Welcome to the Paige Bueckers Preseason Roundtable® (pending NIL agreement). While you prepare to witness UConn do The Bludgeoning, let us bless you with our bad opinions and inaccurate predictions.
Check out our past WBB roundtables from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. You can also read our men’s basketball roundtable here.
Record Prediction
Meghan: 31-0, rolling through the BET, winning the ship and shutting up all the haters.
Russ: 30-1 regular season (split with South Carolina), Big East/National Champions
Tyler: I legitimately don’t think I’ll live to see UConn lose a Big East game again but they’ll drop one of the tough out-of-conference matchups this year, probably at South Carolina (because Dawn Staley will cheat and use different basketballs).
Kevin: However many games we play-0.
Peter: Imagine thinking this team would lose a game, c’mon son.
Chris: Undefeated baby. You’ll are in big trouble.
Best Quality
Russ: This team is D E E P. Deeper than any UConn team you can remember. That means you can’t beat UConn by harassing the hell out of Paige. Then Azzi will beat you. Or if she can’t (she can), then it’ll be Westbrook. Or Williams. Or they’ll go inside and ONO/Edwards/Dorka/Griffin/whoever will beat you. UConn will have an answer for literally anything you try to do. It also means a couple injuries won’t derail this team, which isn’t something you could always say.
Kevin: All of them. It’s the deepest and most well-rounded team Geno’s had since Stewie graduated, with multiple elite shooters (Paige/Azzi) to space the floor, three All-American-ish bigs (Aaliyah/ONO/Dorka), and some upperclassmen experience and grit (Evina/Christyn) to balance out the fact that like 80% of the team are still technically babies. This roster is significantly better than the one that made the Final Four last year — I haven’t even mentioned the other two top-rated freshmen, or perfectly fine glue players like Nika/Aubrey who are also going to get minutes — both because of additions and because its core of ridiculously talented sophomores are going to be that much better than they were as freshmen. This is a bananas team and they are going to play bananas basketball.
Tyler: The team feels stronger now than its been in recent years, which was very clearly a problem in several of the last few tournaments. With increased opportunities for Edwards, Muhl and now Dorka, and the depth to keep scoring on the court while still running out The Bloodlust Lineup, UConn should matchup very well against the other top teams in the country.
Chris: Definitely the backcourt. How do you improve on a backcourt that has the best player in the country already in it? You add the incoming No. 1 recruit in the nation and absolute sniper. Paige and Azzi are going to absolutely run the NCAA this season and it’s going to be insanely fun to watch.
Meghan: We have Paige Buckets and you don’t. Add Azzi Fudd, possessor of the purest jump shot this side of Ray Allen, and this team is going to be money. The depth is absurd. In all my years following this team, I have never seen a UConn team this deep. Geno usually likes to only go about 7 deep, but don’t be surprised if there are 10 players in regular rotation.
Peter: It’s difficult to say. The perimeter attack is so loaded that Azzi Fudd, a generational talent and one of the best-looking shooters I’ve ever seen, doesn’t have a clear path to start. Between Paige Buckets, Christyn Williams, and Evina Westbrook, this team is loaded, and having Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, and Nika “The Bone Collector” Muhl coming off the bench is going to be ridiculous.
Worst Quality
Peter: N/A. The frontcourt isn’t quite as strong as the backcourt, but having watched Dorka Juhasz come off the bench to dominate against Fort Hays State, it’s hard to see any part of this team I might call weak. With ONO and Aaliyah Edwards returning, along with Piath Gabriel and Amari DeBerry, not to mention wherever Saylor Poffenbarger and Aubrey Griffin are going to play, I’m not worried.
Chris: The fact that there’s only one ball.
Meghan: Not enough minutes? I guess? Honestly, this team has filled in every tiny hole from last season. Three point shooting and size in the paint are both totally covered, the only question is going to be how do you play all the good players who deserve minutes? It’s just an embarrassment of riches at this point.
Tyler: I’m really unsure of the polite way to say this but Williams and ONO haven’t played up their potential at UConn (yet!) and I’m slightly concerned that the full transition to Paige’s Team, in all aspects, won’t happen until this senior class moves onto the WNBA.
Kevin: Feels like it’s bad to be 141st in the country from the free throw line, and the exhibition game wasn’t encouraging on that front. Hopefully they win every game by 15+ so it doesn’t matter.
Russ: Only allowed to play 31 regular season games. Why can’t they play every day? Also it’s gonna be hard to distribute minutes because literally everybody on this roster should be starting and I don’t think that’s allowed.
Team MVP
Chris: Gotta go with Paige. She’s gonna be the national player of the year again.
Kevin: Paige Buckets. It’s the obvious answer and the only answer. She was the best player in the country last year, there’s an even stronger supporting cast around her which should mesh nicely with her unselfishness with the ball and take some of the scoring pressure off her, and if/when she decides to become a better defender she’ll be the best to ever do it. (Ed. note: We apologize for the previous paragraph, which is extremely rude to all the hard-working players out there who don’t play for UConn. Paige Bueckers isn’t even good and if she were a worse player on a worse team, you wouldn’t even know her name. In fact, you’re a bad person for even thinking that she’s good.)
Peter: Paige is the best player in the country, so she will of course be team MVP, but this team is loaded with elite talent.
Russ: 2021 National Player of the Year and also 2022 National Player of the Year and also 2023 National Player of the Year and also 2024 National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers.
Tyler: Obviously Paige.
Meghan: Paige. It’s Paige. Last year, she led the country in Win Shares with 12.9, a full 2.5 higher than the next highest player (Caitlin Clark isn’t in the top 10). She’s the best player in the country and anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
X Factor
Tyler: Aaliyah Edwards is the second-best player on the team and is capable of being an All-American this year. The speed at which she can go from good to great (inevitable) will go a long way towards determining UConn’s success.
Meghan: Azzi Fudd, aka three point shooting. That was something only Paige did really well last season. Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook will hopefully contribute as well, but Azzi is a damn sharpshooter, and they’re going to need her to drop bombs. In the exhibition we got a taste of it, with Paige driving into the lane, letting the defense collapse and hitting a wide open Azzi on the wing. Good luck to every team trying to defend that, because you’re going to see it a lot.
Chris: Aaliyah Edwards. I love Edwards’ game and she really stepped up her scoring last March when it mattered the most. On a team that will be known for its guard play, she’s going to shine down low.
Kevin: Christyn Williams. It feels like she’s in that sweet spot of being an excellent player who can win you a game on her own, but not quite at the level where she can be the best player on a #1 team over a 40-game span. And that’s fine, especially on a roster as well-constructed as this one. Teams are going to have to make some capital-C Choices on how to defend this team when Paige, Azzi and Christyn are on the floor, and as productive as Christyn’s been the past three years, that feels like a spot where she can thrive. If it works, it makes UConn just even that much better.
Russ: How about Evina Westbrook? She’s been overshadowed by the stupid amount o talent around her, which is absurd because she is also stupid talented. Just as importantly, you feel comfortable with the ball in her hands in a big spot. You know she can score or find the open man. She won’t mess up. She also buried RJ Cole in that First Night joke thing.
Peter: Will Evina and Christyn sharpen up their three-point shooting this year? If they do, this team can beat the Knicks.
Breakout Player
Russ: Caroline Ducharme. Everyone (rightfully) making a big deal about Azzi has caused people to forget that Ducharme is also a top 5 recruit. And apparently she had a great summer and can shoot the hell out of it. She might not get many minutes to start but she’ll force Geno’s hand and earn plenty of playing time.
Chris: Azzi Fudd. If Fudd is the scoring machine she’s advertised to be, it’s going to be insanely fun to just watch her bury shots all game. She may not start to begin the season, but she’ll be an all-conference player easily before it’s all said and done.
Meghan: It’s probably Azzi but don’t sleep on Caroline Ducharme. She’s very good at using her body to get to the rim, and is already a high-skill player for a freshman. Also Dorka Juhasz brings a lot to the table and could be a major contributor.
Kevin: Dorka Juhasz, or as many people are saying, Frontcourt Christyn. An athletic 6-5 monster who runs the floor, defends, and shoots 3s? Oh hell yeah.
Peter: Azzi Fudd is way too good for anyone else to be the answer here. I expect her to be a household name by season’s end.
Tyler: Muhl will break out of police custody and return to the arena to commit a flagrant foul.
Leader in Scoring, Rebounding, Assists
Peter: Paige, Edwards, Paige
Kevin: Paige, Aaliyah, Paige
Meghan: Paige, Aaliyah Edwards, Paige
Russ: Paige, Edwards, Paige
Tyler: Paige, Edwards, Paige. Boring!
Chris: Paige, Edwards, Paige
Regular Season Losses
Russ: South Carolina, either in Columbia or at the Battle 4 Atlantis. They’ll win the other.
Meghan: Lol no
Kevin: We could certainly lose to South Carolina, especially if we end up seeing them twice before March. Other than that, lmao.
Chris: I’m saying none, but the game at South Carolina is probably the biggest obstacle.
Tyler: At South Carolina.
Peter: {}
National Championship or Nah?
Meghan: Gonna be real mad if anyone says no to this.
Chris: No. 12 coming right up.
Kevin: lmao
Tyler: Yea, probably.
Peter: This team is too loaded to lose to anyone, but South Carolina is also going to be very good. If we beat them, we should be all set.
Russ: Duh
Great and/or Crazy Thing Geno Says Before the Tournament
Peter: He will derisively refer to his own team as chumps while noting that everyone else is bigger chumps.
Meghan: Geno is going to pontificate about a permanent Final Four site and everyone will get mad.
Kevin: “The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race,” following a 27-point win at Xavier.
Chris: Geno is going to make some kind of ludicrous NIL comment. Like maybe he’ll come out in one of Fudd’s sweatshirts or something. But it will involve NIL.
Russ: “We didn’t have to go to 68 teams. We let in 4 teams that suck. Tell me how that grows the game.”
Tyler: “In superhero cartoons, they should really work harder to incarcerate the criminals at the end of each episode. The villains repeatedly come back in future episodes to inflict more damage and waste public resources. Being great at fighting bad guys is fine but without some follow-through, it’s really only a stop-gap measure. Also, Kim Mulkey is a trash can of a person.”
Wild Card
Meghan: I’m going to mix it up with South Carolina/Caitlin Clark/Anti-UConn edge lords on the internets a lot this year and nothing good will come of it. Bonus wild card: Evina will continue her streak of averaging approximately one extremely disrespectful block per game.
Peter: Someone will dunk.
Kevin: The ace of diamonds that Nika Muhl uses to cut my throat after saying that UConn could lose to South Carolina.
Chris: I’m bullish on Evina Westbrook having a great year. She’s the obvious elder leader of this group and has a wealth of experience already. I think she really steps up this season and puts up some solid numbers.
Tyler: Geno will make a cameo in a scripted television series or movie.
Russ: 10 different players will start a game for UConn this season
