MINNEAPOLIS — Friday night at the Final Four, the UConn women's basketball team aimed to move within one win of what would be their NCAA record 12th national title. But, defending champion Stanford looked to stand in the way.
Of course, one of the big keys to the Huskies' success is Minneapolis area native Paige Bueckers. But, she couldn't have built her resume without the assistance of a very important woman in her life.
Bueckers has always been one to credit others, those closest to her say, and now that she's back home, she's talking about her longtime coach Tara Starks, who said she just knew she had to have young Paige Bueckers on her AAU basketball team.
"Even at fourth grade I saw flashes of Magic Johnson," Starks said. "She's making passes that I thought how did she see that? And then she's super excited about it."
"She’s like a mother figure in my life," Bueckers said of Starks. "And we’ve been through a lot together."
Starks, who took over as the head coach at Bueckers' high school after she graduated, was the first coach to be stern with her.
"She’s just super hard on me," Bueckers said. "She loves me and we love each other and we have a mutual trust and just a really good bond with each other."
Last July, in earning the ESPN ESPY award as the female athlete of the year, Bueckers used her acceptance speech as a platform.
"She talked about the influence that Black women have had in her life and how they're not getting the recognition that they need and credit but yet they dominate the game," Starks said.
"I think all of the powerful and wonderful Black women in my life deserve that attention," Bueckers said.
Bueckers is synonymous with selflessness. And yesterday it was announced she was partnering with educational resources company Chegg and food recovery company Goodr to launch their first free pop-up grocery market in Minneapolis during NCAA Final Four weekend to bring awareness to the issue of student hunger.
"And that's just who she is," Starks noted. "She's always wanting to give back. It's the same with the game. She bought out a suite for all her former teammates and former friends to come and watch her play."
The pop-up grocery market, taking place Saturday in Minneapolis, will provide 6,000 meals and will be the first of several Goodr grocery markets.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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