The Next Generation: Azzi Fudd is more than just a generational shooter

Azzi Fudd is an elite shooter whose game has already drawn comparisons to Steph Curry. But she has a lot more in her arsenal than just the 3-pointer.

No matter how you slice it, few organizations in the history of sports hold the allure and prestige of UConn Huskies women’s basketball. With a whopping 11 national titles (including four straight from 2013-16), no team in the history of college basketball has won more than them (UCLA men’s basketball is tied with 11 of their own).

As a consequence of their storied history, it takes a very splendid player to differentiate herself and distinctly stand out in the annals of UConn women’s basketball lore.

And sophomore Azzi Fudd is as special as they come. From being ranked as the number one recruit in the class of 2021, to being recognized by the likes of Stephen Curry, to making it to the national title game as a freshman, to being named the face of Curry’s brand, Fudd appears to be the next legendary basketball player to don the UConn navy blue.

But just how good is she actually? Does her game really resemble the Hall of Famer whose brand she represents? And most importantly, is Azzi Fudd part of the next generation of great women’s basketball players?

Is Azzi Fudd the best shooter in the country?

You don’t garner praise from the NBA’s all-time leader in 33-pointers made without being a dead-eye sniper in your own right, and Fudd is no exception to the rule.

As a 15-year-old, Fudd became the first woman to attend Stephen Curry’s SC30 Select Camp for elite high school players. And not only did she attend but stole the show — winning the SC30 Select Three-Point Contest. Mind you, also present at this camp were future NBA players like Cole Anthony, Jalen Green, R.J. Hampton, and James Wiseman.

The next year, despite rehabbing a torn ACL that sidelined her for the entirety of her sophomore high school campaign, Fudd returned to Curry’s camp and, you guessed it, won the 3-point contest again.

In college, Fudd has lived up to her reputation as an elite outside shooter, draining 41.7 percent of the 206 triples she’s taken in her first two seasons with the Huskies. But simply citing her percentages undersells the depth of her shooting prowess. She’s not just a standstill gunner (the type of shots taken in 3-point contests). She’s also capable of burying 3s in high-speed transition scenarios:

And while curling off of screens:

Instances like the one in the second clip are where the Curry comparison really starts to gain some ground. Curry, and all the other truly great all-time shooters, aren’t just stationary assassins.

The great ones spend the entire duration of the shot clock roaming around the court like an endurance athlete taking laps around the track. They are opportunistic in this endeavor, always looking for chances to peel off into space for an open jumper.

Fudd has this versatility, and because of this, it puts her in rarified air as it pertains to shooters. We said earlier that traditional 3-point percentage undersells her shooting ability. A better measure of perimeter shooting is Cerebro Sports’ 3-Point Efficiency (3PE) metric.

According to the website, 3PE is “a shooting metric that combines 3PT volume and efficiency to show the most lethal shooters.” And based on this measure, Fudd sits in the 98th percentile in NCAAW. And that’s despite dealing with a knee injury for most of her sophomore college season.

Azzi Fudd is more than just a shooter

Now, just because Fudd is an elite shooter doesn’t mean that’s all there is to her game. If that were the case, it would be much easier for defenses to gameplan against her. But unfortunately for them, she’s got a counter for almost any tactic they try.

For starters, one thing teams will try to do is aggressively deny her the ball (aka top-lock her). This makes it harder for her to curl off of a screen and get into her jumper. But that’s no problem for Fudd because she can just back-cut to the rim for an even more efficient layup.

Another ploy defenses will try to pull is pressing her when she catches a pass on the 3-point line in an attempt to run her off the line. That might work against more one-dimensional players, but for Fudd, this just presents an opportunity for her to dribble into her patented midrange pull-up.

The breadth of her scoring vocabulary is demonstrated by another Cerebro statistic: Pure Scoring Prowess (PSP). For those unaware, PSP is “a scoring metric that combines volume and efficiency to show the purest scorers.”

Fudd grades out even higher in this statistic than she does in 3PE, placing in the 99th percentile in the country in PSP. For comparison, Curry was also in the 99th percentile in PSP in his sophomore season at Davidson.

What about the other end of the court?

We’ve spent so much time marveling over her offensive gifts that we’d almost forgotten to touch on her notable defensive contributions.

As a guard, her primary duty revolves around shadowing ball handlers at the point of attack. In this area, she grades very well, often crowding her assignment to the point where it creates great discomfort for her adversary.

Coaches always preach the importance of keeping the ball in front of you on defense. If you can do that, you avoid conceding an advantage to your opponent and, as a result, greatly decrease the likelihood of them scoring points. It goes without saying that the fewer points you allow, the better your chances of coming out with a victory when the final buzzer sounds.

However, arguably even more important than on-ball defense, at least for non-centers, is the ability to be disruptive and create turnovers. Think about it this way, no matter how good your on-ball defense is, there is still a chance (albeit a small one) that your opponent rises up and cans a jumper in your grill. But if you get a steal, there is absolutely zero percent chance that they get any points on that possession.

Cerebro’s Defensive Statistical Impact (DSI) metric seeks to measure a player’s ability to cause this type of disruption. And in this statistic, Fudd places in the 90th percentile in the nation. That is a noteworthy feat, especially given the high offensive load she is often tasked with carrying.

Fudd’s combination of point-of-attack steadiness and defensive playmaking makes her a clear positive as a guard defender, which is a huge plus given her standing as one of the very best offensive players in the country.

As history has taught us, it is never wise to compare a prospect to the absolute apex of their player archetype. And this is particularly true with Fudd, given all the injuries that she’s already had to deal with in her young career.

But that combination of versatile shooting, on and off-ball scoring, and positive defense at the guard position is a tantalizing one. And if it all comes together for Fudd, she has the chance to be one of the very best players of her generation.

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