There’s been a Blanca sighting in Storrs | Page 4 | The Boneyard
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There’s been a Blanca sighting in Storrs

jabstep said:
I think she will remind us of Aubrey. She will be great in transition, rebounding, and very good on defense. She is very fast and will be an exciting player. I hope she is working on her outside shot, which will make her a complete player. I had picked her as part of my early bird starting five.
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I loved Aubrey's game but Blanca has a much more sophisticated and finished offensive game.....the similarities would be at the defensive end and on the fast break.......I fully expect that Geno will be making similar comments about Blanca to the ones he made about Sara when practices started last season......something like "she's good...........really good"......
 
Huskee11 said:
So I guess we should shut the Boneyard down until mid October then. Or maybe just do songs about stuff.
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never said that, never said don't speculate, just made the observation that none of us know for sure. If you want songs, strum away. If you want to misinterpret what I wrote have at it.
 
Charliebball said:
I loved Aubrey's game but Blanca has a much more sophisticated and finished offensive game.....the similarities would be at the defensive end and on the fast break.......I fully expect that Geno will be making similar comments about Blanca to the ones he made about Sara when practices started last season......something like "she's good...........really good"......
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Just two goods I hope. When he goes three bad things happen.
 
I'm down with Bone Dog. Blanca will be a star. Those who have seen her play or who have watched her video's, i.e., at Basketball Without Borders. have raved about her skills. I'm sold that she will, along with Sarah Strong, be a star. Uconn has had many stars but not two transcendent stars playing together. (Maybe Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi were exceptions.) Here, now... the connection between Sarah and Blanca opens a new window into Uconn greatness. "Let the games begin".
 
cgshuskie said:
I'm down with Bone Dog. Blanca will be a star. Those who have seen her play or who have watched her video's, i.e., at Basketball Without Borders. have raved about her skills. I'm sold that she will, along with Sarah Strong, be a star. Uconn has had many stars but not two transcendent stars playing together. (Maybe Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi were exceptions.) Here, now... the connection between Sarah and Blanca opens a new window into Uconn greatness. "Let the games begin".
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You’re ironic right?
 
Doctor G said:
Our starting front 3 in 2026-2027.
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It will be awesome, won't it! And with Gandy coming off the bench (and maybe Olivia!) this will be a mighty front court! What gets me is how athletic it will be. For the past half decade, SC has been the athletic powerhouse. But now UConn will be.
 
Bone Dog said:
It will be awesome, won't it! And with Gandy coming off the bench (and maybe Olivia!) this will be a mighty front court! What gets me is how athletic it will be. For the past half decade, SC has been the athletic powerhouse. But now UConn will be.
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You point to an interesting fact. For many years, the battle between SC & UConn was primarily a battle between SC’s size, rebounding and defense against UConn’s quickness and execution. Certainly that’s what played out in the 2 meetings last season.

This year and hopefully next, I don’t think UConn will take a backseat to anyone when it comes to size and rebounding. Add to that a deep, athletic group of guards and wings, and you can make a case that matching up with the Huskies will be extremely difficult for any team in WBB.
 
oldude said:
You point to an interesting fact. For many years, the battle between SC & UConn was primarily a battle between SC’s size, rebounding and defense against UConn’s quickness and execution. Certainly that’s what played out in the 2 meetings last season.

This year and hopefully next, I don’t think UConn will take a backseat to anyone when it comes to size and rebounding. Add to that a deep, athletic group of guards and wings, and you can make a case that matching up with the Huskies will be extremely difficult for any team in WBB.
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I am seeing more and more freshmen across the country coming into college playing at an elite level from day one. If it was a mens team, more than a couple of UConn's players would have moved to the pros after a season or two. And now UConn can plug gaps with transfers.
 
ec33 said:
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?
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I hadn’t heard the men’s guard was ruled to be eligible for only two years but that seems reasonable. So, keep in mind I’m not claiming to know all the NCAA eligibility rules (does anyone?) but the fact is that the Serbian guard is 24. The age (more likely) and/or playing professionally has to have factored in to the ruling. Obviously he wasn’t intending to play at UConn until he was 28 anyway. Also, not relevant to his eligibility but just FYI, he’s primarily for depth and practice and can be a break in case of emergency player. He’s not expected to have much impact in games.
 
She seems so poised, articulate, and thoughtful....and she speaks 3 languages. The young lady had over 70 college offers, and UCONN wasn't the first, but she said they eventually came through. I'm feeling more and more we are going to be wonderfully blessed with her on the team.
 
oldude said:
You point to an interesting fact. For many years, the battle between SC & UConn was primarily a battle between SC’s size, rebounding and defense against UConn’s quickness and execution. Certainly that’s what played out in the 2 meetings last season.

This year and hopefully next, I don’t think UConn will take a backseat to anyone when it comes to size and rebounding. Add to that a deep, athletic group of guards and wings, and you can make a case that matching up with the Huskies will be extremely difficult for any team in WBB.
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Dude. Good points-I will add one more. For several years, South Carolina and Notre Dame sent their quick guards around picks and consistently got to the basket for layups or foul shots. Last year, with the best example being the Championship game with SC, other teams needed to rely more on 3's since the path to the basket was usually blocked. Winning against UConn based on 3-point shooting is rare and will continue to be an issue for other teams once Blanca finds her place in the lineup.
 
I did a little research into Blanca's experiences representing Ecuador. I have modified what is shown on Her UConn Roster bio page by adding the information in bold text. My source for all of it is the FIBA website.

"Competed for the Senior National Team at the 2022 South American Women’s Championship, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She turned 16 halfway into the six day tournament, and was playing alongside teammates in their late twenties and early thirties… played at the 2019 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship as a twelve year-old, averaging 14.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. In addition to ppg, she was the team leader in efficiency (13.8) and steals (3.8 pg). Her steals per game was the highest of all tournament players and her ppg average was third. … made her Ecuador Basketball debut at the 2018 South American U15 Women’s Championship, averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and winning a silver medal as a young twelve year-old."

The season can't get here fast enough!
 
YKCornelius said:
I did a little research into Blanca's experiences representing Ecuador. I have modified what is shown on Her UConn Roster bio page by adding the information in bold text. My source for all of it is the FIBA website.

"Competed for the Senior National Team at the 2022 South American Women’s Championship, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She turned 16 halfway into the six day tournament, and was playing alongside teammates in their late twenties and early thirties… played at the 2019 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship as a twelve year-old, averaging 14.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. In addition to ppg, she was the team leader in efficiency (13.8) and steals (3.8 pg). Her steals per game was the highest of all tournament players and her ppg average was third. … made her Ecuador Basketball debut at the 2018 South American U15 Women’s Championship, averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and winning a silver medal as a young twelve year-old."

The season can't get here fast enough!
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Plus best young player of the Italian A1 league in 2021; plus 3 consecutive wins at Italian National Championships: 1 under 17 and 2 times under 19 being in all 3 MVP; plus Italian Third division Champion; plus 2 Italian serie A1 semifinals...
 
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Skeets said:
Maye, but she'll need to be a quick study on UConn's offense and defense. Especially defense. Geno doesn't tolerate players who don't know what they need to do. The beautiful defense we are used to seeing is very complex.
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How do you know what she can and can't do ?? She can play !!
 
HopJim said:
With these many exceptional credentials, it appears that Blanca was not heavily recruited in the US other than Geno. Can anyone offer other information?
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Blanca first opened up to being recruited by US colleges in April 2023. UConn was on to her almost immediately, got her in for an early visit and she verbally committed to UConn just 6 months later in October of 2023, two full years before she will play her first game in Storrs.

The accelerated timeline is a bit unusual for international players. But it is a testimony to how well connected to international recruiting Geno and his coaching staff have become.

I don’t know if any other college actively pursued Blanca. Certainly she would have been directly in Jose/USF’s wheelhouse. But honestly, I think Geno pulled off a coup, getting a great player before anyone else knew she existed.
 
oldude said:
Blanca first opened up to being recruited by US colleges in April 2023. UConn was on to her almost immediately, got her in for an early visit and she verbally committed to UConn just 6 months later in October of 2023, two full years before she will play her first game in Storrs.

The accelerated timeline is a bit unusual for international players. But it is a testimony to how well connected to international recruiting Geno and his coaching staff have become.

I don’t know if any other college actively pursued Blanca. Certainly she would have been directly in Jose/USF’s wheelhouse. But honestly, I think Geno pulled off a coup, getting a great player before anyone else knew she existed.
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April 2024 and committed way before Geno's travel to Italy...
 

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