Caitlin Clark has accomplished more than just about any athlete in college basketball history. She was not only the face of women's college basketball, but she's one of the greatest players in all of college basketball history. The one thing she failed to accomplish, though, was winning a National Championship for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Clark led the Hawkeyes to four NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back National Championship games, but she never quite got to cut the nets on the biggest stage. She accomplished anything anyone could possibly hope to at the collegiate level except for winning it all.
This fate of ending a historic career without winning a National Championship is one that UConn Huskies longtime head coach Geno Auriemma believes star guard Paige Bueckers would love to avoid.
“I think it scares her to leave here and be the best player ever to play UConn without winning a national championship,” Auriemma said from his office this fall, looking out over the practice gym, via The Athletic ($). “That it affects your legacy a little bit. I’ve never said that, and I don’t believe that, but I’ve gotta believe she thinks that. That she needs that to validate who she is. … But I don’t believe that that’s the ultimate identifier of what true success is.”
Paige Bueckers is one win away from avoiding ending collegiate career like Caitlin Clark
Bueckers might not be Clark, but she's one of the greatest guards to ever play in a UConn uniform. In her four seasons, she has averaged 19.9 points per game on 53.3/42.4/84.8 splits to go along with 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per contest. She has just about every award you can possibly think of as a member of the Huskies, but is just missing that elusive National Championship.
Bueckers has made a National Championship appearance and has led the Huskies to an NCAA Tournament appearance in every year she's been at UConn, but she has not gotten the team over the top. With the 23-year-old set to declare for the WNBA Draft after the season ends, she has just one more game to avoid ending up like Clark. With a win against No. 1 South Carolina in Sunday's National Championship, Bueckers will have that monkey off of her back.
Bueckers' mentality is exactly what basketball fans should want to see from a superstar. She is satisfied with nothing less than winning a championship. Personal accolades are great, but team success is the ultimate legacy driver.
Hopefully, Bueckers can find a way to achieve her dream on Sunday.