Caroline Ducharme making strong first impression

[UConnCat]

 

[GoingPostal]

Nice article. Glad to see Caroline getting some notice. Her upside is huge.

 

[LoboDays]

A wealth of talent on this roster. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could skip the BE schedule of 20 plus games and just play the top teams around the country? I know..I know…..fantasy. I’m also expecting Penelope Cruz to knock on my door any minute now.

 

[Boreifs]

A wealth of talent on this roster. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could skip the BE schedule of 20 plus games and just play the top teams around the country? I know..I know…..fantasy. I’m also expecting Penelope Cruz to knock on my door any minute now.

That BE schedule means more minutes for players 6-10 in the rotation. I don’t share your fantasy.

 

[Veteran]

The weather here is miserable today so I needed a good reason to smile. Thanks for providing it, UconnCat. The season is going to be awesome.

 

[nuna23]

I Hope she's gonna improve how good she's ,cause I know she's special ...be confident trust ur self and improve everyone who u are Caroline

 

[LoboDays]

That BE schedule means more minutes for players 6-10 in the rotation. I don’t share your fantasy.

It also means 20 plus games where you know the outcome before the opening tip. Close to unwatchable routs. And part of the reason they get knocked off in the Tourney by less talented but battle tested opponents.

 

[Charliebball]

DuCharme doesn't appear to be particularly athletic but she's such a skilled shooter and strong competitor that I have little doubt she will be a big part of UConn's future success.......

 

[Magruber]

LOADED class Geno and Chris have brought in.
Simply AWESOME!

 

[Fossil]

I know UConn has a lot of talent and I believe the biggest opponent will be South Carolina. Dawn doesn’t develop her talent the way UConn does but she sure can recruit it. As much as we are stacked South Carolina is just as loaded. This is a long wait for games and when will the next recruit commit? Kiki come on down. Dog days of summer

 

[msf22b]

DuCharme doesn't appear to be particularly athletic ...

I noticed that too...but was thinking of guards/wings in the NBA (old days) that she reminded me of...Celtics for sure...50's-60's
Couldn't quite put a name to it...but
She does lots of interesting things.

 

[Huskyfan63]

DuCharme doesn't appear to be particularly athletic but she's such a skilled shooter and strong competitor that I have little doubt she will be a big part of UConn's future success.......

Shades of Indiana State #33? Competitiveness, drive and will to succeed.

 

[DefenseBB]

It also means 20 plus games where you know the outcome before the opening tip. Close to unwatchable routs. And part of the reason they get knocked off in the Tourney by less talented but battle tested opponents.

Good grief, UConn has made 13 consecutive Final Fours Of which even the newest darlings of WCBB, SC Gamecocks haven’t been to consecutive Final Fours and they play in the SEC. Your comment is completely ill-informed as regardless of whatever conference this program is in, it would dominate and still have success in the tournament.
Man, I now remember why I try to avoid coming on this forum during the summer months, heat stroke affecting our brethren…

 

[BostonBay]

DuCharme doesn't appear to be particularly athletic but she's such a skilled shooter and strong competitor that I have little doubt she will be a big part of UConn's future success.......

She's definitely "long". Hopefully, she's quick with her feet & can defend the opponents 2 or 3 on the perimeter & grab some rebounds - something Anna couldnt do. She can shoot, but if she can also defend the perimeter, that will be HUGE.

 

[CL82]

It also means 20 plus games where you know the outcome before the opening tip. Close to unwatchable routs. And part of the reason they get knocked off in the Tourney by less talented but battle tested opponents.

Exactly! I mean a team like Connecticut should always have one of the highest SOS in the country….

oh wait, they do.


.

 

[Alydar]

It also means 20 plus games where you know the outcome before the opening tip. Close to unwatchable routs. And part of the reason they get knocked off in the Tourney by less talented but battle tested opponents.

And how many top 10 games did SCar have in the SEC?

Just about every elite level team plays 20 non-competitive games. SCar just plays slightly better teams but they never seem to get past the 2nd round of the tournament so how tough are they really? Check on UConn's record against P-5 teams over the last 10 years. They won the vast majority of them.

UConn played and beat 2 AP No 1 teams last year. I don't think any team even played 2, never mind winning both.

And in any case, I like watching UConn, regardless of the score. Just like how I enjoy watching Tiger Woods win by 10 shots.

 

[jazz]

I think she is going to be sneaky good real fast. Longer and better shooter than EW and probably a better passer. When everybody is concentrating on PB and , she is will give with corner threes. Nor sure how well she will play defense or rebound, but i think she can be about as good there as EW as well, if not better. That is my hope and I think there is a reasonable chance most of it comes to fruition.

 

[LarryLegend]

paywall. Tried outline but didn’t work for me

 

[PvP]

I Hope she's gonna improve how good she's ,cause I know she's special ...be confident trust ur self and improve everyone who u are Caroline

I Assume this post toastie was a parody to improve u r payin attestation. Duh.

 

[Dokey]

Shades of Indiana State #33? Competitiveness, drive and will to succeed.

Yeah, the “un-athletic” Larry Bird is the model here.

 

[diggerfoot]

I Assume this post toastie was a parody to improve u r payin attestation. Duh.

The poster you are mocking is a young UConn fan in France, for whom English is a second language (at best). I guarantee your image from that exchange is suffering worse than hers.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

And how many top 10 games did SCar have in the SEC?

Just about every elite level team plays 20 non-competitive games. SCar just plays slightly better teams but they never seem to get past the 2nd round of the tournament so how tough are they really? Check on UConn's record against P-5 teams over the last 10 years. They won the vast majority of them.

UConn played and beat 2 AP No 1 teams last year. I don't think any team even played 2, never mind winning both.

And in any case, I like watching UConn, regardless of the score. Just like how I enjoy watching Tiger Woods win by 10 shots.

Like the 1985 Bears over the Patriots - only complaint is that Sweetness did not get his touchdown. I enjoy the 30 - 50 point MOVs as I will rewatch the turning points in the game. Some do not take long, like when they start the game on a 15-0 run or more....

 

[CocoHusky]

Good grief, UConn has made 13 consecutive Final Fours Of which even the newest darlings of WCBB, SC Gamecocks haven’t been to consecutive Final Fours and they play in the SEC. Your comment is completely ill-informed as regardless of whatever conference this program is in, it would dominate and still have success in the tournament.
Man, I now remember why I try to avoid coming on this forum during the summer months, heat stroke affecting our brethren…

I don't think the comment (opinion) was "completely ill-informed". I thought it was rather humorous and it did specifically contain the phrases "fantasy" and "part of the reason" and something about Penelope Cruz knocking at the door which was definitely redundant with the use of fantasy.
In reality (see what I did there) UCONN WBB has no choice about playing a Big East schedule. I don't think it is an ill informed opinion to say that If UCONN WBB were playing in a P5 conference they would be better prepared for the NCAA tournament. Another reality is for the past several seasons Geno and the staff has worked very hard to schedule competitive non-conference games in the latter half of the season including:18-19 Louisville and South Carolina; 19-20 TN and South Carolina and 20-21 South Carolina and Arkansas. Us fanatics also have a tendency to overstate BE conference play which does not translate to good tournament play. Some specific examples: Megan Walker would not have been named AA in 2020 if she were playing in a P5 conference. Many people thought ONO had turned the corner and was on her way to AA status based on her conference play in the second half of her Sophomore season coupled with the arrival of Jamelle. Anna shot close to 40% from deep in the latter half of her Freshman season causing her to be tabbed a "dead eye" shooter for UCONN. UCONN's path to a championship last year would have required them to beat Iowa, Baylor, Arizona and Stanford in consecutive games during March and April. That would have been an extremely tall order considering that UCONN last competitive game prior to that stretch would have been almost 2 full months prior or SC on 2/08/21. UCONN is approaching a decade of being undefeated and unchallenged in conference play. But as Geno once said the program stopped counting conference championships a long time ago.

BTW in the interest of getting back on topic-I'm coming around on Caroline. I think she going to play a lot this year because Saylor is injured, Anna is gone and Aubrey has not generate any Buzz this summer as she did coming into last season when Geno said she was 1000% better. There are minutes to be had at the 3 spot assuming Evina is the starter and Caroline has the skills and size to earn those minutes IMO.

 

[Waquoit]

It must have been a good year ago that someone here posted a podcast where Caroline was just talking ball with a couple of guys. Took about two seconds to tell that she was a natural. Then I caught that short tape of game action where she's knocking in 3's from all over. But that was HS. Now against her college peers she opening eyes from the get-go? Looks like they have a another good one. And if she can hit 3's at this level with her size, she will see plenty of court time from the get-go.

 

[BobbyJ]

I don't think the comment (opinion) was "completely ill-informed". I thought it was rather humorous and it did specifically contain the phrases "fantasy" and "part of the reason" and something about Penelope Cruz knocking at the door which was definitely redundant with the use of fantasy.
In reality (see what I did there) UCONN WBB has no choice about playing a Big East schedule. I don't think it is an ill informed opinion to say that If UCONN WBB were playing in a P5 conference they would be better prepared for the NCAA tournament. Another reality is for the past several season Geno and the staff has worked very hard to schedule competitive non-conference games in the latter half of the season including:18-19 Louisville and South Carolina; 19-20 TN and South Carolina and 20-21 South Carolina and Arkansas. Us fanatics also have a tendency to overstate BE conference play which does not translate to good tournament play. Some specific examples: Megan Walker would not have been named AA in 2020 if she were playing in a P5 conference. Many people thought ONO had turned the corner and was on her way to AA status based on her conference play in the second half of her Sophomore season coupled with the arrival of Jamelle. Anna shot close to 40% from deep in the latter half of her Freshman season causing her to be tabbed a "dead eye" shooter for UCONN. UCONN's path to a championship last year would have required them to beat Iowa, Baylor, Arizona and Stanford in consecutive games during March and April. That would have been an extremely tall order considering that UCONN last competitive game prior to that stretch would have been almost 2 full months prior or SC on 2/08/21. UCONN is approaching a decade of being undefeated and unchallenged in conference play. But as Geno once said the program stopped counting conference championships a long time ago.

BTW in the interest of getting back on topic-I'm coming around on Caroline. I think she going to play a lot this year because Saylor is injured, Anna is gone and Aubrey has not generate any Buzz this summer as she did coming into last season when Geno said she was 1000% better. There are minutes to be had at the 3 spot assuming Evina is the starter and Caroline has the skills and size to earn those minutes IMO.

Regarding Griffin, I wonder if GA was halfway through a bottle of wine when he came out with that. And regarding Ducharme, I think she’ll be a Swiss Army knife who does a lot that won’t necessarily show up in stats. Except shots. She’s going to make some shots. Oh, btw this Penelope Cruz must be pretty good. Who else is recruiting her?