AT TIMES there seemed to be daily Paige Bueckers sightings at high-profile sporting events this summer. The UConn star was at the US Open, multiple WNBA games and she threw out the first pitch at a Minnesota Twins game, a nod to her home state.

The focus has narrowed for Bueckers and her UConn teammates with the season opener coming up fast. It will be the last one in college for Bueckers, who has a final chance to chase a national championship for her powerhouse programme. It’s the one thing that has eluded her and all the training and injury rehab work is accompanied by a mindset of whatever it takes.

“I have loved my entire time at UConn,” Bueckers said at Big East media day event at Madison Square Garden. “I can’t imagine it coming to an end so I try not to worry about the past, I don’t try to worry about the future, I try to stay where I am.”