Report from Gampel....Tuesday skills

[Blakeon18]

Not much seen but FWIW:

Heather and Stef and Bria were watching for a while.

Brianna and CD The Younger were working on shooting skills. CD still wears the brace [not surprised given that we still have over 3 weeks to go before official practices start. She shot the ball pretty well from trey-land and in pull-up jumpers from 8-10 feet. Her vertical looked normal to me...I think the presence of the brace annoys her some....but the knee doesn't seem to be a problem...she was moving fine.

Brianna was not hitting from deep yesterday but looked somewhere on the north side of fabulous
taking it to the basket. She is quick and fast with a pretty good handle. She finishes with either hand very smoothly...got some hops too. She is one entertaining player to watch. Geno was coaching her up constantly. She had one habit of looking at the defender when she shot the lay-up.
He just wanted her to look at the target and if she gets hit...well then it is an 'and-one'. She is slender for sure.....that may be an issue with physical guards [if they can catch her].

Lauren and Kelly also were working out on shooting drills. Lauren looks a bit stronger, a bit more polished and seemed to be shooting quite well....pull-up j's from the wings off the backboard...mid-range shots and deep shots. My bet is that there are many teams in the top 50 where Lauren would be in the regular rotation even as a soph.

Kelly....Kelly! The most pleasing sight was Kelly shooting bankers and medium range shots.
She was shooting treys quite well at the start but by the end of the session she was struggling some with the deep shots. But throughout... she was hitting shots from 8-10 feet off the glass and shots from around the foul line very well. Actually she was darn close to 'deadly'. She looked confident with a nice arc and with nice elevation on her jumpers. Yesterday was just one sample but if she can make those shots a weapon in games our offense will kick it up a notch. It sure seemed that she had been working all summer on her shooting...and that it had paid off. She seemed near automatic except from deep. It was great to see.

That's about it. Maybe one more time next week...hopefully to see a scrimmage.

 

[speedoo]

thanks!

 

[Georgestarr7]

Thanks... lots of good news.

 

[EricLA]

great stuff. love reading this. it's fabulous reading about how the kids are progressing...

 

[Replicant]

Thanks for sharing. I'd really like to see Caroline learn to play with the brace for as long as she can stand to. A&M's Sidney Colson seemed to operate pretty well with one and we need CD to remain healthy this year and to err on the side of caution.

 

[Enigma64]

It's great to get these updates... Thx Blake.

 

[VAMike23]

Great stuff Blake!

I seem to remember that Kelly worked really hard on her outside shooting last summer as well (everybody works on their game in the summer), but she was still somewhat uneven as a shooter throughout last year. I think her best shots are those medium-range jumpers -- especially when she uses glass -- and we should really have more than enough deep threats for the 3-ball so I for one am not that worried about how she does there. I think she will never be a natural long-bomb shooter, and that's perfectly OK. (Her motion does seem somewhat mechanical, IMHO.) As long as she shoots with confidence in the mid-range, her scoring will increase and the Huskies will be that much more deadly. Hey, maybe she will surprise me and light it up from beyond 15 feet consistently, and if she does that it will be a tremendous bonus. And honestly, I won't be disappointed if BBanks is not a prime 3-pt threat this year either, since she has sooooooo many other weapons. (We will have KML, Bria, Caroline, and Tiff who are all either comfortable or REALLY comfortable with the 3-pt shot, so we should be in good shape there.)

LEngeln could be a dark horse this year - she has good natural talent but just needs to 'figure things out' on the court ... once she does, she will be a great combo player.

thanks again for the report!

 

[ctchamps]

My prayer more than anything is that CD stays healthy and can play the full season. Everything else is icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Thanks. Nice work!

We had a kid who wore #23 that was good at the bank shot. We have a new kid wearing #23 who is the same. I'm glad to see others using that.

If Kelly adds reliable midrange shooting to her all-around repertoire, she will be a great player.

We have had much discussion of whether UConn will have an AA player this year. I think it is possible, especially on the 10-player teams. The question is "who?" If Kelly is more of an offensive force, she will be a candidate. With Tiff's skills, she is a real possibility. Stef may be our leading scorer and rebounder. Bria will be one of our best players and perhaps at the top of the list of outstandign sophomore guards. And don't count out Kaleena, just because she is a frosh. Recall the impact of #23 four years ago. Maya was a consensus AA her first year.

 

[AboutWeston]

Thanks, Blake!

 

[Kibitzer]

Celtics used to have a guy named Sam Jones who made a good name for himself banking 15-17 footers in from either end of the free throw line. Good model for Kelly.

All-American teams? Well, who (besides possibly Griner) is a better low-post than Stef? Bria matches up well against any PG.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Celtics used to have a guy named Sam Jones who made a good name for himself banking 15-17 footers in from either end of the free throw line. Good model for Kelly.

All-American teams? Well, who (besides possibly Griner) is a better low-post than Stef? Bria matches up well against any PG.

That bank shot helped get Sam into the Hall of Fame. I remember it well.

http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/samuel-sam-jones

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Thanks Blake. I enjoy your eyewitness reports. Can't wait for the
season to start. It's going to be a fun year.

 

[Icebear]

I expect CD' to play in a brace this season. Many have before.

 

[Icebear]

I expect CD' to play in a brace this year. Many have done so.

 

[Dairyair]

Thanks, Blake! With all the conference stuff going on, it's nice to hear about BASKETBALL! Please keep the reports coming!

 

[PacoSwede]

Great stuff Blake!
I think she (Kelly) will never be a natural long-bomb shooter, and that's perfectly OK.

It's OK in regard to the team. Might not be OK for Kelly, though, if she would like a pro career. Kelly is a great team player, but sometimes you have to pay attention to your personal welfare as well.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Thanks! Great update!