UConn's Paige Bueckers a full go coming off ACL tear, 'feeling good ...

STORRS, Conn. -- Former women's college basketball National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers is a go coming off her August 2022 ACL tear. The UConn Huskies held their first official practice Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm feeling really good," Bueckers said. "I'm in a really good place physically, mentally. Still sort of getting the rust off. I haven't played in over a year so it's going to take some time to adjust and get my rhythm and flow back. But super excited for practice to start, for games to be in the distance in which we can see and just super excited to be on the court."

Bueckers missed the 2022-23 season with the left ACL injury after also being sidelined the majority of her sophomore year with a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear she sustained in December 2021. Both injuries were in her left knee. The 5-foot-11 point guard from Minnesota announced on social media that she was fully cleared in August, although she did not play in UConn's European tour that month.

The Huskies' opener is Nov. 8 versus Dayton, and UConn is No. 2 in ESPN's way-too-early top 25 behind defending national champion LSU. Bueckers knows she has come a long way in 14 months but still has a little way to go as she prepares for her return to the court.

"I would say obviously physically, you get cleared. Mentally there's still that block of being able to be confident in your body and your knee and there's always a fear of injury, but not letting that take over you on the court, and just going out there and being sort of in a free state of mind when you're playing basketball," Bueckers said when asked about the elements of the game coming back for her. "But I think just getting the conditioning back is the hardest part, and then just the rhythm in which you're playing and what you did before and then carrying that into the road to recovery."

Bueckers spent the past year working on getting physically stronger (she's put on about 15 pounds since her freshman year) and ensuring her body is ready to go before she even steps onto the floor. Prioritizing activations has helped her become increasingly confident in her knee to the point where she doesn't think about it when she's cutting, landing or playing through contact.

"I'm feeling much stronger. I feel more confident in my body than I ever have," Bueckers said. "When I step on the court, I feel like I'm ready for whatever defense is going to throw at me and I know people this year are going to test me, push me around, make sure I'm really healthy, make sure my knee's really good and use physicality as a weapon against me, so I'm ready for that."

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Bueckers has realistic expectations about how quickly she'll get back to her usual form. That player has been enormously impactful for UConn even in limited time, guiding the Huskies to the Final Four her freshman season and then, after returning from injury, propelling them to the national championship game her sophomore year, where they fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

"She has her expectations perfectly aligned that this is going to take some time," Auriemma said. "She's not going to step out there and be Paige, National Player of the Year freshman year. That's going to take a little bit of time."

But one thing Bueckers wants to showcase is her "overwhelming feeling of passion."

"I think I'm going to interact with the crowd much more than Coach and [associate head coach Chris Dailey] would want but I've just missed it so much," Bueckers said. "And I hope people see how much I missed the game."

Bueckers has three years of collegiate eligibility remaining (including the freebie COVID-19 year granted to student athletes for the 2020-21 season). She says she considers herself a senior because that's where she is academically, and that while she has not made a decision about how much longer she'll stay in college, NIL will "really not [be] a factor at all for me."

"I've said before, I just love the college experience," said Bueckers, who is expected to be a top WNBA pick whenever she enters the draft. "I love being here at UConn and putting on that UConn jersey every single day and I just have tremendous pride playing here and playing for this program. I came here and I wanted to come here a little bit before NIL even started, so that really has no factor into my decision. It's more just the basketball aspect and school aspect."

Bueckers undoubtedly has her sights set on winning a national championship with the Huskies. Last season with Bueckers on the sideline and a slew of other injuries and illnesses, the program's streak of 14 consecutive Final Four appearances was snapped with a loss in the Sweet 16 to Ohio State. Auriemma can't say with certainty whether his team will bring home the program's 12th title this year, but he sees it as in the conversation.

"You can't win the national championship every single year. But you should aspire [so] that every year when the season starts, when people start talking about who has a chance to win a national championship, your name has to come up right away," Auriemma said when asked about the possibility of dual championships alongside the UConn men's team. "And I think the guys next door, our guys, and our team are in our conversation this year, and that's all you can ask for. And then we'll cross our fingers and see where it goes."