Azzi's Ascension

[Alydar]

I'm getting a lot of flack for stating something I've seen. Like i said I hope she shows out this year. Honestly she deserves it. I see sometimes if you are a realist you get hammered lol

I'm not blasting your POV. I watched Fudd first shortly after Bueckers finished her sophomore season of HS. So my history precedes both players' arrivals in Storrs. I once posted that if Bueckers went to another school I would still watch every one of her games, even then. She and Fudd starred in the U17USA games and Fudd's knee kept them from doing the same in the U19's. And those teams had players like Horston, Boston, Van Lith, Jones, many several years older but not as advanced as either Bueckers or Fudd. Fudd was the HSPOY when all of the 2023 WNBA draft players were HS seniors.
So to me Fudd "made her bones" to use a mob phrase, before she ever arrived at UConn. To me it has been all about her getting healthy. Fudd will never be Bueckers but Bueckers will also never be Fudd.

 

[AzzisBraids]

Good player. Not yet great. I think defenders like Jones and Beal can basically shut her out a game. Maybe she shows more but I'm just not sold that she is that great. Hopefully I'm wrong would love to see it. Paige is great

Comparing Paige to Azzi is like comparing peanut butter to jelly. They're equally good in different ways depending on the what's on the menu.

Also, she was injured on that foot in her small sample size last year. Soph Azzi has footspeed/foul drawing abilities so far

 

[Littlemin]

I'm getting a lot of flack for stating something I've seen. Like i said I hope she shows out this year. Honestly she deserves it. I see sometimes if you are a realist you get hammered lol

I am not sure it is being a realist but there are certain Uconn players that are beyond reproach to many posters. On the other hand there are certain players that it seems it is “open season” on. Recently graduated seniors Williams and Ono were certainly the latter at times.

 

[Bone Dog]

You could also adapt the maxim and say, “Realism is the last refuge of a fan.” Lol. Jk. Hahahahaha! Emoji emoji emoji.

I don’t like criticizing teenagers, and I tend to be quick to defend them, perhaps too quick. Maybe it’s because I’m a college professor and have spent four decades working with kids this age. I see all their foibles and their virtues up close, so I can’t help sympathizing with them. Realism sometimes seems to me like little more than a mask for unsympathetic reactions to the behavior of kids.

I’ve also been disappointed by a few of the players and given into criticizing them, perhaps too harshly. So I try to take my cues from Geno. He obviously values something in Nika’s play, for example, which means my “eminently realistic” criticism of her play must be based on only a partial view of all that she brings to the team. I may see flaws in her offense, but he sees something else she brings to the team that may be more important. Or he sees a potential in Amari’s play, to take another example, and has a lot more experience in seeing how kids develop over a season than I do.

 

[Conndog]

Good player. Not yet great. I think defenders like Jones and Beal can basically shut her out a game. Maybe she shows more but I'm just not sold that she is that great. Hopefully I'm wrong would love to see it. Paige is great

Flat out disagree that she can be shut out, no matter who is defending, except for when Azzi is ill or injured. What, because against Northeastern she didn’t shoot well from outside, is she a poor shooter or something? She gets points reliably, she has good fundamentals, she also defends well, can bring up the ball and distribute, she’s automatic from FT line- but not sold yet?

 

[Littlemin]

Flat out disagree that she can be shut out, no matter who is defending, except for when Azzi is ill or injured. What, because against Northeastern she didn’t shoot well from outside, is she a poor shooter or something? She gets points reliably, she has good fundamentals, she also defends well, can bring up the ball and distribute, she’s automatic from FT line- but not sold yet?

The question becomes sold on what? Very few players can be “shut out” and those that can don’t need to be because they are not scorers; but to assert that Fudd has shown she can’t be defended at this level is utterly ridiculous IMO. Has she shown to be a good D1 player? Absolutely. Has she shown more than that YET, no.
Last year, in the 3 BE tourney games, she shot 9-27 overall (33%), 3-16 from 3. (19%). In the 6 NCAA games she shot 20-55 overall (36%), 13-32 from 3 (41%).
So the 9 season ending tourney games, Fudd shot 28-82 overall (32%), 16-48 from 3 (33%).
I am sorry but not even remotely in the neighborhood of can’t be defended.

 

[sun]

The question becomes sold on what? Very few players can be “shut out” and those that can don’t need to be because they are not scorers; but to assert that Fudd has shown she can’t be defended at this level is utterly ridiculous IMO. Has she shown to be a good D1 player? Absolutely. Has she shown more than that YET, no.
Last year, in the 3 BE tourney games, she shot 9-27 overall (33%), 3-16 from 3. (19%). In the 6 NCAA games she shot 20-55 overall (36%), 13-32 from 3 (41%).
So the 9 season ending tourney games, Fudd shot 28-82 overall (32%), 16-48 from 3 (33%).
I am sorry but not even remotely in the neighborhood of can’t be defended.

IMO you're manipulating which stats to examine by ignoring her body of work for the entire season where she displayed very high overall FG & 3 PT & FT shooting percentages.
Her TOTAL FG % for the entire season was 45.7%.
Her TOTAL 3 PT % for the entire season was 43.0%.
Her TOTAL FT % for the entire season was 91.2%.

Azzi Fudd 2021-22 Stats per Game - NCAAW - ESPN

The 2021-22 NCAAW season stats per game for Azzi Fudd of the UConn Huskies on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

 

[Skeets]

I am not sure it is being a realist but there are certain Uconn players that are beyond reproach to many posters. On the other hand there are certain players that it seems it is “open season” on. Recently graduated seniors Williams and Ono were certainly the latter at times.

ONO suffered a lot on the BY for years. CW also suffered her share too, possibly because of her rank coming out of HS. In my opinion that is unfortunate because if she was ranked 15 or 20 she wouldn't have gotten half the abuse she did. I personally resolve to go easy on DeBerry to avoid what was done in the past to other good players who were really nice kids.

FYI, I never ragged on Ann Strothers although I have said being the best WBB player coming out of Colorado was a little like being the best ballerina from Lubbock Texas.

 

[hoophuskee]

The question becomes sold on what? Very few players can be “shut out” and those that can don’t need to be because they are not scorers; but to assert that Fudd has shown she can’t be defended at this level is utterly ridiculous IMO. Has she shown to be a good D1 player? Absolutely. Has she shown more than that YET, no.
Last year, in the 3 BE tourney games, she shot 9-27 overall (33%), 3-16 from 3. (19%). In the 6 NCAA games she shot 20-55 overall (36%), 13-32 from 3 (41%).
So the 9 season ending tourney games, Fudd shot 28-82 overall (32%), 16-48 from 3 (33%).
I am sorry but not even remotely in the neighborhood of can’t be defended.

For the record, no one said "shut out" from what I read.

"shut down" is a lot different than "shut out."

I agree with everyone on here in each different opinion- she hasn't shown to be consistently "great" (i.e 1st team all-american) which you have indicated. But as others have said- she has shown in games that she has been great. And if we’re talking big NCAA games; UCONN doesn't get a whiff of advancement without her vs UCF in which she led the team in scoring. In fact her % of points scored vs total points UCONN scored was greater than the % that Paige scored against NC State vs total points UCONN scored.

And in the NC State game she was arguably the 2nd best player on the team. Two huge games extremely tight at the end and she was best in 1 and 2nd in another. Thus leading into the Final Four she was arguably the 2nd best player / most consistent performer. Considering you had Paige and 3 WNBA players, and looking forward to this year, the description of “ascending” certainly applies with Azzi.

 

[Dognusty]

First to say Azzinis here to stay

 

[Littlemin]

For the record, no one said "shut out" from what I read.

"shut down" is a lot different than "shut out."

I agree with everyone on here in each different opinion- she hasn't shown to be consistently "great" (i.e 1st team all-american) which you have indicated. But as others have said- she has shown in games that she has been great. And if we’re talking big NCAA games; UCONN doesn't get a whiff of advancement without her vs UCF in which she led the team in scoring. In fact her % of points scored vs total points UCONN scored was greater than the % that Paige scored against NC State vs total points UCONN scored.

And in the NC State game she was arguably the 2nd best player on the team. Two huge games extremely tight at the end and she was best in 1 and 2nd in another. Thus leading into the Final Four she was arguably the 2nd best player / most consistent performer. Considering you had Paige and 3 WNBA players, and looking forward to this year, the description of “ascending” certainly applies with Azzi.

Legit catch on the ”out’ vs. “down“, my bad on that but I stand on my point; let players do it before anointing them. And I still feel that way after seeing Fudd put on an absolutely tremendous 4th qtr show tonight. Doing it over the long haul is what makes a great player, not a couple of games; feel free to disagree……….

 

[Conndog]

Legit catch on the ”out’ vs. “down“, my bad on that but I stand on my point; let players do it before anointing them. And I still feel that way after seeing Fudd put on an absolutely tremendous 4th qtr show tonight. Doing it over the long haul is what makes a great player, not a couple of games; feel free to disagree……….

Unbelievable!

 

[Littlemin]

Unbelievable!

Why? Give me facts, not boy band adulation type nonsense; Fudd is a really good player who has a chance to be great, no question. I feel the same way about Bueckers. Players are great because they play great over time, in big games; not because a fan can cherry pick great moments. And while some take my opinion as “hating” on the players, nothing could be further from the truth. I admire both of them and recognize their talent but could be great and being great are two entirely different animals. One is a small, incomplete sample size, that introduces the possibility, the other a body of work proven over time.

 

[HopJim]

If you watched the game, unlikely you would know how many points Fudd scored. 50%+ of the game, she played the point, bringing the ball up and acting as the main distributor. Several great drives during the early part of the game, but her 3's came late in the game as the 3rd or 4th option in the UConn offense as Texas tried to close. Solid defense and was as much a faciliator as scorer. Impressive game.

 

[Dogstar]

I hear you. Last season, her game was narrow -- mainly perimeter shooting -- and she could be knocked off it. After the Tennessee game and the game at Marquette, this was less true and she rediscovered other aspects of her game. In the FF and the NC games, Stanford and SC were able to defend her effectively, and she made the sort of mistakes you'd expect from a freshman on such a large stage. One tiny sign of better things even then was her free throw shooting down the stretch -- that was a hint that she wasn't completely dazzled by the bright lights.

But yes, I also want to be shown what the new Azzi can do before I anoint her Paige 2.0. I think we're seeing indications that this may be exactly what's coming, and I'm optimistic. Right now, though, I just want to see the full reality of it. If that comes to pass, we're all going to invite you to join the Azzi parade with the rest of us.

Gave you a like but, she won't be, nor is she trying to be Paige 2.0, ever, she'll be Azzi the 1