Dom Amore: Another UConn win, another day for Paige Bueckers to rise above the rest
STORRS — The temperatures were well below freezing, the wind chill factor down close to zero.
Still, students were lined up to shiver Saturday until they could get into Gampel Pavilion and fill the coveted seats near the baseline.
Sophomores Allison Olsen, from Montville, and Molly Alexander, from Massachusetts, were not only rewarded with seats down low, but when the “Big Heads” were handed out, Paige Bueckers’ was still available and they got to brandish it all afternoon.
“The first game this season, everyone was just so excited that she was back,” Olsen said.
“She’s very good at getting the crowd in the game,” Alexander said. “You can see she really loves the fans.”
It’s doesn’t seem right, but Bueckers has had too few opportunities to play to a full house at Gampel Pavilion. No fans, or very few, were allowed during freshman season with the pandemic, when she was the national player of the year. Her signature performance against South Carolina on Feb. 8, 2021 was a made-for-TV event.
Bueckers injured her knee in the first Gampel game of her sophomore season, and returned for only the final regular-season, and first two tournament games. Then she missed all last season with her torn ACL.
Dom Amore: Paige Bueckers is back, stronger, wiser, ready to revel in the moment for UConn women
Add the exhibition game against Southern Connecticut, and the wins over Maryland and Ball State earlier this year, and that made Saturday’s game against DePaul only the ninth time the student section in Storrs got to see, and interact, with the best player in the country.
Ooops … Did we let that slip out?
“I would like to see some kind of snapshot of who in the country impacts the game more than Paige does, in as many ways as she does,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after Bueckers scored 20 points — needing only 10 shots to do it — and added five assists, five rebounds and four steals in 24 minutes. UConn breezed to its 12th win in a row, 88-51 over DePaul.
“Does that mean she’s the best player in the country?” Auriemma added. “I wouldn’t trade her for anybody. And, I think, if she was coming off two or three national player of the year things, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion. It would be automatic, right?”
Right. After she had missed nearly all of two seasons, perhaps some forgot how good Paige Bueckers really is. It took her a little while to get her game legs back, and over that time others rose in women’s basketball, notably Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who most around the country consider the No.1 player, the face of the sport.
And there is no denying Clark’s greatness. She is averaging 31.0 points, 7.7 assists, 7.2 rebounds, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor, has led Iowa to 18 wins in 19 games. Like Bueckers, she does things that people remember, like her remarkable game-winning shot from far behind the arc against Michigan State Jan. 2.
Bueckers is averaging 19.8, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shooting 55.9 percent from the floor.
“You could see Paige is getting better with every game, and it’s a thrill to have her back,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “I’m happy, too, for what’s happening with women’s basketball with Caitlin Clark, by bringing up a Caitlin Clark and Paige question for a reason. I’ve never seen a person make that many shots from that range (as Clark).
“Had this thing been running as a two-horse race from the get-go, it would have been really fun to watch. But Paige is different. Paige shouldn’t be compared to Caitlin Clark. You have a player here who is really special, because of the way she plays the game, all-around.”
These are round-about ways to get at the age-old argument. Is it the player with the best offensive numbers, most scoring firepower, or the better all-around player that is best? Is it player of the year we’re trying to identify, or most valuable player?
Make it a dozen: Paige Bueckers, UConn women dominate DePaul for 12th straight win
There’s a chance that Clark and Bueckers will face off again in the NCAA Tournament, as they did in 2021 when UConn prevailed in the Round of 16.
Until then, we’re left to follow them via the box scores, the video highlights and the social media arguments.
In Connecticut, we’re left to watch and savor what Bueckers is doing, for however many games are left to do so.
And vice versa.
“It means everything,” Bueckers said. “Growing up, dreaming of coming to UConn, it’s what you envision, what you imagine. It becomes surreal when it’s your reality. So I’m just grateful every time I step on the floor here. I mean, they’re waiting outside in like, negative-degree wind chill. I walked to the gym this morning. It was freezing. I’m just super grateful for their support.”
Bueckers really played to the student section during the preseason game against Southern, her first game back. On Saturday, she was more matter of fact. Even when she made a steal and took it to the rim, Bueckers passed on the opportunity to gesture for them, but did work the room as she made her way off the court.
“Little girls are out there waiting to talk to Paige and get her autograph,” Bruno said, “and little girls are out there waiting for Caitlin Clark to get her autograph, and that’s good.”
Throughout this performance, Bueckers was cool and efficient, making 7 of her first 8 shots, finishing 7 for 10, and 5 for 5 from the line. The only thing she didn’t do Saturday was block any shots, something she added to her cache of weapons when injuries forced Auriemma to play her in a front-court role.
“The way I think the game, my instincts, how I sort of think a few steps ahead, it sort of helps me on offense and defense,” Bueckers said. “How I approach the games, my IQ, I take a lot of pride in.”
Her IQ in all basketball-related matters won’t allow Bueckers to talk her way into any long-distance trash-talk battle with Clark. They were teammates with USA Basketball, frequent opponents in AAU and friends who share a love for the game.
“There’s a lot of great basketball in the women’s game right now,” Bueckers said. “A lot of amazing players, a lot of different people are doing amazing things in the limelight. Me and Cait have a great relationship, we go way back and, of course, we appreciate each other’s game and what we’re both trying to do for women’s basketball.”
What they’re doing is elevating the game. Any sport can use a good, old, who’s-the-best, Williams-or-DiMaggio, Magic-or-Bird, Montana-or-Marino debate. Paige Bueckers, though, belongs to Connecticut, so no caucus is needed here.
“I mean, how much time have we got?” Aaliyah Edwards asked. “I’ll always talk highly of Paige because she deserves it. Her game speaks for itself.”
