Paige Bueckers to UConn | Page 10 | The Boneyard

Paige Bueckers to UConn

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EricLA said:
A couple of things to add. I'll admit I did venture over to the ND board - was surprised they were so shocked. She always wanted UCONN. But...

I did enjoy their angst over thinking Bueckers was "in the bag" given her friendship with Brunelle, but a few things about that.
  1. Brunelle wanted UCONN up to near the end, but there was no scholly extended. Everyone will believe what they want, but there it is. I have reasons for believing what I do. Others may disagree and that's fine.
  2. If you really listen to Paige's comments, it was ALWAYS UCONN. Just like Tenn fans thought they led for Maya, for any ND fans who thought they ever led for Paige, fact is, it was always UCONN. She idolized UCONN from a young age, and I doubt very much ND EVER led for her, regardless of how much Brunelle may have tried to convince her.
  3. If you watched any of the games where Bueckers, Fudd, Brunelle, Boston, Jones, Horston etc. played together, it was always Bueckers and Fudd together as thick as thieves. Any ND fan who thinks Fudd is ND bound needs to rethink that. Then again, maybe not, but be prepared to be disappointed.
I think Paige may be the most important recruit since Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. I'm not talking about sheer talent - I believe Bueckers has the potential, from a talent perspective, to be the 4th true face on UCONN's Mt. Rushmore - Dee, Maya, Stewie and... ? Anyway, I say most important for a couple reasons...

But first an aside to explain about KML... she was not only a #1 recruit, but EVERYONE liked her and most everyone wanted to play with her. I think she was instrumental in helping land the holy trinity (Mo, Stewie, Morgan - even tho I think we always led for Stewie).

So I say most important sine KML for 2 reasons. 1) She's a PG. The PG is who has the most control over the pace of the offense, how it runs, and how gets passed to when/where etc. Even Berube noted everyone wants to play with Paige. She's THAT good. We read about Christyn wanting to play with Dangerfield. Gabby and Kia Nurse wanting to play with Jefferson. I think Paige is the linchpin of the next 2 recruiting classes. Everyone will want to play with her. Not saying we will get everyone, but get ready for a sustained collage of top recruits coming our way. And 2) she's just that good. She just oozes confidence and leadership. Kids who want to win NC's want to go where the talent is. I cannot overstate how important she is to our future and how devastating it is to the team who thought she was coming their way.

I am cautiously optimistic that the dominoes will continue to fall UCONN's way in recruiting for 2020, 21, and 22. If it goes as I hope, UCONN is on the precipice of another era of domination. All the worry warts can officially retire for the next 5 years.
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By herself, not sure Paige is the most important recruit, but in combination with others would agree. Haven't had as much cool aid as others (all is perfect) but Paige likely the engine that makes the entire team perform better. Big stretch, but lived outside of Detroit when Mich. Fab5 started 5 frosh and have a good feeling about a UConn version.
 
JoePgh said:
Do not assume that those two events were uncorrelated. As another poster suggested, Lou's postgame comments about the program and her pride in wearing the name on her chest could well have been a significant force moving Ms. Bueckers to announce publicly what she had probably known in her heart for a long time.
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I wonder if Geno was the master mind behind this whole "timing thing"...with Paige's approval of course. :rolleyes:
 
This is a tremendous get by HCGA. You know he sees the potential. He went hard after Paige because he knows that this a HUGE recruit for the program. He picks and chooses. The players that he really feels are essential to the program, he tends to get. I love the highlight reel. Great handle, can shoot off the bounce, and has great passing skills. The kid does seem to be the type of kid that others want to play with. We will see if some of the teammates from that group (especially Miss Fudd) follow her. This commitment may quiet the "Geno's on the way out...can't recruit because of the AAC...doesn't want to recruit anymore because he's near retirement" rumblings that we have all seen and read. Hopefuly this commitment guarantees at least five more years of HCGA at UConn.
 
MilfordHusky said:
If you're talking about Christyn, I agree that she's going to be really, really good. Maybe a NPOY contender (along with Lauren Cox, Chennedy Carter, and Young/Ionescu if either stays in college) as soon as next year. As good as Christyn is, I think Paige is even better. Hard to fathom, but true. They will be unbelievable together.
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Hopefully Paige will be a recruiter. She will be very good and with a team-first attitude, great when surrounded by similar level talent.
 
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HopJim said:
Hopefully Paige will be a recruiter. She will be very good and with a team-first attitude, great when surrounded by similar level talent.
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All Paige needs to do is drop a handful of well placed dimes to her teammates on USA basketball and they will figure out pretty quickly that playing on Paige’s team has its advantages.
 
Did you notice in the video that she is turning to choose her move on defense before her feet even hit the floor from making her shot!
 
ABCDFE said:
I agree. Lets not discount Williams and ONO, I really do believe they will be spectacular going forward. Look at how KLS and Pheesa blossomed sophomore year when they had too. I love Paige, but lets not forget about our two freshman.
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ONO needs help in the paint. She needs a partner, the way that Breanna Stewart had Kiah Stokes and Morgan Tuck. And look at how devastating Baylor is with Cox and Brown.

Need bigs. Really need bigs!
 
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mbr33ct said:
I wonder if Geno was the master mind behind this whole "timing thing"...with Paige's approval of course. :rolleyes:
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mbr33ct, I think there is something to the timing of her commitment announcement. I believe that her's is a deliberate attempt to help Geno and UCONN recruiting. While doing so she also helps herself. It will be interesting to see what kind of a draw she is. She knows everybody and certainly they know her.
 
Argonaut said:
I also wonder if she'll be one of those (and Azzi Fudd strikes me this way, too) who makes their decision earlier so the circus can conclude and they can concentrate on just playing basketball.
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I posted this about a week and a half ago on the recruiting thread and I still think it's true. I suspected that as soon as she made her decision, she was going to just make it known so it all would end. There are a lot of kids who want the hype and the buildup to the grand reveal on signing day. They want to keep going on the visits and being courted by coaches all over the country. Then there are kids who just want to play basketball.

She struck me as the latter.
 
Argonaut said:
I posted this about a week and a half ago on the recruiting thread and I still think it's true. I suspected that as soon as she made her decision, she was going to just make it known so it all would end. There are a lot of kids who want the hype and the buildup to the grand reveal on signing day. They want to keep going on the visits and being courted by coaches all over the country. Then there are kids who just want to play basketball.

She struck me as the latter.
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I suspect she just might sign her NLI on the hood of her dad’s car. :cool:
 
jaundicedeye said:
mbr33ct, I think there is something to the timing of her commitment announcement. I believe that her's is a deliberate attempt to help Geno and UCONN recruiting. While doing so she also helps herself. It will be interesting to see what kind of a draw she is. She knows everybody and certainly they know her.
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If you are a good player, do you want to play with a great PG who will get you the ball in scoring position regularly? I sure think so.
 
Argonaut said:
I posted this about a week and a half ago on the recruiting thread and I still think it's true. I suspected that as soon as she made her decision, she was going to just make it known so it all would end. There are a lot of kids who want the hype and the buildup to the grand reveal on signing day. They want to keep going on the visits and being courted by coaches all over the country. Then there are kids who just want to play basketball.

She struck me as the latter.
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oldude said:
I suspect she just might sign her NLI on the hood of her dad’s car. :cool:
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It's also kind of less of a national news story when UConn gets its seemingly 100th #1 recruit. Jones to Stanford was a bigger story because Stanford rarely lands the top recruit; y'all seem to do it basically every year. Easy to take that story for granted. (And for the fan bases of every other program in the country to want to ignore it!)
 
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UConnCat said:
Carl Adamec has a story out after talking to Paige last night. Maybe someone can link it as I’m at work.
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"Paige Bueckers had given her oral commitment to attend UConn to women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma awhile ago, she said, but waited until Monday to turn to Twitter and make her decision public."
 
Blaneylover said:
This is a tremendous get by HCGA. You know he sees the potential. He went hard after Paige because he knows that this a HUGE recruit for the program. He picks and chooses. The players that he really feels are essential to the program, he tends to get. I love the highlight reel. Great handle, can shoot off the bounce, and has great passing skills. The kid does seem to be the type of kid that others want to play with. We will see if some of the teammates from that group (especially Miss Fudd) follow her. This commitment may quiet the "Geno's on the way out...can't recruit because of the AAC...doesn't want to recruit anymore because he's near retirement" rumblings that we have all seen and read. Hopefuly this commitment guarantees at least five more years of HCGA at UConn.
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Geno lost 10 years off his age on April 1.
 
TheFarmFan said:
It's also kind of less of a national news story when UConn gets its seemingly 100th #1 recruit. Jones to Stanford was a bigger story because Stanford rarely lands the top recruit; y'all seem to do it basically every year. Easy to take that story for granted. (And for the fan bases of every other program in the country to want to ignore it!)
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Make no mistake about it, Paige Bueckers commitment to UConn is BIG news for UConn fans. The suggestions that she just wants to play basketball and might sign the NLI on the hood of her dad's car are a reference to Breanna Stewart, already one of the greatest players in the history of WBB.
 
oldude said:
Make no mistake about it, Paige Bueckers commitment to UConn is BIG news for UConn fans. The suggestions that she just wants to play basketball and might sign the NLI on the hood of her dad's car are a reference to Breanna Stewart, already one of the greatest players in the history of WBB.
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Well, put it this way: when Jones signed with Stanford, this board was practically apoplectic - many almost seemed like they felt entitled to every #1 recruit, and any top recruit who went elsewhere was a sure sign Geno was either about to retire or had lost his reputation with young players and couldn't recruit effectively anymore. (Seriously. It was like the sky was falling around here.)

When Bueckers picked UConn, my Stanford board barely noticed, other than a few, "well, another #1 to UConn." We're used to it.

Of course it's big news to UConn - because every top recruit is big news to UConn, and UConn is used to that kind of big news... roughly 50% of them seem to end up going to UConn. For the rest of us (and by "us" I mean every other D1 program), it's a different day, a different class, but the same story. ;)

And relatedly, remember that someone like Jones making a big deal about her signing with Stanford serves as a recruiting function to future players. Just like you guys hope Bueckers will help recruit for UConn, having Jones all over ESPN can only help Stanford with other recruits. I think it's a little unfair to accuse recruits who garner media attention of doing so solely for themselves and their egos. Stanford isn't the darling of ESPN the way UConn is, so other schools and their recruits need to work harder to get the kind of attention UConn enjoys every season.
 
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TheFarmFan said:
And relatedly, remember that someone like Jones making a big deal about her signing with Stanford serves as a recruiting function to future players. Just like you guys hope Bueckers will help recruit for UConn, having Jones all over ESPN can only help Stanford with other recruits. I think it's a little unfair to accuse recruits who garner media attention as doing so solely for themselves.
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All of the recruits at this level garner media attention -- it's just part of the process. But I think there are some of them who want the process to continue because they enjoy it and there are others who, once they know, are done with it. I think about Collier and her recruiting process. UConn was the second of five schools where she was making an official visit, but right after she left UConn, she cancelled the other three visits and gave her verbal to UConn. Then there are those who want the cameras and to choose the hat and for everyone to talk about it.

There isn't a right or a wrong, it's just how the process has changed.
 
oldude said:
All Paige needs to do is drop a handful of well placed dimes to her teammates on USA basketball and they will figure out pretty quickly that playing on Paige’s team has its advantages.
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Has the U19 roster come out yet?
 
There are things that make you happy when you hear them. Then there are things that make you happy every time you hear them. This news is definitely the latter. The watching puppies play in the grass on a beautiful spring day while eating ice cream and holding hands with your sweetie kinda happy! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
UConnCat said:
Carl Adamec has a story out after talking to Paige last night. Maybe someone can link it as I’m at work.
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Here it is

UConn lands top 2020 recruit Bueckers

Some great quotes.


“I love their attention to details. Whether it’s the way they all have their shirts tucked it, or the way they work and talk in practice, or just the way they stretch before game or practice, that meant a lot. It’s something that you want to be a part of.”


Not exactly the things that TN recruits think about. :rolleyes:
 
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