Some Kaitlyn Chen highlights (non-conference)
- Thread starter HuskyNan
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Really good. Looking forward to her on this team.
donalddoowop
Who put the Bop in the Bop Shoo Bop?
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Looks as if she is every bit as good as Lopez-Senechal and is a big plus. I wondered how exciting it would be to see Paige and Lou playing together and now I believe it will be just as exciting seeing Paige, Fudd and Chen playing together.
MSGRET
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Both Kaitlyn and Paige can play at least 3 positions when on the floor. I see many teams having problems guarding UConn this year with all of the options that Geno and CD can initiate with the players available. This may be one of the best chances to finally get #12 as long as the injury bug finally leaves UConn alone this season.
What positions can Chen play? I only count 2, PG and SG. Too small for any kind of forward role.
MSGRET
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She did play the 3 in some of the Princeton games, might not play the 3 at UConn.
UCONN comp is a lot different than Princeton Comp (OOC schedule). 5’9 won’t cut it as a SF here I don’t think.
I'm super excited about Kaitlyn. When I watched Lou highlights I was pretty sure her game was gonna translate. I'm not saying I knew she was going to be one of our leading scorers but she was a legit 6ft with shooting skills and an ability to create her own shot. I feel Kaitlyn has had too many big time games against high level teams and she also seems pretty athletic and has an ability to change speeds. The only thing that gives me angst a bit is Kayla Padilla last season. No knock on Padilla as she was able to start and basically live out a dream, playing at home with a stories program. Nevertheless after being a pretty dynamic scorer in the Ivy she was pretty much relegated to a 3 point shooter at USC and her scoring numbers at UPenn were similar to Kaitlyn's. The biggest difference is Yale was consistently a good team who was competing in the tournament. Kaitlyn played with other very good players already. Anyways I'm really interested in how she does. Like could she have the type of season that would propel her to make it to the W. Would probably be one of a small number of Asian Americans in the league, or is that too high a barometer.
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I think Padilla was exposed on defense a lot because she wasn't quick enough. Also, she doesn't have the court vision to play pg or the ability to create off the dribble. Kaitlyn is better in all these areas. There were a couple moments in the game against USCw when KK ended up in transition covered by Padilla and it was no contest.
I expect we'll see a 2 pg lineup -- KK and Kaitlyn -- a few times early in the season, just like we did most of last season. After the upset loss to tOSU two seasons ago, I think Geno has looked to have multiple ball handlers on the floor at once. Paige, KK, Nika last season. This season we'll see Paige KK Kaitlyn together, but also Azzi Morgan Sarah. And yes, I know we have some bigs with good handles. But I'm thinking of players who can push pace, and Geno now has a wealth of these types.
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Sneaky and patient skills.
HuskyNan
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Geno doesn’t have teams with the traditional 1-2-3-4-5 and I think most coaches are jettisoning that way of thinking. He puts the best combination of players on the court; he’s not counting the number of guards. Last season, Geno put 4 guards and a power forward on the court, and they were the best combination in most games.
People get too wrapped up in labeling guard/wing/small forward et al
RockyMTblue2
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What sticks out for me is she finishes through contact and does not shy away from it. If you want to see more, here is the Ivy Championship Game. I won't spoil it.
Thanks for posting. I've been watching a bit more Kaitlyn games (to survive this upcoming stretch of limited wbb content). In any event, I watched a bit of this game and their other matchups with Columbia (I know it's Ivy competition, but they ended up being a tournament team). One thing I will say is that she kinda reminds me of Rori Harmon. It's a lost art, but her ability to get to the mid range and create her own shot is pretty to watch. I always think players should do more of this, like I'm missing something in terms of why this isn't a thing. It reminds me of when my older (wiser) sister when watching football, incredulously said " why do the running backs always try to run in the middle where everybody is, why don't they just run to the outside." My brothers' and I laughed but I get her point to the naked eye. It's a similar thing. Players/guards shoot 75-80 percent from the line, why not get to that area of the court and take your chances. Little side rant. Anyways, on the note of taking chances, I will say, her athleticism is pretty good as well. Like it sometimes seems like she doesn't know how she's going to get the shot off in the mid range or within 10 ft and she like makes it up in her head. I can see this driving coach, and the game chat crazy during the year, but it's kinda fun to watch.
Another thing that sticks out that @Bone Dog mentioned, is her ability to facilitate. I watched the championship game live, and remembered thinking that she really just picked her spots that game, which was surprising to me. I thought she'd try to go for 30. But the team was relatively talented despite being a bit younger. Similar to the roster she's joining at Uconn, she'll play with other capable guards/often in multiple guard lineups. Additionally I think the post at Uconn are a bit more offensively gifted than those at Princeton. So looking at her numbers, the 4.9 assist that she averaged this year, is pretty great, no small feet in college basketball to average 5 assist a game. And although they play quick at times, it's not like she was Caitlin Clark, with the ball in her hands all the time, they ran a "Princeton-like" offense. So she's a bit of a better passer than I gave her credit for as well.