Geno Auriemma updates injury status of Paige Bueckers entering 2023-24 season

UConn fans rejoice. Paige Bueckers is expected to be ready to play by the beginning of the 2023-2024 season.

Despite undeniable talent, Bueckers’ collegiate career has been riddled with injuries. During her sophomore season, Bueckers tore her lateral meniscus and had a tibial plateau fracture, cutting her season to 17 games. Nonetheless, Bueckers made the most of her time on the court, leading the Huskies to a national championship appearance in 2022.

Disaster struck again last season when Buckers tore her ACL in August before the season began. The 6-foot guard missed the entire season. Now, after months of work, Bueckers is set to return.

“This is the best she’s ever been, the strongest she’s ever been, the fittest she’s ever been,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said, per ESPN. “This is the most time she has spent working on her body, her mind, [and] just taking care of herself… [The injury layoff] 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.”

When Bueckers has been healthy, she’s been nothing short of fantastic. In her first year at UConn, Bueckers averaged 20 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. The Minnesota native was the first freshman ever to earn the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year and USBWA Player of the Year.

While Bueckers wasn’t as spectacular in her return from injury, she still made waves. Bueckers made the NCAA Tournament Final Four All-Tournament Team and was named the 2022 NCAA Tournament Bridgeport Region Most Outstanding Player.

Auriemma has high expectations for the redshirt junior’s 2023-2024 season.

“I’ve never seen her better either at playing one-on-one, 2-on-2 or 3-on-3, what she’s doing in the weight room. Just her whole walk, the way she walks around, the way everybody looks up to her and the way everybody hangs on every word she says, there’s just a maturity about her.”

UConn will need Bueckers’ maturity. The Huskies haven’t won a national championship since 2016. However, the Huskies are ranked at the No. 2 spot in ESPN’s “way-too-early” rankings for the 2023-2024 season, trailing only LSU. Auriemma has his eye on one prize.

“The thing I learned a long time ago is stop talking about what you’re going to do, stop talking about what you hope happens and what happened last year and how you felt,” Auriemma said. “Everybody knows, ‘Hey, what’s your goal at Connecticut?’ What do you think it is at Connecticut? Well, the goal is to win a national championship every year. Everybody knows it. You don’t have to talk about it.”