Paige Bueckers announces she’s cleared to return to UConn this season

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MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - There may not be anyone more ready to be back on a basketball court than Paige Bueckers, and apparently that’s happening very soon for the former Hopkins star.

Bueckers announced via her Instagram Wednesday night she’s been medically cleared to return to UConn for the 2023-24 season. Bueckers missed the entire 2022-23 season after tearing her ACL in summer workouts.

Lindsay Whalen talks Gopher women hosting UConn, Paige Bueckers in 2023

The Gophers women's basketball team has scheduled a non-conference game against UConn and former Hopkins start Paige Bueckers in November of 2023.

"All cleared and ready for takeoff… 369 days, GOD DID," Bueckers posted.

Without her last season, the Huskies went 31-6 and were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after a loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16. Bueckers led the Huskies to the Final Four two years ago at Target Center in Minneapolis, losing to South Carolina in the championship game. She missed 19 games that season with a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus tear in her left leg.

As a freshman and one of the top players in the country, Bueckers led UConn to the Final Four, a season that ended in a loss to Arizona. Bueckers was in town earlier this summer and made an appearance at the Twin Cities Pro-Am at Minnehaha Academy, serving as a guest coach for her good friend, Jalen Suggs.

Minnesota fans wanting to see Bueckers live and in-person on the court should put Nov. 19 on the calendar. That Sunday, Bueckers and the Huskies will be at Williams Arena to take on the Gophers and first-year coach Dawn Plitzuweit.