UConn’s Paige Bueckers reveals ‘deciding factor’ in decision to enter 2024 WNBA Draft or stay with Huskies

Paige Bueckers could easily be a first-round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, but the UConn star seems to be in no rush to leave college. During Tuesday’s media availability. The redshirt junior guard was asked if the injuries the Huskies have faced as a team will impact her decision to return next season or turn pro.

“I think that’s what it’s all about,” Bueckers said. “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.”

Bueckers won 11 major honors during her freshman season, including the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year and USBWA Player of the Year. However, she missed 19 games her sophomore season after undergoing surgery for an anterior tibial plateau fracture and a lateral meniscus tear on her left leg. Bueckers then returned and helped the Huskies reach the 2022 national title game, but the following summer she tore her ACL and had to sit out her junior year. 

While Bueckers has had plenty of setbacks that have held her back from reaching her full potential, the same could be said about UConn as a whole. The Huskies haven’t been able to shake off the injury bug and are playing without Azzi Fudd, Jana El Alfy, Ayanna Patterson and, most recently, Aubrey Griffin.

The Huskies struggled with consistency earlier this season, but seem to be finally finding a rhythm and are currently No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll. This UConn roster has a ton of talent, so Bueckers potentially waiting to play with her currently injured teammates would be huge for the program.

Bueckers also made sure to shut down any negative comments toward strength and conditioning coach Andrea Hudy.

“It’s natural to want to blame something, but there’s just some things that are unexplainable,” Bueckers said. “And I think she’s the best strength coach in the country. She does so much for us. She dedicates her life to her job. And so, we do everything right in the weight room. We do everything right on the court and still unfortunate situations can happen.”