UConn's Bueckers named WBCA's Co-Freshman of the Year
“For her, it's just always going to be about she's going to be the hunted. I think for the remainder of her career and kudos to her because she's put herself on that pedestal, everyone's going to want to take her down and that's where the challenge will lie.”
FORMER UCONN STAR SUE BIRD, ON PAIGE BUECKERS
San Antonio — UConn's Paige Bueckers added to her list of accolades Tuesday, being named the WBCA Division I Co-Freshman of the Year along with Iowa's Caitlin Clark, with whom Bueckers faced off in a Sweet 16 matchup earlier in the NCAA tournament.
Later in the day Tuesday, former UConn point guard Sue Bird, speaking in a Zoom video conference for USA Basketball, was asked what she sees as the next step for Bueckers, who scored 28 points Monday in a 69-67 regional final victory over Baylor to propel the Huskies to their 13th straight Final Four.
"Listen, you watch Paige play and she's incredibly skilled," Bird said. "There's not really much she doesn't do well on the court, so for her it's just going to be about continuing to perfect those things. I think as a basketball player, you just always want to be great at the things you're good at. You want to just keep improving, keep getting better.
"For her, it's just always going to be about she's going to be the hunted. I think for the remainder of her career and kudos to her because she's put herself on that pedestal, everyone's going to want to take her down and that's where the challenge will lie."
Bueckers, a 5-foot-11 guard, is leading UConn with 20.1 points and 5.9 assists per game. UConn (28-1), the 11-time national champion, takes on Arizona in the national semifinals Friday at the Alamodome.
Bueckers said Monday night that she was six years old when UConn began its streak of consecutive Final Fours and that she's always admired the Huskies' team-first mentality. She said her favorite player growing up was former UConn All-American Stefanie
Dolson.
"Just to be a part of that history, that's really why I came here," Bueckers said, "just because of the unspoken success that they've had over the years and just all the winning that they've done.
"I watched it on TV as a young kid. I've always been a team player and always put winning first. So I saw that as a young kid and I was like, 'Man, I want to be a part of that.' I worked for it and I prayed for it and, I don't know, it's just surreal."
Auriemma said Bueckers, one of seven freshmen on the team and one of 10 UConn players who have never been to a Final Four, has an uncanny way of sensing the moment and rising
to it.
"When it's time, what's needed in the that time, what's necessary," Auriemma said.
"And she has the ability to fulfill that moment. Not everybody does. And our fans and fans around the
country are starting to see it now on a regular basis."
Bueckers, the Big East Player of the Year and Big East Freshman of the Year, was named River Walk regional Most Outstanding Player on Monday.