With the novel coronavirus pandemic hitting New York as hard as any state, the impact is certainly felt in the recruiting business.
While it could have an adverse effect on coaches who love to see players in person and during live action, other coaches are relying steadily on film and zoom interviews to keep on top of day to day recruiting.
One player who has really reaped the rewards of it all is Port Chester’s Kayleigh Heckel, a Class of 2024 prospect who accounted for nearly 70 percent of her high school team’s offensive output by averaging a team and Westchester County-best 28.2 PPG.
Yes, Heckel is only in eighth grade. Yes, some programs are hesitant about offering players before they reach high school.
But as other programs have shown, especially with the increased time to view film and work the phones during this pandemic, offering a player during her early stages of development could give you an early upper hand on other suitors.
Heckel possesses tremendous talent, quickness, and scoring at her age.
She can shoot it from outside with consistency and has the engine to manufacture points in a variety of ways.
The point guard had multiple games of 30+ points and several 40+ performances as an eighth grader, pumping promise into a once downtrodden Port Chester basketball program.
Texas Tech, Buffalo, and LIU-Brooklyn immediately offered Heckel upon seeing her. UCLA, South Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, Yale and a barrage of high major programs are all actively recruiting her.
Heckel’s IQ as a deliberate point guard who sees the floor well and knows how to make the right reads are what differentiates her. It’s that innate feel for that game which makes her so ahead of her time.
She’s able to trigger the transition game, deliver pinpoint passers to cutters, and attract defenders before dishing to an open teammate. Her knack for dropping assists with either hand and slithering through defenders before hitting an astonishingly open teammate has opened eyes. She’s one of the few kids at this level which possess that IQ of being able to pick apart a defense.
The handle and the ability to see the floor is similar to Avery LaBarbera, the former Harrison star who know plays at Holy Cross in the Patriot League. The four years ahead of Heckel are likely to be filled with lofty expectations and the same numbers put up by former Ossining and UConn guard Saniya Chong, who elicited plenty box and one offenses during her heyday at Ossining are anticipated.
There have been a handful of talented players who have come out of Westchester County who were so prodigal, so young. Yet Heckel’s scoring and passing is so ahead of her time, a 1500+ point and 500+ assist career are not far fetched expectations.
