Women's College Basketball

UConn star Paige Bueckers expected to be ready for season

Published Jun. 20, 2023 6:30 p.m. ET

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Paige Bueckers is expected to be ready to play at the start of the regular season, according to UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Bueckers, who suffered an ACL injury last August during a preseason workout and missed the entire 2022-2023 season, has been working her way back from injury, and according to Auriemma, is very close to being ready to go.

The 11-time national championship coach spoke to FOX61 News on Tuesday at his annual charity golf tournament in West Hartford, Connecticut, and gave an update on Bueckers' status.

"This is the best she's ever been, the strongest she's ever been, the fittest she's ever been," Auriemma said. "This is the most time she has spent working on her body, her mind, just taking care of herself."

Auriemma believes Bueckers is coming out of her recovery period both physically and mentally strong. He cited her maturity compared to other student-athletes as a factor in her recovery.

"She's way ahead … and, maybe that's what the year off did," Auriemma said. "It showed her, if you want a long career, this is how you're gonna have to go about it from here on in injuries, no injuries, it doesn't matter. This is what you're gonna have to do. And she's embraced it."

"I've never seen her better either … playing one-on-one, 2-on-2, or 3-on-3," Auriemma continued. 

"What she's doing in the weight room, just … the way she walks around. The way everyone looks up to her. The way everybody hangs on every word she says. There's just a maturity about her."

Auriemma made it clear that Bueckers is still a young player trying to figure things out, but also said: "She's got it figured out as best as it can be figured out by a kid her age, having gone through what she's gone through."

The Huskies are set to play in exhibition games this August in Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. Bueckers plans to ease herself back and will likely sit out of those games in favor of being ready for the regular season.

"There’s a difference between working hard and overdoing it," she said. "We’re all a little too familiar with having injuries, and we’ve gone through too much to not be smart about it."

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