The 2022-23 women's college basketball season will be disrupted due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee of a star guard from the University of Connecticut.
One of the marquee players in the game, Bueckers was the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2020. In Bueckers' home state of Minnesota, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the University of Connecticut in the title game.
The Bueckers were the consensus national player of the year as a freshman at the University of Washington. After that season, she had surgery on her ankle and was ready to go for the next one. Bueckers injured his left knee at the end of the Notre Dame game and will miss the rest of the season. She returned in February after missing 19 games.
As a freshman, Bueckers averaged 20.0 points and 4.9 assists, and as a sophomore, he averaged 18.6 points and 4.1 assists. The national championship race will be affected by Bueckers' injury.
Four months ago, a team that was one win away from taking home the national championship faced an uphill battle as it seeks to return to a 15th consecutive Final Four. The first two of the three draft picks that were lost were three- and four-year starters. The program has been without a national title since 1995 and Bueckers' absence leaves a void.
The four healthy backcourt players are sophomore Azzi Fudd, sophomoreCaroline Ducharme, junior Nika Muhl and Lou Lopez-Senechal. There is only one true point guard.
When Fudd and Bueckers were out for a long period of time, the University of Connecticut had to play with just three healthy guards. There is a chance that something like that could happen in 2022-23 if the Huskies suffer more injuries. It's not ideal for the more guard oriented system that Geno Auriemma likes to run. Ducharme is coming off a hip injury and Fudd is still trying to recover from a foot injury that hampered her most of her freshman year.
Muhl has excelled on the defensive side of the ball the past two seasons, but will need to be as reliable as ever running the point with strong decision-making. Who will be the backup point guard? What's the matter? Ducharme, who helped carry the team when Fudd and Bueckers were out, needs to reestablish herself as a go-to option.
Fudd is a fellow No.1 overall recruit. With so many veteran players having graduated, Fudd is now saddled with more offensive responsibility than expected, and she hopes to have a full healthy season. If the Huskies want to achieve many of the same goals this season, she will have to quickly emerge as the star so many expect her to be.
It's not as if the Huskies are left without any strong performers in 2022-23, but their ceiling is much lower without a player like Bueckers who makes her teammates better.
In the June 14 edition of the Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings, the South Carolina Gamecocks held the top spot, followed by the Tennessee Lady Vols and Texas Longhorns. The team did not play for nearly three months because of Bueckers' absence. The team doesn't have to adjust to her absence because of the injury.
Even though they're still in the top five, they'll probably be dropped. Considering the losses of Williams, Westbrook and Nelson-Ododa, that would be a good place for the University of Connecticut.
It's not out of the question that the Huskies can compete against quality teams if Fudd and Bueckers aren't around. It wouldn't be shocking if the early 2022-23 slate looks similar to how the previous one ended: Experiencing several bumps in the road when the Huskies were trying to figure things out without Bueckers.
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The team is going to have to find a new identity without Williams, Nelson-Ododa, Westbrook and Bueckers in the first month of the season. By the national title game against South Carolina on Feb. 5, the University of Connecticut will have figured out a lot more.
The University of Connecticut advanced to its 14th consecutive Final Four after defeating NC State in the regional final. A lot of people thought that the streak would end last year because of the lack of confidence in the team. It looked like they got back on track after she came back.
This season is different with Bueckers out. Last season's national player of the year in Aliyah Boston, the South Carolina Gamecocks, will be a very strong pick to repeat and be the top team in the SEC.
After losing guards Lexie Hull, Lacie Hull and Anna Wilson, the team will be reloaded quickly, and that will be the case again this season. The Cardinal will be a favorite in the title race with stars like Haley Jones and Lauren Betts back. Tennessee and Texas both got a lot of talent from the transfer portal. Both Iowa and Iowa State will be among the top teams in their conferences, with much of their talent returning from last season.
The last NCAA title for the University of Connecticut was in 2016 and Bueckers' absence makes it more likely that will happen again. Even with Bueckers healthy, it was going to be a very competitive group.
She is able to leave college early and enter the draft when she is 22 years old. If a player turns 22 in the same year as the draft, they are eligible for it even if they are not seniors.
She previously stated that she had no intention of entering the draft. She has been one of the top players to cash in on name, image and likeness deals, and her association with the brand name of the University of Connecticut is larger than that of any other team.
The NIL opportunities allow Bueckers to make the most of her popularity with the Huskies and in college basketball, so most have expected her to play the next two college seasons and go in the 2024 draft. She could stay until 2025.
With her 2022-23 season lost, will Bueckers still be in the draft? Depending on how she heals and how she feels. We won't see her until the 20th century if she wants to have all four seasons in college. She could stay until the end of the century. She stated that she wanted to win a national championship.
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