Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers. These were the three pillars of excellence in the NCAA until both Clark and Reese declared for the WNBA. While Clark was the first overall pick, Reese was seventh. Meanwhile, Bueckers who was expected to give a tough competition to the two chose to spend her senior year in the college basketball circuit. While many believe that Clark and Reese have advanced to another level, there is a certain Georgia Bulldogs star who doesn’t share that opinion and instead ditches the two in favor of Bueckers.

Asia Avinger was present in an exclusive chat with EssentiallySports when she was asked the difficult question of cutting, benching, and starting the three superstars. Given a chance to choose between Bueckers, Reese, and Clark by our correspondent BG12, Avinger made a unique choice by not starting either Clark or Reese. Here’s what she had to say:

Asia Avinger: “Okay, okay. I got it. Though…I got it. Though, I’m going to start, I’m going to start Paige.”

BG12: “Okay. Don’t bench Angel. You protected her when I talked to you about Caitlin.”

Asia Avinger: “I’m gonna bench Caitlin and cut Angel. There’s no bad blood at all, at all (referring to cutting Reese).”

Moving on, when Bueckers was at loggerheads with Clark in this year’s Final Four, Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post labeled Clark as the “Grand Canyon,” and Bueckers as a “very large ditch.” As per records, the tussle was so enthralling that it drew around 14.2 million viewers making it the most-watched game in women’s basketball history.

While Clark is known for her signature logo threes, Bueckers is popular for making her way through circles and finding open spaces. But at the end of the day, Clark prevailed as the Hawkeyes edged past the Huskies by a 71-69 margin. As per Xavier Handy-Hamilton of CBS Sports, had Bueckers been injury-free, she would have given a tough time to Clark in the WNBA draft for the number one spot. As for Clark’s rivalry with Reese, it extends back to the NCAA 2022-23 Final.

Reese did the famous John Cena’s ‘You Can’t See Me‘ gesture against Clark during the Championship Finale as LSU screeched to a victory with a 102-85 tally. Since then, Clark and Reese have always found each other at odds whenever they have competed and it has extended to this year’s WNBA too, although Clark doesn’t feel passionate about the animosity angle between the two. Coming back to the current NCAA star, Bueckers asserted her dominance in the NCAA this season.

Paige Bueckers performed incredibly in the NCAA

Coming into her junior year, Bueckers had a tough time initially in the NCAA as her teammates were sidelined due to injuries. Nonetheless, the 22-year-old didn’t lose hope. Instead, she teamed up with her coach Geno Auriemma to take up additional responsibilities. Apart from finding open spaces, Bueckers also contributed in defense despite being only 6 feet in height.

Overall, Bueckers averaged an exceptional 21.9 points with 5.2 rebounds per game, proving her mettle in both the departments. However, tragedy struck when Bueckers & Co. were defeated in the Final Four by the Hawkeyes. But, this didn’t deter Bueckers who was projected to be one of the top picks in the WNBA 2024 draft.

Instead of advancing to the cash-rich league, she chose her college coach over the opportunities that lay ahead and returned for another year to the Huskies to fulfill her dream of grabbing the Championship trophy. Now, that’s what we call dedication and love.

But, what do you think- Are Clark, Reese, and Bueckers rivals? And if yes, then who would you start, bench, and cut? Let us know in the comments below.