Sonia Citron-Paige Bueckers comparison by Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks divides fans: “Actually overrated,” “Super underrated”

NCAA Womens Basketball: Notre Dame at Connecticut - Source: Imagn

College basketball fans have been left divided after Kentucky women’s coach Kenny Brooks compared Washington Mystics’ Sonia Citron to Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers.

On Tuesday, the 2025 Sporting News National Coach of the Year was on the Hoffman Show and made this comparison.

“I might get killed for saying this, but I think she’s every bit as good as Paige Bueckers,” he said about the former Notre Dame guard.

Sonia was the third overall pick at the 2025 WNBA draft, while Bueckers went first. The latter led UConn to its first NCAA title since 2016, defeating South Carolina in the championship game.

Sonia and Notre Dame could only reach the Sweet 16 stage before losing to the TCU Horned Frogs.

Brooks’ quote was put on Instagram by the PostHer Hoops page, and fans made their feelings known in the comments section.

“She’s not even close to Bueckers level she’s actually overrated he’s on some type of drugs,” a user wrote.

“I guess we’ll find out a lot of things when the season starts,” another user wrote.

“Oh nah Paige is getting disrespected left and right, they don’t even play similar roles at all. please poster hoops stop the trolling,” someone else wrote.

Sonia Citron-Paige Bueckers comparison by Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks divides fans. Credit: IG/@posther.hoops

There were fans who had the same line of thought as the Kentucky coach.

“She's super underrated!!” a user wrote.

“Sonia is most definitely underrated. Hope she shines in the W,” another one wrote.

“She’s not Paige, but she’s an incredible player. She was a huge part of Notre Dame’s success,” someone else wrote.

Bueckers averaged 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals in her final college season, while shooting 53.4% from the field.

Sonia, on the other hand, averaged 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals in the same season, while she shot 48.4% from the field.

Dallas Wings coach talks plan for Paige Bueckers

The Wings hired Chris Koclanes in December and are looking to recover from a poor 9-31 record from the previous campaign.

Speaking to ESPN on Monday, the coach gave an insight into how she plans on using Bueckers.

“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,” Koclanes said. “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.”

Bueckers showed her versatility at UConn and this could be a huge asset for the Wings. She is set to team up with one of the WNBA’s best players, Arike Ogunbowale.

About the author

Babatunde Kolawole is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience in the field with Canoncrested.com, Garbersports.com, LiveScore Bet Nigeria and Pulse Sports Nigeria.

Kolawole studied Agricultural Economics on the tertiary level but delved into sports writing after school. Over half a decade later, the experience garnered helped him land this role.

Historically, the Alabama Crimson Tide stands out as Kolawole's favorite team as he was drawn to their rich history.

As for basketball, JuJu Watkins is Kolawole's favorite current player due to how much diversity she has in her game, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets the nod for past players because of how he dominated with UCLA.

Kolawole has appeared on several TV and Radio shows as a guest analyst, and in his spare time, likes to watch movies (a sucker for the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and listen to a lot of music. He also loves to travel.

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Edited by Akshay Saraswat