UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers has been one of the best players in the sport since she won National Player of the Year as a Freshman. But unlike all of the UConn greats before her, she has yet to hoist a National Championship trophy.
Before the season, Bueckers said that this would be her last season in Storrs, making this her last chance to etch her name into school history as a champion. A championship would make her one of the UConn’s all-time greats.
Paige Bueckers’ UConn Career
Freshman Year (2020-21)
Since the Minnesota native stepped foot on UConn’s campus in Storrs, Conn., Bueckers has embodied everything it takes to be a professional and a superstar at the highest level.
She put together one of the best freshman campaigns in recent memory, averaging 21 points, five rebounds, and six assists. She shot over 52% from the floor, 46% from three, and 87% from the free-throw line. This phenomenal season ended brutally, though, as Arizona beat them in the Final Four.
Sophomore & Junior Year (2021-2023)
Paige Bueckers ran into turbulence after her freshman season, but she has done some fantastic things despite missing time.
During her sophomore year, she suffered a knee injury that sidelined her for two months. Even with the injury, she led UConn to the National Championship game, where they lost to South Carolina.
In her junior year before the season, she suffered her most significant injury, a torn ACL during a pickup game. This ended her season prematurely, leading to last year.
Senior Year (2023-24)
As a Senior, the superstar guard had to prove that she was still one of the nation’s best, and she did.
While Iowa’s Caitlin Clark took the nation by storm and won the National Player of the Year award, Bueckers was a First-Team All-American. She averaged 22 points a game, five rebounds, and four assists.
The Huskies made it to the Final Four but fell short to Clark and the Hawkeyes.
Final Year (2024-25)
Bueckers returned to her prime form in her last college season. Averaging about 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists a game, the Huskies finished the regular season 31-3, won another Big East title, and earned a No. 2 seed in March Madness.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, the star spoke about how “it’s definitely a crazy surreal feeling” that she is playing in her last NCAA Tournament. She enters the tournament with just one thing missing from her outstanding college career, and that one thing would make her a UConn legend.
When it comes to being great, one needs the skill, talent, and hardware to validate it. Though Paige is not likely to win the Player of the Year award again, she is expected to earn First-Team All-American for the third time.
She also recently became the first player ever to win the Big East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award three times. The Huskies star is one of only three to reach 2,000 career points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists.
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Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, and Breanna Stewart have a few things in common. They have all won the National Player of the Year award and a National Championship, and all are UConn legends.
Paige Bueckers has already stamped herself as a Husky great. She has already been inducted into the Huskies of Honor, but if she can capture a National Championship for the Huskies this year, she will go from being a great to being a legend.
According to Fox Sports, the Huskies’ odds of winning the championship are the second-best at +280.
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