Who is Paige Bueckers? Paige Bueckers is a freshman point guard for the UConn Women’s Basketball team. As a five star recruit out of high school, Bueckers was a player to watch out for even before arriving at UConn. In her first college basketball game on December 12, 2020 versus UMass Lowell, she recorded 17 points in a 79-23 win.
By the start of March 2021, with the regular season coming to an end, Bueckers was named Big East Player of the Year. In addition, she was unanimously named Big East Freshman of the Year alongside UConn Great Maya Moore as the only two players to win said awards in the same season. Maya Moore is one of many “UConn Great’s” that we could compare Paige Bueckers to. Sue Bird, former UConn Great point guard, is comparable in that she was also a super star player. Kemba Walker, former UConn Great point guard, was an outstanding leader and excelled in his all-around game. Bueckers, like Walker, excels in all areas such as determination and passing skills.
With no seniors on the team this year, there is a lot of pressure on Paige to live up to standards of a more seasoned player. Considering the fact that I haven’t seen a good freshman point guard playing at such a high level since Sue Bird, I’d say Bueckers has exceeded expectations. She’s repeatedly shown her team that they can count on her for a big play performance when they need it most. The quality of her amazing plays has helped her lead her team to the Sweet 16.
Where do I see UConn going from here? I see them winning the national championship! They’ll have to keep an eye out for South Carolina and Baylor, but if UConn continues to dominate with a balanced focus between offense and defense, they’ll have a difficult -but doable, path to the national championship title.
UConn’s next game in the Sweet 16 round versus Iowa Hawkeyes will be Saturday, March 27, 2021.
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