Welcome to the Husky hype- train
UConn’s Bueckers is this year’s freshman sensation, Fudd could be next
How big is Paige Bueckers’ star? One of women’s basketball’s most iconic figures is lobbying her to help him pick up followers on Instagram. On Thursday, UConn coach Geno Auriemma shared a post of the two posing together in his office. Bueckers, the prized point guard and newly minted Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year, can be seen standing over Auriemma’s left shoulder, throwing up a peace symbol with both hands as Auriemma relaxes in a desk chair. The image is accompanied by a caption: “I only agreed to this so I can get more followers @ paigebueckers”
Bueckers certainly isn’t the first celebrated freshman to come to UConn. Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart all had decorated high school careers and became legends under Auriemma’s watch in Storrs. But none of them ever faced the kind of glare that exists in today’s social media- crazed society.
“Even when Stewie came out a few years ago, it wasn’t like it is today,” Auriemma said. “It seems to be so much.”
Bueckers, who turned 19 earlier this month, is already a celebrity within the basketball world. She has 582,000 followers on Instagram and another 31,000 on Twitter. She’s appeared on magazine covers and been swarmed for autographs.
An article by FiveThirtyEight in May estimated that Bueckers could be the highest- paid college athlete if the NCAA allowed studentathletes to profit off name, image and likeness. Her potential earnings of $ 670,783 would top even Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the projected No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, who now has 587,000 followers of his own on Instagram.
There are expectations for Bueckers to come in and be great. Maybe even be some type of savior. She knows it, too. Auriemma, a notorious needler, has tried to
make light of it all, nicknaming her “Paige Kardashian.”
“The more I can make fun of it, the more I can make light of it,” he said, “the less I can make it serious.”
Bueckers, to her credit, doesn’t sound the least bit fazed by all the pomp and circumstance surrounding her arrival.
“My dad, he’s always preached to me, just be me, be the best version of myself that I can be,” Bueckers said Thursday. “And then Coach, he’s always talking to me about how I just need to focus on being a better teammate, being a better player, and not focusing on all the outside noise.
“I haven’t done anything yet, I have not even stepped foot on a college court, so I have a lot to prove and a lot to work on.”
If there’s anyone who can relate to what Bueckers has been through, at least in high school, it’s her good friend Azzi Fudd. The No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2021, Fudd is regarded as another generational talent, a transformative recruit.
Fudd doesn’t turn 18 until Nov. 11, which also happens to be the early national signing day. She’s narrowed her finalists down to UConn, UCLA, Louisville and Maryland.
Like Bueckers, Fudd — a 5- foot- 11 guard from St. John’s College High School in Washington, D. C. — has become a star attraction on the court.
“The kids recognize her, they all want pictures with her,” Fudd’s father, Tim, said. “The two of them have kind of become the faces of women’s basketball.”
The hype has been building for a while now. Fudd received her first scholarship offer from Maryland coach Brenda Frese when she was in sixth grade. Auriemma jumped into the mix a few years later, inviting Fudd onto campus freshman year for an unofficial visit.
Tim, who accompanied his daughter on the trip, remembers Auriemma telling him that she was too young to be wrapped up in recruiting and that he wouldn’t hear from him again for a while.
“He didn’t necessarily agree with how the nature of the game was turning, how the game was turning younger,” Tim said. “He told her, ‘ I think it’s important that you get a chance to be a kid.’ ”
Something that’s not always easy, given the attention she receives.
“You’re talking about a LeBron James type of experience for a high school kid,” said Jonathan Scribner, Fudd’s high school coach. “The way she has handled it has been pretty remarkable. The exposure that she’s had, she hasn’t changed at all. She’s still the sweet, nice kid she was when she arrived at St. John’s four years ago.”
Fudd sees the exposure as a blessing. Another reason to stay motivated.
Tim — whose wife, Katie, starred in college for NC State and Georgetown and was drafted by the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs — sees it as proof the women’s game is growing in popularity and opportunity. He talks about the “glass ceiling” being broken.
“I don’t really see it as hype,” Fudd said. “I don’t see myself as that cool or different than anyone, I’m just good at basketball. It’s still kind of weird that so many people recognize me.
“I love seeing the younger kids that come and watch. It just makes my day. I think it’ll be a trend that continues. I think that there are a lot of really good girls’ players that have amazing personalities.”