Storrs — It will be Paige Bueckers’ first game since April 3, 2022, in Minneapolis (584 days ago), and Bueckers was asked late Tuesday afternoon if that makes her feel the excitement that she had as a freshman at UConn all over again.

“I think maybe even more,” said Bueckers, who missed last season due to a torn ACL. “Just because in high school I never had the game taken away from me like that. So to come back from something like this and get to play again, I’m super excited.”

Second-ranked UConn opens the season at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the XL Center against Dayton (SNY), who is coached by Tamika Williams-Jeter, a former two-time national champion as a member of the UConn program.

Bueckers, the consensus national player of the year as a freshman in 2021, spoke Tuesday of the memories of the game she summoned while rehabilitating her injury.

“I think getting your name called in the starting lineup, hearing the crowd,” Bueckers said, “I think every single part of the process you look forward to and enjoy even more.”

Meanwhile, UConn coach Geno Auriemma, beginning his 39th year, used the phrase “the dumbest thing in the world,” for the first time (of many) this season.

He was referring to the likelihood the Huskies will be ranked No. 1 in the nation when the next national poll is released after No. 1 LSU, the defending national champion, lost its opener to No. 20 Colorado, the “dumb” part coming with a poll which includes so few games.

“The worst thing ever is getting ready for the first game of the year,” said Auriemma, whose team withstood a slew of injuries last season to finish 31-6 before falling in the Sweet 16 to Ohio State.

“You have so many unknowns. You have more unknowns than you have knowns. You’re dying to see what you team looks like, what their identity could be, how some young players respond to the lights that they’re going to be under now, how people respond to maybe their roles have changed a little bit since we have more players available to us.

“This is the most unsure you’re going to be pretty much the whole season.”

UConn’s starting lineup for Saturday’s exhibition victory over Southern Connecticut State, 97-38, featured Bueckers along with fellow guards Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Nika Muhl, joined by forward Aaliyah Edwards.

Bueckers and Edwards were named in the preseason to the watch list for the Wade Trophy, which goes to the national player of the year, while Bueckers was named the Big East Conference’s Preseason Player of the Year and Edwards, Fudd and Muhl were named to the league’s preseason all-star team.

UConn’s KK Arnold, a 5-foot-9 guard, was named the Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year, ranked sixth in the nation in the 2023 recruiting class.

Arnold, Qadence Samuels and Ashlynn Shade make up the Huskies freshman class, while redshirt freshman Ice Brady will also make her debut after sitting out last season due to injury.

The exhibition game against Southern drew 9,664 fans to Gampel Pavilion, including a packed student section. Bueckers played 11 minutes (7 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block), but said it felt like more like two minutes, leaving her eager for more.

On Tuesday, she thanked the teammates that surrounded her last season, getting her through the tough times as well as representing UConn on the court.

“Just extremely grateful for them, their resilience, their toughness, their mental fortitude to handle everything that was thrown at them last year and to do it with such grace,” Bueckers said.

“Super proud of them and super excited to do it all together and to be healthy at the right time and get the season started with a great roster ahead of us. I think we’re all super anxious, super excited.”

Williams-Jeter, who went on to a seven-year career in the WNBA following her graduation from UConn, is in her second year as head coach at Dayton (7-21 last season). Auriemma characterized her personality as “non-stop, non-stop.”

“I’ll hear Tamika before I see her so I’ll know when she’s in the building,” Auriemma said with a laugh. “... You’ve got to put yourself on my bus or my plane or my locker room and you’re looking at the combination of D (Taurasi), Tamika, Swin (Cash), Maria Conlon. Thank God Asjha (Jones) was there to bring some sense of order to the group. It was pretty wild.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com