There’s been a Blanca sighting in Storrs

[cgshuskie]

It's great that Blanca is finally here. Expect her to be an exceptional talent. I think that she will force her way onto the starting five. A great fast brake player. She will take Paige's place by January!!!!

 

[psconn]

It's great that Blanca is finally here. Expect her to be an exceptional talent. I think that she will force her way onto the starting five. A great fast brake player. She will take Paige's place by January!!!!

Bold. In what ways do you expect Blanca to "take Paige's place"? In Paige we had an AA, NPOY, vocal team leader, the best player on a dominent National Championship team, the go-to bucket getter, AND overall #1 pick in the W.

 

[rugbymate]

This might be one of the most exciting UCONN teams to ever play. We have the best end to end transition college player in Sarah. The tape shows Serah can rebound and push it. We know Azzi and KK will make most games track meets. Whether she starts or not , video shows Blanca will likely be one of the quickest players in transition in the NCAA. And we have Shade and Kayleigh who can pull up for threes in transition. It will be fun to watch.

 

[CL82]

Courtesy of Jana.

View attachment 111207

How cold is it in Storrs this time of year?! With the weather we've been having lately I don't think I could stay in sweats for more than five minutes or so.

 

[hoopsfan22]

How cold is it in stores this time of year?! With the weather we've been having lately I don't think I could stay in sweats for more than five minutes or so.

upper 40s and low 50s at night and 70s during the day

 

[hoophuskee]

We'll have to see how things play out, but my guess is that Blanca's best shot to impact the game on offense is via put-backs and running hard in transition. My best "W.A.G." comp for her is our own Aubrey.

I'm hoping for much more. She has guard skills which means we should also expect to some degree whether good or great is her ability to penetrate and finish, or make excellent "attacking" passes off her pentration setting up others.

Unless Aubrey was playing vs "Princeton," her ability to drive and find a teammate was limited which is why her assist to turnover ratio was just 1-to-1.

Depending on the degree, Blanca should be able to set up players much more. So, on fastbreaks if for example Shade catches a pass 30+ feet from the basket she is not really a gifted penetrator though she can take the ball to the hole and can do stop and pops. When Aubrey catches a pass that far out, unless she was so more athletic superior or had a wide wide open lane she wasn’t going to lead a fastbreak. With Blanca we should expect that she Sarah grabs the rebound and passes to KK then KK passes the ball up the sideline to Blanca, unless there are more defenders back than offense, we should expect Blanca to attack drive hard and finish, -- or drive hard and set up someone like Azzi for a 3.

 

[ec33]

It's great that Blanca is finally here. Expect her to be an exceptional talent. I think that she will force her way onto the starting five. A great fast brake player. She will take Paige's place by January!!!!

Not Paige's place so much as take Ashlynn's spot in the starting lineup. But yes, unless Ashlynn or someone else shows a gear we have not seen yet (or Carol is back in form), I would expect that Blanca's talent will essentially force Geno to make the switch.

 

[Skeets]

Read the last sentence of my post for some context. "For me her PT may be determined by how well she can find a way to impact the game offensively". Three recent examples, Bueckers, Fudd, and Strong had no HS experience in a complex, switching defense. However, as soon as Auriemma realized that they were going to be able to contribute significantly to his offense, his concern about them understanding all those complexities quickly went away and they played major minutes immediately. And because they had good fundamentals, quickness, and gave full effort, the team defense didn't suffer. Smart BB players learn quickly, and if they're good offensively they can get their opportunity sooner than others. We'll see where Quinonez fits in.

"Smart BB players learn quickly"

They certainly have a leg up on dumb players. Look, I hope Blanca excels, but I'm tempering my enthusiasm just a little bit. I'm willing to give her a year to grow and learn. Maybe I look foolish (again) come early April.

 

[Skeets]

I'm betting it's Yee-Haw.

Yes, Noblesville so much like Ecuador and Italy (humor).

 

[ec33]

Question for the more educated on such matters. The UConn men's team added an experienced Serbian kid. Due to his time as a professional, the NCAA is taking away years of eligibility (likely 2).

Is there something about Blanca's time as a "pro" which is causing the NCAA to not concern themselves with it? Not paid (?) or not paid enough. Not high enough level or not even time at a high enough level? Age?

 

[BobbyJ]

Question for the more educated on such matters. The UConn men's team added an experienced Serbian kid. Due to his time as a professional, the NCAA is taking away years of eligibility (likely 2).

Is there something about Blanca's time as a "pro" which is causing the NCAA to not concern themselves with it? Not paid (?) or not paid enough. Not high enough level or not even time at a high enough level? Age?

From what I understand she wasn't paid a salary and didn't sign any contracts so as to preserve her amateur standing. In some cases the younger kids like her are allowed a limited stipend to take care of school and staying with a host family but it's complicated and varies by country and level of the league they play in. Dominique Malonga came from a similar situation in France.

 

[oldude]

From what I understand she wasn't paid a salary and didn't sign any contracts so as to preserve her amateur standing. In some cases the younger kids like her are allowed a limited stipend to take care of school and staying with a host family but it's complicated and varies by country and level of the league they play in. Dominique Malonga came from a similar situation in France.

The terminology the NCAA uses to determine eligibility of international players has changed. It used to be that international players could not be paid a “significant” amount. It has recently been changed to state that compensation must be limited to an “actual and necessary” amount. How you determine whether an international player’s compensation was either “significant” or “actual and necessary” I have absolutely no idea.

 

[HopJim]

This sounds exactly right. The Italian league may not be the most competitive of the European leagues. But it’s a whole lot more competitive than what any ordinary American high school kid is used to. They are used to playing against other kids ranging from 14 to 18 years old, while Blanca typically played against talent in the 24-30 year old range. These were mature very athletic professionals. What’s more, Blanca was in a pretty unique position among the high school kids in that league. Most of them were reserves while Blanca was a main rotation player and sometimes a starter. She held her own with the pros, not just the kids. At the end of last season, the league held a tournament for all their high school kids, and Blanca was simply a cut above everyone else, stronger, more confident, more mature.

To my eye, what stands out about her physically is her combination of size and speed. She reminds me of Aubrey but is rather larger at 6’2”. But she has that same loping speed with occasional bursts of intense quickness. Sarah ran most of the transition breaks last season. Blanca is sure to join her in that role. She also has similarly quick hands on defense, which means she could create her own fast breaks if she’s stationed at the top of the key.

Couple of additions to add:
-Everyone is commenting on Blanca's defense being the key to her getting some minutes. She would not be at UConn unless she felt she could be a primary player, excelling on both offense and defense. Perhaps offense will determine her minutes since we alreay have a strong defensive team.
-Nit regarding the comment comparing her to US HS girls. Most of the top US players have at least 2 years of strong AAU experience and coaching. That being said, Blanca's pro experience will help in her maturity and ability to quickly adapt to UConn's style.

 

[Bills Fan]

Probably just wing it and guess, like setting tariffs. 🙄😉

I didn't think politics were allowed on the Boneyard

 

[oldude]

Couple of additions to add:
-Everyone is commenting on Blanca's defense being the key to her getting some minutes. She would not be at UConn unless she felt she could be a primary player, excelling on both offense and defense. Perhaps offense will determine her minutes since we alreay have a strong defensive team.
-Nit regarding the comment comparing her to US HS girls. Most of the top US players have at least 2 years of strong AAU experience and coaching. That being said, Blanca's pro experience will help in her maturity and ability to quickly adapt to UConn's style.

Hmmm. Ask Geno what he thinks about US AAU ball vs international player development and their focus on fundamentals.

 

[psconn]

Probably just wing it and guess, like setting tariffs. 🙄😉

Tic, tic, tic......