Paige final season

[Alydar]

this is true but with the game on the line I suspect she'll be looking for her shot and pass it up only if she's double or triple-teamed and her team can hit open shots but most definitely she'll look at shooting first. IMP

That interview is being miss-interpreted. Bueckers will never be a shoot first player. Her first and last thought is how to score and it doesn't matter to her who does it. She has taken over UConn's offense in several big games because no one else on the team wanted the ball but she always managed to get really good high % (for her) shots. UConn has a pack of elite scorers this season. A couple of them may be better outside shooters than Bueckers.

 

[hoophuskee]

i think paige is great ... she does not need to be defended.

but everyone can improve. no? she's indeed trying to do so. yay!

Yes - I agree.
But the way it sounded you said "she rejected . . ." That is part means "willingness" the way I took it.

yes though I'm with ya - improvement and she is trying.

 

[Zarathustra]

So if we have a non-passive Bueckers, what do we think her numbers will do?

If "non-passive" means shooting the ball more, I expect her to have a 25-30 PPG average because as Dawn, Geno, etc have said "she doesn't take bad shots" and she was one of the only guards/possibly the only guard to end with a 50%+ FG percentage. If she was able to shoot around 45-50% a night taking only 10-11 shots, imagine what she could do taking 20+ every game. Think a more efficient Juju, who was able to get 30 a night off of 9-27 shooting. I don't believe that Paige would do a 180 and all of a sudden become a shot chucker to become less passive. She chooses her shot wisely.

The number that counts is #12. Brought to you courtesy of the "BUCKET", coming in April 2025 to
a hardcourt near you!

 

[Zarathustra]

What about NY? Sloot is approaching retirement. Paige playing next to Sabrina and feeding Stewie and Jonquel looks pretty good. Plus it's a ratings powerhouse. I know, the draft order won't allow this blah blah blah. But it only means she won't start out there. If I ask myself where she'd thrive and who I'd like to see her playing with, it's NY first and foremost.

Maybe Washington? to pair up with Aliyah.... Or, the Lynx making some
incredible trades to have all the first round "picks" of the WNBA teams in
the lottery. Now... that is a fantasy!! But I'll own it!

 

[GoUconn7961]

My favorite line of DT’s when asked about fans booing her at an away game:
“Booing? I thought they were mooing.”

She will always be my favorite player because of stories like these.

 

[ConnMotors]

Golden State Valkyries - team begins play in 2025. Paige would be the face of the franchise. (Maybe they can team her up with the Splash Bros.)

I wouldn’t mind seeing her play for them as well. First, someone has to teach me how to say the their name. Will Google it one day. But, unless they change the draft rules then Golden State doesn’t have a chance. Paige, Azzi and Caroline all can return next year. Three awesome 5th and 6 year seniors.

 

[Crossover]

Is anyone else sad that it's Paige's last season?

No, because I care about her, and will delight in watching her evolve. Parents should allow children to grow up. Ditto WCBB fans.

 

[DRR25]

Nah,, not necessarily .....

Seriously, if I were her, I’d stay a sixth year.

Right now, there’s more spite and vitriol in the WNBA than basketball because rookies come in rich. Another year passes, there will be more rookie targets---- so the envy and anger becomes more dispersed- Paige will still be a target in 2026- but one of many. She won’t be Clark v..2.

Have another year of youthful fun. WNBA isn't going anywhere, Taurausi's played 20 years.

On the other hand, if the team with the first pick makes her an offer she can’t refuse, she can go into the team’s president’s office, put her feet on the desk, hands behind her head and say– “what do you have in mind, Partner?” -).

Regarding this "more spite and vitriol...than basketball because rookies come in rich," what is your evidence of the spite and vitriol? Who specifically are these rich rookies that are the target of the spite and vitriol? Even if Paige were to come out next year instead of '26, she won't be Clark v. 2. The two have very different personalities and games/skill sets and Paige won't be coming into the W with her fans touting her the GOAT, dissing W players, and spewing bigotry so the vibe will be very different...though she'll get her rookie lumps too.

 

[Cuango]

Is there anyone the Lynx could trade beside Collier for the #1? Maybe a package. I would love to see Paige play with my favorite player, Phee. And yes, any team would be better than one with Arike on it.

If Dallas were smart, they would try to trade Arike while she still has some value. Her presence on that team (really on any team) guarantees they will never be more than a mid level one that is dominated by a player that will never be a part of a truly team oriented playing style which, is really the key to success in basketball. They are simply spinning their wheels while she throws up 23-30 shots and often produces stat lines of 9/30 or 10/28. It would be one thing if she were shooting 50+% but her career average is 39% and even if she were a 50% shooter, it’s very rare that a team is going to achieve real success when it is dominated by one player like that. Trade her and move on! Of course, it’s possible that no one wants that kind of player.

 

[my2cents]

These threads give me a headache. Let Geno figure it all out.

 

[AJay11]

If Dallas were smart, they would try to trade Arike while she still has some value. Her presence on that team (really on any team) guarantees they will never be more than a mid level one that is dominated by a player that will never be a part of a truly team oriented playing style which, is really the key to success in basketball. They are simply spinning their wheels while she throws up 23-30 shots and often produces stat lines of 9/30 or 10/28. It would be one thing if she were shooting 50+% but her career average is 39% and even if she were a 50% shooter, it’s very rare that a team is going to achieve real success when it is dominated by one player like that. Trade her and move on! Of course, it’s possible that no one wants that kind of player.

100% agree about an Arike trade.
I found it interesting to watch Dallas perform without Arike against the Lynx (of all teams). The game was close until halfway through the 4th quarter and despite rookie mistakes they seemed to be figuring it out.
When Arike returned in the Chicago game, it was hard to watch Dallas. I know a couple of players were sick/injured (besides Satou), but the team looked out of sync. Arike scored half her points in the 4th when the game was out of reach. The announcers made it seem like a rally, but Arike kept the game from being an embarrasing lose.

With Arike still there, I don't trust Dallas to be anything but interestingly good and streaky. I feel like Paige would thrive in an enviroment that's team oriented and Dallas is definitely not that.

 

[ucbart]

What about NY? Sloot is approaching retirement. Paige playing next to Sabrina and feeding Stewie and Jonquel looks pretty good. Plus it's a ratings powerhouse. I know, the draft order won't allow this blah blah blah. But it only means she won't start out there. If I ask myself where she'd thrive and who I'd like to see her playing with, it's NY first and foremost.

NY has zero shot of acquiring the #1 pick.

 

[ucbart]

100% agree about an Arike trade.
I found it interesting to watch Dallas perform without Arike against the Lynx (of all teams). The game was close until halfway through the 4th quarter and despite rookie mistakes they seemed to be figuring it out.
When Arike returned in the Chicago game, it was hard to watch Dallas. I know a couple of players were sick/injured (besides Satou), but the team looked out of sync. Arike scored half her points in the 4th when the game was out of reach. The announcers made it seem like a rally, but Arike kept the game from being an embarrasing lose.

With Arike still there, I don't trust Dallas to be anything but interestingly good and streaky. I feel like Paige would thrive in an enviroment that's team oriented and Dallas is definitely not that.

Not to mention that the Dallas franchise is sort of a well known mess

 

[Skeets]

Her last year? It's not over until it's over, but Paige probably wants a few years in the W before she takes over for Geno. Remember you heard it here first

 

[JellyBean]

For me, I just want Paige to be Paige.

 

[Bone Dog]

I’m just really glad that Sarah will get to play with Paige for a season. Continuity of the tradition of transcendent players is important.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad Allie and Morgan will experience having someone like Paige as a teammate. But with Sarah, it just feels a little different.

 

[hoophuskee]

As we fans begin to assimilate what Paige has stated and her conversion to a more "shoot first" kind of guard one cannot help but think of it in the context of a previous thread that was titled: "Are there enough minutes to go around". In that thread, we were hard-pressed to be able to spread the minutes around so that our players could all play meaningful minutes. I was criticized by some because I cut Paige's minutes down to 21. With Paige's recent declaration that she is going to be more aggressive, I will have to double-down on my statement because if Paige is more aggressive as she says she will be...then we can assume that UConn will burst out to early leads and will go up big early which will cause Geno to have to substitute bench players earlier. We could see Paige Bueckers averaging around 22-24 points a game because she will only average 21-24 minutes per game.

Here is my minute allocation from the previous spread:

Paige Bueckers..............................21
Azzi Fudd........................................21
KK Arnold.......................................13
Jana El-Alfy....................................17
Qadence Samuels.......................12
Allie Ziebel.....................................10
Ashlyn Shade................................13
Kaitlyn Chen.................................16
Sara Strong...................................17
Morgan Cheli...............................10
Ice Brady........................................17
Carolyn Ducharme.....................11
Ayanna Patterson.......................10
Aubrey Griffin..............................12
Total..............................................200

Point Guard / Shooting Guard total minutes: 94 Total available minutes at the point guard and the shooting guard = 80
Small Forward / Power Forward total minutes: 72 Total available minutes at small forward, power forward = 80
Center total minutes: 34 Total available minutes at Center = 40

Analysis: There are 14 excess minutes at point guard and shooting guard. This analysis is 8 minutes short at the small forward and the power forward position and 6 minutes short at the center. So, one or more of the guards will have to put some time in a small forward. Some of the point guards will have to give up minutes to the Power forwards and the Center positions. Or, the coaching staff will run with a 3-guard line-up or they may decide to play big...at the end of the day there are 200 minutes available and these 14 players will divvy them up among them. Some days they will play more minutes other days they will play less. The above list is simply an average over the year. Minutes will be adjusted if players miss games because of injuries.

I believe all your posts refer to averages whether against tough opponents or not? I believe some posters on here agree in theory on average to play someone like Paige maybe 25 minutes average and in big games no more than 30 as an example? I don't agree with that if anyone does believe. I have had arguments over the years with several posters regarding bench usage. Per the link below for anyone thinking Geno is going to try to use his bench to wear down an opponent, listen to his comments at around the 3:25- 3:30 mark. This should put that theory to rest. But imo I just like to also add that this doesn't mean he can't have up to 9 players in big games. Because some of his best might be "equal." But it seems he is not going to use his bench to wear teams down. And I happen to agree with the philosophy "play your best."

 

[ashfan]

I believe Geno wants Paige to score more and will be on her every game day about it. We will have to see how that turns out. Many of you will remember that Geno was very vocal about that with Diana Taurasi in her junior and even more in her senior year and she pretty much ignored him as she sought to leave behind the best team she could.

A Uconn championship would be a team championship, not a Paige championship--which means Paige, Ash, KK, and the best of the Bigs. The bedrock of the '24-'25 team is the aforementioned players; the bedrock of '25-'26 and '26-'27 is Ash and KK.

 

[BRS24]

I will fall to my knees in a Walmart if Fever lands the No. 1 pick again, Christie Sides cannot be allowed to touch Paige Bueckers with a 20 foot pole. I do not like her coaching style or her weird lineups and rotations.

Would rather she go to the Wings/Mystics (If the coaching changes over there because Thibault seems clueless sometimes). Huge lack of ball sharing because of Arike on the Wings, they honestly played better than I expected without her on the floor against the Lynx. Mystics are rebuilding and PB is the perfect PG/SG for them to get.

Just like when Geno was recruiting Paige, he didn't recruit CC, as it would be overlap of similar skillsets. It would be foolish for the Fever to draft Paige if they have the #1 pick, however, we've all seen some foolish things in the W. It's a shame that she cannot pull an Elway or Manning and quietly tell certain teams that she won't play. It will be interesting to see how the WNBA handles the 2025 draft with the Golden State Valkyries team starting next year.

 

[oldude]

Just like when Geno was recruiting Paige, he didn't recruit CC, as it would be overlap of similar skillsets. It would be foolish for the Fever to draft Paige if they have the #1 pick, however, we've all seen some foolish things in the W. It's a shame that she cannot pull an Elway or Manning and quietly tell certain teams that she won't play. It will be interesting to see how the WNBA handles the 2025 draft with the Golden State Valkyries team starting next year.

Not sure why Geno didn’t recruit CC, but I doubt it had anything to do with overlap of similar skill sets. After all, he recruited Nika, another pg, after getting a commitment from Paige, the #1 player and best pg in the world. Paige can play effectively with anyone, including CC, as she demonstrated when they both played on the FIBA U19 world championship team.

I would like to see Paige in LA, because I think it would do more to elevate the W than any other scenario. But wherever she ends up, Paige will be a star and everyone she plays with will be better for it.

 

[oldude]

Attitude maybe? Geno doesn’t recruit players with poor sportsmanship, and if any of his players show any, he benches them no matter how good (Stewie and Tuck in 2016 against Memphis).

You never know. There is little indication that Geno was ever involved with CC as a recruit, so it’s unlikely that he ever got to know her well enough to be concerned about her attitude.

 

[BobbyJ]

Not sure why Geno didn’t recruit CC, but I doubt it had anything to do with overlap of similar skill sets. After all, he recruited Nika, another pg, after getting a commitment from Paige, the #1 player and best pg in the world. Paige can play effectively with anyone, including CC, as she demonstrated when they both played on the FIBA U19 world championship team.

I would like to see Paige in LA, because I think it would do more to elevate the W than any other scenario. But wherever she ends up, Paige will be a star and everyone she plays with will be better for it.

That was the 2019 World Cup U19 team. Clark was Bueckers’ backup so they weren’t on the floor together hardly at all. In fact, Clark played only 14 mpg which was 10 less than Van Lith and 4 less than Celeste Taylor. So the coaches didn’t think Clark was their best PG or SG. Coaches were HC Walz, ACs Close and Adair.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Is there anyone the Lynx could trade beside Collier for the #1? Maybe a package. I would love to see Paige play with my favorite player, Phee. And yes, any team would be better than one with Arike on it.

Reeve talked about the difficulties of getting someone like Blaze Checkers a couple of years ago and how she was being endlessly asked about getting Blaze. Yeah, that's what they called her.

 

[MSGRET]

I believe that Golden State will have the first pick considering they are the expansion team next year.

 

[AzzisBraids]

Paige in Minnesota would be amazing. I don't think they get her Mystics, Wings, and Sparks seem more feasible. But imagine a Paige - Phee - McBride tandem, not to mention Dorka. I think Minny needs a strong point guard and she would fit the bill.

 

[oldude]

I believe that Golden State will have the first pick considering they are the expansion team next year.

I’m not sure. The last time the W added a team was the Atlanta Dream in 2008. The Dream received the 4th overall pick, just outside the 3 lottery picks. Before that, when the Chicago Sky were added in 2006, they received the 6th overall pick.

 

[yhun89]

I believe that Golden State will have the first pick considering they are the expansion team next year.

Doubt it. No expansion team gets first pick, although I wish they did personally.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

2025 WNBA Draft Lottery Odds

• “[T]eams have their records calculated over the last two seasons, and the worst combined record has the best lottery odds, though nothing is guaranteed since the chance of that team getting the No. 1 pick is still only 44.2 percent. The next-worst record has a 27.6 percent chance of the top pick, then 17.8 percent, then 10.4 percent.”
• “Currently, the four teams in the 2025 lottery are the Wings, Washington Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks and Indiana Fever.”
• “As the Wings have seen their season go up in flames, they will have a tougher time getting the top odds because they won 22 games in 2023[.]”
• If Atlanta enters the picture, their pick goes to the Washington Mystics.
• If Chicago enters the picture, their pick goes to Dallas.

Hoping Chicago and Indiana do well and Atlanta, Washington and LA not so well. And rooting for Dallas for this year.

 

[visitingcock]

Don't know how I missed this a coup;e of months ago. Boston and Paige discussing NIL and their thoughts on turning pro.

Highly recommended by me.

 

[AnonChoice]

What about the new expansion team coming to the WNBA in 2025 -- the Golden State Valkries? (awful name). Do they automatically get the first draft pick, or do they go into a lottery... I don't know how new start-up teams get their players.

I would NOT want to see Paige go to Indiana. Yikes. And as some others have said, no team should get the #1 pick three years in a row.

As for her last year at UConn, we HOPE Paige will be fully healthy for the year. I've learned not to assume that at all. For anyone.