Returning from ACL injury, UConn's Paige Bueckers says she 'always has that chip on my shoulder'
UConn standout Paige Bueckers hasn’t been able to play a full season since her freshman campaign of 2020-21. Since then, she’s undergone three different surgeries -- one on her right ankle and two on her left knee. Her most recent surgery, which occurred in August of 2022, was to repair a torn left ACL that sidelined her for all of last season.
But the redshirt junior is now all cleared to play, and she admits that even though she’s entering the season as the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, she still has plenty to prove.
“Honestly, that mentality (of having something to prove) is always there for me,” Bueckers told SNY’s Chelsea Sherrod during Tuesday’s Big East Media Day. “I’ve said it before, every single game, every single time you step on the floor there’s somebody new watching you, somebody new there, so I feel like I always have a chip on my shoulder and something to prove.
“Especially now coming back from injury, people started second-guessing what I’m going to look like. It’s probably even bigger now.”
When Bueckers has been healthy enough to play, there’s no doubt that she’s been a difference-make for the Huskies. Over her 46 career games, Bueckers has averaged 18.0 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 43.4 percent from three-point range. She also won every major player of the year award, including the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award, as a freshman in 2020-21.
While she wasn’t able to play last season, Bueckers used that time to take a step back and learn even more about the game.
“It’s just given me a different perspective on life and staying grateful for the little things and never taking anything for granted, whether it be a practice, a lift, and then eventually the games,” Bueckers told SNY. “But I think you’re watching basketball from a different perspective as well, so you sort of see different things in a different way.”
As the Huskies begin their regular season on Nov. 8 against Dayton, they do so with lofty expectations. Even without Bueckers on the floor last season, the Huskies won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. Their season then came to an end in the Sweet 16 with a loss to Ohio State, marking the first time since the 2004-05 season that the Huskies failed to reach the Elite Eight.
Adding Bueckers back to an already talented team could see UConn return to championship form this season, and the Hopkins, Minn. product is more than ready to be back on the floor.
“It’s nice to be back,” Bueckers said. “I sort of took like a one-year hiatus, but just knowing that the season’s around the corner and we’re healthy at the right time. I’m just excited to be back on the court and playing.”
