UConn Star Injury Woes Continue with Latest Hiccup
UConn Women’s Basketball star guard, Paige Bueckers, has sprained her left knee. She is expected to be drafted as number one to the Dallas Wings in the upcoming WNBA Draft. Bueckers suffered the injury against Villanova this past Sunday, when a guard on defense lunged for the ball, colliding with Bueckers’ knee laterally. Bueckers also landed on her ankle somewhat awkwardly and went down in visible pain. After lifting herself back up, Bueckers emphatically lamented about the call, stating, “That’s a flagrant foul.” This is similar to her teammate Azzi Fudd’s most recent injury, who only missed a few games and is already back in the lineup, so we shouldn’t be missing Bueckers for too long. UConn Women’s Basketball coach Geno Auriemma in his update today said that she wasn’t involved in any drills this week, but that it’s expected she will be back within a week.
Bueckers has a history of knee injuries. During her sophomore year, she endured a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear in her left knee against Notre Dame on December 5th, 2021. Her fracture and tear were repaired on December 13th, 2021 and she was able to make her return in that same season, on February 25th, 2022. Bueckers successfully ended her sophomore season with 14.6 points per game, a drop from her freshman campaign of 20.0 points per game, but a feat nonetheless given her quick acquiescence post-injury to the demands of the end of the season. Bueckers also most recently tore her left ACL before the beginning of the 2022-2023 season in August of 2022 during a game of pickup at Werth Champions Center. This resulted in her missing the entirety of the 2022-2023 season.
The UConn Huskies will certainly be forced to adjust in their upcoming games without Bueckers. The 23-year-old is an integral part of the Huskies’ team, averaging 19.9 points and 4.0 assists. Within the following week, the Huskies will be playing Xavier tomorrow and Georgetown on Saturday. Although her left knee woes continue, her susceptibility to this type of injury is unlikely to plummet her WNBA Draft stock or compel her to return to UConn for another season. Bueckers, a former number-one high-school recruit, is one of the most popular women’s basketball players coming out of the NCAA and will create an instant impact on any WNBA team she joins. Many consider her development with the Huskies to have plateaued as well, which can be corroborated by her relatively unchanging stat line within all four seasons she has played.
