Paige Buckets: The First Ever Freshman To Win AP National Player of the Year
Paige Bueckers is a sensation, plain and simple.
She joins a pretty long list of UConn players to win the award:
- 1995: Rebecca Lobo
- 1996: Jennifer Rizzotti
- 1997: Kara Wolters
- 2002: Sue Bird
- 2003: Diana Taurasi
- 2009: Maya Moore
- 2010: Tina Charles
- 2011: Maya Moore
- 2014: Breanna Stewart
- 2015: Breanna Stewart
- 2016: Breanna Stewart
Now, Paige Buckets joins the list (it is wild to me that the likes of Brittney Griner or Maya Moore never won as freshmen), and it was obviously very deserving...
The craziest thing about all of this for UConn's newest run (still not over, they have Arizona in the Final Four on Friday night) is that they're adding what some call the greatest women's prospect of all time next season in Azzi Fudd…
Bueckers and Fudd are already great friends, and you'd have to imagine that Fudd, if as good as advertised, might match Bueckers and win National Player of the Year next year, as well.
Get used to seeing Paige Bueckers and UConn everywhere, too, as people are nuts about them…
Here's to hoping the drought finally ends for UConn in San Antonio this weekend. This UConn team seems to be much better at handling late-game pressure (even with some missed free throws the other night) than those recent teams that stumbled in the Final Four. To say it's "insane" a team hasn't won a title in only five years is pretty funny, but that is where we are at with this continuous dynasty that is the UConn women.