Kaitlyn putting in the work

[HuskyNan]

Glad she’s a Husky.

 

[HuskyNan]

Love the ankle-breaker

 

[jcoton56]

Me too! Now when she feeds a teammate, she is likely passing to an All American.

 

[Huskee11]

I get a Chauncy Billups vibe watching her play.

Probably all that hesitation, changing speed, stop and start, silky smooth, you can't speed me up type action.

It looks like she can create her own shot, get to the rim, and pass off of the dribble. That pretty much covers it.

Her stats suggest she scores mostly in the midrange and a good offseason goal would be to work on threes so as to increase her shooting percentage from three.

 

[Bone Dog]

Her stats suggest she scores mostly in the midrange and a good offseason goal would be to work on threes so as to increase her shooting percentage from three.

It couldn't hurt, but on this team another perimeter threat isn't a crying need. With Paige Azzi Allie Ash Q and Sarah, I don't know if there's going to be a lot of minutes without at least 2 perimeter threats on the floor.

I just love that she's a bucket-getter in the midrange. You can never have enough of those. When the offense stalls and everyone is covered, you really want Paige or Azzi or Ash and now Kaitlyn to be able to break the ice by beating her defender to get a midrange bucket. Geno loves the 3-ball like any coach. But I've long thought the midrange 2 matters more in his offense schemes.

 

[cferraro04]

I Love her form on the jumper and her follow-through after releasing the ball.

 

[yhun89]

I’ve been lucky to be close to the Ivy League schools, and I’ve always wanted her at UCONN since I saw her, haha. She’s got great control of her body so if she goes up for a floater or a midrange, she’ll draw the contact one way or another.

 

[yhun89]

It couldn't hurt, but on this team another perimeter threat isn't a crying need. With Paige Azzi Allie Ash Q and Sarah, I don't know if there's going to be a lot of minutes without at least 2 perimeter threats on the floor.

I just love that she's a bucket-getter in the midrange. You can never have enough of those. When the offense stalls and everyone is covered, you really want Paige or Azzi or Ash and now Kaitlyn to be able to break the ice by beating her defender to get a midrange bucket. Geno loves the 3-ball like any coach. But I've long thought the midrange 2 matters more in his offense schemes.

Midrange is also more useful for pro ball IMO. It’s quick and sudden and it separates one from the D. A lot of W players seek to use that over the 3. That’s why I think PB could have an easier time integrating. She’s got the most useful shot and mastered it.

 

[JellyBean]

Love the ankle-breaker

Ooooweee!!! I love the tight handle and the crafty skill set!! Also, I love her aggressive mindset. Like you said. I am glad that we have Kaitlyn and glad that Kaitlyn wanted to be a Husky!!

 

[reelfan]

She WILL be a major factor this year.

 

[freekimchee]

I always thought she'd be a great fit for the Huskies and I can't wait to see her in action with this year's team. Love, love her mid range game!!

 

[WestCoastHusky]

Kaitlyn will have a ton of assists at UConn with all the All Americans around her. I also think her 3 PT % will go up quite a bit since she won't have to take a ton of challenged 3 pointers. She will blow up playing with Paige and company.

 

[pvdoggy]

Kaitlyn will have a ton of assists at UConn with all the All Americans around her. I also think her 3 PT % will go up quite a bit since she won't have to take a ton of challenged 3 pointers. She will blow up playing with Paige and company.

I don't know why people keep saying this. As far as I know, Uconn has exactly one All-American on the team?

 

[Tonyc]

Paige Chen and KK can distribute the ball and score. So can Cheli and she will need some experience in the college game. Azzi and Q will be the shooters and Allie will need some experience. Down low Jana Sarah and Ice. We may be waiting for Yana and Grif to get healthy. Shade will do a little bit of everything and be really good at it. When theyre ready to go OMG are we good.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

I don't know why people keep saying this. As far as I know, Uconn has exactly one All-American on the team?

We have many All-American caliber players including Chen herself.

 

[yhun89]

We have many All-American caliber players including Chen herself.

As someone who’s watched Chen for years, AA is a stretch for her considering the levels of talent in the NCAA.

If we were to go from tiers E to S, I’d put Chen in A/High B.
Pros: Crafty PG, skilled handles, elite mid range and able to draw contact easily. Fast and quick on D.
Cons: Not great at 3 point % and struggles under pressure from a press.

Not quite AA caliber, but definitely a force on the court.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

As someone who’s watched Chen for years, AA is a stretch for her considering the levels of talent in the NCAA.

If we were to go from tiers E to S, I’d put Chen in A/High B.
Pros: Crafty PG, skilled handles, elite mid range and able to draw contact easily. Fast and quick on D.
Cons: Not great at 3 point % and struggles under pressure from a press.

Not quite AA caliber, but definitely a force on the court.

She was an honorable WBCA All-American mention. If that's not close to All American, I don't know what is. From her UCONN signing article: Chen was the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year, averaging 16.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a junior. She notched 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists as a senior in 2023-24. Chen was First Team All-Ivy in both seasons and was a 2024 WBCA Honorable Mention All-America selection.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Are you all assuming she is starting PG? When she is on the floor where is KK? I know in the age of the portal it tends to be win now and let next year take care of next year, but I'm curious. I could be happy with Chen as starting PG, but I am not convinced that the competition in the Ivy League has given us an accurate measure of things. Of course, a certain young miss from Fairfield knocked our socks off.

 

[Bone Dog]

Are you all assuming she is starting PG? When she is on the floor where is KK? I know in the age of the portal it tends to be win now and let next year take care of next year, but I'm curious. I could be happy with Chen as starting PG, but I am not convinced that the competition in the Ivy League has given us an accurate measure of things. Of course, a certain young miss from Fairfield knocked our socks off.

I'm pretty sure KK will start at pg in the OOC schedule because she already knows the defense and offense from last season, and that won't change until Kaitlyn outplays her in practice, which may take a few weeks or even a few months.

I think it's the same with the other newcomers. Until they outplay Ash and Ice and Q, they'll play behind them. How soon that may happen will vary in each case.

And as Azzi, Aubrey, Caroline come back to form, they'll likely beat out the newcomers a lot sooner. Ayanna will be the question mark for me. How soon will she be competitive in practice? Only time will tell.

 

[pvdoggy]

We have many All-American caliber players including Chen herself.

You said All-American not All-American caliber players.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kaitlyn will have a ton of assists at UConn with all the All Americans around her. I also think her 3 PT % will go up quite a bit since she won't have to take a ton of challenged 3 pointers. She will blow up playing with Paige and company.

Do you think that an Ivy Leaguer can learn from Paige?

 

[HuskyNan]

As someone who’s watched Chen for years, AA is a stretch for her considering the levels of talent in the NCAA.

If we were to go from tiers E to S, I’d put Chen in A/High B.
Pros: Crafty PG, skilled handles, elite mid range and able to draw contact easily. Fast and quick on D.
Cons: Not great at 3 point % and struggles under pressure from a press.

Not quite AA caliber, but definitely a force on the court.

 

[darrell]

You said All-American not All-American caliber players.

Maybe they meant McDonald’s All-Americans? UConn has quite a few on the roster. Not sure if Princeton had any over Chen’s time there.

 

[pvdoggy]

Maybe they meant McDonald’s All-Americans? UConn has quite a few on the roster. Not sure if Princeton had any over Chen’s time there.

Nice assist