Paige Bueckers reveals being surprised after winning Player of the Year in her freshman year

Paige Bueckers is playing her final college season with the UConn Huskies. While she has yet to win a national championship, she has already had a decorated college career.

Bueckers was named the USBWA National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, which she shared with Caitlin Clark. The guard was the first player in college basketball history to earn both awards in the same season.

On Monday's episode of "Got Next with Meghan & Zora" on NBC Sports, the guard took a trip down memory lane to her freshman year when she led the Huskies to the Final Four. She also looked back on being named Player of the Year in her debut season:

​

"I feel like winning Player of the Year (in) my freshman year was an amazing experience. I was very surprised to know that I was the first person to do that, with all the great talent that's come through women's or women's college basketball."

"But I think it was just a testament to like my team and how much they embraced me, the coaching staff, how much I learned that entire freshman year. Coming in, it's hard to be a freshman in college, let alone UConn. So just to have that rewarding feeling of just seeing all my hard work pay off throughout my entire high school career as well, it meant a lot to me."

In her freshman season, Paige Bueckers averaged 20.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals. She also became the first freshman to win Naismith Player of the Year.

---

Paige Bueckers is setting the example of playing better for the UConn players

Paige Bueckers has been displaying strong efficiency on the court this season. In the first game against Boston University, the guard finished with 13 points (5-of-9 from the field), four rebounds, seven assists and five steals. In the second game against South Florida, Bueckers had 22 points on a 9-of-10 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from the 3-point range.

In a post-game interview with SNY's Chelsea Sherrod, Paige Bueckers commented on her efficiency.

​

"Just trying to get the tone with how hard I play, I've been trying to be disciplined... take great shots, get the ball moving, get everybody involved, make sure everybody is playing together," she said.

"For me to be the team leader, me to want to show that, show the younger guys, show how we play here a UConn, it's everything that I want to do. I'm very picky with what I'm doing right now because I'm showing the younger guys what we're supposed to do here. And so I'm just trying to lead and be an example in that way."

Having made a great start to the season, Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies are on the right track to achieving their goal of a national championship. They will next play North Carolina on Friday.

​