BUECKERS AIMS HIGH
UConn recruit Paige Bueckers reveals lofty goal of 4 NCAA titles.
Paige Bueckers hasn’t yet arrived in Storrs to kick off her UConn career, but the nation’s top recruit, and one of the most highly touted in years, already has big goals for herself once she gets there.
Mainly, winning four titles and going undefeated all four years.
“This is a controversial question because every time somebody says they want to win four championships, it’s become a problem,” Bueckers said with a laugh when former Husky Breanna Stewart asked about her aspirations Wednesday night on Instagram.
“I’ve never planned on losing. I’m not going to go in there saying, ‘I only want to win three or two or one.’ I want to win four. That’s my goal, and that should be everybody’s goal — winning four championships, going undefeated.
“I hate losing, so going undefeated all four years — which would be really hard.”
As far as Stewart is concerned, that’s just how ambitious Bueckers should be.
“At UConn, we try to chase perfection,” said Stewart, who went 116-1 in her final three seasons at UConn and made history when her class became the first to win four straight titles. “So I think having that be your goal is not a problem.”
Bueckers’ collegiate goals were only one of the topics the pair discussed on Stewart’s Instagram show that brought together UConn’s past and future and showed yet again why the latter seems so promising.
Bueckers’ most immediate focus may be
getting to UConn, but she has dreams beyond these next four years as well: winning multiple championships “at every level,” including the Olympics.
“I’ve always tried to keep goals high for me,” she said. “I always try to exceed even my own expectations. When I was a little kid, I never thought I would have four gold medals at my age, even just one.”
Bueckers, who is from Eden Prairie, Minn., took the first step in that direction by winning a state title with her high school team her junior season. Hopkins was on the brink of stringing together backto-back undefeated seasons and state titles before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the state championship game the day before it was supposed to occur.
“I haven’t fully recovered from that,” said Bueckers, who was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year along with a host of other individual accolades. “It just feels so unfinished. I’m always going to have that chapter left open. It’s not really closed.
“But it’s over. It has to be over. It’s over for everybody. It sucks for everybody. So I’m just looking forward to the next chapter, whenever that’ll start.”
Winning a high school state title is, arguably, the easy part. Bueckers doesn’t seem to be under any illusions about how hard Geno Auriemma will push her — that’s why she chose to go to UConn in the first place. But it didn’t hurt to ask Stewart for some advice on how to get through her freshman year in Storrs.
“My freshman year was rough,” Stewart said. “You think you’re working hard, and that’s how I felt, that I’m really working hard. I’ve gotten to where I’m at in high school and now going to UConn. I don’t think I ever thought it was going to be easy, but they will push you to new heights. … It was just building that mental toughness.
“Just go in with an open mind. Really be ready and be willing to work hard. We went to UConn for similar reasons. You want to be pushed to be the best, and they’ll definitely do it there.”
Bueckers tuned in to the chat from Maryland, where she is staying with best friend (and UConn target in the Class of 2021) Azzi Fudd. UConn’s 2020-21 players are still awaiting word on when they can return to campus, and if that’ll be this summer at all. Bueckers has been trying to stay in shape and work on developing different combo moves, shooting off the dribble, footwork and defense in the meantime.
She doesn’t seem to be caught up in the exact timing of it all. She knows she’ll get there eventually.
“I’m super excited,” Bueckers said. “Everybody has been counting us out the past couple of years even though we’ve made it to the Final Four every year. I’m excited. I want to prove people wrong, and I know the fans do, too. They’re the best fans in the country so I’m excited to play in front of them.”
Westbrook cleared
Nearly five months after undergoing surgery on her left knee, redshirt junior Evina Westbrook has finished her rehab and has been cleared, according to a post by her mother on Instagram. A two-year starter at Tennessee, Westbrook — who sat out this past season after her transfer waiver was denied by the NCAA — has retained an extra year of eligibility and brings needed experience to a young roster.