From Cary, Duke to the WNBA: Azurá Stevens going pro after year at UConn
.JPG "Connecticut's Azura Stevens, center, reacts during the Huskies' game against Notre Dame on Dec. 3. Stevens will play her former team, Duke, in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.")
Former Cary High and Duke basketball star Azurá Stevens is going pro after one year with the powerhouse UConn women's program.
Stevens, who was an all-state player in high school at Cary High, earning The News & Observer's area player of the year award in 2014, started her college career at Duke but transferred to UConn after two seasons.
She sat out last season with the Huskies and averaged 14.7 points and 7.4 rebounds this year while mostly coming off the bench. UConn went 36-1, losing at the buzzer in the Final Four to eventual national champion Notre Dame. She was named the American Athletic Conference's Newcomer of the Year and Sixth Player of the Year.
Prior to this season, at least one WNBA mock draft had the 6-foot-6 redshirt junior as the No. 2 overall pick. One posted two months ago by FanSided's High Post Hoops had her as the No. 7 pick.
"I'd like to thank the coaches, my teammates and the fans at the University of Connecticut for helping me grow and supporting me as a player," Stevens said in a statment. "I will miss this program and all that it has been to me. It's been a lifelong dream for me to play in the WNBA, and I'm excited for this opportunity God has presented me with."
If drafted, Stevens would be the first player from a Triangle high school to play in the WNBA since former Athens Drive and N.C. State center Markeisha Gatling. Gatling was drafted in 2014 and has been out of the league since the 2016 season.
"We wish Azurá nothing but the best and we're going to be there to support her in any way we can," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. "Z and her family have given this a lot of thought and feel this is the right time to pursue this."
At Duke, Stevens averaged 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game her sophomore year and 14.1 and 8.2 her freshman year.
Though she missed all but seven games of her junior year at Cary High with a broken fibula, she ended her high school career with 1,550 points and 789 rebounds. Her senior year, she averaged 29.6 points, 18.1 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.
This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 3:17 PM with the headline "From Cary, Duke to the WNBA: Azurá Stevens going pro after year at UConn."