Less than 24 hours after the WNBA draft, Paige Bueckers gear is already on store shelves.
Not only was Bueckers the first overall pick, but two other Huskies are also headed to the WNBA.
Isabel Ayala, a freshman at the University of Connecticut, said she is confident the Wings made the right choice.
“Paige is going to make Dallas great. She is going to put them on the map,” Ayala said.
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UConn nation is already ready to buy some Wings gear. Sharon Wagner from Manchester said she has been patiently waiting for this moment.
“I’ve been wanting to get it, and today is the first day," Wagner said.
Helene Clyburn from Ellington said Bueckers' apparel will make a great gift.
Dog House
“My daughter, she has to have a t-shirt. And I thought Easter is coming, so this is the ideal time,” Clyburn said.
Students we spoke with said Bueckers deserves all the success.
Abigail Schnitz, a junior at UConn, said she and her friends have been rooting for the Huskies.
“My friends and I watched the draft last night. And it is so incredible to see how far she has come,” Schnitz said.
Vincent Jackson, a junior at UConn, said it was an easy first pick.
“I don’t see anyone else who deserved to be number one. No one was as good as Paige,” Jackson said.
Alli Smith, a freshman at UConn, said seeing how far the team has come means everything.
“You feel the energy on campus. Everybody is super excited, watching them throughout the season succeed,” Smith said.
While Bueckers was the talk of the draft, two other key players for the Huskies this season, Kaitlin Chen and Aubrey Griffin, were also drafted.
Chen was drafted 30th overall to the Golden State Valkyries, and Griffin was picked at the 37th spot by the Minnesota Lynx.
“As great as Paige is, it wasn’t just Paige," Jackson said. "There were a lot of key pieces, so to see those girls get recognized and be in a professional league like the WNBA is great for all of them.”
Smith said the whole team deserves some shine.
“Seeing just three super successful women in sports, it gets a lot of conversation going about women's sports," Smith said. "And I think that's super important.”
Smith said she's originally from Chicago, and she takes a lot of pride in being a UConn student.
“You're in a small state, and you’re kind of far from home," Smith said. "But seeing that, it makes that conversation all the way back home to my siblings and my parents and my friends. Really, really cool.”
