“Pressure is privilege”: UConn star Paige Bueckers discusses playing "basketball at a high level" ahead of 2024-25 season
UConn star Paige Bueckers is one of the faces of women's college basketball. Following the departure of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese for the WNBA, Bueckers is the biggest name in the sport entering the new season.
In addition, the challenge of playing under pressure at UConn looms large. However, Bueckers said she proudly embraces the challenge.
"It's a blessing. I never wanted to take it for granted," Paige said in an interview with Rebecca Lobo on Wednesday. "Obviously, it can end up being pressure, it can end up being this weight you carry, but I feel like pressure is privilege and it's a blessing to be able to be in that position."
"It's everything that I wanted to be when I was younger to be at my best, to play basketball at a high level, to have this, obviously you don't want the attention all to yourself, but to be able to play at your prime just sort of comes with it."
Paige Bueckers admitted that not being able to win the national championship with the Huskies has been a heavy burden on her shoulders. She said that the sense of urgency to deliver is real and it would mean everything to her if she could lead her school to the national title.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma says this is a different Paige Bueckers
Paige Bueckers has grown from being a freshman standout to becoming a leader for the UConn team under the guidance of Geno Auriemma.
In her first year in Storrs, the 6-foot guard led the Huskies to the Big East championship and into the Final Four averaging 20 points per game. As a sophomore, she came close to winning the NCAA title but fell short in the championship game.
Coach Auriemma believes this year's version of Paige Bueckers has become even more lethal up front.
"I think she feels it," Auriemma said. "She is at practice and she is doing some things at practice that haven’t happened much in the four years that she has been here.
"In the past, she might defer to you or to you and I don’t see that happening on the defensive end or on the offensive end. She is just taking on."
Bueckers aims to build off of last season when she averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game and was named the Big East Player of the Year.