Basketball’s Can’t “Ms. Prospect’”
Azzi Fudd and her journey to become the most highly touted basketball prospect out of the DMV despite its rich basketball history.
Basketball is and remains a global phenomenon. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, fans and players around the world continue to love the sport. It is without question, that the United States produces the best and most popular players. As a result, there is a huge debate as to which region of the country produces the best basketball players. As many regions try to claim the right to say they produce the best players, however, there is one region that has consistently produced high quality players. The area surrounding the Washington Metropolitan area, commonly known as the “DMV” (for District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) has a long history of producing great basketball players.
The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) is widely recognized as producing the best basketball players in the DMV, and even the country. The WCAC is the athletic league that combines several DMV Catholic high schools. It has long been considered as one of the best athletic conferences for boys basketball with multiple nationally ranked teams by USA Today. National Basketball Association (“NBA”) team rosters are filled with WCAC alumni. WCAC alumni include Adrian Dantley, John Thompson Jr., and Victor Oladipo. In fact, Markell Fultz, a DeMatha Catholic High School graduate, was the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
While the boys basketball rosters in the WCAC remain filled with talent, the conference is now known for producing some of the nation’s best players in girls basketball. According to a recent Washington Post article, there are at least ten players from WCAC schools that are playing in this year’s Women’s NCAA Tournament. It is clear that the WCAC is the go to conference when college recruiters look for the next great boy or girl basketball prospect.
That prospect may very well be St. John’s College High School’s Azzi Fudd. She recently graced the cover of ESPN the Magazine and is the number one ranked girls high school basketball player for the Class of 2021. Fudd also committed to play basketball for the powerhouse University of Connecticut and its legendary coach, Geno Auriemma.
Fudd’s high school career is legendary to say the least. She was called the best “women’s basketball prospect the game has seen in decades,” according the ESPN article. She led her high school team, the WCAC’s St. John’s College High School (“St. John’s”) to back to back conference titles and two straight District of Columbia State Athletic Association titles as a freshman and sophomore. She was the first high school sophomore to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award. Fudd and St. John’s seemed well on their way to an unprecedented third title run in a row, but she tore ligaments in her knee while she was training with the U.S. National Under-18 team prior to her junior year.
When Fudd returned to the court at the end of her junior year, her season came to an end due the COVID-19 pandemic. She, like most high school players, have not played basketball this season due to the pandemic. Even without a senior season, Fudd made a name for herself on the basketball court.
While Fudd’s was known within many basketball circles as a top basketball prospect, she distinguished herself when she became one the first girls to attend Stephon Curry’s SC30 Select basketball camp. She not only attended, but she won the camp’s three point shooting contest. Her legend grew when she returned to the camp the following year, and won the contest again. She won even though she was still rehabbing her injured knee.
Fudd’s accomplishments on the court are not limited to WCAC basketball competition. Fudd, has also played for the U.S. National team in international basketball tournaments, and was a member of gold medal winning teams in 2017 and 2018.
Fudd’s basketball success is not only a result of her hard work and dedication, but also due to her parents. Her mom and dad both played basketball for Division I programs, and her mom was drafted by a WNBA team. It is clear that both parents have devoted countless hours to their daughter and her pursuit of basketball greatness.
So, as the debate continues as to which region of the country produces the best basketball players, it is without question that that debate must include the WCAC. It must also include Azzi Fudd, who may be the best player to come out of the DMV. Period.
Miles Rajesh Arthur is Junior Communications Major from Washington D.C studying at Morehouse College.
