University of Connecticut Athletics
Popular Decision By Bueckers, Griffin
2/20/2024 1:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
 HARTFORD – It would have been a much better story if UConn women's basketball stars Paige Bueckers and Aubrey Griffin had agonized for days, even weeks, wrestling with their decision of whether to return to UConn for the 2024-25 season or to end their college careers this year.
Back and forth, studying the pros and cons, locked in seclusion, until finally a puff of white smoke over Gampel Pavilion signaled that a decision had finally been made.
Sorry -- no smoke, no seclusion, and not a whole lot of wrestling.
In truth, both Bueckers and Griffin admitted it was a relatively easy choice when it came to playing another season of basketball at UConn or not.
"I didn't think have to think about it a lot at all, maybe a couple of days," Griffin said.
"I kind of knew all along," Bueckers echoed.
That doesn't mean they were above trying to add a little drama to the announcement of their intentions during Senior Night festivities on Friday after a victory over Georgetown.
Except Griffin's moment was nullified when Coach Geno Auriemma inadvertently leaked it to the media beforehand and it had been all over social media by the time Griffin was handed the microphone. "Have you guys heard? I'm coming back next year," she said to the cheering crowd.
Bueckers tried, but couldn't take it very far… "I know everybody wants me to address the elephant in the room. Unfortunately ... this will NOT be my last Senior Night here," she said as the crowd exploded.
For both players, it came down to similar philosophies – not only do they feel they have unfinished business at UConn, but hey, college is a lot of fun.
"The way things ended, I did not picture that for my future, my injuries," said Griffin, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear on Jan. 3 at Creighton. "I just didn't want that to be the last thing I did here.
"I think having that year to come back with my teammates and get back healthy and play, that was the decision I wanted to make. I feel like there's still more to do as far as the player I want to develop into, and there's still more to do playing with my team. I know I made the right choice for me."
Bueckers should have had a bit more to think about. After all, she has already been an All-American and National Player of the Year (2020-21). But injuries to her robbed her of a season and a half and injuries to teammates have robbed her of playing with the UConn team she envisioned.
"It was really me not having a lot of chances to play here, me not having a lot of chances to play with the people I came here with, with the people who came after me and who I want to play with and just wanting to spend more time in the program, more time with the coaches, more time with my teammates," she explained. "I feel like I've missed two years of playing basketball. It didn't take much discussion or thinking."
Plus, college is the best years of your life, right?
"I was thinking about it the other day," Bueckers said. "I could actually be leaving here this year, if I wanted to. I could be going pro and become a real-life adult, paying bills and all that stuff, and who wants to rush that? Sometimes, college is hard, but we're blessed to have a lot of things given to us, and just being at UConn, we get a lot of great stuff – get a kitchen, get free housing, get free schooling, so we're very blessed. I love it here and I'm really grateful to be here."
