After Paige and Azzi come back, should Caroline gets some PT as a forward?

[TeamFirst!]

We may be stronger at guard than at forward in a few weeks and Caroline looks like she can defend well at forward and rebound acceptably. And stretch the other team's forward out to the 3 point line. I think when Liv and Dorka are not in the lineup together we might want to consider one big with Caroline, Paige, Evina and Christyn. I could see Caroline playing the high post and distributing the ball in a similar way to Liv and knocking down that 10 foot jumper as well. This option would enable more space in the paint for cutting, as well as freeing up Azzi and Paige for more 3 pointers and maybe even maximize Caroline's strengths in cutting to the basket on the dribble..

 

[phil sampieri]

We may be stronger at guard than at forward in a few weeks and Caroline looks like she can defend well at forward and rebound acceptably. And stretch the other team's forward out to the 3 point line. I think when Liv and Dorka are not in the lineup together we might want to consider one big with Caroline, Paige, Evina and Christyn. I could see Caroline playing the high post and distributing the ball in a similar way to Liv and knocking down that 10 foot jumper as well. This option would enable more space in the paint for cutting, as well as freeing up Azzi and Paige for more 3 pointers and maybe even maximize Caroline's strengths in cutting to the basket on the dribble..

She can play forward easily

 

[Skeets]

I see CD already playing the role of a 3, not a 1 or a 2. So yes, PT as a small forward.

 

[CocoHusky]

@TeamFirst! What position do you think Caroline is playing now?

 

[vtcwbuff]

Ducharme has earned a starting spot. Auriemma said today that he did not know where the team would be right now without her. My guess is that she will start and play in a 4 guard lineup. Bueckers, Williams, Muhl and Ducharme as a guard/small forward.

 

[Conndog]

While yes she could play as a 4, I'd rather she remain being a guard- have three of Paige, Christyn, Azzi, Nika or Caroline and then Liv and either Dorka or Aaliyah being the bigs.

The regular bigs can carve out space better than Caroline, and Paige for sure will get them the ball in timely fashion. If Azzi can start playing and becomes productive, with her shooting, what an offense we could have- imagine Paige, Azzi and Caroline all deadly shooters on fire!

 

[dtbtbtb]

CD is a great 3. Can she be a 4? i don't know that she can handle a 4 on defense and against big teams like SC, Stanford, TN you probably want to go with 2 bigs at all time.

 

[Boreifs]

How can one put Nika on the bench?! She is the team’s leader.

 

[CTBballfan243]

When everyone is healthy Geno will start:
Paige, CW, Caroline Ducharme, ONo, and Juharz.

Bench: Evina, Azzi, Edwards, Nika

 

[Skeets]

@TeamFirst! What position do you think Caroline is playing now?

Coco, maybe we're of the same mind. Not a guard. TeamFirst, did you see her dribbling the ball up the court and kicking it out of bounds unmolested this afternoon? I still can't unsee her early in the season bringing the ball up court and bouncing off her foot out of bounds. I cringe when she puts the ball on the floor. The kid is very good, I'm a big fan, don't get me wrong, but with Nika and EW on the court Caroline slips into a small forward position, and that's a good thing. She has a lot of length to play good defense at the 3 position. UConn has to play to Caroline's strengths. Can she play guard in a pinch? yeah, but that is not her strength. Heck, Liv could play guard in a pinch

 

[Conndog]

How can one put Nika on the bench?! She is the team’s leader.

Because the team that scores the most points wins the game, and Nika is the weakest person on offense (in my opinion) when compared to other guard alternatives. Although Westbrook hasn't been torching anyone lately.

 

[CocoHusky]

Coco, maybe we're of the same mind. Not a guard. TeamFirst, did you see her dribbling the ball up the court and kicking it out of bounds unmolested this afternoon? I still can't unsee her early in the season bringing the ball up court and bouncing off her foot out of bounds. I cringe when she puts the ball on the floor. The kid is very good, I'm a big fan, don't get me wrong, but with Nika and EW on the court Caroline slips into a small forward position, and that's a good thing. She has a lot of length to play good defense at the 3 position. UConn has to play to Caroline's strengths. Can she play guard in a pinch? yeah, but that is not her strength. Heck, Liv could play guard in a pinch

We are not of the same mind on this and it has nothing to do with how Caroline played earlier in the season. The point of my question was that Caroline is currently playing a forward position. Caroline is the SF which is distinctly different from the PF position. People are throwing that concept around like the the positions and skills required to play the positions irrelevant. Caroline is a freshman who is doing very well playing SF let her continue to master that position before we go switching her around. I agree with @dtbtbtb you put Caroline at the PF. position and she will struggle against the bigger front lines.

 

[jdote33]

thanks for the thread. I think that's the big question. Does CD get removed from the starting lineup. Or do you play her at the 4? I'm not sure u can bench Nika, considering her defense and leadership. but then again I'm not sure CD belongs on the bench either. I trust that CD can be a spark off the bench but she may be the team's second best scorer. It's a tough call. I think she can play the 4, she's super versatile but it may depend on the opponent. I wouldn't want her defending Cat Reese but I'd trust her against Haley Jones.

 

[Monte]

She reminds me of Stewie----can play any where!

 

[Skeets]

We are not of the same mind on this and it has nothing to do with how Caroline played earlier in the season. The point of my question was that Caroline is currently playing a forward position. Caroline is the SF which is distinctly different from the PF position. People are throwing that concept around like the the positions and skills required to play the positions irrelevant. Caroline is a freshman who is doing very well playing SF let her continue to master that position before we go switching her around. I agree with @dtbtbtb you put Caroline at the PF. position and she will struggle against the bigger front lines.

Coco, I think we are pretty much of the same mind. I threw out the early in the season bouncing the ball of her foot as an anecdotal incident and it's probably unfair. She can be a much better SF (not a PF) than a guard. So, what do we disagree with? If we still disagree, can we both agree that this kid can play some hoops? (I have to pinch myself, she's still a freshman.) With all the 4s UConn has there's no need to play her at the 4.

 

[JordyG]

@TeamFirst! What position do you think Caroline is playing now?

So funny. People can't see that she's already playing the wing. The beauty of if however is at her current position she frequently has mismatches that UConn, IMO, needs to continue to take advantage of.

 

[Zarathustra]

Geno will answer the question for us all in about
one month! We will see a 8 - 9 player
rotation and the "mix" will depend on the
opponent. We need two reliable three point
shooters. GO HUSKIES!

 

[HuskylnSC]

How can one put Nika on the bench?! She is the team’s leader.

In a few weeks her reign as leader will be overthrown and she will become the teams spark off the bench. And she will be fantastic. Can you imagine her coming in just as the opposing guards lose their first wind and just blowing them up with steals and pressure and pushing the ball. I tell ye laddie, twill be a fearsome sight!

 

[npignatjr]

Because the team that scores the most points wins the game, and Nika is the weakest person on offense (in my opinion) when compared to other guard alternatives. Although Westbrook hasn't been torching anyone lately.

The team that lets up the least points wins

 

[JoePgh]

In a few weeks her reign as leader will be overthrown and she will become the teams spark off the bench. And she will be fantastic. Can you imagine her coming in just as the opposing guards lose their first wind and just blowing them up with steals and pressure and pushing the ball. I tell ye laddie, twill be a fearsome sight!

Nika will become the backup point guard, allowing Paige to play a sensible 25 mpg rather than recklessly playing 35 or 40 minutes. When Nika is in, the team leadership will still be there, and neither the pace of play nor the defensive energy will suffer, but the shooting won't be as good and the otherworldly plays won't be seen. That is OK!

 

[TeamFirst!]

I'm thinking a 4 sometimes.

 

[Stosh855]

Sounds like a 4 guard lineup for Geno to speed the game up and some easy baskets!

 

[HuskyNan]

Guys, currently we have:

Nika - point guard
Evina - shooting guard/wing
Caroline - wing/small forward
Dorka - wing/power forward
Liv - forward/center

It’s hard to speculate on who’s going to play where as the sick and injured will come back at different times. When Christyn returns, Caroline might be first off the bench for that scoring punch Geno looks for off the bench or it could be E who comes in for Nika. Regardless, it will be a luxury to have an extra player in the rotation

 

[Huskee11]

Dorka and Caroline play better starting than coming off the bench.

Caroline will start at the three when we are at full strength. I think the question raised by the thread is whether she might play the four. She will at times when Geno wants to go small. That will not be a problem in the Big East, in fact we might match up better against teams like DePaul with her at the four.

The issues in the NCAA Tournament are whether we can get by defensively and rebounding wise against a big team, and whether she can make up for that by being a mismatch on offense with her quickness and shooting ability, even to the point of forcing the other team to go small.

It is nice that Geno has that as an option, a card to play. You can`t say in advance whether it will work or not. It might on a given night. It might for a quarter. It might not, and he will have to switch back. Again, it is a nice option to have.

For what it is worth, you are seeing NBA coaches going to small lineups quite a bit over the last year or so.

 

[jabstep]

She is our go to scorer right now. When we play SC Beal will play her. Paige beat Beal by using screens and got open for midrange. I can see Da Charm doing that. If they double her can she find the open player like Paige? Time will tell what Geno does when we get healthy. I say Caroline stays in the lineup. Azzi will have to prove herself. Paige will start when she is back. Ono will start so I think he will start CW. Dorka will start. Geno wants her back for next year. So it puts Evina, Nika , Azzi and Edwards off the bench. Better that last years team that made it to the final four.