Okay, so maybe the headline of this post is a bit misleading. Paige Bueckers was a star before she ever set foot on the campus of the University of Connecticut. The 5-foot-11 guard from Edina, Minnesota, after all, started receiving scholarship offers when she was just in the eighth grade. During her senior season at Hopkins HS, Bueckers (pronounced “beckers”) won every national award imaginable, including Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Prep Player of the Year. Geno Auriemma and the Huskies won the recruiting battle for her services, beating out schools such as UCLA, Duke, Notre Dame, Maryland, Texas and Minnesota.

So far, Bueckers has lived up to all expectations. She leads the No. 1-ranked Huskies in scoring (21.1 avg.), assists (5.7), steals (39), minutes played (36.6), 3FG percentage (.554) and free throw percentage (.805). She is also second on the team in overall FG percentage (.567). Earlier this week, she became the first player in ACC history to win both “Freshman of the Week” and “Player of the Week” in back-to-back weekends. Bueckers is also the only player to win both awards in the same week on multiple occasions. Some observers are already calling her the best freshman player in UConn history, even over the likes of Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore, Nykesha Sales, Kara Wolters, Jennifer Rizzoti and Rebecca Lobo.

Bueckers possesses a deft shooting touch, excellent handles and, above all, next-level court vision and hoops IQ. If you’re a fan of college basketball, you should already be familiar with her skill set. But just in case you still need to be convinced, check out this video of highlights from a recent game:

Paige Buecker in her senior year at Hopkins High School in Minnesota.

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