MINNEAPOLIS — The foundation of the star backcourt that would carry UConn to Sunday’s national championship game was laid not on the ground, but in the air. In June 2017, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, then ages 16 and 14, suited up for USA Basketball at a tournament in Argentina. Bueckers was her usual expressive self. Meanwhile, Fudd, the youngest member of the lineup, was nervous and not overly chatty on the trip.
After winning the event’s gold medal, the two basketball protégés sat next to each other on a flight from Buenos Aires to Minneapolis. In Fudd’s words, it was there and then they were “kinda forced to talk.