UConn's secret to team bonding? Fortnite

The Huskies are big gamers away from the basketball court.

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Daniel Connolly
March 28, 2024

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Photo: Ian Bethune

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  • Paige Bueckers is one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy alongside Cameron Brink, Caitlin Clark and JuJu Watkins.

UConn's secret to team bonding? Fortnite

During UConn’s 11-day gap between the Big East and NCAA Tournaments, the team got a few breaks from basketball to rest up and get ready for the final stretch. That meant the Huskies had more time for their second favorite activity: Video gaming, specifically Fortnite.

“When we’re getting our rest in our beds, we’re actually hanging out because we’re talking through the microphones and everything,” Inês Bettencourt explained.

Fortnite is an online multiplayer game known as a battle royale. In the most basic of terms, players parachute into a map and try to be the last one standing at the end of the round. There’s various game modes, but the Huskies like to play squads — meaning they’re all on the same team trying to win.

“It helps the team chemistry as well as the communication part,” Paige Bueckers said. “To continue to bond off the court, build those relationships, it seems silly but it’s the stuff you remember. ‘Remember when we played Fortnite when we were seniors in college?’ It’s the stuff like that.”

Some are more involved than others. While everyone has given it a shot at one point or another, Bueckers and KK Arnold are considered the biggest gamers on the team and are also probably two of the best. Aaliyah Edwards and Azzi Fudd are big into it as well while Ice Brady is the frontrunner for the most improved player award.

When the school year began, Brady would have to go over to Arnold’s or Bueckers’ room to play because she didn’t have her own system. Then at Christmas, Brady got a Playstation 5 and quickly made up for lost time.

“We were very locked in,” she said. “I was playing probably a lot later than I should’ve been playing. I should’ve been in bed. I had a little obsession, for sure.”

That’s generally par for the course, though.

“Everyone knows when you first play, you’re complete trash,” Bueckers said. “Then you get a couple of games under your belt, you learn how to work the controller and it’s only up from there.”

Even off the court and on the sticks, Bueckers strives for greatness. She calls herself the top Fortnite player on the team — even if she knows deep down it’s not necessarily true.

“I wouldn’t say one of the best, I would say the best. I’m very competitive,” Bueckers said. “I try to be the best at everything. Obviously that’s not realistic but that’s where my delusion kicks in.”

So she admits she’s delusional — a phrase Geno Auriemma has used plenty of times when talking about her.

“In order to be great, you have to be delusional,” Bueckers proclaimed.

It only goes so far, though. While Bueckers is proud of her standing within the team, she’s comfortable admitting that she doesn’t hold a candle to either of her two brothers, Ryan and Drew.

“He's a legit gamer, like headset, gamer chair, monitor, keyboard. He's insane,” Bueckers said about Drew. “Both my brothers are insane at Fortnite. They got it.”

Yet while the Huskies like to be on the same team while playing Fortnite so they can work together, the brothers are all about winning. Because of the talent gap, Bueckers usually lets them do their own thing.

“They love playing creatively, against each other,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I’m not playing against you guys.’ It’s not very fun playing with them because they take all the kills and leave me with nothing… They just carry me where they wanna go.”

On the other end of the spectrum are the ones aren’t as involved. Nika Mühl gave it a go once but the results…weren’t great.

“We tried to get her to play a little bit,” Arnold said. “But we didn't really reach a certain point with her.”

Qadence Samuels and Ashlynn Shade aren’t big into it either, though they’re both responsible for some team lore. Samuels has a moment that’s become almost mythological — she got a kill with a pickaxe, the hardest way to get one since it’s the most basic weapon. Yet while everyone heard about it, nobody actually confirmed they saw it happen.

“I wasn’t there for that but I know what she’s talking about,” Brady said.

“I would have loved to witness that,” Bueckers said.

As for Shade, she’s undefeated when playing Fortnite. A perfect 1/1 in her career.

“I played one game in my life,” she said.

“And she got the dub!” Jana El Alfy jumped in.

“I didn’t do anything,” Shade continued. “I got lost many times.”

Yet — to Bueckers’ point — it’s one of those core memories that has nothing to do with basketball. That’s the fun of it. If it was all about basketball all day every day, the entire team would be burned out by this point in the calendar. It’s the perfect bonding activity for high-level athletes — everyone can hang out without even leaving their beds.

“It’ll just be fun times,” Samuels said.

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