Bueckers revealed that she’s coming back for the 2024-25 season during UConn’s Senior Night ceremony on Friday following the Huskies’ 85-44 win over Georgetown at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.
‘I know everybody wants me to address the elephant in the room. Unfortunately this will not be my last Senior Night here at UConn because I’m coming back,’ Bueckers said to loud applause.
‘I’m not done yet here,’ Bueckers later said in an on-court interview. ‘I feel like God is still writing my story here. I’m just blessed to be a part of this program and I never want it to end.’
Bueckers said time missed due to injuries factored into her decision to return. She was forced to miss the 2022-23 season after she suffered an ACL tear in her left knee in August 2022 during a pickup game ahead of her junior year. She redshirted that season and received an extra year of eligibility.
‘I can’t put into words what this program has meant to me and what you guys have meant to me. The best student section in the country,’ Bueckers, who finished Friday’s contest with 21 points, eight assists and three steals, told the crowd. ‘Obviously, these four years didn’t go how I planned or how I wanted it to go, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t be able to get through what I went through without everybody here just supporting.’
Bueckers was named the AP Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year in 2021 following a breakout freshmen campaign that saw her average 20 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 46.4% percent from three. She led the Huskies to a Final Four appearance.
She was limited to 17 games her sophomore year after having surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus tear in December 2021. Despite Bueckers’ limited availability, the Huskies made it to the NCAA tournament championship game before losing to South Carolina. She finished the season averaging 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
On Friday, Bueckers said ‘family camaraderie, loving it here (at UConn), loving my teammates and loving my coaches’ is why she decided to stay another season.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said he wasn’t aware of Bueckers’ decision before she announced it to the arena. He added, ‘Paige is very, very bad at making decisions. When we were recruiting her I had to threaten her because she couldn’t decide.’