Waiting on Kayleigh Heckel | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Waiting on Kayleigh Heckel

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RockyMTblue2 said:
I'm all for this transfer but I think we have conflated the two portal players here. Kayleigh is a freshman and was not a starter at USC. With the minutes she got she was a solid contributor and for all we know she may leave UConn an AA if she comes. Yes she was in a big time program but UConn is next level, which should excite here. Kaitlyn recently gave an interview and said something that surprised me initially. She said at UConn her body was transformed; that's a big word. But in the NCAAs UConn was playing with the same intensity in the 4th as they were in the 1st. That is very hard to do and speaks to the level of physical and mental conditioning when you are a Husky. I think there is much to be drawn out of Kayleigh and I hope she accepts the challenge.
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hookshot said:
A little bit of a stretch to say Uconn is next level when compared to another final 4 team that we lost to earlier in the year
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Wow! You both got somethings wrong here. First, Kayleigh played for USC, not UCLA. Second, USC was not a final 4 team.
 
sno-cat said:
Maybe Geno told her she would not be the starting PG and she is having a hard time dealing with that thought vs going to a lesser school and definitely starting. That would not be an easy decision IMO.
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The only player Geno ever told she would be starting when she arrived at UConn was Paige, and Heckel is no Paige. Surely she knew that Geno would not guarantee her a starting position when she expressed an interest in UConn, particularly after she attended Kelsey Plum’s camp with KK who was recognized as the “top dawg” in the camp.
 
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Me, constantly checking for any updates on all my families' phones cuz THERE has to be news sometime, right? And knowing immediately will make all right in my world... I think I have a problem....
 
Overall, we didn't necessarily need Serah Williams either but it makes the margin for error wider by having another quality front court player in case Jana or Ice don't continue their improvement or an injury occurs. We didn't really need Kaitlyn Chen last year either but she certainly found a way to contribute. I would actually say losing Paige creates more of a need for a known ball handling guard than we ever had last years as we really only have KK and can rely on Azzi and then would have to hope Kelish is all that we hope. I prefer to not have to have Azzi bring the ball up if I had the K9 option.
 
First of all, Kayleigh is no Kaitlyn, at least not yet. KC was a proven offensive player when she arrived with all the tools, a 3 point shot, a pull up J, a left and right hand drive move, and the mentality of a scorer. She developed however almost exponentially it seemed as the season progressed. She found her shot from the arc, and became a true part of the flow and when that happened, the team changed. We went into another gear offensively. You had 4 dynamic threats from anywhere on the court. She was also a solid defender though no KK.

Here is the thing about Kayleigh that is not being mentioned. She can defend well. Having said everything above about our offense, the beauty of this team was its defense. The numbers mentioned, specifically 73 halftime points given in our last 3 games, all against #1 seeds, attest to a great defensive team. The Geno metamorphosis every February/March is a defensive ratcheting down, and this year it was scintillating. Kayleigh will back up KK at point and will hold the fort on defense. A freshman Kelis cannot be expected to be able to maintain that intensity, it just won't happen right away. Geno loves good/great defensive guards like Moriah and Kia among others and that is a powerful reason to want her. She will come here if she really wants to be great and to be a part of greatness and to always be clothed in the nobility of being a UCONN player.
 
DEpup said:
Maybe she is just a bit of an indecisive young adult who needs to deliberate a bit before deciding. Azzi has admitted to having a hard time making decisions.

UConn is also quite deliberate and knows how to manage communications so I also think it is quite plausible that they are maximizing exposure by spacing out the announcements. Let the older Serah have her week news cycle and Heckel can finish her finals and then make her announcement. That then leads to at least 2 weeks of UConn in the news which is great for the brand. A strong brand leads to NIL opportunities for all the players which also helps recruiting. It's all connected.
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DEpup- - -K. Heckel was taking finals at USC last week so she had a lot on the stove so she should make her decision pretty soon after the weekend!
 
Can anyone tell me what others schools she visited ?Is it possible that she could return to USC?
 
ConnecticutBB said:
Can anyone tell me what others schools she visited ?Is it possible that she could return to USC?
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It would be a surprising move in my mind. An ACL is a year long in basketball injury usually so if JuJu comes back next year at all it will be towards the end of the season. So you play but not on a likely FF team. The right move, the smart move, is to become a Huskie.
 
oldude said:
KK will be the starting pg next season. If Kayleigh comes to Storrs she will get a lot of PT.
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Goodgood said:
My hunch is that all roads lead to Q. Geno probably told Q she can come back to UConn if she can't find a suitable landing place in the portal, so actually, there isn't a scholarship available for Kayleigh. This creates a bottleneck for all other schools who desperately wanted Kayleigh signed and they themselves are saving one for her (except Notre Dame, they have enough for 2 squads, lol!). .

Until Q finds a place there will be no news from Kayleigh. Just my guess, but I think it is a pretty good one :p:p
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Interesting conjecture, but I seriously doubt that Geno does "a wait and see" with players who decide to transfer. I also doubt that he lets the fate of a possible transfer hinge on whether a previous player finds a home.--if this is the case, if I were Kayleigh, I wouldn't be too high on coming to UConn...
 
huskyd said:
Obviously, I'm just speculating. Watching Kayleigh play, she appears to have all of the tools to provide a steady hand at the point, plus she has 3 years yet to go. Distribution is her signature, not gaudy numbers. She is not yet aboard.
When people argue for KK, they forget the impact she has coming off the bench. Playing the point requires a different style and mind-set, more like Chen. The combo of KK and Ashlyn usually arriving at the same time gives UConn a big energy boost. Stick with that, I suggest.
A big variable is how the newbies pan out. Will any among them make a statement for playing time? I'm especially interested in the hybrid concept, in which a player can be both a guard and a small forward (like Morgan).
Right now we have an abundance of riches. Coach will sort things out as he usually does.
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I have no argument with what you are saying. I am wondering about what the thoughts of the coaches were before Kayleigh visited Storrs. I really agree that KK is fantastic coming off the bench but what was the plan if Kayleigh wasn't in the picture? I'm guessing that the coaching staff already had the scenario covered for 2025-2026 and our PG situation is in good hands.
 
I hope Kayleigh Heckel decides to come to UConn. I do see her as a backup for KK but playing about 20-25 min. per game at the 1 or 2. As she is a food defensive player, her and KK on the court together will create all kind of problems for the opposing team.
We need Kayleigh Heckel as we lost 2 ball handlers and got only a freshmen ball handler coming it. Just think of what happened in the sweat 16 against Ohio St....and what happens if there is an injury to KK and/or Kelis...
 
Blond D. said:
How is Kayleigh better than Kaitlyn??? Chen was and is WAY ahead of where Heckel is.
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Similar defensively, Somewhat better handle (more creative anyway), pushes the ball up court more aggressively), takes it to the rim similarly, when circumstances permit, similar mid-range shot and somewhat better 3 point shot, similar reluctance to shoot but takes what the defense gives. Th only reason I say "potential" is that Chen had a reliability tsted by the fires, while Heckel not so proof tested yet
 
tchalla1 said:
Interesting conjecture, but I seriously doubt that Geno does "a wait and see" with players who decide to transfer. I also doubt that he lets the fate of a possible transfer hinge on whether a previous player finds a home.--if this is the case, if I were Kayleigh, I wouldn't be too high on coming to UConn...
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Nonsense, I think
 
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Blond D. said:
How is Kayleigh better than Kaitlyn??? Chen was and is WAY ahead of where Heckel is.
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If you do your comparative between Heckel and Chen with Chen as the finished product and Heckel as a freshman, yes, but Heckel perhaps has more upside than Chen--remember Heckel was highly rated coming out of HS--an All-American and was highly sought after. Heckel is superior in that regard.
 
Just.A.Fan said:
Wow! You both got somethings wrong here. First, Kayleigh played for USC, not UCLA. Second, USC was not a final 4 team.
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USC was potentially on-track to final 4 when JU-JU went down and beat Uconn when JU-JU was up (earlier in the year). That is the context, of my being dismissive of the tiresome overreach that Uconn is at 'a whole higher level' than everybody else, seriously
 
tchalla1 said:
If you do your comparative between Heckel and Chen with Chen as the finished product and Heckel as a freshman, yes, but Heckel perhaps has more upside than Chen--remember Heckel was highly rated coming out of HS--an All-American and was highly sought after. Heckel is superior in that regard.
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And Chen was honorable mention all-American at Princeton the year before she came to UConn. You are comparing apples and oranges; Chen was recruited as the starting PG and Heckel is being recruited as a backup PG. To compare them is a useless venture; if she comes, let's see her on the court first after she has acclimated to the system.
 
ConnecticutBB said:
Can anyone tell me what others schools she visited ?Is it possible that she could return to USC?
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Her other visits were reportedly to Vanderbilt, Michigan St and ND. She could always return to USC so long as Lindsay Gottlieb accepts her back.
 
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