Paige Bueckers Needs to Be Better to Live Up to UConn and WNBA Expectations
Paige Bueckers is facing a two-pronged level of pressure.
On one hand, she returned to UConn to pursue a national championship, with her coach Geno Auriemma having previously expressed that the perception of being the best player in program history never to do so could be weighing on her when speaking with The Athletic. And Bueckers backed that up by admitting that she was "afraid to lose" during last year's NCAA Tournament.
On the other, she is also the presumptive first pick in the next WNBA Draft, and considering the level of hype the last class led by Caitlin Clark generated, that creates tremendous expectations as well. Especially when she and every other up-and-coming star seem to be compared to Clark at nearly every turn.
When combined, those two factors create an extremely high bar for Bueckers to clear.
It's not as if Paige isn't having a very strong season for the Huskies thus far. But she hasn't dominated, nor looked like the best player in the country — which raises questions about her UConn legacy and projected draft selection.
Bueckers is averaging 20.8 points on an extremely efficient 56.3% from the field. However, said average currently places her 15th in the nation in scoring and she has also been on the losing end of UConn's two most high-profile matchups this season.
Hannah Hidalgo was clearly the best player on the floor when Notre Dame knocked off the Huskies. And JuJu Watkins also put her stamp on the game in a more emphatic fashion in getting USC out to a lead over UConn that Bueckers and company were not able to fully overcome.
The common theme of frustration emerging from UConn fans has become Bueckers' lack of aggression. Which has manifested itself in the form of various versions of discourse. With some wondering whether Auriemma is putting her in a position to succeed, and others lamenting that freshman Sarah Strong was the one who attempted to take charge late against the Trojans.
From a basketball-specific standpoint, it's hard to pinpoint anything glaring Bueckers is doing wrong. Her ability to create her own shot against physical defenses in iso situations is certainly something to watch out for moving forward, as that could be misconstrued as a lack of assertiveness.
Whether it is about breakdown ability or simply mentality, more will be expected from the UConn star going forward. That's what comes with national championship expectations and being declared a WNBA star before taking the court professionally.
So fair or not, Paige Bueckers needs to be better.
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!