National title lone void on Paige Bueckers’ prolific resume

TAMPA — Mount Rushmore can be one snobby sculpture. Elite. Exclusive. A vetting process as rigid as Roosevelt’s brow.

But that’s only the presidential version. The one reserved for Connecticut women’s basketball may be an even tougher hillside on which to carve one’s niche. Some might suggest it already has its four immortals, never to be dislodged. Just take your pick among Hall of Famers Maya Moore, Rebecca Lobo and Sue Bird, as well as and sure-fire future inductees Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi. The waiting list isn’t shabby either.

Which leads to one of the more intriguing quandaries wafting in the Huskies stratosphere these days: Where does fifth-year guard Paige Bueckers fit into this rock-solid realm? Or does she fit at all?

“I think she’s already considered one of the all-time greats at UConn,” said Lobo, a longtime ESPN analyst. “She’s already got her jersey in the Huskies of Honor (UConn’s version of the ring of honor). She’s already been a national player of the year.”

Yet greatness is one thing. Granite’s quite another. And for all her moxie, proficiency, selflessness and statistical brilliance, Bueckers arguably needs a championship before one can even mention a chisel. This weekend’s Women’s Final Four in Tampa represents her last shot.

“I think there’s only one spot on the Mount Rushmore. I don’t think you knock Taurasi, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart off there,” said Hearst Connecticut’s Carl Adamec, who has covered UConn for 35 years.

“I’m of the feeling when you have as many championships as Connecticut has, that to be in that best-of-the-best group, you have to have a title.”

For Bueckers, bound for the upcoming WNBA draft, it’s the only career box remaining unchecked.

Arguably the nation’s hottest player entering the Final Four (men’s or women’s), she has been the undisputed catalyst of UConn’s 14-game win streak, during which the Huskies (35-3) have brandished the type of dominance they imposed during the program’s heyday (10 national titles from 2016).

She has totaled 105 points in the Huskies’ last three NCAA tournament games, including 40 (a program record for an NCAA tourney contest) in a Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma. Her 3.49-to-1 assist-turnover ratio ranks second in the country. She’s flirting with the 50-40-90 proficiency trifecta, shooting 54.3% from the floor (275 of 506), 43.2% from 3-point range (70 of 162) and 88.8% from the free-throw line (103 of 116).

“I’m not surprised,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who must game plan against Bueckers in Friday night’s national semifinals. “She works at mastering her craft. She’s an elite teammate, she has people surrounding her who want to do well with her because of what an elite teammate she is. But she’s earned every bit of it.”

Toss in the career feats, and the resume takes on an even greater sheen. Her 854 points as a junior were second-most by a Huskies player in a single season, and she reached the 2,000-point mark faster than any other UConn player (102 games). Her career scoring average (19.7 points per game) is tied with Moore for best of all time.

But Bueckers is the only player in program history to be named national player of the year (2021) and earn multiple All-America nods (three-time first-team Associated Press All-American) to not win a championship.

“Obviously there’s expectations (at UConn),” Bueckers said Thursday during the Huskies’ media session at Amalie Arena. “And anything less than a national championship is really a disappointment. As players, that’s what you play for and what you want to live up to. And the expectations and the pressure, it’s a privilege. So we all look at it as such.”

Which likely explains the rarefied level to which Bueckers has taken her game down the season’s final stretch. Two nights after that 82-59 rout of Oklahoma, she scored 31 in a 78-64 win against USC in the Elite Eight. After that region title triumph, the Huskies refused to cut down the net in Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, signifying their ultimate goal remains unreached.

“I think her sense of urgency rubs off on everyone, just how hard-working she is,” Huskies redshirt senior Aubrey Griffin said. “You can tell she’s really determined.”

After all, a carved-in-stone legacy possibly awaits. To be sure, bad luck has besieged Bueckers throughout her UConn tenure, including a 2021 tourney played in a bubble (due to COVID-19), and multiple knee injuries; a torn ACL sidelined her for all of the 2022-23 season.

Even this year, three McDonald’s All-Americans on UConn’s roster (Ayanna Patterson, Jana El Alfy and Caroline Ducharme) have missed all or part of the season with injuries.

“Nothing’s been normal for her,” Adamec said.

Some might argue Bueckers’ ability to flourish amid a half-decade of adversity warrants Rushmore status. On Thursday, Hall of Fame Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said Bueckers’ gym-rat mentality matches Taurasi’s.

A rock-solid comparison.

“They have a flare for the moment,” he said. “They can summon up something that’s needed at the time when it’s exactly needed. They take responsibility for what happens. They’re not afraid of the criticism that might come if they fail. And I don’t think anybody loves being in the gym more than those two.

“If you asked them where’s their happy place, they could be any place in the world at any time, they would say in a gym by myself doing what I love to do. And that’s the best way I can describe both of them in how do they compare.”

Times correspondent Shane Petagna contributed to this report.

Contact Joey Knight at [email protected]. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.

Women’s Final Four

Amalie Arena; Tampa

FRIDAY

• No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 1 Texas, 7, ESPN

• No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 2 UConn, 9:30, ESPN

SUNDAY

• National championship, 3, ABC

Note: An All-Star Game will be held at Hillsborough Community College, 3 Saturday; general-admission tickets $25. TV: ESPN2

Info: wfftampabay.com

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