Azzi’s shot

[Conndog]

The truth is, when Butler's freshman ( Aneesah Morrow ) left the game with an apparent leg injury, UCONN got back in the game. She was out for nearly a full period. Everyone on UCONN contributed ( lets not forget who made the winning basket ), but Butler's scoring went off ( as well as rebounding ) when Morrow was out. Does anyone know if UCONN recruited Morrow? How did anyone miss her?

Morrow returned for the 4th quarter and UConn did fine in the 4th, even with Ono in foul trouble and sitting on bench for a while

 

[TeamFirst!]

I've watched Azzi maybe 10 times since last summer and quite a bit from earlier in her career. She hadn't looked the same for about a year until last night. Let's hope she's healthy now. She dissects the other team and can score at crunchtime as well by the way. She shoots at a high percentage and that sort of offensive efficiency helps a team a lot. She's not a defensive liability when healthy and overall she doesn't make a lot of mistakes. We are going to have a hell of a game with Tennessee even if Paige isn't back yet.

 

[Jingo]

Without Azzi Fudd we don't win last night's game. The same can be said for Christyn Williams.

And Dorka. And Nika.

 

[HuskyNan]

The truth is, when Butler's freshman ( Aneesah Morrow ) left the game with an apparent leg injury, UCONN got back in the game. She was out for nearly a full period. Everyone on UCONN contributed ( lets not forget who made the winning basket ), but Butler's scoring went off ( as well as rebounding ) when Morrow was out. Does anyone know if UCONN recruited Morrow? How did anyone miss her?

The score was 50-50 when Morrow went out; it was 54-53 UConn when she returned. I commented to my husband that UConn was unable to capitalize on her absence.

Women's Basketball vs DePaul on 1/26/2022 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

The official box score of Women's Basketball vs DePaul on 1/26/2022

uconnhuskies.com

 

[Jingo]

I've watched Azzi maybe 10 times since last summer and quite a bit from earlier in her career. She hadn't looked the same for about a year until last night. Let's hope she's healthy now. She dissects the other team and can score at crunchtime as well by the way. She shoots at a high percentage and that sort of offensive efficiency helps a team a lot. She's not a defensive liability when healthy and overall she doesn't make a lot of mistakes. We are going to have a hell of a game with Tennessee even if Paige isn't back yet.

I subscribe to the iS8 motto, "Bring your game, not your name". Well, Azzi [finally] brought her wonderful game to DePaul last night to assuage the fears of many fence-sitters including me!

 

[freekimchee]

NGL I was a bit emotional when Azzi hit that first three. Her pull-up made me tear up the purest stroke I've seen in a long time.

 

[cferraro04]

And Dorka. And Nika.

Very true...I chose Azzi and Christyn because they were both absence for extended periods of time. While Christyn was expected back she did play more minutes and better than expected and Azzi was a surprise...so, when I said we don't win without them it was because there was a good chance that we would have been without them. Dorka and Muhl on the other hand, were expected to play.

 

[eebmg]

Azzi and CW at post game presser. This focuses on Azzi's decision to spin her wheels.

She is in perpetual smile mode.

 

[AzzisBraids]

When Azzi was shooting last night, I noticed that while her release is quick, her motion appears to be slow, almost languid. It’s the purity of her shot, done exactly the same way every single time, that is a thing of beauty. The tempo, and it’s consistency, is a marvel. I haven’t seen such a pretty shot since KML. And Azzi is a freshman - this is the worst she’ll be!


View attachment 72750

Nan, you are spot on here. They key to her shot is that she doesn't pay attention to anything when she shoot. She's trained herself to shoot the ball. One way. Every time. Even if there's a tornado. Caroline Ducharme is a perimeter Napheesa Collier, but what she lacks is the patience on the the three point line. Azzi has that.

Azzi's pull up game is going to drive people insane. Once Geno pulls the "shoot whenever you touch card" with her it's over. That pull up was non-existent because of the shifting of the feet issue and her injury. But she can score anytime she wants. Excited to see what a Ducharme Azzi Christyn backcourt does to BE teams until PB comes in like a wrecking ball.

 

[HuskyNan]

Nan, you are spot on here. They key to her shot is that she doesn't pay attention to anything when she shoot. She's trained herself to shoot the ball. One way. Every time. Even if there's a tornado. Caroline Ducharme is a perimeter Napheesa Collier, but what she lacks is the patience on the the three point line. Azzi has that.

Azzi's pull up game is going to drive people insane. Once Geno pulls the "shoot whenever you touch card" with her it's over. That pull up was non-existent because of the shifting of the feet issue and her injury. But she can score anytime she wants. Excited to see what a Ducharme Azzi Christyn backcourt does to BE teams until PB comes in like a wrecking ball.

Just a quick note - I’m a fan of both freshmen, Azzi and Caroline. I feel I need to defend Caroline a little here. She’s been rushing her 3 because she’s been the focus of the defense for the last few games. Her shot overall has been rushed, except in the paint, where the game seems to slow down for her. It seems as though Caroline needs to relearn, so to speak, her shot on the perimeter because for the last several games, she’s been given the ball there with either a defender up on her or with a couple seconds on the shot clock.

Having Azzi, Caroline, and Christyn on the court will help all three of them get better. Azzi and Caroline just standing on the arc will open lanes for the slasher Christyn. And Christyn has been slashing towards the basket then passing out to the open shooter, who has had ages to set her feet and make the open shot. Both Azzi and Caroline aren’t afraid of a zone, either, as Azzi has the pull-up j and Caroline can take it to the hoop. The three of them are going to terrorize the Big East and, hopefully, opponents in the tournament.

 

[Conndog]

Caroline Ducharme is a perimeter Napheesa Collier, but what she lacks is the patience on the the three point line. Azzi has that.

I neither can agree or disagree- in defense of Caroline's tendency at times to hoist it up quickly, we needed someone to generate outside shooting last couple of months with Azzi, Paige, Christyn all out, and who else but Caroline could do so? With two of these injured back and hopefully Paige too in another month (or less?), she likely will be able to organize her shot mechanics with a bit more time, and I predict her shooting percentage will go up.

I think it will be fascinating to see if she keeps slashing inside and becomes also quite an inside the arc threat who attacks the basket too instead of just relying on outside shooting. With her ability to drive, and height, and free throw accuracy, she has all the tools to thrive near the basket, and we've seen glimpses of that already.

 

[#12in21]

I am excited to see us, hopefully, return to a much more uptempo offense. With no guard subs available we had to play a slower paced offense for several games. As the chemistry builds between a primary group of Nika, Christyn, Caroline, Azzi, Olivia and Dorka over a few games, I expect movement without the ball, crisper passing, faster ball movement finding the open shooter, fewer turnovers and better percentage of made first shots to be the result. We should also be able to play a more aggressive pressuring defense as well. Westbrook and Edwards will hopefully benefit as well feeling more comfortable with that pace coming in and impacting the games.

The three upcoming Big East games should give us time to get into a solid rhythm and Tennessee will face a UCONN team that will look more like what we will look like in March as opposed to January. Paige will slide seamlessly into this more uptempo style of play, making it even better. Not taking anything away from any other players, Azzi being back and being the player everyone hoped she would be was what was needed to allow the team to make this needed transition.

 

[sun]

IIRC from highlight videos, because Caroline was the PG in high school, she made a lot of 3's from well behind the top of the key and slightly off to her right side, like within 2 hours on the clock.
Some of the shots that she made were from downtown, but it seemed that she favored 3's that were closer to being straight on and farther back from the arc.
She can make 3's from anywhere, but perhaps where she needs to make them from now are relatively newer 3 point shooting positions for her as opposed to where she was comfortable making them from in HS.
Some of the newer positions will probably take some getting use to in order to become more automatic.

 

[Surly1]

Just a quick note - I’m a fan of both freshmen, Azzi and Caroline. I feel I need to defend Caroline a little here. She’s been rushing her 3 because she’s been the focus of the defense for the last few games. Her shot overall has been rushed, except in the paint, where the game seems to slow down for her. It seems as though Caroline needs to relearn, so to speak, her shot on the perimeter because for the last several games, she’s been given the ball there with either a defender up on her or with a couple seconds on the shot clock.

Having Azzi, Caroline, and Christyn on the court will help all three of them get better. Azzi and Caroline just standing on the arc will open lanes for the slasher Christyn. And Christyn has been slashing towards the basket then passing out to the open shooter, who has had ages to set her feet and make the open shot. Both Azzi and Caroline aren’t afraid of a zone, either, as Azzi has the pull-up j and Caroline can take it to the hoop. The three of them are going to terrorize the Big East and, hopefully, opponents in the tournament.

When all the pieces are available, including Paige, I believe Caroline’s 3-pt shot selection and percentage made will improve. Compared to Azzi, Paige, and the Dara Mabrey, Caitlin Clark and Jewel Spear’s of the world, Caroline is not a pure shooter, particularly from outside the 3-pt line. Yes, she can and is not hesitant to shoot, but I’d put her in the category of a scorer.

I have no issue with her from taking shots on the side of the basket, even if she is cold. There is typically a lack of space to cut to the basket. When she rushes her shot from the top of the perimeter, especially early in a possession, it takes away from her ability to either take it to the basket, or pull up for a 12 to 15 footer. Given her size advantages against most of the defenders assigned to her, this could be a deadly weapon for her.

Again, she has demonstrated she can make outside shots, but that isn’t her strength. Azzi is poised and ready to shoot, much like KML in her day. Caroline has plenty of time in her career to work on this. As you stated, opportunities should increase for all 3 players with improved spacing, with teams perplexed as to who should be the primary target to stop. Add in a healthy Paige to orchestrate the offense, and we may get to witness the dazzling & lethal potential of UConn offensively.

 

[eebmg]

My Gut feeling is that Caroline's 3pt shooting numbers go way up in critical moments like the 4th Q or when we need one desperately to turn momentum. Maybe some BY statistician can get into the weeds. Starting from the ND game, she has owned the 4th Q so I could not care less about overall %'s

 

[HuskyNan]

My Gut feeling is that Caroline's 3pt shooting numbers go way up in critical moments like the 4th Q or when we need one desperately to turn momentum. Maybe some BY statistician can get into the weeds. Starting from the ND game, she has owned the 4th Q so I could not care less about overall %'s

You have a good eye. I will say that there are more early game threes as she gets more game experience. The header of the 2 Pointers & 3 Pointers columns should say Total Shots Made, not total points, but I’m too lazy to change it

 

[eebmg]

You have a good eye. I will say that there are more early game threes as she gets more game experience. The header of the 2 Pointers & 3 Pointers columns should say Total Shots Made, not total points, but I’m too lazy to change it

View attachment 72778

And I am guessing the % goes up as well. Thanks Nan

 

[HopJim]

When you watch Azzi shoot, she has a classic spin on the ball. Perhaps she can teach ONO and some of the others with foul shooting issues that if you grasp the ball with fingers on a seam, you get a good spin and the shot is more likely to go in. 80% of the time, you can predict whether or not a Huskie will make her shot based on how she sets up.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think Azzi has an edge over Caroline for 3 pointers but they are both great 3 point shooters. Remember, Caroline won several 3 point competitions and virtually tied Azzi on one. She can shoot the 3. We are still in small sample size mode. Let's give Azzi her due though. Often her 3 pointers don't just "make", they flush with the net barely moving sometimes. She has great arc, great form, and she can replicate it. She is a pure shooter and Paige is as well. I'm calling it. I think we should be able to make the final 4 yet again, even with the seeding. It would be nice if we don't end up with Stanford in our group. I'd almost prefer to play South Carolina with these 3 point shooters. Have you looked at South Carolina's 3 point shooter's numbers recently? Except for one player they are significantly worse than ours. We can beat anyone when Paige and Azzi are available.

 

[TeamFirst!]

South Carolina is not unbeatable. A solid 3 point shooting team which can rebound and keep their turnovers around 10-12 can beat them:

2021-22 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics - University of South Carolina Athletics

The official 2021-22 Women's Basketball cumulative statistics for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks

gamecocksonline.com

 

[TeamFirst!]

If you miss your jump shots South Carolina will have a rebounding advantage. Got to shoot well.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Steph Curry says the best shooters are Ray Allen, Klay Thompson, and Azzi Fudd.

Steph gave Azzi a shout-out after Wednesday's game.

 

[oldude]

Steph Curry says the best shooters are Ray Allen, Klay Thompson, and Azzi Fudd.

Steph gave Azzi a shout-out after Wednesday's game.

In which order?

 

[MilfordHusky]

In which order?

Steph lumped all 3 together. I'm cool with that.

 

[Ron and Vida]

In which order?

Nice