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UConn Fans at Odds Over Wings Coach's Paige Bueckers Usage Plan

Wings head coach Chris Koclanes' comments about Paige Bueckers' offensive versatility are raising eyebrows.
Grant Young|
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) looks on during the second half of the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) looks on during the second half of the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In the first half of the 2024-25 NCAA women's basketball season, there was some discussion about whether UConn Huskies star guard Paige Bueckers was being utilized correctly in Geno Auriemma's offense, especially after UConn lost to the USC Trojans in December.

Ultimately, any concerns about Bueckers' offensive role were put to rest once the Huskies soared in the season's second half and went on to win the 2025 NCAA championship.

Bueckers' UConn career is now over, and she will soon start her rookie WNBA season with the Dallas Wings after being the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft. Although Bueckers' offensive role with the Wings has now become a topic of discussion after Dallas head coach Chris Koclanes' quote in an April 16 article from ESPN recently went viral.

"I think what makes her special is she can fill the gap, and she can fill whatever gap," Koclanes said of Bueckers, per the article. "We can put her on the ball, we can put her off the ball, and she'll be just as good, just as efficient, just as effective, and, most importantly, just as willing. And I think that speaks to her unselfishness. I'm excited as a coach to be able to talk to her and find out what works. "

X user @boong3019 reposted this comment from Koclanes on April 24 and captioned it, "I hate to hear this". The post already has over 87,000 views.

Some fans are also lamenting Koclanes' sentiment, with one X user writing, "I’m tired of them taking about her 'unselfishness'. It’s making me nervous that they expect her to defer and not run anything through her. They need to be instilling unselfishness in everyone else. Like Geno said it only works if it’s a two way street.

Other fans are more willing to be patient and not take these words to heart right away.

"Can y’all be calm for a second… this is an offshoot comment where he’s praising one of special abilities as a player. We haven’t even seen the team all suited up together yet before all you crash out over this lmao," one fan added.

Another added, "Im not concerned, just cause he talks about potential to use of her versatility doesn't mean he's about to have her off ball all the time. Its just a general statement about how complete and convenient her game is🤷‍♀️".

It will definitely be interesting to see what Bueckers' role in Dallas' offense will be early in the season.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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