Player Review: Kayleigh Truong – The Slipper Still Fits

After a foot injury derailed her fourth year, Kayleigh Truong used her fifth year of eligibility to show college basketball fans that while you might want to shade over to her sister, Kaylynne, doing so will open you up to a world of hurt.

Check out her statistics from the 23-24’ season:

• Averaged 12.1 points per game
• Scored more than 20 points in five different games this season
• Drained 76 three pointers, which ranks eight in Gonzaga history
• Made 39.6% of her threes, which ranks sixth for the Bulldogs and 34th in the NCAA in 23-24’
• Had a true shooting percentage of 58.7%, which ranks tenth for the Zags
• Dished out 153 assists, which ranks ninth in Gonzaga history

And while her 23-24’ season performance was the best in Gonzaga career, she still managed to average 20+ minutes per game each season during which time she played good enough to rank 4th all time in career threes with 184 and career assists with 484.

When thinking about her best game this past season, you wouldn’t be wrong to think about her career high 25 points against Liberty in November or about her Round of 32 dominance against Utah that saw her drop 21 along with 7 rebounds, but I personally think about her performance in Gonzaga’s second matchup against Pacific in mid-February.

The two aforementioned games clearly highlight Kayleigh’s shooting potential as she not only scored a combined 46, but did it with high efficiency as she went 13-19 overall and 8-11 from beyond the arc. However, I don’t think they don’t quite highlight her true talent: reading the floor and knowing when to engage her teammates compared to taking the lead.

In those previous two matchups, Kayleigh only contributed 5 assists while committing 3 turnovers. In the game against Pacific, she dished out 10 dimes and with only 2 turnovers. Those assists directly led to 26 points by her teammates and that number could possibly be higher since I’m only counting the play-play descriptions of the game that won’t include teammates making foul shots from chances created. Sure, she might not have scored too many, just reaching her season average of 12, but Kayleigh did it efficiently by shooting 4-6 overall and 3-5 from deep.

As a coach, to have that kind of player capable of contributing to her team’s success in various ways, must feel like having a warm blanket from the dryer on a cold evening. As such, I will conclude this article with a play we must have seen a million times this season: