"Very on-brand for Paige Bueckers": Azzi Fudd recalls how Huskies star recruited her to UConn

UConn star Azzi Fudd led the No. 2-seeded Huskies to win against the No. 1-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks in the national championship game. Fudd had 24 points, five rebounds and one assist in the game. Moreover, she was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player over her teammate Paige Bueckers.

In a clip posted on "GQ's" Instagram page on Saturday, Fudd confirmed the story of how Bueckers, who is her best friend, aggressively recruited her by making a direct pitch to her parents in 2021.

"That's exactly what she said with a highlight video of herself passing to her teammates," Fudd said. "Very on brand for Paige and I'm glad that she said this and recruited me as hard as she did."

Fudd revealed how Paige Bueckers recruited her during an interview with GQ.

“(Bueckers) actually made this one video of her high school highlights of her passing to people and she showed it to my family,” Fudd said. “She sat down, airdropped it to the TV and said, ‘This is what I’ll be doing to Azzi. This is all the passes I’ll get her if she comes to UConn next year, she’ll get all these open shots.’ I’m just shaking my head, my parents are laughing. But it was a Paige moment.”

Azzi Fudd underestimated Paige Buecker's talent

Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers first met in 2017 during a Team USA U16 basketball camp where they were competing for a place in the team for the 2017 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship in Argentina.

During an interview with GQ, Fudd revealed how she first underestimated Bueckers during the camp before the high school star proved her wrong with her skills.

“I was like, 'OK, I don’t have anything to worry about. This little white girl? I’ll make the team over her,'" Fudd said. “She was a lot better than I thought she was. She can get a bucket literally whenever she wants, but she always wants to make sure everyone’s involved and we’re playing team basketball.”

After the camp, Bueckers recruited Fudd and in 2021-2022, they played together for the Huskies, who reached the national championship game and were beaten by the Gamecocks. Over the years, the pair has dealt with season-ending injuries and emerged as best friends.

Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers will part ways this year as the latter heads to the WNBA draft, where she has been projected to be picked No. 1 overall, while the former is poised to stay at UConn for an extra year, much like Bueckers did last season.