UConn star Paige Bueckers is back on the court one year after ACL surgery on her left knee.
"All cleared and ready for takeoff," the junior guard posted Wednesday night on social media.
Her Instagram post noted it has been "369 days" since the operation that forced her to miss the 2022-23 season.
Bueckers tore the ACL during offseason workouts after the 2021-22 season. The last time she took the floor for a competitive game was the 2022 national title game, a loss to South Carolina.
Bueckers was named National Player of the Year as a freshman in 2020-21, when she averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while leading the Huskies to the Final Four.
She was limited to 17 games (13 starts) the following year due to a left knee injury — a tibial plateau fracture that occurred before the ACL tear in the same knee in August 2022.
In 46 career games (42 starts), she has career averages of 18.0 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest.
Bueckers is set to rejoin a loaded Huskies team that also features star players Azzi Fudd and Aaliyah Edwards, key returners Nika Muhl and Caroline Ducharme and redshirt freshman Ice Brady, a highly touted recruit who missed her freshman season with a knee injury.
—Field Level Media