S.C. Media Guy on Paige

[Blacketh’D]

I am not a stat person. I think watching both players, it is clear that Oaige is the better player. She excels in every aspect of the game, including defense. If she was more selfish, she would score more points. If she was the point guard, she would get more assists. She is a true team player that only takes over when it is necessary. Despite my dislike of stats being determinative of who is the better player, the analytics alone clearly indicate that Paige is the “better” player. Clarke has all the attention this year and will therefore be the POY. All this being said, they are both great. They will both continue to excel, as long as they have their health

Analytics don’t say she’s the better player though. You still have to interpret the numbers

 

[diggerfoot]

Some of you will never learn. This is to the people who addressed me and the rest of the boneyard. Paige is every bit as good as Clark. I like her more and always have. POY is like MVP. If you’re having the best individual season you deserve to win. Clark is clearly having a better senior season than Paige. You want to talk about 3pt percentage? Paige ATTEMPTS 5 threes a game on average. Clark MAKES 5 threes a game on average. That’s 15 points a night from just perimeter shooting. Percentage is not the end all be all. 38 percent is still probably better than college average with her attempts in double digits. Volume scoring on good efficiency is important. She has that in spades.

Breanna Stewart…a 6’4 forward in the wnba took 34% of her shots from 3 pt range. More than anywhere closer on the floor. Don’t tell me the women’s game is not the NBA. That’s where the game is trending for them too. Don’t tell me Stewie in college was a primary perimeter shooter. You know she wasn’t. Maybe saying midrange is dead is hyperbolic but long 2’s have been outed as inefficient for a long time. So has post play.

Paige will always be more efficient, but she will always never shoot as much as we would like. It’s comparing Steve Nash to Tracy McGrady. You win with both but do the stars align for either of them. Paige has always been better than Caitlin, but that doesn’t mean she’s always doing the best.

My problem with the hype over Clark lies with her teammates. Last year they shot about 5% higher, this year they are shooting about 5% higher. That is a big difference in her teammates favor. Seven of her teammates shoot better than she does. There is a distinct chance that the Iowa offense would be even better if Clark shot less.

The focus on Clark allows her teammates to shoot better, true, but 5% better than her? Again, that is pretty significant. It allows for the counterargument that focusing on Clark risks getting burned even more by her efficient teammates, and thus keeps defenses more honest than they need to be against players like Bueckers.

Another argument can be made that Clark can elevate her game against elite teams and defenses. Also true enough. Against SC her shooting % went up a couple points, her teammates down a couple points, to where they were about the same.

Just last night I heard a hype narrative by a national reporter elevating Clark because of who her teammates are. Where would poor Iowa be without Clark? Well, where would Clark be if her teammates also collectively shot 46%? Considering their defense could they even make the sweet sixteen if the whole team shot 46%?

At some point this part of the hype has to be grating on the other players.

 

[Bone Dog]

At some point this part of the hype has to be grating on the other players.

This.

They’d never say so in public, and they must enjoy winning, but I find it hard to believe the other Hawkeyes don’t occasionally find Caitlin to be a trying teammate.

 

[diggerfoot]

This.

They’d never say so in public, and they must enjoy winning, but I find it hard to believe the other Hawkeyes don’t occasionally find Caitlin to be a trying teammate.

Why would media hype cause Clark’s teammates to find her trying?

As an upperclassmen Jefferson was the second best player in the country. Do you think she found Stewart trying because of the media hype she received? If Jefferson occasionally thought “Hey! I’m not chopped liver!” that would have been directed at the media. That’s where Clark’s teammates would direct their annoyance as well.

I was actually a little glad when some announcer touted Iowa’s four seniors as best of all time. Now that’s some serious hype, but at least it acknowledges that Iowa has been a team, rather than an individual carrying a team.

 

[Bone Dog]

Why would media hype cause Clark’s teammates to find her trying?

As an upperclassmen Jefferson was the second best player in the country. Do you think she found Stewart trying because of the media hype she received? If Jefferson occasionally thought “Hey! I’m not chopped liver!” that would have been directed at the media. That’s where Clark’s teammates would direct their annoyance as well.

I was actually a little glad when some announcer touted Iowa’s four seniors as best of all time. Now that’s some serious hype, but at least it acknowledges that Iowa has been a team, rather than an individual carrying a team.

There's other things that might try them besides media hype.