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Message: [QUOTE="oldude, post: 5107549, member: 7511"] So ESPN just came out with their list of the top 25 players in WBB. Much to my surprise, as well as to the surprise of just about every knowledgeable basketball fan, they rate JuJu Watkins #1 and Paige #2. Don’t get me wrong, Watkins is a great player, who will undoubtedly get better, with a realistic opportunity to break Caitlin Clark’s career scoring record. The ESPN article represents the combined wisdom, or lack there of, by Philippou, Creme & Voepel. Obviously, there is an element of subjectivity to any such comparison. But really, Watkins over Paige? Let’s look at the numbers. Watkins played about 4 mpg more than Paige, and was one of the leading scorers in the nation, averaging around 27ppg to Paige’s 21ppg. She averaged 7.3 rebounds per game vs 5.2 for Paige, had a slightly better FT % (.852 to .834) and 3 more blocks (56 to 53). Now let’s look at where Paige has an edge. While Watkins took a whole lot more shots than Paige (763 vs 598), their respective shooting percentages were not even close. Paige shot .530 overall and .416 from the arc. Watkins shot .401 and .319 respectively. Paige has 38 more assists (150 to 112), 8 more steals (86 to 78), 80 fewer turnovers (60 to 140) and 15 fewer personal fouls ( 64 to 89). As I said, Watkins is a great player. Some day she may be the best women’s player in college basketball. But that day will only occur after Paige heads to the W. [/QUOTE]