Tag: UConn Women’s Basketball

Paige Bueckers is seemingly in no rush to declare for the WNBA draft

UConn star Paige Bueckers is all in on her teammates, and that means weighing her future in the WNBA.

Paige Bueckers is considered to be potentially one of the top picks in the WNBA draft should she choose to declare, but the hoops star recently insinuated that she might have unfinished business at UConn.

Paige Bueckers is a star who has become a driving force at UConn under head coach Geno Auriemma. However, during her college basketball career her team has faced some truly unfortunate headwinds with injuries.

This year has been no different. The team has endured injuries to Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin, Jana El Alfy, Ayanna Patterson and Caroline Ducharme. Several of those have been season-ending.

On Tuesday, when asked about whether or not she had talked to Auriemma about playing another year, Bueckers made light of all the injuries, saying that her coach likely wants her to stay now.

However, what she said next when asked about potentially going to the WNBA may reveal where her heart truly lies.

Hoops fans ripped an unhinged hot take about UConn’s Paige Bueckers

Imagine being LOUD and WRONG at the same time. This is unhinged behavior.

Hot takes are not an unusual thing for the internet. It’s kind of its thing. However, some hot takes go too far and must be addressed, like when a sports branding consultant recently claimed that UConn star Paige Bueckers was not a household name.

UConn’s Paige Bueckers suffered an ACL injury during the 2022-2023 season, but true to form (and head coach Geno Auriemma’s prediction), she’s back this season and playing lights out basketball as expected.

Her impressive play against ranked teams is turning heads (especially around WNBA evaluators) amid a season where UConn has dealt with several gut-wrenching injuries.

So, it’s unsurprising that Jay “Chuck” Fields, a sports branding consultant, would be commenting, as many fans do, on women’s basketball and one of its biggest stars.

The problem is that Fields LOUDLY and INCORRECTLY said that Bueckers wasn’t a household name, alluding to the notion that she is not an Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark level of player. (By the way, if you’re going to insult someone, at least be grammatically correct.)

Women’s basketball fans responded (with the receipts!) and promptly roasted Fields. Please enjoy this content.

9 underrated women’s hoops freshmen who deserve more attention, including UConn’s KK Arnold and Texas’ Madison Booker

UConn’s KK Arnold, Texas’ Madison Booker and seven other freshmen players need more of the spotlight.

The 2023-2024 basketball season is underway, and while a lot of the women’s basketball chatter has been about top talents in the sport, this year’s freshman class has been making noise.

In November, For The Win listed five first-year students who needed to be on your radar, like USC’s JuJu Watkins, who has been playing lights out all season and leading her team. In ESPN’s latest ranking of impactful freshmen, Watkins is mentioned, but so are several other first-year players.

If you want to follow the development of some underrated talent, here are nine other players that you need to get into:

College hoops fans are devastated over news of Azzi Fudd’s season-ending injury

This is heartbreaking news.

On Wednesday, women’s college basketball fans were stunned to learn that Uconn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd will miss the remainder of the 2023-2024 season.

Fudd hoped to return to the Huskies this season after unfortunate injuries had stalled her playing career. She needed the time to get healthy and develop to make it to the WNBA after college. But, Fudd’s road back to total health will have to wait.

In a shocking turn of events, her lingering absence in recent days has now been explained. After only two games of playing time, she is out for the season with a brutal meniscus and ACL injury.

Per Alexa Philippou of ESPN, head coach Geno Auriemma shared his thoughts about Fudd’s setback:

“We’re all just so upset for Azzi. She worked hard to be healthy for this season, and it’s unfortunate when you put in a lot of hard work and have a setback like this. Azzi loves the game and works tirelessly. I’m confident she’ll rehab with the same work ethic and come back better than ever. We’ll obviously miss her presence on the court, but Azzi will continue to be a great teammate and important part of this team this season. Our program will support Azzi through her recovery however we can.”

Women’s college basketball fans couldn’t help but feel shock and sorrow over the news:

UConn Huskies fans loved a wholesome video of Aaliyah Edwards meeting her ‘mini me’

File this under things you love to see.

UConn basketball star Aaliyah Edwards met her “mini-me,” and the vibes are immaculate.

“Black girl magic” is more than a phrase; it’s a movement. From Angel Reese to Simone Biles to CoCo Guaff, black women are having a huge year. Impact like that doesn’t go unnoticed, and it trickles down to even the smallest of fans.

Enter Uconn basketball’s Aaliyah Edwards.

The Canadian forward has made a name for herself since joining the team in 2020 and earned six awards this year, including All-BIG EAST First Team and AP Third Team All-American.

With her signature purple and gold braids as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, it’s hard to miss Edwards moving up and down the court. In a fitting turn of events, the 21-year-old recently met a young fan who also has braids just like her.

Per a video posted to Edward’s social media that is absolutely precious, Ari, a young basketball fan, can be seen introducing herself as Edwards for Halloween and explaining details about who she is and what she does.

Later in the clip, there are several photos of Ari and Edwards posing and smiling when they met — just completely wholesome stuff.

Uconn Huskies fans immediately chimed in and applauded the video.

UConn guard Azzi Fudd says the WNBA can wait: ‘Why would I want to leave?’

Priorities first.

Azzi Fudd is clear about her priorities, and the WNBA will have to wait.

The Uconn Huskies guard is talented but has battled several injuries. A lingering foot issue kept her out of 11 games during her first year. Then, some awful knee injuries stopped Fudd from appearing in 22 games during her sophomore season.

In a recently posted clip, WNBA star turned ESPN basketball analyst and reporter Rebecca Lobo recently asked Fudd about her plans at the end of the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

“I plan on staying,” Fudd said calmly and confidently. “Why would I want to leave the basketball capital of the world?”

Despite being eligible to join the WNBA once she turns 22, Fudd plans to return to UConn. The move makes sense, given that she would have time to work on staying healthy and developing her game. Fudd would also likely be a top pick in 2025 and has several NIL deals that she can continue to utilize in the interim.

Also, with five Final Four appearances since 2017, there’s a chance Fudd could add hardware to her trophy case before joining the WNBA.

UConn guard Azzi Fudd says the WNBA can wait: ‘Why would I want to leave?’

Priorities first.

Azzi Fudd is clear about her priorities, and the WNBA will have to wait.

The Uconn Huskies guard is talented but has battled several injuries. A lingering foot issue kept her out of 11 games during her first year. Then, some awful knee injuries stopped Fudd from appearing in 22 games during her sophomore season.

In a recently posted clip, WNBA star turned ESPN basketball analyst and reporter Rebecca Lobo recently asked Fudd about her plans at the end of the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

“I plan on staying,” Fudd said calmly and confidently. “Why would I want to leave the basketball capital of the world?”

Despite being eligible to join the WNBA once she turns 22, Fudd plans to return to UConn. The move makes sense, given that she would have time to work on staying healthy and developing her game. Fudd would also likely be a top pick in 2025 and has several NIL deals that she can continue to utilize in the interim.

Also, with five Final Four appearances since 2017, there’s a chance Fudd could add hardware to her trophy case before joining the WNBA.

Geno Auriemma went on a brilliant, expletive-laden rant against calling UConn a ‘redeem team’

“How about we just shut the [expletive] up and win games?”

Few people in Women’s college basketball understand the basic concept of winning more than Geno Auriemma. The legendary UConn coach is third all-time in wins (1,093) and can potentially surpass the two people ahead of him — Pat Summit and Tara VanDerveer — by the end of next season.

And with an injured UConn trying to improve upon a disappointing Sweet 16 finish last season, it’s understandable if Auriemma has his eyes on two prizes — a 12th National Championship and sole possession of the all-time wins record.

That’s not why he’s seemingly not buying into any narratives that detract from basic basketball success. Not even the idea of a “redeem team” for a UConn squad that may have fallen short primarily due to its health issues.  For Auriemma: Enough talk, just win games.

(Warning: NSFW language in the video below.)

Phew. That is a coach clearly really UNHAPPY with how his team’s being talked about. Historically, UConn might be a preeminent blue blood. But great blue bloods — ones who win championships, anyway — don’t necessarily carry themselves as if that label means anything. Or as if looking into the past has any bearing on the future. (It almost never does.)

They’re just talented and play hard and together and scrap and claw for every win. For a team entering the 2023-2024 season as one of the title favorites, Auriemma knows that fact better than anyone. That makes this classic rant a vintage coach rant from someone who wants their team purely focused on the road ahead.

NCAAW Game of the Day: South Carolina vs. UConn is Sunday’s cream of the crop

Which team are you betting on to win this one?

There’s a lot going on in the world this Sunday that requires our undivided attention — specifically, the NFL Pro Bowl and the 65th Annual Grammy Awards immediately come to mind.

But if you want some entertainment before the aforementioned events, you’ll want to get into your women’s basketball bag. Beginning at 12:00 pm ET, No. 5 UConn hosts No. 1 South Carolina in what should be the sport’s biggest game of the day.

To be fair, Sunday’s whole slate of women’s college basketball games packs high-profile matchups, including Duke-Notre Dame, Ohio State-Maryland and North Carolina-Louisville. But the 2022 National Championship Game rematch between the Gamecocks and Huskies is certainly the most anticipated.

Both teams enter Sunday’s contest holding noteworthy streaks. UConn hasn’t lost a home game in nearly a year, which puts their current streak of home wins at 16 (11-0 this season). Meanwhile, South Carolina has yet to taste defeat this season. In fact, the Gamecocks haven’t lost a game of any type since March 6, 2022.

So, we should expect a tremendous battle on Sunday, right? Right.

Even with UConn being dealt a bad hand with injuries this year — Azzi Fudd has only appeared in nine games (knee), and Paige Bueckers hasn’t played in any games this season (ACL) —the team is now up to 14 wins in a row and has a record of 21-2. This should be considered one of Geno Auriemma’s great coaching jobs.

The Huskies’ streak and ability to play through adversity will be tested on Sunday, though, against the defending national champions. Whichever test has been thrown at Dawn Staley’s group, they’ve passed. Most notably, their big win at Stanford. As the Gamecocks go on the road for another top-5 showdown, they’ll need to lean on their veteran experience to overcome a hostile environment.

There’s something worth paying attention to in this one, which is the classic offense vs. defense battle.

Led by Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl, UConn might have the most efficient offense in the country. The Huskies have the best field goal percentage (52.0), the second-best 3-point percentage (40.3), are third in assists (20.4) and are one of just 13 teams putting up more than 80.0 points per game on the season. On the other hand, South Carolina has the sport’s best defense. It leads the nation in holding opponents to the fewest points per game (47.0) and the Gamecocks average an NCAAW-best 9.9 blocks per game behind the rim presence of Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso.

So, when the two elite college basketball programs meet on Sunday for a 2022 National Championship Game rematch, there’s no telling how this one will turn out. If you think you know, be sure to head over to BetMGM to bet on either the home underdog Huskies (+4.5) or the favored, defending champion Gamecocks on the road (-4.5).

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UConn star Azzi Fudd to be sidelined indefinitely after re-injuring knee

More unfortunate injury news this season for Azzi Fudd.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: injuries are the absolute worst!

After missing over a month of basketball following a knee injury suffered against Notre Dame in early December, UConn’s sophomore guard Azzi Fudd made her return to the court on January 11 against St. John’s. Less than a week later, Fudd re-injured the same knee against Georgetown, forcing her back to the sideline again, where she is reportedly going to stay for an indefinite amount of time.

In basketball, and sports in general, there’s always a risk of injury — mostly everyone is well aware of that fact, especially players and members of programs. But I can’t imagine that understanding that possibility makes reality any easier to deal with.

For UConn’s women’s basketball program, the ramifications of the injuries are obvious — the team takes a significant blow without its two best players Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers (Torn ACL) on the court, which was also the case last year when the two dealt with injuries.

But schools can always reset and bring in a new crop of players when the time comes. On the other hand, the players are the ones whose careers are altered by the setbacks. They must reshape and rehab mentally and physically to return to their peak levels. Whether they can or not isn’t the question, but the process that goes into it really makes you feel for these young athletes.

Nevertheless, it’s a waiting game now for Fudd and the Huskies women’s basketball team. They’ll have to operate without her for the time being in a tough Big East conference. Could Fudd return in time for an end-of-season push? Will she return at all? Time will tell.

UConn has +600 national championship odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.

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