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Photo: Ian Bethune
The 2024-25 season is likely to be Paige Bueckers’ last at UConn.
“That's the plan,” she said on Friday. “I've learned not to speak on the future, you never know what could happen. But as of right now that’s the plan.”
Bueckers is entering her fifth season in Storrs and she has an additional year of eligibility beyond that for 2025-26. However, she’ll have played in parts of four campaigns by April, making it an appropriate time to head to the WNBA. Assuming she puts up another First Team All-American campaign, Bueckers will be the frontrunner to go No. 1 overall in the draft.
To this point, Bueckers’ UConn career has been defined by absences as much as what she’s done on the court.. After becoming the first freshman ever to win national player of the year in 2020-21, she missed 19 games as a sophomore with a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear in her left knee. Then in August 2022, Bueckers tore the ACL in that same knee and missed the ensuing season.
She made her triumphant return this past fall and had the best year of her career, averaging 21.9 points — the third-best single-season mark in program history — 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks.
Bueckers brought home unanimous First Team All-American honors as well as the Big East Player of the Year and Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. She was also named the Most Outstanding Player for the Big East Tournament and Portland 3 Regional.
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