TAMPA, Fla. — UConn star Paige Bueckers is attempting to stay to her course of.
She’s taking it one step at a time, possession by possession.
She desires to embrace each final second of her faculty profession, from taking part in pingpong along with her teammates and chatting within the locker room to battling on the courtroom.
However the actuality of what’s on the horizon is difficult to disregard.
Bueckers has solely 40 minutes left of taking part in in Connecticut threads.
In lower than two weeks, she’s anticipated to listen to her title referred to as because the No. 1 general decide within the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Sunday’s nationwide championship sport towards South Carolina is her final likelihood to chop down the nets.
However Bueckers finds solace in realizing that she’s helped the Huskies put themselves in place to even play within the final sport of the season.
“Everything in life has kind of taught me not to take things for granted,” Bueckers mentioned Saturday. “Being in the national championship game, it’s extremely hard to get to and extremely rewarding to be a part of.”
Bueckers isn’t in any respect frightened about her lasting legacy.
The three-time All-American and 2021 nationwide participant of the yr has already established herself as one in all UConn’s all-time biggest gamers.
The controversy on whether or not successful a title additional legitimizes her profession is just not one thing that she cares to partake in.
However there’s no denying that Bueckers, as a competitor, desires this win.
And naturally, coach Geno Auriemma desires it for his star senior, too.
“Paige doesn’t need anything to change her life to make her life better. She’s got a life that most people would dream about,” Auriemma mentioned. “However for somebody who’s invested a lot into the College of Connecticut, the group, the crew, her teammates, and loves the sport a lot, she deserves to exit as a nationwide champion. However so do a bunch of children at South Carolina which have executed the very same factor.
“And that’s the beauty of it. Only one of those is going to get to be able to do that.”
