Paige Bueckers earned varsity minutes on a loaded Hopkins high school team as an 8th-grader under the leadership of head coach Brian Cosgriff.

Bueckers went on to have a storied high school career, leading the Royals to the 2019 big school state title as a junior, and they would’ve likely won another in 2020. However, Covid halted the tourney.

We caught up with Cosgriff on Monday to hear his thoughts on Bueckers winning a national title with UCONN.

***Click the video box above to watch Cosgriff share his thoughts on Bueckers***

Bueckers played out her final season with UConn and is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 14th. In the NCAA tournament, she played as if she didn’t want to surrender her UConn jersey.

She had a career-high 34 points in a second-round victory over South Dakota State in her final game at Gampel Pavilion, then bested that with a 40-point performance over Oklahoma in the Sweet 16.

UCONN coach Geno Auriemma called her “the most incredibly positive human being” he’s ever been around. But he still holds her accountable when she slips. During the game against Oklahoma, Auriemma got after Bueckers for her defense.

“Just an everyday interaction between Coach and Paige,” Bueckers shrugged with a smile.

The exchange was typical of the relationship between coach and player forged over Bueckers’ career in Storrs. Both are serious about winning, but there’s also some good-natured banter.

“For her to get all the attention she gets, have all the demands on her life, all the expectations in her life, and still be able to deliver — I thought she was a unique individual when I saw her in high school,” Auriemma said.

Bueckers arrived at UConn in 2020 and was the consensus national player of the year as a freshman. She played just 17 games the next season and sat out the entire 2022-23 campaign with a torn ACL.

This season, she earned AP All-America honors and was selected as the Big East player of the year for the third time. She’s averaging 20.1 points a game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report