John A. on Hoopstream

[MilfordHusky]

One big reason why someone would want to subscribe:

"Just wait until you see Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis play."

 

[DaddyChoc]

smart man

 

[CalifHusky]

Living here in Calif - 4 miles from KLM's high school, I've had the great opportunity to watch her practice and play......and I am so excited for you all to realize just how really good she is. When I moved out here last year, I thought I knew how good she was, but she is way better then you think. What fun we have to look forward to for the next 4 years watching her play.

 

[EricSD]

Living here in Calif - 4 miles from KLM's high school, I've had the great opportunity to watch her practice and play......and I am so excited for you all to realize just how really good she is. When I moved out here last year, I thought I knew how good she was, but she is way better then you think. What fun we have to look forward to for the next 4 years watching her play.

Even tho i live in SD, i was never able to get up to Mater Dei to see her play. i don't recall seeing you write up a report on her games - i'd love to hear what you have to say from first hand knowledge.

i think most of us know she's going to be special. after all, she was rated #1 by most everyone, ahead of Williams, so there was a reason people who saw her thought so highly of her and her game. thanks!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Living here in Calif - 4 miles from KLM's high school, I've had the great opportunity to watch her practice and play......and I am so excited for you all to realize just how really good she is. When I moved out here last year, I thought I knew how good she was, but she is way better then you think. What fun we have to look forward to for the next 4 years watching her play.

Hmm. This reminds me of a story from almost exactly 4 years ago. Doug Bruno, who had coached Maya on Team USA, called his buddy Geno. The conversation started like this: "Tell me the truth. She's even better than you thought, isn't she?" One source rated KML as the #4 player nationally as a 15-year old sophomore. Not even Maya was that good that early. I think Kaleena, while different, will show why she merits wearing the iconic #23 jersey.

 

[Icebear]

Wow, need to get my glasses checked. I thought you said,"I think Kaleena, while different, will show why she merits wearing the ironic #23 jersey. " Scared me for a moment.

 

[alexrgct]

Can't wait. She was born to play for Geno. She's a dynamic offensive player and has spent years playing alongside other top players and championship-caliber teams. There's really nothing she couldn't do on a basketball court with some hard work and coaching.

And it's amazing how much she's transformed physically WITHOUT being in a collegiate S&C program. When you think of everything she's accomplished already without Geno, without Shea, without always being in college-level shape, without having matured into a young adult, etc...and then you realize that's all just starting to happen for her. It'll be very exciting watching her story unfold over the next four seasons.

 

[CalifHusky]

Even tho i live in SD, i was never able to get up to Mater Dei to see her play. i don't recall seeing you write up a report on her games - i'd love to hear what you have to say from first hand knowledge.

i think most of us know she's going to be special. after all, she was rated #1 by most everyone, ahead of Williams, so there was a reason people who saw her thought so highly of her and her game. thanks!

I did write about her several times. One was about a pregame practice and watching her shoot threes and realizing she had not missed any, I began to count and watched her make the next 11 or 12 shots. I am so glad that I got an extra year of watching her play. I am so looking forward to watching the next 4 years.

KLM is much more of a natural leader on the floor, then we have seen for a while at UConn. She is quite vocal. She is intent on scoring, and not at all afraid to go crashing into the lane to score. By the end of last season she was in significantly better shape and less winded at the beginning of the season.

Looking ahead, I hope that Geno schedules games with USC. I think that USC is building a really good team and they should be fun to watch as the team matures.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As Geno noted, Kaleena--like Maya--is different. She is comfortable in all situations and mature beyond her 17 years.

Geno also said after the Europe trip that everyone knew she could shoot, but maybe she could do other things too. She is the all-time leading rebounder at Mater Dei, so I think she can do other things.

When she shoots, the other players have a tendency to stop momentarily to watch, as everyone expects every shot to go in. Note to team: get ready to rebound, as she will miss about 40% of the time.

Kaleena wants the last-second shot with the game on the line. She does not shy away from the pressure or the spotlight.

She is a confident and gregarious kid. Others want to hang out with her and play with her. She was the ringleader of the group of 6 at First Night last year. Put her in a room with Taya and Xylina for 30 minutes, and we'll have 2 more commits.

She is a great match for Geno and vice versa. He will put her in a position to succeed, and she gives him so much to work with. When Breanna gets here in 2012, they will perform like Maya and Tina. The other team simply will not have enough defenders.

 

[CalifHusky]

Hmm. This reminds me of a story from almost exactly 4 years ago. Doug Bruno, who had coached Maya on Team USA, called his buddy Geno. The conversation started like this: "Tell me the truth. She's even better than you thought, isn't she?" One source rated KML as the #4 player nationally as a 15-year old sophomore. Not even Maya was that good that early. I think Kaleena, while different, will show why she merits wearing the iconic #23 jersey.

I have often read your post on KLM, and you really seem to understand what a great player she is now and has the potential to be over the next four years. I agree she merits the #23. I am so excited for this years season.

One thing that I find funny, is that the home games at MaterDei are a bigger deal then our First Night. The MD home games have a huge blow up Cougar, that as the team is announced the girls come running out of, into a disco ball lite court, with a DJ and music, the dance team, and cheerleaders all do routines before the team is announced. The first time I saw it I was blown away......and I had been told about the pre-game hype by a friend. But then again, this is Calif and we are just a down the road from Tinsel Town.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Wow, need to get my glasses checked. I thought you said,"I think Kaleena, while different, will show why she merits wearing the ironic #23 jersey. " Scared me for a moment.

Glad you were only scared and not scarred.

Maya is built like the woman of steel. I guess that could be called "ironic."

 

[UConnCat]

According to John A., Geno "reminds us not to compare #KML to Maya Moore. He says its not possible to expect anyone to accomplish what Maya did"

I think Geno was speaking directly to you, MilfordHusky.

 

[MilfordHusky]

According to John A., Geno "reminds us not to compare #KML to Maya Moore. He says its not possible to expect anyone to accomplish what Maya did"

I think Geno was speaking directly to you, MilfordHusky.

I read that. The fact that Geno says something like that suggests that Kaleena is special.

I think Maya's accomplishments are realistically beyond any reasonabe expectations. Some examples: 4-time AA is very rare; BE FOY and POY together are unprecedented; 3,000 points were the results of some special circumstances; academic POY is very special.

In short, expect KML to shoot the ball very, very well; do a lot of other things well; play with joy; win lots of games and some championships; and some awards. Kaleena comes in as highly touted as Diana and Maya; I expect her to be very good and have lots of success. She will do things her own way, and the fans should love her.

 

[UConnCat]

I read that. The fact that Geno says something like that suggests that Kaleena is special.

I agree. Geno is doing what any good coach would do: he's protecting his young player. On top of all the expectations that come with being the #1 ranked player out of HS and playing for the #1 program in America, he doesn't want her to feel like she needs to fill the shoes of a once in a lifetime type of player. Having said that, I agree KML is going to be very special and we won't have to wait until next year to see that.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno will try to figure out how to motivate Kaleena. She is a very smart player with lots of high level experience. She is not afraid to strive for greatness. She will likely make freshman mistakes; on the other hand, it will not take long for us to see she is really special. Just look at her shooting stats from Italy!