Paige Bueckers is making a comeback (again)
The Huskies star is recovering from a torn left ACL suffered in August. She is set to return to action beginning next season.
It is Monday, August 1, 2022. The beginning of the women’s college basketball season is just 98 days away, and UConn Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers is playing a pickup game at the Werth Champions Center in Storrs, Connecticut.
During what seems to be just another routine day in the lab for one of the world’s most talented ballers, the unthinkable happened. Bueckers was running at full speed when her left leg gave out. She tried to stop but it was too late. From the moment Bueckers went down, she knew that the future of her career, short and long-term, took a serious turn on that hot summer day.
Following initial testing and an MRI, it was confirmed that she suffered a torn left ACL and would miss the 2022-23 season. This is not the news anyone wanted to hear. It was just seven months and twenty-seven days prior that she suffered an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear, also in the left knee in a game against Notre Dame on December 5, 2021.
She went on to miss 19 games, then came back in late February, leading the Huskies to the national championship game where they fell to Aliyah Boston and South Carolina. Once the news was made public that there would be no return this time around, Bueckers took to Instagram to share her feelings.
“It’s so so crazy because you work so hard to get back healthy, you feel stronger than ever, and you are playing your best basketball and with one sudden movement it all shifts. It’s hard trying to make sense of it all now but I can’t help but think that God is using me as a testimony as to how much you can overcome with Him by your side. Some little kid that just tore their ACL or had a major surgery might need this story P, because it’s going to be one hell of a comeback. There is going to be good days and there is going to be bad days but my absolute love for the game and Godly strength will get me back to where I need to be. I’ve worked too hard for the little kid in these pictures to keep going for the dreams I’ve had since I first picked up the ball, so why would I stop now? The prayers and love means so much to me and the doubts that I won’t get back to where I was might mean even more. God put a dream in my heart and even if I have to walk through a nightmare to get it I’m going to keep believing. All love, P
In the immediate aftermath of the injury, speculation grew around her future. Some floated the possibility of never playing another game in Storrs to prepare for the WNBA. Others felt there was unfinished business with the Huskies.
One month after the injury occurred, the rumors were put to rest as she addressed the media for the first time since going down.
"I'm not leaving. That is not in question," Bueckers told reporters. "People asked me, 'What are you thinking about fifth year, COVID year, redshirting this year.' I'm not thinking too far ahead about that at all. But I will be playing college basketball again."
Now, just over six months removed from the injury, Bueckers is making steady progress towards her eventual return this fall. Many wonder what that return will look like, and if she will be back as the Paige Bueckers of old.
Even if Bueckers is fully healthy with no restrictions, expect Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma to tread lightly with his superstar in the early going. Last spring, when Bueckers returned from her first knee injury, she played under 20 minutes in her first five games back, slowly but surely finding more minutes in the NCAA tournament.
Just like her minutes, her statistical impact may seem small in the beginning. But once she finds her groove, watch out. This is a committed and determined young lady. One who will take the basketball world by storm. Again.