Paige Bueckers' storybook ending of college career inspiring young Minnesotans
Two Minnesota basketball stars went head to head in the women's NCAA championship game on Sunday.
Tessa Johnson from St. Michael-Albertville saw plenty of playing time for South Carolina, but it was Hopkins native Paige Bueckers who came out on top helping the UConn Huskies earn their first title since 2016.
It was a storybook ending for Bueckers, who faced a lot of hurdles to get to this moment.
"All you had to do was see her in seventh grade, and you knew she was going to be special," said Brian Cosgriff, the former head girls basketball coach at Hopkins High School, who coached Bueckers for six years.
When Bueckers was in eighth grade, she shared her aspirations with him.
"We were playing Elk River. They were the number two team in the state," said Cosgriff. "We were down by about 10 points, and we put her in, and she hit eight [three-point shots] in a row, and we won the game. I'll never forget in her exit meeting at the end of the year, I asked if she could pick one college she'd want to go and play and she said UConn."
Cosgriff proudly watched on as Bueckers checked out of her final college game as a UConn Husky and a national champion.
"When she hugged Geno [Auriemma] at the end, I'm not going to lie, I had tears in my eyes. I had chills," said Cosgriff.
While Bueckers' basketball legacy still has a long way to go, as a likely top draft pick for the WNBA, Cosgriff feels honored to have been part of her story.
"If you have great players, you can be a great coach, and she afforded me part of that ride, and it's something I'll be forever grateful to her for," said Cosgriff.
Her college career and beyond continue to inspire the Minnesota hoopers that come behind her.
"It just lets me know that anything is possible. You can get to big stages even when you're from Minnesota," said Elia Johnson, a senior basketball player at DeLaSalle High School.
At UConn, Bueckers became the first freshman to win Associated Press Player of the Year. That same year, she won the John R. Wooden Award and Naismith trophy.
"Even when it got hard, she still voiced that. She never came out and said, 'Oh this was easy.' She told her struggle out, and I think that's really inspiring that she kept going," said Taylor Starks, a senior basketball player at DeLaSalle High School and Hamline University commit.
Bueckers tore her ACL in the middle of her sophmore year, missing her entire junior year in recovery. But she came back stronger than ever, winning Big East Player of the Year the last two years in a row, and now a national championship.
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