To be fair, I think the old Big East Stewie played in her first year was a better league than the current version Paige played in last season. For example we played ND 4 times alone that season and 3 of the 4 Final Four teams were Big East teams.
Stewie had Stef, KML, Bria, CD2, and Kelly, just to name a few. Who did Paige have to help her, the only one that comes close to the above may be CW.
Evina was the #2 ranked recruit in her class. CW and ONO were #1 and #5 respectively in their class. It's not like Paige didn't have talent alongside her. Stef and Kelly were ranked somewhere in the 30s, Bria and Doty were in the teens, and KML was #1 in her class. UConn hadn't won a title since Maya left town until Stewie came along and put them over the top.
Caitlin Clarke, Ashley Joens, Haley Jones, Aari McDonald, Naz Hillmon, Ashley Owusu, etc.
High School class rankings are nothing when it comes to college. Considering that Stef, Kelly, Bria, CD2, and Kelly Ferris much better player's then what they were in High School. Evina was coming off of surgery and hadn't played in over a year. ONO may have been #5 when she came to UConn she wasn't close to either Stef. Both Bria and KML were better than CW. Kelly was better than any of the other players except for Paige and CW. UConn had at the start of the season 7 players that had never played a game for the Huskies and 6 of those were Freshman, that's not counting Saylor who came aboard after Christmas, while Stewie, MoJeff, and Tuck hadn't, that's a huge difference. If the players that Geno had last year were better or equal to the players that Stewie had, then why did Geno start Paige and AE or Paige and Nika, while having all three on the floor at the same time with game still on the line. The ONLY Freshman that played major minutes was Stewie because she had game and also had a much better supporting cast. Still Paige is the ONLY Freshman at UConn that swept all of the National Player of the Year trophy's that a Freshman can win is Paige. Maya did not nor did Stewie.
What a season she had during her first year! And still, there’s more to come.Freshman phenom: How UConn's Paige Bueckers' 2020-21 season stacks up against the all-time greats
Paige Bueckers didn’t just match expectations in her first year with UConn. She blew past them. Bueckers was an instant hit, winning multiple national player of the year awards and steering the Huskies to a 13th consecutive Final Four. All told, her freshman season stands among the best in the...www.ctpost.com
Seriously???? Candace Parker is one of the best to ever play the game. The following year she was both ROY and MVP in the WNBA.
She picked the right time to get a hot shooting hand. But she lost 3 times to ND during the season. And those were not exhibition games, I remember how intense and competitive they were. I'd say she had the best postseason for a freshman, but not the best season overall.
I’d say Maya #1, Stewie #2, Paige #3
That ND team was better than anyone UConn faced this year.
Stewart was and is the best player in semi-finals and finals of any Championship run: NCAA [four time FF MVP although she called right that MoJeff should have been in the final run], WNBA, FIBA Worlds, and will show it in the Olympics as well. Particularly this year. with Sue Bird and DT dishing out the assists, and Fowles/Charles setting some mean picks...
"We have Paige AND Azzi and you don't!"
This crew doesn't hold a candle to the likes of Parker, Fowles, Wiggins, Paris, McCaughey, Langhorne, Toliver, etc. And all of those players were juniors or seniors.
Breanna was really great in the FF wins, give her that. But in the 3 losses against our archrival, she averaged 10 pts on 34% shooting. That doesn't support the idea that hers was the best freshman season ever.
They had more than 2 losses (4), but Holdsclaw led Tennessee to a title as a freshman.
Best freshman tournament run of 6 games, definitely a top contender off the top of my head--but if we're looking at a full season of 38-40 games, her season doesn't compare.
It's not where they are ranked when they come in to a program but where they are at in the moment. I think most would agree while Paige had good talent around her it wasn't comparable to what Stewie had.
The player who finished #2 behind Candace Parker who went on to win MVP and ROY in her first year in the W was “nowhere near the best player in the country” cmon this is one of the most dense things I’ve ever read! Maya’s freshman season here to me is unmatched because she brought this program quite literally back from the dead we have been to every final four since her freshman year let that sink in!
