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

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www.espn.com

The 10 best women's basketball recruits regardless of class

Paige Bueckers, the top recruit in the Class of 2020, and Azzi Fudd, No. 1 in 2021, lead the way, but the Class of 2023 has a lot of potential.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

ESPN updates its top recruits regardless of class.

1. Paige Bueckers
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5-11 PG, Hopkins High School (MN)
2020 espnW HoopGurlz ranking: 1

Bueckers, the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year, is the ultimate playmaker. The future UConn Husky is simply outstanding, helping her Hopkins High School team to an undefeated record and No. 1 ranking in the espnW 25 Power Rankings.

I first watched her play when she was an eighth grader for her high school team. She came off the bench to drain six or seven 3-pointers. She's a skilled guard and is a capable scorer as an off-guard. More importantly, she has the ability to make her teammates better. She averaged 21.4 points and 9.4 assists per game. Many people, including Geno Auriemma, have said she possesses a special intangible that can make her one of the greatest. It's easy to see why.

Player comparison: Diana Taurasi
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Question:

In 15 years, when Paige is in her 11th WNBA season, will this thread still exist?
 



www.startribune.com

Paige Bueckers: Class of 2020 can overcome what we lost, write a better script

www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Editor’s note:  Coronavirus fears in March halted the girls’ basketball state tournament, leaving it half-completed and champion-less. For the next dozen weeks, high school seniors endured an unwelcome final chapter of childhood. Paige Bueckers, a graduating senior at Hopkins and America’s best girls’ basketball player, keeps her focus on the future. As the Star Tribune salutes the Class of 2020 today, we share Paige’s story and her motivation.

By PAIGE BUECKERS
Special to the Star Tribune

Cut short, by one day. We were going to win our second straight basketball championship, finish back-to-back undefeated seasons. Then something out of a bad movie, a worldwide pandemic, shut everything down.

This whole thing hasn’t seemed real, and I’ve been struggling to understand it. Things we never thought we’d miss were taken away. No school? Shoot, we have school with a 20-below windchill. I never thought I would miss being at school this much.
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There is no doubt she is as good if not the best HS women player I have ever seen, she controlled the game like no other, and is a can't miss player at the next level.... but the media has put so much pressure on her and with pressure will come schemes to slow her down at the next level, she won't be playing against HS teams that are already defeated before they step on the floor. So it certainly will be interesting to see if she can restore UCONN to the glory days, but right now I'm not sure UCONN is the school of choice any more, plus will Geno get like Muffet and say it was a good ride, I dont have the energy anymore, because losing drains you.
Now if her buddy, Fudd goes there in two years, they might be the best 1-2 duo in the country.
If I were to pick one slight concern (and I'm getting picky) in her game, its at times she disappeared in games, that could be other coaches strategy, it could be burn-out or other things.. Good college prepare around your weakness, so lets see how this plays out..
.. but don't get me wrong, she is deserving of best player in the country in this grade.
 

I find it interesting that she loves an underdog and enjoys seeing them triumph, but goes to UCONN which is one of the top programs in the country year after year. That is hardly an underdog.
 

Gopher68 said:
I find it interesting that she loves an underdog and enjoys seeing them triumph, but goes to UCONN which is one of the top programs in the country year after year. That is hardly an underdog.
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Hey there isn't a person in the world that doesnt like an underdog. Doesnt mean she wont pick a school where she feels will win a national championship. Let's be real!
 



MNGirlsHoops said:
the media has put so much pressure on her
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I think she relishes the attention. No signs of not being up for the task.

MNGirlsHoops said:
with pressure will come schemes to slow her down at the next level
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Teams wouldn’t be able to put all their focus on her. Reason in the next section.

MNGirlsHoops said:
she won't be playing against HS teams that are already defeated before they step on the floor.
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She’ll also have superior teammates to what she had in high school.

MNGirlsHoops said:
So it certainly will be interesting to see if she can restore UCONN to the glory days, but right now I'm not sure UCONN is the school of choice any more
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UConn has been on a down cycle in recruiting. Now with the addition of Bueckers, they should be returning to an up cycle.


MNGirlsHoops said:
will Geno get like Muffet and say it was a good ride, I dont have the energy anymore, because losing drains you.
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Bueckers should be able to recharge his batteries.

MNGirlsHoops said:
Now if her buddy Fudd goes there in two years, they might be the best 1-2 duo in the country.
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Wouldn’t it be one year? I would bet on Fudd going to UConn. This is that up cycle I was talking about.

MNGirlsHoops said:
.. but don't get me wrong, she is deserving of best player in the country in this class.
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That’s why she’s not coming here.
 



Shades said:
I think she relishes the attention. No signs of not being up for the task.



Teams wouldn’t be able to put all their focus on her. Reason in the next section.



She’ll also have superior teammates to what she had in high school.



UConn has been on a down cycle in recruiting. Now with the addition of Bueckers, they should be returning to an up cycle.




Bueckers should be able to recharge his batteries.



Wouldn’t it be one year? I would bet on Fudd going to UConn. This is that up cycle I was talking about.



That’s why she’s not coming here.
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OK, we lost the battle to get her to want to be a Gopher - not enough time after Whay took over to build a relationship, when Geno already had the inside track.

We definitely need to try to put UConn on the Gopher non-conf schedule as often as we can during her time at UConn, as the drawing power for locals to attend such a game as well as media attention are well worth it, even if we lose to them. If we could possibly give a Paige-led UConn a run for their money, that will increase Gopher recruiting prospects in the future. Even if we can't keep up with them, it would give us a dose of reality as to how much more recruiting we need to do in order to bump the Gophers up to competitive in the bracket of 64.
 



CutDownTheNet said:
OK, we lost the battle to get her to want to be a Gopher - not enough time after Whay took over to build a relationship, when Geno already had the inside track.

We definitely need to try to put UConn on the Gopher non-conf schedule as often as we can during her time at UConn, as the drawing power for locals to attend such a game as well as media attention are well worth it, even if we lose to them. If we could possibly give a Paige-led UConn a run for their money, that will increase Gopher recruiting prospects in the future. Even if we can't keep up with them, it would give us a dose of reality as to how much more recruiting we need to do in order to bump the Gophers up to competitive in the bracket of 64.
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You're kidding right? You think bringing in UCONN to come whip us would help our recruiting? I do understand the value of bringing in strong non con teams despite having a strong conference schedule, but there is no benefit to bringing in UCONN every year Paige is there besides some ticket revenue. Lets focus on outrecruiting our conference foes before we worry about a UCONN
 

manderson1984 said:
You're kidding right? You think bringing in UCONN to come whip us would help our recruiting? I do understand the value of bringing in strong non con teams despite having a strong conference schedule, but there is no benefit to bringing in UCONN every year Paige is there besides some ticket revenue. Lets focus on outrecruiting our conference foes before we worry about a UCONN
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I said "If we could possibly give a Paige-led UConn a run for their money, ..."

That's far from a done deal. Actually, it's an interesting question of how badly UConn might beat us, or whether we could hang within 10-20 points of UConn. Probably not likely soon. But I'd still like to see us play them as often as possible, if only because I don't get to watch Paige play in state tournaments anymore.

There's probably a competition to play against top-notch teams, I suppose. I imagine it's a lot of work putting together a non-conf schedule.
 

She made her choice to go to UConn. While I'd never criticize her for that choice, I have no interest in watching her play at UConn.
 


CutDownTheNet said:
OK, we lost the battle to get her to want to be a Gopher - not enough time after Whay took over to build a relationship, when Geno already had the inside track.

We definitely need to try to put UConn on the Gopher non-conf schedule as often as we can during her time at UConn, as the drawing power for locals to attend such a game as well as media attention are well worth it, even if we lose to them. If we could possibly give a Paige-led UConn a run for their money, that will increase Gopher recruiting prospects in the future. Even if we can't keep up with them, it would give us a dose of reality as to how much more recruiting we need to do in order to bump the Gophers up to competitive in the bracket of 64.
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That was on Marlene Stollings. She did not or was unable to form a relationship with a lot of local players. Geno Auriema had established a long relationship with Paige Beuckers. So, the Gophers under Whalen are a little too late to the table.
 

FiveOut said:
Then you are clearly not a basketball fan.
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I don’t think that’s fair to say. I can see the high skill level of Bueckers, but I have no interest in watching her at UConn more so cause I have no interest in watching UConn. I find them honestly boring. This isn’t the Maya Moore UConn teams where they had players with personality and to cheer for or Diana Taurasi who is east to hate and cheer against.

speaking of, the fact thats been said that Bueckers could be next Taurasi before she even steps foot on campus is ridiculous. Frankly I’d rather watch a Sabrina Ionescu, or A’ja Wilson player who takes the route of building a program instead of going to a pre made program where the title and final four path is already lined in gold basically. Even the Stewart years of UConn were boring. The best has been teams passing them by.

Bueckers says her goal is 4 titles, personally I hope South Carolina, Texas, Stanford, Oregon, Louisville, Notre Dame, Arizona, Baylor and teams like that make it so they go 0-4 on titles.

picking UConn..easy path and weak decision IMO
 

bball_craz_26 said:
I don’t think that’s fair to say. I can see the high skill level of Bueckers, but I have no interest in watching her at UConn more so cause I have no interest in watching UConn. I find them honestly boring. This isn’t the Maya Moore UConn teams where they had players with personality and to cheer for or Diana Taurasi who is east to hate and cheer against.

speaking of, the fact thats been said that Bueckers could be next Taurasi before she even steps foot on campus is ridiculous. Frankly I’d rather watch a Sabrina Ionescu, or A’ja Wilson player who takes the route of building a program instead of going to a pre made program where the title and final four path is already lined in gold basically. Even the Stewart years of UConn were boring. The best has been teams passing them by.

Bueckers says her goal is 4 titles, personally I hope South Carolina, Texas, Stanford, Oregon, Louisville, Notre Dame, Arizona, Baylor and teams like that make it so they go 0-4 on titles.

picking UConn..easy path and weak decision IMO
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A fair and honest opinion that I have no choice but to respect.

But I think Paige will make UConn fun again. In a manner quite similar, actually, to the way in which Whalen and McCarville made Minnesota (and later Lynx) basketball fun. You mention Maya Moore, well the first three years of the Lynx combo with Lindsay feeding Maya were special in a way that brings back fond memories just thinking about it. I can even remember one specific play in which Maya put her head down and sprinted from behind the pack to front of the pack and Whay hit her with a half-court no-look one-handed off-the-dribble bounce pass for a layup. Best play I've ever seen in basketball, NBA or otherwise - with the reason being that it took a perfectly coordinated super effort by two extremely skilled players to pull it off (i.e., not a solo dunk). Ionescu will be good too, but I expect that kind of exciting basketball out of Ionescu and eventually Bueckers.
 

sports.yahoo.com

UConn commit Paige Bueckers named Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year

The incoming freshman joins the ranks of elite WNBA players like Candace Parker, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com

Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year:

Minnesota native Paige Bueckers was named the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year on Friday and joins the ranks of other elite WNBA players such as Candace Parker, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart, who won the award in the past.

“To be named the national Female Athlete of the Year and not just the Basketball Player of the Year is a huge honor and something I didn’t expect,” Bueckers told Yahoo Sports. “When it comes to individual accolades, this is the most prestigious award you can get in all of high school sports.”


Bueckers is the No. 1 recruit in the 2020 class and is headed to the University of Connecticut to play for legendary coach Geno Auriemma. She averaged 21.4 points, 9.4 assists, 5.4 steals and five rebounds per game during her senior season at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka. Bueckers has also won four gold medals with USA Basketball and was named the MVP of the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup.
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I'm going to be the laziest poster of all time right now, because I very much do not follow Minnesota girl's high school bball or women's college bball:

is she (Paige) that good??
 

MplsGopher said:
I'm going to be the laziest poster of all time right now, because I very much do not follow Minnesota girl's high school bball or women's college bball:

is she (Paige) that good??
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Maybe, but Marketing interest means that Gatorade would never consider athletes from the majority of the sports out there. In the 17 years of the award only 5 different sports were involved on the girls side of things (BB, CC/Track, Soccer, Softball, volleyball). You would never see sports like LaCrosse, Skiing, Swimming, Gymnastics, Golf, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Fencing, Archery, Shooting Sports, Rowing, Wrestling, Climbing, Tennis...

Look at the boys side of things at it is even more silly with only Football and BB represented.

Clearly the Gatorade girls award is only slightly less meaningless than the boys and the heisman trophy. Until these awards seriously attempt to set some objective measures these blanket all encompassing awards seem silly and embarrassing to me.

Gatorade Player of the Year awards - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 

Ragnor said:
Maybe, but Marketing interest means that Gatorade would never consider athletes from the majority of the sports out there. In the 17 years of the award only 5 different sports were involved on the girls side of things (BB, CC/Track, Soccer, Softball, volleyball). You would never see sports like LaCrosse, Skiing, Swimming, Gymnastics, Golf, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Fencing, Archery, Shooting Sports, Rowing, Wrestling, Climbing, Tennis...

Look at the boys side of things at it is even more silly with only Football and BB represented.

Clearly the Gatorade girls award is only slightly less meaningless than the boys and the heisman trophy. Until these awards seriously attempt to set some objective measures these blanket all encompassing awards seem silly and embarrassing to me.

Gatorade Player of the Year awards - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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Thanks for the info about the Gatorade POY award. I wasn't aware of that.


But even if narrowly focused on girl's high school bball ..... is she that good? Like, assuming #1 rated recruit this class, and one of the highest rated of all time?
 

MplsGopher said:
Thanks for the info about the Gatorade POY award. I wasn't aware of that.


But even if narrowly focused on girl's high school bball ..... is she that good? Like, assuming #1 rated recruit this class, and one of the highest rated of all time?
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I should point out the gatorade award only pretends to evaluate 6 sports for both boys and girls which is dumb to me but they are just marketing so they are probably just picking the sports with the most participants in each sex.

#1 rated in class? certainly top few but one of the top of all time? certainly debatable but not sure anyone is suggesting that, although one could say if you are named POY you should be considered one of the top players of all time. Then you get into what does "one of the top" mean? top 3, top 5, top 10 top 20? I believe in at least trying to establish some standards to make this kind of folly vaguely objective.

I don't follow high school sports closely, I enjoy college so I probably am not the best authority on your question I can only comment based on the consensus of the "experts" which would put her in the top handfull of this year's class.
 

www.journalinquirer.com

Journal Inquirer

Serving towns east of the Connecticut River
www.journalinquirer.com www.journalinquirer.com


Bueckers plans to arrive on the Storrs campus Sunday morning, her father Bob said, as the Huskies look to begin summer workouts.

The 5-foot-11 guard from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was a three-time state Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2019-20 national winner. The Female Athlete of the Year is chosen from the national winners of 12 sports that Gatorade honors.
[...]
She was the consensus No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020 and swept national Player of the Year honors.

UConn has had nine previous Gatorade national girls basketball Player of the Year award winners: Tamika Williams (1998), Ann Strother (2002), Tina Charles (2006), Maya Moore (2007), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (2011), Stewart (2012), Katie Lou Samuelson (2015), Megan Walker (2017), and Christyn Williams (2018). Charles, Moore, and Stewart went on to be selected as the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year.
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MplsGopher said:
Thanks for the info about the Gatorade POY award. I wasn't aware of that.


But even if narrowly focused on girl's high school bball ..... is she that good? Like, assuming #1 rated recruit this class, and one of the highest rated of all time?
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> But even if narrowly focused on girl's high school bball ..... is she that good?

Yes.

Lindsey Whalen good. Maya Moore good. Some say, the next Diana Taurasi.

She's never satisfied, and keeps working on making herself better. The same kind of work ethic as Rachel Banham, but more raw talent and upside potential.
 

CutDownTheNet said:
> But even if narrowly focused on girl's high school bball ..... is she that good?

Yes.

Lindsey Whalen good. Maya Moore good. Some say, the next Diana Taurasi.

She's never satisfied, and keeps working on making herself better. The same kind of work ethic as Rachel Banham, but more raw talent and upside potential.
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Paige best attribute is her ability to make her teammates better. She made all-stars out of players that seem to be average without her (AAU and HS). Any time you go up in competition though, eventually a weakness becomes apparent, so it will be interesting to see what her weakness is at the next level.
When Maya first started in the WNBA, her weakness was handling the ball, she wasnt comfortable bringing the ball up the court against WNBA quickness, you could tell. Eventually she adjusted, but even her heyday Maya didnt bring the ball up the court Simone did (after Whalen).
I will comfortably say that she deserves player of the year based on watching the best of the best in AAU over the years
 


Lindsay Whalen hopefully will keep tabs on local players and build long relationships like what Geno Auriema did with Paige Bueckers.
 

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