Geno Auriemma has become a familiar face at Hopkins High School's Lindbergh Center, having stopped by three times in recent months, most recently on the first official day of girls' basketball practices.
The reason the legendary UConn coach has beaten a path to Hopkins' door is a 6-foot tall point guard who's a bit on the slender side, walks with a bounce in her step, handles a basketball like a yo-yo, slides effortlessly through traffic and is magic from outside the three-point line.
It's all about sophomore guard Paige Bueckers, who is likely, when her high school career wraps up in 2020, to be one of the best girls' basketball players Minnesota has produced.
"The best player I've ever seen was Tayler Hill," said Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff, referring to the former Minneapolis South star. "I never saw Geno here for Tayler. That's when I started thinking I had something special here."
Bueckers, a gym rat who subsists on a steady diet of basketball, is as comfortable on the court as she is in her own home. If she's not playing, she's practicing and training, often by herself. And when she's not training, she's observing.
"I'm always thinking about basketball," Bueckers said. "I'll scout other teams. When I'm at home, I'm watching it — high school, college, pros — whenever I can."
Just how good is Bueckers? She spent a good chunk of her summer playing with Team USA's Women's U16 team. She averaged 11 points, tied for second best on a team that won the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina.
But while she's traveled the globe and has iconic coaches regularly showing up to watch her, one thing is never far from her thoughts: Hopkins has lost the past two Class 4A championship games, to Minnetonka in 2016 and Elk River in 2017. The incessant sting of those defeats are prodding motivation.