Paige: The Means to an End

[Tonyc]

Well alot of excitement on the board. We've been waiting along time for this day. Lookout here comes tomorrow. Folks tomorrow has arrived. Dont expect a microwave start for Paige and UConn where she pops out on the floor and shes back to her ole self. Expect some hiccups and expect some time for her to get up to speed and for UConn to adjust to her getting back. For those of you concerned about her health, rightly so. However if you think for one minute Geno is going to push her or let her push herself that wont happen. Shes much to valuable. They are going to take it slowly and one day at a time. These next 2 games are to help get her acclimated to playing again with her new and much improved team. We need her for the tournaments coming up. This is just a preliminary show to get her and the team ready for whats to come. Shes had 10-11 weeks to rehab which is more then we were told. This alone tells me they are being cautious. We now put our trust in the doctors and hope she is healthy and stays healthy. If shes ready to play then play her cautiously and get her and the team be ready for the tournaments. What we do know is shes back and UConn as a team has their engineer running this train.

We now look to be all back. We are not by any means up to fully strength but we will be before the NCAAs. I believe we are strong enough team to play Paige in limited minutes if we need to and still win the BE tourney. We now have 3 go to players and 5 players that average double digits. By having Paige back we've added another 20+ pts to our lineup. Defenses no longer can key on Azzi or Caroline with Paige on the floor. Alot has changed with Paige coming back. I would think if we stay healthy by the time the NCAAs come around we just may be that well oiled machine. Youve heard the girls say UConn will be Nasty. They know it. They know how good they are and they know where theyre headed. This could be Geno's Best Masterpiece. If you think for one minute the NCAA Selection Committee will not take into consideration the New UConn team your kidding yourself. As Ive said before on Selection day teams are gonna look at 2 things. One where theyre playing and 2 are they in UConns bracket. The NCAA and opposing teams dont want to play UConn now. More then anything I can say confidently that opposing teams will have UConn in their head.

One of my concerns is that with everything this team has been through I hope they dont revert back to depending on Paige like they did before she was hurt. I hope they take it upon themselves to play their game with passion, intensity, energy and confidence. I think Paige will have something to do with the teams confidence. All the missing pieces to the puzzle are back. We are adding a player who averages over 20 pts a game to are already devastating lineup which has shown over the past few games how much they have matured and grown.

This UConn team is gonna be very difficult to hold down. We've seen how Caroline and Azzi have put this team on their backs. Now we add Paige. We beat Marquette by over 30 in a game that we scored less then 70 pts. Thats powerful. We are not the same team that lost to SC earlier in the season. We are much much better. If we stay healthy I dont think there is a team that can come within double digits of UConn. The last time I said that was with the Stewie MJ Tuck team and it held up. Its all coming together. The past few months have been a learning experience. The past few months the girls have had to go through alot which has only made them better because of it. Now with Paige back we have the Means to the End.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Icky post! I admire your enthusiasm and the effort you put forth on this blog, but sometimes you just gotta sit back and enjoy the show. This is like a rocket liftoff or a solar eclipse or a mare giving birth to a beautiful colt. Shush! Just watch!
Remember that great Magic interview before his first matchup with Bird and the Celtics, "you got the best from the West and the best from the East, now just sit back and enjoy..."

 

[visitingcock]

Just remember:

"The whole is greater than some of the parts,"

 

[huskyd]

Situation with UConn reminds me of a joke I read the other day. Man comes into a bar, and the bartender asks him how he's doing. "Terrible," says the man, "I've decided to kill myself." "How would you do that?" asks the bartender. "Well," answers the man, "I looked in my medicine cabinet and found a bottle with 100 aspirin. Figure if I take all of them, that should do it." "So, what happened?" asks the bartender. "I took the first two, and I felt better."
Two aspirins later, we move back off the cliff. Can't wait to see the painkiller tonight.

 

[LoboDays]

I believe we are strong enough team to play Paige in limited minutes if we need to and still win the BE tourney

Tony, they just won the regular season without Paige. And destroyed BE opponents with the current roster of 10.

The reality: Paige doesn’t need to play a minute to win the BE tourney or the first 2 rounds of the BIG tourney.

The question: is Paige the final cog in an already well-oiled machine that will take them to the Promised Land? Or is she a player that must be part of a team with very good players that have been less than the sum of their parts and the only chance this team has if they want to win it all?

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Just remember:

"The whole is greater than some of the parts,"

Gestalt

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Well alot of excitement on the board. We've been waiting along time for this day. Lookout here comes tomorrow. Folks tomorrow has arrived. Dont expect a microwave start for Paige and UConn where she pops out on the floor and shes back to her ole self. Expect some hiccups and expect some time for her to get up to speed and for UConn to adjust to her getting back. For those of you concerned about her health, rightly so. However if you think for one minute Geno is going to push her or let her push herself that wont happen. Shes much to valuable. They are going to take it slowly and one day at a time. These next 2 games are to help get her acclimated to playing again with her new and much improved team. We need her for the tournaments coming up. This is just a preliminary show to get her and the team ready for whats to come. Shes had 10-11 weeks to rehab which is more then we were told. This alone tells me they are being cautious. We now put our trust in the doctors and hope she is healthy and stays healthy. If shes ready to play then play her cautiously and get her and the team be ready for the tournaments. What we do know is shes back and UConn as a team has their engineer running this train.

We now look to be all back. We are not by any means up to fully strength but we will be before the NCAAs. I believe we are strong enough team to play Paige in limited minutes if we need to and still win the BE tourney. We now have 3 go to players and 5 players that average double digits. By having Paige back we've added another 20+ pts to our lineup. Defenses no longer can key on Azzi or Caroline with Paige on the floor. Alot has changed with Paige coming back. I would think if we stay healthy by the time the NCAAs come around we just may be that well oiled machine. Youve heard the girls say UConn will be Nasty. They know it. They know how good they are and they know where theyre headed. This could be Geno's Best Masterpiece. If you think for one minute the NCAA Selection Committee will not take into consideration the New UConn team your kidding yourself. As Ive said before on Selection day teams are gonna look at 2 things. One where theyre playing and 2 are they in UConns bracket. The NCAA and opposing teams dont want to play UConn now. More then anything I can say confidently that opposing teams will have UConn in their head.

One of my concerns is that with everything this team has been through I hope they dont revert back to depending on Paige like they did before she was hurt. I hope they take it upon themselves to play their game with passion, intensity, energy and confidence. I think Paige will have something to do with the teams confidence. All the missing pieces to the puzzle are back. We are adding a player who averages over 20 pts a game to are already devastating lineup which has shown over the past few games how much they have matured and grown.

This UConn team is gonna be very difficult to hold down. We've seen how Caroline and Azzi have put this team on their backs. Now we add Paige. We beat Marquette by over 30 in a game that we scored less then 70 pts. Thats powerful. We are not the same team that lost to SC earlier in the season. We are much much better. If we stay healthy I dont think there is a team that can come within double digits of UConn. The last time I said that was with the Stewie MJ Tuck team and it held up. Its all coming together. The past few months have been a learning experience. The past few months the girls have had to go through alot which has only made them better because of it. Now with Paige back we have the Means to the End.

' If we stay healthy I dont think there is a team that can come within double digits of UConn. '

not a one, cuz as oft stated here looooong ago, wbb is el stinko this season, while we were just dealing with the injury bug for the absolutely, numero uno collection of talent assembled on planet earth.
ps. evina looks like a girl on a mission, and acts like she's fully healthy.
noice.

 

[Wilderness]

Great news about Paige, but please don't forget Aubrey.... Much to celebrate, but I can't get to "full strength" without everyone on roster. Aubrey, we miss you.

 

[Conndog]

Now that Paige is returning to the line-up, what will team play look like with her in the fold? As she increases her playing time each game, will she be the point guard orchestrating the others? Will Nika be at point and be Paige's sub essentially? Once Paige is playing a lot, how will she and the others be used in schemes?

If running a 4 guard offense, we'd be very potent with Paige, Azzi, Caroline, Christyn and Evina running around, setting screens for the others, darting or back-cutting to the basket, and having Liv, Dorka or Aaliyah either up top or down low . Great shooting power for sure.

If 3 guards, have Liv or Dorka up high, Aaliyah down low, then some combo of Azzi, Paige, Christyn, Caroline or Evina moving around and getting shots.

This doesn't even include Nika, so add her to the guard mix as well.

Do you think Geno has set plays for generating offense that were designed when they had to play without Paige? Now that she is returning, he'll have to figure out how to modify those.

Paige before was the go-to player when a bucket was needed. These games without her have shown Caroline and Azzi definitely capable of doing the same. I think one of the reasons it is important to play Paige now is to start to acclimate the entire team on playing now with Paige. It'll be an adjustment process, just as during the first games without her the team had to learn how to play without her, now they have to learn how to play with her.

This is a problem any team in the country would love to have!

 

[Longtime fan]

Well alot of excitement on the board. We've been waiting along time for this day. Lookout here comes tomorrow. Folks tomorrow has arrived. Dont expect a microwave start for Paige and UConn where she pops out on the floor and shes back to her ole self. Expect some hiccups and expect some time for her to get up to speed and for UConn to adjust to her getting back. For those of you concerned about her health, rightly so. However if you think for one minute Geno is going to push her or let her push herself that wont happen. Shes much to valuable. They are going to take it slowly and one day at a time. These next 2 games are to help get her acclimated to playing again with her new and much improved team. We need her for the tournaments coming up. This is just a preliminary show to get her and the team ready for whats to come. Shes had 10-11 weeks to rehab which is more then we were told. This alone tells me they are being cautious. We now put our trust in the doctors and hope she is healthy and stays healthy. If shes ready to play then play her cautiously and get her and the team be ready for the tournaments. What we do know is shes back and UConn as a team has their engineer running this train.

We now look to be all back. We are not by any means up to fully strength but we will be before the NCAAs. I believe we are strong enough team to play Paige in limited minutes if we need to and still win the BE tourney. We now have 3 go to players and 5 players that average double digits. By having Paige back we've added another 20+ pts to our lineup. Defenses no longer can key on Azzi or Caroline with Paige on the floor. Alot has changed with Paige coming back. I would think if we stay healthy by the time the NCAAs come around we just may be that well oiled machine. Youve heard the girls say UConn will be Nasty. They know it. They know how good they are and they know where theyre headed. This could be Geno's Best Masterpiece. If you think for one minute the NCAA Selection Committee will not take into consideration the New UConn team your kidding yourself. As Ive said before on Selection day teams are gonna look at 2 things. One where theyre playing and 2 are they in UConns bracket. The NCAA and opposing teams dont want to play UConn now. More then anything I can say confidently that opposing teams will have UConn in their head.

One of my concerns is that with everything this team has been through I hope they dont revert back to depending on Paige like they did before she was hurt. I hope they take it upon themselves to play their game with passion, intensity, energy and confidence. I think Paige will have something to do with the teams confidence. All the missing pieces to the puzzle are back. We are adding a player who averages over 20 pts a game to are already devastating lineup which has shown over the past few games how much they have matured and grown.

This UConn team is gonna be very difficult to hold down. We've seen how Caroline and Azzi have put this team on their backs. Now we add Paige. We beat Marquette by over 30 in a game that we scored less then 70 pts. Thats powerful. We are not the same team that lost to SC earlier in the season. We are much much better. If we stay healthy I dont think there is a team that can come within double digits of UConn. The last time I said that was with the Stewie MJ Tuck team and it held up. Its all coming together. The past few months have been a learning experience. The past few months the girls have had to go through alot which has only made them better because of it. Now with Paige back we have the Means to the End.

We can ( and will) speciate all we want. We same thing we did when Paige got hurt ( who would step up? What should the starting lineup be? Is there a go to player now? etc). Time answered the questions. All the same questions will soon be clear with respect to Paige. All we can do is watch and enjoy the show. P.S. South Carolina remains a mountain to climb.

 

[veryolddog]

They have the potential to be a great team when Paige returns to full strength. However, they are a very good team without her right now. I believe, that this team is a better team now because she was not there to perform with them. By learning to play without Paige each individual has come to be a better Team oriented player and their achievement is very noticeable. With her, they can be great. Going into the tournament they are going to be a formidable opponent. I do hope that Geno will continue the open substitutions that he has been making because with this talent any one of them can be explosive and tear a new one for the opposing team. That is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

 

[Happydad745]

Paige will probably not be 100% until next season...Azzi and Caroline are still very much in the learning process for college ball. UConn should go far in the NCAA tournament, but South Carolina and Stanford are better teams at the moment. Enjoy what we have and what we get, it will take a bit of luck to win it all.

 

[VA Huskie]

One thing that I’ve not seen mentioned is how Paige might play on defense. I expect that her mobility will be somewhat limited and that may influence her minutes more than anything else.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I wish they didn't play her at all until at least the BE tournament. I see no point in playing her now. Why not just a little more risk avoidance?

 

[MD#12Fan]

Everyone forgets: Paige is a superstar!
Does anyone remember your favorite superstar player returning from an injury? Me either. Because there's nothing to remember.
They don't miss a beat. Something about them being better than everyone else. Bird, Durant, what about Harden when he gets back, Kyrie? Exactly, nobody remembers any of this stuff because they fit right in right away.

 

[msf22b]

Carolina and Stanford are better teams at the moment.

I'm just not so sure about that.
Not so much to judge from tonight

But, theoretically it would be seem (that with all healthy) ,
We could very well have the superior firepower and personnel rotations
as Con and Very old Dog have pointed out, above.

Le's see how it shakes out in the next couple of games
I'm sure Geno is licking his chops at the possibilities.

 

[TCC Kid]

Well alot of excitement on the board. We've been waiting along time for this day. Lookout here comes tomorrow. Folks tomorrow has arrived. Dont expect a microwave start for Paige and UConn where she pops out on the floor and shes back to her ole self. Expect some hiccups and expect some time for her to get up to speed and for UConn to adjust to her getting back. For those of you concerned about her health, rightly so. However if you think for one minute Geno is going to push her or let her push herself that wont happen. Shes much to valuable. They are going to take it slowly and one day at a time. These next 2 games are to help get her acclimated to playing again with her new and much improved team. We need her for the tournaments coming up. This is just a preliminary show to get her and the team ready for whats to come. Shes had 10-11 weeks to rehab which is more then we were told. This alone tells me they are being cautious. We now put our trust in the doctors and hope she is healthy and stays healthy. If shes ready to play then play her cautiously and get her and the team be ready for the tournaments. What we do know is shes back and UConn as a team has their engineer running this train.

We now look to be all back. We are not by any means up to fully strength but we will be before the NCAAs. I believe we are strong enough team to play Paige in limited minutes if we need to and still win the BE tourney. We now have 3 go to players and 5 players that average double digits. By having Paige back we've added another 20+ pts to our lineup. Defenses no longer can key on Azzi or Caroline with Paige on the floor. Alot has changed with Paige coming back. I would think if we stay healthy by the time the NCAAs come around we just may be that well oiled machine. Youve heard the girls say UConn will be Nasty. They know it. They know how good they are and they know where theyre headed. This could be Geno's Best Masterpiece. If you think for one minute the NCAA Selection Committee will not take into consideration the New UConn team your kidding yourself. As Ive said before on Selection day teams are gonna look at 2 things. One where theyre playing and 2 are they in UConns bracket. The NCAA and opposing teams dont want to play UConn now. More then anything I can say confidently that opposing teams will have UConn in their head.

One of my concerns is that with everything this team has been through I hope they dont revert back to depending on Paige like they did before she was hurt. I hope they take it upon themselves to play their game with passion, intensity, energy and confidence. I think Paige will have something to do with the teams confidence. All the missing pieces to the puzzle are back. We are adding a player who averages over 20 pts a game to are already devastating lineup which has shown over the past few games how much they have matured and grown.

This UConn team is gonna be very difficult to hold down. We've seen how Caroline and Azzi have put this team on their backs. Now we add Paige. We beat Marquette by over 30 in a game that we scored less then 70 pts. Thats powerful. We are not the same team that lost to SC earlier in the season. We are much much better. If we stay healthy I dont think there is a team that can come within double digits of UConn. The last time I said that was with the Stewie MJ Tuck team and it held up. Its all coming together. The past few months have been a learning experience. The past few months the girls have had to go through alot which has only made them better because of it. Now with Paige back we have the Means to the End.

Geno will assess Paige in practice and in these games. She is the one that got them to the FF last year, she and almost she alone carried them that far. Obviously, one player cannot do it alone. But one player's game can motivate all. Geno, won't, I believe, let Paige do more than she should. Give her minutes in these and the coming BE T games. Then some time in the early NCAA games. If Uconn expects to see another NC in the next few years they need to further develop CD, Fudd, Ameri, Gabriel to their Max. and not play Paige 40 minutes any night.

 

[Tonyc]

One thing I did not mention. We have the best guards in WCBB. There are some top teams that dont have really good guard play and are missing a true point guard. This is an advantage we have. Our defense is pretty good too??????????????

 

[The CDR-Ret]

We can ( and will) speciate all we want. We same thing we did when Paige got hurt ( who would step up? What should the starting lineup be? Is there a go to player now? etc). Time answered the questions. All the same questions will soon be clear with respect to Paige. All we can do is watch and enjoy the show. P.S. South Carolina remains a mountain to climb.

I would prefer to have SC on the opposite side of the bracket, so we see them in the Final.

No other team will require the best this edition of Huskies has to offer, as it will not require any outside motivation to redeem the loss in the November tourney versus SC...

 

[hoopsfan22]

 

[jchusky]

Everyone forgets: Paige is a superstar!
Does anyone remember your favorite superstar player returning from an injury? Me either. Because there's nothing to remember.
They don't miss a beat. Something about them being better than everyone else. Bird, Durant, what about Harden when he gets back, Kyrie? Exactly, nobody remembers any of this stuff because they fit right in right away.

tell that to Grant Hill, he got hurt and was never the same.

 

[PJCLaw]

Great news about Paige, but please don't forget Aubrey.... Much to celebrate, but I can't get to "full strength" without everyone on roster. Aubrey, we miss you.

Yeah, but Aubrey has missed the whole season, so it's not like we played with her at all. We were never "full" strength which included her all season, but her presence is missed. Get well soon Aubrey.

 

[tchalla1]

Gestalt The whole is greater than some of the parts,"

Well more accurately, this is modified Gestalt "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is the actual quote, but it works...

 

[darkstar1]

Geno said tonite that UConn has improved, but so have other teams. But no one has improved AND added a player like Paige!!! I like our chances over any opponent now.