Made Armchair Scouting Trip to Watch K9, and Discovered ...

[JoePgh]

Yesterday I decided to re-watch both of the games last season between Southern Cal and UConn, for the purpose of giving Kayleigh's game a more focused look. Indeed, she played in both games, and did well as a backup combo guard. She showed some real speed, defensive tenacity, and basketball IQ. She was unafraid, but her game was not particularly physical, and I'm not sure how well she would do against a stronger or more physical opposing guard. In the first game (on December 21, 2024 at the Hartford XL Center), she was the second guard off the bench. The Trojans' starting guards were JuJu and Kennedy Smith, and Avery Howell was the first guard off the bench, followed by K9. She ended up playing 12 minutes and making her only 3-point attempt in that game.

BUT ... that wasn't my most significant discovery while watching this game. The real discovery was an opportunity to watch Morgan Cheli in top form before her injury. Morgan played 22 minutes in this December game, after Geno gave Jana (the starter) and Ice a chance at the start of the game, and when neither of them really covered themselves in frontcourt glory, he turned to Morgan. Morgan was on the court for most of the rest of the game, including all of the time in the final minutes when UConn closed an 18-point deficit and actually took the lead briefly. In that game, Morgan was Sarah's front-court partner. Her stats were not great -- she scored 5 points and was only credited with one rebound, and she seemed somewhat foul-prone. She would have had another 2 points if a very difficult shot that she made was not nullified by a dubious traveling call.

Her best play was a surprise back cut from the weak side when the defense was totally focused on Paige and Sarah on the other side of the court. She got to the basket with no defender in the same zip code, took a well-timed pass, and made a layup. I was impressed by how aggressively she played, and the degree of basketball intelligence that she showed while doing that. The only comparison that I can make is to another 6-1 player that got hurt in her freshman year: Caroline Ducharme.

In the upcoming season, Morgan and Caroline may well be competing for minutes (along with Blanca) at the 3 position. It will be a tough competition, but I expect that Morgan will get her share of those minutes when it all shakes out.

 

[Bone Dog]

I’ve watched those games a few times too. I think your assessment is about right. K9 could muscle up a bit more. I’m sure KK will help her out with that.

But something about your description of the lineup doesn’t seem right. In the first game, USC’s lineup had Juju and Kennedy Smith starting at SF and Von Oelhoffen was the PG. Both Juju and Smith were nominally guards but played much more like small forwards. However, the fact that Smith shadowed Paige much of the time made it look like she was a guard, at least on defense. But on offense she was anything but. And Juju also plays a sort of stretch-3, if that’s a thing.

This was much clearer in the tournament rematch. Without Juju, Smith was clearly a SF next to Kiki and Rayah. This was unmistakable. The guards were Von Oelhoffen and Howell/Heckel/Samuels.

Also, I’m encouraged by your assessment of Morgan. I wouldn’t compare her to Caroline because her finishing skills at the rim are so weak. But there’s a lot of fight in Morgan and that may be more important for now.

 

[KCD]

I didn't rewatch the game. But talking about Morgan, don't forget that she was generally running the show as the PG in HS. She has better handles than Caroline (this is not a knock on Caroline - she is one of my favorite players because of the way she plays) and is a better passer. I do agree that she reminds me of Caroline in terms of height, slashing, rebounding, nose for the ball, and fight in her.

 

[ec33]

K9 just wrapped up her freshman season. Freshman tend to get bigger with age as they follow the training protocols. This summer should see a lot of growth in this area.

 

[ec33]

In re-watching the E8 game, I noticed that whenever KK came on, Lindsay Gottlieb immediately brought K9 in guard her. Despite the quality of guards that USC had, the others couldn't match KK's quickness.

How many teams are going to be able match the quickness of both KK and K9 at the same time? And Azzi isn't exactly lacking in that department herself.

Geno is going to be able to drive opposing coaches crazy trying to keep up with is various lineups.

 

[Basingstoke]

While I'm not suggesting that this would actually happen, could you imagine the defensive quickness (& intensity) of a KK, K9, Blanca, Wanna and Gandy?

 

[Charliebball]

Yesterday I decided to re-watch both of the games last season between Southern Cal and UConn, for the purpose of giving Kayleigh's game a more focused look. Indeed, she played in both games, and did well as a backup combo guard. She showed some real speed, defensive tenacity, and basketball IQ. She was unafraid, but her game was not particularly physical, and I'm not sure how well she would do against a stronger or more physical opposing guard. In the first game (on December 21, 2024 at the Hartford XL Center), she was the second guard off the bench. The Trojans' starting guards were JuJu and Kennedy Smith, and Avery Howell was the first guard off the bench, followed by K9. She ended up playing 12 minutes and making her only 3-point attempt in that game.

BUT ... that wasn't my most significant discovery while watching this game. The real discovery was an opportunity to watch Morgan Cheli in top form before her injury. Morgan played 22 minutes in this December game, after Geno gave Jana (the starter) and Ice a chance at the start of the game, and when neither of them really covered themselves in frontcourt glory, he turned to Morgan. Morgan was on the court for most of the rest of the game, including all of the time in the final minutes when UConn closed an 18-point deficit and actually took the lead briefly. In that game, Morgan was Sarah's front-court partner. Her stats were not great -- she scored 5 points and was only credited with one rebound, and she seemed somewhat foul-prone. She would have had another 2 points if a very difficult shot that she made was not nullified by a dubious traveling call.

Her best play was a surprise back cut from the weak side when the defense was totally focused on Paige and Sarah on the other side of the court. She got to the basket with no defender in the same zip code, took a well-timed pass, and made a layup. I was impressed by how aggressively she played, and the degree of basketball intelligence that she showed while doing that. The only comparison that I can make is to another 6-1 player that got hurt in her freshman year: Caroline Ducharme.

In the upcoming season, Morgan and Caroline may well be competing for minutes (along with Blanca) at the 3 position. It will be a tough competition, but I expect that Morgan will get her share of those minutes when it all shakes out.

I think Heckel is a bit tougher than you might think......as a freshman backup point guard it takes time to become less tentative unless your name is Bueckers......as far as Cheli goes, she's the prototypical UConn player, tough smart and skilled and while I don't think her stat sheets will ever be that gaudy, she will contribute to the team in a myriad of ways....

 

[reelfan]

At UCONN K9 will learn toughness, it's a daily ritual.

 

[huskyd]

Yesterday I decided to re-watch both of the games last season between Southern Cal and UConn, for the purpose of giving Kayleigh's game a more focused look. Indeed, she played in both games, and did well as a backup combo guard. She showed some real speed, defensive tenacity, and basketball IQ. She was unafraid, but her game was not particularly physical, and I'm not sure how well she would do against a stronger or more physical opposing guard. In the first game (on December 21, 2024 at the Hartford XL Center), she was the second guard off the bench. The Trojans' starting guards were JuJu and Kennedy Smith, and Avery Howell was the first guard off the bench, followed by K9. She ended up playing 12 minutes and making her only 3-point attempt in that game.

BUT ... that wasn't my most significant discovery while watching this game. The real discovery was an opportunity to watch Morgan Cheli in top form before her injury. Morgan played 22 minutes in this December game, after Geno gave Jana (the starter) and Ice a chance at the start of the game, and when neither of them really covered themselves in frontcourt glory, he turned to Morgan. Morgan was on the court for most of the rest of the game, including all of the time in the final minutes when UConn closed an 18-point deficit and actually took the lead briefly. In that game, Morgan was Sarah's front-court partner. Her stats were not great -- she scored 5 points and was only credited with one rebound, and she seemed somewhat foul-prone. She would have had another 2 points if a very difficult shot that she made was not nullified by a dubious traveling call.

Her best play was a surprise back cut from the weak side when the defense was totally focused on Paige and Sarah on the other side of the court. She got to the basket with no defender in the same zip code, took a well-timed pass, and made a layup. I was impressed by how aggressively she played, and the degree of basketball intelligence that she showed while doing that. The only comparison that I can make is to another 6-1 player that got hurt in her freshman year: Caroline Ducharme.

In the upcoming season, Morgan and Caroline may well be competing for minutes (along with Blanca) at the 3 position. It will be a tough competition, but I expect that Morgan will get her share of those minutes when it all shakes out.

I agree with your appreciation of Morgan. But there are 2 other related factors. Geno likes her and speaks highly of her. When she's in the game, Geno has said, things change for the better. His opinion of Cheli seems based on the idea that he believes she makes a difference. He likes her motor, her aggression, and her fearlessness. Look for her to play a lot.