Current:Home > reviewsWhat to know about Paige Bueckers, UConn's star who's healthy and back to dominating ways -ProgressCapital
What to know about Paige Bueckers, UConn's star who's healthy and back to dominating ways
View
Date:2025-04-13 17:18:41
It has been eight seasons since the UConn women's basketball team won a national championship, and this season myriad of injuries have put the spotlight back on redshirt junior guard Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers was named a preseason All-American, and the Huskies were ranked in the top five of several preseason polls. After overcoming a series of injuries, Bueckers led the Huskies in scoring and blocks during the 2023-2024 regular season, and she led her team to a Big East championship.
Here is what you need to know about UConn star Paige Bueckers:
Paige Bueckers in high school
During a prolific prep career at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Bueckers was named Gatorade National Player of the Year during her senior year after averaging 24.4 points and 5.1 assists while leading her team to the state championship. She was also named Minnesota Miss Basketball as the best player in the state and recognized as a McDonald's All-American.
IT'S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY's NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.
Paige Bueckers national player of the year
As one of the most touted recruits in the nation, Bueckers' freshman season at UConn did not disappoint. She averaged 20 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game while leading the Huskies to the Final Four.
The Associated Press named her a first-team All-American, and she won AP Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year and the Wooden Award as the nation's best player.
Paige Bueckers injuries
After her freshman season, Bueckers had surgery on her bothersome right ankle but was healthy entering her sophomore campaign. In a December contest against Notre Dame, Bueckers injured her knee late in the fourth quarter, with the Huskies up by double-digits. Two months later, she returned after surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus tear and helped UConn get back to the Final Four, where it was defeated in the national championship game by South Carolina.
She finished the season with averages of 14.6 points, four assists and four rebounds per game while playing in 17 games.
During a pick-up game in August, Bueckers tore the ACL in her left knee, causing her to miss the entire 2022–23 season and receive a medical redshirt. Without her, UConn advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
Paige Bueckers junior season
Fully healthy, Bueckers returned to the form of her freshman season and felt confident she could produce like she did as a freshman.
"I'm feeling much stronger. I feel more confident in my body than I ever have," Bueckers said before the season. "When I step on the court, I feel like I'm ready for whatever the defense is going to throw at me and I know people this year are going to test me, push me around, make sure I'm really healthy, make sure my knee's really good and use physicality as a weapon against me, so I'm ready for that."
Bueckers led the Huskies to an undefeated conference record and was named Big East Player of the Year. She averaged 20.7 points, ranking fifth all-time in school history for a season, with 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
She announced during the Senior Night ceremony that she would return for her senior season instead of entering the WNBA draft.
"I know everybody wants me to address the elephant in the room. Unfortunately, this will … not be my last Senior Night here at UConn because I'm coming back," Bueckers said.
UConn's next game in NCAA Tournament
Bueckers and the Huskies picked up a No. 3 seed in the Portland Regional 3. Their first opponent will be Jackson State (26-6), whom they will play Friday, March 22 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.
The No. 1 seed in UConn's region is Southern Cal, which they would not have to play until the regional final.
veryGood! (26823)
Related
- Matt Damon remembers pal Robin Williams: 'He was a very deep, deep river'
- Beyoncé's daughter Rumi breaks Blue Ivy's record as youngest female to chart on Hot 100
- New WIC rules include more money for fruits and vegetables for low-income families
- EPA announces first-ever national regulations for forever chemicals in drinking water
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Fuerza Regida announces Pero No Te Enamores concert tour: How to get tickets, dates
- Right to abortion unlikely to be enshrined in Maine Constitution after vote falls short
- Russ Cook, Britain's Hardest Geezer, runs length of Africa in 10,000-mile epic quest for charity
- 'Most Whopper
- Louisiana’s transgender ‘bathroom bill’ clears first hurdle
Ranking
- Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case reaches 'impasse' over NIL information for CU star
- NFL Star Tevin Coleman's Daughter, 6, Placed on Ventilator Amid Sickle Cell Journey
- Man indicted in attempt to defraud 28 US federal bankruptcy courts out of $1.8M in unclaimed funds
- LA police say woman threw her 2 girls, one of whom died, onto freeway after killing partner
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- US women’s players association issues statement in support of LGBTQ rights
- Warning light prompts Boeing 737 to make emergency landing in Idaho
- The View Cohosts Make Emergency Evacuation After Fire Breaks Out on Tamron Hall’s Set
Recommendation
Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
Mother-Daughter Duo Arrested After Allegedly Giving Illegal Butt Injections in Texas
Florida pastor stabbed to death at his church by man living there, police say
Jessica Alba steps down from The Honest Company after 12 years to pursue 'new projects'
Sam Taylor
Knife-wielding woman fatally shot by officers in Indiana, police say
Drake Bell “Still Reeling” After Detailing Abuse in Quiet on Set Docuseries
Report: LB Josh Allen agrees to 5-year, $150 million extension with Jaguars