Azzi Fudd ‘Face of College Hoops’ Label Ignites Fan Debate
There's no question that the UConn Huskies women's basketball team will need to lean on star guard Azzi Fudd if they have any hope is repeating as NCAA national champions in the 2025-26 season.
While Fudd is arguably not even the best player on UConn (that distinction could instead belong to sophomore forward Sarah Strong), the absence of Paige Bueckers' leadership and offense from the backcourt will be vital for Fudd to fill for Geno Auriemma's team.
And given that Fudd is one of the most talented players in the country, especially when it comes to her lethal shooting range, she should have no problem putting together a fantastic final college campaign before heading to the WNBA next year.
There's also no question that Fudd is among the biggest names in women's college basketball right now. And since JuJu Watkins will be sidelined for the USC Trojans' season while she's rehabbing from the torn ACL she suffered earlier this year, some could claim that Fudd is the face of women's college hoops.
Fans At Odds Over SLAM Magazine's Azzi Fudd 'Face of College Hoops' Claim
This is the stance that SLAM Magazine took with an X post on October 30 that revealed Fudd as the cover of the magazine's most recent issue. Their post was captioned, "National champ. 2025 Final Four MOP. The face of college hoops.
"Azzi Fudd has been SHIMMERING on and off the court. The nation's best player covers SLAM 259."
National champ. 2025 Final Four MOP. The face of college hoops.
— WSLAM (@wslam) October 30, 2025
Azzi Fudd has been SHIMMERING on and off the court. The nation's best player covers SLAM 259.
🏆 https://t.co/k2jh2NEY9Q pic.twitter.com/2qW3qL9Bjj
This post has gone viral. And several fans are taking exception to Fudd being called the face of college hoops.
"the huh," X user @problemsthots wrote in a reply to the post, which has over 85,000 views in less than three hours.
the huh. https://t.co/R4Ng0KnyHM
— sengunberly. (@problemsthots) October 30, 2025
"the what player in the what?," that same user later added.
X user @_TyM14 wrote, "The average person has zero clue who this is but most know of Juju lol".
"Not even the best player on the team 😭," said @S_Carm7.
"The what now," added @HitTapiaLives.
The what now https://t.co/mae3GBuBVF
— mikaylah williams fc (@HitTapiaLives) October 30, 2025
Other fans are defending Fudd being labeled with this claim. X user @multixfilmz replied to the initial "the huh" comment and wrote, "The caption is clear. Nothing wrong with it."
"What’s so confusing?" @daprettiestjem added.
"best player in the nation coming to 312 next year," @miserabulls added, referencing Fudd.
"Yup! The Best Player in the Nation! UConn will go back to back! Azzi will average 30ppg night in and out! Her and Sarah!" @mytracktality added.
"'The face of college hoops' OH YOU KNOW BALL," said @threefiveline.
"The face of college hoops" OH YOU KNOW BALL https://t.co/47b1Cev5Xw
— ☆ (@threefiveline) October 30, 2025
It appears that some believe Fudd must earn her right to have this label during this upcoming season. It will be fun to see whether she can do so.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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