Welcome Kaitlyn! | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Welcome Kaitlyn!

Majic Hands said:
How quickly we forget how the team struggled when Nika had to leave the game.

So now we have a point guard with 4 years of experience who has the stats that says she's a really good player.

She has been learning from a coach that learned from Gino, now she is going to be studying under her teachers teacher. I'm thinking this will be more of a continuation of how to play the game, not learning how to play for Geno & CD but more like refining & preparing for the next level.

KK needs more time. This will take the pressure off of KK.

I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of people liking this young lady.
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This. We need a steadying presence. Takes pressure off the youngsters and gives them more time to develop.
 
I'm happy to see Kaitlyn join the team. She an experienced point guard that will likely be able to contribute right out of the gate; will take the pressure off Allie and Morgan and let them integrate into the UConn system, which can take time; will let the back court play fast and aggressively without fear of foul trouble or fourth quarter exhaustion; will provide injury insurance.

I looked at her stats to see what we can expect:

She shoots well - career 47% and 49% last year. Career 50% on twos and 52% last year. She's not a great 3 point shooter at 29% career and 32% last year. If she can make mid-range shots and lay-ups there are others who can carry the 3 point load.

She had 147 assists last year along with 38 steals.

Question - she was at Princeton for three years, wky is she a grad transfer with one year of eligibility?
 
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and one said:
I'm happy to see Kaitlyn join the team. She an experienced point guard that will likely be able to contribute right out of the gate; will take the pressure off Allie and Morgan and let them integrate into the UConn system, which can take time; will let the back court play fast and aggressively without fear of foul trouble or fourth quarter exhaustion; will provide injury insurance.

I looked at her stats to see what we can expect:

She shoots well - career 47% and 49% last year. Career 50% on twos and 52% last year. She's not a great 3 point shooter at 29% career and 32% last year. If she can make mid-range shots and lay-ups there are others who can carry the 3 point load.

She had 147 assists last year along with 38 steals.

Question - she was at Princeton for three years, wky is she a grad transfer with one year of eligibility?
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The Ivy League didn’t allow their teams to play for the Covid year. They also won’t allow their players to use their covid year. So she played 3 years but did 4 years of school. So she has to go somewhere else to use her last year of basketball eligibility. She entered the portal last summer and has been recruited during the season due to this.
 
darrell said:
I don’t get why this is so hard to understand. She won’t stop KK’s development, if anything she’ll challenge her and make her better so that she’s more than fit to run the team after Kaitlyn and Paige leaves next year. She scores, facilitates and plays defense. An amazing pickup if you ask me.
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I think there are two obvious things that most of those who post perhaps are not keeping in mind

It will be a welcome and tremendous accomplishment, if Azzi is ready for the start
Of the season let alone be at full strength i’m sure the hope is that she would be at full strength by feb
In a 3 guard lineup which im certain GA will play
It does not force freshman into having to play
Significantly early in the season


Secondly -the four guard lineup utilized last year worked extraordinarily well
Especially on the defensive side
I think GA was very comfortable with that lineup
And While I don’t believe that will be his base starting lineup. I believe there’s times where he will go to the Four guard line up


I believe Ms Chen will be one of 4 guards in the rotation of a 3 guard lineup
And play 20-25 minutes in “meaningful games”


Having watched her play the number of times, including the game against UCLA last year and the game against UConn the season before the thing that did stand out for me is that she’s not afraid of the big moment and definitely has the eye of the Tiger

I look forward to watching her play
 
Welcome to UConn Kaitlyn!!

Ok, this is going to sound weird, but last night I had a dream that UConn got a transfer announcement today. As my cat woke me up there was something else from the UConn world...not sure what it was.
 
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hoophuskee said:
Who's going to defend the great guard play UCONN has? The entire league could barely handle Clark. UCONN adding now another shooter/scorer. In addtion Sarah Strong is a "rebounder."
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Lol this constant fascination and having to have big players it’s hard to understand

It’s about having a really really good players who can play with each other regardless of size

I think many people have basketball PTSD
From the final against South Carolina, where we got completely overwhelmed inside
It wasn’t for a lack of size
Ono at 6:5 Allyah 6;3 and Caroline 6:2
UConn just wasn’t good enough that day
A year later, Iowa beat t basically the same team with the tallest player being 6/3

That being said I Ms Beers decides to come, that would be very significant
 
Zonepress said:
Lol this constant fascination and having to have big players it’s hard to understand

It’s about having a really really good players who can play with each other regardless of size

I think many people have basketball PTSD
From the final against South Carolina, where we got completely overwhelmed inside
It wasn’t for a lack of size
Ono at 6:5 Allyah 6;3 and Caroline 6:2
UConn just wasn’t good enough that day
A year later, Iowa beat t basically the same team with the tallest player being 6/3

That being said I Ms Beers decides to come, that would be very significant
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IMO its s threefold-- and as a result it impacts the perception of Kaitlyn-

1-- We have some old timers like myself that pre-Bird pre-Magic the NBA was dominated by bigs.
2-- Recency Bias - there hasn't been a super experienced perimeter player with a full team in a long time at UCONN.
3-- The title games South Carolina masked the massive injury issues UCONN had which leads to the misperception/recenly bias.

IMO someone like Kaitlyn could be better than KK and Ashlynn in as much if Azzi is/becomes healthy then UCONN could dominate from the perimeter and not the Iowa way with one player - but with efficient perimeter play.
 
and one said:
I looked at her stats to see what we can expect:

She shoots well - career 47% and 49% last year. Career 50% on twos and 52% last year. She's not a great 3 point shooter at 29% career and 32% last year. If she can make mid-range shots and lay-ups there are others who can carry the 3 point load.

She had 147 assists last year along with 38 steals.
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One more important stat. She averaged 3.5 rebounds per game.
In comparison KK averaged 3.1, Ash 3.5 and Nika 4. We can expect that Kaitlyn will be going after rebounds as those three did,
 
I went back and forth on this, but I've come around to seeing all the positives. She's an incredibly hard nosed player with a ton of pg experience and a good midrange game. If she can pick up the defense -- and why shouldn't she, coming from Carla's program? -- she'll fit right in. It mainly means more competition in practice and that is always a good thing.

Plus, I'm sure Geno cleared this with Coach P.
 
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Zonepress said:
Lol this constant fascination and having to have big players it’s hard to understand

It’s about having a really really good players who can play with each other regardless of size

I think many people have basketball PTSD
From the final against South Carolina, where we got completely overwhelmed inside
It wasn’t for a lack of size
Ono at 6:5 Allyah 6;3 and Caroline 6:2
UConn just wasn’t good enough that day
A year later, Iowa beat t basically the same team with the tallest player being 6/3

That being said I Ms Beers decides to come, that would be very significant
Expand ...
UConn has won 11 national championships. During every one of those championships the Huskies have started at least one player, typically an AA, who was 6’4” or greater. On several teams, UConn had multiple BIGS: Rebecca/Kara, Stef & Stewie, etc.

I still remember watching Geno sub in Kiah Stokes to play with Stef & Stewie. Opposing teams struggled to get off a shot within 15’ of the basket or come close to getting a rebound. While size is not everything, having talented Bigs on the court can be a significant edge.
 
Fore! said:
Advanced applied basketball theory
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when someone actually finds out what she plans to study at UConn, maybe they can post it. UConn doesn't have advanced degrees in leadership (business or public administration are different) nor does it give degrees in medical anthropology.
 
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Wonderful addition despite the number of guards UConn currently has. I'm sure Kaitlyn is smart enough (Wink! Wink! Princeton) to know she will have a place on this team being that she brings a wealth of experience. Besides with all the injuries the past two seasons who wants to take chances.
 
Majorthreat said:
Congrats. Not sure how I feel about it. We have a ton of guards and offense won't be the problem.
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But timing could be an issue. I mean; I don't think AZZI is full game ready until February; Caroline is a question mark; Aubrey will be the last of the injured cleared to play, etc. But I agree that getting a BIG is more important. And we all know who I mean.
 
oldude said:
UConn has won 11 national championships. During every one of those championships the Huskies have started at least one player, typically an AA, who was 6’4” or greater. On several teams, UConn had multiple BIGS: Rebecca/Kara, Stef & Stewie, etc.
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This feels like it ought to be true, but I don't think it is. Just off the top of my head, the 2002 team was loaded with AAs, but the tallest starter was 6'3" Asjha Jones. I think it was the same with the NC team the following year, with the tallest starter being 6'3". Starting with Tina Charles, I think Geno was rarely without at least one "true big" until Stewie & Co graduated.

Of course, if we were willing to define "big" not just by height, the picture looks a lot different.
 
Welcome, Kaitlyn!

Considering that we don't know if Azzi will be ready to play when the season starts, and, given her injury history, I'm sure the staff will be very careful with her workload.
 
oldude said:
UConn has won 11 national championships. During every one of those championships the Huskies have started at least one player, typically an AA, who was 6’4” or greater. On several teams, UConn had multiple BIGS: Rebecca/Kara, Stef & Stewie, etc.

I still remember watching Geno sub in Kiah Stokes to play with Stef & Stewie. Opposing teams struggled to get off a shot within 15’ of the basket or come close to getting a rebound. While size is not everything, having talented Bigs on the court can be a significant edge.
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Agree, and still hoping for that big. One thing the exceptional guard depth does, however, is offer an alternative to the traditional two big lineup. Without an addition, I am hoping Jana and Sarah are the real deal at the 5 and 4 respectively, and I think they will be, but both of course are unproven and inexperienced.

My main concern is when those two are not in the game. I am not nearly as confident in Ayanna or Ice, at least based on what they have shown thus far. When Aubrey returns we will have a good bench option at the 4, but if Ayanna and Ice are not getting it done, using Caroline, Morgan, Paige or Q at the 4 is a definite possibility.

We obviously will have some very good guards that will have trouble getting enough playing time, and the bigger ones can be used some upfront if the more traditional big backups are not producing. It's not the best option but a pretty decent one when you remember we played most of the season with Paige as a 4. Ice and Ayanna can get playing time if they produce, but if they don't small ball can return with some pretty good options. I still hope for two good bigs most of the time though.
 
oldude said:
UConn has won 11 national championships. During every one of those championships the Huskies have started at least one player, typically an AA, who was 6’4” or greater. On several teams, UConn had multiple BIGS: Rebecca/Kara, Stef & Stewie, etc.

I still remember watching Geno sub in Kiah Stokes to play with Stef & Stewie. Opposing teams struggled to get off a shot within 15’ of the basket or come close to getting a rebound. While size is not everything, having talented Bigs on the court can be a significant edge.
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Who was the player at or over 6'4 during 02-03 and 03-04?
 
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