Senior Aaliyah vs. Freshman Sarah: Statistical Comparison

[Bone Dog]

Look, USC played above their heads in that game and performed better than expected. That's natural. They were trying to win one for JuJu ... the star that got them there! Look at the box score, how many big games this season did Marshall score 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds? I'm certainly not saying I think UConn would have lost to them again, because I don't think that at all. But, if they had JuJu Watkins, the reigning NPOY, it would have definitely made it a closer game. I know you are wise enough to see that.

You are taking us far off the topic of this thread, and for the sake of a point that is merely contentious. This is arguing for the sake of arguing.

 

[oldhusky]

If you look at the most respected overall comprehensive stats like PER or Box Plus Minus, but by those measures Sarah's freshmen season probably exceeded our wildest expectations, even from the number one rated recruit. She was not just as good as senior Aaliyah drafted #6, but in fact a clear upgrade in her first year.

Further her stats were right there with Paige, to the point where a good case could be made for Sarah being the best player on the team. I know that might be considered ridiculous, but that is what the numbers say. Both Sarah and Paige are unusual in that they enhance their overall numbers in almost all categories. It is not just a lot of points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks, but those stats with low negative stats like turnovers and fouls, and high scoring efficiency..

Sarah and Paige were both significantly better than JuJu this year as well. JuJu has amazing stats in many categories, a true superstar no doubt, but she was a little bit more of an exceptional volume scorer, with pretty good but not exceptional efficiency. If memory serves me right she was less than 50% on 2pt shots, and had a mediocre 3pt percentage. Her scoring efficiency overall was still good (but not great) mostly because she drew a tremendous number of fouls and made her foul shots. I don't remember if she committed a lot of fouls or not, but I believe she did have a pretty high level of turnovers.

My point is not to downgrade JuJu, she is exceptional. Rather it is to point out how incredible it is to have a player that is elite on scoring volume, efficiency, and do it with very few turnovers. And equally how rare it is to be high in steals and blocks, one a small player's stat and the other more for bigs, and do it without fouling much.

 

[BRS24]

Have we exhausted the Sarah vs Aaliyah topic without bringing in any other players?

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Sarah and Paige were both significantly better than JuJu this year as well. JuJu has amazing stats in many categories, a true superstar no doubt, but she was a little bit more of an exceptional volume scorer, with pretty good but not exceptional efficiency. If memory serves me right she was less than 50% on 2pt shots, and had a mediocre 3pt percentage. Her scoring efficiency overall was still good (but not great) mostly because she drew a tremendous number of fouls and made her foul shots. I don't remember if she committed a lot of fouls or not, but I believe she did have a pretty high level of turnovers.

My point is not to downgrade JuJu, she is exceptional. Rather it is to point out how incredible it is to have a player that is elite on scoring volume, efficiency, and do it with very few turnovers. And equally how rare it is to be high in steals and blocks, one a small player's stat and the other more for bigs, and do it without fouling much.

Yes, her 2 pt field goal percentage was 47.3, but you answered the reason for this when you stated "she drew a tremendous number of fouls" (on her attempts), thus greatly lowering her percentage. Each shot counts as an attempt whether fouled on it or not.

You are taking us far off the topic of this thread, and for the sake of a point that is merely contentious. This is arguing for the sake of arguing.

Check your facts, I didn't start the discussion of JuJu in this thread! And, why is it that when someone is losing an argument, they always claim the other party is just arguing for the sake of arguing?