I believe Geno’s many statements to the effect that he doesn’t focus on who the PG is in a narrow way. The most memorable was two years ago when Paige was injured over the summer and he was asked if Azzi would be the PG. He responded by saying when Azzi brings the ball up the court good things often happen.
Now, admittedly, I tend to over-read things. What I noticed in this is 1) he didn’t want to let this be a defining element of Azzi’s role, and 2) he reduced the question to one feature of a the PG role on offense: bringing the ball up the court. I think we all know there’s a lot more to the traditional PG role than this, and I emphasize
traditional. In the Texas game that year, it’s clear that Azzi was specifically tasked with being the ball up for much of the game. But after that, she often went to the wing after the first pass. And on defense, she did not primarily cover the opposing PG, Shaylee Gonzalez. Nika and Azzi seemed to share the defensive responsibilities of the PG, though Nika bore most of them. This same pattern was visible in the NC St game and the Iowa game.
Thinking back on Geno’s remark, I took him to mean something like, “For folks who insist on thinking in terms of rigid positions, but mainly focus on offense, I’ll say Azzi can do it. That ought to reassure everyone. But I’ll plant an ‘Easter egg’ for anyone who thinks less narrowly about the game.” This would be in keeping with his tendency to run a positionless offense and a defense that can switch quite freely, often even 1-5, in terms of the old designations.
When I look at the players who could play PG on this year’s roster, I first distinguish between offense and defense. Someone has to defend against the opposing PG and if the other team depends on a traditional scheme, it will matter who mainly does this. In past years this would be Nika. Some switching would inevitably occur, but Nika would tend to return to that player before too long. Also, on offense but with transition defense in mind, Nika would tend not to stray far from the top of the key for long and especially when she expected a shot to go up. She was an excellent rebounder as guards go, but this was mainly defensive boards,
On offense, we know that Paige is typically quite sensitive to court placement. This is why she can play PG at all, and why she is so good at it. Her great drive-and-dish skills also point to this. But her offense also often comes from the wing. There’s a bit of tension here. Make her play like a traditional PG and you put a crimp in her offense.
On defense, we know Paige can cover the opposing PG, as she did brilliantly against Shyanne Sellers in the MD game last season. But she is also a genius at disrupting passing lanes elsewhere, especially on the wing. And last season she showed us how much her shot blocking skills had expanded, and this included a lot blocks in the paint and on the wing.
If I try to think like Geno (
), I’d look for players who can handle the defensive side and players who can handle the different aspects of the offense. Like Liv in past years, Sarah is likely to spend some time directing the offense from the top of the key. But she won’t guard the opposing PG and she’s too valuable as a rebounder and post scorer to restrict her to this role. Jana may also play a similar role at times.
The players other than Paige who can cover the opposing PG are Azzi KK Kaitlyn Morgan and, eventually, Aubrey. But only Azzi KK and Kaitlyn seem well suited to every dimension of that role, though Azzi is too valuable as a scorer from the wing, much like Paige. Aubrey isn’t great at passing or running the offense, but she is a tremendous rebounder defender slasher and transition scorer. Morgan has all the PG skills but is also a feisty rebounder and low post scorer, and Geno may want to emphasize these for her as a freshman.
All of this points to KK and Kaitlyn sharing this role mostly. I wouldn’t expect to see both of them on the floor at the same time much, unless Geno is running a press. And I’d also expect there to be stretches in every game when neither of them is on the floor. When Geno wants to go big, and have a scoring punch, Paige or Azzi will take over the role. Add a transition scorer to those two, someone like Q or Morgan or Aubrey (eventually) and you have a big scary quick team. Put Ice Jana and Sarah on the floor with Paige and Azzi and they can pummel opponents down low.
The lineup that might be the most entertaining could be Paige Azzi Caroline Morgan and Jana. This would be one of many lineups that would have a terrific inside-outside punch and a lot of cleverness on defense. The versatility of this roster may be its salient feature. Geno will eventually settle on a shorter rotation. But until he gets there, I think we’ll have a lot of fun watching all the experiments.
(I don't agree with the "all".)