Azzi Fudd talks recovery, Paige Bueckers up for an ESPY and more

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Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

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Headlines

Last week’s Weekly

• UConn hoping to have a deep rotation this season

Recapping the week

On Tuesday, the UConn WBB Weekly turned four years old. Since the spirit of the publication is to recap everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball each week, let’s do just that.

Azzi Fudd talks recovery

Azzi Fudd’s been snake bit by injuries since she initially tore her ACL and MCL back in 2019. Yet when she went down with another torn ACL this past November, she handled it better than the first go-around.

“My reaction shocked me,” Fudd told MassLive at her Hooplandia event in Springfield. “I thought for sure I would just cry. The first time I was a mess, I cried, I was so sad. When it happened this time, I felt like I kind of knew… I was really upset, but I didn’t let myself go down that rabbit hole of what could’ve been if I was healthy.”

Though Fudd has been at UConn since 2021, she’s played in just 42 of 112 possible games. All that missed time has weighed on her.

“Surgery was fine, all that was fine. It’s harder halfway through the season when I’ve been sitting through games, I’ve been cheering, I’ve been positive,” she said. “Then it hits you, like, 10 games of just sitting on the bench cheering (and realizing), ‘I still have so many more games to sit here and cheer and still not play.’”

Now, the redshirt junior is focused on getting back and finally showing what she can do in a UConn uniform.

“At the end of the day, I love basketball and that’s what I wanted to keep doing, that was my purpose behind my rehab

Paige Bueckers receives ESPY nomination

In 2021, Paige Bueckers won an ESPY for Best Women’s College Athlete and now, she has a chance to bring home more hardware. This time, the superstar is one of four nominees for Best Comeback Athlete after returning from a torn ACL and earning First Team All-American honors while leading UConn back to the Final Four.

She isn’t the only Husky to be nominated, either. Both Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are up for Best WNBA Player, while the UConn men’s basketball squad is being considered for Best Team.

The winners are decided by a fan vote on ESPN.com.

Throwback: Paige Bueckers’ 2021 ESPYs speech

Team trip

On Tuesday, the team traveled down to UBS Arena to see the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx battle for the Commissioner’s Cup. Afterwards, they visited with Dorka Juhász. Paige Bueckers donned the jersey of her former teammate as well.

MVPhee

In the Commissioner’s Cup, Napheesa Collier brought home MVP honors after putting up 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Collier is in the midst of the best season of her WNBA career. She’s averaging a double-double with 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds — the latter of which is a career-high.

She also had a mic drop moment:

WNBA notes

Elsewhere in the WNBA, Moriah Jefferson underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right ankle and will be re-evaluated in three weeks. She’s played just 6.8 minutes across nine games with the Connecticut Sun this season.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Dream waived Crystal Dangerfield after 15 contests. The former rookie of the year averaged 3.1 points and 1.7 assists in 14.1 minutes per game.

UConn in on top 2025 recruit

On Wednesday, UConn made the top 12 for Agot Makeer, the No. 6 player in the class of 2025. Listed at 6-1, she plays at Crestwood Prep — Aaliyah Edwards’ alma mater in Canada.

From ESPN’s Shane Laflin: “Makeer is showing a lot of versatility this season and, despite her thin frame, she is able to affect the game inside and out. The 6-1 wing handles some of the primary ball handling duties at times for Crestwood and has shown the ability to lead the offense and create for others as a facilitator.”

Makeer’s other 11 finalists include Duke, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.

Best of social media

Hilarious, must-watch content:

Putting in the work:

Sarah Strong: Proven winner

Nika’s already making an impact in Seattle:

Another day, another reunion:

UConn is everywhere:

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