The Paige effect

[Bald Husky]

Last year Paige carried us in our most important games. If our offense was stagnant, or the game was getting away from us, Paige was there to pull our butts out of the fire. During the time when she had to sit, the team completely changed. Others burst on the scene to carry us at times, but the best part is that it wasn't always the same person. I'm not going to get into names, because we know who they are and what they contributed. I hate to say this, but I think the opposite is happening now, and we have to fix this because time is running out. We have been saying that we have so many options that we will always have someone that can pull us through the tough games. We did not shoot well vs Mercer, and of course, the UCF game was a disaster. Now we will be seeing more high scoring teams going forward, so what we need back is the "Paige Effect". If things aren't going well, then we need Paige to take over like LY and do her thing. She is the best guard in the country, so she has to forget how the team has stepped up and take it over. Maybe its time to do what Geno told her to do LY, shoot the ball and if necessary create for herself. What good is it to have our best player just pass if the others are not producing? Its time for Paige to play like Paige, because some people think our "new" team can get us to the FF, but I am saying that we cannot if she is playing tentatively and only looking to facilitate. The time is now for Batgirl to come out of the Batcage and lead this team to victory.

 

[jchusky]

she's not 100%, it is silly to think she will go back to last year this season. She still hesitates to pass and when she smells contact it affects her decision making.

 

[cferraro04]

Clearly, Paige isn't back to where she was when she was the POY. That is understandable! She was out for 19 games with an injury that required surgical repair. Being cleared to play means that the danger of re-injury isn't elevated from normal, however, being mentally fit, physically fit and game ready takes time and the 4-5 weeks she has had just isn't enough.

But, I do agree with the poster's title of the thread..."The Paige Effect". Just having Paige on the floor, her presence and ability to move the ball around, her leadership are immeasurable at this time of the year. Williams and Fudd are the hot hands right now. I think you may see Ducharme, Muhl and Evina kick in as well. Paige just needs to be consistent...10-12 points, 3-4 rebounds, 4-5 assists and her leadership is enough to give the opposition problems. Our bigs can continue to play by committee and make the 4 and 5 positions contributory to our positive outcome. If we stick to this game plan even with the tough road ahead: Indiana and North Carolina State we have a great chance of getting to the final four. X-factor...we have one of the best coaching staffs available to WCBB.

 

[Beemer]

Whoa there...Paige is still working her way back from injury. She missed 19 regular season games and played only limited minutes during the Big East tournament. I don't think anyone even someone as good as Paige is can just turn it on like a water faucet after missing so much time so I don't think it is right to put everything on her shoulders now.

If she had gone through the season healthy sure, put the team on her back and watch her go but that isn't the case. I'd hate like **** to see her get blamed if UConn doesn't make it to the Final Four or win it all if they do.

 

[Ralph]

No, we need everyone we have to get back to playing like they were. If you rely on one person and that person has an off night, you are out. The best teams have a balanced attack, the defense never knows who to focus on, because there is no one person who, if shut down, brings their team down with them. Look at Stanford, they are cruising and Haley Jones hardly scored. Everyone else was contributing. We need 10 to 15 points from Liv, CW, , AE, and we need 5 to 10 from Dorka, Muhl, CD, EW. That gets us to 70 and lets anything we get from Paige be the bonus that gets us over 80 and a win. and it keeps people from being exhausted in the fourth quarter. If someone keeps getting free and making shots, then yes let them have a big night. We get the shots, we just need to make those layups, the open jumpers, and God yes, the free throws. We needed CW to make those free throws at the end. Good thing with we just said after she got foulded, we got 2 points coming, no worry. But remember, PB only made one of 3. That shows she is not fully back yet, as Geno has noted. We can joke about our free throw defense being great against UCF, but if they made a few more free throws, we might be out. Other teams will not be missing that many free throws in the next few rounds.

 

[Ralph]

Clearly, Paige isn't back to where she was when she was the POY. That is understandable! She was out for 19 games with an injury that required surgical repair. Being cleared to play means that the danger of re-injury isn't elevated from normal, however, being mentally fit, physically fit and game ready takes time and the 4-5 weeks she has had just isn't enough.

But, I do agree with the poster's title of the thread..."The Paige Effect". Just having Paige on the floor, her presence and ability to move the ball around, her leadership are immeasurable at this time of the year. Williams and Fudd are the hot hands right now. I think you may see Ducharme, Muhl and Evina kick in as well. Paige just needs to be consistent...10-12 points, 3-4 rebounds, 4-5 assists and her leadership is enough to give the opposition problems. Our bigs can continue to play by committee and make the 4 and 5 positions contributory to our positive outcome. If we stick to this game plan even with the tough road ahead: Indiana and North Carolina State we have a great chance of getting to the final four. X-factor...we have one of the best coaching staffs available to WCBB.

Maybe a little too quick to put in NC State. If our hated enemy ND shoots like they did against Oklahoma, they are tough. They could go all the way, awful as that would be. Especially if Mabry were to be the star. So root like mad for State. I also hate to see the evil empire TN getting momentum and taking out Belmont. Brackets are getting easier for Stanford and USC. But lets just see us play great, so whatever anyone else does, it is not enough, we keep marching.

 

[Wilderness]

the UCF game was a disaster

??? Azzi was excellent. Christyn also. Actually everyone who played contributed meaningfully, perhaps excepting CD in her brief minutes. And I hope to see more of her Saturday. It was a tough game. They struggled with layups. But they toughed it out. Check out the closing minutes' free throws. Check out the string of defensive stops.

 

[BostonCanuck]

Paige rather quietly made three or four very important mid-range stop and pop jumpers in the game against UCF. She can still create off the dribble in a way few others can. I don't think we win that game without her making those shots, given all the missed layups.

 

[donalddoowop]

The team was playing well with Paige coming off the bench. It may be asking too much to ask her to play at the high level at which she played last season. What difference does it make who leads the team to the FF? I think trying to get Paige to take over at the risk of hurting team play and chemistry is not good. Continue to give all the players the leeway to make up for mistakes. The team needs the contributions Caroline and Nika are capable of giving. When players who have been benched see players on the floor making the same kind of mistakes and the team is struggling, yet are allowed to stay in the game, that can be a big blow to their confidence. I believe the only thing hindering Caroline is a lack of playing time.

 

[Drumex]

I watched the replay, and our defense was good to very good after the first quarter,
considering the opponent and their style. We held them under
50, and if not for two threes given up after being up 48-36 with under 6:00 to go,
the gals might have cruised into Easy Land. That was a tough team to play.
Playing Indiana, if UCONN keeps the turnovers down, and executes the
offense in a normal fashion, plus defensive intensity- they may move on!!
Go Huskies!!!

 

[Charliebball]

Maybe a little too quick to put in NC State. If our hated enemy ND shoots like they did against Oklahoma, they are tough. They could go all the way, awful as that would be. Especially if Mabry were to be the star. So root like mad for State. I also hate to see the evil empire TN getting momentum and taking out Belmont. Brackets are getting easier for Stanford and USC. But lets just see us play great, so whatever anyone else does, it is not enough, we keep marching.

I know others may disagree but nothing would make me happier than to have ND defeat NC State...........I'm far more confident UConn could beat ND for a second time than I am that UConn could get by a far tougher NC State team........

 

[Conndog]

No, we need everyone we have to get back to playing like they were. If you rely on one person and that person has an off night, you are out. The best teams have a balanced attack, the defense never knows who to focus on, because there is no one person who, if shut down, brings their team down with them. Look at Stanford, they are cruising and Haley Jones hardly scored. Everyone else was contributing. We need 10 to 15 points from Liv, CW, Azzi Fudd, AE, and we need 5 to 10 from Dorka, Muhl, CD, EW. That gets us to 70 and lets anything we get from Paige be the bonus that gets us over 80 and a win. and it keeps people from being exhausted in the fourth quarter. If someone keeps getting free and making shots, then yes let them have a big night. We get the shots, we just need to make those layups, the open jumpers, and God yes, the free throws. We needed CW to make those free throws at the end. Good thing with Azzi Fudd we just said after she got foulded, we got 2 points coming, no worry. But remember, PB only made one of 3. That shows she is not fully back yet, as Geno has noted. We can joke about our free throw defense being great against UCF, but if they made a few more free throws, we might be out. Other teams will not be missing that many free throws in the next few rounds.

I think we are just as likely to get 10-15 points a game from Caroline as it is from Liv or Aaliyah. I definitely want Caroline to get more time- ridiculous she saw such a short amount of time against UCF, she needs a little time to get going maybe, but not having her as a weapon in there is just bad strategy, in my opinion.

 

[jabstep]

UCF played a 3- 2 zone to protect the 3 point line when we had Paige, Azzi and Christyn as our 3 outside shooters. They did that because they know they could handle our bigs inside. I agree that Evina or Caroline coulde have upset that defense more than our bigs. We have the players to play against most teams matchups. Indiana will be much easier for us to score on and expect us to get into the 80's.

 

[jdote33]

It's a tough situation. My worry with Paige starting and playing heavy minutes as the primary ball handler is that too much of the onus is on her. Bringing up the ball, pushing tempo when appropriate, defending the point of attack falls on her. I think she's up for the challenge but it is a lot. Also as others have stated Nika and CD both help with those responsibilities. CD will grab a rebound and push it herself or advance the ball. Nika of course for a majority of the season was the primary ball handler.

It is an injury/sync issue but I also think Paige is a bit more of a combo guard than pure point. She played alongside a point in hs. She also played alongside Nika when the team hit their stride last year. I think next year Paige and Azzi can figure it out, like how to both handle and playmaker and score. But there hasn't been much time to do it this season. Nevertheless I thunk she'll be fine.

 

[Kaizen]

 

[LwrcasefaN]

You can tell that Paige's cardio conditioning isn't 100%. But, this was a good game because of the pace and physicality to push through. Usually, she complains about being subbed out. Not this game. lol

 

[oldhusky]

Before the UCF game it seemed like Paige was trying to just fit in, be more of a role player, continue to pass and at least stretch the floor with her 3pt threat. In the blowouts that was ok, but I hoped in a difficult game where we needed her to take over more that she could do that.

In the UCF game she wasn't able to do that, and so my feelings regarding what she is capable of this season has been lowered. Having her back makes a big difference, but it appears we won't have last year's Paige back until the fall. Hope I'm wrong but that's how it looks to me. that is still way better than not getting her back at all.

 

[LoboDays]

Regardless of what %% Paige is playing at, it’s a mistake to have this team rely on her to seal victories in upcoming games. It causes what we used to see from time to time. Players standing around watching the Paige show.

More than likely, we are going to have to win some close games if we have a shot at the NC. That means winning the 4th quarter. If the the players think that should be Paige’s job, we are in for a disappointing ending. Time for others to step up at crunch time and bring this thing to a successful ending. Especially the seniors.

 

[eebmg]

Before the UCF game it seemed like Paige was trying to just fit in, be more of a role player, continue to pass and at least stretch the floor with her 3pt threat. In the blowouts that was ok, but I hoped in a difficult game where we needed her to take over more that she could do that.

In the UCF game she wasn't able to do that, and so my feelings regarding what she is capable of this season has been lowered. Having her back makes a big difference, but it appears we won't have last year's Paige back until the fall. Hope I'm wrong but that's how it looks to me. that is still way better than not getting her back at all.

Not giving up that Paige will start clicking. After seeing her in the UCF game getting into defensive scrums and looking 100% on the top of the press defense, I think she is 100% physically. Currently, Paige seems to be most comfortable passing to the guards (CW and Azzi) for 3pt shots and does not have the right timing working with the posts. Hopefully, in practice, they are doing 100's of pick and rolls, backdoors and interior passing into the posts.

 

[Huskie837]

Last year Paige carried us in our most important games. If our offense was stagnant, or the game was getting away from us, Paige was there to pull our butts out of the fire. During the time when she had to sit, the team completely changed. Others burst on the scene to carry us at times, but the best part is that it wasn't always the same person. I'm not going to get into names, because we know who they are and what they contributed. I hate to say this, but I think the opposite is happening now, and we have to fix this because time is running out. We have been saying that we have so many options that we will always have someone that can pull us through the tough games. We did not shoot well vs Mercer, and of course, the UCF game was a disaster. Now we will be seeing more high scoring teams going forward, so what we need back is the "Paige Effect". If things aren't going well, then we need Paige to take over like LY and do her thing. She is the best guard in the country, so she has to forget how the team has stepped up and take it over. Maybe its time to do what Geno told her to do LY, shoot the ball and if necessary create for herself. What good is it to have our best player just pass if the others are not producing? Its time for Paige to play like Paige, because some people think our "new" team can get us to the FF, but I am saying that we cannot if she is playing tentatively and only looking to facilitate. The time is now for Batgirl to come out of the Batcage and lead this team to victory.

Totally agree! Good analysts!!

 

[Fossil]

I think we are just as likely to get 10-15 points a game from Caroline as it is from Liv or Aaliyah. I definitely want Caroline to get more time- ridiculous she saw such a short amount of time against UCF, she needs a little time to get going maybe, but not having her as a weapon in there is just bad strategy, in my opinion.

I think Geno pulled Caroline because of the two missed wide open layups. But I think he missed on the fact that they were wide open layups. In the short time she was in she was able to shake a defender to get those wide open layups. With more playing time I could easily have seen her scoring 8 to 10 more points. Caroline seems to have a way of getting open for herself or finding a put back. I can’t Imagine that this was a learning statement from coach but I think he hurt himself and the team by not playing her more. She is a solid defender and would not have hurt the team that way so I don’t understand why she got so little playing time.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I think Geno pulled Caroline because of the two missed wide open layups. But I think he missed on the fact that they were wide open layups. In the short time she was in she was able to shake a defender to get those wide open layups. With more playing time I could easily have seen her scoring 8 to 10 more points. Caroline seems to have a way of getting open for herself or finding a put back. I can’t Imagine that this was a learning statement from coach but I think he hurt himself and the team by not playing her more. She is a solid defender and would not have hurt the team that way so I don’t understand why she got so little playing time.

In a game like the UCF one, you see who Geno truly trusts in those big moments where it's back and forth or UConn is trying to come from behind. I think blowing bunnies is a quick way to find yourself removed from that list. Some of those layups that Caroline and Dorka missed had to infuriate Geno in a game where points were going to be at a premium.