Analyst makes feelings known on Kayleigh Heckel's transfer to UConn: "Health and depth are the only things winning championships"

Incoming UConn Huskies Kayleigh Heckel is looking to bolster her new program's national title repeat campaign next season. On Tuesday, Heckel announced that she's transferring to UConn after one year with the USC Trojans in the 2024-25 campaign.

On The Hoops Cap on Youtube on Friday, co-host Tee Baker discussed how the addition of Kayleigh Heckel into coach Geno Auriemma's squad is a move to regulate the health and depth in their quest for a national championship repeat this season.

"I think that's also a feature of the 15-player roster. These teams are going to want to have competitive advantage and at the end of the season, health and depth are really the only things winning championships, right? Sometimes it just comes down to who has the more healthy players in the event of injury, who's able to recover more quickly," Baker said. (5:13)

Baker also talked about how it's a recurring theme from the Huskies in recent seasons, which they have finally addressed.

"Like we see those types of things be how people lose in the very end of the season. So, I think Uconn had some really painful years with injuries where, going back to the Final Four a couple of years ago, they only had seven healthy players. They've had to forfeit games for not having enough players," Baker said. (5:35)

"I think they understand that depth pieces is increasingly important, especially as other teams have the opportunity to deepen as well to 15 players. It's sort of like providing extra insurance in case of injury, and building for the future at the same time," he concluded.

In her freshman year of collegiate hoops with coach Lindsay Gottlieb's Trojans, Kayleigh Heckel tallied 6.1 markers, 1.4 boards, 1.9 dimes and 1.3 steals a game.

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Tee Baker still believes KK Arnold should be the starting point guard despite Kayleigh Heckel's arrival

During the same episode of The Hoops Cap, Mark Zanetto asked his co-host Tee Baker about who should be the starting point guard for the UConn Huskies between the incoming Kelis Fisher, the transferring Kayleigh Heckel and junior KK Arnold.

"I think I'll still give it to KK just because I think that she brings that experience of having been a starter. She's an upper classman. I thinkthat there's a lot to be said about building trust with the coaching staff, and I think she's earned that trust. So, I think she is the starting point guard next season. The others are competing for that role in the longer term," Baker said. (3:20)

In two years of college basketball with the Huskies, Arnold has averaged 7.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.9 steals per contest and was a key member of this year's national championship-winning squad.