What was Paige doing for 2.5 quarters??

[huskyd]

Not all of the shots but more shots per game than anyone else on average with Evina second.

The young lady scored 27 points, making 2/3rds of her attempts. Not enough?

 

[Littlemin]

Sigh...Many of you missed my point. I think Paige is the best Frosh in the country & probably Top 3 to 5 player in the country. Given that (!), it was just baffling to me why she wasnt involved more for such a long part of the game. Is there a problem with UConn's pre-game strategy, execution, in-game adjustments, etc? It's a bigger question that I'm calling out - not Paige's ability or faults.

A very legitimate question but obviously Bueckers is beyond being treated with anything but undying adulation. I get a kick out of Makurat and Muhl getting nothing but grief while trying to play hurt but Bueckers gets nothing but praise and a built in excuse for playing more than half the game pretty passively. She is a tremendous player, tremendous, as good a young player as I have seen, male or female, but the question you asked is perfectly legitimate in my book and frankly, completely in concert with what Auriemma identified as what the team needed from her very early in the season. Obviously, she has it in her to dominate and that’s what she should be doing. She has stated she hates to lose and I believe it, as soon as she realized that might happen last night, boom, she started playing for real. Don’t turn it on and off, play that way from jump street, she is that good.

 

[Littlemin]

The young lady scored 27 points, making 2/3rds of her attempts. Not enough?

No, it was not, stats lie and if she had played that way from the start the game would have been much different. You play to win, not to be satisfied with good stats and I believe she would be the first person to agree with that.

 

[Hist-teacher]

Everyone needs to relax a bit. Last night's game was not the end of the world. The fact to the matter is they're a young and inexperienced team for the most part. This, coupled with the "stop and start" nature of "COVID basketball" has been a challenge. I agree that CW's shot selection and defense are questionable at times and ONO has not played well this season (especially the past few games). But please be patient! Those of you going after Paige Bueckers are WAY out of line. One of the most difficult things for a point guard is the ability to know when to shoot and when to distribute the basketball. The "score first pass later" mentality is not what she is nor what UCONN WBB has been about for the last 35 years. Eventually, this is going to be a fantastic basketball team.

 

[Vowelguy]

A little perspective for those people who think Fr. Paige isn't scoring enough.

What others have done is irrelevant. The metric is scoring relative to what she could be scoring. Geno thinks it could be more. Last nights game suggests he’s right — 27 points on 10-15 shooting including 15 in the 4th!
who else on this team is shooting anywhere near 10-15?

Diana used to get others involved but would take over late if needed. I’m sure that’s what Paige would like to do too. Unfortunately that’s not this years team.
We may need her to get 30+ points per game. Fortunately, based on last night, that seems doable.

 

[Littlemin]

Everyone needs to relax a bit. Last night's game was not the end of the world. The fact to the matter is they're a young and inexperienced team for the most part. This, coupled with the "stop and start" nature of "COVID basketball" has been a challenge. I agree that CW's shot selection and defense are questionable at times and ONO has not played well this season (especially the past few games). But please be patient! Those of you going after Paige Bueckers are WAY out of line. One of the most difficult things for a point guard is the ability to know when to shoot and when to distribute the basketball. The "score first pass later" mentality is not what she is nor what UCONN WBB has been about for the last 35 years. Eventually, this is going to be a fantastic basketball team.

No one, I repeat, no one is ”going after Paige”. It was a legitimate question on a board designed to ask such questions. Funny I never heard a peep from you about the criticism of other players which is a popular pastime here. And to your basketball point about pass first, Bueckers very easily put that mentality aside when she realized Uconn might lose and she decided to take the game over, so she clearly has it in her. I would go out on a limb and say that is far from the first time in her career she has done that. Personally, I think that was the first glimpse of what she is more than capable of, and something Auriemma has been publicly asking for almost from the start of the season.

 

[HuskylnSC]

I believe Paige’s nature is very much like Molly Bent. Her favorite way to play is to facilitate the team. She wants to integrate the entire team into a cohesive unit. Her skill set is more DT. I believe she will try to play every game with her heart until Geno finally says to go win the game.

This year’s team needs more DT. But in the next few years we are going to see Paige play her game. Double double in points and assists every night.

 

[diggerfoot]

The earlier a player "takes over a game" the more time an opponent has to adjust. As it was Arkansas made damn sure Bueckers was not going to get the last shot. Also, the earlier a player takes over a game the earlier you show a lack of confidence in your teammates. Once upon a time Moore took over a whole game to the tune of 36 points and we lost to Notre Dame in the semifinal while the rest of the team was passive.

We started out well on offense and outscored Arkansas. We scored virtually the same amount of points in the half that Bueckers took over as in the first half; I believe our shooting percentages were similar in both halves. Are people thinking our offense would have scored over fifty in the first half if she had just taken over from the beginning? We scored 43 in the half with Bueckers taking 4 shots; we scored 44 in the second half with Bueckers taking 11 shots; chances are we would have scored in the mid-forties in the first half if Bueckers took 11 shots then.

How can someone see the 31 points Arkansas scored in the third quarter and not think that maybe, just maybe, the crux of our problem was defense? Taurasi's instincts of taking over as late in the game as necessary seemed to pan out pretty well for her. As long as we are outscoring the opposition, as we were in the first half, I'll trust Buecker's similar instincts.

 

[Hist-teacher]

No one, I repeat, no one is ”going after Paige”. It was a legitimate question on a board designed to ask such questions. Funny I never heard a peep from you about the criticism of other players which is a popular pastime here. And to your basketball point about pass first, Bueckers very easily put that mentality aside when she realized Uconn might lose and she decided to take the game over, so she clearly has it in her. I would go out on a limb and say that is far from the first time in her career she has done that. Personally, I think that was the first glimpse of what she is more than capable of, and something Auriemma has been publicly asking for almost from the start of the season.

My interpretation of the original post was that it was critical of Bueckers. My point was that she's a freshman playing a very difficult position. Having played point guard in HS and coached HS basketball for over 27 years I know how difficult that position is to manage. And having watched UCONN WBB for the past 30 years playing point guard at UCONN is especially challenging. Secondly, her "career" at UCONN has been all of 11 games. Lastly, where do you get off criticizing me for not going after other players? I reserve the right to post when I choose. I usually just read the posts here but felt inclined to respond to what I perceived was an over-reaction and undue criticism of a player.

 

[maccca3232]

I agree that CW takes too many shots. Well, the real problem is she misses too many shots. Not just in the Ark game, but all season. You can look it up yourselves. Her shooting pct stinks. I also don' think she is very good on the drive. I recall a least 3 times she drove into a wall of 2 or 3 opponents and lost the ball. This was not an anomaly. she looses the ball in some form or fashion before the ball makes it at least to he rim far to often.

Those of you who disagree with me (and I know from previous posts that includes most of you}, must be watching different games than me.

An objective list of top Shooting Guards, based on players that appeared on both the Naismith Mid-Season and Ann Meyers Drysdale Pre-Season Lists.

Williams is second best in FG% and eFG%. She also has the second best assist-to-turnover ratio.

Compare her stats to Cooke who has the best 3pt%.

 

[BBallF]

The young lady scored 27 points, making 2/3rds of her attempts. Not enough?

Certainly enough points, certainly not enough shots. Paige is 51% from the arc, CW is 28%. CW has shot 64 3s, Paige has shot 35. Who should be shooting more 3s? Paige is 55% from the field, Evina is 57% from the field and CW is 45% from the field. Who should be shooting more from the field? Geno has been saying publicly she needs to shoot more but that she is too nice. I think she is deferring to the upper classmen. Time to stop.

 

[JordyG]

What I dont get was Paige was practically invisible for 2.5 quarters. Most thought her ankle was bothering her, so why is she on the court to begin with? Then, out of nowhere, she takes over the game & just dominates. So, why wasnt she doing this from the beginning of the game? Makes no sense. If she's on the court, then she needs to be shooting & much more involved. Period. If she's hurting, dont play her. Very confusing.

 

[MSGRET]

No, it was not, stats lie and if she had played that way from the start the game would have been much different. You play to win, not to be satisfied with good stats and I believe she would be the first person to agree with that.

Yesterday Paige had at least 5 bunnies missed by players that she fed the ball too, most of those in the first half of the game. Then in the 3rd quarter she had to basically take over because they had 3 other Freshman and Evina on the floor after the time out. Four of her five missed shots were in her first 2 quarters of play, she sat out the last 4 minutes of the 2nd qtr. She was playing on a bad ankle and might have had to get it warmed up or may have been tentative because of the injury. But to say that she DIDN'T play hard or PLAY TO WIN for those first 2.5 quarters is just wrong. If those missed bunnies had gone in she would have ended up with at least 7 assists and UConn would have won the game. So in a way you are correct STATS do lie because they don't tell the whole story on how hard someone plays a whole game.

 

[BBallF]

Sigh...Many of you missed my point. I think Paige is the best Frosh in the country & probably Top 3 to 5 player in the country. Given that (!), it was just baffling to me why she wasnt involved more for such a long part of the game. Is there a problem with UConn's pre-game strategy, execution, in-game adjustments, etc? It's a bigger question that I'm calling out - not Paige's ability or faults.

No, I got your point and I think it was definitely thread worthy. The answer lies with Paige though. She is unselfish, extremely gifted, a freshman playing with older players, and a genuinely nice young woman. She wants to get everyone involved early as CocoHusky pointed out which to me is very reminiscent of DT and the best example of which on the men's side was MJ who would start the game by passing but could take over a game at will. Only the truly great ones can elevate their teammates play to the level of excellent. How much better was Marie Conlon with DT there? My point is that some of the older players are shooting too much or making poor decisions with the ball when Paige is deferring to them, even later in the game, so eliminate that from the equation and realize it's you and Evina who need to shoot the most when it matters the most and sometimes that is not just in the 4th quarter but earlier as well when the game needs to be put away. It's an easy fix but it has to come from Paige.

 

[OneTrickPony]

What I dont get was Paige was practically invisible for 2.5 quarters. Most thought her ankle was bothering her, so why is she on the court to begin with? Then, out of nowhere, she takes over the game & just dominates. So, why wasnt she doing this from the beginning of the game? Makes no sense. If she's on the court, then she needs to be shooting & much more involved. Period. If she's hurting, dont play her. Very confusing.

The women on the team are making statements to each other. They are strong statements ... winning games will come next for those of us patient enough to wait for them ... and even for those who aren’t,

 

[chrissaran]

What was Paige doing for 2.5 quarters? Being the freshman she is. Hopefully, this game will show her she needs to shoot more. She's the team's best shooter and best player.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

coaching, teammating 101, for those interested only in winning the game/tourney:
'listen bub, we have our best chance to win if you (top scorer or hot hand) shoot the dang ball more.'
sumtimes, the coach/teammate has to remind the playa that we have our best chance to win when they jack up more shots. take, for example, the team dynamic when they see that playa take that shot that they expect/hope she takes. harmony.
(nothing implied aboot this game, just stating a 'winning' truth aboot bball. if there was an award for 'most likely to start a fight in the huddle,' i'd prolly win it most years, as i only care aboot winning the game, and not aboot my pals 'feelings.' funny how that works, especially after winning that game. then, it's all lovey-dovey. this also includes the playa saying 'gimme the dang ball, and i'll put the dang biscuit in the dang basket, and we will win.' note: as far as that biscuit/basket thing, usually not me. on the udder hand, the pass or the board, often me. winning ballers will walk on broken glass to get the ball to that playa. my feet hurt a lot, but my meaningless, except to me, trophy collection is big fun. 'hey cliff, 'member that time we won the city 8th grade tourney? u almost tore my head off for not shooting enuf early in that game. thanks!')

 

[Husky pride]

What I dont get was Paige was practically invisible for 2.5 quarters. Most thought her ankle was bothering her, so why is she on the court to begin with? Then, out of nowhere, she takes over the game & just dominates. So, why wasnt she doing this from the beginning of the game? Makes no sense. If she's on the court, then she needs to be shooting & much more involved. Period. If she's hurting, dont play her. Very confusing.

Somehow I interpreted this post as not whining, but the voicing of an observation— which I thought was allowed. A bit naive on my part.

 

[Florida Fan]

Because she’s a freshman playing her 11th college game?

She was recovering from a debilitating ankle sprain. At the end of the game adrenalin took over, the rest of the time Paige was just holding on.

 

[JonathanXIV]

What I dont get was Paige was practically invisible for 2.5 quarters. Most thought her ankle was bothering her, so why is she on the court to begin with? Then, out of nowhere, she takes over the game & just dominates. So, why wasnt she doing this from the beginning of the game? Makes no sense. If she's on the court, then she needs to be shooting & much more involved. Period. If she's hurting, dont play her. Very confusing.

Watch the game carefully. Arkansas was focused on her defensively. When Paige got the ball she almost always had someone guarding her closely. Rather than force a shot, she played within the context of the offense. If you recall, in the 4th quarter Paige was looking for her shot. Think of the time she tried to dribble into the lane and then backed out before hitting a three. She wasn't invisible. She just was hunting for her shot.

 

[jazz]

What I dont get was Paige was practically invisible for 2.5 quarters. Most thought her ankle was bothering her, so why is she on the court to begin with? Then, out of nowhere, she takes over the game & just dominates. So, why wasnt she doing this from the beginning of the game? Makes no sense. If she's on the court, then she needs to be shooting & much more involved. Period. If she's hurting, dont play her. Very confusing.

She wasnt invisible. We still scored 43 in the half and if certain players hit some shots, we would be close to 50. She took over at exactly the time we needed her too. I can't complain with her performance. Other players simply need to hit shots when they are wide open!

 

[Cuango]

Even great players are not always in the “zone”, sometimes it can happen right away, other times it may take awhile or not happen at all. It can also be triggered by something in the game. I’m reasonably sure that if you asked Paige if she was trying harder in the second half than the first, she would deny that she was. Something just clicked in the second half and she went off. We haven’t seen Paige at her best yet. That is going to really be something! “Be afraid, be very afraid!”

 

[PacoBlaze]

She was recovering from a debilitating ankle sprain. At the end of the game adrenalin took over, the rest of the time Paige was just holding on.

Where did you get that it was a debilitating ankle sprain? Never saw that it was considered debilitating.

 

[jazz]

One one possession ONO had a player leaning on her from behind when a pass came inside. Immediately 2 munchkins started to close on her so ONO made the brilliant decision to dribble the ball and was almost immediately stripped. It's like it's an improv show where they make it up as they go along. ONO seems to never know what to do and so she hesitates. Part of it may be that she isn't given the ball at the right moment. She sometimes slides over the middle all alone but whoever has the ball didn't see it or didn't expect it and is late with the pass.
It's all part of players who just haven't played enough together to anticipate each others moves.

Liv is doing what she is taught.

The problem is she hasn't seen a lot of 'munchkins' coming at her and swiping at the ball. Liv is not an instinctual player. Now that she has seen how the munchkins can disrupt her game, she can practice that too....hopefully she takes her lumps, learns and gets better at it.

 

[jazz]

A very legitimate question but obviously Bueckers is beyond being treated with anything but undying adulation. I get a kick out of Makurat and Muhl getting nothing but grief while trying to play hurt but Bueckers gets nothing but praise and a built in excuse for playing more than half the game pretty passively. She is a tremendous player, tremendous, as good a young player as I have seen, male or female, but the question you asked is perfectly legitimate in my book and frankly, completely in concert with what Auriemma identified as what the team needed from her very early in the season. Obviously, she has it in her to dominate and that’s what she should be doing. She has stated she hates to lose and I believe it, as soon as she realized that might happen last night, boom, she started playing for real. Don’t turn it on and off, play that way from jump street, she is that good.

Scoring was not a problem. Defense was the problem. If PB takes every shot in the first half, we still lose.