Azzi Fudd still has to pinch herself to believe UConn’s 2024-25 National Championship win actually happened. “To have our names up there with all those legends doesn’t feel real,” she told SLAM. That moment alone seemed to set the stage for Fudd to take the next step to the WNBA, just like Paige Bueckers, sparking excitement about two UConn stars leaping together. Still, she paused because…

Azzi cited not achieving her best UConn performance yet, highlighted by Geno Auriemma, as the reason for returning for a final year. Now, ahead of the season, she has once again reinforced the pivotal role Geno played in that decision. “I had talks with my family, talk with the coach, and it really made me realize that I haven’t had a full, healthy season. I haven’t. What the coach kind of brought up to me was that he felt like I hadn’t really reached my full UConn potential. And I agreed,” Fudd told NBC.

Many forget just how hyped Fudd was out of high school. At one time, many fans rated Fudd to be better than Paige Bueckers. She was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2021, and her jump shot was once called more “textbook” than anyone’s he’d seen by Stephen Curry himself. ESPN described her as “the best high school talent the game has seen in decades.” Unfortunately, much like Bueckers, Fudd was met with multiple injuries. 

Azzi missed 11 games as a freshman due to a foot injury, then as a sophomore, she missed 22 games due to a knee injury she suffered against Notre Dame. Her return after about five weeks did not last long, re-aggravating it, causing her to miss more time.

After much rehab, she managed to play a career-high 34 games while averaging 13.6 points, 2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 47.4% from the field and 43.6% from 3-point range. However, to Auriemma and Fudd, it was still not enough. “He was like, ‘If you left, like I would, I’d support whatever you decide, but I feel like you owe it to yourself to have another year to get better, to grow, to learn, and to reach your full UConn potential.” So, here I am,” Fudd concluded. 

Apart from her on-court numbers, Fudd will have a chance to lead the UConn side after playing second fiddle to Bueckers until now. She has even more off-court opportunities, emerging as the next face of college basketball and UConn. That will translate into her draft stock next year.

Currently, Tankathon has her going at No.2 to Minnesota, but that will fluctuate throughout the season. While she embarks upon breaking the boundaries of her game, she revealed Paige Bueckers’ advice going into the season. 

Paige Bueckers’ Inspiring Words as Azzi Fudd Takes the Torch

It’s easy to prepare for the next step when your girlfriend is the previous No.1 Draft pick, isn’t it? Bueckers recently even dropped by UConn practice when the squad celebrated their last season’s national championship with rings.

Bueckers dropped a collage of photos on her Instagram. In one of the photos, Bueckers was scoring over Fudd and also made a subtle jab by tagging it as ‘lay her’. Apart from taking playful shots at each other, Fudd also revealed what Bueckers has advised her for the upcoming season. 

“I think some of the best advice she’s given is to kind of embrace everything. Like I said, in order to reach your full potential, you have to be able to grow, and you grow kind of through the hard stuff. So, being able to embrace all that and be open to learning, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for me this year to grow in different ways that I haven’t had to before,” She said. 

Like we discussed earlier, Fudd was always second in the leadership ladder at UConn until this season. Now she has to carry the torch, be the voice in the locker room, lift her teammates up when things aren’t going their way. “Paige is going to be gone, so I can’t rely on her to speak and do all that [leadership] stuff, on and off the court,” Fudd has said. “I will have to be in that position.” Now healthy and leading her team, Fudd’s final year promises both redemption and legacy.