Latest news with #UConn
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Meet Paige Bueckers, the Dallas Wings' star rookie: the former UConn Huskies point guard was the WNBA's top draft pick this year – and the first college athlete to get her own Nike sneakers
The Dallas Wings aren't off to a great start this season, losing their first four games of the year. However, there are still high hopes for star rookie Paige Bueckers, with former basketball star and fellow University of Connecticut alum Diana Taurasi saying on The Athletic Women's Basketball Show, 'One day, [Bueckers is] gonna end up being the best player in the league, for sure.' The 2025 WNBA draft took place last month, bringing a bright new crop of young talent into the league. The Dallas Wings had the No 1 overall pick and went straight for outgoing UConn star player Bueckers. As she stepped into this exciting new chapter of her career, the former Huskies point guard made sure to shout-out her old teammates. Advertisement 'They mean everything to me, all they've helped me get through, all the ups and downs, the highs and lows, they've seen every side of me, and the love there is unconditional, so forever grateful for them,' the 23-year-old shared, per USA Today. With her draft, Bueckers continues the long legacy of UConn players being number one picks for the WNBA. She's the sixth hooper from the university to achieve this feat – alongside Sue Bird , Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles – and the first since Breanna Stewart was drafted in 2016. So, who is Paige Bueckers, who suffered two major knee injuries but came back stronger, and is a staunch Christian, per The New York Times? What's her background? Paige Bueckers with UConn Huskies teammate Azzi Fudd during their NCAA championship game on March 31. via TNS Per USA Basketball, Bueckers is originally from Edina, Minnesota, where she was born to parents Amy Dettbarn and Bob Bueckers. Her father is a software engineer, per CT Insider, and played basketball when he was younger. Her mother did cross country running and track and field at the University of St Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The couple divorced when Bueckers was a child, and she stayed with her father, according to The New York Times. She's her parents' only child, but they went on to have children with other partners. Bueckers has two half-brothers, Ryan and Drew, and a half-sister, Lauren. Drew is half African-American on his mother's side. Her career highlights
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UConn men's, women's teams to compete in Hall of Fame Exhibition games at Mohegan Sun Arena
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WTNH) — The UConn men's and women's basketball teams will compete against the Boston College Eagles on Oct. 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena as a part of the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Exhibition Event. For the women's team, it will be their first action since winning their 12th National Championship in April. The men's team competed in the preseason event last year, defeating the University of Rhode Island Rams 102-75. The UConn women's basketball team has won the last five Big East Championships, all hosted at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. Paige Bueckers returns to Connecticut hoping to get her first win as a pro Both teams are returning players from last year's seasons, including Alex Karaban and Solo Ball for the men and Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong for the women. 'We had a great experience playing in the Hall of Fame Exhibition game last year,' said UConn men's basketball Head Coach Dan Hurley. 'It's an honor to be asked back and even more special to be competing alongside our championship women's program. The Hall of Fame always puts on top-notch events, and it's an exciting opportunity to take on a quality opponent and give our fans an early look at this year's team.' Tickets will go on sale on Ticketmaster on Aug. 1 and at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office on Aug, 2. 'We're excited to participate in another Basketball Hall of Fame event this year,' said UConn women's basketball Head Coach Geno Auriemma. 'It'll be a great day for UConn fans to see both the men's and women's programs at Mohegan Sun to kick off the 2025-26 season.' More information can be found at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NBC News
15 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC News
Paige Bueckers gets first win as a pro in return to Connecticut
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Paige Bueckers returned to a familiar place to get the first win of her WNBA career. The No. 1 pick in the draft by the Dallas Wings had lost the first four games as a pro and couldn't remember a longer losing streak in her storied basketball career. She wouldn't let it get to five. Bueckers scored a season-best 21 points in the Wings' 109-87 victory over Connecticut on Tuesday night. "Felt great just to play like that as a team and obviously that environment is special to me," the former UConn star said. "To play like that as a team and put a full 40 minutes together. ... It felt good to be out there." It's been a week of homecomings for Bueckers as the former UConn star played in the state of Connecticut for the first time since helping the Huskies win the school's 12th national championship nearly two months ago. Six days before the game in Connecticut, she played in Minnesota, where she grew up. With the victory, Bueckers remained unbeaten at Mohegan Sun Arena, where the Sun plays their home games. She went 15-0 at the arena, including winning four Big East championships while playing for UConn. "I don't think I ever lost here. I was trying to carry that into tonight," Bueckers said. Tuesday night was like a home game for Bueckers, who received a loud ovation from the sellout crowd when introduced before the game. Many fans were wearing her No. 5 jersey from UConn and Dallas, cheering everything she did. The St. Teresa's basketball team was sitting on the bench pregame and screamed with jubilation when Bueckers ran onto the court. Bueckers gave them and the rest of the crowd — which included a few of her former Huskies teammates — a lot to cheer about. She got Dallas (1-4) going early with seven points and four assists in the opening quarter as she was aggressively attacking for baskets or finding opening teammates. She finished the half with 15 points as the Wings took control, going up by 14 points at the break. "She just continues to do things that should be surprising but aren't," Wings coach Chris Koclanes said. "I take a step back to just appreciate, the type of player and even more so the type of person that she is." A day earlier, Bueckers posted on Instagram a video of a surprise meeting that Verizon put together of people who had benefited from a food security project that the guard started in Minnesota in 2022. As Chegg's first student-athlete brand ambassador, Bueckers worked to raise awareness about student hunger, an issue that had worsened due to the pandemic. "It was a total, complete surprise just for them to bring in those people who have been a part of my story and been a part of my journey.," Bueckers said. "It means so much to give back, to see the impact firsthand. It's truly inspiring. I was extremely grateful for that." Koclanes has been impressed with Bueckers mental approach to the game on and off the court and how much she invests into it. "She wants to really be a great leader and is committing time into developing those skills to help this culture and her teammates as a rookie." he said. "So that's been really impressive on the floor. I think you take for granted some of the things she's able to do. But extremely high IQ, she's picked up, you know, concepts and reads, very early. And then it's just, you know, she'll adapt to the physicality." Dallas returns on June 20 to play at Connecticut for a second and final time this season.
CBS News
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Dallas Wings secure first win of season in Paige Bueckers return to Connecticut
Paige Bueckers returned to a familiar place to get the first win of her WNBA career. The No. 1 pick in the draft by the Dallas Wings had lost the first four games as a pro and couldn't remember a longer losing streak in her storied basketball career. She wouldn't let it get to five. Bueckers scored a season-best 21 points in the Wings' 109-87 victory over Connecticut on Tuesday night. "Felt great just to play like that as a team and obviously that environment is special to me," the former UConn star said. "To play like that as a team and put a full 40 minutes together. ... It felt good to be out there." Getty Images It's been a week of homecomings for Bueckers as the former UConn star played in the state of Connecticut for the first time since helping the Huskies win the school's 12th national championship nearly two months ago. Six days before the game in Connecticut, she played in Minnesota, where she grew up. With the victory, Bueckers remained unbeaten at Mohegan Sun Arena, where the Sun plays their home games. She went 15-0 at the arena, including winning four Big East championships while playing for UConn. "I don't think I ever lost here. I was trying to carry that into tonight," Bueckers said. Tuesday night was like a home game for Buckers, who received a loud ovation from the sellout crowd when introduced before the game. Many fans were wearing her No. 5 jersey from UConn and Dallas, cheering everything she did. The St. Teresa's basketball team was sitting on the bench pregame and screamed with jubilation when Bueckers ran onto the court. Bueckers gave them and the rest of the crowd — which included a few of her former Huskies teammates — a lot to cheer about. She got Dallas (1-4) going early with seven points and four assists in the opening quarter as she was aggressively attacking for baskets or finding open teammates. She finished the half with 15 points as the Wings took control, going up by 14 points at the break. Getty Images "She just continues to do things that should be surprising but aren't," Wings coach Chris Koclanes said. "I take a step back to just appreciate the type of player and even more so the type of person that she is." Bueckers raises awareness about student hunger A day earlier, Bueckers posted on Instagram a video of a surprise meeting that Verizon put together of people who had benefited from a food security project that the guard started in Minnesota in 2022. As Chegg's first student-athlete brand ambassador, Bueckers worked to raise awareness about student hunger, an issue that had worsened due to the pandemic. "It was a total, complete surprise just for them to bring in those people who have been a part of my story and been a part of my journey," Bueckers said. "It means so much to give back, to see the impact firsthand. It's truly inspiring. I was extremely grateful for that." Koclanes has been impressed with Bueckers' mental approach to the game on and off the court and how much she invests in it. "She wants to really be a great leader and is committing time into developing those skills to help this culture and her teammates as a rookie," he said. "So that's been really impressive on the floor. I think you take for granted some of the things she's able to do. But extremely high IQ, she's picked up, you know, concepts and reads very early. And then it's just, you know, she'll adapt to the physicality." Dallas returns on June 20 to play at Connecticut for a second and final time this season.
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Paige Bueckers gets first win as a pro in return to Connecticut as she scores 21 points
Associated Press UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers returned to a familiar place to get the first win of her WNBA career. The No. 1 pick in the draft by the Dallas Wings had lost the first four games as a pro and couldn't remember a longer losing streak in her storied basketball career. She wouldn't let it get to five. Bueckers scored a season-best 21 points in the Wings' 109-87 victory over Connecticut on Tuesday night. 'Felt great just to play like that as a team and obviously that environment is special to me,' the former UConn star said. 'To play like that as a team and put a full 40 minutes together. ... It felt good to be out there.' It's been a week of homecomings for Bueckers as the former UConn star played in the state of Connecticut for the first time since helping the Huskies win the school's 12th national championship nearly two months ago. Six days before the game in Connecticut, she played in Minnesota, where she grew up. With the victory, Bueckers remained unbeaten at Mohegan Sun Arena, where the Sun plays their home games. She went 15-0 at the arena, including winning four Big East championships while playing for UConn. 'I don't think I ever lost here. I was trying to carry that into tonight,' Bueckers said. Tuesday night was like a home game for Buckers, who received a loud ovation from the sellout crowd when introduced before the game. Many fans were wearing her No. 5 jersey from UConn and Dallas, cheering everything she did. The St. Teresa's basketball team was sitting on the bench pregame and screamed with jubilation when Bueckers ran onto the court. Bueckers gave them and the rest of the crowd — which included a few of her former Huskies teammates — a lot to cheer about. She got Dallas (1-4) going early with seven points and four assists in the opening quarter as she was aggressively attacking for baskets or finding opening teammates. She finished the half with 15 points as the Wings took control, going up by 14 points at the break. 'She just continues to do things that should be surprising but aren't,' Wings coach Chris Koclanes said. 'I take a step back to just appreciate, the type of player and even more so the type of person that she is.' A day earlier, Bueckers posted on Instagram a video of a surprise meeting that Verizon put together of people who had benefitted from a food security project that the guard started in Minnesota in 2022. As Chegg's first student-athlete brand ambassador, Bueckers worked to raise awareness about student hunger, an issue that had worsened due to the pandemic. 'It was a total, complete surprise just for them to bring in those people who have been a part of my story and been a part of my journey.,' Bueckers said. 'It means so much to give back, to see the impact firsthand. It's truly inspiring. I was extremely grateful for that.' Koclanes has been impressed with Bueckers mental approach to the game on and off the court and how much she invests into it. 'She wants to really be a great leader and is committing time into developing those skills to help this culture and her teammates as a rookie.' he said. 'So that's been really impressive on the floor. I think you take for granted some of the things she's able to do. But extremely high IQ, she's picked up, you know, concepts and reads, very early. And then it's just, you know, she'll adapt to the physicality.' Dallas returns on June 20 to play at Connecticut for a second and final time this season. ___ AP WNBA: recommended
