Analyst makes her feelings known on voting Azzi Fudd over Sarah Strong for Most Outstanding Player following national championship game
WNBA analyst LaChina Robinson discussed why Azzi Fudd won the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award over Sarah Strong during the latest episode of the "Good Follow" podcast, which premiered on YouTube on Saturday.
Host Ros Gold-Onwude asked Robinson her opinion on the Most Outstanding Player debate, as the former thinks Strong should have received the award after her dazzling displays for the UConn Huskies. Robinson presented her case as to why Fudd was the Most Outstanding Player following the national championship game.
"When the game ended, someone who I was sitting with was like, ‘Oh, Sarah Strong’s the most outstanding player.' And I was like, ‘Really, I thought it was Azzi Fudd.’ And I think it could have gone either way," Robinson said (Timestamp 9:07).
Robinson pointed out that Fudd's improvement on the defensive end made the difference for the Huskies during their championship run.
"She started to trust her body on defense," Robinson added. W"e can look at points all day long. She’s a sharpshooter, she can score, she’s starting to get that timing in with her shot. But she was taking risks on defense. She was lunging. She was in the passing lanes.
"She was picking players. She was trusting her body to really move in a way on defense that gave that team a lot of momentum and those were the things that maybe most people saw, I know I saw, in voting her the most outstanding player. But honestly, it could have gone either way."
Comparing Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong's numbers in this year's Final Four
UConn's 12th NCAA title wouldn't be possible without Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, who dazzled for the Huskies in their wins over the UCLA Bruins and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Strong led the scoring for UConn in the 85-51 win over UCLA, dropping 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting. The freshman forward stuffed the stat sheet against the Bruins, amassing eight boards, two dimes, one steal and one block in 33 minutes of action.
Fudd helped the Huskies pull away in the first half, scoring 19 points to lead UConn to a 42-22 lead at the break. The Bruins failed to mount a comeback in the second half as the Huskies advanced to the national championship game for the 13th time in program history.
Strong and Fudd remained red-hot in the title game against South Carolina, each scoring 24 points in UConn's 82-59 win. Strong added 15 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals while Fudd finished with 24 points, five boards, three steals and one assist.