Paige Bueckers is once again having an outstanding season for the UConn women’s basketball team, and she has solidified herself as one of the best players in the country. Bueckers is averaging over 18 points per game this season, and the Huskies are having another impressive season. UConn is currently 26-3 on the year and they are ranked #5 in the country. Bueckers and the Huskies seem poised for postseason success.
Before Paige Bueckers came to UConn, she was a high school star back in Minnesota. UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma remembers what it was like to see her play for the first time when he was recruiting her.
“Real thin, frail, really talented, gifted.” Geno Auriemma said, according to an article from GQ Sports. “Watching her, you could see that she and her teammates had a connection, and a lot of times the best player on the team doesn’t necessarily have a great connection with the rest of their players.”
Bueckers knows how to get everyone involved, and that stood out to Auriemma from the start. We have seen this from Bueckers at UConn as well, and that was one thing that her teammate, Azzi Fudd, also pointed out.
“She can get a bucket literally whenever she wants,” Fudd said. “But she always wants to make sure everyone’s involved and we’re playing team basketball.”
Bueckers and Fudd met while they were trying out for the U16 USA basketball team, and Fudd admitted that her initial expectations for Bueckers weren’t as high as they should’ve been. She has been incredibly impressed by her teammate over the years.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t have anything to worry about. This little white girl? I’ll make the team over her,’” Fudd said. “She was a lot better than I thought she was.”
Both Fudd and Bueckers ended up making the team, and now they are two of the best players for UConn.
Paige Bueckers has made a name for herself throughout the past few years at UConn, and she is only getting started. It wouldn’t be possible without her confidence.
“You can’t really be great unless you’re confident,” Bueckers said. “You don’t have to be exclusively one or the other. In no way, shape, or form have I gotten here by myself—I’ve had so many people invest in me. That definitely keeps you humble as well.”
Paige Bueckers has had a special career with the UConn women’s basketball team. Huskies fans need to enjoy it while they can, as Bueckers is nearing the end of her senior season. It’s going to be fun to watch the final month of her college basketball career. There are big things on the horizon for Bueckers.
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