Paige made All-Tournament + Looking Forward to Next Year

[nastynatty]

Tough loss but it’s nice to see PB get a little recognition. It’s been a tough season for her and while individual accolades are obviously not her goal, it’s still good to see her get little wins after everything she has personally had to overcome this season. Maaaannn Paige was at maybe 75-80% all tournament but was still able to snag a regional MOP and Final Four All-Tourney. I feel like they’ve slowly been giving more information on the severity of her injury and everytime it makes it seem even more miraculous that she was able to get back. I mean plates and screws still in the knee & a stitched-up meniscus tear? Just remarkable that she was able to play, let alone, carry the team at key points in the tournament. I also think she got annoyed with constantly being asked if her knee was still bothering her cuz in the post-game presser she kind of gave a smart remark when asked about how healthy she was heading into the game. She just said she was “good enough to play.” Like Sue Bird said, with her it’s an endless ceiling. And where Paige goes, this team goes.
Also was anyone else surprised that they gave Final Four MOP to Boston and not Henderson?! Neither stood out tremendously to me in the semi-final but Henderson definitely did in today’s game so I thought they’d give it to her.

Anyways…………

Paige is coming back as an upperclassmen with a vengeance. I also think she will benefit from being in a more significant leadership role. At times she can still start off not being assertive and I think it had to do with wanting to get other players (especially the seniors) more involved and trying to let them have their moment. She didn’t try to take over this game or the NC State game until she realized that they couldn’t get anything going without her forcing the issue. Let’s be honest, this current senior class was far too reliant on underclassmen to carry them through. First it was Paige, then Caroline, then Azzi, then Paige again (to a lesser degree). With this current sophomore class moving up in the ranks, I like the idea of them taking more control and forcing the issue because they have the talent and competitiveness to do it. The current freshmen class should provide excellent secondary scoring options to Paige as sophomores and hopefully they can stay healthy (). Can’t overestimate the impact of having a shell of Azzi in tonight’s game. There is no way any team can smother Paige the way SC did when Azzi is on the floor with her the entire time. That’s why Paige wanted Azzi to come to UConn so bad because she needs the consistent secondary scorer to help make her life a little easier. They’re both capable of creating their own shots but typically rely on the screen action to get them good looks. Having them screen for each other is so important because they each garner so much defensive attention.

I think they come back with a vengeance next year and I’m looking forward to it.

 

[JstVisiting]

I don’t know what more Aliyah Boston could have done to stand out against Louisville. She had 23, 18, and 4.

 

[nastynatty]

I don’t know what more Aliyah Boston could have done to stand out against Louisville. She had 23, 18, and 4.

Ok I probably should’ve phrased that a little differently. Both had a good game and then an average game (by their standards) in the Final Four. I just thought Henny’s “good game” was better plus it was in the championship game.

 

[LarryLegend]

Tough loss but it’s nice to see PB get a little recognition. It’s been a tough season for her and while individual accolades are obviously not her goal, it’s still good to see her get little wins after everything she has personally had to overcome this season. Maaaannn Paige was at maybe 75-80% all tournament but was still able to snag a regional MOP and Final Four All-Tourney. I feel like they’ve slowly been giving more information on the severity of her injury and everytime it makes it seem even more miraculous that she was able to get back. I mean plates and screws still in the knee & a stitched-up meniscus tear? Just remarkable that she was able to play, let alone, carry the team at key points in the tournament. I also think she got annoyed with constantly being asked if her knee was still bothering her cuz in the post-game presser she kind of gave a smart remark when asked about how healthy she was heading into the game. She just said she was “good enough to play.” Like Sue Bird said, with her it’s an endless ceiling. And where Paige goes, this team goes.
Also was anyone else surprised that they gave Final Four MOP to Boston and not Henderson?! Neither stood out tremendously to me in the semi-final but Henderson definitely did in today’s game so I thought they’d give it to her.

Anyways…………

Paige is coming back as an upperclassmen with a vengeance. I also think she will benefit from being in a more significant leadership role. At times she can still start off not being assertive and I think it had to do with wanting to get other players (especially the seniors) more involved and trying to let them have their moment. She didn’t try to take over this game or the NC State game until she realized that they couldn’t get anything going without her forcing the issue. Let’s be honest, this current senior class was far too reliant on underclassmen to carry them through. First it was Paige, then Caroline, then Azzi, then Paige again (to a lesser degree). With this current sophomore class moving up in the ranks, I like the idea of them taking more control and forcing the issue because they have the talent and competitiveness to do it. The current freshmen class should provide excellent secondary scoring options to Paige as sophomores and hopefully they can stay healthy (). Can’t overestimate the impact of having a shell of Azzi in tonight’s game. There is no way any team can smother Paige the way SC did when Azzi is on the floor with her the entire time. That’s why Paige wanted Azzi to come to UConn so bad because she needs the consistent secondary scorer to help make her life a little easier. They’re both capable of creating their own shots but typically rely on the screen action to get them good looks. Having them screen for each other is so important because they each garner so much defensive attention.

I think they come back with a vengeance next year and I’m looking forward to it.

Seems like her knee injury was way more serious than originally thought, because of the meniscus. Have to believe that it was a partial and not full repair (which would have a 4-6 month recovery time).

Obviously she deserves major props for coming back so soon, hope it doesn’t turn out to be detrimental to her long term health.

She was limping quite a bit walking out of the postgame.

 

[Audi1954]

This is the first I’ve heard of plates and screws still in the knee. Where did did they talk about this? Will these be in her knee permanently and has it been mentioned she would need additional surgery?

 

[amishboy]

Let’s be honest, this current senior class was far too reliant on underclassmen to carry them through. First it was Paige, then Caroline, then Azzi, then Paige again (to a lesser degree).

Yes, we can appreciate them for being hard workers and great teammates, but at the same time understand that winning a national championship likely requires more.

 

[Linart]

This is the first I’ve heard of plates and screws still in the knee. Where did did they talk about this? Will these be in her knee permanently and has it been mentioned she would need additional surgery?

The plate and screws will probably stay in there. No need to take them out unless they're causing problems/pain. The bone will heal by growing around the screws. I had a friend who fractured her wrist just like Dorka. It'll be the same thing. Just have to tell the TSA agent when you fly.

 

[bballnut90]

Ok I probably should’ve phrased that a little differently. Both had a good game and then an average game (by their standards) in the Final Four. I just thought Henny’s “good game” was better plus it was in the championship game.

I wouldve picked Henderson for MOP but Boston was huge. She dominated the glass and prevented any easy offense inside for UCONN. The rebounding margin was the biggest catalyst why SC won.

Offensively UCONN doubled her all night which helped open the floor for Henderson/Cooke to get shots. She also thoroughly dominated Louisville, so I thought she deserved it even if Henderson also deserved recognition.

 

[sun]

This is the first I’ve heard of plates and screws still in the knee. Where did did they talk about this? Will these be in her knee permanently and has it been mentioned she would need additional surgery?

It was mentioned by ESPN's Holly Rowe before the Indiana game on March 26th in Bridgeport.
It was posted about in different BY threads.

Did anyone else?

Have an elevated heart rate and have to remind themselves to breathe upon seeing Paige grab her leg after diving to the floor?

the-boneyard.com

 

[Childhood]

This is the first I’ve heard of plates and screws still in the knee. Where did did they talk about this? Will these be in her knee permanently and has it been mentioned she would need additional surgery?

Kyrie Irving's knee had placed in screws after surgery several years ago. Three years later, he had another surgery to remove them because of the infection of bacteria in bones with screws.

 

[UCTitleTown]

It would be a shame if she doesn't get at least one title during her career. I really hope Geno can bring in the supporting players to get it done.