Paige will make greatest come back in women's basketball

[SVCBeercats]

 

[PvP]

If willpower, determination, guts and astonishing talent are the determining factors, we will see a return for the ages! I personally can't wait...

 

[Surly1]

I'm hesitant to state the greatest comeback, but I have no doubt she will reach the pinnacle again. There are many great college players, with Caitlin Clark quickly coming to mind. However, Paige has a presence, a style to her game, a sense where she is in complete control, reminiscent of Roger Federer in his prime. She doesn't react, she is scripting the play.

 

[Centerstream]

I'm hesitant to state the greatest comeback, but I have no doubt she will reach the pinnacle again. There are many great college players, with Caitlin Clark quickly coming to mind. However, Paige has a presence, a style to her game, a sense where she is in complete control, reminiscent of Roger Federer in his prime. She doesn't react, she is scripting the play.

I must have missed this, what did Clark comeback from?

 

[willtalk]

Some of you do not seem to know what " jinxing" something is.

 

[donalddoowop]

I have been wondering what has been going through Paige's mind reading and hearing so much praise of Clark. If she can play injury free, she will be right back in the spotlight next season, going neck and neck with Clark.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I have been wondering what has been going through Paige's mind reading and hearing so much praise of Clark. If she can play injury free, she will be right back in the spotlight next season, going neck and neck with Clark.

Aren't they friends? So maybe congrats to my friend for an amazing season?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

If Paige stays healthy I have not doubt we will remember the coming season for a long, long time. Paige is still the greatest player in college ball because she sees the court and the unfolding play better than anyone, is a great passer, and has the widest array of shot making skills (yeah, yeah Geno she's a damn good defender). A while back Cheryl Reeve talked about "Blaze Checkers" like a 5 year old waiting for Christmas and stated the obvious: "She's a generational player."

 

[veryolddog]

From your lips to God's ears or to whomever you wish. Don't want someone's underwear to get into a bunch.

I for one would like to see her play for one full year without any leg, arm, brain, ankle, finger, hand, skull, or face injuries and lead the team to a National Championship. Same for Azzi.

And, I would like to see Ayanna Patterson grow 10 inches.

 

[donalddoowop]

Aren't they friends? So maybe congrats to my friend for an amazing season?

I don't mean in that way. I read where Clark has changed WCBB and other things that Paige did her freshman season. I believe she is happy for her. There will probably some friendly competition next season. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I don't mean in that way. I read where Clark has changed WCBB and other things that Paige did her freshman season.

She kind of did. Something like 6 million people tuned in to watch her against South Carolina and she was trending big time on social media. People I know that have no interest in WCBB suddenly knew her name.

 

[oldhusky]

It is more than just Paige. This team could have an incredible comeback story. Ice, Azzi, and Caroline have comeback stories of their own, and of course this last season Aubrey was a tremendous comeback story.

In my opinion, after two years of an anticipated great backcourt of Paige and Azzi, we haven't had both of them healthy at the same time ever. Two years ago Paige was healthy for I think the first 6 games of the season, and was off to a great start. Azzi wasn't however, as she was still having foot problems at that time and other injury issues later. When Paige returned she wasn't close to 100%. It was only the first 6 games where she was not the 11 after coming back.

Then this year Paige of course misses the entire season and Azzi, finally healthy, gets off to a great start. Then after 5 or 6 games she injured and then again and was never the same after coming back from either injury. So in two years Paige and Azzi have been healthy for only about 6 games each, and never yet at the same time.

This combo was expected to be one of the all time greats, worthy of comparisons to Bird and Taurasi, yet this season is the first opportunity to hopefully see what they can do together if both are healthy. If we get Paige like the beginning of the season two years ago, and Azzi like the begiining of last season, we will be in for a treat.

 

[Gordo]

We never know what the future holds, we can only hope!

 

[huskeynut]

I am cautiously optimistic. My concern for Paige and Azzi are the knee injuries. I have had surgeries on both my knees twice. Now I was older than both girls when I had mine, but still, your knees are never the same.

People may disagree and I'm fine with that.

 

[Carnac]

I sure hope so. I really hope Paige and Azzi give us a season we can all reminisce about for years to come.

 

[Longtime fan]

From your lips to God's ears or to whomever you wish. Don't want someone's underwear to get into a bunch.

I for one would like to see her play for one full year without any leg, arm, brain, ankle, finger, hand, skull, or face injuries and lead the team to a National Championship. Same for Azzi.

And, I would like to see Ayanna Patterson grow 10 inches.

Good health is the key to UCONN. Without it, we have to transition to a new generation. I would like to see Patterson show that she is a basketball player. The same with Amari. But I fear we are just dreaming.

 

[Jmsdawg]

If Paige stays healthy I have not doubt we will remember the coming season for a long, long time. Paige is still the greatest player in college ball because she sees the court and the unfolding play better than anyone, is a great passer, and has the widest array of shot making skills (yeah, yeah Geno she's a damn good defender). A while back Cheryl Reeve talked about "Blaze Checkers" like a 5 year old waiting for Christmas and stated the obvious: "She's a generational player."

as

As said before on Star Trek, MAKE IT SO!

 

[Jmsdawg]

Caitlin is a great player and I believe the best pure shooter in CWBB but she is not the playmaker that Paige was her freshman year. Those passes she made reminded me of Pistol Pete. I would love to see Paige regain her freshman form and go head to head with Caitlin, that would be a game for the ages!

 

[Bone Dog]

Agree with what you say, though this is only true because Paige sat out. I guess I win the Captain Obvious award for that one. Still, there's lots of reason to suspect this remark may not age all that well. Also, as always, we have to correct for the statistics fallacy. Paige was better in 20-21 even though Caitlin's stats were gaudier. The NPOY voting wasn't even close. It's too easy to forget this. If Paige takes UConn to an NC and is widely perceived to be the catalyst for it, the same result will emerge. She knows (better than anyone in the land) that NCs are won by teams, not stars.

Caitlin is a great player and I believe the best pure shooter in CWBB but she is not the playmaker that Paige was her freshman year. Those passes she made reminded me of Pistol Pete. I would love to see Paige regain her freshman form and go head to head with Caitlin, that would be a game for the ages!

I share most of this sentiment, except for the bolded part. There were other better purer shooters this season -- Taylor Mikesell and Hannah Jump to name two. Maybe Caitlin hit more "clutch" 3s, but I'm not sure even that is true. I would say she meant more to her team than practically any other player in D1. But once Paige returns, even this is likely not to be true. What sticks in my mind is how much Paige means to a team as well stocked as UConn is. It doesn't matter how good the lineup is. Winning without Paige is still damn hard. And because the team is so good, it's really hard to rack up gaudy stats.

I re-watched their sweet 16 matchup from two years ago, and it is like a microcosm of their entire relationship. They both struggled in the first half, and then both turn it on in the second half. They end up with almost identical stats (the main difference is a garbage time 3 from Caitlin) and UConn wins by 20. Christyn has a great game at both ends, Evina sinks 3 clutch 3s in the first half, two of them directly over Caitlin. Just to be clear about what that last fact says: Christyn shut down Caitlin, and Caitlin couldn't shut down Evina.

Don't get me wrong. I admire Caitlin as a talent, and I am glad to see her sportsmanship has improved since Freshmen year. She was the NPOY this season and deserved it. She carried her team farther than they've ever gone. She even endured taunting with grace and maturity. No one has ever had any reason to complain about Paige's sportsmanship... ever. Watch her games in HS and you see the same Paige -- kind, generous, never a showboat, even kind to opponents. This is who she was in 8th grade. I hope Caitlin attains a similar position in the game next season. It would be wonderful to see.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Agree with what you say, though this is only true because Paige sat out. I guess I win the Captain Obvious award for that one. Still, there's lots of reason to suspect this remark may not age all that well. Also, as always, we have to correct for the statistics fallacy. Paige was better in 20-21 even though Caitlin's stats were gaudier. The NPOY voting wasn't even close. It's too easy to forget this. If Paige takes UConn to an NC and is widely perceived to be the catalyst for it, the same result will emerge. She knows (better than anyone in the land) that NCs are won by teams, not stars.


I share most of this sentiment, except for the bolded part. There were other better purer shooters this season -- Taylor Mikesell and Hannah Jump to name two. Maybe Caitlin hit more "clutch" 3s, but I'm not sure even that is true. I would say she meant more to her team than practically any other player in D1. But once Paige returns, even this is likely not to be true. What sticks in my mind is how much Paige means to a team as well stocked as UConn is. It doesn't matter how good the lineup is. Winning without Paige is still damn hard. And because the team is so good, it's really hard to rack up gaudy stats.

I re-watched their sweet 16 matchup from two years ago, and it is like a microcosm of their entire relationship. They both struggled in the first half, and then both turn it on in the second half. They end up with almost identical stats (the main difference is a garbage time 3 from Caitlin) and UConn wins by 20. Christyn has a great game at both ends, Evina sinks 3 clutch 3s in the first half, two of them directly over Caitlin. Just to be clear about what that last fact says: Christyn shut down Caitlin, and Caitlin couldn't shut down Evina.

Don't get me wrong. I admire Caitlin as a talent, and I am glad to see her sportsmanship has improved since Freshmen year. She was the NPOY this season and deserved it. She carried her team farther than they've ever gone. She even endured taunting with grace and maturity. No one has ever had any reason to complain about Paige's sportsmanship... ever. Watch her games in HS and you see the same Paige -- kind, generous, never a showboat, even kind to opponents. This is who she was in 8th grade. I hope Caitlin attains a similar position in the game next season. It would be wonderful to see.

Winning NCs has no impact on NPOY awards.

 

[Bald Husky]

Clark is a great talent, no doubt. I think it helped her not having Paige playing last year, only because she may have shared with some of the accolades after the season. The problem here is everyone outside of us, and maybe some of us, forget how great a player Paige is. She hasn't played in a year, the previously year just played during BE and NCAA tournament time. Even though she came up big at that time, she still wasn't the same player. Caitlin will undoubtedly be the preseason POTY, but if Paige stays healthy, she will more than challenge her for that distinction. It will be fun, but my money is on Paige.

 

[diggerfoot]

Muhl has the record for assists for a game and a season. By the metric you just used here you would have to conclude Muhl also sees the court or better, and is as good or better passer than Bueckers. If you don’t believe that, then the metric you just used is meaningless for the point you made about it.

Bueckers efficiency stats were phenomenal as a freshman. The freshman Bueckers had a higher shooting percentage than the junior Clark, as was her A/T ratio. They were not just better efficiency stats than the junior Clark, they were the best of any class that year and perhaps the best ever for a freshman. The better A/T ratio means that either Bueckers sees and anticipates better, is a better passer, or both. What Clark’s numbers reveal in comparison is that Iowa relies more heavily on her than UConn does on Bueckers; it also reveals that Iowa’s system generates more possessions per game, creating more statistics of any kind.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Muhl has the record for assists for a game and a season. By the metric you just used here you would have to conclude Muhl also sees the court or better, and is as good or better passer than Bueckers. If you don’t believe that, then the metric you just used is meaningless for the point you made about it.

Bueckers efficiency stats were phenomenal as a freshman. The freshman Bueckers had a higher shooting percentage than the junior Clark, as was her A/T ratio. They were not just better efficiency stats than the junior Clark, they were the best of any class that year and perhaps the best ever for a freshman. The better A/T ratio means that either Bueckers sees and anticipates better, is a better passer, or both. What Clark’s numbers reveal in comparison is that Iowa relies more heavily on her than UConn does on Bueckers; it also reveals that Iowa’s system generates more possessions per game, creating more statistics of any kind.

Like another NPOY few years ago the Iowa team was built around Caitlin and she had to do what she did for that team to thrive. Great player but not Paige.

 

[SEbluebood]

Agree with what you say, though this is only true because Paige sat out. I guess I win the Captain Obvious award for that one. Still, there's lots of reason to suspect this remark may not age all that well. Also, as always, we have to correct for the statistics fallacy. Paige was better in 20-21 even though Caitlin's stats were gaudier. The NPOY voting wasn't even close. It's too easy to forget this. If Paige takes UConn to an NC and is widely perceived to be the catalyst for it, the same result will emerge. She knows (better than anyone in the land) that NCs are won by teams, not stars.


I share most of this sentiment, except for the bolded part. There were other better purer shooters this season -- Taylor Mikesell and Hannah Jump to name two. Maybe Caitlin hit more "clutch" 3s, but I'm not sure even that is true. I would say she meant more to her team than practically any other player in D1. But once Paige returns, even this is likely not to be true. What sticks in my mind is how much Paige means to a team as well stocked as UConn is. It doesn't matter how good the lineup is. Winning without Paige is still damn hard. And because the team is so good, it's really hard to rack up gaudy stats.

I re-watched their sweet 16 matchup from two years ago, and it is like a microcosm of their entire relationship. They both struggled in the first half, and then both turn it on in the second half. They end up with almost identical stats (the main difference is a garbage time 3 from Caitlin) and UConn wins by 20. Christyn has a great game at both ends, Evina sinks 3 clutch 3s in the first half, two of them directly over Caitlin. Just to be clear about what that last fact says: Christyn shut down Caitlin, and Caitlin couldn't shut down Evina.

Don't get me wrong. I admire Caitlin as a talent, and I am glad to see her sportsmanship has improved since Freshmen year. She was the NPOY this season and deserved it. She carried her team farther than they've ever gone. She even endured taunting with grace and maturity. No one has ever had any reason to complain about Paige's sportsmanship... ever. Watch her games in HS and you see the same Paige -- kind, generous, never a showboat, even kind to opponents. This is who she was in 8th grade. I hope Caitlin attains a similar position in the game next season. It would be wonderful to see.

How exactly does Paige “know better than anyone in the land” that NCs are won by teams, not stars, especially since she has not won one? How does she know that better than Cameron Brink or Angel Reese ( who have each won one) or Caitlin or Hailey Van Lith who have been to FF but lost? I never understand how folks can make these types of absolute statements absent any fact base. Without facts, at least state it’s an opinion to which we are all entitled. Not sure why we need to constantly make Paige a deity. And yes, I am a longtime UCONN fan. When healthy (which is not often compared to other great players), she is among a handful of the most extremely talented players and in a given year selected as the best. While she shares that rarified air, she does not lord far above all the other extremely talented athletes in women’s basketball no matter how much we wish it to be true. In fact, every WNBA mock draft that I’ve seen has Clark listed first. (Yes, I understand that can easily change.)