Geno Auriemma is a fan of the University of Connecticut's advancement to their 14th straight Final Four. There is a time and a place for this.
When she walked into the family ballroom at the hotel, she headed straight for Tara Starks. Bueckers knew what was about to happen, and turned as she leaped towards her. It is a traditional greeting for the two, even if Starks wished it wasn't.
I always tell her that my knees are bad. My back hurts. Starks said it was almost like the same kid he would sit and talk to in 11th grade. She is not any different.
The women's Final Four will be played at Target Center, 10 minutes from Bueckers' hometown of St. Louis Park. She was a student at the high school. She won a state championship at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena and lost at Target Center. There is a mural of Bueckers in the Mall of America.
In the Elite Eight, Bueckers led the Huskies to the Final Four with an incredible performance against NC State. The sophomore scored 27 points and had six assists in the victory that earned the Huskies a spot in the Final Four. She continued to work her way back from surgery to repair her left knee.
The program is not going to win this game, according to the coach. There is no Final Four without a performance like that.
It looked like Bueckers would not make it here at all.
Bueckers dribbled up the floor as the University of Connecticut defeated Notre Dame. She stumbled as she bounced the ball with her right hand and shuffled her feet to get by a defender. After a few more steps, Bueckers crumpled into a heap on the hardwood in front of the Connecticut bench.
Bob Bueckers watched the game from his home in Maryland. He silenced his phone and then laid down.
Bob said that he felt terrible for her. She was injured all of a sudden.
Bueckers had surgery to repair her knee. The month was rough for the team. Freshman Azzi Fudd and sophomore guard Nika Muhl were out with foot injuries. Saylor Poffenbarger was transferred. In its first defeat to an unranked team in over 200 games, the University of Connecticut traveled down to Atlanta and encountered a suffocating Georgia Tech defense.
Fudd knows what it was like to be out for a long time. She tore her knee and ankle playing in a tournament. After returning to the court, she injured her foot and was forced to leave the game.
Monica McNutt talked about the Elite Eight win over NC State.
Bueckers had surgery on her ankle on April 30 after the Huskies lost to Arizona in the Final Four. She had a knee injury in December and spent the summer in a boot. Fudd knows what her friend and teammate went through.
Fudd said that the biggest thing was at the beginning when it seemed like the world had come to an end. I was there to remind her of the small things. Keeping her spirits high and reminding her that she is still a Bueckers.
Bueckers said it was nice to have Azzi. It was important to have someone who knows what you are going through and someone who can help you mentally and physically.
Bueckers missed 19 games. The University of Connecticut lost four in that stretch. Her first game back was against St. John's. She played 13 minutes and scored eight points. Bueckers averaged 6 points, 2.6 assists and 18.6 minutes per game in her first five games. In the NCAA tournament, Bueckers is playing in 33.75 minutes per game.
The stuff that this team has been through, the stuff that I have been through to be here in this position, is only something God could do.
Bueckers, who was the first freshman to be named national player of the year, was able to take over a game in the Elite Eight.
After the game, Bueckers said that he still gets to go home.
Bueckers has never won a title at Target Center. She played there as a sophomore in the Minnesota High School League state tournament. Eastview defeated Bueckers andHopkins by five points. Bueckers had 37 points. The state championship loss was the third in a row.
The team didn't lose three years in a row because of her lack of trying, according to Brian Cosgriff.
It was at The Barn that Bueckers got her first state championship.
The mural that went up in Mall of America this week is the culmination of Bueckers impact on Minnesota basketball. Young fans used to crowd her games and clamor for autographs.
Bueckers will be running onto the court that already has a piece of her when she is on the floor against the Cardinal. She will be looking to win a trophy for the first time with her teammates. She will be playing in front of her family and friends.
Starks said that she deserved to be at home.
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