STORRS, Conn. — UConn‘s guards are just getting started. It’s an early September morning, weeks before the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season opens. Loosening up just after 8 a.m., the squeaking of the players’ sneakers on the practice court at Werth Champions Center intensifies.
But something is missing. Someone.
Paige Bueckers is across the hall, alone in a quiet training room. Wearing a gray t-shirt and turquoise shorts with a bun collecting her blonde hair, she kicks off her white slides and sits on a yoga mat. Her eyes are fixated on her laptop, where a virtual Pilates session with her instructor is about to start.
Bueckers moves through her weekly session, progressing through stomach and sidekick series, plank work and one-leg standing exercises. Bueckers couldn’t do much of this when she first began practicing Pilates a year ago. She now has familiarity with the movements and follows along with ease but still checks the laptop frequently to ensure her form is…
