"Just be where your feet are": UConn star Paige Bueckers speaks on dealing with pressure ahead of March Madness

Back in December, the UConn women's basketball team headed to Brooklyn for the inaugural Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic. On the way into the city, the Huskies stopped in Manhattan to celebrate a big moment for senior guard Paige Bueckers. The UConn star was releasing the Paige Bueckers G.T. Hustle 3, the first Nike Player Edition shoe by a college athlete.

In the Nike loft where the Huskies made their detour, WNBA legend Sue Bird moderated a Q&A with Bueckers. A girls basketball team from the Upper West Side was invited to the event, and one young girl asked Bueckers an important question.

“When you feel nervous in a game, how do you move past that?," the young basketball player asked.

The Huskies guard imparted her wisdom.

“Nerves aren’t always a bad thing,” Bueckers responded. “It means you care. But a huge part of getting rid of the nerves is just staying where your feet are. The past can’t hurt you and the future can’t really help you. Just be where your feet are, and focus on the present.”

NCAA Womens Basketball: Connecticut at South Carolina - Source: Imagn

Bueckers is expected to be the top pick in the 2025 WNBA draft and has also discussed her intent to play for Unrivaled in the 2026 season, but there is still work to be done for No. 5 ranked UConn. For now, the star guard is trying to live in the present as she approaches the end of what is likely her final college season.

NCAA Womens Basketball: St. John's at Connecticut - Source: Imagn

Paige Bueckers' Search for a Title in Senior Season at UConn

Bueckers has made her intentions for this season very clear, identifying the Huskies' goal at Big East Media Day back in October.

"It's definitely National Championship or bust," Bueckers said. "That's always been the case here at UConn."

The Huskies haven't won a championship title in Bueckers' tenure at the University. The closest they came was in 2022, when UConn made it to the title game but was dominated by South Carolina 64-49. The last time UConn won a national championship was in 2016, the last of four consecutive wins, which serves as a women's record.

A championship would be quite the way to end the Bueckers era at UConn, and it isn't unattainable for this year's Huskies team. UConn sits atop the Big East and remains undefeated in conference, with only three overall losses this season.

Bueckers' squad is currently on a five-game win streak, with its last loss coming at rival Tennesssee on Feb. 6.

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The Huskies host two home matchups to end the regular season and are predicted to be a two-seed in March Madness, according to ESPN NCAA Bracketology. The team will look to Bueckers, who is averaging 18.7 points per game this season, to lead in the Big East Tournament and beyond into the NCAA Tournament.

Bueckers has a bright basketball future ahead of her, but as for now, she's aiming to bring home a national title to the Huskies.