Anyone catch Pam Ward's comment about Caroline...

[schmendrick]

A shadow of her former self, I believe she said. Harsh.

To my eyes, Caroline's been looking better and better.

 

[speedoo]

Meh. It's Pam Ward. She's not a good announcer, so I'm not going to fret about that particular overstatement.
And yes, Caroline looked very good last night. Did anyone hear Pam readdress the point later in the game?

 

[pap49cba]

Caroline is looking much more comfortable out there.

 

[jsloanjr]

Pam does too many games in many sports like Beth Mowin and she does a fair job. The game sucked, so we look for other faults?........Pam is ok...........

 

[MilfordHusky]

I thought that Caroline was fluid in her movement. She looked very, very good to me.

 

[EricSD]

i thought the whole team looked good. was surprised KML struggled so much with her shot, but on a different night, she'd have had 30 (and her defense was quite solid). i thought everyone else was really good, but was especially pleased with Caroline and Kiah. Kiah for obvious reasons, and Caroline for reasons others stated above. she's not forcing things, taking shots when open, and looking fluid on offense and defense. i really wish Brianna was available last night cuz i think it would have been a game where she got extended minutes like Kiah...

and by the way, Kelly's numbers are just sick. 8 points, 2 steals, 5 assists and 7 rebounds. one thing lost in all the hoopla was the 18 turnovers. i was surprised by that stat as i don't recall seeing that many...

 

[HuskyNan]

Meh. It's Pam Ward. She's not a good announcer,

Pam Ward is far better than some other ESPNers - Carolyn Peck, Mike Patrick, few others. Ward may have been comparing Caroline's stats to previous years. I give her a pass.

 

[speedoo]

Pam Ward is far better than some other ESPNers - Carolyn Peck, Mike Patrick, few others. Ward may have been comparing Caroline's stats to previous years. I give her a pass.

Fortunately Peck has never done PBP, as far as I know, and I agree that Ward is generally better than Patrick. Problem is there are so few competent PBP announcers who do WCBB, that we have to accept Ward, who really is not very good IMO.. Right now, the best PBP announcer who does WCBB is Beth Mowins, a real pro.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

Pam does too many games in many sports like Beth Mowin and she does a fair job. The game sucked, so we look for other faults?........Pam is ok...........

Beth Mowins is much better than Pam who is mediocre.

 

[Kevin G]

Caroline will have games where she looks good and not so good. She has not had a consistent time on the court. She looks like the only one out there having fun and getting her teammates to laugh and enjoy the game. She brings so much to this team. I am grateful to have Caroline on the court.

 

[alexrgct]

Agree that Caroline looked very good last night- mobile, fluid, made good decisions, confident, etc. If that carries forward the rest of the season, UConn will be in good shape. Getting more out of Kiah and Caroline could really change the makeup of potential rematches with ND and Baylor. This UConn team is not one with a clear-cit do-everything player, and thus the more weapons UConn has at its disposal on any given night, the more likely we are to have a winning combination every game.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Ward is just reading something that some production ass't provided her as background. I'm not sure she has any idea what Doty's former self looked like.
I'm also not sure if the same might be said some fans. I have a terrible memory but even I can remember the shooting slumps she went through.

While it's true that Doty's scoring numbers are down from her abreviated freshman year, IMO she is playing better than she did in her only full year.
Not only is she statistically better than 2009/10, but she is more consistent and IMO a lot smarter.

Personally I intend to watch Doty grow this year and I'll hold my judgement about just how big her shadow is when the season is over.

 

[ThisJustIn]

I didn't find anything harsh about it. You read about what Caroline has been through, her struggles this season (which have been well documented) and that's a valid statement. A pro doesn't shy away from revising their statement -- which she didn't. CD looked good last night -- we don't know if it's going to be a consistent good or a BHunter day-to-day good.

The only thing I wasn't enthused about was KML's body language (again, I've only seen the first half).

 

[AboutWeston]

I didn't find anything harsh about it. You read about what Caroline has been through, her struggles this season (which have been well documented) and that's a valid statement. A pro doesn't shy away from revising their statement -- which she didn't. CD looked good last night -- we don't know if it's going to be a consistent good or a BHunter day-to-day good.

The only thing I wasn't enthused about was KML's body language (again, I've only seen the first half).

One possibility: Is KML blaming herself for the loss to ND?

 

[alexrgct]

Pretty sure Geno has said that KML, like all young players, sulks when things aren't going well for them. Wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I didn't find anything harsh about it. You read about what Caroline has been through, her struggles this season (which have been well documented) and that's a valid statement. A pro doesn't shy away from revising their statement -- which she didn't. CD looked good last night -- we don't know if it's going to be a consistent good or a BHunter day-to-day good.

The only thing I wasn't enthused about was KML's body language (again, I've only seen the first half).

I'm not sure what metric should be used to judge her but she's actually playing close to where she was in her soph year, (6.8ppg/1.9 ATO) vs this year's 6.9ppg/1.8 ATO. Her shooting percentage is actually better. Her scoring during her interrupted frosh year was better (8.6 ppg), especially her shooting percentage, but her play doesn't strike me as so limited that it it merited such a strong statement. Probably just more BY nit picking tho.

 

[blackbird]

Ward is just reading something that some production ass't provided her as background. I'm not sure she has any idea what Doty's former self looked like.
I'm also not sure if the same might be said some fans. I have a terrible memory but even I can remember the shooting slumps she went through.

While it's true that Doty's scoring numbers are down from her abreviated freshman year, IMO she is playing better than she did in her only full year.
Not only is she statistically better than 2009/10, but she is more consistent and IMO a lot smarter.

Personally I intend to watch Doty grow this year and I'll hold my judgement about just how big her shadow is when the season is over.

Right. For some reason, people forget that Doty REALLY struggled her sophomore season. But she showed up big when it mattered (the national championship game.)

 

[doggydaddy]

I'm not sure what metric should be used to judge her but she's actually playing close to where she was in her soph year, (6.8ppg/1.9 ATO) vs this year's 6.9ppg/1.8 ATO. Her shooting percentage is actually better. Her scoring during her interrupted frosh year was better (8.6 ppg), especially her shooting percentage, but her play doesn't strike me as so limited that it it merited such a strong statement. Probably just more BY nit picking tho.

She had 136 assists that year. She has 37 in 1/2 a season this year.

Video of Caroline hitting 6 three-pointers against Oklahoma in 08-09 season

Thanks DC for the video. Other than how quickly she took these 3-pointers, even with a hand in her face appears to be more mental than physical. I don't see much difference if any in how she played.

 

[vtcwbuff]

She had 136 assists that year. She has 37 in 1/2 a season this year.

Video of Caroline hitting 6 three-pointers against Oklahoma in 08-09 season

Thanks DC for the video. Other than how quickly she took these 3-pointers, even with a hand in her face appears to be more mental than physical. I don't see much difference if any in how she played.

And that's the difficulty when doing comparisons. I saw the assist stats. In this case you have to wonder why? Less ability, rust or something else?
My opinion is that she was the point guard in a 2 guard back court. She was feeding Maya Moore and Tina Charles. This year I don't know who the point guard is.

 

[doggydaddy]

And that's the difficulty when doing comparisons. I saw the assist stats. In this case you have to wonder why? Less ability, rust or something else?
My opinion is that she was the point guard in a 2 guard back court. She was feeding Maya Moore and Tina Charles. This year I don't know who the point guard is.

Do you think that is a strength or weakness for this club? I think strength having so many that can bring the ball down, set up the offense and make good passes.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I tend to get defensive regarding CD, and my hope springs eternal for her comeback. In any case, she spreads a considerable shadow for guts and perseverance, character traits that will server her, and those around her, well, when UCONN is seen in the rear view mirror.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Right. For some reason, people forget that Doty REALLY struggled her sophomore season. But she showed up big when it mattered (the national championship game.)

It depends, of course, on one's perception of showing up when it mattered. Tiffany Hayes gets roundly skewered in some corners for scoring 10 points in a loss to Notre Dame, while Caroline Doty, here and in many other threads, is roundly praised for her 8 point effort against Stanford in San Antonio.

 

[alexrgct]

Do you think that is a strength or weakness for this club? I think strength having so many that can bring the ball down, set up the offense and make good passes.

I agree. UConn has an exceptionally team-oriented offense and it's to the good. It's also the reason UConn has the best transition game in the country- anyone can start a break.

As much as Geno likes to say that Bria is not really a PG and has moved off-ball, she certainly seems to be setting up the offense more than anyone else.

Interestingly, Kelly Faris has more assists than anyone on the team, with Bria second, Tiff third, and Caroline, Stef, and KML all with similar numbers.

 

[UcMiami]

I think this was CD's best game of the season by far - it has taken her a little time to readjust I think (not surprising.) At the beginning of the year she was making a bunch of bonehead plays and then she would sort of disppear in games. Last night she was completely in sync with the others and I don't think she had a single negative play.

 

[blackbird]

It depends, of course, on one's perception of showing up when it mattered. Tiffany Hayes gets roundly skewered in some corners for scoring 10 points in a loss to Notre Dame, while Caroline Doty, here and in many other threads, is roundly praised for her 8 point effort against Stanford in San Antonio.

Those 8 points mattered a lot when we only scored about 25 points in the half. They also happened to be big shots, and all in the second half. And, you know, Uconn won..

If we had won against Notre Dame, my guess is Tiff would have been considered "coming up big."

 

[rington]

There were good signs from several players last night. However, I like to judge the quality of a player as well as that player's improvement by looking at who the competition is.
We all saw the team members when they were up against Baylor and Notre Dame. We all saw who performed, and who didn't.
The last game of the regular season schedule will be with ND at the XL Center. This game should be huge as far as what players have picked it up, and if the team, as a whole, is ready for the NCAA tourney.

 

[msf22b]

And I repeat: that's its the second year back that players return to their true potential. Patience!

 

[VAUConnFan]

Those 8 points mattered a lot when we only scored about 25 points in the half. They also happened to be big shots, and all in the second half. And, you know, Uconn won..

If we had won against Notre Dame, my guess is Tiff would have been considered "coming up big."

UConn scored 41 points in the second half of that national championship game against Stanford. Of Carolines's 3 second- half field goals, only her first one, the layup at the end of the shot clock putting UConn up 29-22, would qualify as a big shot. UConn had the game well in hand boefore Caroline hit consecutive three pointers 3 minutes apart late in the game. Her first three pointer, with less than six minutes to play, put UConn up 44-29. The next one made the score 47-31.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Do you think that is a strength or weakness for this club? I think strength having so many that can bring the ball down, set up the offense and make good passes.

Given the make up of the team I think it's a strength. With a different team that wasn't so guard oriented, maybe not so much.