Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="YKCornelius, post: 5324987, member: 9864"] BobbyJ, I agree with the tenor of your comments. All the signs suggest Blanca is going to be more than ready to assimilate quickly into the UConn style of play. Her skills and years of experience at the pro level in Serie A - which is more than just games, but pro-level practices as well - have her way ahead of any incoming high school freshman [B]in the country[/B]. Your last sentence sums up her horizon: the primary unknown is where and how Blanca fits in with the rest of the team. Charliebball rightfully reminds us that Blanca also will be having to adjust to college as well as living in the USA (and perhaps playing in front of crowds that are between 3 to 8 times larger than normal Serie A game attendance). However, as Molisanos has brought up in previous posts, Blanca's adaptation from Ecuador to Italy in all facets of her life - including academics - suggests that her learning curve is as impressive as her basketball skills. For me, the "fitting in" is worth watching. We heard and saw anecdotes of how Paige took measures the last two years to make Jana feel right at home. Similar embracements were given to Nika and Anna as freshmen in recent years by "Momma" Evina and the older Huskies. Who will take Blanca under their wing? How soon before Blanca is smiling and laughing with her teammates? Is she reserved in demeanor, and how soon can she be vocal on the court with her new teammates, which she will have to be in order to be part of a communicative defensive scheme that Geno and his teams are known for? I have no doubt Geno and staff will be able to integrate Blanca's skills with the rest of the team very early - starting in the preseason practices and scrimmages. That said, with the talent the Huskies have there is no rush. I am extremely high on this young lady. If Blanca sticks around and gets her degree, I predict we will see her name hanging on a banner in Gampel down the road. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

Forum statistics

Threads: 164,398

Messages: 4,394,444

Members: 10,208

Latest member: jskwrite