Actually, I've heard few people expressing anything like the expectation that Kaleena is Maya. Well, the only thing is their similar appearance. I do expect her to exceed Maya in a number of ways. I, also, hear people underestimating many of her skills.
I offer the following:
She will be quicker and faster than most people expect
She has no stop, some people are just this way and it isn't always a matter of conditioning but rather mental and physiological uniqueness
She will shoot lights out in many but not every game this year
She is a driven athlete and will steadily improve every game she plays at UConn, building on her strengths and learning from her few failures
I'm not trying to prolong the Maya comparisons, but they are clearly out there. My point is that Kaleena and Maya are different. Each is great, but in somewhat different ways.
Maya scored 3,036 points. Kaleena has 0 so far--but the poll in John A's chat suggest that people expect her to get to 2,200 or so. Amazing! Let's enjoy Kaleena and not put pressure on her. But when she does great things, as many of us expect, comparisons are inevitable.
I agree totally with Icebear's observations and would add three:
Kaleena is a smart basketball player, more than anyone would expect from a kid who is still 17 years old (as of today).
Kaleena is a cool customer and seemingly impervious to pressure. She wants the ball in her hands in important situations. And she'll make the shots more often than most.
Kaleena plays with a joy. It's not quite the attitude of Diana and different from Maya, but she always seems happy--and fans will love it.
