When Paige Bueckers started her college career at UConn, she was crowned as women’s basketball’s next star. After rising to fame and showing off her skill to the world, Bueckers’ “middle years” of college were filled with unfortunate injuries and, in turn, rough times for the historic Huskies program.
Last year, she played her redshirt junior season, and while she was able to stay healthy, most of her teammates were not. Still, the Huskies made it to the Final Four and Bueckers was back on top. Despite a great resume, regardless of those lost “middle years,” Bueckers opted to use another year of NCAA eligibility and return to UConn.
So, instead of beginning her WNBA rookie season over the summer, Bueckers was free to do as she pleased. What followed was an epic summer of traveling, attending sporting events and continuing to be an icon. The term “the Paige Bueckers World Tour” was coined, as it seemed like Bueckers was literally everywhere. While some criticized these travels, saying Bueckers should be in the gym preparing for the upcoming season, she didn’t let the haters bring her down. Turns out she WAS in the gym all summer, but not just the gym in Storrs. The world is your gym when you’re a young basketball star.
Paige is thriving under pressure
Summer came to an end, and Bueckers returned to UConn, ready to lead her team. There is an immense amount of pressure on her shoulders—but that isn’t new. Bueckers has been a leader since she stepped onto campus as a freshman. Yet, she may be the biggest UConn star to not have “national champion” on her resume. That comes on top of the pressure she ultimately puts on herself.
Yet, when you look at her stats through UConn’s first games, you wouldn’t be able to tell she is under any pressure. It all started before the season officially tipped off, when the Huskies played an exhibition game against Fort Hayes State. Bueckers scored 27 points on 12-for-14 shooting from the field. She also had nine rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal, with zero turnovers. Haters, where you at?
That was preseason though, and the Huskies started their official non-conference schedule against Boston University last week. In an 86-32 win for UConn, Bueckers totaled 13 points, seven assists, four rebounds, five steals and one block in 24 minutes of action. She followed that up against South Florida with a 22-point, three-rebound, one-assist and two-steal performance over the weekend, all while shooting 9-for-10 from the field. In UConn’s 86-49 win, her only missed shot from the field was a 3-pointer.
That’s just Bueckers warming up, as UConn has not even faced their first ranked opponent yet. That’s the next battle, when No. 2 UConn faces No. 14 North Carolina on Friday in Chapel Hill.
Just wait until Paige reaches her peak
Ultimately, Bueckers is one of the smartest players in women’s basketball, and her rocky career at UConn has also come with a lot of lessons. There were times last season where the guard had to play in the frontcourt because the team was so injured. She’s had to deal with comebacks from injury and playing every position. She has to pull her team to victory, but also has to help them stay motivated in defeat.
When she moves onto the pros, Bueckers will blossom into a calculated force on the court. She plays effortlessly on both sides of the ball, has ice in her veins when it comes to making clutch plays and, somehow, keeps getting better.
So the World Tour has shifted from traveling and spectating to Bueckers being the star everyone wants to watch. She’s headed out on the US leg of her tour, where she is set to tear through a college basketball court near you. She needs to be in peak form as well, as she and the Huskies will face stars like JuJu Watkins, Kiki Iriafen, Olivia Miles and more along the way.
With one last shot at a national championship before she hits the WNBA, this NCAA season is the Paige Bueckers Spectacular—and it’s the hottest ticket in town.
