UConn Huskies star Azzi Fudd’s “Welcome to the NCAA moment” outshined that of her counterpart standouts in rival women’s college basketball programs. On Monday, Aug. 11, @brwsports on Instagram uploaded a video wherein the likes of Fudd, LSU Tigers guard Flau’jae Johnson, UCLA Bruins stalwart Lauren Betts and many other NCAA players were featured and had to answer the prompt.
The prompt was that they were asked what their welcome to the NCAA moment was, which is when they first experienced how NCAA collegiate hoops truly is like. Other names in the video included Iowa State Cylones’ Audi Crooks, Texas Longhorns’ Madison Booker and incoming Bruin freshman Sienna Betts, the younger sister of Lauren. But, Fudd’s entry was placed last as it was deemed to be the most memorable.
“We were playing one-on-one in practice. This was in summer workouts, and Christyn (Williams) just completely like laid her shoulder into me and usually, I’m good at like handling a bump, but that one I was like, ‘Ooh.’ And, it hadn’t happened again until this past summer actually. Sarah gave me a nasty shoulder, or I mean, it wasn’t even her shoulder, it was just a bump. That girl is strong, and I could like taste my oatmeal from that morning. It was terrible,” Fudd shared.
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Fudd has been a part of coach Geno Auriemma’s program for the last five years and will play out her fifth and final year of college eligibility in the 2025-26 season with the Huskies. Her story then invokes that she has experienced bumps from the likes of former Husky Christyn Williams and now incoming sophomore Sarah Strong, meaning she had a similar “welcome to the NCAA” encounter with both her former and current teammate.
Flau’jae Johnson And Lauren Betts Had Different “Welcome to the NCAA” Moments
For LSU Tigers guard Flau’jae Johnson, her “welcome to the NCAA moment” was all the way back in her first game, and she finally experienced how the pace truly is in college basketball. The Savannah, Georgia native shared that she was surprised with how intense and high-paced NCAA basketball is. She said that she couldn’t keep up even if it was just the first quarter.
In UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts’ case, she shouted out former USC Trojans forward and now Washington Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen. This is because the two standouts were in the same team, the Stanford Cardinal, when Betts had just entered the league and in one summer workout, the now UCLA senior admitted that she couldn’t keep up with Iriafen’s physicality and was pushed to tumble in one play.
Also Read: UCLA Star Lauren Betts Serves Up BTS Magic in Striking Pink Crop Tee and Black Under Armour Fit
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