2016. That was the last year that the Huskies WBB brought in a National Championship to Storrs. While UConn has had a title drought, maybe they can get their thirteenth title after 8 years with Paige Bueckers. However, for that to be possible, their head coach Geno Auriemma will have to make some major changes. And one such change involves going against the current stream strategy according to a Huskies insider.

On Thursday’s episode of Locked On UConn, journalist Emily Adams came to the fore to reveal what might help UConn’s plans of winning a title and it involved giving Bueckers fewer minutes.

“Yeah, I think. It can sometimes sort of sound contradictory to have that idea of like ‘Paige has to be aggressive and Paige has to control the game and all of that. But also we don’t want to just rely on Paige’, and I think a lot of that comes with like they have to be able to take Paige off the floor. That’s kind of the biggest reason I… depth and chemistry and other players to step up,” This time around, UConn has a set of players who are no longer injury-bound and can take the stage for the Huskies when needed. Adams further explained what Geno Auriemma had said before about the team relying too much on their fifth-year guard.

“Geno said this, ‘Everybody plays really well when Paige is on the floor. Everybody else is good at making plays when Paige is on the floor and can kind of have that gravitational pull, and can facilitate and she just impacts so many areas of the game’,” Adams mentioned what Auriemma previously stated.

Bueckers has returned to UConn in what will be her final year. Though she was projected as a top 3 pick in the 2024 WNBA mock drafts, the Huskies star chose her college over the league, which shows her wish to clinch a title. However, it remains to be seen if she will be able to fulfill her dream. And for that to happen, Adams recommends the head coach Geno Auriemma to not form a team around Bueckers, instead rotating youngsters to the floor whenever needed.

“But you know as soon as you pull her off suddenly you don’t really have a veteran on this team. So you know a lot of young guys are having to learn how to be like floor general are very quickly. You know Kaitlyn Chen, obviously is a veteran. But is not a veteran with UConn, so she’s having to get comfortable very quickly with just kind of her voice. And her place on this team as a vocal leader. And I think that’s sort of where you need the development from the younger players,” the insider noted about how the other players need to rise up to the occasion so Bueckers can return when the team needs her the most against bigger guns.

“You need them to be able to run the floor for a quarter in a Big East game when they’re trying to rest Paige, before they go to South Carolina. You know I think it’s so important with how hard their non-conference slate is because I mean that stretch in December they play three or four ranked teams in like two or three weeks so it’s I mean she’s gonna be playing 35 minutes a game,” Adams concluded.

The Huskies will be playing 7 games in December which makes for a pretty hectic schedule. The Auriemma mentees will ply their trade against the Holy Cross starting December 3rd and their campaign for the month will end against the Providence just before the New Year.

Therefore, according to Adams, Auriemma should not build a team around Bueckers. Instead have Kaitley Chen, Sarah Strong, and Carolina DuCharme among takes responding to the team’s needs. Meanwhile, Auriemma had also come to the fore to share some strategies in order to win his 12th title this season.

Geno Auriemma wants one change in the squad

Auriemma applauded Bueckers for her spirit when he was present on SNY. However, he did recommend one major change that could have lifted the squad.

“Paige is somebody that everybody’s going to want to watch. Unfortunately, I wish she was, you know, playing with a much older group. I wish she was playing with a more experienced group… So it’s really something that is gonna take some time. But the talent I think we have, we are much deeper, I think will hopefully offset the lack of experience. And Paige is gonna have to do a lot until that happens,” Auriemma stated.

The only experienced star with Bueckers is Azzi Fudd, but unfortunately, she has had her own struggles with injuries that have prohibited her from playing complete seasons many times. Thus Auriemma worries if Bueckers will be able to handle this herself. But what stands in their favor is that they are a much deeper team when compared to others. Therefore, it might just help them cover up for their lack of experience.

Whether Bueckers will be able to lift the title or not, remains to be seen. But what is exciting is that she has certainly drawn the spotlight to her and before she gets the top spot in the WNBA draft, it would be a perfect scenario if he NCAA career ends on a high.