The Paige effect

[sun]

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!

Paige doesn't need to be the best.
She only needs to help UConn beat Indiana by using whatever skill & talent that she has in her bag of tricks.
We can all rate each and every UConn player, but it still boils down to Paige being on the floor at crunch time.

 

[my2cents]

This has to be the all time WRONG post I think I have ever read here.
"She's a good guard?" Good? If she declared for the WNBA draft she would be the number 1 draft pick EASILY.
The people on this board have no clue about how Paige thinks about playing the game.
Her goal is to win the game...WIN, not score the most points. If she took 20 shots a game like her friend from Iowa she would lead the nation in scoring, easily.
The biggest difference from last year, Azzi Fudd. Paige knows that an OPEN Fudd vs her being covered from three, is a better option for the TEAM. She is always looking for her open team mates vs her own shot. Going to the last games 4th quarter, she was 4-6 67% shooting. The three she missed was in/out....a great shot.
We all wish she would take more shots ( Geno's frustration) but she will when she needs too. But since we blow most people out, she doesn't need to that often.

 

[gold2323]

So much analysis….is simple , Paige will be Paige….THE KID is the best….”How dare you”
She hardly has taken many shots but as each round gets tougher she will rise like the NPOY that she still is.
I guarantee you the other teams and coaches are not over analyzing….they fear her….enough said.

 

[Conndog]

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 fewI m
gnat bites from Nika are in order also. Will the Hoosiers bring their bug spray? GO HUSKIES.

I might swap Caroline for Evina

 

[BobbyJ]

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.

Only problem with your statement is that she didn't have a concussion.

UConn women’s basketball freshman Caroline Ducharme will miss second straight game with head injury

The freshman is unavailable for UConn’s game against Villanova after missing the win...

www.ctinsider.com

 

[faithfulfan]

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.

UCF missed foul shots, UCONN missed 10 layups, its a wash, or if you want, UCONN should have won by 10 more!

 

[faithfulfan]

You ignore that tomorrow, or the next day or the next day after that, Isn't Right Now! No one knows how she'll play this weekend, or the next if UCONN advances!

 

[JRRRJ]

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.

Dorka played 20 minutes, had 3 points (all on FT) and a few missed bunnies. Evina played 18 minutes, had 0 points and only took 2 shots. Caroline missing those shots is not then a sufficient explanation for her being yanked immediately.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Dorka played 20 minutes, had 3 points (all on FT) and a few missed bunnies. Evina played 18 minutes, had 0 points and only took 2 shots. Caroline missing those shots is not then a sufficient explanation for her being yanked immediately.

It's not a math problem. Coach's actions speak for themselves.

 

[JRRRJ]

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.

Did you know that Caroline had the second highest scoring rate, the highest steal rate, and the 3rd highest rebound rate in the first round? 10 points, 3 steals, 6 rebounds, one foul in 18 minutes. And she played good defense. Sounds like a solid contribution off the bench to me.

 

[LoboDays]

It could be that the coach noticed something that he didn’t like. A freshman on a big stage. Maybe a bit of Deer in the headlights thing. The missed layups sealed it. She will get some minutes to show the coach she’s ready.

 

[JRRRJ]

It's not a math problem. Coach's actions speak for themselves.

And not even one of us has a clue as to what those actions actually say.

I was responding to the assertion that missing 2 layups was why Caroline was yanked.

 

[Stymie]

IMHO- Paige does not yet have her stamina back- won’t until next year.
I think she will get most of her shot back in the coming games.
Having said that, the injury did not affect her court vision or ability anticipate team mates movements.
I look for her to up her assist production and sharpen her shooting eye.
Luckily, there is enough talent on the roster to let it come to her.
If she can contribute 6 assists- 2 steals-2 rebounds and 10 points- we win.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I agree that Caroline is a key player who needs to play but those 2 layups she missed might be the worst layups missed all year. The 2nd one was mind boggling. She got sped up some. She will be fine as she just needs to play through it. I do understand why Geno bailed though. It was a problem she may not have been able to fix that day.

 

[hoophuskee]

Did you know that Caroline had the second highest scoring rate, the highest steal rate, and the 3rd highest rebound rate in the first round? 10 points, 3 steals, 6 rebounds, one foul in 18 minutes. And she played good defense. Sounds like a solid contribution off the bench to me.

But you're not going to change for a freshman because one game in the NCAA vs the 15 seed vs what you've seen the past several weeks once she had the concussion or whatever it was.. . . Unless you are Paige.

 

[hayman522]

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.
































































































































































































What bothers me mis ost

 

[hayman522]

What bothers me most is UConn's big girls consistently not showing up for big games until they do we will have trouble winning a national championship!

 

[hayman522]

I saw Dorka miss at least 5 layups can't do that against good teams.

 

[DrummerDee]

And not even one of us has a clue as to what those actions actually say.

I was responding to the assertion that missing 2 layups was why Caroline was yanked.

let me share here. On an early play involving Caroline, she was involved in a bang around, right in front of the UConn bench in which she banged her head and for a second, placed her hand on it. seemed incidental, but shortly after, she went to the bench never to return.

 

[mattlow710]

I really dont know why still argue who is a better player to get pt ,every game , every time,every player and every opponent had a different situation,

Coach will determine who is the best for the team, i dont think coach or player want to lose the game, especially our coach who already had 11 NC .

Just relax and enjoy the game, cheer for our gals