The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn target Fudd in no rush to make a decision
National Signing Day is in less than three weeks, but Azzi Fudd doesn’t feel compelled to rush to a decision.
Four schools remain in the mix for the top player in the Class of 2021 — UConn, UCLA, Louisville and Maryland — not two as previously reported by Sports Illustrated. However, she’s not ready to choose.
“We’ve been really busy the last few weeks,” Fudd said Thursday in a phone interview with Hearst Connecticut Media. “I want to be able to really sit down and talk about everything, the whole process.”
“That process is different for everybody,” her father, Tim, added. “We’re naturally not fast decision-makers anyway. So, it’s kind of falling in line with what the norm is for us.”
Fudd, a 5-foot-11 guard out of St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., is considered a generational prospect, a programchanger from Day 1. In 2019, she became the first sophomore to win Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Like her good friend, UConn freshman Paige Bueckers, Fudd has lived what her high school coach calls a “LeBron James-type” experience. Fudd has 145,000 Instagram followers and the star power to boot.
“Everywhere she goes,” Jonathan Scribner said, “there’s signings of autographs, there’s people with signs in our stands, there’s 8- and 9-year-old girls that come to watch her play and hold up Azzi signs. Azzi just does an amazing job. She’s so humble.”
Bueckers has made no secret of wanting to play alongside Fudd in college. In December, weeks after Fudd took in a game against Notre Dame at Gampel Pavilion, Bueckers created a hashtag, #GetAzziToUconn. The tweet generated almost 400 likes.
At the moment, UConn has three commits in Fudd’s class, all of whom are ranked in espnW’s Top 100: Massachusetts guard Caroline Ducharme (No. 5), New York forward Amari DeBerry (No. 15) and Maryland forward Saylor Poffenbarger (No. 30).
“She tells me deep down she wants what’s best for me, but I know she just wants me to come to UConn,” Fudd said with a laugh.
Bueckers stayed seven weeks with Fudd this summer. “Too long,” Fudd joked. They spent a lot of time working out, watching
Netflix, and playing Wii.
Fudd was hoping to take an official visit to UConn, but it’s unlikely she’ll get that opportunity before the early signing day on Nov. 11 — which also happens to be her 18th birthday. All inperson recruiting remains suspended by the NCAA through Jan. 1 because of the coronavirus.
That may not ultimately
matter, though.
“Luckily for UConn,” Tim said, “we’ve spent a lot of time up there.”
Fudd’s mother, Katie, starred at NC State and Georgetown, twice leading the Big East in scoring, before she was drafted by the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs in 2001. Tim was a solid scorer at American University, where he averaged 16.1 points in 1996.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s ability to produce pro talent hasn’t gone unnoticed
for either of Fudd’s parents.
“Since we know how hard it is to have those opportunities, it opened our eyes as parents,” Tim said.
Added Azzi: “I really like him. I love how he is never afraid to say what he wants. I like how he keeps it real. He doesn’t beat around the bush. That’s his personality around the court, too.” NOTE: UConn announced Thursday that its game against Tennessee will remain
on Jan. 21 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. The 24th installment of the rivalry will be televised on ESPN in conjunction with “We Back Pat” week.
It’s the fourth known date for the Huskies, who are also scheduled to play Quinnipiac (Nov. 28), Mississippi State or Maine (Nov. 29) and Louisville (Dec. 4) at Mohegan Sun.