UConn star Paige Bueckers wants fans to remember her legacy as Huskies' most dedicated player: "I wanna be known as a winner"

UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers
UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers

UConn superstar Paige Bueckers has already gone down in the annals of Huskies history as one of the best players to have ever played for the storied program but she recently revealed that she wants more.

During an appearance on the "Overtime" pod, the popular Bueckers revealed what she hoped her UConn legacy would be.

"I mean somebody that just poured their everything into the program. I would do anything for the program and anything they ask or need of me I wanna do that and also my legacy off the court like giving back to the community. I'm super proud to wear the UConn jersey and I want my play and my efforts and everything that I do to show that," Bueckers said.
"I wanna be known as a winner and just a great teammate and God willing a national champion."

Paige Bueckers becomes face of the Huskies in 2024

The moment when Paige Bueckers took leadership of the UConn Huskies has been a long time coming. She was the best player in the country during her freshman year in 2021 but she was still a freshman.

The next two years were spent on the outside looking in as two ACL injuries limited her playing time as other prospects took the mantle as college basketball's best players, including Iowa Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark.

For the first time in two years last season, Paige Bueckers was healthy and she led her team to within a basket of the championship game. Her commitment to come back for an extra year is finally her chance to take the keys to the Huskies' kingdom.

Former UConn star Breanna Stewart, who won four national championships with UConn, recently had a key piece of advice for Paige Bueckers on "TOGETHXR" regarding her leadership of the Huskies.

"With Paige, what I wanna see is her to continue to build herself as a leader. She's been at UConn for four years now, she'll have another one to go, and this is her team. They go as far as she takes them, and really kind of feeling that not as a pressure but also understanding that it's her moment, and she needs to take advantage of it," Stewart said.

During UConn's biggest game of the season, the 71-69 Final Four loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, Bueckers was more passive than usual, attempting only 17 shots, her lowest in months.

She registered 17 points on 41.2% shooting from the floor and 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her average during the tournament had been 27.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

During his postgame news conference, coach Geno Auriemma challenged the guard to be more selfish, as the best players often are during crunch time, affirming his faith in her being the leader of the team.

Paige Bueckers has been handed the keys to the kingdom by both coach Geno Auriemma and Huskies legend Breanna Stewart and it's up to her to take up the mantle.

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