While the summer winds down and the kids are getting ready to head back to school, the excitement of college sports is growing. But in our anticipation of what’s to come, we sometimes forget how unforgiving the grind of high-level sports can be for the athlete.
On Wednesday, we were reminded.
Out of nowhere, an afternoon announcement from the official UConn Women’s Basketball Twitter informed the basketball world standout junior guard Paige Bueckers would miss the upcoming 2022-23 season after tearing her ACL in her left knee on Monday. The injury came during a pickup game, according to the team.
NEWS: Paige Bueckers suffered a torn ACL in her left knee on Monday and will miss the 2022-23 season.https://t.co/ZSzEYwwWY1 pic.twitter.com/nWSB4uvyK7
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) August 3, 2022
This is obviously a huge blow for the Huskies’ basketball program, which impacts their season and the lay of the college basketball landscape. However, this news is just so much more difficult to stomach for Bueckers.
Of course, Bueckers missed more than half of UConn’s games during her sophomore season (2021-22) after undergoing surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear and tibial plateau fracture in her left knee. She returned in time for the end-of-season tournaments, which included a run to the NCAA championship game.
Another major injury to that left knee has to be incredibly draining for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award winner.
Bueckers will be eligible for the 2023 WNBA Draft, and there’s plenty of time between now and then to speculate whether or not she’ll forgo her remaining college eligibility or return to school. But such a topic isn’t really all that important at the moment. Not when there’s genuine concern for Bueckers’ immediate career.
Let’s all hope that Paige undergoes successful surgery on Friday and makes a full recovery.
