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This is definitely an off-season observation. When Paige would go up for her shot in the midrange and closer -- whether it was off the dribble or one of those trademark inbounds plays -- her shooting motion is complex. She raises her arms as she rises. But then she seems always ready to pull the ball back, maybe shift it to one side, all while still in the air, and finally shoots it. She does this to thwart defenders. I'm sure you can find thousands of examples of this from the past 4 years. This was a style she brought with her to college.
I haven't seen many other recent college players exhibit this much control over their jump shot. Maybe only Caitlin Clark, and perhaps Mikayla Blakes and Flau'Jae. It also seems to be a guard thing, as I don't see bigs do this, perhaps because they don't have as much airtime as Paige does, and may not need to protect their shot as carefully as a guard. Sarah doesn't do this, Carol doesn't, Allie and Ash don't do it. Even Azzi doesn't do this. It may require more flexibility than Ash and Allie have.
This is different from the stepback jumper, as well as all the other shifty moves involving the dribble that lots of players do. In general, I don't think Geno puts a premium on clever dribble moves and prefers quick crisp passing. But he also likes having one player who has this sort of mastery, who can create [and protect] their own shot in a crowd. Sue, Dee, Maya, Moriah, they all had this sort of knack for moving the ball around prior to releasing the shot.
I'm wondering if anyone next season will develop this style of shooting. It could be Azzi -- she has the hand strength for it. Or it could be Blanca, who has the leaping ability to give herself time for it. There were even moments in some of the recent videos of Blanca that seemed to suggest she was doing this, though the image was too distant to really see it.
I also suspect the reason Paige developed this style was because she grew up playing ball with her friends, Jalen Suggs and later Chet Holmgren. To play with them, she'd have to develop shifty ways to get her shot off. And its just the sort of technique that boys learn at a certain level pretty much everywhere.
I haven't seen many other recent college players exhibit this much control over their jump shot. Maybe only Caitlin Clark, and perhaps Mikayla Blakes and Flau'Jae. It also seems to be a guard thing, as I don't see bigs do this, perhaps because they don't have as much airtime as Paige does, and may not need to protect their shot as carefully as a guard. Sarah doesn't do this, Carol doesn't, Allie and Ash don't do it. Even Azzi doesn't do this. It may require more flexibility than Ash and Allie have.
This is different from the stepback jumper, as well as all the other shifty moves involving the dribble that lots of players do. In general, I don't think Geno puts a premium on clever dribble moves and prefers quick crisp passing. But he also likes having one player who has this sort of mastery, who can create [and protect] their own shot in a crowd. Sue, Dee, Maya, Moriah, they all had this sort of knack for moving the ball around prior to releasing the shot.
I'm wondering if anyone next season will develop this style of shooting. It could be Azzi -- she has the hand strength for it. Or it could be Blanca, who has the leaping ability to give herself time for it. There were even moments in some of the recent videos of Blanca that seemed to suggest she was doing this, though the image was too distant to really see it.
I also suspect the reason Paige developed this style was because she grew up playing ball with her friends, Jalen Suggs and later Chet Holmgren. To play with them, she'd have to develop shifty ways to get her shot off. And its just the sort of technique that boys learn at a certain level pretty much everywhere.
