paige as next season's point guard

[bayern7]

so you discount the possibility that being the primary facilitator would hurt her and the team?

accepting that she is the best faciliatory on the team, you must realize she is the best scorer as well and making her a pass-first director of the offense would inhibit her scoring. she's the player whose primary concern should be leading the offense -- by scoring, making the appropriate assists and rebounding -- and should not also have the task of coordinating the offense.

I mean Caitlin Clark played the point guard and broke the all time scoring record…the idea that being a point guard necessarily inhibits scoring chances is wrong. If she’s the point guard she’ll have the ball in her hands the most, which should lead to more scoring if she’s looking for her shot. In terms of passing I’d rather have Paige with the ball in her hands the majority of the time, no question. I also think it suits Paige’s game. She’s a great off the dribble player and at the point she can use that side of her game more. Add in a certain transfer that can set some great screens. I don’t think there’s many teams that could stop that offense. I actually thought in some games this past season that Paige would go a bit quiet because she didn’t have the ball and she was just sort of spacing the floor and moving. I’d much rather see her at the point and it would also make more sense from a depth and minutes management perspective to sub KK/Morgan in for Paige than to have them both on floor at the same time. Also allows you to have another scorer on the floor instead of two PGs. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see KK and Paige to start the season but if we have a relatively healthy roster I don’t think that’s how it should play out as the season goes on. I also think it’ll benefit KK in the long run for her to spend more time running the offense without Paige on the floor. Also benefit Paige for her WNBA career, she will be playing the point in the league. Not the two or the three or the four…

 

[Citrusdog]

in another thread (closed) that became centered on paige and the idea that she should be point guard, DEpup wrote

'DT is also a point guard and probably the best PG to never really play the position.....

I personally would like her to mentally keep moving in that direction to develop her scorer's mentality and being off the ball helps that.


i agree, and i appreciate the DT parallel.

paige has all skills needed as a basketball player already. being pigeonholed as point guard is foolish; getting more experience and 'working on it' is crazy for her. she can't get any better as a pg!

at uconn, if she is needed as the pg -- if it's the best way for the team to win -- then she'll do that. but if another player can be a good-enough point (for UConn, that means great) and the team has a weakness elsewhere, then she should fill that gap -- to hell with the limited (though immensely important) pg role.

in the pros, the same would be true. assigning her as the point guard would be foolish -- even if she is the greatest pg ever -- if she would help her team more elsewhere. right? that's the magic of paige -- versatility with primo abilities at multiple spots.

please don't be rigid -- as some here apparently prefer. she's a basketball player, who wants to win, most of all.

one of her weaknesses in the past is mental. she can be too unselfish, as has been said many, many times. that is her major flaw. she's improved but it's something she should work on.

i'm actually afraid of assigning her the point guard role. it would be extremely easy for her to revert to her 'too-unselfish' mode. that would diminish her as magnificent basketball player -- and her value to the huskies.

that's why i'm leery of the azzi-paige theme, BTW. i'm afraid paige would diminish herself by being unselfish to boost azzi. paige has got to avoid temptation to let azzi do the scoring, just as in the past the team fell into the 'let paige do it' trap. the team chemistry is vital, and it's not guaranteed.

Paige is very special - she can, literally, do it all. An exceptionally talented winner.

 

[DEpup]

I hear you about CC but everyone is an individual. Paige does not have the same personality as CC. CC was probably born hunting her own shot first and then helping others. Paige's personality seems to be wired in the opposite direction. That is why for me, being off the ball can help her mentally hunt her shot more.

In personal development training, they teach that everyone has their base personality which gets set between 9 and 12 years old and it doesn't really change. However, people can develop by nudging themselves and being off the ball can be the mental nudge she needs to comfortably hunt her shot more and not fall back into being too unselfish as the "on paper" PG. That won't stop her from getting 5+ assista a game.

 

[PacoSwede]

I mean Caitlin Clark played the point guard and broke the all time scoring record…the idea that being a point guard necessarily inhibits scoring chances is wrong. ...

paige is a terrific point guard so i'm fine with her filling that role -- if the team is better with her there. i don't like posts that says she gotta be the point guard. maybe she will be, but it's geno's call and i'm ok with that.

let's remember that taurasi has the tools to play point guard, but she hasn't been designated as the point, even at uconn -- where she clearly would have been the best point in her last three years -- nor at phoenix nor at the olympics (not sure about overseas). i'm guessing that's because whoever was in charge knew the team was better when her scoring and versatility was exploited.

in paige's case, i prefer her not playing point -- as much as she, and i BTW, likes it -- because it forces her to not be the facilitator. you say she can still be a scorer ... 'if she's looking for shot.' the problem is that paige tends not the look for her shots even when she's the shooting guard, wing or forward. it's a big flaw that can
be corrected, but playing the point won't help her make the correction.

RE: the wnba
paige playing the point is simply speculation. it would depend on the team she joins.

 

[bayern7]

paige is a terrific point guard so i'm fine with her filling that role -- if the team is better with her there. i don't like posts that says she gotta be the point guard. maybe she will be, but it's geno's call and i'm ok with that.

let's remember that taurasi has the tools to play point guard, but she hasn't been designated as the point, even at uconn -- where she clearly would have been the best point in her last three years -- nor at phoenix nor at the olympics (not sure about overseas). i'm guessing that's because whoever was in charge knew the team was better when her scoring and versatility was exploited.

in paige's case, i prefer her not playing point -- as much as she, and i BTW, likes it -- because it forces her to not be the facilitator. you say she can still be a scorer ... 'if she's looking for shot.' the problem is that paige tends not the look for her shots even when she's the shooting guard, wing or forward. it's a big flaw that can
be corrected, but playing the point won't help her make the correction.

RE: the wnba
paige playing the point is simply speculation. it would depend on the team she joins.

All good points, I agree. I think ultimately I’m projecting my desire to see this team really lean into its depth next season and I think Paige at the 1 helps enable that dream haha.

 

[hoophuskee]

Is there any reason that Paige just can't be the Point Paige? Sure maybe someone else brings the ball up, but the offense can - and should - run thru Paige. Whether she pays guard or wing, let her dictate the pace of play and who gets the ball. In Nika's absence, there's no one currently on the team that Geno would trust more to do the right thing.

She actually is a pg simulataneously a sg and a sf. However, the team runs her off of picks to score as much as she does and she is defending non-pg's her position defintion gets cloudy.

 

[Alydar]

in another thread (closed) that became centered on paige and the idea that she should be point guard, DEpup wrote

'DT is also a point guard and probably the best PG to never really play the position.....

I personally would like her to mentally keep moving in that direction to develop her scorer's mentality and being off the ball helps that.


i agree, and i appreciate the DT parallel.

paige has all skills needed as a basketball player already. being pigeonholed as point guard is foolish; getting more experience and 'working on it' is crazy for her. she can't get any better as a pg!



please don't be rigid -- as some here apparently prefer. she's a basketball player, who wants to win, most of all.

one of her weaknesses in the past is mental. she can be too unselfish, as has been said many, many times. that is her major flaw. she's improved but it's something she should work on.

i'm actually afraid of assigning her the point guard role. it would be extremely easy for her to revert to her 'too-unselfish' mode. that would diminish her as magnificent basketball player -- and her value to the huskies.

that's why i'm leery of the azzi-paige theme, BTW. i'm afraid paige would diminish herself by being unselfish to boost azzi. paige has got to avoid temptation to let azzi do the scoring, just as in the past the team fell into the 'let paige do it' trap. the team chemistry is vital, and it's not guaranteed.

at uconn, if she is needed as the pg -- if it's the best way for the team to win -- then she'll do that. but if another player can be a good-enough point (for UConn, that means great) and the team has a weakness elsewhere, then she should fill that gap -- to hell with the limited (though immensely important) pg role.

in the pros, the same would be true. assigning her as the point guard would be foolish -- even if she is the greatest pg ever -- if she would help her team more elsewhere. right? that's the magic of paige -- versatility with primo abilities at multiple spots.

How does the greatest pg in the world help her team by doing something that she isn't the best in the world at? And if a lesser player can play pg then isn't that robbing Peter to pay Paul?

UConn, as of now, has no weaknesses at other positions. There are plenty of shooters and several other players who are more physically suited to play inside. And with Bueckers at the point they would become even more deadly. Besides, there is nothing in the rules that says a pg can't shoot.
I suspect that there are people who are short-sighted and want to see Bueckers score 35-40 a game to exceed what Clark did. I want to see 2 teammates average 20+ a game and the team go undefeated.

 

[PacoSwede]

How does the greatest pg in the world help her team by doing something that she isn't the best in the world at? And if a lesser player can play pg then isn't that robbing Peter to pay Paul?
.....

why are you so determined to have paige as the point guard?
i said repeatedly that she should play point if needed and that she'd be great there.

i think, however, that we don't know what will transpire. you say 'as of now' there are no weaknesses; perhaps, but 8 months from now we don't know what the team will look like.

'there are plenty of shooters.' it's theoretically true, but none are paige-level shooters. and can any of the 'plenty of shooters' live up to expectations, or even play? that is a crapshoot.

i don't see a caitlin/paige competition and paige doesn't have to prove she's best -- she accomplishes what she wants by helping the huskies to wins. if that's done best by skipping the point guard gig, what's the beef? it could be that uconn will perform best with a different line-up. yet paige at point is the must-have? let's be flexible instead.

why the obsession with paige playing point? that may indeed being robbing peter to pay paul.

 

[Alydar]

why are you so determined to have paige as the point guard?
i said repeatedly that she should play point if needed and that she'd be great there.

i think, however, that we don't know what will transpire. you say 'as of now' there are no weaknesses; perhaps, but 8 months from now we don't know what the team will look like.

'there are plenty of shooters.' it's theoretically true, but none are paige-level shooters. and can any of the 'plenty of shooters' live up to expectations, or even play? that is a crapshoot.

i don't see a caitlin/paige competition and paige doesn't have to prove she's best -- she accomplishes what she wants by helping the huskies to wins. if that's done best by skipping the point guard gig, what's the beef? it could be that uconn will perform best with a different line-up. yet paige at point is the must-have? let's be flexible instead.

why the obsession with paige playing point? that may indeed being robbing peter to pay paul.

I see the opposite, that the obsession is with those who do not want her to play pg.

Bueckers' default position is pg and it's the job of those who want to move her to prove the need. She was an AA NPOY at pg in HS, won MVP at the U19's playing the point and was UConn's starting pg as a freshman. That was Geno's decision. She was moved to a shooting position because the other guards were mediocre 3pt shooters. Muhl was a downgrade at pg no matter how much we all love her. PG is Bueckers' natural and her best position. And it's her mind and her eyes that make her so valuable at the point. She anticipates and she forces defenses to help on her, something that no UConn pg has been able to do in a long time. That is a huge edge. Just watch Hidalgo.

And I selfishly want to see her there because she is an artist with the ball in her hands.

 

[Alydar]

I hear you about CC but everyone is an individual. Paige does not have the same personality as CC. CC was probably born hunting her own shot first and then helping others. Paige's personality seems to be wired in the opposite direction. That is why for me, being off the ball can help her mentally hunt her shot more.

In personal development training, they teach that everyone has their base personality which gets set between 9 and 12 years old and it doesn't really change. However, people can develop by nudging themselves and being off the ball can be the mental nudge she needs to comfortably hunt her shot more and not fall back into being too unselfish as the "on paper" PG. That won't stop her from getting 5+ assista a game.

So maybe the Iowa coach should have limited Clark to 10 shots a game so that she could develop the rest of her game?

In my life I've found that people are most content and most productive when they are doing what they love and that once in a while a person is also great at what they love to do. Bueckers is always hunting for shots. Good shots for the team. And she doesn't care who shoots it. She finds a team mate open for a shot she knows they like and she gets the ball to them after drawing their defender a step. She's been like that at least back to her 3rd year in HS and in USABB where she starred. Her HS coach said many times that he "only wished she shot more".

I would expect Bueckers to play 15-20 minutes a game at pg, starting and finishing games there.

 

[hoophuskee]

How does the greatest pg in the world help her team by doing something that she isn't the best in the world at? And if a lesser player can play pg then isn't that robbing Peter to pay Paul?

UConn, as of now, has no weaknesses at other positions. There are plenty of shooters and several other players who are more physically suited to play inside. And with Bueckers at the point they would become even more deadly. Besides, there is nothing in the rules that says a pg can't shoot.
I suspect that there are people who are short-sighted and want to see Bueckers score 35-40 a game to exceed what Clark did. I want to see 2 teammates average 20+ a game and the team go undefeated.

Where is it written that a pg needs to be a ball hog that she needs to get all the assists? If she doesn’t need to get all the assists then how is it bad if she were to come off a pick and score about 20 ppg instead often 35-40 ppg you suggest others are implying?

If you are okay with Paige being one of the players that can score 20 ppg which would allow UCONN to possibly go undefeated, then why must she be a ball hog to do it, rather than catch passes off of a pick as an example? Unless you think it best to play like Iowa and just watch Paige play with the ball and no one else is allowed to do anything but catch-and-shoot?

And if you say Paige was the starting pg in her frosh year - then are you suggesting that when Nika was inserted into the starting lineup as a freshman that Nika was the sg, and Paige was the pg?

 

[Skeets]

This is tiring and beaten to death. Paige is the best at the PG position. But guess what? She's also the best at the 2 position, and probably the 3 position. So where do you play Paige? This past year Nika had to be on the court (along with Ash and KK) so Paige was move to the 3/4 position. It could be the same situation this coming year, player(s) you absolutely want on the court who are not a great choice for anything beyond PG. For example, KK is not a good choice for a small forward. Ash, despite being 1 tough kid, is probably best at shooting guard.

I don't have a problem with Paige at PG, nor do I have a problem with Paige playing elsewhere to maximize the talent that can be on the court at any one time. If you want Ash and KK (or some combination with the newbies) on the court that almost necessitates Paige playing the 3 position.

2 things a PG has to do. First get the ball over the time line, and second initiate the offense usually by passing the ball. I'd like Paige to receive that pass, not make that pass. This past year it's obvious that's what Geno wanted too. Everyone on the BY wants Paige to shoot more, so play her at PG where she has to pass the ball to initiate the offense? No, have her in the position to take the first shot, right from the get go.

Final thought: "Jana and the Newbies", is that a new rock group? If not, it ought to be

 

[Cuango]

I think Paige played off the ball last season because that is what allowed the team to perform at its highest level. Now that Nika is gone, will that be the case this coming season? Geno will make that decision once he sees what he has on hand in October. All things being equal, I‘d like to see her play the point as I believe that is her natural, best position. However, if Geno thinks she should play somewhere else, I’m all in on that too. Every time I look at our roster, I feel like a cat that just finished eating his favorite meal. I just want to curl up and purr until November!

 

[JellyBean]

You all make some great points. In the end, the overall goal is what helps the team be productive and successful. The last two years, the team has been successful and productive without Paige being the point guard and we have seen where the team was successful with Paige being the point. The coaching staff will figure everything out.

 

[Alydar]

Where is it written that a pg needs to be a ball hog that she needs to get all the assists? If she doesn’t need to get all the assists then how is it bad if she were to come off a pick and score about 20 ppg instead often 35-40 ppg you suggest others are implying?

If you are okay with Paige being one of the players that can score 20 ppg which would allow UCONN to possibly go undefeated, then why must she be a ball hog to do it, rather than catch passes off of a pick as an example? Unless you think it best to play like Iowa and just watch Paige play with the ball and no one else is allowed to do anything but catch-and-shoot?

And if you say Paige was the starting pg in her frosh year - then are you suggesting that when Nika was inserted into the starting lineup as a freshman that Nika was the sg, and Paige was the pg?

You are too obsessed with individual stats. This isn't about pts and assists. The only important stat to me is the final score. Bueckers' greatest ability outside of winning is in recognizing who is going to be open in the next 2 seconds and getting them the ball at the right moment. She can only demonstrate that skill if she has the ball in her hands when she sees it.

Do you think Muhl was put into the lineup because she was a better pg than Bueckers? Muhl was better playing pg than Williams/Westbrook were shooting 3's.

There is no shortage of outstanding perimeter shooters on the roster for 2025 and the 3/4 positions are covered this season so Bueckers should play where her talents are most fully utilized. I'm sure Geno would use her situationally in other roles and would give Arnold minutes at pg but the starting pg should be Bueckers and the closing pg in big games should be Bueckers.

 

[hoophuskee]

You are too obsessed with individual stats. This isn't about pts and assists. The only important stat to me is the final score. Bueckers' greatest ability outside of winning is in recognizing who is going to be open in the next 2 seconds and getting them the ball at the right moment. She can only demonstrate that skill if she has the ball in her hands when she sees it.

Do you think Muhl was put into the lineup because she was a better pg than Bueckers? Muhl was better playing pg than Williams/Westbrook were shooting 3's.

There is no shortage of outstanding perimeter shooters on the roster for 2025 and the 3/4 positions are covered this season so Bueckers should play where her talents are most fully utilized. I'm sure Geno would use her situationally in other roles and would give Arnold minutes at pg but the starting pg should be Bueckers and the closing pg in big games should be Bueckers.

For clarification - After I made my post to you- I noticed in another post that you said the following-- I didn't notice before -

"I would expect Bueckers to play 15-20 minutes a game at pg, starting and finishing games there."

So, maybe we aren't arguing? Are you suggesting that Paige plays 15-20 minutes as pg then the other 10-20 minutes she'll play as sg (some games she will play near 40 minutes)? If you say the italics you agree with then I agree that Paige will play some minutes at pg and some at sg and our argument would be minutia (at least for me) only and imo not worth further back-and-forths.

 

[packwrap]

2 things a PG has to do. First get the ball over the time line, and second initiate the offense usually by passing the ball.

Final thought: "Jana and the Newbies", is that a new rock group? If not, it ought to be

This must be the definition of the Lieberman award for best point guard that Paige won her freshman year and Clark the past 3 seasons.

 

[cgshuskie]

With new information, today I think the starting point guard will be Kaitlyn Chen, with Paige and Azzi outside. Probably Azzi and the SG and Paige and SF. Add Sarah Strong as the PF and Jana as the C. But Uconn plays positionless basketball so....... Watchout for Jana bring the ball up and going straight to the hoop.......

 

[cgshuskie]

Chen, Beuckers, Fudd, Strong and El Alfy can't be beat....return to the old days. KK, Ashlyn, Q, Ice, Ayanna of the bench. Ice and Ayanna will be the second string wrecking crew........IMHO...

 

[hookshot]

Chen, Beuckers, Fudd, Strong and El Alfy can't be beat....return to the old days. KK, Ashlyn, Q, Ice, Ayanna of the bench. Ice and Ayanna will be the second string wrecking crew........IMHO...

Aubrey has dibs on the wrecking crew
Ayanna will need to play her way in

 

[Bone Dog]

Contrary to voiced concerns, I don’t think Kaitlyn represents an addition to a well stocked position. She and KK are clearly point guards. We have a few other players who can also play the point — Paige (obviously) Azzi and Morgan — but may be much better used at other spots.

As at least one other person has mentioned in some thread or other, if there’s ann overstocked position it’s wing not pg. but even this may turn out to be a significant asset to Geno. The athletic and versatile 6’ player suits his style of play really well. It’s good to have a bunch on the roster: Paige Aubrey Q Morgan Allie. SG is also well stocked with Paige Azzi Allie Ash.

Best of all, Geno has amply demonstrated that he knows how to win with guard-forward focused team.