Freshman Fudd’s fun return
UConn freshman Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021.
She joined a team boasting depth and talent, including her close friend and last year’s national player of the year Paige Bueckers.
It took three games before UConn fans saw why Fudd was so highly touted and how she could fit with Bueckers. Fudd was nearly unstoppable against South Florida in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament on Nov. 21, as the 5-foot-11 guard had her breakout game with six 3-pointers for 18 points.
She played 10 minutes in UConn’s next game against South Carolina, but that was it. A foot injury — something that had been bothering her since the summer — sidelined Fudd for the next 11 games.
On Wednesday, Fudd returned to the court for the first time in two months. She made a gamehigh three 3-pointers and had 15 points with three steals in a victory over DePaul in Chicago.
It was as if she hadn’t missed a beat.
Her return comes at the right time for UConn, which plays at Providence on Sunday night. Fudd brings a sharpshooting scoring option and a 3point threat and adds backcourt depth for the team that also welcomed senior Christyn Williams back from COVID-19 protocols
“When you add somebody like that to the lineup, that makes a lot of people feel a lot more confident, especially me,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
Last week, before UConn’s game at St. John’s, Auriemma said Fudd had begun independent workouts and spent time practicing on the court for 30 minutes. As it turned out, Fudd was impressing the UConn staff during those workouts.
“Morgan (Valley) was pretty impressed that not
having played in seven weeks or something like that, Azzi’s first workout the other day whenever it was, she made like 25 straight shots. And I betcha only one of them touched the rim,” Auriemma said. “She was just amazed that someone who hadn’t touched a ball or shot the ball live could still shoot it like that.”
Still, Fudd was not expected to play against DePaul after Auriemma said Tuesday that she was not close to returning. But her status changed early Wednesday.
“I decided after shootaround that I was going to play, and I’m really glad I did,” Fudd said. “It was a lot of fun. I mean way better than sitting on the side and watching.”
Fudd entered the game at the 4:11 mark of the first quarter. Her first two shots came from behind the 3point line, with her second going in at 6:09 in second quarter to give UConn a 10-point lead.
Her first points since Nov. 21.
She was the only player from either team to attempt more than five 3-pointers — a good sign for a team that has recently struggled from behind the arc. In the three games before Fudd’s return, the team was 16 of 71 on 3-pointers. UConn shot 40% on 3-pointers Wednesday, its best since 41.7% against UCLA on Dec. 11.
In her five games as a Husky, Fudd leads the team with a 45.8% (11 of 24) on 3-pointers. Williams is the next highest at 32.1%.
Beyond her outside shooting and offense, Fudd’s mere presence gives UConn the backcourt depth it has lacked. UConn had four available guards after Nika Mühl returned from a foot injury earlier this month, but Williams missed three games last week before returning Wednesday.
The extra body in the backcourt will allow Auriemma to manage minutes. Auriemma has stressed he doesn’t want Mühl to play long stretches because she’s still recovering from a stress fracture in her foot, yet she’s averaged 35.8 minutes over the past four games.
Caroline Ducharme (19 points) played with four fouls Wednesday, but Auriemma had options with Williams (17) and Fudd (15) available and contributing.
“If those two didn’t play, there’s no way that we could have won this game today with (Ducharme) sitting on the bench with four fouls,” Auriemma said. “So now we have a better opportunity to withstand some things and we’re better offensively with those two for sure.”
UConn has the rest of the regular season to integrate Fudd into the lineup and find ways to get the ball into her hands.
And the team will add its final puzzle piece sometime in February when Bueckers likely returns from December surgery to fix a tibial plateau fracture and torn meniscus.