Latest / Bleacher Report / Paige Bueckers Talks Unrivaled Debut, Adjusting to 3v3 Basketball

Transcript

Paige Bueckers Talks Unrivaled Debut, Adjusting to 3v3 Basketball · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, we have her on the show.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: Why don't we bring her right now? Let's bringing Page
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: backers all the way from Miami.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Page. We're so excited to have you on the show.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I know we talked to you last season when you
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: were watching and being an investor, but now being a
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: part of this thing, what was it like making your
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: debut for Unrivaled Season two?
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: That was really fun, super exciting. It's just a really
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: competitive brand of basketball. It's basically one on one in space,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: so there's a whole lot of competing, a whole lot
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: of talking trash, going back and forth, extremely physical. It's
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: just really fun to play that way.
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: Page.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: As you came on, I wasn't sure if you caught
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: the defensive Oh no, not. I just wasn't sure because
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: you know, like you.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: You're a bucket.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: But you also played a little bit of defense tonight. Hey,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: what is the biggest adjustment? Obviously Rakiya has played Kate
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Martin has played three on three last year, But what's
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: the biggest adjustment, uh, switching from five on five to
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: three on three.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the physicality one. We all know the
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: W's physical, but Unrivaled I feel like is even more
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: physical than that, and then not being able to have
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: help side, Like you're basically on an island, So I
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: have points you're gonna have to be okay with getting cooked.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: But that's not to say like you're not gonna where
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: the defense with pride and try to just defend on
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: an island and guard your yard and keep people in
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: front of you. But at the same time, these are
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: the best women in the world and you're competing against them,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: So that's that's a lot different for sure.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: A Paige, you better take that compliment from candas you
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: don't say much about US Huskies.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: No, thank you. I appreciate that for sure.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: It's nice around here.
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: But a lot of people she mentioned your defense, a
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: lot of people I think know your shot, but seventy
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: five percent of your shots right now and arrive at
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: or the mid range game, which is kind of where
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: a lot of people are moving away from in the
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: analytics world of layups and threes. So just talk about
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: just living in there right now. You're the mid range mommy.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Now, yeah, I think it's it's going away from the game,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: so people don't really know how to guard it because
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: not many people shoot it. Not many people hunt mid
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: range shots. So I think it's the toughest shot in
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: basketball to master. So to try from a young age
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: to get to that, to get to the mid range spot,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: make a lot of shots in that area, it's just
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: hard to guard. And to be able to score at
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: all three levels, it just makes you so much harder
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: to guard. So to be able to have that in
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: my game, continue to keep working on it and finding
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: different ways to get to that space. I think it's
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: it's tough.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Page you're in your early twenties, but you have someone
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: on your team that is nineteen years old who is
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: dominating that pick and roll that you all have that
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: connection that you're developing early. Talk a little bit about
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Malanga and her contribution, her dominance in the paint.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just hard to believe that she's only nineteen
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: and like the future is just so bright for her,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Like this is the worst she'll ever be, and she's
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: already amazing, And just I think what I've learned about
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: her is her iq for the game, how smart she
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: is and how much she thinks ahead and to be
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: able to be that athletic, be that tall, defend one
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: through five, score in the paint, score outside scoring the
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: mid range. But I think her best attribute is her passing.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: So just to be able to have all those aspects
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: in one player at such a young age and somebody
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: who's like a student of the game, she's constantly worth king.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: And at nineteen, I just showed up to the Gymi
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Chieese Burgers and tied my shoes and got out on
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: the court, like I didn't do all the activation stuff.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: So she's already way ahead on that stuff. So yeah,
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: the future is super super right for her.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: Not Paige Burgers.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Okay, Okay, So y'all got a young squad like that's
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: what's being talked about the most. Does that give y'all
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: a little added chip on your shoulder? We've watched now
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: Chelsea Gray do what she does. We already know the
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: greatness that Chelsea Gray is. We've watched Stewie do what
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: she does in the right, but we already know the greatness.
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: Does y'all being this young group kind of put a
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: chip on your shoulder that you want to show that
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: you can run with the vets of the league.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: For sure? I think even tonight, like the other team's
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: talking trash, talking to the refs like these are kids. Man,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: they don't need these calls. I'm like, kids like, don't
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: respect when the ball goes up, be able to hoop.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: There's no age discrimination. So like, that's just how we feel.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: And I think the youth we can use that to
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: our advantage. Like it doesn't necessarily have to be a
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: negative thing. I feel like we have people who have
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: experience in three on three basketball, and we just have
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: hoopers that just want to win and compete and play
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: with each other, and we're very unselfish. We already have
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: great chemistry. So I think that, I mean, age doesn't matter.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Two early champs, so prove me right.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Thank you. I appreciate that.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Hey, jage is just a number. We're so excited to
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: watch you guys continue to grow this season. Thank you
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: so much for coming on.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Congrats on the win. We'll see you next weekend. Thank you,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: and thank you. Candace appreciate the depressive