U19 World Cup - Kayleigh Heckel | Page 4 | The Boneyard

U19 World Cup - Kayleigh Heckel

oldude said:
With all due respect, no one is irreplaceable, including Paige. Individually it will be very difficult to replace Paige. But in the aggregate, there is more than enough talent on next year’s team to make up for the loss of Paige.

That starts with two potential NPOY candidates in Sarah & Azzi. Add in now seasoned veterans of a championship run: Ash, KK, Jana & Ice, who will all be even better next season. Throw in several players chomping at the bit to contribute: Caroline. Allie, Morgan, Ayanna along with super transfers Serah & Kayleigh. The freshmen, Gandy, Kellis and Blanca, my pick as the ultimate X-factor, are all waiting in the wings.

For me the question is not, “Who will replace Paige?” It’s how quickly will all the talent on next year’s team gel into yet another dominant Husky team that lays waste to every opponent they face?
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OD, I could not have said it better. Who will replace Paige? No one. Life goes on. I'd just like to add that 3 years from now we could be having a very interesting discussion on who is #4 on UConn's Mt. Rushmore. Can Ms. Strong duplicate Stewie's 4 NCs? Long shot, but I wouldn't bet against her.
 
oldude said:
With all due respect, no one is irreplaceable, including Paige. Individually it will be very difficult to replace Paige. But in the aggregate, there is more than enough talent on next year’s team to make up for the loss of Paige.

That starts with two potential NPOY candidates in Sarah & Azzi. Add in now seasoned veterans of a championship run: Ash, KK, Jana & Ice, who will all be even better next season. Throw in several players chomping at the bit to contribute: Caroline. Allie, Morgan, Ayanna along with super transfers Serah & Kayleigh. The freshmen, Gandy, Kellis and Blanca, my pick as the ultimate X-factor, are all waiting in the wings.

For me the question is not, “Who will replace Paige?” It’s how quickly will all the talent on next year’s team gel into yet another dominant Husky team that lays waste to every opponent they face?
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Ay, there lies the rub and that is why I think this will be a fascinating year to be a fan. There are going to be 2 player combos like Paige and Sarah last year that are going to be very special. Beyond the obvious choices, watch for Jana and Serah. Everyone is probably thinking they sub for each other. Who better to throw a pass to a post player in a sealing position than a 6'4" or 6'5" passer on the foul line. Jana has proven she can do both and Serah is in the top 3 in the country at sealing a defender and creating an opening and space.

This is a very different year. What the end product will be will be one thing. What the process will show during each game is another thing and a very solid reason for not missing a single moment.
 
Geew1992 said:
No one will replace Paige.
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No one has to. Good team adjust...that is exactly what the Huskies will do. Instead of the team being Paigecentric...Points will come from Azzi, Ash, KK, Allie, Sarah, Blanca, Kayliegh, and Caroline. That's right, we will have 8 players capable of knocking down threes. We will have increased production from the post...Ice will be improved, Jana will be improved, Sereh Williams is a proven talent...she will score in the post, Ayanna is back, Cheli will be back, Sarah Strong is well, Sarah...you know what you are going to get from her night after night. Gandy, she may be a bit of a project at 6'5", but she will improve. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be more points coming out of the post next season. Our swing players, Blanca, Sarah, Morgan, and Caroline, are going to be freaking awesome! This team will be built for speed...they are going to be fast, fast, fast! Defensively, we are going to be an absolute nightmare for teams.

No disrespect to Paige, but as good as Paige was/is, I suspect by mid-season, people are going to be saying "Paige who". Sarah and Sereh are going to be playing off the charts. Azzi is going to break three-point records next season. This team is going to hurt the opposition is so many different ways that coaches preparing to face UConn are going to have nightmares.
 
cferraro04 said:
This team will be built for speed...they are going to be fast, fast, fast! Defensively, we are going to be an absolute nightmare for teams.
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Interesting prospect. Kayleigh is very quick, as quick as KK. Neither of them are as quick as Hannah Hidalgo, but they’re still very quick. Kelis may belong in this category.

Azzi and Ash are pretty quick, though not as quick as KK and Kayleigh. But they know how to use their quickness to get an advantage on offense and defense. I’d call that ‘smart-quick.’ That’s what Paige is.

This group of guards is not what makes UConn a fast team. They are quick enough to cause problems for opponents. But other teams have quick guards too. What will make UConn fast in a way that may cause insurmountable problems for opponents is all the bigs who run the floor really well. Last season that was Sarah. The previous few years it was Aaliyah. Next year it could be Serah Blanca Ayanna Morgan and even Gandy. That’s six fast bigs. At its best, SC has had several fast bigs, but I don’t know of any team that has had six of them.

A quick backcourt can be difficult to guard and can defend well, and they can get out on transition. But fast bigs turbocharge a transition offense. When Sarah got out on transition last season, opposing guards could not keep her from scoring. It would take an opposing big to chase her down in order to stop her. Juju was one of the only bigs in D1 who could actually challenge Sarah in this way.

If all goes well, Geno may have several bigs who can score in transition. I suspect this will be a very difficult team to defend.
 
Bone Dog said:
Interesting prospect. Kayleigh is very quick, as quick as KK. Neither of them are as quick as Hannah Hidalgo, but they’re still very quick. Kelis may belong in this category.

Azzi and Ash are pretty quick, though not as quick as KK and Kayleigh. But they know how to use their quickness to get an advantage on offense and defense. I’d call that ‘smart-quick.’ That’s what Paige is.

This group of guards is not what makes UConn a fast team. They are quick enough to cause problems for opponents. But other teams have quick guards too. What will make UConn fast in a way that may cause insurmountable problems for opponents is all the bigs who run the floor really well. Last season that was Sarah. The previous few years it was Aaliyah. Next year it could be Serah Blanca Ayanna Morgan and even Gandy. That’s six fast bigs. At its best, SC has had several fast bigs, but I don’t know of any team that has had six of them.

A quick backcourt can be difficult to guard and can defend well, and they can get out on transition. But fast bigs turbocharge a transition offense. When Sarah got out on transition last season, opposing guards could not keep her from scoring. It would take an opposing big to chase her down in order to stop her. Juju was one of the only bigs in D1 who could actually challenge Sarah in this way.

If all goes well, Geno may have several bigs who can score in transition. I suspect this will be a very difficult team to defend.
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Good points all. I certainly was looking forward to the addition of backcourt speed with Kayleigh and Kellis, but hadn't really thought much about how the frontcourt could be faster too. More Serah minutes at the 5 instead of Jana, maybe more Ayanna or Morgan vs. Ice as the backup 4, and the possibility of major minutes at the 3 from Blanca who runs the floor like Aubrey.

I see some of Nika in Kayleigh, mostly that she pushes the ball up the floor, but also she looks way ahead for long passes, which was a Nika strong-point, particularly to Aubrey, and now we have another racehorse to be on the receiving end in Blanca. You are right that the speed of the true bigs has improved significantly, and if Blanca gets big minutes at the 3, we will have enhanced speed at the small, midsize, and the big positions.
 
Bone Dog said:
Interesting prospect. Kayleigh is very quick, as quick as KK. Neither of them are as quick as Hannah Hidalgo, but they’re still very quick. Kelis may belong in this category.

Azzi and Ash are pretty quick, though not as quick as KK and Kayleigh. But they know how to use their quickness to get an advantage on offense and defense. I’d call that ‘smart-quick.’ That’s what Paige is.

This group of guards is not what makes UConn a fast team. They are quick enough to cause problems for opponents. But other teams have quick guards too. What will make UConn fast in a way that may cause insurmountable problems for opponents is all the bigs who run the floor really well. Last season that was Sarah. The previous few years it was Aaliyah. Next year it could be Serah Blanca Ayanna Morgan and even Gandy. That’s six fast bigs. At its best, SC has had several fast bigs, but I don’t know of any team that has had six of them.

A quick backcourt can be difficult to guard and can defend well, and they can get out on transition. But fast bigs turbocharge a transition offense. When Sarah got out on transition last season, opposing guards could not keep her from scoring. It would take an opposing big to chase her down in order to stop her. Juju was one of the only bigs in D1 who could actually challenge Sarah in this way.

If all goes well, Geno may have several bigs who can score in transition. I suspect this will be a very difficult team to defend.
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None of the UConn guards are as quick as Hannah Hidalgo........then again, none of the UConn guards monopolize the ball as well as Hidalgo does either.......;)
 
Charliebball said:
None of the UConn guards are as quick as Hannah Hidalgo........then again, none of the UConn guards monopolize the ball as well as Hidalgo does either.......;)
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Yes. But HH struggled somewhat down the stretch last season into March as the drama in South Bend created a schism at ND with several key players leaving for greener pastures (Miles, Koval, Watson & Risch). It will be interesting to see how HH leads a newly reconstituted Irish team without the same level of talent as this past season.
 
oldude said:
Yes. But HH struggled somewhat down the stretch last season into March as the drama in South Bend created a schism at ND with several key players leaving for greener pastures (Miles, Koval, Watson & Risch). It will be interesting to see how HH leads a newly reconstituted Irish team without the same level of talent as this past season.
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Yeah, you are right. HH, with her constant hustle on offense and defense, kept that ND team going last year. It could be much more difficult for her this year.
 
Charliebball said:
None of the UConn guards are as quick as Hannah Hidalgo........then again, none of the UConn guards monopolize the ball as well as Hidalgo does either.......;)
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And what guards are as quick as Hannah?
 
Bone Dog said:
Interesting prospect. Kayleigh is very quick, as quick as KK. Neither of them are as quick as Hannah Hidalgo, but they’re still very quick. Kelis may belong in this category.
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Not sure what 2025 U19 FIBA WBB games you watched; but IMO KK is quicker and faster than the Kayleigh based upon the last 4 U19 games Kayleigh played in earlier this week.
 
MooseJaw said:
And what guards are as quick as Hannah?
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There's a few, like Milaysia for one. Harmon before her knee injury was another. I'd include Jasmine Bascoe on Villanova.
 
Bone Dog said:
There's a few, like Milaysia for one. Harmon before her knee injury was another. I'd include Jasmine Bascoe on Villanova.
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That's 2, can't count Harmon anymore. But the point was compared to K9, and I agree you have named two. The question now is how many are as quick and as good or better than KK or K9. Not many, but surprise me, I have an open mind. Bone Dog I agree Bascoe is going to be elite. Milaysia is another story, super quick, sometimes too quick at times out running the ball. If her new coach gets her under control, she could be the best point in WCBB.
I will take our duo, both KK and K9 are more than quick enough, both are near the top of the heap in talent. There are very few individuals better, taken as a one two punch our duo is beyond what any other team can put on the floor. Bone Dog I have followed your posts for a couple of years, based on your previous posts I know you are as excited for what's to come this season. It may take some time, but like last season's team, this team can become a steam roller. :cool:
 
I watched the first half of the France game. USA is in a rare close game. Heckel was probably the most composed player on the court for them. With Hall being the best.

Anyway, it is good this team has her. She’s pivotal for a game like this.
 
Ugly second half for USA. But they managed to pull it out.

In their defense, France was really given a license to hack and foul at the end of the game. The officials swallowed their whistles and gave them a chance to steal the game.
 
MooseJaw said:
But the point was compared to K9, and I agree you have named two. The question now is how many are as quick and as good or better than KK or K9.
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You don't need to defend Kayleigh or KK from me. The point of my comment was not to diminish either of them. I think very few guards will play better defense than either of them, and that's the main job for Geno, as far as I can tell. They will provide the quickness at PG to help carry this team to a few more NCs. Being the quickest is not the most important thing, as Hannah, Milaysia and Rori have amply demonstrated -- none of them has been enough to carry a team to an NC. What matters is to "do your job" (to quote Bill Belichek) on a team where everyone does their jobs. This is what KK knows how to do, and Ash, and the rest of them, and Kayleigh will find her place right next to all of them. She looks like a kid who knows how to do the job assigned to her.

To make my point even more clearly, ND beat UConn early this season, and Hannah scored 29. But it was almost entirely the result of a sizzling hot streak from 3 pt land. She shot 8 for 17 overall, but 6 of 11 from 3. Take away the hot streak and ND probably doesn't win that game, especially if Azzi had been available. The fact is KK and Kaitlyn took away Hannah's drives to the rim -- she only made 2 FGs from inside the arc and shot 2 for 6. They were quick enough and followed the scout carefully enough to shut her down. Also worth observing that KK and Kaitlyn combined for 21 points on 10 for 18 shooting. Is Hannah a better scorer than KK or Kayleigh? Yes. But that doesn't mean she's a more useful player. The platoon of KK and Kayleigh will be just what Geno needs.
 
Guards that are fast/quick and under control imo are still only 1/5 of the equation. Perhaps a very important 5th but still just 1/5.

The other 4/5 on the floor who understand that their PG has to know and trust them to be where they’re supposed to be or help getting another teammate to be there.

PG’ have to make passes to where a teammate is supposed to be a second or two into the future. If players aren’t there it’s a turn over. Passing to where teammates are is a SLOW predictable game.

PG’s imo are only as good as the other players on the team and the more often that they do and go where they’re supposed to be really makes a PG look amazing.

Yea I hate when a poster make comments that cause me to look forward for a thumbs-up then the add that last comment that causes me to think, nope.
But talking about PG’s caused me to think of my favorite. Other than my daughter up through HS.
So here goes :)

If UConn hadn’t experienced the overwhelming number of injuries Paige would have left with more than 1 trophy and Nika would have left with 1 or more as well. But, that’s why we watch.
I think many athlete live with what might have beens.
 
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