2 weeks Ago By Jarrod Castillo
Paige Bueckers has added another accolade to her already lengthy collegiate career resume. During the 2020-21 season, Bueckers claimed the AP, Naismith, USBWA and Wooden national player of the year awards, showing Geno Auriemma and UConn that they have a bonafide star in just her first season at Storrs. One trophy she was not able to get was the Wade Trophy.
The trophy, named after legendary head coach Lily Margaret Wade and is the oldest national player of the year award in women's basketball, is awarded to the women's Division I college basketball player of the year. However, freshmen could not win the award until recently, leaving it as one of the only trophies Bueckers had yet to get. On Thursday, that changed as it was announced that Bueckers was awarded the Wade Trophy after a year where she showed her mettle as the engine that pushes the Huskies.
The star guard averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 assists, 4.
4 rebounds, and 2.1 steals in her final regular season with the Huskies. In all, Bueckers is the seventh UConn player to have won the award, joining Rebecca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzoti, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Breanna Stewart.
Of note, Moore won the award three times, from 2009-11, and Stewart won it twice, in 2015 and the year after. Perhaps the only accomplishment missing from Bueckers' trophy case is a national championship. The star guard has led UConn to the Final Four four times, though she and the Huskies have yet to lift that trophy that has eluded her thus far.
Considering how frequently she had been to the Final Four, Bueckers has the unique distinction of understanding how her previous teams stacked up compared to UConn's current squad. Though the team is younger than previous iterations - with freshmen and sophomores playing key roles - Bueckers knows the team has more fight. "But we got a whole lot of heart and a whole lot of toughness about us and we play together as a team," the star told reporters after UConn's win over USC.
"We're super well connected. I feel like every team that I've played on we've been super well connected, but just the way - we've been through so much adversity as individuals, as a team, and how much it's brought us together, how much it's made us stronger." Looking for more to watch ? Peacock has hit shows, movies, live sports, and more.
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Meanwhile, JuJu Watkins will miss on the opportunity to make history of her own after Bueckers was awarded the Wade Trophy. The USC star claimed the AP, Naismith, USBWA awards this year, as she continued to solidify her name as one of the biggest basketball stars in basketball. The Wooden Award winner is yet to be revealed, however.
That said, Watkins' historic year is bittersweet as she is nursing a torn ACL, an injury she sustained that will keep her out for the foreseeable future..
