Paige Bueckers: It’s ‘National Championship or Bust’ for UConn in 2024-25 WCBB Season

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVOctober 23, 2024

M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

UConn star Paige Bueckers reiterated that winning a title is the bar for the 2024-25 women’s basketball season.

Bueckers told SNY’s Chelsea Sherrod that her mindset is “definitely national championship or bust.”

UConn on SNY @SNYUConn”It’s definitely National Championship or bust, that’s always been the case here at UConn”@ChelseaSherrod meets with Paige Bueckers on her final Big East Media Day to talk about her sense of urgency this season and how she feels about the 2024-25 UConn squad@paigebueckers1 pic.twitter.com/9m1Yjjeoyo

In a profile by The Ringer’s Mirin Fader, the senior guard said the pursuit of her first title helped fuel her decision to return to the Huskies for another season.

It’s unfair to some degree to compare Bueckers to past Huskies legends. There’s far more parity in the sport compared to when Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Tina Charles walked the halls of Gampel Pavilion.

But UConn head coach Geno Auriemma knows what’s at stake for Bueckers this year.

“If, for whatever reason, we don’t win a national championship this year, she’ll feel like, ‘I’m the best player to ever play at Connecticut that didn’t win a national championship,'” he said to Fader.

The Huskies have a squad good enough to go all the way, which is illustrated by their No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press’ preseason Top 25.

After missing a full season due to a torn ACL, Bueckers showed in 2023-24 that she remains an elite talent. She averaged 22.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals, earning unanimous first-team All-American honors for the second time.

To complement Bueckers, Auriemma signed three of the top 11 recruits (Sarah Strong, Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli) in espnW’s Top 100 ranking. Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Caroline Ducharme are all back, though they’ll miss the start of the season.

Unless UConn totally bottoms out, falling short of a title shouldn’t be classified as a failure for the Huskies, despite the expectations they’ve set for themselves every year thanks to their past success.

Still, it will feel like something is missing from Bueckers’ college career if she leaves Storrs without a national championship.