Since high school, Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark’s basketball stories have been intertwined.
The top two guards in the 2020 recruiting class (Bueckers, the No. 1 overall player, Clark, No. 4), hailed from the Midwest, played on rival EYBL teams and then together in Team EE’s youth program Both were excellent three-point shooters, lethal from the wings and left baseline, with the ability to hit free throws and finish at the rim. But they also had their unique talents: for Clark, it was their reach; for Bueckers, it was the off-balance runners who kissed the glass perfectly.
For college, they choose alternative paths. Clark opted to stay home and play for Iowa, a program that had been to the Elite Eight four times in program history, but only once in Clark’s lifetime. Bueckers, a Minnesota native, signed with UConn, a dynasty that had not only reached the Elite Eight nearly every year of Bueckers’ life, but also won nine national titles during that span.
Even as freshmen, while playing in mostly empty stadiums (many, barely filled with cardboard cutouts during the COVID-19 season), it was obvious that they were the type of players who could dominate the college conversation until their races will almost certainly lead. to the WNBA.
That season, they hosted the Sweet 16, a game billed, from the moment the bracket was released, as a clash between two of the country’s most dynamic scorers.
“It’s been a while since two kids have had this kind of impact, both on their teams and in the game nationally,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said before that game. “Having one is great. But have two. … They are two very, very young kids, really good players who do a lot for their teams.”
Bueckers’ Huskies defeated Clark’s Hawkeyes 92-72, but their individual performances gave a glimpse of the talents they were and could become. Bueckers finished with 18 points, eight assists and nine rebounds. Clark finished with 21 points and five assists.
The game was a perfect summary, in a way, of why two paths, for two equally impactful players, had diverged. Clark went to Iowa knowing she would be the Hawkeyes’ No. 1 offensive option, their go-to do-it-all player. That night he took 21 of Iowa’s 60 shots. And since then, that trend has continued, as Clark averaged 19.3 shot attempts per game during his college career, accounting for 31 percent of Iowa’s field goals. the Hawkeyes since 2020.
But Bueckers chose UConn for almost the opposite reason. Although he might be the type of player who took a third of his team’s shots, he wanted to play within a more balanced system. She actively recruited other players, such as Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 recruit in the class behind her, to join her on the Huskies roster, hoping it would effectively ensure that responsibility was shouldered collectively as a team. because that’s how UConn had built its dominance over the years.
Even when the program featured national player of the year talent like Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart and Maya Moore (and even Bueckers during the 2020-21 season), that player never dominated scoring offensively like Clark did over the last three years in Iowa City. Over the past 20 seasons, only two players have averaged more than 15 shots per game over the course of a season: Megan Walker (15.5) in 2019-20 and Moore (16.7) in 2010-11.
But now the Huskies find themselves in a significantly different situation. With a roster hampered by injuries and an eight-player rotation with four freshmen, Bueckers and UConn might need to take a page from Clark and Iowa’s book. Maybe she needs to become the type of shot-getter, primary offensive option ( and secondary) on every possession that hasn’t been a UConn hallmark, but did lead the Hawkeyes to the national title game a season ago.
And Bueckers may be that.
GO DEEPER
A better, more confident Paige Bueckers? “That’s pretty scary”
Against UCLA, Bueckers took 23 shot attempts. It’s the only reason the Huskies were tied in that game. On every possession, the Bruins focused on it. Every screen she came off of, two or three players crashed into her, and every time a player gave her room to breathe outside the arc, she dove.
It’s not the role Bueckers envisioned for herself at UConn, but it’s the one that gives the Huskies the best chance to right the ship this season. Ironically, what she didn’t want (being an 18-shooter night in and night out) might be the only way UConn gets closer to the one thing she wants (a national title).
To get there, it can’t just be Bueckers. Every Huskies player would need to improve their game, and UConn will need to solve its problems on the glass, but by drawing more attention to itself, it will give everyone else a little more breathing room. Even after missing all of last season, she remains one of the most respected shooters in the game. And it doesn’t matter how many shots he may miss, because like Clark, anywhere on the court, any time he has the ball in his hands, he is a scoring threat.
Now you just need to do that more. Against Texas, Rori Harmon and the Longhorns defense provided a tough reality check on UConn’s offensive ceiling. Bueckers was limited to 11 shot attempts and the team only made 44. Still, the Huskies were within 6 points with less than two minutes left.
It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback in any game and say that Bueckers would or should have done something, that UConn would or should have put her in different positions (especially considering how much credit goes to the Texas defense). But ultimately, if UConn wants to be UConn this season, Bueckers must take on a role she didn’t want. She needs to play more selfishly, a little more unconsciously. It’s the only way UConn can regain its program’s identity by March.
Bueckers taking 20 shots a game like Clark won’t fix everything for UConn. But it’s the only thing that could give the Huskies enough cushion in the meantime to figure out everything else.
(Photo by Paige Bueckers: Lance King/Getty Images)
