Kalena out of game shape?

[Sonny44]

Really? I'm not seeing it. I'm not sure we win last night without her. And what about the St. Joe's game?
She's taking charge; it's her time.
But that's why I feel we can't lose. If not KML then some other emerges to lead us to the promised land.

 

[chrissaran]

Kaleena will tell you she's not in the same shape she would be in without the injuries and mono. That being said, she's in good enough shape to get a triple double, only the 14th in the history of the women's NCAA tournament and to stem the tide of BYU and save the team's collective ****s.

 

[EricLA]

Kaleena will tell you she's not in the same shape she would be in without the injuries and mono. That being said, she's in good enough shape to get a triple double, only the 14th in the history of the women's NCAA tournament and to stem the tide of BYU and save the team's collective a$$es.

Couldn't agree more. She certainly looks a tad "heavier" than last year, and she does get beaten on defense at times, but even in the best of shape she was never going to be the fleetest of foot. With Stewie, Moriah, Bria and even Kiah out there, there are plenty of players who are "athletic" enough. It's not like UCONN puts 5 linebackers on the court at once!

 

[UcMiami]

Really? I'm not seeing it. I'm not sure we win last night without her. And what about the St. Joe's game?
She's taking charge; it's her time.
But that's why I feel we can't lose. If not KML then some other emerges to lead us to the promised land.

On game shape - preseason really starts in August when the kids come back and start playing pick-up games, have individual work outs and training sessions with Rosemary so it is about 70 days of getting into shape. The season begins and you are then actually playing games as well as the other stuff. Players sometimes have minor problems that knock them out of games for a week and it takes a few days to get it back together when whatever went wrong clears up. For Kaleena, that is not the pattern - she got the seventy days, but then had to miss a month when her arm condition prevented her from doing a lot of stuff she normally would do - yes she could ride a stationary bike and do other similar things but that is just not the same and protecting the arm from jolts was a big restriction on the type of conditioning work she could do. She comes back, starts getting stamina back and rhythm and then comes down with mono. That knocks her out again and this time it is three weeks of NO activity - no stationary bike, no cardio - even walking around campus is something that should be limited to essential trips.
That amount of time is not something that you can really recover from in a month. Can she play 40 minutes straight - sure, but fatigue is real and she will not regain that stamina fully until next year. She is playing great basketball, but she is not playing at 100% right now and will not be through the end of the season.

This has been true for other players on the current team. Bria had a terrible struggle last year. Banks was playing pretty well this year recovering from her injury until she went down with a chronic ankle problem that really derailed her and from which she hasn't fully 'recovered'. And some 'complain' about Kiah's progress over her years here, but forget that this year is her first fully healthy year at Uconn (she missed one game early with an ankle issue which thankfully was minor.) Her previous years were a progression of minor problems, nothing serious, but enough to disrupt any kind of flow to her seasons.

One of the things people forget is conditioning involves nutrition - athletes burn more calories than average people so they eat a lot more. But the process of regulating that intake when they have to shut down for a few weeks is really tough. Your mind/body becomes used to the intake and does not immediately react to the decreased need, so it takes will power and constant attention. There is a reason that a lot of elite athletes become overweight when they retire. For an athlete in season, it is even tougher, because it is just temporary and you have to change immediately, you can't ease in to the process.

 

[HuskyNan]

Couldn't agree more. She certainly looks a tad "heavier" than last year, and she does get beaten on defense at times, but even in the best of shape she was never going to be the fleetest of foot. With Stewie, Moriah, Bria and even Kiah out there, there are plenty of players who are "athletic" enough. It's not like UCONN puts 5 linebackers on the court at once!

She's using that extra bulk to her advantage. She was always strong but now she's an imposing presence in the paint. She mowed down a couple of those slender BYU players last night.

 

[Tenspro2002]

She's clearly more limited athletically than she has been in years past, but she's finding other ways to contribute.

I don't mean that her conditioning is bad -- she can still play 30+ minutes. But she's a hell of a lot slower than before; I'm not sure I've seen her finish a fast break, and she struggles to defend quicker guards.

But instead of being stationary on the perimeter, she's throwing her weight around on the offensive boards and turning a lot of otherwise lost possessions into easy points for us.

 

[magic]

KML is using what she has right now to gain an advantage on the offfensive end on the glass. Her problem is on the defensive end where she is having trouble .

 

[JellyBean]

Kaleena will tell you she's not in the same shape she would be in without the injuries and mono. That being said, she's in good enough shape to get a triple double, only the 14th in the history of the women's NCAA tournament and to stem the tide of BYU and save the team's collective *s.

I so agree. KML is not in the type of shape she would have been if she did not suffer the injury and come down with mono, and she understands that. But to me, she is in decent shape to log major minutes and do the little things that help us win.

 

[HGN]

She may not be in the kind of condition she would prefer , but I will take 19 pts and 13rbs any day.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I personally think that she came into the regular season with her conditioning (and weight) a little behind what it was last year. Then the injury against Stanford sidelined her, followed by the injury of her non shooting arm occuring almost simultaneously with the onset of mono and so here we are. As a result I don't think she's as quick as she was last year, particularly on the defensive end but she's a really tough minded young lady whose making adjustments and really contributing in a variety of ways to the team. The grit that she displayed on the offensive boards really helped turn the tide yesterday. I think she's doing whatever needs to be done to get us back to the Final Four and a chance at another national championship. Great kid!!!!

 

[DaddyChoc]

She may not be in the kind of condition she would prefer , but I will take 19 pts and 13rbs any day.

exactly... bailed UConn out and fans still aren't satisfied

she's 20-21yrs old.... not 60yrs old and is damn near a world class athlete, she's fine!

UConn is a top-notch conditioning program... as people talk about all the time, a lot of other team dont compare. so on her worse day she's better than a lot on their best day, as we are seeing.... but still complaining about

 

[psconn]

Kaleena was the clear star of the game last night. Tremendous effort and intensity. She is a great player right now, but she could (and likely will) be even greater next year. How great? If she were to pull off a Stef-like "Insanity" transformation, her senior year could be the stuff of legends. I see no ceiling for this kid up to and including Maya-esque performances.

 

[Hongster]

KML will put everybody on her back and fly.

 

[ThisJustIn]

exactly... bailed UConn out and fans still aren't satisfied
t

Bull patties. You're taking legit observations and making them into "dissatisfaction."

It is possible to be full of admiration and respect for all KML is doing this year, and still acknowledge that she's doing it all not in tip top shape (and through no fault of her own.0.

 

[meyers7]

exactly... bailed UConn out and fans still aren't satisfied

she's 20-21yrs old.... not 60yrs old and is damn near a world class athlete, she's fine!

UConn is a top-notch conditioning program... as people talk about all the time, a lot of other team dont compare. so on her worse day she's better than a lot on their best day, as we are seeing.... but still complaining about

I don't think anybody is complaining, expect some of you guys complaining about people noticing (including KML and Geno!!!!!) that she is not at top form (physically) right now. That's all. Look how this thread started. Geez people, get a grip.

 

[easttexastrash]

There is a big difference in performing well against the 12 seed and another 1 seed. I think the big test for KML is still to come when the competition gets stiffer.

TAMU is very athletic so the next game will reveal more about her conditioning against a team that likes to push tempo.

 

[DaddyChoc]

after every game I must check the boxscore cause I assume KML stunk up the joint because of her conditioning...

 

[jdubct]

after every game I must check the boxscore cause I assume KML stunk up the joint because of her conditioning...

Yeah, she only had a triple double then she sunk to a double double with only 13 rebounds.

 

[ballhawk]

She's obviously heavier but she's still a terrific player who would start on every D1 team in the country. Next year she'll again be a first team AA.

 

[phil sampieri]

Bull patties. You're taking legit observations and making them into "dissatisfaction."

It is possible to be full of admiration and respect for all KML is doing this year, and still acknowledge that she's doing it all not in tip top shape (and through no fault of her own.0.

O.K. K is a bit overwieght now that is the umpteenth time it has been noted is that enough for Chris's sake.
so many things to note from a great turnaround and this ?

 

[luckyhusky7]

Why can't we just be happy with how hard she plays.....seriously guys, we find the stupidest thing to complain about. Her weight is like the elephant in the room.....it's always gonna be there but she's also using it to her advantage. It's not like 19 points, 13 rebounds were bad numbers and I don't hear Geno complaining about it....why do we???

 

[RockyMTblue2]

K has really rounded out her game, transforming from the long range specialist to a long, midrange and inside player, but the best thing she has going are steely nerves and an absolute scrapper mentality.

 

[Shenandoah]

Yeah, KML is really regressing....from a triple double against St. Joe's to ONLY a double double against BYU...We should be proud of her for hanging tough when most people would get down and feel sorry for themselves. The fact that she has been able to perform at such a high level aftr injuring BOTH elbows, AND having mono, is a statement to her dedication, skill level and commitment to the team...