Kitija Laksa says goodbye to USF...but....

[Urshurak]

Kitjia Laksa not returning to South Florida

Still no word on her future.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Question for the Smart guys out there, Charlie, Milford, Coco, Oldog, TonyC, etc--you know who you are: If Laksa gets a Waiver for her senior year and has a grad year to use. Does that mean she may get 2 years at another school? Or is her eligibility ended with 4 years of availability/competition (to me that seems to be the case, but I don't know) Help.

 

[Urshurak]

BroadwayVA, I was wondering the same thing.

 

[Jaybird65]

NCAA athletes have 5 years to complete 4 years of eligibility from the date they 1st enroll in classes. The NCAA would have to grant a 6th year of eligibility if an appeal/request is filed by the athlete and/or their school. While this has been occasionally granted, it is not common.

 

[Argonaut]

 

[JordyG]

Clearly this is just what UConn needs, another guard. Wasn't there a long discussion not to very long ago about the backcourt logjam that Westbrook would cause if she came to UConn? Laksa is surely a very fine player but let's be reasonable.

 

[Go/huskies]

Clearly this is just what UConn needs, another guard. Wasn't there a long discussion not to very long ago about the backcourt logjam that Westbrook would cause if she came to UConn? Laksa is surely a very fine player but let's be reasonable.

It’s also possible that she would like nothing more then to beat UConn. I wouldn’t mind seeing her at Oregon if they miss out on Moore.

 

[uconnfan68]

Clearly this is just what UConn needs, another guard. Wasn't there a long discussion not to very long ago about the backcourt logjam that Westbrook would cause if she came to UConn? Laksa is surely a very fine player but let's be reasonable.

It’s 1 year only, and there is no guarantee for Evina Westbrook next year. She helps bridge the gap.

 

[Shades]

Day of Recogning

UCONN better sign a Major class next year... the future of the program is at stake. Hopefully we sign a few juco players... we will be even shorter next season a roster of 10 maybe 9 depending on camera comes back.. with her recent knee injury...losing Boston was the biggest blow I never thought...

the-boneyard.com

 

[DefenseBB]

Clearly this is just what UConn needs, another guard. Wasn't there a long discussion not to very long ago about the backcourt logjam that Westbrook would cause if she came to UConn? Laksa is surely a very fine player but let's be reasonable.

What guard logjam next year? Crystal Dangerfield, CW, Ania M and Molly for sure. Maybe Evina. We know that Laksa can score against D1 top teams. We know Molly is challenged on that and we don’t know if Ania can yet.
So we have 2 Starters, 1 incoming freshman with good pedigree but an unknown. We have Evina with a capricious NCAA decision.

Give me Laksa and her outside shot, every day and twice on Sunday. Don’t give me feedback about defense as Kaleena was no Kelly Faris her senior year on that end of the floor and we did pretty well with that 3 point shot.

 

[Zorro]

"You can't have too many guards!"

 

[DEpup]

I think everyone is also assuming Laksa will be healthy enough to play. That may or may not be the case.

 

[Alydar]

Clearly this is just what UConn needs, another guard. Wasn't there a long discussion not to very long ago about the backcourt logjam that Westbrook would cause if she came to UConn? Laksa is surely a very fine player but let's be reasonable.

She's played 3 years and has but one year of eligibility. If she were to come to UConn the odds are that Westbrrok will be on sitting out the season and both Muhl & Bueckers are still a year away. So the guards next season could be Dangerfield, Williams, Makurat, Bent & Laksa. Not so many. Could see CD, CW & Ania start with Laksa the 1st off the bench.

 

[Argonaut]

I think everyone is also assuming Laksa will be healthy enough to play. That may or may not be the case.

I don't think she'd be in the transfer portal if she wasn't healthy enough.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think she'll land at Notre Dame. Even if ND has a mediocre (by their standards) season, she'll get good time in against much better opponents (sans UConn) than she was seeing in the AAC. It could do a lot for her draft stock and give MM some much needed senior leadership.

 

[uconnfan68]

She's played 3 years and has but one year of eligibility. If she were to come to UConn the odds are that Westbrrok will be on sitting out the season and both Muhl & Bueckers are still a year away. So the guards next season could be Dangerfield, Williams, Makurat, Bent & Laksa. Not so many. Could see CD, CW & the Pole start with Laksa the 1st off the bench.

No way she wouldn’t start here.

 

[veryolddog]

I think that she is supposed to be a crackerjack three point shooter. It might be nice to bring her in for 10 or 15 minutes to pick up 12 points and give someone a rest. Not bad for one year. They have the scholarships. It is not like wasting anything.

 

[hoopsdiva]

I think that she is supposed to be a crackerjack three point shooter. It might be nice to bring her in for 10 or 15 minutes to pick up 12 points and give someone a rest. Not bad for one year. They have the scholarships. It is not like wasting anything.

That's fine from UConn's point of view, but where's the benefit to Laksa? If she stays in college for another year, it will probably be to raise her visibility and stock for the WNBA. Geno has a great record of prepping kids for the W, but I'm not sure that 10-15 minutes per game would really prove beneficial to her, even if next year's draft is likely to be pretty weak.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

That's fine from UConn's point of view, but where's the benefit to Laksa? If she stays in college for another year, it will probably be to raise her visibility and stock for the WNBA. Geno has a great record of prepping kids for the W, but I'm not sure that 10-15 minutes per game would really prove beneficial to her, even if next year's draft is likely to be pretty weak.

Exactly. Laksa has achieved all she needs to achieve. And though another year might prove her to be a bit better to the scouts, she could also be worse after the surgery and rehab. Indeed, she is now, quite literally, damaged goods. So Laksa needs to look out for Laksa and turn pro, preferably in Europe.

 

[CocoHusky]

Exactly. Laksa has achieved all she needs to achieve. And though another year might prove her to be a bit better to the scouts, she could also be worse after the surgery and rehab. Indeed, she is now, quite literally, damaged goods. So Laksa needs to look out for Laksa and turn pro, preferably in Europe.

You don't put your name in the portal if you intend to turn pro. Her DoB is May 21, 1996-significant because Laska could have declared for the WNBA draft in April 2018-BEFORE HER INJURY if turning pro was what she wanted.

 

[JordyG]

She's played 3 years and has but one year of eligibility. If she were to come to UConn the odds are that Westbrrok will be on sitting out the season and both Muhl & Bueckers are still a year away. So the guards next season could be Dangerfield, Williams, Makurat, Bent & Laksa. Not so many. Could see CD, CW & Ania start with Laksa the 1st off the bench.

Maybe. Frankly though I think Westbrook's chance of getting a waiver is about 65-70%. Just my opinion. Even if not, what then? Many have opined that it takes a good minute to get up to speed in Geno's system. To me this is doubly so for guards. Laksa's great advantages are her movement without the ball and off the screen. Her great disadvantages are her tendency to become frustrated, go cold for extended periods, and her poor defensive skills. So, is this really a good fit? She's also not the best ball handler.

 

[JordyG]

"You can't have too many guards!"

Wanna bet?

 

[oldude]

Laksa is holding her cards very close to her vest. Clearly, she is not returning to USF. While she didn’t declare for the W, that seems like a no brainer assuming that she is continuing to rehab her knee. Laksa has graduated. As a result, she does not need to place her name in the transfer portal, which she has not done.

So Laksa has two options: show up on a college campus as a grad transfer or wait until fall to join a European pro team. If Laksa intends to be a grad transfer, she really needs to make that decision in the next week or so, because summer sessions start in early June, and most players, who are not otherwise engaged with USA basketball, will be back on campus with their teammates.

So I will suggest that if we don’t hear anything from Laksa by the 1st of June, the next time she will appear on a basketball court will be as a European professional.

 

[Alydar]

Maybe. Frankly though I think Westbrook's chance of getting a waiver is about 65-70%. Just my opinion. Even if not, what then? Many have opined that it takes a good minute to get up to speed in Geno's system. To me this is doubly so for guards. Laksa's great advantages are her movement without the ball and off the screen. Her great disadvantages are her tendency to become frustrated, go cold for extended periods, and her poor defensive skills. So, is this really a good fit? She's also not the best ball handler.

I'm not promoting Laksa. I like watching her play but I also see that she needs a lot of shots to get her points and that isn't happening at UConn. But after watching her for 3 years Geno should know all about her and I'm not going to sweat it.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think everyone is also assuming Laksa will be healthy enough to play. That may or may not be the case.

That's a good point, but she has 4 more months to heal and rehab. Hopefully, she'll not take longer than that to recover. She was injured very early last season.

 

[CocoHusky]

That's a good point, but she has 4 more months to heal and rehab. Hopefully, she'll not take longer than that to recover. She was injured very early last season.

Laska's injury ACL tear was 16 November 2018. That will almost be exactly a year by the time the new season starts. the extent of the tear, the type of repair and the rigor of rehab are all variable factors for a recovery timeline which is usually 12 to 18 months to full recovery.