How does Paige compare to Diana, Maya, and Breanna? | Page 4 | The Boneyard

How does Paige compare to Diana, Maya, and Breanna?

Joined
Apr 24, 2022
Messages
6,503
Reaction Score
38,701
I don’t believe anyone is “throwing shade“ at Bueckers in the least by not accepting at face value opinions that rank her with the best of the best.
I’m with you on this. But there is a grain of truth in giving Paige some extra credit, in this sense. She carried a team with 5 freshmen in the rotation to the final four in her first year. And the next year, hobbled, she carried a weakened team to the NC game. Diana didn’t do anything like that as a freshman. She did carry a weaker team to the next two NCs, and that was awesome. But if Paige can come back and lead a charge to a couple more NCs, I’d say she belongs in the pantheon right next to Diana and Maya and Stewie… and maybe Azzi and Caroline. Who knows?
 
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
1,398
Reaction Score
8,810
When it comes to pure stats, I think that Paige is clearly among the greats, and I doubt anyone would argue that.

For me though, Maya, DT, and Stewie are the cream of the crop for more reasons than just stats. Rings, awards, what they did to elevate UConn to new heights, etc, etc, as everyone else has already mentioned, those simply can't be ignored. While it is important to note that Paige has been hampered by injuries, setting those aside, I have never truly felt like she can be THE player that wills a team to victory every single time. It's not a knock on Paige, I just feel like the other three had a special intangible something that puts them in rare air.

(Edit: clarifying to add that she has certainly been invaluable to her team and they would not be as successful without her, but she needs to definitely ball out and win one NC for me to put her up there. But that's just my $0.02.)
 

meyers7

You Talkin’ To Me?
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
23,515
Reaction Score
60,890
You need to watch this video


Well 1) of course we've heard of her. And 2) she was good in College, good scorer. But she only won 1 of the NPOY awards (Wade). Riley won the other 3 (Naismith, AP, USBWA). So she wasn't even the best her pinnacle year.
 

eebmg

Fair and Balanced
Joined
Nov 28, 2016
Messages
20,031
Reaction Score
88,615
When it comes to pure stats, I think that Paige is clearly among the greats, and I doubt anyone would argue that.

For me though, Maya, DT, and Stewie are the cream of the crop for more reasons than just stats. Rings, awards, what they did to elevate UConn to new heights, etc, etc, as everyone else has already mentioned, those simply can't be ignored. While it is important to note that Paige has been hampered by injuries, setting those aside, I have never truly felt like she can be THE player that wills a team to victory every single time. It's not a knock on Paige, I just feel like the other three had a special intangible something that puts them in rare air.

(Edit: clarifying to add that she has certainly been invaluable to her team and they would not be as successful without her, but she needs to definitely ball out and win one NC for me to put her up there. But that's just my $0.02.)
Wow. Paige does not have special intangibles Not THE player that wills a team to victory every game,

New Girl Facepalm GIF by HULU


Oh, and I would add Sue Bird and talk about a Fab Five.
 
Last edited:

meyers7

You Talkin’ To Me?
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
23,515
Reaction Score
60,890
Diana was a point forward.

Geno said Maya would have had more points if she had the ball in her hands as much as Diana.



Are you confusing the 2? DT was not a point forward. She won the NLC Pt Guard award 2 years.

And Geno is known to exaggerate. Moore took more shots than any other player in UCONN history. And is in the top 10 for assists. She had the ball plenty.
 

HuskyNan

You Know Who
Joined
Aug 15, 2011
Messages
25,898
Reaction Score
213,499
Are you confusing the 2? DT was not a point forward. She won the NLC Pt Guard award 2 years.

And Geno is known to exaggerate. Moore took more shots than any other player in UCONN history. And is in the top 10 for assists. She had the ball plenty.
Geno called Dee a point forward, a forward that plays at the point or vice versa.

Found this:

Connecticut primarily uses a four-guard lineup with Taurasi often working as the point forward, which explains why she's UConn's top rebounder.


Bird and Taurasi are great stories who made themselves useful. Bird is a brilliant point guard and organized an offense made of players just learning each others' tendencies. Taurasi played point forward, demonstrating her basketball IQ with her passing.

 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 8, 2021
Messages
1,780
Reaction Score
8,954
Well 1) of course we've heard of her. And 2) she was good in College, good scorer. But she only won 1 of the NPOY awards (Wade). Riley won the other 3 (Naismith, AP, USBWA). So she wasn't even the best her pinnacle year.
The video was about Jackie being a great player as a relative unknown, considering her accomplishments, not so much about really being the greatest player ever. Coming from a tiny high school and playing college ball at SW Missouri State I believe would qualify her in that regard, at least. Riley played at Notre Dame, in the spotlight, and had a built-in edge in NPOY voting. Jackie also was a very good pro until injuries quickly ended her career.
 

SVCBeercats

Meglepetés Előadó
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
4,923
Reaction Score
29,393
Well 1) of course we've heard of her. And 2) she was good in College, good scorer. But she only won 1 of the NPOY awards (Wade). Riley won the other 3 (Naismith, AP, USBWA). So she wasn't even the best her pinnacle year.
She WAS the best in my opinion but she played for small college with no sports cachet. The sports snobs tried to ignore her. Stiles out did Bueckers by taking Southwest Missouri State (SWMS) to the final four in 2001 after beating the #1 seed Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. SWMS did not have the talent UCONN had in Paige's freshman years. Not even close!
 
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
2,772
Reaction Score
9,097
Would’ve, Could’ve, and should’ve’s do not equal The actual act of doing. Therefore there is nothing to compare
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2018
Messages
1,581
Reaction Score
4,869
For the moment, let's put aside the comparative stats. If you were constructing an all-time UConn women's team, who would you have as your point guard alongside, Maya, Stewie, Diana and Tina?

I'll take Sue Bird over Paige, albeit barely. For me, it's akin to Russell vs Wilt. Stats don't win championships.
 
Joined
Aug 4, 2022
Messages
438
Reaction Score
1,503
Sue Bird over Paige? I don't think so!!!! Paige is a much better shooter than Sue, even though Sue is a class A shooter. Both have the clutch gene! Paige is a 'once in a lifetime' bucket. Sue Bird was a great WNBA point guard, shooter, play maker, but Paige ( I predict ) will terrorize the W. A better shooter than SI.
 
Joined
Aug 4, 2022
Messages
438
Reaction Score
1,503
Paige has more gears than even Sabrina I..... as good an eye for the court, better on defense, as good a passer, foul shooter and all else. Give me Paige....
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2021
Messages
1,780
Reaction Score
8,954
For the moment, let's put aside the comparative stats. If you were constructing an all-time UConn women's team, who would you have as your point guard alongside, Maya, Stewie, Diana and Tina?

I'll take Sue Bird over Paige, albeit barely. For me, it's akin to Russell vs Wilt. Stats don't win championships.
I might agree that it's Sue by a narrow margin over Paige at this point, and Sue's probably my favorite all-time Huskies player. As for that all-time Huskies team, ha, they wouldn't have needed a fifth player... LOL!

Regarding Russell and Wilt, it wasn't about stats. Rather, it was about Russell's remarkable corps of great teammates. Two times Chamberlain had a strong team around him and he won a title.
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2018
Messages
1,581
Reaction Score
4,869
When Paige finishes her career at UConn I’ll circle back. Not ready to dethrone anyone yet statwise or other.
Agreed. I'm not dethroning Paige, just casting my vote today (who knows what tomorrow brings). The other four (Maya, Stewie, Diana and Tina) are, in my opinion, cast in stone.
 
Joined
Sep 19, 2018
Messages
7,545
Reaction Score
28,317
For the moment, let's put aside the comparative stats. If you were constructing an all-time UConn women's team, who would you have as your point guard alongside, Maya, Stewie, Diana and Tina?

I'll take Sue Bird over Paige, albeit barely. For me, it's akin to Russell vs Wilt. Stats don't win championships.
Sue is easily my #4 on the Mt. Rushmore of UConn WBB. Her basketball resume from college to professional and Olympics is ridiculous.
 
Joined
Oct 31, 2022
Messages
3
Reaction Score
12
It's fun to analyze how Bueckers compares to the greatest UConn women basketball players to grace the court while at UConn, by a combination of measuring each player's level of play and the number of individual and UConn team awards that each have received (number of times named ALL this and that and MVP of this and that, plus the number of national championship teams they led, etc.). Most agree (and me too) that Bueckers currently falls well short using those metrics.

But more interesting to me is, which of these UConn women's basketball superstars is overall the best player of the bunch while they played for UConn? The answer is already Paige Bueckers. Her total on-court offensive and defensive skill set is superior to those that Taurasi, Stewart, and Moore (and Bird) possessed at UConn, great as these players were when at UConn.

Bueckers is the best of Taurasi and Bird combined when they played at UConn, but she comes in one package, which in a way says it all.

Delving deeper regarding Taurasi, Stewart, and Moore (plus Bird), I consider Bueckers better than all of them when at UConn in the following categories:
Overall court generalship, court sense, and anticipation.
Passing ability - best at execution of passes that lead or should lead to baskets.
The ability to shoot and score at a high level from anywhere/everywhere on the court under intense defensive pressure (scoring from outside the three-point line, mid-range, and inside (inside includes the array of bank shots, floaters, layups, etc.).
Clutch big game, big moment shooting prowess (shares Number 1 with Taurasi).
Level of destructive defensive presence due to Bueckers' highly aware defensive positioning and anticipatory movement, reflected in her number of steals, blocked shots, and frequent ball deflections that lead to opponent turnovers, and dependably delivered in big-time games too.

Not part of my criteria above, but when you add in Bueckers' innate ability to both raise and settle her teammates play and also supercharge the Husky crowd with her charismatic style, you have the best, whole ball of wax seen to date in Husky WBB Blue.
 
Joined
Dec 8, 2019
Messages
1,325
Reaction Score
9,339
I’m with you on this. But there is a grain of truth in giving Paige some extra credit, in this sense. She carried a team with 5 freshmen in the rotation to the final four in her first year. And the next year, hobbled, she carried a weakened team to the NC game. Diana didn’t do anything like that as a freshman. She did carry a weaker team to the next two NCs, and that was awesome. But if Paige can come back and lead a charge to a couple more NCs, I’d say she belongs in the pantheon right next to Diana and Maya and Stewie… and maybe Azzi and Caroline. Who knows?
Sorry, but I don’t buy for a second that she ”carried” either team to the FF. Was she the best player each year on a FF team? Yes. ”Carried” either team, no. The only game in either tournament she “carried“ the team was NC State. I can make an argument that Bueckers came up lacking in both years FF and NC losses, not that she played poorly, but in using an all time great expectation as a measuring stick. As for comparing Bueckers to Taurasi as a freshman and using that as criteria for an all-time great comparison holds no water for me; let Bueckers approach what Taurasi has done post freshman year and IMO the discussion regarding the two can then begin.
 
Joined
Feb 9, 2016
Messages
4,885
Reaction Score
17,670
I like my iPhone much more than my blackberry. Loved my blackberry when it was new but forgot about it s when the iPhone showed up.
 
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
744
Reaction Score
1,196
She is the shiny new toy. Some of y’all have forgotten about what the “greats” accomplished . She has potential ( means you haven’t done anything YET). I said it awhile ago and some posters went on and on about her individual awards in this team sport. Poster tried to hang me out to dry. I imagine, because I truly don’t know, that Paige would give all those awards back for at least 1 championship at this stage in her career.
not to mention we live in a different era, now kids these days think its cool to shoot 3's non stop, makes me not watch basketball like I used too.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2022
Messages
6,503
Reaction Score
38,701
Sorry, but I don’t buy for a second that she ”carried” either team to the FF. Was she the best player each year on a FF team? Yes. ”Carried” either team, no. The only game in either tournament she “carried“ the team was NC State. I can make an argument that Bueckers came up lacking in both years FF and NC losses, not that she played poorly, but in using an all time great expectation as a measuring stick. As for comparing Bueckers to Taurasi as a freshman and using that as criteria for an all-time great comparison holds no water for me; let Bueckers approach what Taurasi has done post freshman year and IMO the discussion regarding the two can then begin.
Perhaps you misspoke, but Paige’s performance in the NC St game is precisely how we got to the FF game last season. If you concede that she carried the team in that game then by definition you have agreed with me.

Now perhaps you could make a case that she didn’t simply carry us to the FF game the year before when her 28 pts were instrumental in beating Baylor. After all, Christyn had 21 and 7 rebounds in that game and made some clutch plays in the second half. Nonetheless, Paige’s performance seems to me to have been more important. As I remember it, Baylor’s defense plan was focused on stopping freshman Paige, and as soon as Didi went down in the 3rd quarter, she torched them. They eventually made a comeback, aided in part by Christyn’s missed free throws.

If you don’t want to make this case, then you’ll have agreed with me again that Paige carried the team to the FF game.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
1,398
Reaction Score
8,810
Wow. Paige does not have special intangibles Not THE player that wills a team to victory every game,

New Girl Facepalm GIF by HULU


Oh, and I would add Sue Bird and talk about a Fab Five.

That was just like, my opinion dude.
 
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
6,988
Reaction Score
17,682
My stance has always been the same. Championships are all that matter to killers. The rest is just gravy, it’s good put not filling.
At the pro level; yes.
At the college level; no way.

Unless your "gravy" has a much different meaning than mine. Possible I suppose.
 
Last edited:

Online statistics

Members online
394
Guests online
1,970
Total visitors
2,364

Forum statistics

Threads
159,552
Messages
4,195,478
Members
10,066
Latest member
bardira


.
Top Bottom