Mountaineer Backcourt Gets Lucky With the Addition of Rudd
December 17, 2018 06:34 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As luck would have it, Mike Carey's already deep West Virginia backcourt just got a little bit deeper.
Lucky Rudd, a 5-9 junior guard from Kernersville, North Carolina, made her Mountaineer debut this past Saturday afternoon in Charleston, West Virginia, against Eastern Kentucky after sitting out the last two semesters following her transfer from NC State.
Rudd spent a year and a half in Raleigh, appearing in 35 games for the Wolfpack before deciding to transfer.
Rudd said her decision to leave NC State was strictly for basketball reasons.
"I was looking for a better situation for my basketball career," she explained Monday afternoon before practice. "I wasn't looking to go away from home so I could be away from my family. The only thing I concentrated on was making the best move for my basketball career."
That meant moving to Morgantown, where Carey has had lots of success with four-year transfers.
There are four in the program right now – Rudd, Kysre Gondrezick (Michigan), Theresa Ekhelar (Ohio State) and De'Janae Boykin (Penn State), who is sitting out this year.
Carey once tried to recruit Rudd when she was a four-star prospect coming out of Forest Trail Academy, and he remained interested in her once he found out from her former AAU coach that she was looking for a fresh start.
That AAU coach also happened to be her father, Delaney Rudd, a standout point guard at Wake Forest who played in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and Portland Trailblazers.
"When she wanted to transfer we were contacted," Carey recalled. "We have a recruit coming in this year (Kirsten Deans) who played for her dad that we think is going to be a great point guard."
When Carey sat Lucky down and explained to her how he runs his program, he made it clear to her that she was going to be coached hard.
Rudd said that wasn't going to be a problem because nobody could coach her harder than her father.
"He did warn me, but I told him no big deal," Rudd recalled. "I know it's all out of love to make me better so there are no harsh feelings that way."
She did admit her first trip to the treadmill was an eye-opening experience.
"I kind of wanted to cry, but after that I got sent six more times so I couldn't cry – I just got back out on the court," she laughed.
Rudd says Carey's style of play matches the way she played in high school, and his vast knowledge of the game was a big selling point when she was looking at other schools.
"I knew here I would be put in the best situation possible," she said.
What Rudd brings to the team this year is another outstanding on-ball defender who is capable of hitting open threes.
Carey is working her in a backcourt rotation right now that features All-Big 12 guard Tynice Martin, 1,000-point scorer Katrina Pardee, 15.8-points-per-game career scorer Naomi Davenport and former Parade All-American Gondrezick.
And, freshman point guard Madisen Smith is emerging as a Big 12-caliber point guard so with Rudd, that now gives Carey six quality backcourt options.
"It's fun playing with talented people who can set you up," Rudd admitted.
Carey said he made a conscious effort to work Lucky into his rotation at the beginning of this semester so she would be ready to go when she was cleared to play last Saturday.
That's partly why she was able to play 27 minutes during against Eastern Kentucky, a 49-point Mountaineer victory. Rudd scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and made a couple of steals against the Colonels.
"I thought she did a good job the other day against Eastern Kentucky for the first time playing in a year," Carey explained. "I'm glad she hit her first shot, which gave her a lot of confidence. It gave me a little confidence, too."
Carey listed some of the qualities Rudd will bring to the Mountaineers, three games removed from its Big 12 opener at TCU on Wednesday, Jan. 2.
"She knows the game, No. 1," he explained. "Number two, she does a good job defensively. She guards the ball extremely well and she can hit some open 3s. Because of the scorers we have, I'm sure she's going to be left open at times and because of that, I think she can knock down the 3 for us."
And as was the case when she played for her father, Carey said Lucky is going to continue to be coached hard.
"Her dad coached her hard, no doubt, but she thinks I'm a teddy bear (compared to him)," Carey laughed.
West Virginia returns to action Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. game against Morgan State at the Coliseum. Then comes a quick two-day turnaround for Towson before one final non-conference meeting against Niagara ahead of conference play in early January.
That's three more opportunities to get those talented guards acclimated with each other before Big 12 action begins.
"Our guards are really good, and I think we're going to live and die with them," Carey concluded.
If that's the case, fortunately one of them is named Lucky.
Lucky Rudd, a 5-9 junior guard from Kernersville, North Carolina, made her Mountaineer debut this past Saturday afternoon in Charleston, West Virginia, against Eastern Kentucky after sitting out the last two semesters following her transfer from NC State.
Rudd spent a year and a half in Raleigh, appearing in 35 games for the Wolfpack before deciding to transfer.
Rudd said her decision to leave NC State was strictly for basketball reasons.
"I was looking for a better situation for my basketball career," she explained Monday afternoon before practice. "I wasn't looking to go away from home so I could be away from my family. The only thing I concentrated on was making the best move for my basketball career."
That meant moving to Morgantown, where Carey has had lots of success with four-year transfers.
There are four in the program right now – Rudd, Kysre Gondrezick (Michigan), Theresa Ekhelar (Ohio State) and De'Janae Boykin (Penn State), who is sitting out this year.
Carey once tried to recruit Rudd when she was a four-star prospect coming out of Forest Trail Academy, and he remained interested in her once he found out from her former AAU coach that she was looking for a fresh start.
That AAU coach also happened to be her father, Delaney Rudd, a standout point guard at Wake Forest who played in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and Portland Trailblazers.
"When she wanted to transfer we were contacted," Carey recalled. "We have a recruit coming in this year (Kirsten Deans) who played for her dad that we think is going to be a great point guard."
When Carey sat Lucky down and explained to her how he runs his program, he made it clear to her that she was going to be coached hard.
Rudd said that wasn't going to be a problem because nobody could coach her harder than her father.
"He did warn me, but I told him no big deal," Rudd recalled. "I know it's all out of love to make me better so there are no harsh feelings that way."
She did admit her first trip to the treadmill was an eye-opening experience.
"I kind of wanted to cry, but after that I got sent six more times so I couldn't cry – I just got back out on the court," she laughed.
Rudd says Carey's style of play matches the way she played in high school, and his vast knowledge of the game was a big selling point when she was looking at other schools.
"I knew here I would be put in the best situation possible," she said.
What Rudd brings to the team this year is another outstanding on-ball defender who is capable of hitting open threes.
Carey is working her in a backcourt rotation right now that features All-Big 12 guard Tynice Martin, 1,000-point scorer Katrina Pardee, 15.8-points-per-game career scorer Naomi Davenport and former Parade All-American Gondrezick.
And, freshman point guard Madisen Smith is emerging as a Big 12-caliber point guard so with Rudd, that now gives Carey six quality backcourt options.
"It's fun playing with talented people who can set you up," Rudd admitted.
Carey said he made a conscious effort to work Lucky into his rotation at the beginning of this semester so she would be ready to go when she was cleared to play last Saturday.
That's partly why she was able to play 27 minutes during against Eastern Kentucky, a 49-point Mountaineer victory. Rudd scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and made a couple of steals against the Colonels.
"I thought she did a good job the other day against Eastern Kentucky for the first time playing in a year," Carey explained. "I'm glad she hit her first shot, which gave her a lot of confidence. It gave me a little confidence, too."
Carey listed some of the qualities Rudd will bring to the Mountaineers, three games removed from its Big 12 opener at TCU on Wednesday, Jan. 2.
"She knows the game, No. 1," he explained. "Number two, she does a good job defensively. She guards the ball extremely well and she can hit some open 3s. Because of the scorers we have, I'm sure she's going to be left open at times and because of that, I think she can knock down the 3 for us."
And as was the case when she played for her father, Carey said Lucky is going to continue to be coached hard.
"Her dad coached her hard, no doubt, but she thinks I'm a teddy bear (compared to him)," Carey laughed.
West Virginia returns to action Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. game against Morgan State at the Coliseum. Then comes a quick two-day turnaround for Towson before one final non-conference meeting against Niagara ahead of conference play in early January.
That's three more opportunities to get those talented guards acclimated with each other before Big 12 action begins.
"Our guards are really good, and I think we're going to live and die with them," Carey concluded.
If that's the case, fortunately one of them is named Lucky.
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