2027 Recruiting: Kaleena Smith

[Bone Dog]

If Sarah and Azzi win a second NC, I suspect a lot of top prospects will reconsider UConn.

 

[Charliebball]

It was quite dope. I take it that means UConn might still be in the running.

Everything that she said she's looking for is exactly what she'd get at UConn........sadly, I think some of the best players are being warned off UConn with the thought that Geno might retire in the next few years.......you've got to believe that other programs in the recruiting mix are bringing that up too....

 

[uconnfan68]

Everything that she said she's looking for is exactly what she'd get at UConn........sadly, I think some of the best players are being warned off UConn with the thought that Geno might retire in the next few years.......you've got to believe that other programs in the recruiting mix are bringing that up too....

Other programs bring up coach’s age? I’m shocked, just shocked.

 

[ConnMotors]

We know one thing and that Geno isn’t going anywhere while Strong is still on the team.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

She visited the 2024 national champion Huskies in January and met the whole team, including Azzi Fudd and now Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers. She liked coach Geno Auriemma and was impressed by how he runs the program.

"He's for sure cool. The campus is great," Smith said. "Just the way that they practiced was great. It was a great visit for sure."

Kaleena Smith, one of the nation's top women's basketball recruits, talks UConn, JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo

The No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2027 spoke with CBS Sports this week

www.cbssports.com

 

[BobbyJ]

She visited the 2024 national champion Huskies in January and met the whole team, including Azzi Fudd and now Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers. She liked coach Geno Auriemma and was impressed by how he runs the program.

"He's for sure cool. The campus is great," Smith said. "Just the way that they practiced was great. It was a great visit for sure."

Kaleena Smith, one of the nation's top women's basketball recruits, talks UConn, JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo

The No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2027 spoke with CBS Sports this week

www.cbssports.com

If it was only about BB, the program, and Auriemma and staff I think they'd get her. But I don't believe it will be. And I certainly hope I'm wrong.

 

[Charliebball]

If it was only about BB, the program, and Auriemma and staff I think they'd get her. But I don't believe it will be. And I certainly hope I'm wrong.

For many of today's best players, it's about the money and the style of play........they've got to "sacrifice" a bit on both if they want to play UConn basketball.......

 

[BobbyJ]

For many of today's best players, it's about the money and the style of play........they've got to "sacrifice" a bit on both if they want to play UConn basketball.......

I agree with you for the majority of top players but for Smith I think it could be a little different. As far as NIL, I think UConn can be competitive and in the ballpark. And style of play shouldn't be a problem either. When Auriemma respects a PG's skills, control, and unselfishness like with Bird, Jefferson and even Dangerfield, he knows how to utilize and maximize their abilities and still let them freewheel. With Smith I get the sense it could come down to her family and close friends being able to share closely in her career without traveling big distances for 4 years to do it and the large amount of endorsements her notoriety and play will be able to generate in the LA area for her and her family. With two years of HS remaining, she's already like a legend in that metro area.

 

[Bone Dog]

And style of play shouldn't be a problem either.

I suspect “style of play” could be a significant obstacle. It’s hard for me to see a real similarity between Sue Bird and Kaleena Smith. In terms of physicality, Kaleena seems rather more like MoJeff. But even then, none of Geno’s point guards have ever been ‘ball dominant’ scorers on the scale of Special K.

 

[BobbyJ]

I suspect “style of play” could be a significant obstacle. It’s hard for me to see a real similarity between Sue Bird and Kaleena Smith. In terms of physicality, Kaleena seems rather more like MoJeff. But even then, none of Geno’s point guards have ever been ‘ball dominant’ scorers on the scale of Special K.

She's only as ball dominant as she needs to be because that's what her teams require of her and her ball security is excellent. She averages almost double digit APG and doesn't take bad shots. Her teammates seem to enjoy playing with her and she does what her coach wants. Watkins, Hidalgo, and Chavez are what I consider to be ball dominant, constantly looking for their own shot first. Smith facilitates as often as she shoots. In UConn's offense she'd be very similar to Jefferson but obviously not at MJ's level defensively.

 

[broooce]

I agree with you for the majority of top players but for Smith I think it could be a little different. As far as NIL, I think UConn can be competitive and in the ballpark. And style of play shouldn't be a problem either. When Auriemma respects a PG's skills, control, and unselfishness like with Bird, Jefferson and even Dangerfield, he knows how to utilize and maximize their abilities and still let them freewheel. With Smith I get the sense it could come down to her family and close friends being able to share closely in her career without traveling big distances for 4 years to do it and the large amount of endorsements her notoriety and play will be able to generate in the LA area for her and her family. With two years of HS remaining, she's already like a legend in that metro area.

The long-term plan for any top HS athlete is to play professionally with success and longevity and opportunities to win championships at that level. While UConn has had our share of top W players, so have other colleges. And like other colleges, we've had our share of alumni who've had so-so success in the W, and everything in between.

She'll have to determine these insightful things that you have pointed out in your post while also considering which coaching staff will help her develop her skill set further to achieve those professional goals. You're spot-on about Geno and his PG's.

Now if part of her calculus is also playing for NCAA championships while doing all the above then UConn has to be at the top of that list of colleges, especially if we can repeat this year and the chance to play with Sarah Strong and be part of the Geno/CD tree. It's certainly a worthy legacy to aspire to become a part of. No disrespect to Lindsay Gottlieb or Cori Close, but they haven't climbed on to the mountaintop - yet. In this aspect then it makes sense that Dawn/SC, Kim/LSU and Nielle/ND are the only other programs that she's shown interest in.

Playing time considerations should come secondary to the level of competition she can face every day at practice (while improving her aforementioned skill set for the future), as well as the willingness (maturity/confidence) to compete for a starting job without fear of being unable to surpass an incumbent player. Pros in every sport work their ass off to prevent a rookie from taking their job and sometimes it takes longer to supplant a starter but there is a lot to learn on the path to getting there.

I think most of us think Special K will be a freshman collegiate starter given what we've all seen of her abilities, but will she develop enough that she'll not only be a rookie starter in the W but then hold on to that role for years to come?

So being a local legend is a terrific achievement and continuing that locally is easy and convenient for her, her family and friends. But will that be challenging enough for her to achieve all her goals as a collegiate player, i.e. winning a natty or two or more? Having UConn's California alums like DT and KLS tasked to assist with her recruitment in this regard would be a smart move for Geno/CD and staff, imo.

Then UConn needs NIL partners like airlines and hotels to help overcome long-distance concerns from far away recruits for WBB, MBB and every other sport.

 

[BobbyJ]

The long-term plan for any top HS athlete is to play professionally with success and longevity and opportunities to win championships at that level. While UConn has had our share of top W players, so have other colleges. And like other colleges, we've had our share of alumni who've had so-so success in the W, and everything in between.

She'll have to determine these insightful things that you have pointed out in your post while also considering which coaching staff will help her develop her skill set further to achieve those professional goals. You're spot-on about Geno and his PG's.

Now if part of her calculus is also playing for NCAA championships while doing all the above then UConn has to be at the top of that list of colleges, especially if we can repeat this year and the chance to play with Sarah Strong and be part of the Geno/CD tree. It's certainly a worthy legacy to aspire to become a part of. No disrespect to Lindsay Gottlieb or Cori Close, but they haven't climbed on to the mountaintop - yet. In this aspect then it makes sense that Dawn/SC, Kim/LSU and Nielle/ND are the only other programs that she's shown interest in.

Playing time considerations should come secondary to the level of competition she can face every day at practice (while improving her aforementioned skill set for the future), as well as the willingness (maturity/confidence) to compete for a starting job without fear of being unable to surpass an incumbent player. Pros in every sport work their ass off to prevent a rookie from taking their job and sometimes it takes longer to supplant a starter but there is a lot to learn on the path to getting there.

I think most of us think Special K will be a freshman collegiate starter given what we've all seen of her abilities, but will she develop enough that she'll not only be a rookie starter in the W but then hold on to that role for years to come?

So being a local legend is a terrific achievement and continuing that locally is easy and convenient for her, her family and friends. But will that be challenging enough for her to achieve all her goals as a collegiate player, i.e. winning a natty or two or more? Having UConn's California alums like DT and KLS tasked to assist with her recruitment in this regard would be a smart move for Geno/CD and staff, imo.

Then UConn needs NIL partners like airlines and hotels to help overcome long-distance concerns from far away recruits for WBB, MBB and every other sport.

I agree with almost all of your comments however, proximity to family along with attention from celebrities plus a large local fan following can produce a large, gravitational effect on a 17-18 year old kid when she's been following JuJu Watkins for the last few years. 😉 And in regards to your comment about help in recruiting, go ahead and Google "can college alums assist in recruiting in any way" and read the AI summation that comes up. That won't be happening unfortunately.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think most of us think Special K will be a freshman collegiate starter given what we've all seen of her abilities

Would she start as a freshman at UConn? I suspect she'd start at many other schools, even top contenders. Who would her competition for a starting spot at UConn be in two years? KK Ash and Azzi will have moved on. Kayleigh will be a senior and Kelis will be a junior. Since we didn't get Kate Harpring, I don't see anyone else on the recruiting horizon who would have an advantage over Kaleena. So it's just a matter whether she can edge out Kayleigh or Kelis. It may be an uphill climb, but I suspect Kaleena is used to beating the odds.

 

[oldhusky]

She's only as ball dominant as she needs to be because that's what her teams require of her and her ball security is excellent. She averages almost double digit APG and doesn't take bad shots. Her teammates seem to enjoy playing with her and she does what her coach wants. Watkins, Hidalgo, and Chavez are what I consider to be ball dominant, constantly looking for their own shot first. Smith facilitates as often as she shoots. In UConn's offense she'd be very similar to Jefferson but obviously not at MJ's level defensively.

If I remember right, I thought I saw somewhere that she thinks Hildago is very much like her. I agree that she distributes often, but like Hildago is a high usage player who both scores and passes a lot. Whether she could find the right balance at Uconn I don't know, she certainly might, but the Miles departure suggests that two ball dominant players in the game at the same time is sometimes a challenge.

Having said that, Uconn last season managed to blend three major stars, and frequently had more than one natural PG in the game, not to mention a point big in Sarah. Paige and Sarah in particular had great chemistry finding that balance between scoring and facilitating, and the sum was greater than the parts, in a way that Miles and Hildago couldn't quite duplicate.

In their case, Miles seemed to flourish, but Hildago while still great, was not as good off the ball, as when it was in her hands the prior year. Smith probably will be a pretty ball dominant PG wherever she goes, scoring and passing, but likely not having the ball in her hands as much here, as some other destinations. She probably could be the the starting PG on a great team, or a stat filling superstar on a pretty good team. Seems to depend on what's most important to her.

 

[BobbyJ]

If I remember right, I thought I saw somewhere that she thinks Hildago is very much like her. I agree that she distributes often, but like Hildago is a high usage player who both scores and passes a lot. Whether she could find the right balance at Uconn I don't know, she certainly might, but the Miles departure suggests that two ball dominant players in the game at the same time is sometimes a challenge.

Having said that, Uconn last season managed to blend three major stars, and frequently had more than one natural PG in the game, not to mention a point big in Sarah. Paige and Sarah in particular had great chemistry finding that balance between scoring and facilitating, and the sum was greater than the parts, in a way that Miles and Hildago couldn't quite duplicate.

In their case, Miles seemed to flourish, but Hildago while still great, was not as good off the ball, as when it was in her hands the prior year. Smith probably will be a pretty ball dominant PG wherever she goes, scoring and passing, but likely not having the ball in her hands as much here, as some other destinations. She probably could be the the starting PG on a great team, or a stat filling superstar on a pretty good team. Seems to depend on what's most important to her.

I agree with your main points and would add that I think Smith is actually a better offensive player than Hidalgo, ballhandling, passing, and shooting. More under control with better court vision. I also believe that at least initially, Smith will have defensive challenges with her lack of size and strength. But Auriemma obviously knows what he wants in a PG and it's apparent that he believes Smith can do what he needs by offering her so early as a freshman. Your last sentence is accurate, it's all going to depend on what's important to her. I'm just not sure it will be a completely basketball decision but who knows.