Azzi Fudd has wowed on the hardwood for years and now and the 2021 No.1 ranked high school player girl’s player in the country has to make a choice as to where she’ll play the next 3-4 years before bumsrushing the WNBA.
According to reports, it’s down to UCONN and UCLA but I also heard others chime in with UMD and Louisville as still being in play for the prolific guard from St John’s College High School in Washington DC.
The feeling is the UCONN Huskies and Geno Auriemma have the best shot at landing her with their unrivaled tradition and history of producing WNBA players. But the other three mentioned won’t go down without a fight.
When asked, Fudd said, “The college recruiting process has been weighing on me, and I don’t know what to do…I’ve made progress by getting down to my last few schools but it’s still a difficult and life-altering decision no matter where I choose”. “This decision is a huge part of the rest of my life”.
The world will find out at 11 am ET this morning (Nov.11).
TUNE IN, tomorrow (11/11) at 11 am EST I’m announcing my college decision on ESPN Instagram live !!! @espn 🤫🖤 (oh and it’s also my 18th birthday) pic.twitter.com/NAOb9rGpyG
— Azzi Fudd (@azzi_35) November 11, 2020
Fudd is a 5’11 guard with prolific scoring ability and a high basketball IQ. She’s one of the most prolific and heralded prospects in the last decade. Current UCONN freshman Paige Bueckers (2020) was regarded as the best high school player since Aja Wilson (South Carolina/Las Vegas Aces) and Breanna Stewart (UCONN/Seattle Storm). In many realms Fudd is considered just as good and if not better depending on whom you ask.
She tore her ACL and MCL in 2019 following her sophomore season where she led the Lady Cadets to the WCAC regular season and conference tournament title beating a loaded Bishop McNamara team with three division one players (Jakia Brown Turner/Aliyah Matharu/Madison Scott) on their roster.
These teams met twice that season with both ranked either 1 or 2 in the nation. I personally thought the big market outlets (ESPN, FS1, etc) missed a real opportunity to hone in on some elite girls basketball in the DMV. She was named DC Gatorade Player Of The Year and received the award from Mystics superstar Elena Delle Donne.
She also won it in 2018 as a freshman.
Despite the knee tear, her stature hasn’t changed, and many folks see her as a hybrid of former Tennessee Lady Vols star Kara Lawson and former Ohio State star Katie Smith (A Walking 30 Piece With 2 Sides).
Fundamentally Fudd has no holes in her game, as a three-level scorer, she’s a very tough cover. She has a video where she made (268 Triples In A 18-Minute Workout).
Her pull-up has been devastating since her middle school days, and she can finish at the rim through contact. Her naturally strong frame allows her to be a good rebounder and she’s always been a gritty and tough defender, not afraid to guard the other team’s best perimeter player.
Her greatest asset is probably her lack of fear in the clutch and the ability to get a good shot in the waning moments of a close game.
Fudd’s competitively cordial relationship with the aforementioned Bueckers leads many to believe that their connection — among other things — could lead her to Storrs CT. The two stars played on Team USA together, workout together, and are always going head up on and off the floor.
Last December she visited Storrs and sat with Bueckers and another top UCONN recruit Caroline Ducharme, the #5 player in the class of 2021. Also “Buecks” has actively been recruiting her to UCONN.
The home team UMD has long been in on Fudd as head coach Brenda Frese offered her a scholarship in the eighth grade.
Louisville despite not winning a national title has become a strong contender yearly under Jeff Walz, a former Terps assistant under Frese, who recruited the likes of Kristi Toliver, Marissa Coleman and Crystal Langhorne to College Park as they won the National Title in 2006 as a true freshman.
UCLA is the surprise school of the four, but Cori Close is working on something out West, and landing a recruit like Fudd will only enhance the rebuild of the Lady Bruins and bring the program instant credibility.
No matter where Azzi Fudd chooses that school is getting a great student-athlete with the ability to take that school to new heights.
#PoVMasonSports
