OT: Caitlin ain't Paige but .......

[SVCBeercats]

Caitlin Clark isn't Paige Bueckers but she is an excellent version of Caitlin Clark. I watched the Iowa vs. Nebraska game last night. Clark is impressive. She popped for 39 points. She has supreme confidence, poise, and calm. She is worth watching. Her three point range is very long, however, she may only shoot 37% on her 3s because of her long shot selections. Maybe too much confidence. Taking really long 3s comes with a lower probability of success. Having said that she was 6 of 10 last night from the 3 point line and beyond (see video in the article). However, everyone on the UCONN team not named Bueckers and Mir McLean would take the 37%. She is fourth in PPG (25.9) in DI overall and #1 among freshmen. Her assists per game, 6.4, is 10th overall and #1 among freshmen. Unlike in the movies Caitlin and Paige can't switch places to see how they would do with each others team. If they could, I would still bet on Paige because I think she helps her teammates more in practice and with off court pep talks. Just a belief since I have no empirical evidence. Nonetheless Caitlin is a heck of B-Baller.

'She welcomes the pressure': Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark breaks through as a top-tier scorer

The first-year guard is moving up the leaderboard for Division I scorers while filling big shoes for the Hawkeyes.

www.espn.com

 

[huskyd]

Would you rather have Ms. Clark's stats or UConn's record?

 

[SVCBeercats]

Would you rather have Ms. Clark's stats or UConn's record?

I'd rather have Paige.

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

I watched her against Indiana and was very impressed... it's hard to tell if she has the "clutch" gene that Paige has in spades, because her team is not as good and hasn't put her in as many pressure situations as Paige.... In my mind, Paige is the BEST, but I wouldn't say she is a shoo-in for FOY, given Clark's amazing stats... in a better league... I'd still vote for Paige, but I might be biased... lol

 

[CL82]

 

[bballnut90]

Caitlin Clark isn't Paige Bueckers but she is an excellent version of Caitlin Clark. I watched the Iowa vs. Nebraska game last night. Clark is impressive. She popped for 39 points. She has supreme confidence, poise, and calm. She is worth watching. Her three point range is very long, however, she may only shoot 37% on her 3s because of her long shot selections. Maybe too much confidence. Taking really long 3s comes with a lower probability of success. Having said that she was 6 of 10 last night from the 3 point line and beyond (see video in the article). However, everyone on the UCONN team not named Bueckers and Mir McLean would take the 37%. She is fourth in PPG (25.9) in DI overall and #1 among freshmen. Her assists per game, 6.4, is 10th overall and #1 among freshmen. Unlike in the movies Caitlin and Paige can't switch places to see how they would do with each others team. If they could, I would still bet on Paige because I think she helps her teammates more in practice and with off court pep talks. Just a belief since I have no empirical evidence. Nonetheless Caitlin is a heck of B-Baller.

'She welcomes the pressure': Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark breaks through as a top-tier scorer

The first-year guard is moving up the leaderboard for Division I scorers while filling big shoes for the Hawkeyes.

www.espn.com

37% while hitting over 3 per game is pretty darn good for a high usage player like Clark and considering she takes tougher shots than your traditional catch and shoot. She often dribbles into her shots or shoots them from very deep which typically lead to lower percentages but 37% is still quite solid.

 

[azfan]

I wonder if I'm wrong in thinking Clark is very similar to Kelsey Mitchell.

 

[jabstep]

There is no doubt she is a good player. She played with Paige on the FIBA U 18. She has improved since that time. She can score with contact on her drives and is a decent shooter. Maybe she forces some because they are behind quite often. She will be a WNBA player. We will have Azzi next year to take some of the mid-range and 3 pointers that are available in our offense. That works against any man to man.

 

[Bliss]

I like both of these ladies and both are excellent shooters. The main differences I see between the two are that Clark has confidence to take a shot from nearly any spot on the court without hesitation and, if necessary, will make enough space for herself to take a shot. Paige still passes up shots that she should take and probably make. This leads me to feel that Clark is currently a better shooter than Paige.

Okay, now take your shots at me.

 

[DefenseBB]

I wonder if I'm wrong in thinking Clark is very similar to Kelsey Mitchell.

Your wrong. Clark involves other players via her assists and she also rebounds and plays defense. Plus her father isn't on Lisa Bluder's staff...

 

[DefenseBB]

Would you rather have Ms. Clark's stats or UConn's record?

Why are you even asking this? It is not an either or record. The problem with too many posters on here is if another VERY good player is mentioned, people take perceived slights as at the UConn players. Clark IS a very worthy candidate for not only NFOY but also AA and Naismith consideration. She's that good. That is NOT denigrating Paige or UConn.

 

[eebmg]

I like both of these ladies and both are excellent shooters. The main differences I see between the two are that Clark has confidence to take a shot from nearly any spot on the court without hesitation and, if necessary, will make enough space for herself to take a shot. Paige still passes up shots that she should take and probably make. This leads me to feel that Clark is currently a better shooter than Paige.

Okay, now take your shots at me.

I think it is hardwired into Paige that every shot she takes should be a high percentage good shot. Otherwise, find / setup a teammate for a better shot. It would never enter her mind to take some of the shots Caitlin takes unless forced to by time or circumstance. Of course, Caitlin is good enough to make her share and that is a great skill to have but I doubt Paige practices too many 35' shots.

 

[JonathanXIV]

I like both of these ladies and both are excellent shooters. The main differences I see between the two are that Clark has confidence to take a shot from nearly any spot on the court without hesitation and, if necessary, will make enough space for herself to take a shot. Paige still passes up shots that she should take and probably make. This leads me to feel that Clark is currently a better shooter than Paige.

Okay, now take your shots at me.

Despite all evidence to the contrary.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Clark is very impressive. This year's group of freshmen is exceptional. Hailey Van Lith started very strong and seems to have plateaued or hit a wall--only 4 points last night--but I still like her. Brink, Cardoso, Johnson, Paopao, Scott, Westbeld, et al. are all making an impact. And Paige is playing as well as anyone, regardless of class.

 

[Gurleyman]

Would you rather have Ms. Clark's stats or UConn's record?

I’d rather have Paige’s stats, even. Shoots way better with way less turnovers. Although Clark is a little more willing to mix it up on the defensive glass if we want to pick nits. But Clark’s turnover total is a problem she needs to fix. Paige actually started out her career getting too many - trying for too many home run passes and the occasional case of happy feet, but she’s gotten way better. No more than 3 in any of her last 11 games (and she’s been the victim of a couple bad travel calls, and the play when she dove on the floor for a steal against SC and immediately got tied up was scored a steal and turnover, which wasn’t really fair since she didn’t have time to do anything with the ball, but that was one of her 6 steals so she got a positive too).

Paige’s biggest award competition these days is Dana Evans (and maybe Naz Hillmon and one or two others) for the big awards. Clark is awesome, a hell of a talent who will be a problem for the Big 10 for years, especially if Iowa ever starts playing defense and gets higher than 7th place. If that happens, heck, Clark could definitely move ahead of Paige in the NPOY battle in the next couple years as Paige shares the ball more with Fudd and others and UConn gets a little better balance, which would be a good thing.

Also worth noting about yesterday: Obviously people like to chirp at the competition UConn has, but Nebraska got absolutely run out of the gym by Creighton, the 7th place team in the BE. So, yeah.

 

[DefenseBB]

Clark is very impressive. This year's group of freshmen is exceptional. Hailey Van Lith started very strong and seems to have plateaued or hit a wall--only 4 points last night--but I still like her. Brink, Cardoso, Johnson, Paopao, Scott, Westbeld, et al. are all making an impact. And Paige is playing as well as anyone, regardless of class.

You have me thinking about the depth of the current classes of Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores and man, is this freshman class especially deep. I would rank the overall Junior class 4th, Senior class 3rd, Sophomore class 1st and the Freshman class 2nd. But next year, with players like Edwards, the Freshman class may see themselves rise to the #1.

 

[Go/huskies]

Clark is very impressive. This year's group of freshmen is exceptional. Hailey Van Lith started very strong and seems to have plateaued or hit a wall--only 4 points last night--but I still like her. Brink, Cardoso, Johnson, Paopao, Scott, Westbeld, et al. are all making an impact. And Paige is playing as well as anyone, regardless of class.

The future of USAB is very bright, Ionescu and Bueckers sharing a backcourt should be something to see. Also Fudd, Clark, Hailey Van Lith, and Johnson will likely be in the mix as well.

 

[eebmg]

Question. Is Iowa's 2021 recruiting class strong? What are the team's future prospects?

 

[EricLA]

Question. Is Iowa's 2021 recruiting class strong? What are the team's future prospects?

Iowa got a top 40 kid (rated 93) and a top 90 kid (rated 91). That's only per HG so i have no idea the composite ranking of those 2. An average class at best. I think Clark is going to be THE star for the immediate future.

I love Clark's game. A thinner, less strong version of Ionescu for sure. She will put up amazing numbers for her entire career I'm sure. As several pointed out in other threads on NPOY and AA's, great players on average teams just don't get consideration. Maybe she will be on the all freshman team, but I would be surprised if she made it any better than HM AA.

Just look at the names on the top 20 scoring. You never hear anyone talking about top 10 recruits (coming out of HS) Hayes (transfer from Tennessee), Bell (transfer from Ohio State), and even in spite of Collier's eye-popping numbers, most don't have her 1st team AA above Boston.

I think it's unfortunate that these kids on "lesser" teams don't get recognized for great seasons. Instead it's often more a popularity contest with players who are hyped without the great stats to back it up. Good stats for sure, but not great. And if anyone really wants to talk about Clark as a potential "_____", she's on a team that might well lose to Middle Tennessee, Ohio, FGCU, or Villanova.

I think awards should be based on how great kids perform regardless of the team they play on.

 

[darkstar1]

Iowa got a top 40 kid (rated 93) and a top 90 kid (rated 91). That's only per HG so i have no idea the composite ranking of those 2. An average class at best. I think Clark is going to be THE star for the immediate future.

I love Clark's game. A thinner, less strong version of Ionescu for sure. She will put up amazing numbers for her entire career I'm sure. As several pointed out in other threads on NPOY and AA's, great players on average teams just don't get consideration. Maybe she will be on the all freshman team, but I would be surprised if she made it any better than HM AA.

Just look at the names on the top 20 scoring. You never hear anyone talking about top 10 recruits (coming out of HS) Hayes (transfer from Tennessee), Bell (transfer from Ohio State), and even in spite of Collier's eye-popping numbers, most don't have her 1st team AA above Boston.

I think it's unfortunate that these kids on "lesser" teams don't get recognized for great seasons. Instead it's often more a popularity contest with players who are hyped without the great stats to back it up. Good stats for sure, but not great. And if anyone really wants to talk about Clark as a potential "_____", she's on a team that might well lose to Middle Tennessee, Ohio, FGCU, or Villanova.

I think awards should be based on how great kids perform regardless of the team they play on.

View attachment 64535

Statistics are overrated. They are certainly not always indicative of how a “great player performs”. Is the player a very high volume shooter? In that case the less talented player may score more points. How well is defense played? Who helps their teammates be better? Who plays best at clutch times? There are so many variables to consider but stats should not be the be all and end all.

 

[BobbyJ]

I like both of these ladies and both are excellent shooters. The main differences I see between the two are that Clark has confidence to take a shot from nearly any spot on the court without hesitation and, if necessary, will make enough space for herself to take a shot. Paige still passes up shots that she should take and probably make. This leads me to feel that Clark is currently a better shooter than Paige.

Okay, now take your shots at me.

Bueckers has the confidence to take ANY shot, she just knows better. That's why she's over 50%.

 

[chrissaran]

Pts Avg FG % 3-pt FT R A T St Games

Clark 26.6 46 36 82 94 102 74 22 17

Bueckers 21.3 57 55 78 72 82 39 38 16

 

[chrissaran]

That was spread out much more than what you're seeing. Makes it much more difficult to read squeezed together the way it is.

 

[enigmatic]

No need to compare the two. I've been just as impressed with Clark as I am with Paige. I'm glad she went somewhere she could immediately contribute and that she didn't ultimately go the Irish route. I do recall vividly Hoopgurlz had her as the #1 2020 recruit for a brief moment before Paige claimed that spot.