"Most difficult player to guard in America": Proud Geno Auriemma hails Paige Bueckers as UConn breezes past UNC

Paige Bueckers is widely regarded as one of the most skilled players in NCAA women's basketball. Her talent has certainly earned her a dedicated fanbase and one of those fans is her own legendary coach, Geno Auriemma.

UConn breezed past UNC after Bueckers led all scorers with 29 points, shooting 50% from 3. In the post-game press conference, Geno Auriemma spoke about Paige with pride beaming from his chest.

While speaking about Bueckers, Geno mentioned how Paige always matches and exceeds her expectations.

“Some people just are born with that gift you know, and she has that gift. Some people squander those gifts and she every day works really really hard to polish those gifts. And you know it's taken her here and she's got a long way to go still there's a lot that she's not not accomplished yet. But I really do believe that unless you foul her every time that that's the only way that you're going to stop her from doing what she wants to do, that's it.

"I mean I watch her in practice, I watch her play against, you know, better players than she'll ever play against probably and I think she's the most difficult player to guard in America.” (17:45 to 19:25)

How did Paige Bueckers perform vs. North Carolina?

Paige Bueckers had a stellar start to the game vs. UNC, as she dropped 16 points in the first quarter itself. Following that, she was heavily guarded, which resulted in only 2 points for the second quarter. At the halfway point, Geno Auriemma even called out her teammates for not helping her enough.

Paige Bueckers with her UConn teammates (NCAA Women's Basketball: South Florida at Connecticut - Source: Imagn)

She ended the night with 29 of the Huskies' 69 points, four rebounds and four assists. This game brought her closer to Napheesa Collier's UConn record scoring, the 3rd most 20-point games in UConn history. It is a safe bet to say Paige will be surpassing that record. This win helped Geno Auriemma tie the all-time record for games won as an NCAA head coach.

Is Paige Bueckers the best college player in America?

Among several players like Juju Watlins, Kiki Iriafen and more fighting for that position, Paige undoubtedly is the highest-rated prospect in this upcoming WNBA draft class. Geno Auriemma spoke about how Paige earned the "generational" player status by polishing her skills with her work ethic.

There are things about her game, like defense, in which she might not be the best. While she may be the hardest to guard, she hasn't yet cemented her status as the best college player in America. She still has areas to improve on.