Paige for NPOY | The Boneyard

Paige for NPOY

Bone Dog

Bone Dog

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Can anyone explain to me why Paige should not be the NPOY? I mean, she just carried her team to the Final Four. And she plays an exemplary brand of basketball. And there's stats, which I think are unparalleled.

19.8 pts
4.7 assists and 1.3 TOs
2.1 steals
4.4 rebounds
11.4 WS
FG% .534
eFG% .602
PER 41.3
+/- 23.4
 
There are four or five national POY awards (Naismith, Wooden, and Wade are the most prestigious). Whether she wins any depends on when voting was completed (I doubt she would win any where the voting closed before JuJu Watkins was hurt).
 
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Higher emphasis on points per game rebounds,assists.
Less focus on fg% 3 pt%, A to TO ratio efficiency and defense.
 
ballhawk said:
As I understand it Paige won't be NPOY because the playoff stats don't count.
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I just vote for Paige and Sarah on the HOOPHALL AWARDS web page.
So... it the page is taking "votes", I suggest that the BONEYARD
at least consider voting once a day for PAIGE and Sarah.... NOTHING to lose if this
is a "glitch"... Something to gain if the voting is still OPEN.
I understand that the Woman's Coaches Award was to
be announced just before the start of the FINAL FOUR games.
The Naismith Award has still to come out (I don't know what
stats are included there, just the season, or some part of the NCAAs).
 
all this may be true -- but that doesn't mean anyone should ignore the injustice. the fact that the public voices aren't even giving serious consideration to paige (and, incredibly, weren't before the recent games) is astounding.

oh well, it doesn't really matter. it does get me riled, though.
 
PacoSwede said:
all this may be true -- but that doesn't mean anyone should ignore the injustice. the fact that the public voices aren't even giving serious consideration to paige (and, incredibly, weren't before the recent games) is astounding.

oh well, it doesn't really matter. it does get me riled, though.
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Thank you for understanding my post.
 
The WBCA voting by a selection committee of D1 coaches for the Wade Trophy is done after the regionals, and considers performance in the regionals. I think Paige wins the Wade Trophy over JuJu. In addition, voting for the Naismith Tropy continues through April 1, today.
 
Seems to me that PB could have been scoring 30 points in virtually every game this season, if not 40 or 50. There would be risk however 1) to the team, and 2) her personally if she had done so.

Through the season Bueckers was hounded by the coaching staff that she had to be ‘more selfish’ and shoot more often. She took the philosophy that she also wanted others on the team to develop and better their offensive games because the team would be better off with multiple threats. In this Paige took it upon herself specifically not to score 30 points per game.

Through the season, Geno specifically kept Paige’s play time at respectable yet restricted levels. There is always a risk of an injury and it could occur early in the game or late. If the team is winning by a large margin in the fourth, why risk it? And furthermore Geno is not interested in running up a score for no other reason than just to run up a score; I genuinely believe he views most of the other coaches as not just colleges but also friends.

By not having the exorbitant scoring average that JuJu had, she may not end up being the Naismith POY, but she is still the BEST PLAYER in the game.
 
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The media narrative is Juju is the next coming in women's basketball and consequently she will get so much backing from media it will be hard to beat her. Now that she is out it will only make it more likely she wins, no less likely so to me Paige has no shot at a national POY award.

Paige is a great player who happens to play on the best roster in America. She plays in a conference that gets no credit for the quality of the basketball and that is also against her. However I do think she is proving what most basketball purist know and that is that she is the most complete player out there. Deserving something, especially an award, doesn't always go to the most deserving and this is that case.
 
It's national player of the YEAR..not the last month..going into the last quarter of the schedule Paige was ranked 4th..behind JUJU,HH and Betts
Dugway said:
Seems to me that PB could have been scoring 30 points in virtually every game this season, if not 40 or 50. There would be risk however 1) to the team, and 2) her personally if she had done so.

Through the season Bueckers was hounded by the coaching staff that she had to be ‘more selfish’ and shoot more often. She took the philosophy that she also wanted others on the team to develop and better their offensive games because the team would be better off with multiple threats. In this Paige took it upon herself specifically not to score 30 points per game.

Through the season, Geno specifically kept Paige’s play time at respectable yet restricted levels. There is always a risk of an injury and it could occur early in the game or late. If the team is winning by a large margin in the fourth, why risk it? And furthermore Geno is not interested in running up a score for no other reason than just to run up a score; I genuinely believe he views most of the other coaches as not just colleges but also friends.

By not having the exorbitant scoring average that JuJu had, she may not end up being the Naismith POY, but she is still the BEST PLAYER in the game.
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If Paige had listened to Geno last year in the FF they wouldn't have lost to Iowa instead she wilted in the 4th quarter being passive instead of aggresive
 
She deserves one of the top NPOY trophies. But I think if she wins one, there will be uproar and more flames for the UConn bias claims.
With many thinking Juju or Hannah should win simply because they average more ppg
 
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Hayven said:
She deserves one of the top NPOY trophies. But I think if she wins one, there will be uproar and more flames for the UConn bias claims.
With many thinking Juju or Hannah should win simply because they average more pot
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I don’t know about an uproar. There’s a “recently” bias, and right now Paige is the best player in WBB, while ND flamed out of the tournament and the unfortunate injury to JuJu had basically kept her out of USC’s last 3 games, and they too are heading home.
 
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meyers7 said:
Well before we get to riled up, why don't we wait and see if she does or doesn't win any of the 5 NPOY awards. Naismith, Wade, Wooden, AP and USBWA.

Personally, I think they'll be split.
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I think she only has a shot at The Wade Trophy, which I believe, is voted on after the Elite 8.
 
Rowdy831 said:
However I do think she is proving what most basketball purist know and that is that she is the most complete player out there. Deserving something, especially an award, doesn't always go to the most deserving and this is that case.
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There is an opportunity to win a different award, one that Breanna Stewart won four times. Paige would probably prefer that one anyway.

It would be ironic, though if she won the Wade Trophy she was ineligible for as a freshman.
 
Hayven said:
She deserves one of the top NPOY trophies. But I think if she wins one, there will be uproar and more flames for the UConn bias claims.
With many thinking Juju or Hannah should win simply because they average more ppg
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I don't think anyone will criticize voters for choosing Paige at this juncture.

Hidalgo and Watkins do a LOT more than just score points btw. I suggest watching more of their games if that's your take away for why they're in the running. Both would be deserving winners if picked (more so Juju than Hannah, but Hannah had a great season overall despite tailing off at the end of the year).
 
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Bone Dog said:
Can anyone explain to me why Paige should not be the NPOY? I mean, she just carried her team to the Final Four. And she plays an exemplary brand of basketball. And there's stats, which I think are unparalleled.

19.8 pts
4.7 assists and 1.3 TOs
2.1 steals
4.4 rebounds
11.4 WS
FG% .534
eFG% .602
PER 41.3
+/- 23.4
Expand ...

I don't think anyone is trying to argue Paige wouldn't be deserving, it's that other players also have great claims.

Juju Watkins in particular carried USC to a #1 seed and top 4 ranking all season, outplayed Paige head to head and had several brilliant performances in big games, all while being one of the premier defenders in the country. She'd be an excellent and deserving choice as well.

Lauren Betts is another strong contender, as her stats are exceptional for #1 overall UCLA: 20.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.8 assists, 64.9% FG.

In the tournament she's been exceptional as well and also carried her team to a Final Four:
Elite 8 vs LSU: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocks
Sweet 16 vs Ole Miss: 31 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 15-16 FG
2nd Round vs. Richmond: 30 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 14-17 FG
 
bballnut90 said:
Hidalgo and Watkins do a LOT more than just score points btw. I suggest watching more of their games if that's your take away for why they're in the running. Both would be deserving winners if picked.
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Agreed on this. I'm not sure either is any better than PB overall but both would be deserving of any NPOY awards.

I have a hunch Paige wins the Wade Trophy but not sure about the others.
 
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Bone Dog said:
Can anyone explain to me why Paige should not be the NPOY? I mean, she just carried her team to the Final Four. And she plays an exemplary brand of basketball. And there's stats, which I think are unparalleled.

19.8 pts
4.7 assists and 1.3 TOs
2.1 steals
4.4 rebounds
11.4 WS
FG% .534
eFG% .602
PER 41.3
+/- 23.4
Expand ...
because she's not flashy like CC or JuJu and she doesn't get the media attention as much from personalities like Stephen A Smith. For whatever the reasons are, media pushes the narrative for JuJu (and probably rightfully so), but I don't think the non-Uconn fans know just how good Paige is and how historic her numbers are both in efficiency and pure stats.

You see this in the NBA. Shai G. A will win the MVP. Jokic will not. But if anyone who knows a damn thing about basketball will see that when Jokic is not in the lineup and when SGA is not in the lineup you can see the true value of the player. I'm not saying SGA is not playing like an MVP. I just think people like to see flashy scoring above all else
 
I’m sure Paige and I are on the same page where all that matters right now is the team trophy. All this other stuff is noise. She doesn’t need an individual trophy to prove her worth.
 
Plebe said:
I’m sure Paige and I are on the same page where all that matters right now is the team trophy. All this other stuff is noise. She doesn’t need an individual trophy to prove her worth.
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Of course Paige doesn't care. That's not news. But Geno might think that sort of recognition could help recruitment efforts.
 
meyers7 said:
Well before we get to riled up, why don't we wait and see if she does or doesn't win any of the 5 NPOY awards. Naismith, Wade, Wooden, AP and USBWA.

Personally, I think they'll be split.
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I agree with meyer7 about a "split' vote. I just came back from
researching the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association's (WBCA)
web page. Their AA team is 10 players. The WADE TROPHY is
from the WBCA and the winner is chosen from the 10 players
who are voted onto the AA team. The Wade Trophy recipient
must (among other things) " be a positive role model on and
off the court". I also noted that for the WBCA awards in order
to be the FRESHMAN of the YEAR or the DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF
THE YEAR, those candidates had to be the FRESHMAN/DEFENSIVE
player of the year IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CONFERENCE. If I read
this correctly, then the number of "true" candidates for these Awards is
rather limited... I.E. to those who have already won the designation
in the BIG 10, BIG EAST, ACC, BIG 12, SEC. (In theory any conference
FPOY could win, but it stands to reason that it will be from one
of the BIG CONFERENCES. I did not check on WHO had already
won those respective Conference accolades. Anyway, we will know soon.
 
Hayven said:
With many thinking Juju or Hannah should win simply because they average more ppg
Expand ...
In the 2 games Hidalgo has played against UConn she has outplayed Paige. That's why for most of the season I didn't have Paige as a top-3 contender for POY.
Her performance in recent weeks has complicated the picture.

And Juju led her team to a win over the #1 team (UCLA) and then again a few weeks later.
 
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