Kelly on the frosh

[MilfordHusky]

From John A.--see the blog link above.

On the three freshmen:

"Kaleena and I are about the same height and she has a big, strong body. She can get inside and rebound, but yet she has an awesome outside shot."

"Brianna Banks kind of lays low until she suddenly shows you a spurt of speed. In my opinion, if she puts her mind to it, she can get by just about anyone she wants. She works hard and can get to the basket quickly. When coach gets on her she will not pout. She just says, "OK, I will change things and get it done."

"Kiah Stokes is doing well. After the first time out, she has made great progress. After spending so much time of her career under the basket, it takes time to get used to playing along the perimeter. She is working hard at it and she will improve

 

[DieHardHusky]

Great to read that they're doing well.

 

[johnnyc]

"Kiah Stokes is doing well. After the first time out, she has made great progress. After spending so much time of her career under the basket, it takes time to get used to playing along the perimeter. She is working hard at it and she will improve

It will be interesting to see how this works out.

 

[VAMike23]

It will be interesting to see how this works out.

Yeah that was an interesting comment. It may just be an example of Geno putting her in a position that's "out of her comfort zone", something he talked about for a little while in a recent article with one of the Horde. I bet that at the end of the day, we'll see more of Kiah Stokes in and around the lane than anywhere else....but like all of Geno's posts, he wants her to be comfortable coming out high while still being a threat to either shoot, drive, or dump it inside. And it will help her for those times that she is on the floor alongside Stef, where Stef will be the primary post.

This is going to be such an interesting year ....!

 

[UConnCat]

I think Kelly is simply talking about the transition from being a post player in high school to being a post player in college, particularly in Geno's offense. Scotter touched on this in his excellent post the other day. UConn post players have to be comfortable away from the basket. Post players sometimes receive the ball on the perimeter to start certain offensive sets and are often asked to set ball screens on the perimeter and then roll to the basket. I'm guessing that Kiah didn't set many perimeter ball screens in high school. Also, defensively, Kiah will be asked to guard certain post players (e.g., Georgetown, Villanova) on the perimeter.

It's all part of the transition to post play in college.

 

[Tonyc]

Stef has developed a good outside shot. I expect Stef to come out and Kiah or Heather to stay inside. Playing againest teams with big centers like Baylor either the post player comes out or Stef is gonna score alot of points. There has been alot of talk about our post play. We will have a terrific ariel attack this season and the speed to drive by defenders. Caroline BB KML and Bria are very good outside shooters. Tiff I hope we can put in that catagory before the season is over as well as Kelly. With opponets having to defend the perimiter the middle will open up. With our quickness and speed its gonna be very hard to guard UConn this season. Yes another season and another different team. I really like this years team alot. When their outside shots are clicking they are going to be a nitemare to defend.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

These 3 Freshman sound very exciting. This is going to be a fun year!

 

[VAUConnFan]

Stef has developed a good outside shot. I expect Stef to come out and Kiah or Heather to stay inside. Playing againest teams with big centers like Baylor either the post player comes out or Stef is gonna score alot of points. There has been alot of talk about our post play. We will have a terrific ariel attack this season and the speed to drive by defenders. Caroline BB KML and Bria are very good outside shooters. Tiff I hope we can put in that catagory before the season is over as well as Kelly. With opponets having to defend the perimiter the middle will open up. With our quickness and speed its gonna be very hard to guard UConn this season. Yes another season and another different team. I really like this years team alot. When their outside shots are clicking they are going to be a nitemare to defend.

Tony, Tiffany Hayes owns a better overall field goal percentage(.443 to .406) and an almost identical 3 point shooting percentage(.347 to .348) to Caroline. So, either Tiffany is already a very good outside shooter or Caroline has to be taken out of the sentence as a very good outside shooter.

Does Brianna Banks come to UConn with a great shooting reputation? To be honest, I know very little about her.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Highlights on Brianna:

Ms. Georgia Basketball.

Played in at least 1 HS AA game and did very well.

Lefty, has game a lot like Tiffany.

Very fast--Tiff, Kalana, Lorin, Ketia fast or more so.

Reputation as a lockdown defender.

Deadly pull-up jumper, can get to the rack almost at will.

Also has a 3-point shot.

Started in the lineup in Italy after only 10 days of practice.

Apparently very underranked at 10-18 or so.

 

[UConnCat]

Highlights on Brianna:

Ms. Georgia Basketball.

Played in at least 1 HS AA game and did very well.

Lefty, has game a lot like Tiffany.

Very fast--Tiff, Kalana, Lorin, Ketia fast or more so.

Reputation as a lockdown defender.

Deadly pull-up jumper, can get to the rack almost at will.

Also has a 3-point shot.

Started in the lineup in Italy after only 10 days of practice.

Apparently very underranked at 10-18 or so.

In addition:

She can make a floating teardrop shot in the lane which is extremely rare for a player just out of high school. Katie Douglas has a similar shot and it's very effective.

Brianna is an excellent passer, again beyond her years.

She doesn't pout.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Cat reminded me. In terms of passing, she is 2nd best on the team, behind Caroline, in making the post entry pass--per Geno. Feed Stef when she gets position!

 

[DieHardHusky]

OT to an extent but Brianna and KML are in my soci. lecture. Just thought I'd share

 

[DaddyChoc]

OT to an extent but Brianna and KML are in my soci. lecture. Just thought I'd share

do they sit up front?

 

[Phil]

From John A.--see the blog link above.

"Brianna Banks kind of lays low until she suddenly shows you a spurt of speed. In my opinion, if she puts her mind to it, she can get by just about anyone she wants. She works hard and can get to the basket quickly. When coach gets on her she will not pout. She just says, "OK, I will change things and get it done."

Fans are going to love the BB. They'll never know what hit them. I saw her at point guard, sizing up the situation. Her defender wasn't tight on her, maybe six feet away. The basket was about 15 feet beyond her defender. I could almost hear her sizing it up, although it happened in a fraction of a second. "Let's see, 22 feet to the basket for me, 15 feet to the basket for my defender - I think I can get there before she can." She took off and passed her defender for an open layup with her defender flailing from behind.

 

[MilfordHusky]

OT to an extent but Brianna and KML are in my soci. lecture. Just thought I'd share

If their classroom work is like their on court work, expect Kaleena's answers on the exams to be very accurate and expect Brianna to be the first one finished.

 

[EricLA]

Fans are going to love the BB. They'll never know what hit them. I saw her at point guard, sizing up the situation. Her defender wasn't tight on her, maybe six feet away. The basket was about 15 feet beyond her defender. I could almost hear her sizing it up, although it happened in a fraction of a second. "Let's see, 22 feet to the basket for me, 15 feet to the basket for my defender - I think I can get there before she can." She took off and passed her defender for an open layup with her defender flailing from behind.

so you got to see them in person for 4 games, Phil. would love to see you start a thread on your thoughts on each player. we've done a lot of speculating based on the stats (PT and points, etc), but haven't really read anything from someone with first hand knowledge!