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There is the swagger. There is the self-confidence. And there’s the capability to put on a single heck of a clearly show on the basketball court on any offered night time.
Paige Bueckers did just that Monday evening from NC Point out, scoring 27 factors and supporting to direct the UConn women’s basketball team to a Final 4 berth with a gain more than NC State at Whole Property finance loan Arena in Bridgeport.
Even Diana Taurasi, the Huskies legend, experienced to have been amazed by that. Bueckers appears to have plenty of the Taurasi attributes, but is there a comparison?
“I never like to evaluate players from unique eras,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma explained this 7 days. “I believe which is typically a dangerous issue since it does a small little bit of disservice to both of those youngsters. Diana was Diana, and there will never be another 1 like her.”
It’s even now early in Bueckers’ collegiate occupation, of course. Bueckers, a sophomore, started off all 29 video games her freshman campaign, averaging 20 factors, 5.8 helps and 2.3 steals. She gained countrywide participant of the yr awards and was named an All-American.
In comparison, Taurasi started off 14 game titles, averaged 10.9 factors, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals. Taurasi, of training course, was on a team group loaded with talent: Swin Money, Sue Hen, Tamika Williams, Shea Ralph, Asjha Jones, Svetlana Abrosimova, and the record goes on.
That staff didn’t acquire the countrywide title, nor did Bueckers’ freshman calendar year squad. Taurasi and UConn then received a few straight. So, the tension is on for Bueckers in that category.
Taurasi went on to acquire national player of the 12 months awards in back-to-back seasons and has as distinguished a profession as any WNBA player in the league’s heritage: a few-time champion, 10-time All-Star, 10-time All-WNBA first-group, two Finals MVP trophies, she’s the all-time scoring chief, and she has 5 Olympic gold medals.
She’s arguably the GOAT (biggest of all-time) when it arrives to UConn women’s basketball players, an spectacular feat looking at the expertise that has handed by way of Storrs: Chicken, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Tina Charles, Rebecca Lobo, Nykesha Profits, Jen Rizzotti, and, yet again, the listing goes on.
Taurasi even produced the comparison very last year in a online video posted to social media, incorporating she was amazed by Bueckers’ passing.
“Oh, freshman Paige has way far more assurance than I did,” Taurasi claimed at the time. “I was in the doghouse. I was like the water woman. I was carrying out chores for the seniors. We ended up in way distinct boats. … But, Paige, the stage she’s actively playing at proper now as a freshman. It’s amazing.”
Bueckers has a way to go to reach Tauarsi’s all-time greatness level, of study course. They may possibly be distinctive persons, but connecting the dots on the particular and basketball attributes has been easy for some. There’s the assurance, the means to consider in excess of and the very clear, pure talent. There was also Bueckers’ current personal injury that sidelined her much of the year.
“Paige doesn’t have a historical past however of possessing been via all that,” Auriemma stated, talking about Taurasi’s considerable injury record in current yrs. “But she has these attributes. She has the characteristics of a kid who loves the recreation like Diana does, who lives to be in the gym, who loves to contend much more than just about anything else, wishes to compete at every little thing, needs to contend every single day, and she thinks there is under no circumstances been a improved basketball participant than her, even while she’s humble plenty of to confess that she tends to make problems.
“(Taurasi) was rapid to convey to you that there is no one superior than her that is at any time performed. They are equally suitable. I’m the luckiest coach in the globe for the reason that I had a possibility to be around both equally of them and to see it firsthand. I’ve viewed (Taurasi) do what Paige did (Monday night time).”
Bueckers may perhaps not be striving to be the following Taurasi, but she has a prospect this weekend to choose another phase toward currently being an all-time excellent at UConn. She will be carrying out it in front of the hometown group, returning to Minneapolis exactly where she grew up.
“Programs can get you to this activity, but someone desires to be major, like actually big, to get you to the next two games, and any individual said, who’s that heading to be,” Auriemma stated. “I said, ‘I have no strategy.’ If you’d have questioned me past year I’d have instructed you who it was going to be, but I however was not completely ready to set that type of pressure on Paige (this week). But devoid of a overall performance like that (Monday evening), there is no upcoming weekend. No make a difference how great the relaxation of your staff is, doesn’t matter.
“(The Closing Four) is the identical factor. There is four groups out there, but there’s three or four little ones that they’re likely to make your mind up who wins the Nationwide Championship.”
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