Interesting Observations From Heckel's HS Coach

[RockyMTblue2]

Nice little SI article. She thinks Hechel's freshman woes will find solutions in UConn's coaching staff.

"Geno Auriemma may have found a gem in the Transfer Portal this offseason. At least, that’s how Kayleigh Heckel’s high school head coach sees it."

UConn's New Elite Recruit Earns High Praise from High School Coach

It seems Geno Auriemma's newest Transfer Portal project is worth the investment.

www.si.com

 

[Basingstoke]

I loved the one quote that could also be applied to KK on occasion (more so in her freshman year) "she is so fast sometimes her body is too fast for her brain."

 

[LwrcasefaN]

AKA...the Mariah Jefferson syndrome.

 

[JellyBean]

It will be interesting to see what develops.

 

[Bone Dog]

It sounds like UConn will be one of the quickest teams in D1 with KK and Kayleigh and Kelis.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

It sounds like UConn will be one of the quickest teams in D1 with KK and Kayleigh and Kelis.

+ Blanca, Ash, Sarah, and I cannot think of any of the 2025-26 Huskies who could be called slow.

I am thinking suffocating defense by this edition of Huskies!!! Defense feeds the offense, and "speed kills!"

Go Huskies!!!

 

[Bone Dog]

+ Blanca, Ash, Sarah, and I cannot think of any of the 2025-26 Huskies who could be called slow.

I am thinking suffocating defense by this edition of Huskies!!! Defense feeds the offense, and "speed kills!"

Go Huskies!!!

There’s fast players and then there’s the super quick. Ash and Sarah move well and use their court smarts to avoid getting out of position. You can probably add Morgan to this group. But they are not in the same league as KK Kayleigh and Kelis. If Blanca turns out to have the quickness of our three speed burners, that will really be something.

 

[Happydad745]

Reminds me of Geno's explanation of the wind up toy when describing Morah's speed, but lack of control as a freshman.

 

[Bigboote]

+ Blanca, Ash, Sarah, and I cannot think of any of the 2025-26 Huskies who could be called slow.

I am thinking suffocating defense by this edition of Huskies!!! Defense feeds the offense, and "speed kills!"

Go Huskies!!!

Think about a pressing lineup:

Heckel on the ball

First line: some combination of Arnold, Shade, and Fudd

Down court: Some combination of Strong, Williams, and Quinonez

Speed on the ball. Great anticipation covering the passing lanes, rim protection from the back line.

 

[Bone Dog]

Think about a pressing lineup:

Heckel on the ball

First line: some combination of Arnold, Shade, and Fudd

Down court: Some combination of Strong, Williams, and Quinonez

Speed on the ball. Great anticipation covering the passing lanes, rim protection from the back line.

I didn’t want to use the laugh emoji except that I’d probably be cackling the whole time during games watching a lineup like this. It would be awesome.

 

[cgshuskie]

I'm hoping Uconn will have a pressing presence with K9, KK, Kelis, Blanca and Ayanna. Woo.......

 

[Bald Husky]

I'm hoping Uconn will have a pressing presence with K9, KK, Kelis, Blanca and Ayanna. Woo.......

There is no way they should not. The depth at guard is unbelievable, and they are all good. C'mon Geno, lets tear everyone apart this year.
I think we owe some big-time blow outs to some of these teams, especially Tennessee and Notre Dame.

 

[cferraro04]

It sounds like UConn will be one of the quickest teams in D1 with KK and Kayleigh and Kelis.

Hey Bone Dog...your post reminded me of a post that I made back on May 22nd in the Heckel to UConn thread. I am reposting it again as it is germane to this discussion. The post highlights the flexibility Geno will have next year, assuming everyone stays healthy. He can determine what poison pill is needed to keep the opponents off balance, then tinker with the line-ups to get his desired result. Not too many coaches will have this luxury next season, but Geno definitely will.

Posted on May 22, 2025 (Heckel to UConn thread)

Big Ball - Gandy Malou-Mamel - 6'6", Janah El Alfy - 6'5", Ice Brady - 6'3", Sarah Strong - 6'2", Caroline Ducharme, or, Morgan Cheli - 6'2'
Small Ball - Ayanna Patterson - 6'2", Sarah Strong - 6'2, Azzi Fudd - 5'11", Ashlynn Shade - 5'10", KK Arnold - 5'9"
Offensive Juggernaut - Serah Williams - 6'4", Sarah Strong - 6'2", Blanca Quinones - 6'2", Azzi Fudd - 5'11", Allie Ziebell - 6'0"
Defensive Nightmare - Sarah Williams - 6'4", Sarah Strong - 6'2", Ashlynn Shade - 5'10", Azzi Fudd - 5'11", KK Arnold - 5'9"
Fast and Furious - Ice Brady - 6'3", Sarah Strong - 6'2", Azzi Fudd - 5'11", KK Arnold - 5'9", Kelis Fisher - 5'9"

Best Five - Serah Williams - 6'4", Sarah Strong - 6'2", Blanca Quinones - 6'2", Azzi Fudd - 5'11", KK Arnold - 5'9"

Now that Heckel is going to be a Husky, I may have to amend the above lineups. For example, I might insert her in place of Ayanna Patterson on the Small Ball lineup. I might also have to substitute her for Azzi Fudd in the Defensive Nightmare lineup. Either way, If Geno manages to play all these players to a point where they are all happy with the minutes they are getting, that alone should earn him the coach of the year. I don't think there is a team in WCBB that has the depth that UConn has in every position. Will Geno adopt Kim Caldwell's five-in and five-out hockey strategy to keep players fresh, keep other teams off balance, and give his players minutes?

 

[Next 12]

If Kayliegh Heckell has any thing in her, GENO will find it and make her a Huskie. Her H S coach thinks highly of her and she will fit in to the UCONN way of playing BB. I think she is a surprise thar is waiting to happen. GO Kayliegh!!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Now that Heckel is going to be a Husky, I may have to amend the above lineups. For example, I might insert her in place of Ayanna Patterson on the Small Ball lineup. I might also have to substitute her for Azzi Fudd in the Defensive Nightmare lineup.

Hmm, so why didn't you since this thread is about Kayleigh Heckel, and not you repeating a post from yet another thread about Kayleigh coming to UConn (where you obviously didn't include her there either). Welcone to UConn Kayleigh Heckel. You might also have taken the time to correct the players names you misspelled ... Sarah Williams and Janah. You are taking a dig at Azzi's defense? Didn't you watch her play in the tournament? We haven't seen Ayanna do much of anything of value in a UConn uniform, so I personally question why she was mentioned at all?

 

[Bone Dog]

The difference between the primary lineup and the small ball lineup last season after the Tennessee game was only that Ash or KK came in for Jana or Ice. That was it, one more guard and one less big. Occasionally, it was anchored by Ice, but mostly it was Sarah at the 4, and the difference between those two variations was noticeable, since Ice was not the scoring force Sarah proved to be.

Next season, with Paige and Kaitlyn gone, the primary lineup could be KK Azzi Ash Sarah and Serah, and Kayleigh might be the 4th guard who comes in for Serah to switch to a small ball lineup. And if she proves to be an effective passer, Serah might take Sarah’s spot sometimes.

It’d be interesting to see how Morgan Blanca Caroline Allie or Ayanna could fit in such a lineup. But the small lineup that got Geno another ring was smaller than that. Its key elements were fierce scrambling defense and significant perimeter scoring punch. This meant featuring 4 shooters: Paige Azzi and Ash next to Sarah. Next season, I suspect these two elements will lead Geno to seek 4 shooters again: Sarah Azzi Ash and … whoever emerges as a 40% perimeter shooter. In the best of all possible worlds it will turn out to be Kayleigh, since she’ll also help with the other side: stifling defense.

If all the medium-bigs are healthy, this could create the possibility for a different kind of lineup, neither traditional 2 bigs and 3 littles, nor a small ball lineup. I might call it the big-fast lineup and it might feature Sarah Ayanna Blanca (or Morgan or Carol or Allie) along with Azzi and either KK or Kayleigh. The point, if it worked, would be to feature a motion offense and intense rebounding as well as stifling defense.

Kayleigh’s role in any of these lineups will likely turn on whether she can improve her perimeter shooting. As long as she can shoot better than 30% from three, Geno will find lots of uses for her.