All Things Paige Bueckers Recruitment Thread - Videos, Analysis, Tid-Bits, Articles

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hungan1 said:
Let's not kid ourselves. That is a pretty significant indication that Notre Dame is where she will go.

I don't see or hear from people who would've have seen her at home at Williams arena for any of the Gophers' home games. You don't hear so much from her in the news media about her interest in the Gophers like from Sara Scalia.

More power to her. She has the talent and the options to go anywhere. You want people in your program who want to be here.
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There was nothing from Scalia on the Gophers until she committed. Paige has been to plenty of Gopher games in the past couple of years. Her schedule is crazy busy now. I would rather have the Gophers at her games, which they are to the maximum allowable number.
 

FiveOut said:
There was nothing from Scalia on the Gophers until she committed. Paige has been to plenty of Gopher games in the past couple of years. Her schedule is crazy busy now. I would rather have the Gophers at her games, which they are to the maximum allowable number.
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Thanks for pointing these out. Whalen & Roysland being at her game is a pretty solid statement of the Gophers putting her as a top priority.

Whalen went to see Scalia play and told her she likes her game. That was it.
 
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So far, Whalen has been winning with zero coaching experience. She had a lot of help along the way and has surrounded herself with assistants with coaching experience that she trusts and has connections with.

I like what she has done with practice and player motivation. Let's see how the Gophers do against Big Ten competition.

So far, I like the Winning Whay!
 

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On Darren Wolfson's recent podcast "the scoop", he had a 4-5 minute interview with Paige. she made the reference that she will be cutting down her list to 5 probably after the HS season. however I noticed she mentioned a couple of times she is at her top 10. does anybody know if that list was posted? who the top 10 are? is it a hard set top 10? or loose with maybe 12-13 on the list?

my guess is gophers, notre dame, and UConn on that top 10. thinking maybe South Carolina, Stanford, Maryland also on it? possibly UCLA or Louisville as well?

anybody know?
 


bball_craz_26 said:
On Darren Wolfson's recent podcast "the scoop", he had a 4-5 minute interview with Paige. she made the reference that she will be cutting down her list to 5 probably after the HS season. however I noticed she mentioned a couple of times she is at her top 10. does anybody know if that list was posted? who the top 10 are? is it a hard set top 10? or loose with maybe 12-13 on the list?

my guess is gophers, notre dame, and UConn on that top 10. thinking maybe South Carolina, Stanford, Maryland also on it? possibly UCLA or Louisville as well?

anybody know?
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I believe Oregon State is in the top ten. They are attempting to get her and her good friend Hally Van Lith from WA as a package deal. They call each other “right hand and left hand.”
 

beavergopher said:
They call each other “right hand and left hand.”
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That’s more like Fudd & Bueckers.


I think I can call a Top 5 now: Notre Dame, Stanford, UConn, South Carolina, and Minnesota.
Teenagers can change their minds quickly, but as of now it looks like Minnesota is a dark horse.
 


beavergopher said:
I’ll take her word for it...
https://twitter.com/haileyvll/status/1053685956753088512?s=20
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I’m not exactly seeing the “call each other” aspect here. It’s from Hailey’s perspective, and no doubt Bueckers was her right hand during the 3x3 tournaments, but most likely that’s where it ends.
What’s awkward to me is Bueckers didn’t retweet, like, or respond to that tweet. Maybe she’s just playing it cool. ;)

Anyway, would you rather be the other hand or the other half?
6-ACD1833-1587-44-CA-B507-674-B8-B4-CF90-C.jpg
 



Shades said:
That’s more like Fudd & Bueckers.


I think I can call a Top 5 now: Notre Dame, Stanford, UConn, South Carolina, and Minnesota.
Teenagers can change their minds quickly, but as of now it looks like Minnesota is a dark horse.
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South Carolina was really late to the party. Not feeling the vibe for that one. I believe Minnesota is more than a dark horse.
 







Here’s a message from Andra Espinoza-Hunter, who recently transferred from UConn to Mississippi St:

“Some people, like myself, committed to Connecticut because of the name and the hype that followed it, and I felt like I didn’t do my research and I feel like other athletes do the same thing. I would just say, ‘Take your time. Do your research, make sure you’re genuinely happy when you picture yourself there.’”
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https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/...espinoza-hunter-mississippi-state/2218330002/
 
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Lot's more chatter here than down in Iowa about the other Top PG in the class, Caitlyn Clark from Des Moines. She has offers from pretty much everyone except UConn (per some summer article). Some think she may be a Notre Dame lean which is interesting because they are obviously all in for Bueckers to. Was thinking there might be a relationship between UConn "not" (if true) recruiting Clark and going all in for Bueckers but the take here doesn't seem to line up with that.
 




per STrib:

he game was a rout that surprised no one. Undefeated Hopkins, with a host of elite level players led by the No. 1-rated junior in the nation, Paige Bueckers, routed injury-riddled Holy Angels 87-43.

Bueckers had 20, mighty-mite Dlayla (LayLay) Chakolis, the best under 6-foot interior player in the state, added 14 and the Royals put the game away early with a 30-0 run.

After the game, Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff talked about his talented young lineup and how it's caught the eye of University of Minnesota womens’ basketball coach Lindsay Whalen.

Where former Gopher coach Marlene Stollings was nearly non-existent in high school gyms around the state and didn’t prioritize the recruitment of local players, Whalen has made it a priority.

Among the Minnesotans to whom she’s extended scholarship offers, three play for the Royals: Bueckers, considered the top recruit in the country in the Class of 2020; freshmen Maya Nnaji, a 6-2 post, and Amaya Battle, a smooth 5-11 point guard. Cosgriff said he expects a fourth Gophers’ offer to come soon for 5-11 eighth-grader Taylor Woodson.

“There’s still a lot of excitement,” Cosgriff said, referring to the local buzz around Whalen and her coaching staff, which includes another former Minnesota high school standout and former Gopher, Kelly Roysland. “But it’s going to come down to recruiting. You can X and O all you want, but you’ve got to have the players.”

So far, Cosgriff said, so good. He’s impressed by the commitment the staff has made toward recruiting Minnesota kids. Stillwater guard Sara Scalia signed with the Gophers’ last fall. He expects more to follow suit.

“They’re working hard,” he said. “They’re building relationships. They’ve got a great relationship with the coaches of Minnesota. Everyone seems to really be embracing them.”

The Gophers’ recent slump, having lost five of their last six games after a 12-0 start, doesn’t concern him in the long run.

“The Big Ten is tough this year and I think they’re figuring that out,” he said. “They’re got their work cut out for them, but I think they made a great hire.”

http://www.startribune.com/injuries...holy-angels-girls-basketball-teams/504765062/

Go Gophers!!
 


https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_...cle_ac716d92-1f2d-11e9-b67c-a39322b6c078.html

“I like playing against the best,” Bueckers said.
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Welp.

Bueckers is being recruited by all of the schools in the NCAA’s big conferences, from the Big East to the Big Twelve to the Big Ten. She has not yet announced a college decision.
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I haven’t heard about Big Twelve being in it. Iowa St? Baylor? Both? Hopefully not Texas Tech. Wouldn’t that be the biggest kick in the gut?
 

Which conference is has the best overall teams (as in plural)? Big Ten? Big Twelve? ACC? other?
 

bbwannabe said:
Which conference is has the best overall teams (as in plural)? Big Ten? Big Twelve? ACC? other?
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ACC normally, but UConn always plays the toughest out-of-conference schedule to help make up for being in a weak conference.
 

Perhaps one consolation prize of the (too numerous) B1G losses is that Paige can see first-hand that the Gophers "play against a league whose teams are some of the best."

Let's see a check-list.

Minnesota Gophers:
Plays against one of the best leagues? Check.
Has a great coach? Check.
Easy for family to come to games? Check.
Is a Catholic school? Nope.

Connecticut Huskies:
Plays against one of the best leagues? Nope, but plays a tough out-of-conference schedule.
Has a great coach? Check.
Easy for family to come to games? Nope.
Is a Catholic school? Nope.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:
Plays against one of the best leagues? Check.
Has a great coach? Check.
Easy for family to come to games? Nope.
Is a Catholic school? Check.
 

CutDownTheNet said:
Perhaps one consolation prize of the (too numerous) B1G losses is that Paige can see first-hand that the Gophers "play against a league whose teams are some of the best."

Let's see a check-list.

Minnesota Gophers:
Plays against one of the best leagues? Check.
Has a great coach? Check.
Easy for family to come to games? Check.
Is a Catholic school? Nope.

Connecticut Huskies:
Plays against one of the best leagues? Nope, but plays a tough out-of-conference schedule.
Has a great coach? Check.
Easy for family to come to games? Nope.
Is a Catholic school? Nope.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:
Plays against one of the best leagues? Check.
Has a great coach? Check.
Easy for family to come to games? Nope.
Is a Catholic school? Check.
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Whalen is a "great coach"? D'ok. It must be her 2-6 record in the Big Ten that has you all atwitter.

Also, the implicit equaling of her with McGraw and Auriemma is laughable.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Whalen is a "great coach"? D'ok. It must be her 2-6 record in the Big Ten that has you all atwitter.

Also, the implicit equaling of her with McGraw and Auriemma is laughable.
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I believe that Whalen is on the way to being a great coach, and that future history will prove what is, at this point, merely a conjecture by me (and some others). No implied denigrating of Auriemma or McGraw. At this point, Whalen has a little bump in the road due to a crucial injury and the resulting lack of offensive depth (plus some lazy ball control causing turnovers, especially at inoppurtune times such as 4th quarters). Once her own recruiting kicks in, she'll be great, trust me.

Besides, I'm trying to make the sale to Bueckers, so I gave myself a bit of editorial license. I also trust that Paige has the foresight to see that Whalen is destined to be a great coach, and choose accordingly. If she doesn't choose the Gophers, then OK, we lost out, and we wish her a great career wherever she goes.
 
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https://theathletic.com/792554/2019...ns-no-1-recruit-gophers-lindsay-whalen-uconn/

“Paige is the closest kid I’ve seen to (Diana) Taurasi, since Taurasi’s been around,” said Kara Lawson, WNBA legend, television analyst and Buecker’s Team USA 3×3 coach. “She’s that good. A lot has to happen in between now and reaching the status of Diana where she’s regarded by a lot of people as the best player ever, but I’ve seen very few players like Paige.”

Bueckers still has a year-and-a-half of her high school career to develop and has an exciting decision ahead. She’s being recruited by top programs like UConn, Maryland and Notre Dame but doesn’t further detail her list other than saying it’s down to “five to 10” schools.
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“She always remains humble, but I think she has really big goals for herself and she knows she always has to keep improving,” he said. “If she stays where she is right now, then she isn’t going to be able to reach those goals. You can see her game evolving both mentally and physically.”
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She looks up to players like Stewart, last year’s WNBA MVP, and current NCAA stars Asia Durr of Louisville and Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale who made back-to-back game-winners in last year’s national semifinal and championship game. One thing they all have in common besides attention-grabbing moves is fearlessness.
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Bueckers is on the path to join some of the best girls basketball players to come from Minnesota: Kelly and Coco Miller from the Rochester Mayo class of 1997; South Minneapolis’s Tayler Hill, who was drafted fourth overall in the 2013 WNBA draft; fellow Hopkins star Nia Coffey, who had a 2,000 point-1,000 rebound career at Northwestern; and Lakeville’s Rachel Banham, Hutchinson’s Whalen and New Richland’s Carlie Wagner, who are the top three career scorers in Gophers history. The Millers went to Georgia and Hill to Ohio State, but the U signed four straight Minnesota Miss Basketball winners, given to the best senior player in the state, from 2002-2005, but has signed two since — Banham and Wagner.
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Will all that be enough to land a commitment from Bueckers? Her ceiling is high wherever she decides to go, and she’ll make the decision that makes the most sense for her long-term basketball future. The buzz around a local player is exciting, even if history doesn’t offer much hope of No. 1 recruits committing to their hometown team.

Since 2007, only three No. 1 players per Olson’s espnW HoopGurlz rankings selected schools in their home state, and those three were all powerhouses in Baylor, South Carolina and Stanford. The rest went to UConn with one exception to Tennessee, but Tennessee is still Tennessee.
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“Yeah, I definitely built a strong relationship with Lindsay (Whalen) and Carly (Thibault-DuDonis) and Kelly (Roysland) and all the coaches there and I’ve gotten to know then better since they came in,” Bueckers said. “Yeah, I like them. I like them.”
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Stay home Paige. I would love to see what Whalen could do with Paige.
 

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