Great Paige Article (merged thread)

[Sargassoc]

. . . by the excellent Katie Barnes, on ESPN-W. Link HERE.

She appears to be as advertised. I like.

 

[Bama fan]

Just saw this now. Hope I am not repeating another's posting

Can this one super-prospect revive the greatest dynasty in sports?

Will No. 1 recruit Paige Bueckers be the new star to return UConn women's basketball to its dynastic glory? Perhaps. But if it's up to her, she'll do it with a little help from a friend.

www.espn.com

 

[UConnCat]

A team wins 4 straight national championships and then makes 3 straight final fours without winning the championship and journalists use the words "rebuild" and "revive." It's crazy.

 

[oldude]

I have to agree with the Cat. The premise of the article is a bit absurd. UConn is 20-2, one of the top 5 teams in the nation. The Huskies are still a very good team that perhaps needs 1 or 2 players to win another championship, and I haven’t given up yet on UConn making it back to their 13th straight FF.

If ESPN really wants to focus on a former dynasty in search of a revival, they should write about the team in Knoxville.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

A team wins 4 straight national championships and then makes 3 straight final fours without winning the championship and journalists use the words "rebuild" and "revive." It's crazy.

Exactly @UConnCat . Damn silly.

 

[UConnCat]

A team wins 4 straight national championships and then makes 3 straight final fours without winning the championship and journalists use the words "rebuild" and "revive." It's crazy.

The Duke men's last championship was in 2015. Any day now I expect a Dickie V article on what it will take to rebuild and revive the Duke dynasty.

 

[Steelerone]

Maybe we should downgrade our schedule and start playing more games against Yuk Yuk A&M. It could go a long way towards our "rebuilding" process. One of the best things about being an elite program is that you are always on the front page. One of the worst things about being an elite program is that you are always on the front page.

 

[UConn2SF]

Drama queen, much?

 

[UConn2SF]

I would've used 'resuscitate' or 'resurrect' for more dramatic effect. But I'm sure that's not what she's going for.

 

[UConnCat]

I would've used 'resuscitate' or 'resurrect' for more dramatic effect. But I'm sure that's not what she's going for.

Presumably those words would be used if writing about Notre Dame. No slippage allowed.

 

[UConn2SF]

Presumably those words would be used if writing about Notre Dame. No slippage allowed.

I'd hate to see the title of her next Tennessee article

 

[EricLA]

It IS all about perception isn't it? Most fans, myself included, have referred to this season as a "rebuilding year". When you have 11 NC's in your history, and have made it to the last 12 final 4's, but the team is currently ranked in the 4-6 range, are on the cusp of a 1/2 seed in the NCAA's, and have a very real chance NOT to make their 13th straight final 4, and haven't won the NC in 3 years, the "perception" is that we have slipped.

Just goes to show how high the bar is set. If people don't like the rebuild comments, then they should be rooting for us to stop being so damn good. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but as I said, perception. We won literally half of the NC's last decade. Geno and CD have built the greatest program in the history of the sport bar none.

We are the program everyone wants to be like. The team everyone wants to beat. When UCONN rolls into any town for an away game, it's a spectacle, and likely the highest attended game of that teams' season. Even Geno has said, or alluded to, that we are victims of our own success.

Fans no longer judge the season by how fun it was or how great the team played, or any metric other than winning the NC. For better or worse, that is the barometer this team is judged by.

So instead of going after a journalist for saying what most fans believe anyway, we should appreciate that we are SO good that anything less than a NC is viewed as a "down" year. Like @oldude, I believe we make our 13th straight final 4, but it really depends on who we face in the elite 8 and what our seed is. Much more so than even the past 3 years...

Last point - would you rather be ND, who has basically fallen off the WCBB map, or Tennessee, who struggled thru numerous seasons after their beloved HC passed - teams that are barely relevant at this point except for their storied histories... Or would you rather be UCONN - greatest program in history and a team that may or may not make the final 4 for a 13th straight time, but is right on the cusp of being bad for the game again in a very short time?!!!

 

[oldude]

While watching the recent TN vs MS St game the color commentator decided to outline UConn’s precarious position, indicating that the Huskies were in danger of falling to a 2-seed in this year’s tournament.

Clearly, the commentator was oblivious to the fact that UConn was a 2-seed in last year’s tournament, but the more salient point, as EricLA outlined, is that the lofty perception of UConn WBB is such, that anything less than undefeated & #1 has pundits asking, “What’s wrong with the Huskies?”

 

[CL82]

I worry about dumping the "savior of the program" label on Bueckers. That's a lot to dump on an 18 year old kid, even one as immensely talented and competitive as Paige. Even the great Diana Taurasi sometimes found that burden difficult to bear.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

"But when Auriemma points at a photo hanging on the wall next to his door, it's a shot of Taurasi with the ball in her hand, wearing a Team USA jersey. "[Bueckers] thinks she's going to be Dee," he said, not shying away from perhaps the loftiest comparison of all. "She has all the mannerisms. She has Dee's game. She has all the stuff that goes along with Dee.

"She's as good as anybody I've seen with the ball in her hands," Auriemma continues. "She has something that's rare."

Geno has seen a lot of people with the ball in their hands. I think she will be our starting PG by conference time if not before next season.

 

[UConnCat]

So instead of going after a journalist for saying what most fans believe anyway, we should appreciate that we are SO good that anything less than a NC is viewed as a "down" year.

I didn't exactly "go after" the journalist. Thinking that words like "rebuild" and "revive" to describe the current state of UConn is kinda silly AND appreciating the program's incredible success are not mutually exclusive.

I imagine the current players feel great after reading that story. Too bad the graduating seniors won't be around when the savior arrives.

 

[EricLA]

I didn't exactly "go after" the journalist. Thinking that words like "rebuild" and "revive" to describe the current state of UConn is kinda silly AND appreciating the program's incredible success are not mutually exclusive.

I imagine the current players feel great after reading that story. Too bad the graduating seniors won't be around when the savior arrives.

Sorry I ddn't mean for that to sound like I was referring to you. I was referring to the poster who called the writer a "drama queen"...

 

[UConnCat]

Sorry I ddn't mean for that to sound like I was referring to you. I was referring to the poster who called the writer a "drama queen"...

Understood.

 

[mmeade258]

Uconn is about to be unstoppable 2020- beyond

Megan Walker Senior
Westbrook Squeaks & ONO Juniors
Anna & Griffin - Soph
Paige - Freshman

Until everyone hates them and starts committing elsewhere

 

[UConnCat]

I worry about dumping the "savior of the program" label on Bueckers. That's a lot to dump on an 18 year old kid, even one as immensely talented and competitive as Paige. Even the great Diana Taurasi sometimes found that burden difficult to bear.

Unfair to Paige in a lot of ways. Fortunately she is a great teammate who will be able to win over her veteran teammates despite the label.

As much as Geno loves Paige's game, I bet he's a little irked by the tone of this article.

 

[the Q]

Bringing in Fudd the next year....

YOWIE wowie.

good luck everyone else...

 

[oldude]

"But when Auriemma points at a photo hanging on the wall next to his door, it's a shot of Taurasi with the ball in her hand, wearing a Team USA jersey. "[Bueckers] thinks she's going to be Dee," he said, not shying away from perhaps the loftiest comparison of all. "She has all the mannerisms. She has Dee's game. She has all the stuff that goes along with Dee.

"She's as good as anybody I've seen with the ball in her hands," Auriemma continues. "She has something that's rare."

Geno has seen a lot of people with the ball in their hands. I think she will be our starting PG by conference time if not before next season.

I think we all anticipate that some time next season Paige we’ll earn the starting PG role, but it certainly won’t be by default. Nika is an outstanding facilitator in her own right with experience playing in the European professional league. While I believe Evina is more suited to the 2 or 3 spot, her two years of experience as the pg at TN, along with her length and talent might just earn her the role as the starting pg at the beginning of next season.

 

[connboy77]

Unfair to Paige in a lot of ways. Fortunately she is a great teammate who will be able to win over her veteran teammates despite the label.

As much as Geno loves Paige's game, I bet he's a little irked by the tone of this article.

I haven't felt this way about a recruiting class since Stewie, Mo Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck were freshmen. I see multiple National Championships in the near future.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I think we all anticipate that some time next season Paige we’ll earn the starting PG role, but it certainly won’t be by default. Nika is an outstanding facilitator in her own right with experience playing in the European professional league. While I believe Evina is more suited to the 2 or 3 spot, her two years of experience as the pg at TN, along with her length and talent might just earn her the role as the starting pg at the beginning of next season.

It will be fascinating to see how next fall unfolds. Starting Evina as PG would dimish her scoring but may be a useful temporary trade off. I don't know enough about her Tenn days and any PG role she played. I'd like to see Paige get at least 15 minutes a game in the early going. It is nice to have options for once, with Anna having been a PG too and Nika is another freshman we need to bring along. I think she sees herself being the PG and Paige the SG. But we need not have a single role for many of our players.

 

[BostonBay]

Paige will lead UConn back to the promised land! Her PG skills are off the chart. She'll get the start & hopefully we'll have some semblance of a passing/cutting inside outside game, which has been completely absent this year.