First-year Dallas Wings coach Jose Fernandez told No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd to stop passing up open shots after the team's opening training camp practice.
Jose Fernandez wants Azzi Fudd to shoot more. A lot more.
The first-year Dallas Wings coach met with reporters Sunday after the team's opening training camp practice. He said he has already gotten on the No. 1 overall pick about hunting her own shot.
"I had to yell at her and tell her, 'Don't pass up open shots.' Especially in some of the actions we're going to run for her, she better shoot the damn ball if she's open," Fernandez said, according to Dallas Hoops Journal.
"That's what she does. She can't pass up open shots. There are situations where the floor isn't balanced or rebounding opportunities aren't there, and we'll talk about those, but she needs to do what she was brought here to do and space the floor," Fernandez added.
The Wings selected Fudd with the top pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft, pairing her with former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers and veteran guard Arike Ogunbowale. The trio gives Dallas one of the league's most talented perimeter groups, and how Fernandez distributes touches among the three projects as one of the early-season storylines around the team.
Bueckers is entering her second WNBA season. She was the No. 1 pick in 2025 and won Rookie of the Year. Ogunbowale, a multiple-time All-Star, is the Wings' all-time leading scorer.
Fudd spent her college career at UConn. Her coach there, Geno Auriemma, is close friends with Fernandez.
The Huskies' offense runs on ball movement and shared reads. Fudd often passed up shots inside that system.
Fernandez wants that instinct gone.
Fudd arrived in Dallas as a national champion. She was part of UConn's 2025 title run and finished her college career as one of the best shooters in the country. Injuries shaped much of her time in Storrs. A torn ACL wiped out her 2023-24 season.
Fernandez came to Dallas after a long run at South Florida, where he built the Bulls into a regular NCAA tournament program. His relationship with Auriemma runs back years.
Fudd said Sunday the message was nothing new.
"Seems to be a common trend. I mean, I don't know. I want to share the love, but remembering to shoot when I'm open, my teammates remind me of that. So it will be an easy adjustment," Fudd said.
Dallas opens its regular season against the Indiana Fever on May 9.