At crunch time Paige shows a little bit of her inner DT by putting the team on her back and doing what is needed to win. A heck of a lot less looking to pass. Caroline has a little bit of that too. Azzi needs to develop some of that. With her talent that would be awesome.
Azzi will need to do a lot of this
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It’s anybody’s guess who is going to be the « best » player next season. One thing I love about Caroline is the « chip on her shoulder. » People have downplayed her since her high school years, and from what she says, that has only motivated her more.
I think we’re mixing up two topics. Who will be the best at UConn and who is the most talented. There are so many variables, including injuries, that answering the first is mere speculation.
Who is more talented? The answer to that, between Caroline and Azzi, is Azzi by a lot. If you don’t believe me, ask Steph Curry. Or Geno. Or Sue Bird. But given Caroline’s determination, she could use that fact to work harder and become the better UConn player. Or Azzi could play to her potential. I’m looking forward to watching them both.
As for Paige, if she comes back 100 percent next year, we’re not going to be debating whether Caroline or Paige is the better player.
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If we’re wondering if Azzi can take the team on her shoulders, I think of two games as indicators of this, the loss to Villanova and the rout of Tennessee.
Against Villanova, without Liv or Caroline, we only played 6 and other than Dorka, who played 20 mins, everyone played 30 or more. The team played a disjointed low energy game for 3 quarters. But Christyn and Azzi, 24 pts and 29 pts respectively, carried the team and Azzi almost engineered a comeback in the 4th quarter. There was no hesitation, she shot from everywhere and brought us to within 2. It was a glimpse of Paige without Paige. If you can bear to watch a loss, it’s worth cueing this one up.
I often cite the 3rd quarter of the Tennessee game as a showcase of Nika’s talents. But the entire game really belonged to Azzi, since Caroline was out. 7 of 9 from 3, she gave Evina and Nika a target all game long, someone to aim for and Azzi came through practically every time. The team pinned everything on her, and she came through. She also played great D, and had a memorable drive to the hoop through contact against Jordan Horston — actually made her look foolish, which is not easy to do with Horston.
I think we have plenty of indications that Azzi can put the team on her shoulders if she has to. My guess is she won’t have to with Caroline playing next to her.
Against Villanova, without Liv or Caroline, we only played 6 and other than Dorka, who played 20 mins, everyone played 30 or more. The team played a disjointed low energy game for 3 quarters. But Christyn and Azzi, 24 pts and 29 pts respectively, carried the team and Azzi almost engineered a comeback in the 4th quarter. There was no hesitation, she shot from everywhere and brought us to within 2. It was a glimpse of Paige without Paige. If you can bear to watch a loss, it’s worth cueing this one up.
I often cite the 3rd quarter of the Tennessee game as a showcase of Nika’s talents. But the entire game really belonged to Azzi, since Caroline was out. 7 of 9 from 3, she gave Evina and Nika a target all game long, someone to aim for and Azzi came through practically every time. The team pinned everything on her, and she came through. She also played great D, and had a memorable drive to the hoop through contact against Jordan Horston — actually made her look foolish, which is not easy to do with Horston.
I think we have plenty of indications that Azzi can put the team on her shoulders if she has to. My guess is she won’t have to with Caroline playing next to her.
CL82
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Maybe because of her foot injury, or maybe because she was a freshman who missed some time and was trying to figure out her role, I don’t know. I do agree though that the Fudd we saw last year wasn’t Azzi at her best. I think the version we are going to see this year will be dramatically better, assuming she’s fully healthy. With Paige out for the season, someone’s got to be “the guy“ and, I think, that someone is Azzi. Now, it won’t be clear, we are a better team with Paige, but Individually, some players like Azzi are going to be pushed into more prominent roles. That’s going to hasten their development.
I suspect this year may be a very good year for .
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We have still yet to see the complete Azzi Fudd................I have complete faith that she will establish herself as a top five player in the country this season as long as she can remain healthy..........she's yet to prove she can make it through a season unscathed but I'm hoping this is the year it all comes together for her.....