After her girlfriend, Paige Bueckers, left for the WNBA, the leadership at UConn now falls on Azzi Fudd, who will be playing in her red shirt senior year with the Huskies. Her time there had been filled with ups and downs, from her injury problems to winning the NCAA national title last April.
The star guard recently sat down with CT Insider and opened up on various topics, including her faith, her various injuries, leading UConn and her relationship with Paige Bueckers.
“At first, it was like, ‘I want that.’ But I was then comparing what I was doing to them, and I was trying to force it too much,” she told CT Insider. “And then when I got hurt again, it was really hard. Not that I hit rock bottom, but I was at a low point.”
Fudd grew up in a religious household and talked about her struggles regarding injury and her career and how her faith helped her go through one of the toughest times in her life. Fudd admitted that she often went to church with the woman who is now her girlfriend.
“I would go to church with Paige and Ice [Brady], but I wasn’t like giving it that extra, like in basketball, you can go to workouts, but you’re not going to get better if you don’t put any extra work in yourself,” Fudd said. “So, that’s what it was with my relationship with God. I wasn’t doing anything extra. I wasn’t praying on my own. I wasn’t doing any Bible study on my own.”
Azzi Fudd suffered a knee sprain last December, creating a scare that she would miss another season due to injury. However, as she said in the interview, it was her faith that guided her during that difficult time.
Azzi Fudd’s Father Tells Story of How She Picked Herself Up From Injury
During the Big East Tournament, Azzi Fudd was still down, and her father, Tim Fudd, also spoke with CT Insider and revealed how his daughter got her confidence back right after that tournament.
“It was the hardest year she had ever had,” Tim Fudd said. “And as she was expressing herself, and kind of, not like whimpering, but just tears were coming down.”
“She wiped her tears off her face, and she’s like, ‘I’m done with that. We have six games to play, and the only thing that I’m worried about now is raising that trophy and celebrating this championship,’” he added.
The elder Fudd noted that his daughter had been feeling the pressure of whether to follow Paige Bueckers to the WNBA or to stay at UConn. She ultimately decided to stay and this helped alleviate the burden she had been suffering over the last few months.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, basketball, and more!
