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8 Things to Know About UConn Basketball Star Paige Bueckers Right Now

Lizzy Briskin
·7 min read
5

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

When the women’s UConn basketball team heads to the court on Friday night, it’ll be the first time in 30 years they enter the NCAA Final Four as the underdog. While they missed out on the semifinals last year, they’re hoping to get back to the top spot for 2024—and they’re looking to their star guard, Paige Bueckers, to help lead them to it.

Injury kept Bueckers off the court for part of her collegiate career, but she’s coming into 2024 March Madness healthy and ready to bring it. Case in point: Bueckers scored seven points in the last decisive five minutes of the Elite Eight—and 28 overall—to secure the Huskies’ 80-73 victory over Southern California. “Today was Paige doing Paige things,” coach Geno Auriemma told the AP after the game.

She’ll have some competition in the Final Four though. The game’s set to be a showdown between two of the most buzzed-about college players ever: Bueckers and Iowa record-breaker Caitlin Clark. Before we see what history might be made on the court, here are a few fun facts about Bueckers to know first.

1. She racked up some impressive awards as only a freshman.

People were already talking about Bueckers in high school—ESPN ranked her as the top recruit of her year—but things were looking even brighter by the time she started playing for the Huskies. In 2021, she became the first freshman to win the Naismith Player of the Year Award, a prize largely considered the top honor for NCAA basketball. It was a repeat of sorts for Bueckers: She was awarded the high school equivalent the previous year.

She racked up more hardware during her first college year too. Bueckers also won the 2021 John R. Wooden Award, which goes to a college player considered “outstanding” for their on-court performance and character. And just to put a tidy bow on her freshman awards season, Bueckers became the first freshman to win the Associated Press Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Award—an honor which, as a video of the announcement shows, brought her to tears.

2. Injuries kept her off the court for a chunk of her college career.

Bueckers suffered a knee injury and had ankle surgery in 2021, which sidelined her for half of her sophomore season. She also missed her entire junior season due to an ACL injury.

“The last couple years have been really challenging on my mental [health],” Bueckers said in a press conference after her team beat USC for a spot in the Final Four in early April, “I feel like I’ve had adversity thrown my way, but at the same time, I’m super blessed to be in the position [I’m in.]” In particular, she credits her recovery in part to the support of her team, coaches, and school, and the medical care and rehab it provided. “It could be easy for me to sulk and be upset and be sad about what life has thrown me the last couple years, or I can attack it with the mentality of being a leader.”

During this year’s March Madness tournament, she seems injury-free and focused on the good stuff. “I’m just trying to have fun,” Bueckers told the Big East Conference. “Last year I missed this opportunity, and I really want to embrace it and remember why I’m playing and the joy that I play with. I always play better when I’m happy.”

3. She was once teammates with Caitlin Clark.

While the Final Four is going to be a showdown between the two powerhouses, they weren’t always rivals: Bueckers and Clark were actually teammates for a brief time a few years ago. They both played for Team USA in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup—and won gold. In fact, Bueckers was even named MVP of the tournament, in part due to her role helping her team win in the overtime final.

“Since I’ve known her, since she was in middle school, she’s always worked that same way, she’s always had that fire, she’s always been a great leader, and I really honestly couldn’t be happier for her and the year she’s had,” Clark told SNY going into the Final Four.

4. Bueckers uses her platform for advocacy.

After winning the ESPY for Best Women’s College Athlete in 2021, Bueckers used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to advocate for Black athletes. “As a white woman who leads a Black-led sport,” she said on stage, “I want to shed a light on Black women. They don’t get the media coverage they deserve. They’ve given so much to this sport, the community, and society as a whole, and their value is undeniable.”

Bueckers also uses her social media platforms to draw attention to racism, police brutality, and social injustice. It’s personal for Bueckers, whose younger brother Drew is Black. She captioned a carousel of photos of Drew promising, “I’m going to work for change, little brother. I want you to grow up in a world that accepts you for who you are.”

5. She applied to trademark the nickname “Paige Buckets.”

Bueckers must have seen an opportunity when the NCAA began allowing student-athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) in 2021. According to Sports Illustrated, she applied to trademark the term “Paige Buckets” to sell merch tagged with her apt nickname (namely “shirts, pants, jackets, footwear, hats and caps, athletic uniforms,” according to the trademark application). It looks like the trademark has since been abandoned, but now that UConn is back in the Final Four for a record 23rd time, it may be time to revive the plan so Bueckers’s fans can get some serious swag.

6. And she already has some pretty sweet sponsors and partnerships.

Bueckers has more than 2.2 million followers across Instagram and TikTok combined, and she may be among the highest-paid college athletes. In 2022, Sports Illustrated estimated that she made $824,000 in the first 18 months after the NIL rules went into effect. She’s partnered with several noteworthy brands, including CVS, Dunkin’, and even the US Army. She’s also sponsored by Gatorade and Nike.

7. She’s super close with her teammates.

Bueckers is all about her teammates, on and off the court. In a post-game press conference with media on March 11, when asked about teammate Nika Muhl’s hope to break the school assist record (which she’s since done), Bueckers said she was “mad” about missing an opportunity to help Muhl reach her 500th in a recent game. Bueckers then became emotional thinking about ending their time playing together: “This is my sister. My twin,” she said.

She’s also especially close with Huskies guard Azzi Fudd, and the two make quite the combo on the court. As Auriemma told reporters at the Big East Conference media day, “It’s uncanny how they just feed off each other” in games.

Off the court, Bueckers’ social media photos and videos are rarely without a teammate or two (sometimes fellow Huskies even show up in ads), whether they’re shuffling to a popular TikTok sound or belting it out acapella.

8. She’ll stay on as a Husky for another year.

The WNBA draft later this month is going to be packed with some big names, but it won’t include Buckers’s quite yet. In February, she announced that she’ll be staying on as a Husky next year, posting on Instagram, “I love wearing this jersey and everything that comes with it. I also haven’t been wearing it for long enough…Run it back.”

That’s great news for UConn fans, but first, they’ve got the rest of this tournament to think about—they’re hoping Bueckers will help them cinch their first NCAA championship since 2016.

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Originally Appeared on SELF