UConn inducted Paige Bueckers into the Huskies of Honor on Sunday following the team’s final regular-season game against Marquette, cementing her status as one of the best players in program history.
Bueckers, a former College Basketball Player of the Year and two-time Big East Player of the Year, has become the 23rd player in UConn women’s basketball history to be inducted into the Huskies of Honor. Bueckers’ name and number have since been placed inside Gampel Pavilion, with her slate hung directly under women’s basketball legend, Diana Taurasi.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma was previously inducted due to his legendary status, winning 11 national championships since joining the program in 1985. Auriemma’s coach-player partnership with Bueckers has been memorable, and now they’re both in the exclusive Huskies club.
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Bueckers is the first UConn player to be honored since 2019, when Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson were inducted before joining the WNBA. Bueckers is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and has one final chance to become a national champion before ending her collegiate career.
After receiving her honor, Bueckers said: “Thank you guys for coming out, thanks for an amazing four, five, six years. The basketball capital of the world wouldn’t be what it is without you guys, the support through the ups and downs, the journey of all of our careers. You’ve been there every step of the way.
“Best fans in the country, best support system in the country. I couldn’t have imagined going to a different place. This was a dream come true and I’m forever grateful for it. We wear this jersey with pride to make you guys proud, but we’re not done yet. We’ve got two more home games, so we’re going to need you back.”
Bueckers could become one of the best players in Huskies history to never win a national championship, but after topping the Big East and earning the No. 5 seed ahead of March Madness, confidence is high. Bueckers told SNY earlier this season that it’s “definitely national championship or bust” in her eyes.
Auriemma is aware of Bueckers’ mindset, and the pressure that she’s placed on herself to succeed during March Madness. “If, for whatever reason, we don’t win a national championship this year, she’ll feel like, ‘I’m the best player to ever play at Connecticut that didn’t win a national championship,'” Auriemma said.
Bueckers certainly has a case, after making Huskies history in a recent game against Seton Hall. Bueckers became the fastest player in program history to reach 2,000 career points after needing just 102 games, with the previous record set after 108 games by Maya Moore.
Moore holds the overall UConn scoring record with 3,036 points, but Bueckers won’t be able to match that in her final season. Auriemma has seen some of the best players come and go since becoming Huskies head coach, but will miss coaching Bueckers, who he lovingly called “delusional” in an interview with GQ.
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“There’s a delusional side of Paige that I love,” Auriemma said. “She has to know better, but she comes across as, ‘I have never missed a shot; if I do miss, it’s because something happened. I have never fouled anybody in my life; the refs are always wrong.’
“So there’s always this back-and-forth between me and her, because I know what kids want. They want to do it their way, they want it to be a little easier. The only problem is, that’s not what they need. They need the struggle of it.
“They need to see what it feels like to make sacrifices, to give up yourself, and have the failures that strengthen you and make you ready for those next steps in your life. That failure part I think is so important.”
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