Some thoughts on Azzi | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Some thoughts on Azzi

I’m a mediocre coach at best. I need to be more aggressive. I need to lose weight and get into better shape. I need to teach shooting more and attacking the basket. I need to get off the couch. I need to stop being so needy.
 
oldude said:
Dawn’s biggest challenge this coming season will be how to manage the PT of Boston, Amihere, Cardosa & Saxton. I honestly don’t think she can effectively use more than two of her Bigs at the same time.
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I agree with with your points, but believe that Dawn will try to control the game using her bigs in excess. In any event the game offers so much for us, so much we will learn about both teams. I am most interested to see if we try to match bigs against bigs. Do we try to run them into the floor. Every team has an M.O. an over riding style of play. Will ours's be enough in big games as well as conference games to dominate. That said I do want some games that we have to scratch and claw to get the W, where Geno has to dig deep and really push the team hard. I want the team battle hard and tested by tourney time, I want it all we are ready for the next NC.
 
Mdoggie said:
I’m a mediocre coach at best. I need to be more aggressive. I need to lose weight and get into better shape. I need to teach shooting more and attacking the basket. I need to get off the couch. I need to stop being so needy.
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I think I get it. Nope I know I get it.
 
Charliebball said:
I think some folks have forgotten or don't know what a full strength Azzi Fudd game looks like........you don't become a multiple player of the year for no reason....
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:eek: Is this the same player that won the Gatorade HS POY as a Sophomore? That kid was pretty good, what ever became of her?
 
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why does it matter what Dawn does? Some people here say she can't coach she can only recruit. It shouldn't matter what she does then.
 
oldude said:
It all comes down to which lineup gives you the best opportunity to win. Most teams do not start 2 Bigs. SC does, but Stanford does not, even though they have the players to do so. Geno wants to spread the floor on offense. With Stewie & Tuck, he could still spread the floor because both were capable 3-pt shooters.

If UConn starts Azzi as part of a 4-guard lineup, they would basically start the #1 rated guard from 4 of the last 5 classes, all of whom have size, the ability to knock down 3’s and beat defenders off the dribble. It would be a fascinating matchup vs SC, with the Gamecocks trying to pound the ball into the paint and UConn forcing SC’s Bigs to defend out on the perimeter.
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Agree with your points especially about matchups and Geno's tendency to play those that give him the best ability to win. My point is that this coming year, other teams will need to match up with UConn's inside game. Few have the players to take on 2 bigs at a time (when was the last time you heard that related to Huskies?). Relying on 3 pointers is a solid strategy but you usually have a few cold spells. We have seen many teams the past few years with slower players having success zoning the Huskie shooters. Having a balance between pounding the ball inside for high % shots while opening the shooting lanes for the guards rarely fails.
 
Derek Willis of Her Hoop Stats wrote up a summary of the u19 team and spent some time on Azzi Fudd that I thought BY'ers might find interesting:

"It’s odd to think of Fudd, the consensus top recruit, as a role player, but she often drew the assignment of guarding the opposition’s leading scorer. In the gold medal game she spent much of her time shadowing guard Jade Melbourne, who had scored 20 and 19 points in Australia’s previous two games but ended up with just seven points in the final.

"For UConn fans wondering how Fudd’s recovery from a severe knee injury would impact her shot, the good news is that despite a poor shooting performance against Australia, she hit 49% of her shots overall and 52% from long range. Fudd’s 13 threes were second on the team to
Clark."

Here's the whole piece:
herhoopstats.substack.com

What We Learned from the U19 World Cup

Observations from watching Caitlin Clark, Azzi Fudd and Team USA win gold.
herhoopstats.substack.com herhoopstats.substack.com

Some "Dillon druthers" from the article:

- One of the many aspects of Sonia Citron's performance that I enjoyed was her consistency: the fact that she reached double figures every game is one example.

- Like the author, I was also jotting down notes for international players that could be collegiate and/or WNBA players. Sike Kone, the powerful forward from Mali, was the clear first thought. The 6'3" paint pounder is 19 and plays for Gran Canaria in Spain.

However, I also liked Julia Boros, the pesky 5'9" combo guard from Hungary who led her team to the bronze, leading them in both scoring and assists along the way. She's 19 and plays for BEAC, Ujboda in her native country.

Any other thoughts from BY'ers?

- And this article identifies what happened/where Jewell Spear was: Turns out that she entered the heath and safety protocol on Aug. 8. And this was not announced because ??? Well, at least we know she wasn't a team disruptor or wasn't spirited away by the Belarus secret police. C'mon USA, you let us know about KLS! Spear's 19 and is an adult.
 
HopJim said:
Agree with your points especially about matchups and Geno's tendency to play those that give him the best ability to win. My point is that this coming year, other teams will need to match up with UConn's inside game. Few have the players to take on 2 bigs at a time (when was the last time you heard that related to Huskies?). Relying on 3 pointers is a solid strategy but you usually have a few cold spells. We have seen many teams the past few years with slower players having success zoning the Huskie shooters. Having a balance between pounding the ball inside for high % shots while opening the shooting lanes for the guards rarely fails.
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Just because you're tall doesn't mean you can score efficiently/effectively. Liv can't score and Griff can't score so far. And if Dorka can't hit her free throws, why would UCONN want to be even close to an inside team when they have Paige, Azzi and CWill as probable big time scorers?
 
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Dillon77 said:
Derek Willis of Her Hoop Stats wrote up a summary of the u19 team and spent some time on Azzi Fudd that I thought BY'ers might find interesting:

"It’s odd to think of Fudd, the consensus top recruit, as a role player, but she often drew the assignment of guarding the opposition’s leading scorer. In the gold medal game she spent much of her time shadowing guard Jade Melbourne, who had scored 20 and 19 points in Australia’s previous two games but ended up with just seven points in the final.

"For UConn fans wondering how Fudd’s recovery from a severe knee injury would impact her shot, the good news is that despite a poor shooting performance against Australia, she hit 49% of her shots overall and 52% from long range. Fudd’s 13 threes were second on the team to
Clark."

Here's the whole piece:
herhoopstats.substack.com

What We Learned from the U19 World Cup

Observations from watching Caitlin Clark, Azzi Fudd and Team USA win gold.
herhoopstats.substack.com herhoopstats.substack.com

Some "Dillon druthers" from the article:

- One of the many aspects of Sonia Citron's performance that I enjoyed was her consistency: the fact that she reached double figures every game is one example.

- Like the author, I was also jotting down notes for international players that could be collegiate and/or WNBA players. Sike Kone, the powerful forward from Mali, was the clear first thought. The 6'3" paint pounder is 19 and plays for Gran Canaria in Spain.

However, I also liked Julia Boros, the pesky 5'9" combo guard from Hungary who led her team to the bronze, leading them in both scoring and assists along the way. She's 19 and plays for BEAC, Ujboda in her native country.

Any other thoughts from BY'ers?

- And this article identifies what happened/where Jewell Spear was: Turns out that she entered the heath and safety protocol on Aug. 8. And this was not announced because ??? Well, at least we know she wasn't a team disruptor or wasn't spirited away by the Belarus secret police. C'mon USA, you let us know about KLS! Spear's 19 and is an adult.
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Thanks so much for the Fudd info. I just didn't know enough about the other players like I do in college to recognize she was consistently guarding the other team's best player and gave them the Kia Nurse treatment. Good for her.

This goes with my thoughts all along. I think the other guards on the team have developed offensive one on one games but not an all around game like Azzi. Close had to do the best with what she had. They needed Azzi's all around game more than her scoring... and they got it from her.
 
hoophuskee said:
When it comes to Azzi (and Nika) - the position and minutes she will play comes down to Evina's health, Dorka's ability to knock down free throws and possibly Liv's offense.

In regards to Dorka-- if she can't hit her free throws - you have to rely more on small-ball. If she is bad at f/t’s then it means that you can't give her the ball late in close games. UCONN doesn’t play to try to win games 55-54. Their style of play is to try to score. So her and Liv (or Griffin) on the floor in which UCONN is getting limited offense puts way too much pressure on the perimeter to have to perform.

And I highly doubt Geno is going to coach in a manner to build his team around defending SC and Stanford. Instead, imo he is going to build his team around playing his best players with at tops only one limited offensive player. Last year the 2 teams that beat UCONN were small teams. Geno is going to prepare his team with the best possibility to beat any team-- not just two tall teams.

Asa result, Nika will be tied to how well Dorka can score (hit f/t’s). If she’s a scorer then Nika is not only competing with Paige and Evina - but Azzi too for pg. UCONN needs to give Azzi at least 25 mpg and Paige 30.. And CWill is going to get at least 25. If Dorka is scoring and shows the important ability to hit free throws- it means less time for Evina to play PF. Add in CD- the minutes at guard and sf will get squeezed. This means Azzi will also get minutes at PG thus taking away time from Nika.

Now if Dorka and AE can be relied upon to score and hit free throws-and if Liv (and Griff) don't improve quite a bit on their offense- then that opens more minutes for small ball. Liv and Griff won't get benched- but one or both will have minutes significantly reduced.

****As UCONNCAT posted a podcast a while back-- Geno had said you have to be able to score. **And the better the frontcourt plays offensively – then UCONN won’t need Azzi to play near 30 minutes and can better rest Evina too meaning more minutes for Nika but maybe less in tight games. This year is crazy!!!! Who knows??!!! So many questions.
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At least you are not worried about Dorka hitting FTs! The only combo you fail to mention is Liv at the Point and bringing the ball up against presses.
 
She should have her banner hanging from the UConn Hall of Fame Wall before she starts her 1st game. Thats how good she is!
 
Geno should manage her minutes, trying to protect her knee - given her injury history. No need for her to be playing more than 20 minutes a game, especially with this loaded team. I doubt she starts, but she should be playing in the final 5 minutes in close games.
 
BostonBay said:
Geno should manage her minutes, trying to protect her knee - given her injury history. No need for her to be playing more than 20 minutes a game, especially with this loaded team. I doubt she starts, but she should be playing in the final 5 minutes in close games.
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What exactly is her history? Yes. I know she tore her ACL/MCL. Then was in a boot recently. Am I missing something?
 
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oldude said:
Interesting assessment of Close. Got me to thinking that, other than Tara, the Pac12 has produced a number of coaches projected to be the “next great WBB coach” who could not build on their earlier success to win the Big Dance. Mike Neighbors, Scott Rueck and even Kelly Graves this past season all got to the FF once, and then fell back to the pack. Of course Close never got that far.

I’ll be curious to see if Adia Barnes can build on this past year’s success at AZ, or fall back to the pack like the majority of her contemporaries in the Pac-12.
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as Geno readily admits, a coach is only as good as his/her players.........Rueck has proven he can do good things with fair talent........Graves hasn't proven much yet other than that he is an excellent recruiter and a decent coach.......
 
JoePgh said:
I have a definite opinion on two specific issues that have been raised in this thread, even though I agree with the main consensus of the thread.
  1. I don't agree that Azzi will have to be more selfish, or that Geno will want her to be more selfish, to contribute as much as she can to UConn's success. Nothing in the U19 tourney suggests to me that Azzi is shy about taking an open shot from any range, and I think that is what Geno will expect of her. If her jump shot is as good as we all expect, opponents will make sure that they defend her even if it stretches their defense, and that is when she will get opportunities to pass or drive. She showed in the U19's that she can pass. If she isn't able to drive past an opponent who is tightly guarding her 20 feet from the basket, or make a backdoor cut to get past that opponent, that is a weakness in her game that will need to be fixed, but just because she didn't do it in the U19's doesn't mean that it isn't in her repertoire. I don't remember seeing any backdoor plays from the USA offense in the U19 tournament, by anyone.
  2. Some have suggested that Azzi may start if Geno decides to go with a 4-guard offense as he has for the past several years. I don't think Geno will do that again this year, for a number of reasons: (a) He hasn't won an NC since the last time he played a 2-big offense in 2015-26; (b) the teams in UConn's peer group this year (especially South Carolina and Stanford) are massively big teams in terms of height, and UConn will be at a disadvantage if it is not accustomed to playing with similar height most of the time; and, most important, (c) the 2021-22 roster only has four true guards (five if you count Evina) and nine front court players. The depth of this team is in the front court, and it makes sense to play two at a time (at least) to take advantage of that depth.
I think Geno got Dorka and built this roster because he recognizes that the teams since 2016 have simply not been big enough (and deep enough at the front court positions) to compete with other top teams at those positions. Having gone to a lot of trouble to acquire that depth of talent in the front court, I expect Geno to use the flexibility that this roster affords him.
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Excellent analysis but I still disagree about the starting team. Who sits so another big can start? Not Evina, CW, Paige or Ono so it has to be Nika but he has said how much he likes the team with Nika at the point. She is also a great point defender.

I think last year's team starts mostly with an occasional start of another big when necessary but he can always spell E with a big as well with the first or second substitution. I also think that E will be a different player this year with the extra year of strength in her knee.

I agree about the 2015-2016 to present "drought" and I was one of the ones that talked about the lack of power as being a factor, but did we really not make the Finals for that reason alone? We have not played well period in a National Semis game in the last 4 games and left ourselves open to being beat. There's more to it I believe now. They just have not been ready. Geno has acknowledged that. They were tight and playing not to lose. This year will be different.
 
BBallF said:
I agree about the 2015-2016 to present "drought" and I was one of the ones that talked about the lack of power as being a factor, but did we really not make the Finals for that reason alone? We have not played well period in a National Semis game in the last 4 games and left ourselves open to being beat. There's more to it I believe now. They just have not been ready. Geno has acknowledged that. They were tight and playing not to lose. This year will be different.
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IMO we haven't played well not because of just size/power but because of balance. In 16-17 and 17-18 - a bit sacrilege on here to criticize Nurse (and Danger as well)- but they didn't play well those 2 years in the FF. Also, we speak of Nurse as "lockdown" yet UCONN couldn't stop ND's perimeter in 17-18. Arike and Jackie scored 59 points. You can't rely on "lockdown" alone. Which is why this year's team fell short. Our starting center was a terrific defender but that's it. She scored 4 points combined in E8 and FF. In 16-17 Nurse and Danger got a combined 7 points in 52 minutes, with 3 rebounds and had just 2 assists vs 5 turnovers. You have to do better unless your built to play grind basketball.

Thy need balance. Just putting players in because they're tall with an expectation of just playing them in order to "match up" won't change anything. The game is so much more than "low post power/size."
 
oldude said:
In 2019 Azzi Fudd won the Gatorade POY Award, the first sophomore ever to do so. Azzi won that award over some pretty formidable competition, including Haley Jones, Aliyah Boston and her BFF, Paige Bueckers. But from that point on, we've seen very little of Azzi, the result of a long rehab from a devastating pair of injuries (torn ACL & MCL) and a general shutdown of basketball during the pandemic. We did see some workout videos with Azzi & Paige, a 3-pt shooting exhibition while wearing a boot and a handful of highlight vides from games this spring, when HS games slowly emerged from the pandemic on a very limited basis. Add in the uncertainty we all felt when it was reported that Azzi was still nursing a foot injury during summer workouts at UConn, and we just didn't know whether or not Azzi was the player we all hoped she would be when she announced her intention to matriculate to Storrs.

Fast forward to the FIBA U-19 World Championships, 7 games over 2 weeks against top international competition. The U19's gave all of us the first sustained look at Azzi's game in over two years. Here are some of thoughts on what I witnessed:
  • Azzi appears to be completely healthy and in great shape. She moved very well throughout the tournament, never giving any indication of a lingering injury issue.
  • Azzi was always a great shooter and she still is. Her 52% from the arc lead all players in the tournament.
  • Azzi is a complete player. She dug in to play tough defense, ran the offense at times, set up her teammates and rebounded.
  • Azzi will compete for a starting spot at UConn this coming season. We all know that Geno is looking for more than the ability to score from any freshman before they earn a starting spot or significant PT. So Azzi has to check off several boxes if she expects to start at UConn. She has to work hard - Check! She has to play tough defense - Check! She has to share the ball - Check! She has to be a good teammate - Check!
  • If there is any negative at all it is the same issue as Paige had when she showed up at UConn. We want to see Azzi be more aggressive when she has the ball, both attacking the basket and getting to her spot on the floor for her deadly mid-range jumper. I have no doubt that message will be conveyed to her by Geno.
In short, after much uncertainty about the status of Azzi's game and health, UConn fans should be thoroughly delighted at what we witnessed during the U19's. Just 3 more months until the season tips off.........
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I thought otherwise. Jennifer's namesake was extremely passive on offense and made away too many bad passes and turnovers.
 
craftsman said:
I thought otherwise. Jennifer's namesake was extremely passive on offense and made away too many bad passes and turnovers.
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A number of us wanted to see Azzi be a little more agressive on offense. With that said, Azzi lead the entire tournament in 3-pt shooting at 52%.

As for your assessment of Azzi’s passing, what tournament were you watching? Azzi had 27 assists against 7 turnovers, leading everyone in the tournament with an A/TO ratio of 3.9. To put that in context, the NPOY, Paige had an A/TO ratio of only 2.3 this past season.

Now seriously, did you actually watch the U19 tournament?
 
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Charliebball said:
I think some folks have forgotten or don't know what a full strength Azzi Fudd game looks like........you don't become a multiple player of the year for no reason....

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Just to point out, Azzi's junior season came AFTER her knee injury, surgery, and rehab.

Here's Azzi as a sophomore in the D.C. City Championship game. Her 38 points remains the arena record (the Mystics play there).

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
huskyd said:
This post might have been entitled "Doubts About Azzi." She just completed a gold-medal winning tournament and did NOT score the most points, did NOT hit a key basket, did NOT win the MVP. She actually missed about half her attempts and turned the ball over several times. She hung out on the outside, rarely entering the fray with abandon. That's why oldude wants her to be more "aggressive." For what purpose? So the US wins by 40 points instead of just 25?
If someone had asked Azzi what her goals were for this tournament, maybe we could say definitively if it was or was not a success. If winning is the ultimate measure, the effort was a success. If receiving accolades is the measure, maybe not a success. Who can say?
Caitlin was scraped off the floor several times. She could easily have hurt herself and doomed Iowa to complete mediocrity. Her talent is undeniable, but her judgement seems less commendable. (I thought Betts was the MVP, by the way.)
Coming back healthy and having had some playing time and winning gold: ENOUGH.
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Exactly...and I'm sure Geno agree
 
MooseJaw said:
Yes it would be a fascinating matchup. One I think we may see for periods of the game. I am most interested to see which coach uses his players in what match ups or which coach puts out their players and in effect says this is our best this is the way we play, beat us if you can. From recent experience Dawn has had a we have the power this is how we play mentality power is our game. This year I expect that to continue however knowing that she has an exceptionally quick point and 2-3 new players who could change the way SC plays the game. I wait with anticipation and interest to see which coach controls the tempo, dictates style and pace, while watching our Husky's execute and fill the roles Geno puts them in. A big one for sure, our biggest rivalry in many ways. I can't wait for what I hope becomes a sloberknocker of a game. :cool:.
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It's not the first match up with South Carolina, it's the SECOND one, predictably
in the NCAAs (or , I think, the second one in the out of conference play, assuming
somehow that UCONN and So.Carolina do not meet in the BATTLE 4 Atlantis final.
 
One thing I noticed in the FIBA U-19 World Championships was often when the team went back onto the floor after a time out Close would stop Azzi and say something just to her before she returned to the court. That was likely just whet she wanted to happen in the next set because Azzi would get it done. Just remember it never matters who starts a game (remember that on any senior night) it just matters who is on the floor to finish to big close games. It will never matter what we think a player should be doing as long as it is exactly what the coach wants to happen.
 
Zinethar said:
On another note I wondered what happened to the "horn" Azzi's dad was using early in the tourney. It seemed to go away - thankfully!
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Mr Fudd must read the BY……..
 
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