The Maturation of KML

[luckyhusky7]

Watching KML last night just reminded me of how good she has become. She was a heralded as only a 3 point sharp shooter out of high school and to watch her last night, I have to say she has blossomed to a great all around basketball player. She was being guarded tightly at the first half and she didn't get frustrated, eventually Stanford was going to get tired and miss some screens to get her open and she made great use of her mid jumpers especially in the 2nd half.

Her maturation not only evident from a basketball standpoint but also mentally. Usually when she's being tightly guarded, she had a tendency to just settle for the 3 and this time, she went inside for rebounds and shot mid jumpers. She was doing everything and i mean EVERYTHING to help the team. I believe that through hardships from injuries and mono she learned that, she was able to do different thing when her shots weren't falling.

I can't wait to see her play next year....it'll be like the 2nd coming of Bria as far as bouncing back to her All-American status and come out guns a blazing. A leader by example is born from this tournament and I can't wait for her to play tuesday!!!!

 

[DavidK]

Next year if healthy I feel her and Loyd are the only two that can give Stewie a run for player of the year. Love how clutch Bria is at times but KMLs composure never changes, a credit to her toughness

 

[Icebear]

KML has been going inside all season. It is one of the reasons her injury against Stanford came inside and, also, when she fell and hurt the second arm that she was in the lane. Her play in the post this season has been an order of magnitude greater than in the past. It is no accident she had a triple double. She has fought for the ability to do it.

 

[PacoSwede]

Watching KML last night just reminded me of how good she has become. She was a heralded as only a 3 point sharp shooter out of high school..

...

I can't wait to see her play next year....it'll be like the 2nd coming of Bria as far as bouncing back to her All-American status and come out guns a blazing. A leader by example is born from this tournament and I can't wait for her to play tuesday!!!!

My memory is that Kaleena coming out of high school was generally pigeonholed as a great scorer, but not as solely a trey specialist. She clearly has continued to round out her game, but I think this popular belief that she was just a three-point shooter is revisionist history (very recent history at that). I abhor revisionist history, which is the only reason I bothered to respond.

I think she right now is playing AA ball, BTW. Great to watch.

 

[Hongster]

What I really admire about KML is her unselfishness, she sees the court very well, and shows satisfaction every time she made an assist.
I believe she only cares about the team wins. I love KML's work ethic.

 

[UcMiami]

My memory is that Kaleena coming out of high school was generally pigeonholed as a great scorer, but not as solely a trey specialist. She clearly has continued to round out her game, but I think this popular belief that she was just a three-point shooter is revisionist history (very recent history at that). I abhor revisionist history, which is the only reason I bothered to respond.

I think she right now is playing AA ball, BTW. Great to watch.

Good response, but I think like with Maya before her ... when unsure or not being pushed as freshmen and even sophomores they settled on doing the thing they were most comfortable with which was jump shots and threes.
I liked one comment Geno made this year that great shooters do get pigeon holed into being shooters fairly early on, and what he does in pushing them to do other things more frequently, leads them to learn that doing those other things is actually a lot of FUN.
The same can be said for kids who grow tall and getting pigeon holed into being post players.

 

[BooRadley]

My memory is that Kaleena coming out of high school was generally pigeonholed as a great scorer, but not as solely a trey specialist. She clearly has continued to round out her game, but I think this popular belief that she was just a three-point shooter is revisionist history (very recent history at that). I abhor revisionist history, which is the only reason I bothered to respond.

I think she right now is playing AA ball, BTW. Great to watch.

I'm not so sure that there is all that much revision to be found here... I'm not sure where her high school stats can be found but I'm pretty sure that KML set three 3pt records while in high school::: most in a game, most in a season & most over-all in school history. In fact, that 3pt skill & those records were the very first things I had heard about her before she came to UConn.

Given that she went to a school with a fairly heavy rep for elite level bball, her 3pt records would suggest that she may have developed a pretty substantial rep for 3's...again, I use my own experience as anecdotal evidence of this. At the very least one could reasonably argue that the points she averaged were substantially dependent upon the 3 which in of itself puts a bit of tarnish upon the notion of a revisionist history charge. Personally, I've become a bit tired of that characterization being thrown around a fair bit too easily.

YOPB

 

[pvdoggy]

KML is playing best all-around complete basketball right now among the Uconn players and it is fun to watch.

 

[luckyhusky7]

My memory is that Kaleena coming out of high school was generally pigeonholed as a great scorer, but not as solely a trey specialist. She clearly has continued to round out her game, but I think this popular belief that she was just a three-point shooter is revisionist history (very recent history at that). I abhor revisionist history, which is the only reason I bothered to respond.

I think she right now is playing AA ball, BTW. Great to watch.

the first year and a half that's what ESPN has been saying about her and she finally put it together the end of her sophomore year. Her main specialist was the 3 ball.......she CAN do the rest but that's what she was labeled as through out high school to the All American High School game and the 1st year at UCONN.

 

[Geno-ista]

KML is playing best all-around complete basketball right now among the Uconn players and it is fun to watch.

KML is the absolute Bomb! She has been possibly our player of the tournament. Her rebounding which has always been great, she has just been asked to do more of it I believe. She creates space and may have the best hands on the team. She has been keeping balls alive also. She seams to have a sense and extra coolness to take and knock down a big shot when we really really really need it. I think she has become our "Kelly Farris", and can score at will from anywhere on the court.
She is a rock, MVP of the tournament with Bria Hartley. KML is something else. Then again- they all our. She almost never makes a glaring mistake. She has an off the charts BBall IQ. I am so happy for her to come back to the level she played at last year, and accept new less glamorous roles!

 

[JRRRJ]

KML is playing best all-around complete basketball right now among the Uconn players and it is fun to watch.

Sorry. Much as I admire the game Kaleena brings to the floor (a LOT!), if we're discussing "all-around complete basketball", my vote goes to the half-pint post. More blocks than everyone but the trees, rebounds in the paint, better FG % than anyone not named Kiah, the team's best 3FG%, unquestionably the team's best slasher (and finisher), 12th best A/TO in Div 1, 50% more steals than the next highest teammate's total, and the defender you put on the other team's best player (unless that player is 6' 3"). And absolutely no doubt in my mind that, if Geno told her to score instead of looking to distribute first, she could be the team's PPG leader as well.

What a treat to have so many skillful, accomplished players to fawn over!

Sorry about hijacking the thread ;^)