Mt. Rushmore and Beyond

[Zanzman]

Let me ask it this way...

If the following players:
Lobo, Svetlana, Rizzotti, Taursi, Bird, Maya, Tina, Stewart, Jefferson, Collier, Sales, Bria Hartley, Sara, Fudd and Paige.

were all high school seniors right now and Geno can select ONLY 10 of them to make the team...Would Paige make the roster?

I think not.

Yes over fudd lobo sales hartley and rizzotti
Please its Taurasi not taursi we know you are not a fan but at least spell her name correctly

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Let me ask it this way...

If the following players:
Lobo, Svetlana, Rizzotti, Taursi, Bird, Maya, Tina, Stewart, Jefferson, Collier, Sales, Bria Hartley, Sara, Fudd and Paige.

were all high school seniors right now and Geno can select ONLY 10 of them to make the team...Would Paige make the roster?

I think not.

What makes you an expert on Geno?

You might have missed that Geno has called Paige the best player in America.

• specific citation, here;
• the citation is in 2024, i.e. after her many injuries, i.e. after you have claimed — without proof, as is your style — that she has lost her step;
• Paige has the third most points in NCAAT history and a multiple-year NPOY with Diana, Maya and Breanna.

And, yes, without a doubt, Geno would pick Paige out of the list you mentioned.

 

[1974yankees]

What makes you an expert on Geno?

You might have missed that Geno has called Paige the best player in America.

• specific citation, here;
• the citation is in 2024, i.e. after her many injuries, i.e. after you have claimed — without proof, as is your style — that she has lost her step;
• Paige has the third most points in NCAAT history and a multiple-year NPOY with Diana, Maya and Breanna.

And, yes, without a doubt, Geno would pick Paige out of the list you mentioned.

View attachment 110185

So Geno "would pick Paige out of that list"

Who is he cutting?

Lobo? Taursi? Maya? Tina? Stewart? Collier? Svetlana? Bird? Jefferson? Sales (his favorite player of all time)?

And Geno says a million things during the course of the day. He has called numerous players the "best"....

I remember not that long ago (and the threads are on this board) that he said Jana was going to be a star. I think he said something to the effect that Uconn fans are not going to believe how good she is....

There was even some talk that she was the next Stewart if I recollect.

Btw,

I still think Paige is a great player. But I have named 10 off the top of my head who were better. I am not sure how any Uconn fan can even argue with that list of players.

 

[oldude]

The names "Naismith" and "Wooden" make them prestigious. If they were called something else, they would be much less prestigious. So, they are real nice awards, but not significantly better than other awards.

Yes of course. But Naismith & Wooden were men who achieved fame in the men’s game. It took the businessMEN in Atlanta & LA 14 & 27 years respectively to acknowledge that women also played basketball.

If you’re not aware, the Wade Trophy was named for Lily Margaret Wade, the legendary coach of Delta State who won 3 consecutive national championships.

 

[boontonbomber]

Juju won the AP and USBWA awards, also. 19 years old versus 23 years old.

 

[baggerbob]

I would add that UConn was practically unbeatable during Stewie's 4 years, and absolutely unbeatable in March when it counted the most. Paige is the only player in history to be named NPOY as a freshman and her performance in leading the Huskies to a championship this past year through one of the most difficult brackets in history stands out as one of the greatest championship runs ever.

So yes, we can all focus on one or more accomplishments of these remarkable players. But in the end, I can not tell you who was better. As a diehard UConn fan I am just happy that the Huskies have been unusually blessed by the Basketball Gods when it comes to generational talents.

I Still remember the one play from Stewie against Rutgers where Mo had the ball stolen from her near mid-court and everyone thought the player had an easy 2 pts. Stewie came out of nowhere and swatted the ball out of bounds.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

So Geno "would pick Paige out of that list"

Who is he cutting?

Lobo? Taursi? Maya? Tina? Stewart? Collier? Svetlana? Bird? Jefferson? Sales (his favorite player of all time)?

And Geno says a million things during the course of the day. He has called numerous players the "best"....

I remember not that long ago (and the threads are on this board) that he said Jana was going to be a star. I think he said something to the effect that Uconn fans are not going to believe how good she is....

There was even some talk that she was the next Stewart if I recollect.

Btw,

I still think Paige is a great player. But I have named 10 off the top of my head who were better. I am not sure how any Uconn fan can even argue with that list of players.

So you know Geno’s mind now better than he does?

• Equating what he said about Jana — potential-wise in enumerable (probably by one hand) vs what he has said a legion of times about Paige?
• He has probably talked effusively about Paige as innumerably as he has talked about his other #1 WNBA draft picks: Sue, Diana, Maya, Tina and Breanna.

I find this if-not-Paige-then-who-does-Geno-cut question (10 out of 15 players you listed) a false dichotomy logical fallacy:

• Paige is not a borderline great player;
• Since you claim to be a Geno specialist, you might remember that Geno has said that Paige would have more national championships if she had the same “Disneyland” experience as his other star players (i.e. on a team without a biblical plague of injuries and without Covid);
• I believe that he has a quote that says something like, “at UConn, we take care of national championships by our star player’s second year”;
• I would think that Geno thinks that Sue, Diana, Maya, Tina, Breanna and Paige are firmly in the top 6 of the 15 you listed;
• As to the five he would cut, it’s definitely not Paige.

 

[oldude]

Juju won the AP and USBWA awards, also. 19 years old versus 23 years old.

Yea, Paige won those awards when she was a freshman.

 

[1974yankees]

Yea, Paige won those awards when she was a freshman.

If I remember correctly and I am going way back to 2007-2008.. Maya Moore as a freshman got robbed of winning the award....She probably had the best freshman year in history but they gave it to Candace Parker.

Parker was great no doubt but Moore was unstoppable even as a freshman.

A lot has to do with politics when it comes to these awards..

Tennessee of course won the Championship that year.

 

[Steelerone]

LOL. I love posts like this. It's like a dog chasing his tail. Let's see, Russel or Jordon. Oh, wait, Shaq or Wilt. MMMM, maybe Mantle or Williams. Or how about Musial or Rose. Ladies and gentlemen, just for your information, there is no definitive answer. But isn't it fun trying.

 

[Scoe]

In my opinion its Stewie, can ya do better then winning 4 national championships. In this Goat talk it's like people wanna penalize Stewie for being on UConn and having good teammates. All true and sure she wouldn't have 4 of them just like Kareem wouldn't have 4 if he wasn't on UCLA.

Stewie had to come out of games early because she was too good. That includes ranked opponents and tournament games.

 

[Zanzman]

In my opinion its Stewie, can ya do better then winning 4 national championships. In this Goat talk it's like people wanna penalize Stewie for being on UConn and having good teammates. All true and sure she wouldn't have 4 of them just like Kareem wouldn't have 4 if he wasn't on UCLA.

Stewie had to come out of games early because she was too good. That includes ranked opponents and tournament games.

Alcindor only played 3 years at ucla

 

[Scoe]

Alcindor only played 3 years at ucla

Ya that's right but the point still remains the same. Highly doubtful Alcindor wins all those championships if he didn't play at UCLA like people say Stewie wouldn't have won 4 at UConn, but the fact of the matter she won 4 of them and you can't do better then that.

It's as if she gets penalized from people putting the goat list together for being too good. Of course a subjective list all entitled to one's own opinion.

 

[oldude]

Ya that's right but the point still remains the same. Highly doubtful Alcindor wins all those championships at UCLA

I beg to differ. In 1965, Alcindor (Kareem) was part of the most highly rated recruiting class in the country, one of 4 HS All-Americans. The freshman team was undefeated including a 15 point win over the UCLA varsity that had won the previous 2 national championships. Alcindor averaged 33 ppg as a freshman. The varsity went 18-8 that year, finishing 2nd in the Pac-8.

 

[Scoe]

I beg to differ. In 1965, Alcindor (Kareem) was part of the most highly rated recruiting class in the country, one of 4 HS All-Americans. The freshman team was undefeated including a 15 point win over the UCLA varsity that had won the previous 2 national championships. Alcindor averaged 33 ppg as a freshman. The varsity went 18-8 that year, finishing 2nd in the Pac-8.

My wording was off fixed it , I meant to say highly doubtful Alcindor wins 3 at UCLA, much like people say Stewie wouldn't have won 4 in a row anywhere else.

My point is it's like people wanna exclude a UConn player from being the GOAT in women's college basketball because they played for UConn. You can't do better than winning 4 national championships.

It's like general fans wanna penalize Stewie from the GOAT talk because she was too good. Geno had to take her out of games because it was unfair to our opponents. Only lost 5 games in her career, 3 vs ND in last possessions, 1 to a defending champ Baylor team at Baylor who had Griner and Sims, and at Stanford in OT.

 

[The deacon]

Fun thread by all concerned... thanks for the good reading.

FYI, the next Summer Olympics will be 2028 in LA, not in 2026, so Paige will need to wait a while. She'll be just two months shy of 27 years old for her first Games. (and, dare I say, I can't wait to see her teamed with Caitlin Clark, and most likely Sarah Strong...).

 

[my2cents]

I don't like the " Mt . Rushmore" analogy as it limits us to 4 choices. If we project out the future, there will be so many former UConn players in the Basketball Hall of Fame they will need to give them an entire wing of the place.
The discussion should be who will eventually have a plaque there,

 

[oldude]

Fun thread by all concerned... thanks for the good reading.

FYI, the next Summer Olympics will be 2028 in LA, not in 2026, so Paige will need to wait a while. She'll be just two months shy of 27 years old for her first Games. (and, dare I say, I can't wait to see her teamed with Caitlin Clark, and most likely Sarah Strong...).

Sarah will have just graduated from college heading into the 2028 Olympics. While I have no doubt that she would be talented enough to make the US Olympic team, it gets a little dicey putting a college grad on the Olympic team over a WNBA veteran. We all remember the brouhaha when the selection committee put Stewie on the team over Candace Parker in 2016.

Parker just wrote a book where she reminds everyone, as if they needed reminding, that she doesn’t like Geno, who coached the 2016 Olympic team and is often blamed for the decision to pick Stewie over Parker, even though he was not a member of the selection committee. I wonder if Parker is sending Geno an autographed copy of her book?

 

[The deacon]

Sarah will have just graduated from college heading into the 2028 Olympics. While I have no doubt that she would be talented enough to make the US Olympic team, it gets a little dicey putting a college grad on the Olympic team over a WNBA veteran. We all remember the brouhaha when the selection committee put Stewie on the team over Candace Parker in 2016.

Parker just wrote a book where she reminds everyone, as if they needed reminding, that she doesn’t like Geno, who coached the 2016 Olympic team and is often blamed for the decision to pick Stewie over Parker, even though he was not a member of the selection committee. I wonder if Parker is sending Geno an autographed copy of her book?

Good one re Geno and Candace.

Yes, Sarah will be just graduated but, as should have been the case with Caitlin last summer, Sarah will be good enough to earn a spot on the '28 team. The '24 team would have been better with Caitlin, and I'll bet that '28 team would love to have Sarah... heck, she appears ready for the Olympics now, right?

 

[Skeets]

I don't like the " Mt . Rushmore" analogy as it limits us to 4 choices. If we project out the future, there will be so many former UConn players in the Basketball Hall of Fame they will need to give them an entire wing of the place.
The discussion should be who will eventually have a plaque there,

Yes, 4 choices is ridiculous but that's what makes it fun. If there was no controversy this would be a dead thread.

 

[meyers7]

Sarah will have just graduated from college heading into the 2028 Olympics. While I have no doubt that she would be talented enough to make the US Olympic team, it gets a little dicey putting a college grad on the Olympic team over a WNBA veteran. We all remember the brouhaha when the selection committee put Stewie on the team over Candace Parker in 2016.

Parker just wrote a book where she reminds everyone, as if they needed reminding, that she doesn’t like Geno, who coached the 2016 Olympic team and is often blamed for the decision to pick Stewie over Parker, even though he was not a member of the selection committee. I wonder if Parker is sending Geno an autographed copy of her book?

They didn't pick Stewart over Parker. They gave Catchings her last ride instead of putting Parker on the team. And Parker had made her own bed by picking and choosing when she wanted to play for the USA.

 

[oldude]

They didn't pick Stewart over Parker. They gave Catchings her last ride instead of putting Parker on the team. And Parker had made her own bed by picking and choosing when she wanted to play for the USA.

That may be the case in fact. But Parker chose to portray the decision as Geno picking Stewie over her. It even got wrapped up in the whole “falling out” between Pat & Geno, so it was viewed by Lady Vol fans under the animosity generated by the TN-UConn rivalry. LA sports personalities like Magic Johnson and others came out of the woodwork to criticize Geno.

In the end, it was much ado about nothing for everyone other than Parker, who continues to be bitter about the decision, to the point where she felt she had to take one more swing at Geno in the form of a new book. Not that Parker would ever listen to me, but if she would, I would tell her, “Let it go.”

 

[meyers7]

That may be the case in fact. But Parker chose to portray the decision as Geno picking Stewie over her. It even got wrapped up in the whole “falling out” between Pat & Geno, so it was viewed by Lady Vol fans under the animosity generated by the TN-UConn rivalry. LA sports personalities like Magic Johnson and others came out of the woodwork to criticize Geno.

In the end, it was much ado about nothing for everyone other than Parker, who continues to be bitter about the decision, to the point where she felt she had to take one more swing at Geno in the form of a new book. Not that Parker would ever listen to me, but if she would, I would tell her, “Let it go.”

That's all I was stating. The rest doesn't matter.

 

[oldude]

That's all I was stating. The rest doesn't matter.

It shouldn’t matter. But it certainly does to one individual.

 

[1974yankees]

Sarah will have just graduated from college heading into the 2028 Olympics. While I have no doubt that she would be talented enough to make the US Olympic team, it gets a little dicey putting a college grad on the Olympic team over a WNBA veteran. We all remember the brouhaha when the selection committee put Stewie on the team over Candace Parker in 2016.

Parker just wrote a book where she reminds everyone, as if they needed reminding, that she doesn’t like Geno, who coached the 2016 Olympic team and is often blamed for the decision to pick Stewie over Parker, even though he was not a member of the selection committee. I wonder if Parker is sending Geno an autographed copy of her book?

That is interesting that Parker blames Geno for picking Stewart....

I remember when Maya should have won the Naismith as a freshman because she deserved to win it as a freshman..(ie: her grade level shouldn't matter because she was the best player that year)

But somehow they picked Parker..

Maybe Geno wanted payback... But then again how was Stewart not making any team..