Many ailments are still plaguing teams as the year WNBA playoffs get underway.
When feasible, Just Women’s Sports will include the player’s estimated comeback date in addition to tracking the most prominent WNBA injuries.
The chance to play more college basketball, especially with her injured teammates, according to UConn standout Paige Bueckers, will be a “deciding factor” in her decision to declare for the 2024 WNBA draft.
The national player of the year for 2021, Bueckers, told reporters on Tuesday, “I think that’s what it’s all about.” “Who gets what choice in the draft is more important than teams. It all comes down to how much I enjoy playing here, how much I value my teammates, and how much I want to continue in the program and gain more experiences and time with them.
“So I believe that’s what made the difference—the desire to stay here longer rather than necessarily something that was predetermined before the draft.”
As of right now, assuming Bueckers files for a trade, ESPN’s most recent mock draft has her as the third overall pick. She is shooting 53.9% from the field and a career-best 50.8% from three this season, and her averages per game are 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.2 steals.
After suffering a severe knee injury last week, Aubrey Griffin’s coach Geno Auriemma is not optimistic about her chances of making a comeback this season.
Moreover, junior guard Caroline Ducharme is sidelined indefinitely due to head/neck spasms.
Because of the free year of eligibility that athletes were awarded during the COVID-19 epidemic, all of those players—including PhD student Griffin—may be able to return to UConn in 2024–2025.
Due to their individual ailments, Bueckers and Fudd—both No. 1 prospects and close friends before joining the Storrs—have not been able to completely fulfill their potential to share the backcourt. In just three seasons, the two have played a total of 17 games together.
Bueckers will have two more years of college eligibility following this season. She missed the most of her sophomore season due to a knee injury, and she also missed the entire 2022–2023 season after rupturing her ACL in August of 2022.
The All-American, who became the first freshman to earn national player of the year, led the Huskies to two national championship games: the 2022 national semifinal and the 2022 national championship game, where South Carolina defeated them.
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