“Paige is CC from Temu”: College hoops fans brush off Paige Bueckers in Caitlin Clark’s defense
UConn guard Paige Bueckers has made an impressive start to this season, helping the second-ranked Huskies secure two blowout wins in their opening two games. She dropped 13 points in UConn's 86-32 victory over the Boston University Terriers on Nov. 7. She followed that with a 22 point-performance versus the South Florida Bulls on Sunday.
Despite her excellent start to the season, some hoops fans have brushed off her rise by coming to Caitlin Clark's defense.
In 2021, both Paige Bueckers and Clark were in the running to win the Freshman of the Year after they sparked a legendary rivalry in college hoops that year. However, Bueckers had to endure injuries over the next couple of years while Clark went on to a legendary college career before becoming the WNBA Rookie of the Year with the Indiana Fever.
Some college basketball fans are backing Caitlin Clark by brushing off Paige Bueckers in the debate
It's 2024 now, and college basketball fans have again sparked the debate on who deserved to win the 2020-21 Freshman of the Year.
One college hoops fan brushed off Bueckers's case by coming to Caitlin Clark's defense with a savage response on X:
"Paige is CC from Temu."
The comparison is that Bueckers is a cheap knock-off of Caitlin Clark from Temu, an online marketplace where consumer goods are sold at a heavily discounted rate and are mostly shipped directly from China.
Another discussed the progression of their careers. Bueckers was the National Player of the Year as a freshman, when she led powerhouse UConn to the Final Four, after being the top high school player of the year as a senior. Clarke was the National Player of the Year the last two seasons, taking Iowa to the NCAA title game each year and becoming the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader.
"We can argue all day about who was the best in 2021 without either side winning. The fact is CC got a lot better, Paige did not. CC set an almost impossibly high bar for a guard rookie season. If Paige can come close next year this will be a forever argument and that will be fun."
Others shared the same sentiments when it came to picking Clark over Bueckers.
"She was from Iowa, in college womens basketball if you are not from UConn you get dinged," a fan posted.
"Uconn is what happened!! Caitlin has always been better and will always be better!" another fan wrote.
However, some fans came to Paige Bueckers' defense on X.
"The problem with CC fans, they think basketball is all offense," a fan wrote on X.
"Clark played for Iowa, an unranked team at the time. Bueckers played for UConn, the juggernaut college womens basketball team with 11 championships," another fan commented on X.
It seems like the debate between Clark and Bueckers among fans is still heating up on social media. However, there is no doubt that both have the ceiling to have legendary WNBA careers.