's top 100...

But who knows really? we are just a bunch of older dudes trying to guestimate teenagers talent level with no direct way to compare, save for video footage...

Thank you for that.

Sounds reasonable seeing that you evaluated the video. I was thinking (more hoping) she was top 5. This sounds encouraging, but I will not hold you to it!

 

[EricSD]

Thank you for that.

Sounds reasonable seeing that you evaluated the video. I was thinking (more hoping) she was top 5. This sounds encouraging, but I will not hold you to it!

Thanks for that - but reasonable given that we've only seen her on video, and not videos of her playing other American recruits - so no real direct comparisons. But as someone pointed out earlier (I forget who), while the Italian league is not nearly as competitive as the WNBA, it's probably filled with either very low level WNBA type players, or players who might have not quite made the WNBA.

Having said that, the competition is likely FAR superior to anything American players face in high school for the most part. Hence our "assumptions" etc...

 

[cgshuskie]

I think there will be a surprise regarding Blanca's shooting. Also, IMHO, she will pick up Geno's system and expectations pretty quickly.
Another Uconn gamer....

 

[BBallF]

Of course Blanca is not a shooter, but check Lou’s stats in Spain and check Blanca’s… you will see that are not very different and Blanca is 8 years younger.

If that means that Blanca will be the same shooter Lou was when she arrives I would say that would be incredible news for us. I am talking about the present not in 3 or 4 years and I don't see that being the strength of her game right now. Lou Two took the most shots on the team and shot 47.6% from the field and 44% from the arc, both great percentages. Totally different players from what I saw. I think it is very important that she is different from both Azzi and Ash in how she plays. A very physical driver to the basket at 6'2". That's Sarah's height. We are going to be very big this year.

 

[Bone Dog]

We are going to be very big this year.

This is exactly what I have been thinking. We won an NC this season with a smallish team, which ought to put paid to all the noise about having to have super-bigs to compete. Next season, we'll be bigger in a few ways: 1) we have 3 post players who are >6'4", 2) and 6 medium big players at 6'2" or taller 4 of whom have very good handles in the open court, and 3) of these 9 players, 5 have excellent speed and quickness. Blanca is at the core of this feature of the team.

Geno can still play his small-ball lineup which was so effective this season. But he has other options besides the traditional 'big front court -- quick backcourt' scheme. Blanca again could open these up for him. I can hardly wait to see what becomes possible next season. This season, he worked on a lineup featuring Morgan at the 4 and Sarah at the 5 along with 3 of the speedy guards. The key was to have perimeter shooters, but also to have a lot of team speed. When Morgan went down to injury, the small lineup got a little smaller, and maybe a bit better, since they were even quicker and the defense was even fiercer. Picture someone as speedy as Blanca in some version of this lineup.

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

I think Blanca's challenge (in a very good way), will probably be chemistry with the team and adjusting her game to Geno's system. These are good obstacles to have because what separates good players from great ones is how quickly they can adjust to their team and it's philosophy. I like to think this is why Geno doesn't go after Uber scoring players in high school. It's hard for a player who averaged 30ppg in high school, to come to a "team first" college. This is what made Paige, Stevie, Maya, Diana, ect so special.

 

[BBallF]

This is exactly what I have been thinking. We won an NC this season with a smallish team, which ought to put paid to all the noise about having to have super-bigs to compete. Next season, we'll be bigger in a few ways: 1) we have 3 post players who are >6'4", 2) and 6 medium big players at 6'2" or taller 4 of whom have very good handles in the open court, and 3) of these 9 players, 5 have excellent speed and quickness. Blanca is at the core of this feature of the team.

Geno can still play his small-ball lineup which was so effective this season. But he has other options besides the traditional 'big front court -- quick backcourt' scheme. Blanca again could open these up for him. I can hardly wait to see what becomes possible next season. This season, he worked on a lineup featuring Morgan at the 4 and Sarah at the 5 along with 3 of the speedy guards. The key was to have perimeter shooters, but also to have a lot of team speed. When Morgan went down to injury, the small lineup got a little smaller, and maybe a bit better, since they were even quicker and the defense was even fiercer. Picture someone as speedy as Blanca in some version of this lineup.

What you saw last year was something you have not seen in years- depth. When you have that and the substituting players are very different such as KK v. KC or Ash v. Jana the defense and offense have to adjust and are often out of position and defending a mismatch. Think about Kitts trying to guard KK in the NC game. She blew right past her.

I see a lot of that this coming year. You take out Ash at 5'11", a spot up jump shooter and driver, and replace her with Blanca a physical 6'2" slasher. They have to switch defenders and then they don't necessarily have the right personnel. Now take out Ash and put in Jana. Move Serah to the 4 and Sarah to the 3. Just pound the ball inside. Play high-low-whatever. You can't leave Sarah open from the arc or Serah from the foul line. There will also likely be a height/talent differential defending our bigs.

There is no other Sarah anywhere in college and maybe only one or two comparable post players to Serah in the country. In the second half, power and strength usually express themselves. We are not smallish anymore as you point out. We also have team speed both on the floor and the bench. So yeah, could be a decent year. I for one love the idea of us being the "big" team.

 

[ec33]

How good is Blanca? They should start the fundraising for her statue now.

In a tad more seriousness (because these fictional things do not matter): The UConn "Mt. Rushmore" might be getting awfully interesting if Blanca turns out as well as suggested by a Catchings/Moore comp.

 

[Charliebball]

This is exactly what I have been thinking. We won an NC this season with a smallish team, which ought to put paid to all the noise about having to have super-bigs to compete. Next season, we'll be bigger in a few ways: 1) we have 3 post players who are >6'4", 2) and 6 medium big players at 6'2" or taller 4 of whom have very good handles in the open court, and 3) of these 9 players, 5 have excellent speed and quickness. Blanca is at the core of this feature of the team.

Geno can still play his small-ball lineup which was so effective this season. But he has other options besides the traditional 'big front court -- quick backcourt' scheme. Blanca again could open these up for him. I can hardly wait to see what becomes possible next season. This season, he worked on a lineup featuring Morgan at the 4 and Sarah at the 5 along with 3 of the speedy guards. The key was to have perimeter shooters, but also to have a lot of team speed. When Morgan went down to injury, the small lineup got a little smaller, and maybe a bit better, since they were even quicker and the defense was even fiercer. Picture someone as speedy as Blanca in some version of this lineup.

Geno played the small line up partly because he didn't have a big who could run the floor that effectively........that's not going to be the case next season with Serah Williams........a front court of Sara, Serah and Blanca with Azzi and KK will be incredibly difficult for any team to handle......mix and match with the very deep and talented bench and it's going to be quite some show......next season can't get here soon enough......

 

[Bone Dog]

Geno played the small line up partly because he didn't have a big who could run the floor that effectively........that's not going to be the case next season with Serah Williams........a front court of Sara, Serah and Blanca with Azzi and KK will be incredibly difficult for any team to handle......mix and match with the very deep and talented bench and it's going to be quite some show......next season can't get here soon enough......

Yes, that's probably what motivated it initially. But it quickly showed other virtues and became choice-worthy in its own right. By March, other coaches were wondering if they should go small to counter it.

But I take your point that we could have a lineup with a front court that runs the floor really well. I can hardly wait to see what they're capable of!

 

[BBallF]

With Sarah at center, and KC, Paige, Azzi and either Ash or KK, you had 4 excellent defenders at the guard and forward positions and tremendous speed plus one other thing that has not been mentioned enough if at all- all of them have great handles and are highly proficient passers. That's why that fast break was so beautiful at times. Of the 5 besides Sarah, 4 were strong 3 point shooters as well. The defense was just smothering with rare open shots and any turnover was 2 or 3 points automatic.

 

[MilfordHusky]

How good is Blanca?

Really, really good!

 

[Vowelguy]

As with any BY discussion, keep in mind that there are some WCBB experts here who can really evaluate talent, and then there are many (myself included) who can’t.

(remember the “Autumn C would be a starter at a mid-major” comments?)

 

[Alydar]

I think Blanca is a real wildcard for next year. She could put us way over the top if she can play well and be a threat.

Can anybody make a reasonable comparison to the competition that Blanca has had vs top 10 NCAA teams? I'm just thinking that if she plays against a lot of WNBA players (or maybe it is only a few), then whatever she has accomplished thus far, may be the baseline for what we may reasonably expect next year. What can we expect or project from her? Any thoughts...

A better comparison would be between her Euro-league competition and what the incoming college freshmen faced in high school and AAU. Some elite high school teams play against highly talented teams nationally but most are never challenged in HS, especially posts. Strong played on a average high school team that she made relevant and made the adjustment amazingly well but she's an exception.
The key to me is that Quinonez has been practicing a lot more than most high school(AAU) players and against 19-25 year-olds, not 15-18 year-olds. It's the long practices of "team skills" that Geno likes about Euros.

 

[hookshot]

We just have to wait, see and hope. I hav heard everything from Tamara Catchings to Maya Moore by way of comparison. Let's just relax. She will be the equivalent of neither Catchings nor Moore. Bt she might still be terrific and the is what we hope. The mystery superwoman.

Seems more Swin Cash like, don't you think

 

[Alydar]

Geno played the small line up partly because he didn't have a big who could run the floor that effectively........that's not going to be the case next season with Serah Williams........a front court of Sara, Serah and Blanca with Azzi and KK will be incredibly difficult for any team to handle......mix and match with the very deep and talented bench and it's going to be quite some show......next season can't get here soon enough......

Geno succeeded at small ball because he had Strong. Besides her offense she may be the best rebounder in the country. What she did against SCar, twice, was domination in the paint. The fact that she was also out front in transition or taking the ball away from elite guards behind the arc is just ridiculous.

I'd like to see a lot of substitutions in November because it will mean that a lot of players are impressing the coaches. So many possible combinations!

 

[Bone Dog]

Geno succeeded at small ball because he had Strong. Besides her offense she may be the best rebounder in the country

This seems right, and it calls to mind the Pheesa-KLS teams. They played a similar sort of small-ball. KLS was 6’3” but was typically stationed at the perimeter. The paint was left to the smaller Pheesa and Gabby. Geno had such an innovative sense of how to put disparate parts together into a powerhouse team.

 

[towerman]

Let us all take a deep breath. Seems like I read a lot of the same kind of posts regarding Jana. It is a big step up from national teams and foreign leagues to the top of D1 college bball.

 

[MHD789]

Her home town is Milagro ("miracle" in English). Sounds appropriate given we appear to have landed a WNBA star that the greater US college basketball world doesn't seem to be aware of.

I just hope she's fun to watch develop & improve over time. It'll be a great story for a Ecuadorian player.

I think if she has a reliable 3 point shot, she'll have a good chance to see some meaningful court time next year. If not, realistically it'll be tough to steal minutes from the existing roster (even without a potential Kayleigh Heckel addition or Caroline comeback). In competitive games (not conference blow-outs), , SS & SW will sub-out only a little and if you assume that one of the remaining two spots are some form of a true point/combo guard then that leaves a lot of players competing for the last spot/minutes (third guard or small forward).

That's just how I'm envisioning her role next year assuming we don't truly get back-to-back generational players (i.e., Sarah Strong & Blanca Quinonez). That truly would be a "un milagro"!!

 

[CTBballfan243]

No one really knows how she will play, but we are going to find out in a few months.

 

[Cuango]

While we (The Boneyard) almost always project our incoming players to be instant superstars, the hype around Blanca is astounding. I’m seeing references to Catchings and Moore, two of the greatest players that ever played in the W and/or college. I hope all this hype is true and we end up with two Sarah Strongs but I have to say, I’m not sure where all this is coming from. I freely admit that I’m not nearly as knowledgeable as many on this board but really, all I’ve seen are some videos (where she looked promising) and an interview with some international scout (who thought the world of her) To me, she looked big, strong, and athletic but she did not elicit any kind of Sarah Strong, Paige like “Wow” feelings. For example, I didn’t see her as better than a healthy Caroline or Morgan.
This is certainly not a put down or any kind of disappointment, I’m very happy to have her. I’m just honestly perplexed at the overwhelming expectation that she is an instant starter, game changing recruit when I question if she will be able to beat out Morgan or (a potentially healthy) Caroline? Again, as I previously posted, I truly hope she is the second best player on he team. I just am not seeing what others are, I guess. I see an obviously talented player with outstanding physical attributes whom I would expect to follow (more or less) the usual schedule of the non superstar recruit.

 

[Charliebball]

While we (The Boneyard) almost always project our incoming players to be instant superstars, the hype around Blanca is astounding. I’m seeing references to Catchings and Moore, two of the greatest players that ever played in the W and/or college. I hope all this hype is true and we end up with two Sarah Strongs but I have to say, I’m not sure where all this is coming from. I freely admit that I’m not nearly as knowledgeable as many on this board but really, all I’ve seen are some videos (where she looked promising) and an interview with some international scout (who thought the world of her) To me, she looked big, strong, and athletic but she did not elicit any kind of Sarah Strong, Paige like “Wow” feelings. For example, I didn’t see her as better than a healthy Caroline or Morgan.
This is certainly not a put down or any kind of disappointment, I’m very happy to have her. I’m just honestly perplexed at the overwhelming expectation that she is an instant starter, game changing recruit when I question if she will be able to beat out Morgan or (a potentially healthy) Caroline? Again, as I previously posted, I truly hope she is the second best player on he team. I just am not seeing what others are, I guess. I see an obviously talented player with outstanding physical attributes whom I would expect to follow (more or less) the usual schedule of the non superstar recruit.

You must not have seen the videos I've seen.......Blanca is extremely talented and can do things on the court that Caroline and Morgan can only dream of ..........I assume it will take a bit of time for her to adapt to the UConn system but some of her finishes at the basket are almost freakishly good and she has some of the same anticipatory defensive skills that Sarah made famous last season......I'll be disappointed if she doesn't grab 20 minutes plus a game as the season progresses....

 

[tower1]

You must not have seen the videos I've seen.......Blanca is extremely talented and can do things on the court that Caroline and Morgan can only dream of ..........I assume it will take a bit of time for her to adapt to the UConn system but some of her finishes at the basket are almost freakishly good and she has some of the same anticipatory defensive skills that Sarah made famous last season......I'll be disappointed if she doesn't grab 20 minutes plus a game as the season progresses....

I have to agree with you, I saw the videos too. She is very talented. I think she is ready for Uconn basketball .