UConn freshman Bueckers is AP women’s player of year
Paige Bueckers is in a class all by herself. UConn’s star guard became the first freshman ever to win The Associated Press women’s basketball player of the year award Wednesday.
Bueckers helped lead the Huskies to their 13th consecutive Final Four with 28 points in the regional final win over Baylor on Monday night.
“It’s amazing, surreal for people to think of me that highly and to be in that position as a freshman,” Bueckers said. “To get this award, I’m extremely humbled and grateful.”
Bueckers was an overwhelming choice, receiving 21 votes from the 30-mem- ber national media panel that chooses the weekly AP Top 25. Dana Evans of Lou- isville was second with four votes.
It’s the 12th time a UConn player has been honored.
Bueckers, who is from Edina, Minnesota, is averaging 20.1 points, 5.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds this season.
VANDERVEER SHARES SEC
OND IN COACH OF YEAR VOTING >> Maryland coach Brenda Frese was honored as The Associated Press women’s basketball coach of the year for the second time in her career. Frese received eight votes from the panel. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and North Carolina State coach Wes Moore each received seven votes.
Maryland lost five starters from last year’s Big Ten championship team, but didn’t miss a beat, winning the conference for the sixth time in seven years and going 26-3. The Terrapins lost in the Sweet 16 to Texas. EMMERT PROMISES WBCA
HE WILL WORK TO FIX INEQUITIES >> NCAA president Mark Emmert promised the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association he will work with coaches to fix the “stark difference” between the Division I men’s and women’s tournaments.
“I, too, believe that it’s exactly the right moment to do it,” Emmert said. “You got my commitment, my personal commitment to spend an enormous amount of time and energy on on this problem and and making sure that we don’t lose the chance.”
Emmert and the NCAA’s heads of basketball Dan Gavitt and Lynn Holzman discussed the conditions in San Antonio on Wednesday with members of the WBCA, including two of the Final Four coaches — UConn’s Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley of South Carolina.
Several differences surfaced over the past two weeks, starting with female players, coaches and staff in San Antonio criticizing the NCAA for not initially providing a full weight-training area to the women’s teams, noting the men’s teams in Indianapolis did not have the same problem.
Questions during the coaches’ meeting with Emmert ranged from the use of “March Madness” for branding, the number of NCAA staffers for both basketball tournaments (12 for the men, six for the women) and the budget for both tournaments.
Men
STANFORD’S WILLIAMS DECLARES FOR DRAFT >> Stanford freshman Ziaire Williams declared for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 10.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 20 games (14 starts) for the Cardinal in 2020-21.
A five-star prospect from Lancaster, Williams was the highest-ranked recruit in program history at No. 6 in the nation by the 247Sports Composite.
Williams scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Stanford’s season-opening 82-64 victory against Alabama on Nov. 30, 2020.
Other top players to put their names in for the draft Wednesday include, Ohio State sophomore forward E.J. Liddell, Oklahoma guard Austin Reaves and UConn sophomore guard James Bouknight.
The deadline for players to apply for early entry for this year’s draft is May 30, and those who opt to withdraw from early entry must do so by July 19.