Paige and Azzi

[hoophuskee]

Imo there needs to be an understanding how great Azzi was when she was healthy and very underrated as a freshman. IMO the main problem is that some love one-on-one basketball, and believe college ball is the same as pro ball. It isn't. In pro ball Creighton would never have gone to an E8. / similar to being among near one of the best pro teams.

First off Azzi shot 43% from 3 as a frosh I believe. 43% is terrific. Second, UCONN loses to UCF in her frosh year without her. .

And just as we had an understanding with Paige and her injury took time - there has to be an understanding that Azzi was amazing early. She was nowhere near what she was early. So instead of blindly just being a fan of one-on-one pro ball, I ask some fans to take stock in understanding that this past year early she torched Texas and Duke (coaches known for their Defense). Then matched, if not outplayed, Clark. This was a top four team. And she matched or outplayed a super super player. She did this while missing one season High School. While shed comes back she barely played during COVID. Then she was hurt quite a bit her frosh year. So she is 1 year younger than Calrk and has missed about 2 years+ playing time of hoop vs Clark the past 3 years and yet she matched a prime Clark.

So, despite all this she basically smoked three teams. Two strong Defensive Teams, and matching Clark says it all what she will probably be if healthy. Yes she needs to improve in all facets. But let's not over-exaggerate the negative When healthy she has shown to be an elite shooter/scorer and has scored efficiently in some big games/tough competition. So, if healthy, why such negativity? Especially since she’ll be playing with a super player like Paige and an A/a caliber player like Edwards?

And another thing is – Azzi makes Paige “better” too. As well as Paige making Azzi better.

 

[jdote33]

Imo there needs to be an understanding how great Azzi was when she was healthy and very underrated as a freshman. IMO the main problem is that some love one-on-one basketball, and believe college ball is the same as pro ball. It isn't. In pro ball Creighton would never have gone to an E8. / similar to being among near one of the best pro teams.

First off Azzi shot 43% from 3 as a frosh I believe. 43% is terrific. Second, UCONN loses to UCF in her frosh year without her. .

And just as we had an understanding with Paige and her injury took time - there has to be an understanding that Azzi was amazing early. She was nowhere near what she was early. So instead of blindly just being a fan of one-on-one pro ball, I ask some fans to take stock in understanding that this past year early she torched Texas and Duke (coaches known for their Defense). Then matched, if not outplayed, Clark. This was a top four team. And she matched or outplayed a super super player. She did this while missing one season High School. While shed comes back she barely played during COVID. Then she was hurt quite a bit her frosh year. So she is 1 year younger than Calrk and has missed about 2 years+ playing time of hoop vs Clark the past 3 years and yet she matched a prime Clark.

So, despite all this she basically smoked three teams. Two strong Defensive Teams, and matching Clark says it all what she will probably be if healthy. Yes she needs to improve in all facets. But let's not over-exaggerate the negative When healthy she has shown to be an elite shooter/scorer and has scored efficiently in some big games/tough competition. So, if healthy, why such negativity? Especially since she’ll be playing with a super player like Paige and an A/a caliber player like Edwards?

And another thing is – Azzi makes Paige “better” too. As well as Paige making Azzi better.

Great post. I agree with this. I think she was not really healthy by the tournament but even so, she seemed to just miss shots. It's not like she couldn't get a shot off. I think her release is so quick and her first step quick enough she can absolutely create for herself. Is there a game last year where she couldn't create for herself?

Paige also has similar criticism her freshman year vs Arizona, although it kinda gets mixed with her not being aggressive enough. But I'll be interested in seeing this year, being 21 and 22 years old respectively now, if they have any difficulty with pressure defense and creating their own shot. Despite all the injuries, if Hudy is as reported, physically they both should be as ready as ever.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I’m a big Azzi fan. I’ve seen her several times, starting in 9th grade. She torched all the high level competition in the DMV. As a sophomore, she led her team to the GEICO National Championship game, which they lost, largely because Azzi had a bad ankle.

If you read the articles about Azzi, you know that sometimes she has confidence issues. That’s why I thought it was important for her to play with Paige and for Geno. She is the sweetest person, but could use a little more killer instinct on the court (think Sue Bird). I’m still hoping that a little Paige Buckets will rub off on her.

I’m predicting a big season for Azzi. Paige knows where and when to get her the ball. That duo is nearly unstoppable.

 

[Alydar]

I’m a big Azzi fan. I’ve seen her several times, starting in 9th grade. She torched all the high level competition in the DMV. As a sophomore, she led her team to the GEICO National Championship game, which they lost, largely because Azzi had a bad ankle.

If you read the articles about Azzi, you know that sometimes she has confidence issues. That’s why I thought it was important for her to play with Paige and for Geno. She is the sweetest person, but could use a little more killer instinct on the court (think Sue Bird). I’m still hoping that a little Paige Buckets will rub off on her.

I’m predicting a big season for Azzi. Paige knows where and when to get her the ball. That duo is nearly unstoppable.

And yet teams will try, which should give Edwards room to work inside.

 

[MilfordHusky]

And yet teams will try, which should give Edwards room to work inside.

And room for Aubs to slash.

 

[oldhusky]

Imo there needs to be an understanding how great Azzi was when she was healthy and very underrated as a freshman. IMO the main problem is that some love one-on-one basketball, and believe college ball is the same as pro ball. It isn't. In pro ball Creighton would never have gone to an E8. / similar to being among near one of the best pro teams.

First off Azzi shot 43% from 3 as a frosh I believe. 43% is terrific. Second, UCONN loses to UCF in her frosh year without her. .

And just as we had an understanding with Paige and her injury took time - there has to be an understanding that Azzi was amazing early. She was nowhere near what she was early. So instead of blindly just being a fan of one-on-one pro ball, I ask some fans to take stock in understanding that this past year early she torched Texas and Duke (coaches known for their Defense). Then matched, if not outplayed, Clark. This was a top four team. And she matched or outplayed a super super player. She did this while missing one season High School. While shed comes back she barely played during COVID. Then she was hurt quite a bit her frosh year. So she is 1 year younger than Calrk and has missed about 2 years+ playing time of hoop vs Clark the past 3 years and yet she matched a prime Clark.

So, despite all this she basically smoked three teams. Two strong Defensive Teams, and matching Clark says it all what she will probably be if healthy. Yes she needs to improve in all facets. But let's not over-exaggerate the negative When healthy she has shown to be an elite shooter/scorer and has scored efficiently in some big games/tough competition. So, if healthy, why such negativity? Especially since she’ll be playing with a super player like Paige and an A/a caliber player like Edwards?

And another thing is – Azzi makes Paige “better” too. As well as Paige making Azzi better.

There are a ton of good points in this post. I will take it a little further regarding the injury issue. In my opinion Azzi has been healthy for only 6 games in her career, namely the first 6 games of last year when she was playing like an All American and against top competition as Hoop Huskee points out. We saw glimpses of potential in her freshmen season, but she wasn't healthy with her foot the whole year. What we saw in her freshmen season was mostly a great spot up jump shooter who rarely drove to the basket, or used the pull-up jumper we know she has.

Then at the beginning of last year we saw the full potential, not just a spot up shooter but a big time scorer as well. After those first six games I remember her PER was over 30, or similar to Paige her freshmen season. For the season she wound up in the low 20's, so if you do the math she probably was around 15, or average post injury to bring her numbers down that much for the season. You can't really judge Azzi's likely impact based on her season statistics in either season unless you assume she will be similarly hampered by injuries this year.

I agree that Paige and Azzi can make each other better, but when you think about it, they haven't yet had an opportunity to play together when both players were healthy at the same time. Azzi was only healthy the first six games of last year when Paige was out, and while Paige was healthy for just the first six games of the previous season, Azzi was not with foot issues the whole year.

Both players have concerns over whether they might be injury prone, and if they can recover 100% to prior form, but the optimistic outlook is we haven't seen what both could do together if healthy, and in the brief periods of the last two years when either was healthy, they were very very good. We also haven't yet seen these two three level scorers together and healthy with a passer like Nika which could potentially make them even more effective. Nika in her record setting season frequently had only one outside shooting threat with her (Lou) but most of the time the other perimeter player was Aubrey.

The combination of two great outside shooters (Paige and Azzi), two great scorers (Paige and Azzi) and two great passers (Paige and Nika) together is potentially very exciting if we can avoid the injury bug.

 

[Vancat]

They are going to be an incredible Dynamic Duo!

 

[AgStatesman]

Yeah if I'm down 72-70 with 10 seconds left, I'm giving the ball to Paige. Like giving the ball to Diana in that situation it's a no-brainer.

Agree, but having Azzi spotting up on a wing when her defender goes to double a driving Paige ain’t a bad scenario Either. In fact, give me that time and again.

 

[Surly1]

If this doesn't get like 500 dislikes, you are all frauds and charlatans.

You are right, but I say every single UConn fan should give this a vigorous thumbs down or dislike. Paige is my all-time favorite female player, but where is this criticism of Azzi coming from. I don't know what games they were watching, but there is not another player in the country with Azzi's stroke. Ask any coach in America and they'd take Azzi in a second.

If she has a healthy season, I am pretty sure there will be plenty of instances on Azzi hitting an open shot and taking her defender to the hole.

I'm pretty stoked to see this dynamic duo perform this season. We've had to wait two injury-plagued season, but hopefully, this year makes the waiting worth it.

 

[ballerfan]

You are right, but I say every single UConn fan should give this a vigorous thumbs down or dislike. Paige is my all-time favorite female player, but where is this criticism of Azzi coming from. I don't know what games they were watching, but there is not another player in the country with Azzi's stroke. Ask any coach in America and they'd take Azzi in a second.

If she has a healthy season, I am pretty sure there will be plenty of instances on Azzi hitting an open shot and taking her defender to the hole.

I'm pretty stoked to see this dynamic duo perform this season. We've had to wait two injury-plagued season, but hopefully, this year makes the waiting worth it.

I wonder, too, where the criticism is coming from. She is one of the great shooters in basketball. And Paige has said that it is her dream to win a national championship by passing the ball to Azzi for the final shot. I trust Paige’s confidence in her.

 

[Alydar]

You are right, but I say every single UConn fan should give this a vigorous thumbs down or dislike. Paige is my all-time favorite female player, but where is this criticism of Azzi coming from. I don't know what games they were watching, but there is not another player in the country with Azzi's stroke. Ask any coach in America and they'd take Azzi in a second.

If she has a healthy season, I am pretty sure there will be plenty of instances on Azzi hitting an open shot and taking her defender to the hole.

I'm pretty stoked to see this dynamic duo perform this season. We've had to wait two injury-plagued season, but hopefully, this year makes the waiting worth it.

When they play together one of them will be guarded by the 2nd best perimeter defender on the other team.

 

[MSGRET]

I can see it now on the after the game comments where some will criticize Nika for not shooting enough but gets double digit assists every game. Why have the PG shoot when you have Azzi on one side, Paige on the other side raining down threes, while she has Aaliyah and Ice or Aubrey down low to pass to if they are doubling one of those two.

 

[donalddoowop]

I can see it now on the after the game comments where some will criticize Nika for not shooting enough but gets double digit assists every game. Why have the PG shoot when you have Azzi on one side, Paige on the other side raining down threes, while she has Aaliyah and Ice or Aubrey down low to pass to if they are doubling one of those two.

She will also have DeBerry to pass to. She is going to surprise people, pleasantly.

 

[JoePgh]

She will also have DeBerry to pass to. She is going to surprise people, pleasantly.

Everybody wants to forget about Ayanna, don't they?

I think Aaliyah and Ice will be the starters at the 4 and 5 positions, backed up by Amari and Ayanna. If they all play somewhere close to their potential and stay healthy, UConn will have enough bigs for a change, and won't have to worry about one or even two of them getting in foul trouble in a particular game.

 

[The deacon]

I can see it now on the after the game comments where some will criticize Nika for not shooting enough but gets double digit assists every game. Why have the PG shoot when you have Azzi on one side, Paige on the other side raining down threes, while she has Aaliyah and Ice or Aubrey down low to pass to if they are doubling one of those two.

Everybody wants to forget about Ayanna, don't they?

I think Aaliyah and Ice will be the starters at the 4 and 5 positions, backed up by Amari and Ayanna. If they all play somewhere close to their potential and stay healthy, UConn will have enough bigs for a change, and won't have to worry about one or even two of them getting in foul trouble in a particular game.

I'm with all of you on your optimistic takes on the coming season, as far as you've taken it.

I also recognize Caroline Ducharme has to avoid further head trauma, but it constantly amazes me how every take, on this and other threads, pretty much ignores Caroline. She still is a member of the team, right?

I suspect Geno might have a broader perspective that includes Caroline.

 

[AmeriConn]

 

[hoopsfan22]

Guess Paige's knee is back to normal? She didn't even have one of those sleeve things on her leg.

 

[Skeets]

I can see it now on the after the game comments where some will criticize Nika for not shooting enough but gets double digit assists every game. Why have the PG shoot when you have Azzi on one side, Paige on the other side raining down threes, while she has Aaliyah and Ice or Aubrey down low to pass to if they are doubling one of those two.

Sarge, I agree 100%. If everyone stays healthy, especially Paige and Azzi, Nika should be able to reset the assist records. Maybe records that will never be broken.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Yeah, but they don't and can't do this in a game. Paige is more consistent and fearless than Azzi. I'd like to see Azzi
make 1/3 d of her open shots. Also, I'd like to see Azzi make a move and take some defender to the hole. Paige, IMO is in a whole other category. She is willing to confront a defender, make a move and make a shot. She deserves national POY. Just my opinion. Azzi, not so much.

I would like to see Azzi make 3/4 of her open shots and 1/3 of her contested shots for a 0.4888 clip overall (48.88%) from 3 pt range... Drives to the bucket @ 78.33% and 9 foul shots per game (5 of them "and ones") at a 98.66% completion rate (misses 1 all year), and mid-range jumpers at 68.33% completion rate, BECAUSE she can!!!

All the above in the Big East and NCAA tournaments ==> when it counts. The other 30+ games are just "tune-ups"....

Go Huskies!!

 

[The CDR-Ret]

My opinion on these two is one is a great shooter and the other is great offensive player. Paige can create on every play and get a decent shot that will go in the basket most of the time. Where I see Azzi is the player that benefits from Paige's creativity with a lot of open looks. The thing about both of them is they have a quick release so if they have a small window it will seem like an open shot for them.

No team in the country will be able to beat UCONN if they can't play man to man. UCONN can beat you high, they can beat you low, and they are fast in open court. The only question about this team is can they play a little defense? If the answer to that question is yes then this team will not lose this season if all their players are on the floor.

KK brings an additional gear that in Space Balls would call "ridiculous speed" to the fast break, which will be released through tough defense at the point...

 

[Skeets]

KK brings an additional gear that in Space Balls would call "ridiculous speed" to the fast break, which will be released through tough defense at the point...

I like the Space Balls "ridiculous speed". Made me chuckle. So, you get a "like".

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I like the Space Balls "ridiculous speed". Made me chuckle. So, you get a "like".

The "Space Balls" equation in Calculus-based Physics still works for some of my students, as the simplification of conservation of angular momentum for planets around a star... R1V1 = R2V2 [RV's in space (Winnebagoes, got to be Space Balls...]

 

[hoophuskee]

KK brings an additional gear that in Space Balls would call "ridiculous speed" to the fast break, which will be released through tough defense at the point...

Passing a ball is much faster than running. IMO KK getting minutes in big games all comes down to if Ducharme (and ofc Azzi or Paige) is hurt or not.

In big games KK is behind too many players - Paige, Azzi, Nika, Caroline and Aubrey. And with Paige and Nika passing, there is no reason to rather want a dribbler. Paige and Nika can dribbel fast enough.

Nika and Aubrey's defense is better thna KK's. And Paige, Azzi and Carolein'es offense is better thna KK's. KK is gonna lay though and be needed if for example Caroline is suspect which appears she may very well be.

 

[diggerfoot]

Passing a ball is much faster than running. IMO KK getting minutes in big games all comes down to if Ducharme (and ofc Azzi or Paige) is hurt or not.

In big games KK is behind too many players - Paige, Azzi, Nika, Caroline and Aubrey. And with Paige and Nika passing, there is no reason to rather want a dribbler. Paige and Nika can dribbel fast enough.

Nika and Aubrey's defense is better thna KK's. And Paige, Azzi and Carolein'es offense is better thna KK's. KK is gonna lay though and be needed if for example Caroline is suspect which appears she may very well be.

One caveat to this. Bueckers defensive efficiency was high her freshman year. She led the team in steals and was actually the only player Park Lane did not blow by in the first match up (she blew by Griffin, Muhl and everyone else who tried to guard her). Um, the consequence of not blowing by was Bueckers picking up 3 of her 4 fouls attempting to block Park Lane’s shots, so we are not talking Faris or Jefferson capabilities … yet.

You see how often I defend Muhl here, but if I am being honest had Bueckers never got injured she probably would be regarded as our best defender right now. She is a Michael Jordan type of player, or was. In any case, I suspect her defense will be better than Arnolds as well.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[hoophuskee]

One caveat to this. Bueckers defensive efficiency was high her freshman year. She led the team in steals and was actually the only player Park Lane did not blow by in the first match up (she blew by Griffin, Muhl and everyone else who tried to guard her). Um, the consequence of not blowing by was Bueckers picking up 3 of her 4 fouls attempting to block Park Lane’s shots, so we are not talking Faris or Jefferson capabilities … yet.

You see how often I defend Muhl here, but if I am being honest had Bueckers never got injured she probably would be regarded as our best defender right now. She is a Michael Jordan type of player, or was. In any case, I suspect her defense will be better than Arnolds as well.

I believe Paige can be - but the issue with Paige is that UCONN has to deal with potentially atrocious refs. For example, UCONn is up by 10-12 points 8 minutes left in 4ht quarter, the best ND guard drives the lane and gts lightly bumped by Paige, the ND player reacts as if hit in the gut with a jackhammer and sprawls to the floor, then PB picks up #3. Then the next 3-4 minutes she is concerned with picking up foul #4 regardless who she is defending. SO, in this case have Nika defend.

In regard to ND, felt the same way with Park Lane. IMO she was so small that whenever she got bumped, she got the benefit of the calls. In big games, I tend to think players like her won't get the benefit but going against a team such as UCONN when they are an overwhelming favorite, I think in some games the refs tend to give the underdog a break. Not consciously but just as part of the flow of a game not expected to be physical.

And imo I tend to believe Azzi will be a better defender (frosh vs jr) this year too.

 

[jdote33]

Imo there needs to be an understanding how great Azzi was when she was healthy and very underrated as a freshman. IMO the main problem is that some love one-on-one basketball, and believe college ball is the same as pro ball. It isn't. In pro ball Creighton would never have gone to an E8. / similar to being among near one of the best pro teams.

First off Azzi shot 43% from 3 as a frosh I believe. 43% is terrific. Second, UCONN loses to UCF in her frosh year without her. .

And just as we had an understanding with Paige and her injury took time - there has to be an understanding that Azzi was amazing early. She was nowhere near what she was early. So instead of blindly just being a fan of one-on-one pro ball, I ask some fans to take stock in understanding that this past year early she torched Texas and Duke (coaches known for their Defense). Then matched, if not outplayed, Clark. This was a top four team. And she matched or outplayed a super super player. She did this while missing one season High School. While shed comes back she barely played during COVID. Then she was hurt quite a bit her frosh year. So she is 1 year younger than Calrk and has missed about 2 years+ playing time of hoop vs Clark the past 3 years and yet she matched a prime Clark.

So, despite all this she basically smoked three teams. Two strong Defensive Teams, and matching Clark says it all what she will probably be if healthy. Yes she needs to improve in all facets. But let's not over-exaggerate the negative When healthy she has shown to be an elite shooter/scorer and has scored efficiently in some big games/tough competition. So, if healthy, why such negativity? Especially since she’ll be playing with a super player like Paige and an A/a caliber player like Edwards?

And another thing is – Azzi makes Paige “better” too. As well as Paige making Azzi better.

I thought about this post, as I was just randomly watching the 2nd round game vs Baylor last year. I'm not sure they win that game without Azzi either. It was a lot closer than I remembered, even tied up 46-46 midway through the 3rd quarter. But Azzi scored 16 points in that quarter. Her and Dorka were huge that game, but Baylor was really playing well up until the midway point of the third, Azzi's spurt really blew the game open.