Azzi Fudd settling in

[BobbyJ]

I think Fudd will be a great addition. I’m hoping that Caroline also finds her shooting range from the arc to add yet another 3-pt shooter to the Huskies arsenal.

The suggestion was that “our” 3 pt shooting was abysmal. Paige is part of the team that shot a very respectable 36%. Why would we want to separate her from the team?

Also, during the Big Dance UConn upped their 3-pt shooting to 41% going 31/76 in 5 games.

My point was that UConn had one excellent 3 shooter and a bunch of not very good ones that took about 3/4 of the team’s 3s. And that they need all the help they can get.

 

[oldhusky]

My take on the 3pt shooting issue is this. We were pretty good but not by Uconn standards, and it was totally due to Paige. After her we have three mediocre 3 pt shooters in Christyn, Evina and Nika. When they have an open three, fine take it, but I'm sure most opposing coaches are relatively unworried about giving that up, compared to Paige, or the bigs down low.

Azzi , probably Carolyn and even Saylor can potentially be the kind of players you cannot afford to leave open. One of the reasons for Nika being the lead guard when playing with Paige, is at least she had one great three point shooter to pass to (Paige). When Paige was the PG she had that group of mediocre 3pt shooters to pass to, not terrible options but not great either. If Paige is in with Christyn and Evina it will be the same this year.

Azzi and Carolyn can change that dynamic if one or both are teamed with Paige for part of the game. Paige is a great passer/scorer/and shooter. She has inside options to pass to, but deserves at least one very good to great three point shooter option in the game with her IMO. That might mean Christyn or Evina starting the game on the bench. If Carolyn could earn minutes on the second unit at the 3, that could also give Nika a good to great three point threat to pass to as well.

Of course the best lineup for generating high percentage threes would be Nika at the point teamed with Paige and Azzi, two great passers and two great shooters. Azzi also being a good passer and Nika ok from the three. That may not make sense for other reasons, but I would hope both Paige and Nika can have a great shooter in the lineup with them when they are on the floor. Paige didn't have that her first year. This year we add two very good shooters on the perimeter, and in Dorka and Amari two more options inside. The two great passers added last year have far more to work with this year, but they have to play with them to take advantage of that more often.

 

[Dublin]

I agree with your interpretation. I think we got a little sidetracked on this thread. I suspect the Fudds plan to travel to CT often to watch Azzi play and they found a decent rental, as opposed to continually booking hotel rooms.

Guess it's now legal with the NCAA (where most things go now) for Tim and family to rent that apartment above Geno's restaurant ...

 

[Woof 101]

I wasn't a super star bb player but if my parents had moved close to my college I would have transferred..

No attack but there are thousands of young people that would love the chance to participate in sports, that and have parental support. I'm only speaking for a friend but he would have loved to have parents with that kind of love, interest and of course financial ability.
I hope you have found a common ground with your parents and they do not look in on The Boneyard.

 

[bluedevil]

Guess it's now legal with the NCAA (where most things go now) for Tim and family to rent that apartment above Geno's restaurant ...

But would they be allowed to work at said restaurant? Do you want fries or onion rings with your Fuddburger?

 

[bluedevil]

Didn’t Dorothy play pg for the Iowa St Cyclones?

Played one year and later transferred to Emerald City State.

 

[oldude]

My take on the 3pt shooting issue is this. We were pretty good but not by Uconn standards, and it was totally due to Paige.

I agree that Paige was a very big part of UConn’s ability to shoot the 3 last season. But I think we sometimes look at past UConn teams through rose colored glasses. The undefeated 2015-16 team was one of the greatest in UConn history, leading the nation in total offense and defense, while beating every opponent by double digits.

Once Lou cracked the starting lineup, UConn boasted 5 players who could all knock down 3’s: Lou, Kia, Mo, Tuck & Stewie. For the season, that team shot 38% from the arc, just 2% higher than last year’s team.

If the addition of Azzi, Caroline and Dorka, along with a little improvement from everyone else, can get UConn another 2% from the arc, particularly with the increase in distance for the 3-pt line this season, I would be delighted.

 

[CocoHusky]

I'm with you.

If we are going to add caveats then why not exclude the games with Nika prior to her getting big minutes? Once she became a regular in the GTOWN game she shot 37.7% from 3. Add that to Paige's and that backcourt is hardly abysmal.

And if we're going to look at caveats then why not decrement Saylor? She came in when games were well out of hand and she was 1-11.
And Anna Makurat is no longer on the team and she was 13-41 (31.7%). So if one were to say "our 3pt shooting was abysmal" - well one the players that contributed very, very little in big games shot 31.7% from 3 that dragged the 3pt% down-- is now gone.

While the use of the word abysmal is a little strong let's be careful how thinly we slice and easily dismiss the overall data regarding Nika shooting including the long range shooting. Nika shot 38 % overall and 34.3% from deep and 73% from the line. Her overall FG % was 2nd poorest on the team and her 3PFG % was tied for 2nd best. Against South Carolina, Arkansas and Arizona Nika was 3 for 8 from deep-good but not exactly the second coming of Big Shot Bria. As @MilfordHusky ( always a voice of reason) and someone who has actually seen her play, the subject of this thread (Azzi Fudd) projects to be a 50/40/80 percent shooter. With the addition of Dorka, Azzi and Caroline the UCONN deep shooting will be improved because the defense cannot afford to come off any of those players to double Paige-it really is that simple.

 

[JavaMan]

Java, where ya been? We've missed you.

Thank you, Magnificent One. I've been here and there, doing this and that. BTW, I've been missing you, Ed, and Doc for years!

 

[Bald Husky]

We already know what the kids in the present starting line up can do, and we know what Caroline, Azzi, and Saylor have the potential to do. I believe that Azzi is the only one to have a chance to crack this line up given her offensive ability, both outside the 3 pt line and inside. She is not a point guard, so that is not an option. Paige should stay the 2 guard, giving us three players that can hit from the perimeter. I truly believe the real key to what the starters will look like is Nika. Alot of us are worrying about not having enough offence from her, and I agree to that partially. She has the fire we need out there, her passing is better than most college point guards, and we certainly cannot complain about her defense. Half the players have a tremendous jump in playing ability between their freshmen and sophomore years. We don't know what Nika has been working on this summer, but she gave up her chance to try out for her National team to stay in Storrs. When you do not have your teammates to work out with, there is only one thing you can work on, and thats shooting. If she worked on developing her pull up, as well as her long shot, we may be in for a surprise. No matter how good the freshmen are, if she made the jump in these areas, there is no way she will be demoted to the bench. The way the rest of her game is, it is in the best interest for for this team to go forward with her out there. I believe Evina would be the one to give up minutes, or even the starting position to get Azzi the minutes she will need to be an effective member of the team.

 

[JonathanXIV]

This post belongs on The General Board.

I see what you did there...

 

[eebmg]

This article on Azzi is as extensive as it gets.

Azzi Fudd heads to UConn after becoming a basketball star at St. John’s - The Washington Post

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Didn’t Dorothy play pg for the Iowa St Cyclones?

That was just after the Hilton Colesium was built....

 

[RoadWarrior]

This article on Azzi is as extensive as it gets.

Azzi Fudd heads to UConn after becoming a basketball star at St. John’s - The Washington Post

Probably deserves it's own thread!

 

[MooseJaw]

Parents moving to be closer to their children, for college...not weird. Old people following teenage girls, who they have no relation to, on social media... extremely weird.

I only follow the young ladies after their 20th birthday, when the cameras are on the younger ones I close my eyes, I have my wife tell me when they switch to an older player so I can open them again. Oh, Oh I enjoy watching the coach as well.

 

[Carnac]

I'm going way out on a limb here. At some point in the future, the starting guards for USA basketball, now the Rushmore GOATs Sue and DT, will be replaced by Paige and Azzi. Sue and DT, win another one! Paige and Azzi, win a few more. I desperately want (UCONN) hoops!

You didn’t have to go too far out on that limb. That is an easy call. Two of the best guards in WCBB today. They’ll be two of the best guards tomorrow.

They will grow, mature and increase their understanding of the game In the next 5-7 years. They have everything in their favor.

They can’t miss.……great coach, great teammates and are part of a winning program (factory) that has a documented history of producing some the best college and professional women basketball players in the world.

 

[Alydar]

Aging parents moving closer to their children upon retirement is commonplace. Parents moving closer to their college kids is certainly unusual and perhaps a little weird imo.

Not sure what you’re implying with your last remark. This is a fan forum for UConn WBB. Nothing more. Nothing less.

So Mrs. Moore was weird?

 

[oldude]

So Mrs. Moore was weird?

Mrs Moore?

 

[FormerCTrez]

Full article:

Around the time Azzi Fudd committed to UConn in November, she was texting friends in Storrs and across women’s college basketball who were preparing for their seasons. The conversations served as reminders of the time she had left in high school before she started partaking in those collegiate-level practices.

Now Fudd is finally practicing at the level she once only heard about.

“No, I cannot believe it. I’m excited for them,” Fudd said with a laugh in late May, ahead of her first college practice.

Fudd, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021, arrived in Storrs on Memorial Day weekend, ahead of UConn’s summer session. She’s garnered plenty of attention as the latest top prospect to don a Huskies uniform. Yet, before she stepped foot on campus, Fudd was just counting down the days for her arrival.

Thank you Kaizen.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Guess it's now legal with the NCAA (where most things go now) for Tim and family to rent that apartment above Geno's restaurant ...

It said in the article that the Grandparents bought a place near Storrs, along with seasons tickets... They might not need to be renting...

 

[Alydar]

My point was that UConn had one excellent 3 shooter and a bunch of not very good ones that took about 3/4 of the team’s 3s. And that they need all the help they can get.

I'll guess that without Clark Iowa would not have led the nation in shooting 3's. I sure hope they find some to cover for all their "not very good" shooters. Stewart was a career 35% 3pt shooter at UConn but I never read or heard that she was "not very good" shooting 3's. Her 1st 3 years she shot 33% , 34%, 31%.

In most things she does on the court Bueckers just makes others look incompetent.

 

[HopJim]

My take on the 3pt shooting issue is this. We were pretty good but not by Uconn standards, and it was totally due to Paige. After her we have three mediocre 3 pt shooters in Christyn, Evina and Nika. When they have an open three, fine take it, but I'm sure most opposing coaches are relatively unworried about giving that up, compared to Paige, or the bigs down low.

Azzi , probably Carolyn and even Saylor can potentially be the kind of players you cannot afford to leave open. One of the reasons for Nika being the lead guard when playing with Paige, is at least she had one great three point shooter to pass to (Paige). When Paige was the PG she had that group of mediocre 3pt shooters to pass to, not terrible options but not great either. If Paige is in with Christyn and Evina it will be the same this year.

Azzi and Carolyn can change that dynamic if one or both are teamed with Paige for part of the game. Paige is a great passer/scorer/and shooter. She has inside options to pass to, but deserves at least one very good to great three point shooter option in the game with her IMO. That might mean Christyn or Evina starting the game on the bench. If Carolyn could earn minutes on the second unit at the 3, that could also give Nika a good to great three point threat to pass to as well.

Of course the best lineup for generating high percentage threes would be Nika at the point teamed with Paige and Azzi, two great passers and two great shooters. Azzi also being a good passer and Nika ok from the three. That may not make sense for other reasons, but I would hope both Paige and Nika can have a great shooter in the lineup with them when they are on the floor. Paige didn't have that her first year. This year we add two very good shooters on the perimeter, and in Dorka and Amari two more options inside. The two great passers added last year have far more to work with this year, but they have to play with them to take advantage of that more often.

I've heard Christyn, Evina and Nika described as "abysmal, mediocre, and not very good" 3 point shooters. Compared to KLS in her prime, Paige, and a few others this may be true, but give any of them an open 3 and their percentages are relatively good. My point is we need to be able to get them open. Often that 4th or 5th player was a non-shooter and they got doubled. Unlikely to be the case this coming year.

 

[BobbyJ]

I'll guess that without Clark Iowa would not have led the nation in shooting 3's. I sure hope they find some to cover for all their "not very good" shooters. Stewart was a career 35% 3pt shooter at UConn but I never read or heard that she was "not very good" shooting 3's. Her 1st 3 years she shot 33% , 34%, 31%.

In most things she does on the court Bueckers just makes others look incompetent.

Then you'll guess wrong. Without Clark's numbers, the rest of her team shot exactly what she did, .404%. They led the nation without her. So they won't have to cover for anyone.

 

[DEpup]

Let's not lose sight that yes 3 pt percentage is important but can someone make them when necessary.... Paige can do that. KLM and Stewie could also do it when it counted. Sue and DT are the model for hitting 3s when needed.

I'd like to see someone other than Paige on this team able to hit 3s when they are needed. I think that is where Azzi will be most valued.

Part of Nika's development as a PG will be can she get to the point where she can make a 3 when the team needs it. That is a little talked about but necessary aspect of a great point guard. UConn has a long history of PGs who could provide that leadership to their team.