{"id":765547,"date":"2022-11-11T13:56:21","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T18:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=765547"},"modified":"2023-01-05T01:07:17","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T06:07:17","slug":"azzi-fudd-off-toahot-start-as-she-leads-the-way-foruconn-against-northeastern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/college-hs\/azzi-fudd-off-toahot-start-as-she-leads-the-way-foruconn-against-northeastern\/","title":{"rendered":"Azzi Fudd Off to a Hot Start as She Leads the Way for UConn Against Northeastern"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/azzi-fudd-story\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"652050\" target=\"_blank\">SLAM 235<\/a> cover star <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?s=Azzi+Fudd\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?s=Azzi+Fudd\" target=\"_blank\">Azzi Fudd<\/a> is a superstar. We knew that <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/slam-tv\/1-ranked-azzi-fudd-unstoppable\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/slam-tv\/1-ranked-azzi-fudd-unstoppable\/\" target=\"_blank\">three years ago<\/a> when she became the first sophomore to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year high school award. We knew when she signed NIL deals with BioSteel, Chipotle, and <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?s=stephen+curry\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?s=stephen+curry\" target=\"_blank\">Stephen Curry\u2019s<\/a> Under Armour-affiliated <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/college-hs\/azzi-fudd-signs-unique-nil-deal-with-sc30-inc\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/college-hs\/azzi-fudd-signs-unique-nil-deal-with-sc30-inc\/\" target=\"_blank\">SC30 brand<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In her freshman season at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/paige-bueckers-azzi-fudd-cover-slam-235\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/paige-bueckers-azzi-fudd-cover-slam-235\/\" target=\"_blank\">UConn<\/a>, Fudd averaged 12.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 steals on 43 percent shooting from three. For a typical rookie, Fudd\u2019s performance would be considered a success. But for the D.C native, she came in the type of hype that gives you bigger expectations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLooking back,\u201d she said, per <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/3652627\/2022\/10\/26\/uconn-womens-basketball-azzi-fudd\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Athletic<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m, like, embarrassed. That wasn\u2019t me playing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Teammates, best friends, but above all, family. <br><br>Azzi and Paige cover SLAM 235: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/r9G3QM8Mgb\">https:\/\/t.co\/r9G3QM8Mgb<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LAgmNBk5Ld\">pic.twitter.com\/LAgmNBk5Ld<\/a><\/p>&mdash; WSLAM (@wslam) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wslam\/status\/1465774397613039618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 30, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cnext Steph Curry\u201d suffered a nagging foot injury that prevented her from playing the way she wanted last season. The pain, coupled with the pressure she felt from the \u201cidea that [she\u2019s] at UConn, so [she] has to be perfect,\u201d eroded her confidence. Her foot holding her back from being the explosive scorer we came to know at St. Johns College High School, Fudd did not hold back on her mindset throughout her rookie season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy confidence in my abilities shattered,\u201d Fudd said. \u201cI felt like I couldn\u2019t do it, so I didn\u2019t.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">These basketball forces of nature have been on a collision course for years. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wslam?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wslam<\/a> <br><br>Take shelter now that Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are together at UConn. SLAM 235 is out now. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Vo6Ly3zlSk\">https:\/\/t.co\/Vo6Ly3zlSk<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EG9x5z6eDZ\">pic.twitter.com\/EG9x5z6eDZ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; SLAM (@SLAMonline) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SLAMonline\/status\/1465791461413113857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 30, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately for UConn fans, the 19-year-old is confident: \u201cfreshman Azzi is gone. I\u2019m a totally different player now\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In UConn\u2019s exhibition game vs. Kutztown and their season opener vs. Northeastern, the superstar undoubtedly returned to being a superstar. With a new understanding that she \u201ccan\u2019t be perfect\u201d and can only be herself and \u201cgo out there and go after it,\u201d Fudd is BALLING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The guard casually dropped 29 points and nine threes (56 percent) in a 115-42 win against Kutztown on Sunday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">29 points.<br>9 three-pointers.<br><br>AZZI. FUDD. \ud83d\udd25 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7clv6c1DM7\">pic.twitter.com\/7clv6c1DM7<\/a><\/p>&mdash; UConn Women\u2019s Basketball (@UConnWBB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UConnWBB\/status\/1589340945027239937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 6, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>She followed up with 26 points, four assists, and a career-high six steals in a 98-39 win against Northeastern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJust attacking, getting to the rim, doing other things helps me get at least in that rhythm to make the one three that I did make,\u201d Fudd said postgame, per <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/fudd-leads-way-uconn-women-170800655.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGUofHeUd1Pq1zsovmgf7Pv9AEOYS3mKuuKp2TorI4iL1ol7PKfYUfztAlceDFwIaPae6SV-Ov-MSTcuPG86OU22sF6h2KwqHo16YSlSctrnp2E3hc__tf9d6EOwMAyC_OR84wn_3vXs-Thln0aMkOq7i7DazH3nMhQYumNT5ViW\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/fudd-leads-way-uconn-women-170800655.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGUofHeUd1Pq1zsovmgf7Pv9AEOYS3mKuuKp2TorI4iL1ol7PKfYUfztAlceDFwIaPae6SV-Ov-MSTcuPG86OU22sF6h2KwqHo16YSlSctrnp2E3hc__tf9d6EOwMAyC_OR84wn_3vXs-Thln0aMkOq7i7DazH3nMhQYumNT5ViW\" target=\"_blank\">YahooNews<\/a>. \u201cJust having my teammates in my ear telling me to keep shooting and keeping my confidence up means the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Azzi Fudd with the Euro! <br><br>\ud83e\udd76 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PIYqaaGBkR\">pic.twitter.com\/PIYqaaGBkR<\/a><\/p>&mdash; UConn Women\u2019s Basketball (@UConnWBB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UConnWBB\/status\/1590871689151537152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 11, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Self-assured, unflappable, and with \u201cabsolutely perfect\u201d practice habits, according to Coach <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/photos\/nike-honors-geno-auriemma-winning-1000-games\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"470500\" target=\"_blank\">Geno Auriemma<\/a>, Fudd is more than just her long-distance shooting. As a matter of fact, Fudd is just playing strong basketball right now.&nbsp;Auriemma added that he was most impressed by the sophomore\u2019s shooting and self-assurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI mean, I would think that everybody knew that,\u201d Auriemma said, per Yahoo. \u201cBut if they didn\u2019t know \u2014 that\u2019s the way she played when she was in high school. She didn\u2019t just stand in one spot and fire up 3s. She scores a lot of different ways, and I was happy to see her be so aggressive with the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Auriemma laid out a high ceiling for Fudd this season, but the sophomore prefers not to lay out accolade-related goals for fear of sounding boastful. When asked what she is capable of this year, Fudd simply said, \u201cI want to be one of the leaders on this team. I know I can be a playmaker, but I want to be a person that my team can rely on in every game, and that starts with my mindset and my confidence\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The standard at UConn is an NCAA Championship. With no <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/paige-bueckers-cover-story\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/paige-bueckers-cover-story\/\" target=\"_blank\">Paige Buckets<\/a>, no <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UConnWBB\/status\/1590512403720339456\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UConnWBB\/status\/1590512403720339456\" target=\"_blank\">Ice Brady<\/a>, and for now, no <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UConnWBB\/status\/1486813535770402821\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UConnWBB\/status\/1486813535770402821\" target=\"_blank\">Ducharmania<\/a>, the path to the NCAA Finals will not be easy this season. But, like Fudd says, \u201cThe Obstacle is The Way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fudd and UConn host No. 3 ranked Texas at home on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SLAM 235 cover star Azzi Fudd is a superstar. We knew that three years ago when she became the first sophomore to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year high school award. We knew when she signed NIL deals with BioSteel, Chipotle, and Stephen Curry\u2019s Under Armour-affiliated SC30 brand. In her freshman season at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":492,"featured_media":765553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49436,63826,62493,64136],"tags":[61527,64758,4265,64759,63860,62952,254,64081],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-765547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-hs","category-news","category-newswire","category-wslam","tag-azzi-fudd","tag-caroline-ducharme","tag-geno-auriemma","tag-ice-brady","tag-nil","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-stephen-curry","tag-uconn-womens-basketball"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/492"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765547"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":770124,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765547\/revisions\/770124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765547"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=765547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}