Best 1-2 (and 3) Guard Punch

[AzzisBraids]

UConn returns the best backcourt in the NCAA. Bueckers and Fudd, add in Ducharme create a three-headed snake of sorts and it's not because of their credentials, but this group has what each of the other is missing.

Bueckers: Extremely creative, shotmaker, shot taker, playmaker, jump shooter and their best finisher off the glass.
Fudd: Extremely precise, sharpshooter, biggest perimeter threat and their best three-point and free throw shooter.
Ducharme: Extremely versatile, deceptively quick, both precise and creative, can play inside or out.

They all have the clutch gene. Think of Bueckers in the NC State OT. Azzi draining free throws late in games and Ducharme in the DePaul. In the tightest of moments, they delivered. The front court is something another poster can discuss, I'm an optimist, but the backcourt options are top tier, backed by data, proven and BARRING INJURIES, the best in the upcoming field.

 

[Scud49]

I think I see someone waving right now from Croatia, why yes, it looks like, yes it is, Ms. Nika Muhl.

 

[LoboDays]

The potential is there to be the best. They need to prove it.

 

[Huskee11]

I am very thankful that I am able to see them play and root for them. They are a special group.

And I would include Nika as well, my favorite Husky of all.

 

[bballnut90]

UConn returns the best backcourt in the NCAA. Bueckers and Fudd, add in Ducharme create a three-headed snake of sorts and it's not because of their credentials, but this group has what each of the other is missing.

Bueckers: Extremely creative, shotmaker, shot taker, playmaker, jump shooter and their best finisher off the glass.
Fudd: Extremely precise, sharpshooter, biggest perimeter threat and their best three-point and free throw shooter.
Ducharme: Extremely versatile, deceptively quick, both precise and creative, can play inside or out.

They all have the clutch gene. Think of Bueckers in the NC State OT. Azzi draining free throws late in games and Ducharme in the DePaul. In the tightest of moments, they delivered. The front court is something another poster can discuss, I'm an optimist, but the backcourt options are top tier, backed by data, proven and BARRING INJURIES, the best in the upcoming field.

The biggest factor will be on court chemistry among the 3. They rarely were all healthy but they each thrived in go to roles at various points where 1 or 2 of the others were injured. Paige in November/late March, CD in Dec/Jan, Fudd in Feb. A lot of opportunity should open up for Ducharme without Williams/Westbrook in the lineup. She doesn't seem to get as much credit or publicity as Fudd and some others, but she was quite brilliant for a big stretch of the season.

Other teams with strong backcourts:

Oklahoma-Robertson/Williams/Llanusa
Ohio State-Sheldon/Mikesell
Notre Dame-Citron/Miles/Mabrey
Texas-Matharu/Harmon
North Carolina-Ustby/Kelly/Todd Williams, plus Key next year
Maryland-Briggs/Sellers/Miller
Iowa State-Joens/Donarski/Ryan
NC State-Brown-Turner/Robinson
UCLA-Rice/Osborne

 

[Bone Dog]

As for ND’s backcourt, Miles and Citron really stand out. But Paige beat the three of them practically all on her own before the injury.

 

[Blond D.]

The best back court UCONN has is Paige, Azzi and Nika. Caroline isnt a good enough ball handler.

 

[JBK]

The best back court UCONN has is Paige, Azzi and Nika. Caroline isnt a good enough ball handler.

Nika has great qualities, but cannot put in a equal comparison with Caroline when she has a very limited offensive game. I hope she improves on that in the off season

 

[jchusky]

more to the game than just shooting, can they defend? That has yet to be shown to me on a consistent basis.
And as for the poster who mentioned Citron and Miles, that game was in December. I was able to catch a couple of ND games in Acc play, they were much much better down the stretch. They dominated Nc st 90% of the game and blew the game on a Mabry turnover.

 

[Golden Husky]

UConn returns the best backcourt in the NCAA. Bueckers and Fudd, add in Ducharme create a three-headed snake of sorts and it's not because of their credentials, but this group has what each of the other is missing.

Bueckers: Extremely creative, shotmaker, shot taker, playmaker, jump shooter and their best finisher off the glass.
Fudd: Extremely precise, sharpshooter, biggest perimeter threat and their best three-point and free throw shooter.
Ducharme: Extremely versatile, deceptively quick, both precise and creative, can play inside or out.

They all have the clutch gene. Think of Bueckers in the NC State OT. Azzi draining free throws late in games and Ducharme in the DePaul. In the tightest of moments, they delivered. The front court is something another poster can discuss, I'm an optimist, but the backcourt options are top tier, backed by data, proven and BARRING INJURIES, the best in the upcoming field.

Given that they're Huskies, let's call then Cerberus.

 

[Alydar]

These guards are potentially the best group of 4 anywhere in a long time. What impressed me about the 4 is their work ethic. They all have goals past college and are likely to keep improving.

 

[Blakeon18]

Mighty good guard group in 2022-2023....please add into the mix the Fairfield transfer Lou.
How about retaining everybody from that group in season 2023-2024 [with the exception of Lou] but adding
entering frosh KK and Ashlynn. Double Yikes!!

 

[Conndog]

The best back court UCONN has is Paige, Azzi and Nika. Caroline isnt a good enough ball handler.

Need to put the ball in the basket, and Ducharme does that a lot more than Nika

 

[oldude]

Throughout this past season I longed to see Paige, Azzi & Caroline on the floor together, tearing up opponents. As a result of injuries, illness and a number of other issues, that never really happened. With the graduation of Christyn & Evina, and hopefully everyone completely healthy this coming season, we should finally see what having 3 elite scorers on the floor at the same time looks like. I can’t wait!!!

 

[Dillon77]

The biggest factor will be on court chemistry among the 3. They rarely were all healthy but they each thrived in go to roles at various points where 1 or 2 of the others were injured. Paige in November/late March, CD in Dec/Jan, Fudd in Feb. A lot of opportunity should open up for Ducharme without Williams/Westbrook in the lineup. She doesn't seem to get as much credit or publicity as Fudd and some others, but she was quite brilliant for a big stretch of the season.

Other teams with strong backcourts:

Oklahoma-Robertson/Williams/Llanusa
Ohio State-Sheldon/Mikesell
Notre Dame-Citron/Miles/Mabrey
Texas-Matharu/Harmon
North Carolina-Ustby/Kelly/Todd Williams, plus Key next year
Maryland-Briggs/Sellers/Miller
Iowa State-Joens/Donarski/Ryan
NC State-Brown-Turner/Robinson
UCLA-Rice/Osborne

Hey, nice compilation to get the conversation on extended ground! Thx. A few comments:

- North Carolina: Having watched NC quite a bit last year, I think of Ustby as a guard in name only. She's their leading rebounder and found her to be more of an (undersized) Maddy Westbeld-type forward than a guard. Hodgson will be the returning back-court mate to Kelly. Key? Who knows what she'll play, but I see her as a 4 or a 3 at most.

- Ohio State. Heck, they play 4 guards! Speed demon Madison Greene comes back to join speed demon Rikki Harris, as well as the aforementioned Mikesell and Sheldon. They could use help at the center position, but the guards can go all game.

NC State: Don't forget Diamond Johnson! She'll probably move into the starting line-up and be the engine of that team.

UCLA: Knock on wood, Wake Forest transfer Gina Conti is healthy enough to join Rice and Osborne. Heady player and good three-point shooter.

- UConn will be terrific. Hope Caroline Ducharme comes back strong to join Fudd and Bueckers, with Muhl and Lou ready to spell them.
Whew! That's exciting (until I think of the ND-UConn game in December!).

- Very excited to see Miles and Citron as sophomores. Dara can destroy a team (see Oklahoma match) or be a mark (ballhandling, lack of height on defense). Will be interesting to see how KK Bransford fits in and at what position.

 

[hoophuskee]

more to the game than just shooting, can they defend? That has yet to be shown to me on a consistent basis.
And as for the poster who mentioned Citron and Miles, that game was in December. I was able to catch a couple of ND games in Acc play, they were much much better down the stretch. They dominated Nc st 90% of the game and blew the game on a Mabry turnover.

1--- Yeah right. UCONN got to the Finals last year but they can't show on a consistent basis they could defend. In fact you were one of the posters stating to they shouldn't have been even a top 2 seed when they started playing great at the end. Then even complaining that UCONN was a 1 seed vs poor NC State. So build up Notre Dame and knock down UCONN? This coming from a supposed UCONN fan?>


2--- Yeeha right you mention ND playing much better early on but to start the season you couldn't wait to post how UCONN was playing so poorly, and then u posted after the NC State game to Nana how supposedly psyched you were for UConn, and now it's back to ratching down UCONN again?

It's all negative with you on UCONN, isn't it? As others have suggested, there is no way no way no way you are a UCONN fan unless you are the type of fan that wants to extremely always look at the negative in near everything you observe.

 

[UConnCat]

1--- Yeah right. UCONN got to the Finals last year but they can't show on a consistent basis they could defend. In fact you were one of the posters stating to they shouldn't have been even a top 2 seed when they started playing great at the end. Then even complaining that UCONN was a 1 seed vs poor NC State. So build up Notre Dame and knock down UCONN? This coming from a supposed UCONN fan?>


2--- Yeeha right you mention ND playing much better early on but to start the season you couldn't wait to post how UCONN was playing so poorly, and then u posted after the NC State game to Nana how supposedly psyched you were for UConn, and now it's back to ratching down UCONN again?

It's all negative with you on UCONN, isn't it? As others have suggested, there is no way no way no way you are a UCONN fan unless you are the type of fan that wants to extremely always look at the negative in near everything you observe.

Pretty much nailed it. There are other gems but so little time.

 

[oldude]

Everyone eats!

 

[The deacon]

You well might be right that Nika will get the call as a starter at times, Bills Fan, but I just don't think so if Dorka, Aaliyah, Paige, Azzi and Caroline are healthy.

I know I'm spitting into the wind here with so many on this board being huge fans of Nika, but after watching her play half-court defense for much of two seasons (her Big East recognition notwithstanding), and acknowledging the diverse skills of Paige, Azzi and Caroline, I just don't believe the Nika we've seen will be more than a backup.

If she significantly develops her offensive game, that would be a whole new set of circumstances.

 

[Rb335]

As much as this makes sense, I think Paige doesn’t get enough credit defensively. When healthy, she’s no slouch on that end. Azzi also had stretches where she was good defensively. Nothing eye popping but very solid.

To me, it doesn’t really matter as all 4 will have large roles. But it doesn’t make sense to me to have all 3 of your natural guards start with your entire bench primarily being players who play the 3-5 spots. Starting ducharme allows for a more balanced rotation from the bench. Either way, they will both be big factors.

 

[bballnut90]

Hey, nice compilation to get the conversation on extended ground! Thx. A few comments:

- North Carolina: Having watched NC quite a bit last year, I think of Ustby as a guard in name only. She's their leading rebounder and found her to be more of an (undersized) Maddy Westbeld-type forward than a guard. Hodgson will be the returning back-court mate to Kelly. Key? Who knows what she'll play, but I see her as a 4 or a 3 at most.

- Ohio State. Heck, they play 4 guards! Speed demon Madison Greene comes back to join speed demon Rikki Harris, as well as the aforementioned Mikesell and Sheldon. They could use help at the center position, but the guards can go all game.

NC State: Don't forget Diamond Johnson! She'll probably move into the starting line-up and be the engine of that team.

UCLA: Knock on wood, Wake Forest transfer Gina Conti is healthy enough to join Rice and Osborne. Heady player and good three-point shooter.

- UConn will be terrific. Hope Caroline Ducharme comes back strong to join Fudd and Bueckers, with Muhl and Lou ready to spell them.
Whew! That's exciting (until I think of the ND-UConn game in December!).

- Very excited to see Miles and Citron as sophomores. Dara can destroy a team (see Oklahoma match) or be a mark (ballhandling, lack of height on defense). Will be interesting to see how KK Bransford fits in and at what position.

Ah I meant write Diamond Johnson instead of Robinson. I always mix up the Diamonds that have extremely common last names.

 

[Rings R Us]

How about adding our new gal Lou Lopez-Senechal into the mix? I'm expecting her to be a big contributor next year!

 

[LoboDays]

Nothing new here. An abundance of talent. The unanswered question remains …can we win the battles under the hoop against the top teams? If we are done bringing in players from the Portal, the 2 incoming freshmen will have the answer.

 

[Bone Dog]

How about adding our new gal Lou Lopez-Senechal into the mix? I'm expecting her to be a big contributor next year!

I think of Lou as a 3/4 from looking at her games at Fairfield. She's not big enough to be a 4 simply at UConn, but she and CD look like natural 3s. If you think about it that way, we have a 3 player rotation at the 1 & 2 in Paige, Azzi and Nika, and a 2 player rotation at the 3, with AE, Dorka and Amari/Ayanna/Ice sharing the 4 & 5. Occasionally, a small lineup with CD at the 4 -- she's actually as tall as many 4s anyway, though not as physical as some.