Paige Bueckers is not a person you could trust with quick decisions. Just ask Geno Auriemma. “When we were recruiting her I had to threaten her because she couldn’t decide,” he reveals. But returning to play with the Huskies as a fifth-year senior? It seemed like a no-brainer. The family camaraderie, the coaches, and the need to make up for all the lost time due to injury meant Bueckers was dedicating all her focus to the program– nothing else takes priority; not even another aspect she excelled at.

The 2021 NPOY just got featured on GQ and she couldn’t have been more honest with her feelings. Speaking to Leah Faye Cooper, Bueckers reveals academics could just be the last thing on her mind. “I’m going to be honest: I’m tapped out of school,” she says.

Keep in mind, this is the same Paige Bueckers who not only earned her undergraduate degree with a solid 3.49 GPA but also won the 2024 BIG EAST WBB Scholar-Athlete of the Year title! In 2023-2024, she was also named a College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American. But after graduating in May 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in human development & family sciences, the Huskies stand out wanted to invest the least effort into academics.

So now her postgraduate course load? Pretty light! A psychology class and a criminal justice course. She explained her decision, “I graduated, got my degree, did well—so I asked my academic adviser, Ellen, to give me the easiest route possible.”

She names her reasons and well, one couldn’t blame her.

With 11 championships in the trophy case, it may seem like the UConn Huskies have it all mapped out and easy. But to get to the peak, it takes unimaginable efforts. Paige Bueckers has been at it for 5 years now and we know her injuries including a tibial plateau, a torn ACL, and a sprained knee haven’t made it easy. Add Geno’s Auriemma’s fierceness to the mix and the star guard has work cut out for her.

“You see UConn win national championship after national championship, and they make it look super easy. I’ve learned since I came here, it’s actually extremely hard,” Bueckers admits. If you need more proof, Auriemma’s harsh commentary is only inches away.

Paige Bueckers gets an assessment from her coach

Geno Auriemma has made clear that Paige is one of the best college basketball players to ever touch the ball time and again. But if it came to drawing an assessment, no one would know better.

“There’s a delusional side of Paige that I love,” Auriemma shared via GQ before he went on to break down exactly why he labels her that! “She has to know better, but she comes across as, ‘I have never missed a shot; if I do miss, it’s because something happened. I have never fouled anybody in my life; the refs are always wrong.’ So there’s always this back-and-forth between me and her, because I know what kids want.” 

Do not doubt Geno on that. He isn’t afraid of delivering harsh truths, even if it threatens losing his best players. He has previously explained it only helps it understand what his kids are made of. And Paige Bueckers soaks that up better than anyone.

One of the biggest reasons she chose UConn had to do a lot with Auriemma’s tough-love approach. She says, “He tells you what you don’t want to hear a lot of the time, and that’s sort of why you choose to come here. I’ve always been a person who had excuses for things—a reason why I didn’t do this, a reason why I did do this. He’s really pushed me to break those habits and find no excuses.”

The Huskies guard is averaging 18.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists while shooting 53.3% from the field. And the biggest console? She has remained healthy, save for 2 games, through to the end of the season. But the real question, as whether Auriemma and the Huskies can bring home the championship the village of Storrs hasn’t seen since 2016.