Consensus 2020 No. 1 prospect and UConn signee Paige Bueckers has looked up to players like LeBron James, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird but meeting Karl-Anthony Towns was a dream come true given the circumstances.
Towns surprised Bueckers at her high school on Monday morning with the 2019-20 Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year award, which recognizes the nation’s most elite high school athletes for their accomplishments on and off the court.
Bueckers was one of eight finalists for the award after becoming the Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year, the first player to win the award from Hopkins High School. A national advisory panel comprised of experts and journalists helped select Bueckers from nearly a million high school girls basketball players nationwide.
“It’s been amazing. It’s been surreal,” Bueckers told Rookie Wire. “The award is sitting right here in front of me and I’m still looking at it like it’s not even real. Like, pinch me, I’m dreaming. I’ve worked so hard and just to see it pay off with the Gatorade National Player of the Year, it’s the best award you can win. It’s not only who you are on the court but it’s who you are off of the court and I take pride in that. To be recognized for this means everything.”
As a former winner himself, Towns thought it was important to present Bueckers with the award for her hard work. Towns took home Gatorade Player of the Year honors during the 2013-14 season and knows firsthand what winning the award means to players each year.
Bueckers led the Royals to a 28-0 record and the Class AAAA sectional final at the time of her selection. The state’s three-time returning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Bueckers averages 21.8 points, 9.3 assists, 5.3 steals and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Seeing Towns at her school is something she will never forget.
“My emotions were really high,” Bueckers said. “I almost started crying but I was like, ‘There are way too many cameras around, I gotta hold it in.’ I had to realize that this is real and I actually won it and Karl-Anthony Towns came to my high school to give the award to me. It’s just so hard to imagine that I dreamt of this as a little kid and for it to be real, it’s crazy.
He had won the award in the 2013-14 season so he knew exactly how I was feeling and he said, ‘It doesn’t get any better than this.’ He told me he really loved my game and he thought the world of me and thinks I’m going to change the woman’s game. For him to say that of someone of that stature, it’s amazing to think about how highly he thinks of me and how he thinks I’m a great player and he actually came to one of my games to watch me so I know what he is saying is true.
Bueckers’ high school highlights have gone viral on several different occasions given her skill set and ability to make plays for her team. The Royals have not lost a game in over two years behind Bueckers and her game has even drawn praise from several NBA players.
That recognition reached a new level when Towns, D’Angelo Russell and other players on the Minnesota Timberwolves attended her game last week against Wayzata. With Towns and his teammates in attendance, Bueckers dropped 33 points to lead the Royals to the state championship.
“I was saying, ‘I can’t suck in front of pros!’ They are going to think I’m not that good,” Bueckers said of playing in front of Towns. “I just tried to stay true to myself no matter who is watching but, obviously, yeah, I saw them there and I knew they were coming so I just wanted to play the best I could and obviously win.”
Bueckers’ accomplishments at just 18-years-old speak for themselves.
She was a starter for the gold medal-winning USA Basketball U19 Women’s World Cup Team and has been chosen to play in both the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.
Bueckers is now a finalist for the most prestigious award in high school sports, the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, which is announced at a special ceremony after the 2020 ESPY Awards in July.
As her high school career begins to wind down, she will enroll in UConn over the summer and begin her collegiate campaign next season, something she is excited to get started.
“I am really excited to get under Coach Geno [Auriemma’s] wings,” Bueckers said. “He has done such an amazing job with so many great players and to see what he has built UConn into, I just wanted to be a part of that and building relationships with my teammates and the community. There is so much pressure that comes with being a UConn basketball player and I love the pressure and playing under that light so I’m excited to get up there.”
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