Paige - UConn superstar, one of the best to come to our university.

[oldude]

I mentioned something similar in my postgame thread comment, that Paige seems oppressed somehow. And you may have hit on the reason -- the departure of Aaliyah and Nika.

It's not about the skill level of her teammates, but personalities. Aaliyah was a rock everyone could lean on, and Nika brought the emotional fire any great team needs. With them gone, now Paige has to supply all of that by herself -- she needs to be both the rock and the fire. That's a lot to ask of anyone. Sarah is a great talent, maybe we'll find that she's greater than Aaliyah in the next few years, but she is not fiery. And Azzi is also not a fiery personality -- she can dominate a game with a smile, but not with the fiery roar Nika would bring. Aubrey is certainly not going to bring that sort of fire either. And KK and Ash can be incredible forces on the court, even if they can also be inconsistent.

I don't think Geno is being mean to Paige -- and the other more mature players: Azzi, Kaitlyn, Aubrey. He's trying to provoke a response from them, and this is one of the tools in his little kit for getting what the team needs from its leaders.

So, the question is, if Geno's gambit works, who do we think will step up and supply the fire next to Paige? My money is on KK, who is the most Nika-like of the current Huskies. She may need more minutes to have the impact Geno is looking for, though I don't think it matters whether she starts or not. In November, I had hoped Jana might bring the fire, since that's who she was in her pre-injury days. But she hasn't been able to do that for the team yet.

Again, In my postgame thread I indicated my preference for KK to start at pg and Aubrey to start at center.

 

[BobbyJ]

LOL, a generation is 15-20 years. It will be difficult anyway to choose the generational talent of this generation of players.

Pick one of Stewie, Wilson, Ionescu, DelleDonne, Clark, Bueckers, Collier, Boston, Hidalgo, JuJu, Strong.

Many very good players, players of the year, but only one of this group can be the generational player.

Finally, someone understands that there's not 2-3 coming out of HS every year. Has to be the most ridiculous description anyone has come up with to compare BB players.

 

[hoopsfan22]

LOL, a generation is 15-20 years. It will be difficult anyway to choose the generational talent of this generation of players.

Pick one of Stewie, Wilson, Ionescu, DelleDonne, Clark, Bueckers, Collier, Boston, Hidalgo, JuJu, Strong.

Many very good players, players of the year, but only one of this group can be the generational player.

My vote is for Stewie. The rest of the players on that list are very good, but no where near the level of Stewie.

 

[PacoSwede]

I mentioned something similar in my postgame thread comment, that Paige seems oppressed somehow. And you may have hit on the reason -- the departure of Aaliyah and Nika.

It's not about the skill level of her teammates, but personalities. Aaliyah was a rock everyone could lean on, and Nika brought the emotional fire any great team needs. With them gone, now Paige has to supply all of that by herself -- she needs to be both the rock and the fire. That's a lot to ask of anyone.....

100% why the huskies are out of sorts. it was doubtful that paige could fill these roles in addition to everything else, and it has proved to be true. the dilemma is that others on the team have not stepped up to fill the gap. but first, they have to be aware of the gap, and even if they do it requires a special personality to implement. time is running out. it's a big issue to be solved. maybe kk is the answer, maybe someone else, maybe no one fits. but it's not for paige to magically correct. talk about too much pressure, too much stress. she's been amazing in dealing with it.

 

[Jmsdawg]

My vote is for Stewie. The rest of the players on that list are very good, but no where near the level of Stewie.

I agree with Stewie but Hidalgo certainly has the potential to be “generational”, I also agree with the caliber of players available generational may soon be shorten to best in class. Stewie was the most dominant WBB player I saw play the game, she was a WINNER!

 

[hoy-ah!]

I support all the posts before on Paige needing to be at PG. You need a player who's been in the program a minimum of two years to get and be comfortable with the offense. Moreover, you need 5 who have a lot of experience in the system. My starting 5 would be Paige, Azzi/Ashlynn, KK, Aubrey, Sarah. You need Sarah at the top to facilitate the motion/shoot/drive, which Jana or Ice are unable to. KC is a good player, but KK/Ashlynn have more experience in the offense. It would have been nice to have obtained a serviceable big in the portal.

Offense seems to be disjointed right now against tougher competition. Whichever team they play, the offense looks "robotic", going through the motions. This has led to poor decisions, turnovers, shots (measured shots). I believe having only 8 to play last year hardened the team and made them more resilient, focused, and aware. The fire and competitiveness was there. Maybe start sticking to a 7-8 player rotation for players to gain familiarity with each other. I long to see a supremely confident team operating at its best, win or lose with joy/happiness. (Adage: It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game; BUT, if you're going to play, play to win.) It takes a team (village?). It's not all on PB and shouldn't be.

 

[Jonathan14]

I commented on Paige’s joy or lack there of a few weeks back. Aaliyah and Nika are gone. I suspect their departure has put a lot more pressure on Paige. Like you, I would love to see Paige play with the same freedom and joy that she showed us all during her freshman season.

She reminded me of DT’s emotional breakdown during her jr year at UConn, after teammates Sue, Swin, Asjha & Tamika were all drafted into the pros. DT felt the pressure to carry the Huskies to another championship, which she did, but it wasn’t easy for her.

I think you're exactly right, @oldude, and the comparison to Diana in her junior year is an apt one.

I'd like to offer one more comparison, if I may. Several of us have noted how KK often performs well in UConn's biggest games. She also seems to be one of our most fun-loving, joyful players. From what I've seen, she has a joie de vivre off the court that turns into a fire on the court. Though a tremendous athlete, she's not the basketball prodigy that Paige is, but that spark she has does remind me of that spunky freshman who was the first ever to be named NPOY.

So how do we help Paige get her joy back? Have Aaliyah and Nika pursue graduate degrees and move back on campus?

 

[Bone Dog]

I also think KK may be the best candidate before Kelis arrives. But there's a subtle difference between a sweet jokester and an on-court fire-breather. We need the merry jokester for off campus interactions, for team building, but on court we need a field marshal. Can KK become this? I hope so. Since I only see games on TV, I don't hear the on-court voices. Does anyone have a better sense of how KK's voice sounds live in a game?

Whose voice is the most forceful in huddles? And loudest while running the offense and defense? Currently, that's Paige. But she needs someone to be even louder than her.

 

[Cuango]

It’s difficult to say exactly what this team is missing byond the fact that we have some (quite a few) players that simply don’t seem able to step up under big pressure! Paige used to be the bestI’ve ever seen at it! I think she still has that in even though she has been struggling ltely. Let’s face it, what lost us the Tenn. game was very simple. We could not make any shots! Why? That is the big question that needs to be answered going forward. Obviously, Tennessee’s pressure had something (a lot?, a little?) to do with it. However, we had multiple open threes and layups that simply clanked off the rim.

The question is; did we simply have a bad shooting night, or were our players so rattled from the pressure, the “big game” atmosphere, that they tightened up and changed their shot? It is an important question because our potential (basketball) future essentially will likely be determined by the answer. If it was simply a bad shooting night, then we can probably live with it and work on ways to lessen those kinds of performances. If it’s the other, well, let’s just say Geno has a real problem on his hands. Are there ways to fix the yips? I don’t know.

I do know that this team woke up Friday morning with the same amount of talent as we had before the game when most of us felt fairly confident we would win. This is an enigmatic team, but clearly, we have plenty of talent to win against anyone! I feel bad for Geno, I believe he desperately wants to win a title for Paige! He has always built his coaching approach around entering the tournament with his team playing it’s best. Can he do it again? I believe so!

 

[Rowdy831]

It is hard to point the finger at Paige when Paige isn't the one running the offense. When she was a Frosh she was the one who had the ball in her hand and she was able to move on any defender when she wanted to. I think she still possesses that ability but UConn is muckying up the waters with all the guards getting in the way. After Paige, Azzi and Sarah the others bring nothing extra to the game that isn't already there. In many instances it results in the wrong person getting the open look on the circle.

Go big or prepare to go home. Time for Jana, Ice and Aubrey to step in and be noticed.

 

[Bigboote]

I commented on Paige’s joy or lack there of a few weeks back. Aaliyah and Nika are gone. I suspect their departure has put a lot more pressure on Paige. Like you, I would love to see Paige play with the same freedom and joy that she showed us all during her freshman season.

I alluded to to this every so often: Geno once said, “Nika thinks she can do anything. Not only that, she convinces everyone else they can do anything too.”

He also said awhile back, “Most people really have no idea how much this team misses Aubrey.” (Till that moment, I was one of those.) I think this team really misses Nika. Aaliyah, too, but they miss Aaliyah’s game; they miss Nika’s psyche.

 

[HuskyNan]

Finally, someone understands that there's not 2-3 coming out of HS every year. Has to be the most ridiculous description anyone has come up with to compare BB players.

Well, there must be 100 Greatest of All Times (GOAT) players too

 

[BobbyJ]

Well, there must be 100 Greatest of All Times (GOAT) players too

As a player, I'd be flattered to be considered one of the 100 greatest (generational) players of the last 3-4 years.

 

[DRBackup]

Paige Bueckers, UConn superstar, one of the best to come to our university. We all know what Paige has done in the first few years here, and we all know too well the struggles she has had with injuries. Last year she was injury free, this year, except for a minor injury, the same.
At the beginning of the year she was very happy, doing workouts during the summer, getting to mesh with her new teammates, getting ready for her last attempt to achieve a National Championship.
Three months later, things seemed to have changed. Paige has an enormous amount of pressure on her. Not winning the big games, media saying she is losing the battle with other top players for POY, podcasts telling stories that are just made up putting a bad light on Paige, and of course it doesn't help when your own head coach throws you under the bus on national TV. How much can one player take, she says she is not on social media much, but the content of all these opinions does get to her, I'm sure.
The look on Paiges and KKs faces at the post game tells it all. No happiness in Storrs right now, so the coaching staff, including Geno has to change the atmosphere when they get together, and try to fix what is missing. FIRST, Paige has to assume the PG position, a position that gained her NPOY honors in 2021. Geno, get off her back, let her play the way she wants to play at and at the position that she is best suited for. Get aggressive, every position should have Paige looking to score, or at least get the ball to the player that will score. We need scorers in the starting lineup, like Ashlynn, KK, or anyone else that usually has a spark to their game. Do it now, what is going on now isn't working. If Azzi or any player is in foul trouble, get them out as they are defensive liabilities.
Its obvious that we won't win the NC the way the team is playing, so I'm just hoping that our assistants aren't too bogged down with the past that they can come up with a solution. We don't have much time, so tomorrow would be a good time to start before we risk our reputation again on national TV against a great SC team. What do you all think, is there too much pressure on Paige, and is it hurting the team?

Now ask yourself why nobody ever had to make a post like this in the middle of a season for the like of Maya, Stewy, Sue, Diana, Gabby, etc.

 

[mainerhuski]

I mentioned something similar in my postgame thread comment, that Paige seems oppressed somehow. And you may have hit on the reason -- the departure of Aaliyah and Nika.

It's not about the skill level of her teammates, but personalities. Aaliyah was a rock everyone could lean on, and Nika brought the emotional fire any great team needs. With them gone, now Paige has to supply all of that by herself -- she needs to be both the rock and the fire. That's a lot to ask of anyone. Sarah is a great talent, maybe we'll find that she's greater than Aaliyah in the next few years, but she is not fiery. And Azzi is also not a fiery personality -- she can dominate a game with a smile, but not with the fiery roar Nika would bring. Aubrey is certainly not going to bring that sort of fire either. And KK and Ash can be incredible forces on the court, even if they can also be inconsistent.

I don't think Geno is being mean to Paige -- and the other more mature players: Azzi, Kaitlyn, Aubrey. He's trying to provoke a response from them, and this is one of the tools in his little kit for getting what the team needs from its leaders.

So, the question is, if Geno's gambit works, who do we think will step up and supply the fire next to Paige? My money is on KK, who is the most Nika-like of the current Huskies. She may need more minutes to have the impact Geno is looking for, though I don't think it matters whether she starts or not. In November, I had hoped Jana might bring the fire, since that's who she was in her pre-injury days. But she hasn't been able to do that for the team yet.

I think KK & Sarah are more than acceptable teammates to share that load with.