Paige Bueckers year 2

[Carnac]

Don’t know the movie, but “Polly put the kettle on” is an old nursery rhyme as well as a folk song.

In case no one else bites, it’s from the 1957 western movie “Pawnee” with George Montgomery, Bill Williams and Lola Albright.

 

[Carnac]

While I expect to see her defense improve it must be remembered that she led the country in "defensive win shares" last season. It's only a stat but nobody did better.

I expect UConn's defense this season to be outstanding.

I’d like to see the team set a goal of giving up no more than 60 points a game. That breaks down to 15 points a quarter. I think it’s very do-able. UConn will win a lot of games this year, especially if they can hold opponents to 59 points or less.

 

[D J B]

I’d like to see the team set a goal of giving up no more than 60 points a game. That breaks down to 15 points a quarter. I think it’s very do-able. UConn will win a lot of games this year, especially if they can hold opponents to 59 points or less.

It would indeed be great if they kept every opponent under 60. Last year, they kept opponents to an average of 52.6 per game, but allowed over 60 in 9 games out of 30 of which they lost 2 of those 9. Their margin of victory average last year was +29.3, so small gains can hopefully bring big rewards. Their two losses last year were a lack of defense against Arkansas, and a lack of scoring vs Arizona. Both are very fixable.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Again I'll say my mantra that my only hope or wish is for UCONN WBB to be free from serious injuries and sickness!
If they do they'll have the opportunity to accomplish great things!

 

[D J B]

Again I'll say my mantra that my only hope or wish is for UCONN WBB to be free from serious injuries and sickness!
If they do they'll have the opportunity to accomplish great things!

Plus 10 likes. Amen.

 

[Amashutcha]

This is a little selfish and improbable because it's not in the usual flow of the offense, but I want to see more of her back-to-the-basket moves. She has a sweet-looking one-legged fade on the post/triple threat and I want to see more of it.

 

[D J B]

This is a little selfish and improbable because it's not in the usual flow of the offense, but I want to see more of her back-to-the-basket moves. She has a sweet-looking one-legged fade on the post/triple threat and I want to see more of it.

Please do us all a favor and let us know who it is you are talking about. Thanks.

 

[Amashutcha]

Please do us all a favor and let us know who it is you are talking about. Thanks.

The title was about Paige year 2 so it's Paige, but I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic.

 

[D J B]

The title was about Paige year 2 so it's Paige, but I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic.

Thanks. It was clear from the title that it should have been about Paige, but on this board with the propensity for folks changing subjects I thought it would be good to ask for some clarification, and that's not sarcasm even though I wish it was. But thanks for answering and standing up for Amashutcha. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

 

[D J B]

Thanks. It was clear from the title that it should have been about Paige, but on this board with the propensity for folks changing subjects I thought it would be good to ask for some clarification, and that's not sarcasm even though I wish it was. But thanks for answering and standing up for Amashutcha. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

The title was about Paige year 2 so it's Paige, but I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic.

Sorry. I responded badly and then got completely fuddled up trying to correct it. All the best.

 

[Ozimoto]

While keeping opponents under 60 is certainly a worthy goal, if the Huskies play the up tempo game that many desire, the opposing team will get more possessions. More possessions means more opportunities to score. In any case, if the Huskies average scoring in the 90's and the opposing team average scoring is in the 70's I'm OK with that.

 

[Skeets]

While keeping opponents under 60 is certainly a worthy goal, if the Huskies play the up tempo game that many desire, the opposing team will get more possessions. More possessions means more opportunities to score. In any case, if the Huskies average scoring in the 90's and the opposing team average scoring is in the 70's I'm OK with that.

Average of 90-something to 70-something is way too close considering 20 of the 31 games are NBE.

 

[jdote33]

This is a little selfish and improbable because it's not in the usual flow of the offense, but I want to see more of her back-to-the-basket moves. She has a sweet-looking one-legged fade on the post/triple threat and I want to see more of it.

I agree with this whole-heartedly. She has such a great touch, good length and is so good in the mid range. She is not the quickest so I could see opponents trying to put quick small guards on her.

 

[Ozimoto]

Average of 90-something to 70-something is way too close considering 20 of the 31 games are NBE.

I was sure someone would say that, and I wasn't disappointed.

 

[oldhusky]

Paige was so good statistically in so many categories that it is hard to see a big leap, but a couple of things stand out to me. She had amazing shooting and scoring efficiency, but if I remember right from Her Hoops Stats, I believe she was only in the 82nd percentile in usage rate. FG and FT attempts, assists, turnovers, and offensive fouls, all those things relative to your playing time. In other words how often you make something happen whether it is good or bad.

Obviously she has plenty of other players who can contribute, but for the "player of the year" to have 18% of college players with higher usage rates to me means she is being way too unselfish. Some of that may be because she was a freshmen, but while her playing time might decrease some due to the long and deep bench, I expect her to dominate the offense more when she is in there.

The other stat I found interesting was regarding pace. Uconn as a team was only in the 60 something percentile on that. A little faster pace but not much compared to other teams. With a short rotation we didn't really push the pace that much, perhaps because a couple of starters (Paige and Christyn) were around 35 minutes a game. We have plenty of players that would be good in an uptempo game and the bench to allow our good and great players to both push the pace offensively and apply pressure defensively.

Nika pushes the pace naturally but for Paige it probably needs to be more of a point of emphasis. We have runners, players to run the break, spot up three point shooters, all the ingredients, and now we don't have to worry about "saving" key players so they can go 35 minutes. When they tire, give them a blow with an exceptional sub, and then get them back in there playing at a fast pace again.

I would argue that in many ways our pace was only slightly above average because of all the turnovers we create. If as a team we created an average amount of turnovers I don't think our pace would have been above average at all.

Anyway Geno would have to cut some starter minutes, but this roster has the potential to be exceptional in the open court, with Paige and Nika leading the break, Aubrey and Aaliyah running the floor as bigs, and Azzi, Caroline and others spotting up from the three point line, and Christyn and Evina filling multiple roles.

 

[CocoHusky]

While I expect to see her defense improve it must be remembered that she led the country in "defensive win shares" last season. It's only a stat but nobody did better.

I expect UConn's defense this season to be outstanding.

I'm highly suspicious of that stat and even more so of the significance that you may be placing on that stat. That stat would imply that Paige was among the best defenders in the country last year. Other stats such as steals and MPG as well as deeper analysis might conclude that Paige was not even the 2nd best defender on her own UCONN team at the guard position. Keep in mind that the BE Co-defensive Player of the year was a guard. UCONN's defense needs improvement specifically it needs to be able to contain quick guards from penetrating & compromising the defense and it needs a more dominant rebounding presence. I don't see UCONN getting that from any of the additions so I'm hoping for an improved offensive game from Aubrey and a sophomore leap from Aaliyah. An improved offensive game from Aubrey will allow her to be deployed as a game changing perimeter defender. A sophomore leap from Aaliyah will allow her to remain physical but much more productive.

 

[Happydad745]

I can hardly wait for the season to begin...too many observations though, many in support of their favorites, but not many comments, containing much in the way of valuable insight. Maybe it is the long wait since the final four, but who really knows what is happening until Geno tells us, or the games show us, who the starters will be, how good Fudd really is, and who will come into their own this year. We all hope for the best and a championship, but you know it is going to be a bumpy ride.

 

[GoChips20]

40-0. No one will be able to stop the Paige-Azzi combo.

Not this again.

 

[Inthepaint]

I can hardly wait for the season to begin...too many observations though, many in support of their favorites, but not many comments, containing much in the way of valuable incite. Maybe it is the long wait since the final four, but who really knows what is happening until Geno tells us, or the games show us, who the starters will be, how good Fudd really is, and who will come into their own this year. We all hope for the best and a championship, but you know it is going to be a bumpy ride.

What a long, strange trip it figures to be.
If the games were played on paper instead of a BB court, we could just ask the NCAA to hand over the trophy now.
But it just doesn't work that way.
All that talent will have to show itself and be properly channeled and nurtured. Expect the unexpected this year as all 14 players on the roster press their argument for stating and/or more minutes. With enhanced ability comes enhanced ambition. Everybody is going to knock themselves out in their quest for a bigger piece of the action.
I think each & every game, even the BE games that figure to be UCONN beatdowns, will spring some surprises, both good and bad.
I can't see Marquette, DePaul and the others just rolling over for the Huskies. After they marched through the regular season conference schedule and the BE tournament last year without too much trouble, the usual target on their backs will be even more pronounced.

 

[hoophuskee]

Year 2 for Paige. Two parts:

1-- Looking forward to seeing a much more consistent 2nd half of season vs 1st half in terms of shooting efficiency from 3 pt range. I think she got a bit worn down in last 12 games.

2—Don’t care about “Usage Factor” as one poster mentioned. What I think would be great for Paige and for the team is during games in which she is feeling it vs elite top 8 caliber teams, they find her/ the opposing team can’t stop the team from getting her the ball in 3pt scoring positions and she knocks down at least 5 shooting 50% or above from 3. If UCONN executes open looks for Paige that often when she is in a groove, then it means the offense is clicking vs a tough team.

In regards to number 1 above, after Paige got her feet wet through the 1st 5 games, the next 12 games (6 through 17) she took 65 threes and hit 38 of them. That’s equivalent to 87.69% from 2 point range. In 8 of her 12 games she hit more than 2 3’s and only had 1 game which she hit only 1 three.

In her last 12 games she took almost same amount of 3’s with 61 but only hit 21. That’s equivalent to 51.64% from 2 point range. Pretty good but not near the number above. In 9 of her last 12 games she hit 2 threes or less. Actually 7 of those 9 games she only hit 1 three.

The data shows her efficiency declining the last 12. I’d like to see it it near her high in the last 12 of this season. When we play teams like SC or Stanford, UOCNN has to counteract their strength which is in some manner their inside games or Haley Jones all-round game with the strength of ours which is the perimeter. Don’t forget about the inside, but this thread is about Paige. So for Paige I'd like to see her dominate the perimeter in a manner in some way like she did in games 6-17 in her frosh season.

 

[Sluconn Husky]