Paige Bueckers’ whirlwind week set to conclude at WNBA draft

NEW YORK — It has been a whirlwind week for Paige Bueckers since she gained her first nationwide championship with UConn.

The Huskies star participant has been going forwards and backwards between Connecticut and New York doing morning and night time time speak present appearances. Bueckers stopped by “The Tonight Present with Jimmy Fallon” and interrupted his monologue to let him maintain the nationwide championship trophy on Wednesday night time.

Later within the week she got here again to New York for WNBA rookie orientation earlier than lastly going again to Connecticut for a parade to have a good time the faculty’s twelfth NCAA title they gained in Tampa, Fla.

She’s been having fun with the second because the storybook ending to her faculty profession. Bueckers’ life will not decelerate after Monday night time when she’s anticipated to be taken No. 1 total by the Dallas Wings on the WNBA draft.

Bueckers can be headed to Texas to do appearances and prepare for coaching camp that begins on April 27. She’ll be within the highlight making an attempt to revitalize the Dallas franchise. Her No. 5 jersey is predicted to be one of many high sellers within the WNBA this upcoming season.

The 23-year-old guard has been within the highlight since her highschool days in Minnesota. She’s been probably the most common gamers ever since she stepped foot in Storrs, Conn., in 2021.

Bueckers burst on to the season as a freshman in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. She turned the primary participant ever to earn AP Participant of the Yr honours in her first yr. Then accidents hampered her subsequent two years earlier than she lastly was wholesome once more.

“It was a journey of resilience, of overcoming adversity,” she stated. “I wouldn’t commerce it for the world simply because it turned such a fantastic story and a exceptional journey of ups and downs, highs and lows, of preserving the religion, of working extraordinarily exhausting, and I actually wouldn’t commerce it.”

Her title, picture and likeness valuations are among the many high for girls’s basketball gamers. She has offers with main sponsors Nike, Gatorade, Verizon and Dunkin’ Donuts. She added Ally Monetary final week.

It is one thing that not one of the earlier UConn greats resembling Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, Sue Chook, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart had once they entered the WNBA.

On the court docket, Bueckers has been probably the most environment friendly gamers in faculty basketball throughout her time at UConn. She completed her profession taking pictures over 53 per cent from the sector, 42 per cent from behind the three-point line and 85 per cent from the free throw line.

“It’s going to be enjoyable to look at her as a result of I count on an analogous effectivity from her on the professional degree,” ESPN analyst Lobo stated. “I really suppose will probably be good if her effectivity is down slightly bit as a result of which means she’s looking photographs extra, which is sort of what she has the power to do and what we noticed particularly all through the course of the Huge East and NCAA Tournaments.

“However she’s a particular expertise who can simply get the place she needs to get and as soon as she will get there, hit her photographs at a ridiculously excessive effectivity.”