"It's kinda like your last chance to be with Geno Auriemma": Analyst sets ultimatum as Kayleigh Heckel reportedly down to two schools in transfer saga
USC Trojans transfer Kayleigh Heckel is reportedly down to two schools as she looks ahead to her sophomore season and beyond. She is deciding between Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies and Niele Ivey's Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Analysts Tee Baker and Mark Zanetto weighed in on the topic on The Hoops Cap Pod on Friday, where they made a case for why Heckel should go to UConn, despite Notre Dame also being a quality program.
Baker believes that whichever of the two schools she ends up choosing will add extra intrigue to a rivalry that already has plenty of history. She also hopes they end up playing each other this season.
Zanetto, meanwhile, explained why he believes that Kayleigh Heckel will pick the national champion UConn over Notre Dame in the end.
"I really do feel like she picks UConn," Zanetto said (Timestemp: 3:26). "Notre Dame's a great school. So if she's thinking outside of basketball, maybe you put Notre Dame above UConn just from an education standpoint.
"But if we're just going pure basketball and we're going, who can you learn from? It's kinda like your last chance to be with Geno Auriemma. He's not gonna coach forever. I think that's a big part of it too. And I think that's why maybe we're seeing a woman like Serah Williams coming there and eventually Kayleigh Heckel."
Baker further backed up Zanetto's point by noting the importance of the Huskies’ coaching staff as a whole, which he thinks does not get talked about enough.
Kayleigh Heckel shared her game style and mentality
Following her freshman season at USC, Kayleigh Heckel joined Autumn Johnson for an interview in March, during which she talked about her experiences on the court and her mentality.
Johnson asked Heckel to explain her game to people who are not familiar with it.
"I would describe it as an uptempo, fast-paced game," Heckel said (Timestamp: 2:42). "I like to get my teammates involved. I describe myself as a pure point guard.
"I really like to find people when they’re open and get them easy buckets and stuff — just make sure everyone is feeling good throughout the game, getting everyone touches. Like, I’m from New York ... so, I feel like uptempo, high energy is definitely my game."
Her freshman year with the Trojans was not much of a success in terms of minutes as she struggled to find consistent playing time, starting just seven games and averaging 16.9 minutes per contest. She put up 6.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 45.9% from the field.