Bueckers, McDonald propel UConn and Arizona to Final Four
By Jim Vertuno article
SAN ANTONIO - One is a freshman who stepped into the job of leading the most successful program in women’s basketball. The other is a senior who accepted the call to build one of the worst into one of this season’s best.
Together, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Arizona’s Aari McDonald are two of the most dynamic scorers in the country heading into their Friday night clash in the women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four.
UConn won the River Walk region and rides into its 13th consecutive Final Four as Bueckers this week became the first freshman to win The Associated Press national player of the year award.
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) â Talented freshmen Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark wouldn t mind having the option to enter the WNBA draft this year.
There is no one-and-done choices for female players because of the league s longstanding eligibility rules for the draft that haven t really been a major part of WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.
âIâm a believer in living in the now and right now I donât have that choice,â said Bueckers, the UConn phenom who was honored Wednesday as the first freshman to be named The Associated Press womenâs basketball player of the year. âIâm focused on college right now. In the future, I feel like that option for future college students might be there.â
SAN ANTONIO UConn coach Geno Auriemma said he would support a one-and-done environment in women s college basketball, saying that student-athletes like his freshman star, Paige Bueckers, should have choices to how they want to live their lives and how they want to take control of their own lives.
Draft-entry restrictions are part of the WNBA s current collective bargaining agreement. Unlike in the men s game, in which players can turn pro after one season, most women s players are not eligible for the WNBA draft until after their fourth year in college. There are some exceptions for juniors: if they have been in school for four years, if they turn 22 during the year of the draft, or if they graduate within three months of the draft.