First there was the "Holy Trinity" of New Haven pizza: Pepe's, Sally's and Modern's. Now UConn WBB has its own Holy Trinity - of Guards, with Chrystyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and Paige Bueckers. The numbers put up last night are unlike anything we have seen in UConn basketball history. While Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird were arguably the best backcourt in the history of women's basketball, college or professional, and they not only won a college championship but an overseas professional championship playing together in Russia, UConn has never had 3 guards who put up these numbers in one game:
Chrystyn Williams, 18 points, 8 boards, 7 assists
Evie Westbrook 17 points, 8 boards, 5 assists
Paige Bueckers, 19 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
The thing is, we are talking about 2 girls in Chrystyn and Paige who were #1 overall national recruits, and 1 in Evina who was the #2 overall national recruit. In watching them last night, you think that maybe this was not an aberration, and that we will see these kinds of numbers put up by all 3 on a very regular basis.
And what's great is they are all different. Chrystyn is a powerfully built guard who excels in transition and in driving the ball, and her 3 point shooting and defense look improved. Evina is the best defender of the 3, the sweetest 3 point shooter and a terrific passer who may well challenge Paige for the team assists lead. Paige probably has the most tools in the toolbox of the 3, with her flashy passing, Sue Bird like pull-up and mid range jumpers, effortless ability to score, and ability to read the Court and see plays before they develop.
Although the numbers are not there yet, the 3 of them will collectively, with Anna Makurat, need to lift up the level of their 3 point shooting. We have seen flashes of very good point 3 point shooting from all 3 of the Holy Trinity, and it's Evie who looks like she may be the best 3 point shooter and defender of the 3. But all of them look like they are better than what they have show so far.
Has UConn ever had 3 better guards? I would say it is not even close- the answer is, no, never, not even close. The 3rd guard behind Bird and Taurasi was Maria Conlon who averaged 4.1 points per game on the 2002 team. Big dropoff in production there.
Chrystyn Williams, 18 points, 8 boards, 7 assists
Evie Westbrook 17 points, 8 boards, 5 assists
Paige Bueckers, 19 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
The thing is, we are talking about 2 girls in Chrystyn and Paige who were #1 overall national recruits, and 1 in Evina who was the #2 overall national recruit. In watching them last night, you think that maybe this was not an aberration, and that we will see these kinds of numbers put up by all 3 on a very regular basis.
And what's great is they are all different. Chrystyn is a powerfully built guard who excels in transition and in driving the ball, and her 3 point shooting and defense look improved. Evina is the best defender of the 3, the sweetest 3 point shooter and a terrific passer who may well challenge Paige for the team assists lead. Paige probably has the most tools in the toolbox of the 3, with her flashy passing, Sue Bird like pull-up and mid range jumpers, effortless ability to score, and ability to read the Court and see plays before they develop.
Although the numbers are not there yet, the 3 of them will collectively, with Anna Makurat, need to lift up the level of their 3 point shooting. We have seen flashes of very good point 3 point shooting from all 3 of the Holy Trinity, and it's Evie who looks like she may be the best 3 point shooter and defender of the 3. But all of them look like they are better than what they have show so far.
Has UConn ever had 3 better guards? I would say it is not even close- the answer is, no, never, not even close. The 3rd guard behind Bird and Taurasi was Maria Conlon who averaged 4.1 points per game on the 2002 team. Big dropoff in production there.
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