Is UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers the next Diana Taurasi? ‘She has those qualities’

There’s the swagger. There’s the confidence. And there’s the ability to put on one heck of a show on the basketball court on any given night.

Paige Bueckers did just that Monday night against NC State, scoring 27 points and helping to lead the UConn women’s basketball team to a Final Four berth with a win over NC State at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport.

Even Diana Taurasi, the Huskies legend, had to have been impressed by that. Bueckers seems to have plenty of the Taurasi qualities, but is there a comparison?

“I don’t like to compare players from different eras,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said this week. “I think that’s usually a dangerous thing because it does a little bit of disservice to both kids. Diana was Diana, and there will never be another one like her.”

It’s still early in Bueckers’ collegiate career, of course. Bueckers, a sophomore, started all 29 games her freshman campaign, averaging 20 points, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals. She won national player of the year awards and was named an All-American.