Women's Fastbreak On SI

Fans Unsure Whether to Fear or Fawn Over 'Lethal' Paige Bueckers Eye Contact

UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers had fans awestruck by her unflinching blue-eyed stare on Monday.

Grant Young

Apr 4, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) stretches during a practice session at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Apr 4, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) stretches during a practice session at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

UConn Huskies women's basketball icon Paige Bueckers has cultivated an impressive fanbase throughout her collegiate career.

The hype around Bueckers began back in high school but grew dramatically when she won the Naismith Trophy (which is given to the best player in women's college basketball each season) during her freshman campaign.

Fast forward a few years and now Bueckers is arguably the best player in college basketball and seems guaranteed to be the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft

Paige's appearance — specifically her blue eyes — has also attracted many fans to her over the years, and often becomes a point of discussion for those who follow her.

And this became the case once again on Monday, while Bueckers was being interviewed after UConn's dominant win over the Oregon State Beavers.

Bueckers was sitting at the broadcast booth postgame and stared straight into the eyes of the reporter asking her a question without blinking or breaking eye contact for 17 straight seconds.

X user @Orry47 posted a video of her staring with the caption, "The Paige Bueckers eye contact is LETHAL 😮‍💨".

Some fans are fawning over this display of eye contact.

"The way I’d be stumbling over my words," X user @kmmsb199 wrote.

"blue eyed behavior girl put them AWAY," added another.

And other fans found Buekers' unrelenting stare somewhat uncomfortable.

"bro just STARES lmfao she does not blink," wrote X user @bueckerstofudd.

Another fan added, "GIRL PLEASE BLINK".

This same sort of unflinching focus has got Bueckers this far — although she usually keeps it contained to the basketball court.

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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