Iowa (Caitlin Clark) vs #22 NorthWestern

[Plebe]

On the other hand, I am a very big fan of Aliyah Boston and I am guessing far more than most on this board. Why? Because her style is unique and transcends her position. She plays at her pace, is continually developing new skills and I cant keep my eyes off of her when she plays (for the right reasons) I am surprised she has not been as consistent as she should be but her highest level games are just beautiful. She is my pick for NPOY although I know her stats are not as good as they should be.

And to me, even more important than whatever her stats are is the fact that (a) she had a highly forgettable performance in the NC State game, and (b) her team lost said game.

 

[eebmg]

And to me, even more important than whatever her stats are is the fact that (a) she had a highly forgettable performance in the NC State game, and (b) her team lost said game.

I saw that game and she seemed out of shape to me. I think that is changing significantly.

 

[MooseJaw]

For me personally, I do not want to see Caitlin fail or have subpar games. I understand this seemed to be the initial motive of this thread but I think most realize that one game is not an indicator of overall ability or value.

Most people participating are trying to basically compare Caitlin and Paige reasonably fairly but I think this comparison gets people antsy because we see the potential of eyepopping volume stats and last second 3's (often needed by her team) blinding others (outside UConn) to the unique abilities, mentality and team vision of Paige (who does not need to play hero ball most of the time) . And for me, this reminds me too closely of the Arike / Napheesa ROY battle which barely went the right way. Of course, this discussion is moot if Paige does not ball out against TN/SC but I do not see her slipping in these venues

On the other hand, I am a very big fan of Aliyah Boston and I am guessing far more than most on this board. Why? Because her style is unique and transcends her position. She plays at her pace, is continually developing new skills and I cant keep my eyes off of her when she plays (for the right reasons) I am surprised she has not been as consistent as she should be but her highest level games are just beautiful. She is my pick for NPOY although I know her stats are not as good as they should be.

Paige, Caitlin switch em if we had Caitlin and never had Paige we would be just as in love with her as we are with Paige. Caitlin has had a fabulous season so far, I am thrilled for her and hope to see her and Paige ball to the end of the season. It makes the season more exciting. I would bet that not many if any given the chance would trade any other player in WCBB for Paige. Therefore let all the good players have good games, better for them, better for you, and better for me. If you would be willing to trade Paige please state your case and let all of us know. It will make for a great debate.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Yes! And it not just Caitlin either. A subpar game by any of these players will undoubtedly inspire a thread.
Aliyah Boston
Hailey Van Lith
Samantha Brunelle (although I think we gave up on this last year after ND game )
Haley Jones
DiJonai Carrington
NaLyssa Smith

NaLyssa Smith? i understand all the others (more or less) but not this one...

 

[eebmg]

Paige, Caitlin switch em if we had Caitlin and never had Paige we would be just as in love with her as we are with Paige. Caitlin has had a fabulous season so far, I am thrilled for her and hope to see her and Paige ball to the end of the season. It makes the season more exciting. I would bet that not many if any given the chance would trade any other player in WCBB for Paige. Therefore let all the good players have good games, better for them, better for you, and better for me. If you would be willing to trade Paige please state your case and let all of us know. It will make for a great debate.

Sorry. Not me. Paige's style is unique. I spent 4 years jealous that Sabrina chose OR and it was not 30pt games but an overall sense of beauty , court genius and tenacity in her game. I really do not see that in Caitlin (yet?)

 

[Plebe]

Sorry. Not me. Paige's style is unique. I spent 4 years jealous that Sabrina chose OR and it was not 30pt games but an overall sense of beauty , court genius and tenacity in her game. I really do not see that in Caitlin (yet?)

Including the first 7 weeks of her freshman season? She didn't really emerge with a "wow" factor until her game-winner against Cal in January 2017, which only came after her team started 0-3 in conference (including a lopsided loss to an unranked Washington State). Before that she'd attracted very little attention with her play.

I'll refrain from making beauty comparisons, but I've watched Clark in multiple games now and to my eye she has tenacity in spades and is averaging more assists (at 6.33 apg) than Ionescu did as a freshman.

Having said all that, I wouldn't trade Paige for any other freshman, or any other college player for that matter.

 

[Millenial23]

As I read this thread, my mind wandered back to ESPN's big promotion/ campaign of women's basketball - "3 to See." The only name I remember of the 3 was Della Donne as one of the three. Can't remember the other two. And we all know how that turned out.

My point is that ESPN likes to pick the winners and they seem to have a lot of influence in doing so. So I have a tendency to ignore the hype.

EDD, Griner, and Diggins were the 3 to see I'm pretty sure. That was the WNBA, not NCAA. They all graduated and were drafted the same year.

 

[eebmg]

Including the first 7 weeks of her freshman season? She didn't really emerge with a "wow" factor until her game-winner against Cal in January 2017, which only came after her team started 0-3 in conference (including a lopsided loss to an unranked Washington State). Before that she'd attracted very little attention with her play.

I'll refrain from making beauty comparisons, but I've watched Clark in multiple games now and to my eye she has tenacity in spades and is averaging more assists (at 6.33 apg) than Ionescu did as a freshman.

Having said all that, I wouldn't trade Paige for any other freshman, or any other college player for that matter.

I loved her game from seeing her in the HS all star games and I obviously had more of an attachment to Sabrina because she was considering us and I was pretty pissed she did not choose UConn. Again, I am attracted to unique and in my eyes aesthetic styles and in the hands of Geno, OMG. Of course, once she went behind the closed doors of PAC 12 coverage, I was blissfully unaware of her freshman issues.

 

[MooseJaw]

Sorry. Not me. Paige's style is unique. I spent 4 years jealous that Sabrina chose OR and it was not 30pt games but an overall sense of beauty , court genius and tenacity in her game. I really do not see that in Caitlin (yet?)

I didn't say anything to the contrary, my first point being if we did not have Paige and had Caitlin would we or would we not love having her on our team. Simple point, and she would be a crowd favorite. That being said I believe Paige to be a generational player, if she stays healthy IMO she very well may be in the discussion as the UCONN goat. Time will tell, I'm just glad I have a view of her games and anticipate watching her accomplishments.

 

[eebmg]

I didn't say anything to the contrary, my first point being if we did not have Paige and had Caitlin would we or would we not love having her on our team. Simple point, and she would be a crowd favorite. That being said I believe Paige to be a generational player, if she stays healthy IMO she very well may be in the discussion as the UCONN goat. Time will tell, I'm just glad I have a view of her games and anticipate watching her accomplishments.

I think it is hard to extrapolate that. I doubt Caitlin would look the same in Geno's system and the circumstances of UConn that would not need her to score 30 a night. She would be a fan favorite for her tenacity and competitiveness and overall game but not sure we would be fitting her on the wall or chomping at the bit for her next highlight video

 

[Skeets]

I pity the person who posts that they would switch Caitlin with Paige. Can you imagine what the BY response would be?

 

[MooseJaw]

I think it is hard to extrapolate that. I doubt Caitlin would look the same in Geno's system and the circumstances of UConn that would not need her to score 30 a night. She would be a fan favorite for her tenacity and competitiveness and overall game but not sure we would be fitting her on the wall or chomping at the bit for her next highlight video

I agree, in general with your reply.

 

[huskeynut]

EDD, Griner, and Diggins were the 3 to see I'm pretty sure. That was the WNBA, not NCAA. They all graduated and were drafted the same year.

I agree it was not the NCAA with the publicity. Never said or implied it was. It was all ESPN.

 

[jonson]

Including the first 7 weeks of her freshman season? She didn't really emerge with a "wow" factor until her game-winner against Cal in January 2017, which only came after her team started 0-3 in conference (including a lopsided loss to an unranked Washington State). Before that she'd attracted very little attention with her play.

I'll refrain from making beauty comparisons, but I've watched Clark in multiple games now and to my eye she has tenacity in spades and is averaging more assists (at 6.33 apg) than Ionescu did as a freshman.

Having said all that, I wouldn't trade Paige for any other freshman, or any other college player for that matter.

In my view, what tends to be missing in comparisons like this is context--or, as others have said, enough attention being paid to the fact that basketball is a team game. The teams that Caitlin and Paige joined are very different: Paige's includes experienced players who were ranked #1, #2, and #6 coming out of high school: I doubt (but haven't checked) Iowa has any players other than Clark in that category. And that difference, in turn, has a major effect on all sorts of things: number of shots taken (really, the number of shots needed for success), assists, turnovers, the fact that other teams can focus their defense on one or the other (Clark, certainly; Paige, not so much), and so on. And I'd argue that Ionescu's situation at Oregon was by far the worst of the three: a lineup that was made up almost entirely of freshmen and lacked upperclass leadership (and talent), with the second best player on the team a very raw freshman from Alaska (Hebard). (She also broke her thumb during those seven weeks.) No Ono, no Westbrook, no Williams--the list could go on. When has any player coming to UCONN joined a roster like that? So, things progressed/will progress for all three at different rates accordingly. And that, in turn, makes comparisons based on stats really difficult, if not misleading. Bottom line: all three are players any team would want on its roster.

 

[WBBSUperFan]

I didn't say anything to the contrary, my first point being if we did not have Paige and had Caitlin would we or would we not love having her on our team. Simple point, and she would be a crowd favorite. That being said I believe Paige to be a generational player, if she stays healthy IMO she very well may be in the discussion as the UCONN goat. Time will tell, I'm just glad I have a view of her games and anticipate watching her accomplishments.

Clark can flat out shoot, but the rest of her game is very freshman like. she leads the country in turnovers....and still throws a small fit evertime something doesn’t go her way. her body language when she fouled out of the game vs NW was totally unacceptable. the coaches couldn’t even talk to her. i would expect to her stat lines like she had vs NW over the next few weeks when they play the better defensive teams in the big 10

 

[MSGRET]

Clark can flat out shoot, but the rest of her game is very freshman like. she leads the country in turnovers....and still throws a small fit evertime something doesn’t go her way. her body language when she fouled out of the game vs NW was totally unacceptable. the coaches couldn’t even talk to her. i would expect to her stat lines like she had vs NW over the next few weeks when they play the better defensive teams in the big 10

She would've been sitting on the bench if she did those antics at UConn, both Geno and CD would be having words with her. She would end up like AEH and some others leaving because she wasn't getting the playing time that SHE thought she deserved.

 

[DefenseBB]

Well okay then. Should I hand-stitch a Caitlin voodoo doll to stick pins in every time she plays? Maybe start selling them on Etsy to like-minded Boneyarders?

Basketball is a team sport, so I don't get the stalking of another player just so Paige can seemingly get a leg up in an ultimately meaningless individual award race.

Wait what? Have you not been to the Boneyard EVER BEFORE?
Yes we care most about NCAA Title 1st, All-American 2nd, FOY 3rd and POY 4th. And any year UConn doesn’t attain #1 we fixate on 2-4 and compare those winners to our own.
Jeesh, I don’t even know who you are anymore!