The Paige effect

[Ramoose4]

I

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.

Agree agree agree

 

[Ramoose4]

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.

Remember the team missed 10-12 layups, she missed 2, does he bench every player that misses a layup, if so he wouldn’t have a team to play

 

[Shenandoah]

It sure would have helped to have the Big East Defensive Player of the Year out there...IJS

 

[Artifact]

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.

I concur with this opinion. Paige's muscle memory has changed because of her surgery. All the muscles of the body, are individual in function, but work together as one, in performing a action. They work in balance, any surgery to these muscles or muscle, hinders or intervenes with the functioning of the' Muscle Memory' ! Their is a change in her performance.

 

[Fossil]

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.

Two missed layups in four minutes doesn’t give me a good feeling of what my coach thinks of me especially after I carried his team for roughly 2 weeks. I guess he forgot about the end of the Depaul game. If he was looking for offenses Caroline has definitely been one of our better options. She should have gotten more playing time in the second half if she continued to struggle than sit her but four minutes in the first half and not see the game again not good

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Posted a version of this elsewhere but this is a better home:

In an interview with SNY after the Mercer game, Paige did say that Coach and she agreed for her to start - I assume her part was to assure him that she was fit enough and mentally ready. Since the Coach seems to have initiated this move, I can only surmise that he was thinking of getting her ready for the later stages of the tournament where he believes she is needed to have a better chance at winning the NC. So, conditioning her in this role earlier prepares her better and starting to do that with easier opponents balances the downside before she gets there.

In doing so, he is trying to give his best weapons (Paige, Azzi) a chance to be their best.....and that means, get Paige caught up playing with her teammates who have grown while she was sidelined, in the role expected of her: playmaker and scorer. Not easy in the short run of games that was left when she returned. So, he is giving her as much chance to get there. If she doesn't, he will have to think of a different solution (on the fly), including putting Nika back in as a starter??? (which I seriously doubt will happen and, given his history with Paige, he will be slow to substitute her as well). This is what Coaches do: figure out a way for their best players to play their best when the team needs them most. The odds are long but one hopes he will get more of Paige that he wants to see as they progress.

The reason he will persist? There are moments when the ball zips around better when Paige is on the floor. Alas, OTOH, there are moments when she doesn't like their positioning and movement, so she redirects causing a pause in the flow. He wants more of the former, less of the latter. She is doing fine on defense. I would guess that her teammates want her with them on the floor as well, hiccups and all for now while anticipating the outcome of Paige being a fast adjuster. Still, not easy coming back from a serious injury.......

Get used to it for the games they play in Bridgeport. I believe they will get to the FF but Stanford is a harder team to beat than South Carolina without Paige being Paige of last year, though now with a balanced role: playmaker and scorer, given that there are more scoring options, especially having Azzi roaming around to different launching positions. Does he really need to do this to have the best chance for #12? He has the regionals to see the progress he wants while thinking of putting Plan B at the ready.

 

[Superhuskies]

Speaking of Paige....was her....Mom...at Saturday or Monday's game....?
I didn't see her,...but did at all of Mohegan Big East tourney.....

 

[Cornell Lt]

Paige's contributions continue to grow louder with each passing game. I wouldn't be surprised to see her go off for 20+/10 against Indiana

 

[sun]

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.

And if Paige were sitting on the bench and not playing during crunch time, the wolves would howl
about "Where's Paige?", "Why isn't Paige playing?", "What's wrong with Geno?", "Fire Geno!"

 

[Cuango]

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.

Since it doesn’t make any difference, how about we go with the player that our HoF coach chooses?

 

[hoopsfan22]

Paige's contributions continue to grow louder with each passing game. I wouldn't be surprised to see her go off for 20+/10 against Indiana

We're going to need that Paige to win #12 I think. The team right now is composed of a bunch of solid to very good players, but we need a superstar to emerge to put this team over the top I think.

 

[Cuango]

While she may not be playing at her usual level right now, you are kidding yourself if you think she’s not the best guard in the country. If there were a draft for college point guards (even now with her not at 100%), it’s almost inconceivable that Paige would not be the first pick!

 

[nastynatty]

I don’t think it’s going to be reasonable to expect Paige to take over games like she has shown she is capable of in the past. Not saying I’d be surprised if she did at some point I’m just not expecting it. The difference between last year and this year is that we now have others who have shown that same capability. Particularly, we have Azzi. Does everyone remember Azzi’s takeover at the end of that Villanova loss that made it a close finish when it was looking like a blowout for about 37 minutes? I think Azzi has shown to be the most capable of emulating Paige’s big-time role from last year. If Paige can contribute like she is now and continue to grow more comfortable, #12 is still very much possible. Azzi is equally capable of taking over a big time game as Paige and I think everyone trusts her to do so. The fact that Paige has immense trust in Azzi to do so takes a lot of pressure off of Paige as well. She can play more freely and closer to her best because she knows her best friend is capable of carrying her previous load.

 

[my2cents]

I read these posts over the last few days, and I must admit, it makes me scratch my head in amazement.
Lets second guess the most successful coach in the history of college basketball as to who plays how many minutes and starts.
If the coaches of the teams we are about to play read these posts, they are cheering the sentiments of "Play Nika more than Paige", "Play a young freshman (CD) vs our seniors, who have played in '"
Our best Offensive players are Paige and Azzi, they will get the majority of the minutes moving forward as they and they alone have the ability to get hot from three's and can blow the game open.
Our Seniors, E and CW will the get more, times as Geno knows they have the most to lose as these games could be last in a UCONN uniform. CD has three more years.
I predict that ONO's mins will be shorter as these games become more physical and she disappears in those types of games. In last years Elite 8 game and national semis, she totaled three points ,TOTAL, in those two games.
We should do a "census", as I really believe a lot of posters on here put "Huskie" in their name but really are fans of other programs and take great pleasure in being negative and seeing us lose.

 

[Jewels]

Speaking of Paige....was her....Mom...at Saturday or Monday's game....?
I didn't see her,...but did at all of Mohegan Big East tourney.....

I looked for her but no sightings near the Fudds or close there by.

 

[donalddoowop]

This should not be about what was but what is. Geno, like any other HOF coach, is not above making mistakes. What difference does it make who it is who takes over the team and leads it to the NC? There are other players on the team who have the ability to do so if given the chance. If Paige is not ready don't try to press her into doing so. She will have to play better than she has shown and that may be asking too much. I just don't want the rest of the players to stand around waiting for her to take over. Up unto now, the players trusted everyone but now there is the danger of them looking too much for Paige to make things happen. Well, I've said my say.

 

[Bama fan]

So... Do you mean not that well, or what?

 

[Superhuskies]

I looked for her but no sightings near the Fudds or close there by.

I saw the lady on Sat. and Monday night who was with Mom at Mohegan all BET.... I hope Mom can make it Saturday....

 

[Charliebball]

the good news is that the rest of the team now knows that they no longer need PB to carry them in order to win.........she's simply a great late season addition that makes the team more complete..........

 

[hoophuskee]

Two missed layups in four minutes doesn’t give me a good feeling of what my coach thinks of me especially after I carried his team for roughly 2 weeks. I guess he forgot about the end of the Depaul game. If he was looking for offenses Caroline has definitely been one of our better options. She should have gotten more playing time in the second half if she continued to struggle than sit her but four minutes in the first half and not see the game again not good

IMO DePaul game has to be put in the past. There is always talk about "2 seasons" so no we need to "revert back?"

She is 9th on the roster. Ninth on the roster has a meaning. And I felt she was scared to death. One consistent thing about her was on that breakaway she blew it- that's part of her bread-and-butter.

I don't think Geno "forgot" DePaul but he has recent memory of the blown very wide layups, her not playing as well since the concussion, the terrific late season play of Evina (who wound up being the 4th player that could fill the pg/sg/sf role), and overall a better feel that sometimes the moment is more apt to get big for freshmen than others. Also knowing that while CD is not the greatest passer.

 

[Kihaze]

Many are questioning Geno’s decison to limit Caroline’s minutes in the UCF game. A poster in a different thread noted that this decision may have been predicated on the fact that UCF is extremely physical and she’s coming off a concussion. A second concussion this soon could end her career and have a serious long term neurological impact. I like to think that Geno has his player‘s long term interests in mind. And forgive me if this thought has already been mentioned in this post.

 

[Zarathustra]

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.

I anticipate the fourth quarter will be a Christyn, Evina, and Azzi "prime time" show with
more than adequate highlights from the " The Big Three + Caroline. " A few
gnat bites from Nika are in order also. Will the Hoosiers bring their bug spray? GO HUSKIES.

 

[Jletoile]

While she may not be playing at her usual level right now, you are kidding yourself if you think she’s not the best guard in the country. If there were a draft for college point guards (even now with her not at 100%), it’s almost inconceivable that Paige would not be the first pick!

While that's probably true, it won't help the team Saturday and (hopefully) Monday.

So, right now, she isn't the best guard in the country, imo, nor should she be, considering the injury!

 

[Zarathustra]

The great Caitlin Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes are "long gone" .. courtesy of our friends at Creighton: Jim Flanery and
Ms. Jensen. Go Bluejays, beat Iowa State! So... Caitlin is not "way better right now", correct?