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You have three players that are not 100% in Caroline Ducharme; Ayanna Patterson and Morgan Cheli. I would take the additions in a heartbeat
We, the BONEYARD, should give credit to "K9" Heckel for her"....and *** one!" Paige to Heckel
Yes, Heckel & Koval (6'5") - both from LUHI, of Lon Gisland, NY. Koval has also transferred to LSU...UConn had interest, yes. Think Geno liked her quite a bit.
Now to have Kayleigh Heckel turn her #13 ranking to NC #13 for UConn. Time for the "We're Doomed" folks to show up...A Long Island Lutheran girl - Christina Raiti has built one of the best programs in the country - she played in HS with Koval
Your killing me, I didn't need to know that....it's over, I'm now a dead duck basket case....tis curtains, it's all over now.Don't forget, UConn is pretty much radio silence until either the player or the school announces the signing. No flash, no big productions, so we'll all need quite a bit of patience until all is said and done.![]()





Her bio from USC says she was born in CT, but it could have been wrong.According to her bio on ESPN, born in Pt. Chester, NY
Here are some biographical notes for "K9": Honor student atJust curious. where did Rating services have Henkel Ranked coming out of HS, and if local (NY) at that time, had Uconn shown recruiting interest
If I remember correctly, they both were marked as Yes for offered by UConn, but both "pieces" came off the chess board in the early signing period in November. And that was that...Heckel definitely stood out to me at the McDonald’s all American game last year. I remember thinking, how come we didn’t recruit her being so close. Koval looked good too, that’s why I remember it so well because they were from the same school. Heckel will be really good if she comes here.
Just need to keep changing your spots, with some occasional "chin music" to keep the batter off the plate, to make the high & Low outside corner stuff work. It's all in the control...Ok, a problem just occurred to me. In baseball, a fastball requires an offspeed pitch to be most effective. If all of your pitches are roughly the same speed, you’ll get tagged a lot.
Subbing Kayleigh for KK could be like throwing only fastballs.![]()
Next door to Greenwich.According to her bio on ESPN, born in Pt. Chester, NY

But, if she was taller, would she need a different number?Here are some biographical notes for "K9": Honor student at
Port Chester H.S. where she also played softball and volleyball. She
was a 2023 Max Prep POY, a 2027 McDonald's AA, Jordan
Brand AA, and she played for "Exodus NYC" in the EYBL circuit and MVP in that
tournament. Played on the USA National U18 Basketball team, PG at
L.I. Lutheran H.S. In H.S. scored 2,400 points and had (combined?)
over 500 assists, rebounds, steals. On a 6/24/2024 scouting report
by Brandon Clay, Kayleigh was described as "an adept passer" and with
"a crisp 3-point shot". Jersey number is "9", Height is 5'9".
Sources: Biographical data for Kayleigh from USC ROSTER page and 24/7 SPORTS (CBS Sports Digital). If she was a little taller, I would call her a "SLAM DUNK"!



Next door to Greenwich.![]()
Don't think there was a hospital in Port Chester when she was born most likely she was born in Greenwich hospital or White plains. Probably meant to say she grew up in Port Chester.Next door to Greenwich.![]()
Well, Geno is in fact telling every single in the portal that he doesn't offer to go play for another team.His refusal, huh? Geno is telling centers to go play for another team?
Geez.
Exactly what I was thinking. I knew what you meant.Don't think there was a hospital in Port Chester when she was born most likely she was born in Greenwich hospital or White plains. Probably meant to say she grew up in Port Chester.
I think Geno wants to add a difference maker or clear improvement on what he has, and when you have a very good team there aren't many upgrades out there. This year is a good example. Jana and Ice are players 90% of the division 1 teams would love to have, but some of the top national contenders have better C's, so looking for an upgrade to keep up with them is appropriate.It might seem strange, but I let Geno worry about the makeup of the roster. This isn't his first experience putting a team together. Any additions that he wants, I want.
It is his refusal to add centers after the centers he wants go elsewhere that I have trouble with.
Hopefully Koval will tell her why not to take the ND offerA Long Island Lutheran girl - Christina Raiti has built one of the best programs in the country - she played in HS with Koval
Well this is a pretty uninformed statement here. So you are just assuming that he refuses to keep recruiting centers in this scenario and just doesn't bother. How many 6-3 and bigger kids that are good enough to play at UConn, fit his program, and want to go to UConn do you think there are out there just waiting for Auriemma's phone call? I can tell you it's close to none.It might seem strange, but I let Geno worry about the makeup of the roster. This isn't his first experience putting a team together. Any additions that he wants, I want.
It is his refusal to add centers after the centers he wants go elsewhere that I have trouble with.
From her bio on ESPN.Don't think there was a hospital in Port Chester when she was born most likely she was born in Greenwich hospital or White plains. Probably meant to say she grew up in Port Chester.
I don’t know if that’s entirely true. Jana played pretty crucial minutes against UCLA.UConn showed this past season you can win without a Big.
UConn showed this past season you can win without a Big.
Not sure why Allie should be worried about Heckel? Allie was the higher ranked player and even though Heckel got more playing time last year, it was in a completely different system. Heckel is clearly not the shooter that Allie is and as for defensive skills, Heckel will have to learn a whole new system while Allie can hit the ground running. I would think Geno will make every effort to incorporate what is almost assuredly our second best three point shooter into the offense. Having said that, I do hope she will work on defensive skills as defense will surely be a big focus next season. (As it is every season)Either or both are a no brainer. Azzi is only here for 1 more year. This year would be a tad crowded but next year, KK and Ash (seniors), Kayleigh (junior) and Kelis (sophomore).
If UCONN is somehow able to land Jerzy out of 2026, that's another guard, but if you start Jana at the 5 and Sarah at the 4 (next year), plenty of PT for the guards/wings.
For this year, both would shore up everything. Honestly, I would want to see Williams start along with KK, Azzi, Ash/Blanca, and Sarah. We have no idea what we will get out of Carol or Ayanna, but excluding them, off the bench Kayleigh, Kelis, Blanca (if Ash starts), Ice, Jana, Allie and Gandy.
I honestly think Kayleigh hurts Allie the most - the guard spots are already filled up, and unless she makes a big jump, she'll be at the end of the bench again this season.
Bottom line players always give up personal achievements for team goals (NC, etc.) when they come to UCONN. If any of these kids want to play 35+ MPG, UConn is not the right place for them anyway...
I apologize profusely. Italics is standard Internet code for "the following information is said sarcastically" in the places I travel. I thought that later saying "I stand by my sarcastic comment" would have cleared up the confusion.Well this is a pretty uninformed statement here. So you are just assuming that he refuses to keep recruiting centers in this scenario and just doesn't bother. How many 6-3 and bigger kids that are good enough to play at UConn, fit his program, and want to go to UConn do you think there are out there just waiting for Auriemma's phone call? I can tell you it's close to none.
High school rankings mean very little past the top 2-5 spots and year to year we still have very highly ranked high school recruits who don’t even make a big impact in college. Heckel is definitely a better defender than Ziebell. I haven’t been one of the people pushing for Heckel to come here since this all began a few weeks ago. But even I think Heckel is a better overall basketball player right now than Ziebell is. Just based on what we saw from both this past season.Not sure why Allie should be worried about Heckel? Allie was the higher ranked player and even though Heckel got more playing time last year, it was in a completely different system. Heckel is clearly not the shooter that Allie is and as for defensive skills, Heckel will have to learn a whole new system while Allie can hit the ground running. I would think Geno will make every effort to incorporate what is almost assuredly our second best three point shooter into the offense. Having said that, I do hope she will work on defensive skills as defense will surely be a big focus next season. (As it is every season)
"without a BIG"?? Jana IMHO came up "Big" as noted by Heytherego (above)I don’t know if that’s entirely true. Jana played pretty crucial minutes against UCLA.