Women's Fastbreak On SI

Fans Lament Paige Bueckers' Role in Geno Auriemma's UConn Offense

UConn Huskies fans aren't happy with how Geno Auriemma is utilizing Paige Bueckers.

Grant Young

Feb 25, 2022; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma talks with guard Paige Bueckers (5) from the sideline as they take on the St. John's Red Storm in the second half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Feb 25, 2022; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma talks with guard Paige Bueckers (5) from the sideline as they take on the St. John's Red Storm in the second half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team suffered its second defeat of the 2024-25 NCAA season on Saturday when they were defeated at home by JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans.

The Huskies were carried on offense by Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong, who each finished with 22 points in the game. However, UConn struggled to get any consistency from anybody on offense in the first half, as they only scored 29 total points in the first two quarters.

While UConn ultimately got their offense together, fans on social media were still lamenting Bueckers' role in Geno Auriemma's offense after the game.

One X user posted a screenshot of Bueckers' stats from her freshman season with the caption, "Geno really recruited the #1 point guard in the nation, watched her have one of the greatest freshman seasons of all time, and then decided to move her off ball and let others less capable run the offense. I will never understand."

Another fan added, "Okay so I blame Geno for wasting Paige’s time… convincing her to stay in college, for a ring, she still won’t get; and not developing her game more. She spent the whole off season on planes when she should’ve been on a bench press… smh."

"I'm watching JuJu get countless on-ball reps while being forced to adapt to overloading defenses and other complex coverages (which will ultimately help her be prepared for the WNBA)...

"meanwhile Geno out here treating Paige like a 3&D player who gets an occasional DHO smh...," added another.

This sentiment will probably continue to surface if UConn keeps losing games.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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