The UConn women's basketball team has dealt with a mind-numbing number of season ending injuries this year, all of which has Paige Bueckers, UConn's star player, questioning whether she's ready to leave college for the WNBA.
During a media availability session on Wednesday, Bueckers — who is projected to be a top five pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, if she decides to go pro — was asked about the prospect of her staying at UConn for one more season, and whether her team's absurd string of serious injuries might impact her decision.
Paige Bueckers discussed the potential of adding on another year at UConn:
"It's not about teams in the [WNBA] Draft, who's got what pick. It's all about me loving playing here, me loving my teammates and wanting to get more experiences and time with them" pic.twitter.com/mHijsQ73L2
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) January 10, 2024
"I think that's what it's all about," Bueckers said in response. "It's not about teams in the draft; who's got what pick. It's all about me loving playing here, me loving my teammates and wanting to get more experiences and more time with them and more time in the program. And so that's, I think, the deciding factor — just wanting to be here longer and not anything necessarily that's already picked and chosen in the draft."
During this season alone, UConn has had to deal with injuries to top players like star guard Azzi Fudd (who suffered a season-ending knee injury in November), freshman forward Jana El Alfy (who injured her Achilles tendon before the season started), post player Ayanna Patterson (who had knee surgery last month), along with guard Caroline Ducharme (who is dealing with ongoing concussion and neck issues).
Plus, UConn will now be without forward Aubrey Griffin, as the school announced last week that she'll miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL in her left knee.
While UConn has still managed to produce a respectable 13-3 record so far this season, all of these injuries make it unlikely that the Huskies will be able to contend for a national championship this season; which Bueckers — who missed all of last season due to a torn ACL — seems to understand.
Yet, that hasn't stopped Bueckers from making light about potentially returning to UConn. When she was asked about the prospect of her head coach Geno Auriemma wanting her to return, she jokingly answered, "At the beginning of the season he didn't want me back. Now he probably wants me back. It just depends on the ebbs and flows of the season but, still a conversation I'm gonna have."
Regardless of whether Bueckers decides to stay at UConn for another season or go pro, she has a lot of excellent basketball still ahead of her.
