ESPN: Is Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers the nation's top player?

[Veteran]

Not sure about Supertramp. I compare my UConn fanship to my fanship of the Grateful Dead. In their hayday, people loved 'em... or not. The Springstein fans never "got" the Dead. You know what? My favorite Dead song now is Attics of My Life -- "
"When I had no wings to fly
You flew to me"
... might almost be a theme for this year's UConn WBB team. Change it to
"When I had no wings to fly
You flew... for... me"
Think Paige was saying that in her postgame interview. : )

The Dead were immense. True greatness. I still listen to them constantly. "Ripple" may have been my favorite Dead song although there was a great deal of enhanced partying that occurred when cruising around with my buddies as "Truckin'" came on the radio.

I'll mention another one of my old T-Shirt fantasies. The band was Fleetwood Mac back when they were more of a bluesy oriented band in the days of the "Mystery to Me" album. Then they became more of a pop band when Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the group. And I'm not complaining. The song "Rhiannon" came out when I was in The Army and it cost me hundreds of dollars more in future stereo equipment expenses as soon as I heard it on a really good sound system owned by one of the guys in the barracks. But all the same, I loved the old bluesy version of the band and there was a time when I wanted a "Fleetwood Mac Fan before Stevie Nicks" T-Shirt, too.

 

[Pharos]

 

[The deacon]

Clark... expends almost no energy on defense.

 

[Bone Dog]

The Dead were immense. True greatness. I still listen to them constantly. "Ripple" may have been my favorite Dead song although there was a great deal of enhanced partying that occurred when cruising around with my buddies as "Truckin'" came on the radio.

The Dead pre-Europe 1972. Pigpen Dead. Skull and Roses Dead. Live/Dead Dead. New New Minglewood Blues. Aoxomoxoa. Me and My Uncle. Not Fade Away.

But that era ended, when it was Jerry and Phil's band. Sigh.

 

[diggerfoot]

The interesting thing about that - what was Aaliyah rated coming out of HS? How about Nika? And even tho KK was in the top 10 and Ash in the top 20, both are freshmen. Not to mention the only 2 core subs off the bench are freshmen also. So where is all this "star power" that gets bandied about?

Point is, Iowa may not have the "big name higher rated recruits", but their roster is full of 5th year seniors, grad transfers, etc. in addition to Clark. Stulke is a sophomore, and Affolter, who started a handful of games, is a junior.

So while Iowa may not have the over-hyped "star power", they literally have like 10+ years more experience than our 2 freshman starters and 2 freshmen core players off the bench.

For the record I thought it was overall a good article, but to give such high props to Clark for having no "stars" completely discounts that out of our 7 players, literally 4 of them are freshmen...

I suppose the author attempted a balanced, empirical approach for the most part, but he also uses the “heavy burden” hyperbole that has become a media mantra. I should just let this go. After all, I’m not an Iowa fan. Why should I stick up for the team as a whole?

I will make a prediction, though, in response to the author believing Clark is better suited for PG and Bueckers more suited for the three. Clark will play SG in the WNBA, Bueckers will play PG.

 

[Oldschoolbb]

Caitlin is a remarkable player and really gets a lot out of a team of role players. Paige has a much better cast around her and she plays on a team that runs an offense, not an offense centered around Paige. Paige is also asked to play against much bigger and stronger players every night on defense which also puts her in a different class than CC.

I totally disagree with the second sentence. I think it's based on "UConn fan glasses". This UConn team is not very good outside of Paige. They do pull together and play very good defense but they are turnover prone, foul prone and don't have any effective, consistent outside shooter other than Paige. Iowa's supporting cast plays hard, takes care of the ball and can shoot the eyes out of the bucket. They probably need Clark to lead them, but I think they are underrated. UConn has a few top recruits who haven't reached their potential yet.

 

[packwrap]

This guy claims Clark is the better playmaker because he goes by assist stats. What he's missing is that Clark has the ball in her hands 85% of the time. If UConn's offense allowed for Bueckers to dribble freely anywhere, take unlimited shots, draw the double and triple teams, and then throw passes to open kids for layups and open 3s, she'd be putting up the same numbers.

This is a beautiful description of the offense Iowa runs! A lot of our fans seem to think Clark is a 'ball hog', but CC always in control is by design of coach and fully supported by teammates, as best way for that group to win.

I do think Paige is the better all around player. What she did this year playing the 4 and 5 is really amazing. Note here that Geno has even tinkered with Paige recently in high post, where her passing has been exquisite and allows Aaliyah to work down low.

Clark made a decision to stay at home and see if she could help lift Iowa in front of friends and family. Who knew she would not only lift Iowa, but all of women's hoops. I respect her for making the most of her chance, staying healthy, and competing every night, despite the opponent keying on her. Over 150 games or so, she's been remarkably reliable, maybe 5 duds. Of course she also shows up like Paige against the toughest opponents.

Top 4 in this sr class were Paige, Brink, Reese and Clark. It was a blessing to see all 4 often deep in the tourney and do so much for the game.

This years freshman class including our own KK & Ash duo just as promising.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I’m an old classic rock fan from before we had to call it classic. Back in the day I liked some sort of obscure bands that eventually became popular. One example is the band Supertramp, which became a huge hit when their “Breakfast in America” album came out. But in my opinion their earlier album “Crime of the Century” was one of the best ever recorded. So, in those days I wanted to find a T-Shirt that said “Supertramp Fan before Breakfast in America”.

Fast forward to today, I love all the attention that Caitlin Clark mania has brought to what I think is the greatest game in all of sports. It’s long overdue. But all the same, these days I’d love to find a T-Shirt that says, “WCBB Fan before Caitlin Clark”. Some may agree with my thinking.

Anyway, my answer is Paige, but I'm less than totally objective on the whole thing.

If you can find that shirt I'll wear it. I just went back and listened to crime of the century last week and there's no doubt in my mind that it's their best. As for the two young ladies you are discussing, I've never heard of them. I'm just here everyday hoping someone will mention supertramp.

 

[TN-Gamecock]

Personally, if i'm starting a team from scratch who do I pick 1st for my team? Caitlin Clark

The next 2 picks would be a toss up of : Paige and Cameron Brink.

Raegan Beers would be my Post player.

 

[BobbyJ]

Personally, if i'm starting a team from scratch who do I pick 1st for my team? Caitlin Clark

The next 2 picks would be a toss up of : Paige and Cameron Brink.

Raegan Beers would be my Post player.

You already gave up on Cardoso huh?

 

[TN-Gamecock]

You already gave up on Cardoso huh?

No...I was just so impressed with Beers when OSU played us...

 

[David54]

Aliyah Boston is going to be in studio at espn for final four. Saw her a while ago ( I think it was fox but not sure) thought she was really good.​

Has anyone heard if D and Sue are doing their ( manningcast) of the final 4 like last year?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Aliyah Boston is going to be in studio at espn for final four. Saw her a while ago ( I think it was fox but not sure) thought she was really good.​

Has anyone heard if D and Sue are doing their ( manningcast) of the final 4 like last year?

Yes they will, for both games.

 

[fomalhaut]

I think of Clark and Bueckers almost like Gretzky and Mark Messier on the Edmonton Oiler dynasty. Gretzky was the best scorer, almost always leading in both goals and assists in his prime. But Messier was a much more complete player, who could also score plenty, but was also stronger, faster, a better face-off man and a better defensive player. Both are among the greatest players ever, but in slightly different ways.

 

[Frankus]

When I watched Bueckers against ND, I thought it was noticeable that she didn’t have the -for lack of a better word-elasticity she had when she came out of high school, which is understandable given her two knes injuries. This prevents her from creating for both herself and her teammates as quickly as she used to off the dribble. That being said, she’s still an amazing shooter, scorer and is very court savvy.

I give the nod to Clark , because she has learned that all eyes are understandably on her because she’s the best shooter in college basketball, can still score fearlessly going to the basket and has ful court awareness that includes full court passes for layups, and thread the needle half court passes for layups. Lisa Bluder has done a wonderful job helping her expand her court awareness to make the entire team better.

 

[Bjbod]

Clark is involved in nearly every Iowa play on offense and expends almost no energy on defense. Neither thing can be said about Bueckers. So comparing them statistically straight up is apples and oranges.

Also, Bueckers is essentially a year and a half behind Clark due to injuries. It would be a more fair and accurate comparison to use Bueckers' play a year from now, but she'll never put Clark's gaudy stats at UConn just as Stewart, Moore, and Tarurasi didn't, and as Delle Donne would not have either.

It's true that Iowa tries to hide Caitlin on defense as much as they can simply because foul trouble for her is bordering on catastrophic for the team. In a tight game if she has few fouls she's much more aggressive down the stretch.

I'm really curious about what her defense will be like in the WNBA. I could see her taking on that as her next skill to perfect; I think she has the physical attributes to amp up that part of her game.

 

[cwh20]

I noticed Clark just occupies a spot on defense and doesn’t do much of anything on that end except wait for the ball to be inbounded to her or passed to her off a rebound when Iowa goes on offense. That’s Iowa strategy to let her rest and not pick up fouls apparently. It does accomplish that. Does that mean Clark can’t defend? I think she’d probably be capable. You’d be very happy with her leading your college team. My one issue is not with Clark but with the announcing and media is that they never mention that she doesn’t play D. It’d be fair to point that out.

Paige would be my choice between the two though. She is full out on both offense and defense and shows how skilled she is at being really good in all aspects on both ends of the court. Skilled with a high basketball IQ too. She’s tremendous. Go UConn!

 

[The deacon]

I noticed Clark just occupies a spot on defense and doesn’t do much of anything on that end except wait for the ball to be inbounded to her or passed to her off a rebound when Iowa goes on offense. That’s Iowa strategy to let her rest and not pick up fouls apparently. It does accomplish that. Does that mean Clark can’t defend? I think she’d probably be capable. You’d be very happy with her leading your college team. My one issue is not with Clark but with the announcing and media is that they never mention that she doesn’t play D. It’d be fair to point that out.

Paige would be my choice between the two though. She is full out on both offense and defense and shows how skilled she is at being really good in all aspects on both ends of the court. Skilled with a high basketball IQ too. She’s tremendous. Go UConn!

I'm with you cwh20, except that, while Paige works hard on offense, Caitlin has even more to do. As many have said, both are extraordinary players and great role models to youngsters everywhere.

I hope both play really well tonight and, no matter the outcome, each young woman is widely praised afterward for her efforts. That's the way it should be.

As I've said here on the BY since Caitlin announced she'd be headed for the WNBA, I look forward to watching her play in the pros and, quite possibly, playing some time soon for our national team.

And I look forward very much to seeing Paige back next fall with a full palate of teammates to demonstrate her hardcourt artistry!

Cheers, everyone. Enjoy both games this evening, but especially the nightcap!