Caroline Ducharme making strong first impression | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Caroline Ducharme making strong first impression

hoophuskee said:
I feel CD is a wing.

In big games-- based on what Paige and Azzi are projected- they would get about 35 minutes right? And CWill will get about 30, right? Even if things are little off with one - but overall these are UCONN's probable three premiere players and you could see the 3 overall average 99-100 minutes, right (and what happens if I count Evina in this mix?)? Between these 3 premiere players they get 100 of 120 minutes between the 1-3 positions. That leaves 20 minutes at the 1-3 positions between Evina, and Nika (and CD). I can't see all 3 splitting these 20 minutes this early in in projecting preseason to season..

At these 1-3 positions in big games, where do you see CD getting more than just smidgen minutes? Evina's minutes at the PF are probably going to go down- so that means she will play more minutes at the 1-3. If she moves to the pg then that means Paige or CW go to the SF. To maximize the offense on this team - wouldn't Geno want to keep two of his premiere 3 in the game at all times in the big games?

And how much is Evina going to play at PG if she isn't "defending the PF spot?" But now that we have Dorka- - how many minutes will Evina have to defend the PF spot? She's a WNBA prospect - she is going to play and at least as of right now not sparing minutes. The more Evina's minutes are taken away at "defending" the PF spot- the more the 1-3 positions become more exceedingly loaded.

I don't see how CD can break into "this monster" at the 1-3 positions as a frosh in big games unless injuries come about. :) - It's this year only. But its a monster.
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So start you off projecting Caroline Ducharme as a wing. Then you say say since Paige and Azzi are guards Caroline Ducharme has to compete with them for minutes. But a wing and a guard aren't the same positions are they?

For what is worth I think of Caroline Ducharme more as a swing man, so her minutes are coming as the 2 guard or small forward. So Christyn, Azzi, and Evina are her primary competition for minutes. That's no small order.

Your premise that Paige and Azzi will play 35 minutes each in big games is possible, especially based upon recent history, but those teams didn't have the depth that this team has. Paige, maybe 35 minutes, but that impacts Nika more than Caroline. I do not see Azzi playing 35 minutes if everyone is healthy.

In any event, in the early part of the year I'd anticipate Caroline Ducharme playing 5-10 minutes. That's most due to depth and the fact that the physicality of the game may be tough for her as a freshman.
 
MdStang said:
Geno recruited Caroline (and Saylor) for their versatility - to plug them in at the 2 - 4 positions, mostly shooting guard and small forward. I am willing to bet Caroline subs in for Azzi and CW most of the time. Caroline is not a PG so she is not competing with Paige, Nika or Evina, but she could spell any of them as well if there is still a PG on the floor when she subs in.
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When Nika and Evina were in together- Evina played offensively like a wing imo.

Now that UCONN has Dorka - if Dorka lives up to near her billing - there is a pretty good chance this will reduce the amount of minutes for Evina to play the PF defensively in big games. The chance to beat UCONN with a perimeter team is greatly reduced this year. It's the power teams more to fear. So why can't Evina spend some limited time (very limited or not at all etc - whatever) at "defending the PF" but also more time backing up the 1-3 positions instead of Caroline backing up the 2/3?

Right now looking at preseason - UCONN has 3 players that are better than CD at the SF (CWill, Paige and Evina). And they have 4 players that are better than her at the SF. Unless some are thinking to drastically reduce Paige/Azzi and CWill in big games from the 100 I've estimated? Or CD will beat out / take a decent chunk of minutes from Evina or Nika?

This UCONN team is in a super, super situation. And barring injury, the players at the 1-3 positions are pretty entrenched, aren't they? Other than Azzi - there is something to draw from in terms of the other players having played good college hoop in the past year.
 
CL82 said:
My big concern for her is can she play defense against more mature D1 college players.
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But y'know, this thread was started by a quote coming from a D1 Final Four player complimenting her defense. On her first day.
 
CL82 said:
So start you off projecting Caroline Ducharme as a wing. Then you say say since Paige and Azzi are guards Caroline Ducharme has to compete with them for minutes. But a wing and a guard aren't the same positions are they?

For what is worth I think of Caroline Ducharme more as a swing man, so her minutes are coming as the 2 guard or small forward. So Christyn, Azzi, and Evina are her primary competition for minutes. That's no small order.

Your premise that Paige and Azzi will play 35 minutes each in big games is possible, especially based upon recent history, but those teams didn't have the depth that this team has. Paige, maybe 35 minutes, but that impacts Nika more than Caroline. I do not see Azzi playing 35 minutes if everyone is healthy.

In any event, in the early part of the year I'd anticipate Caroline Ducharme playing 5-10 minutes. That's most due to depth and the fact that the physicality of the game may be tough for her as a freshman.
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Hey thank you for the back and forth. It's been very civil. I'm posting way too much here on this thread. I just thought it would be cool to have this conversation. Thank you everyone. I've said on some of the other posts I made on here that Paige could play some SF. That's why I see Nika as ahead of CD. She can enhance a (Paige/Azzi/CWill) combo when they are 2/3 (don't see Azzi as a 3). She's an elite passer.

I 100% agree with you regarding wing definition etc.

Off-topic- For me when I hear wing -- I think of guard play. I think the wing os more guard-oriented. So when I refer to wing - players from pg/sg/sf can be discussed as perimeter players.

Yet there is also a definition of SF's in which they are part of the frontcourt along with PF/C.
I'm bias and fine with playing smaller wings.
 
hoophuskee said:
Hey thank you for the back and forth. It's been very civil. I'm posting way too much here on this thread. I just thought it would be cool to have this conversation. Thank you everyone. I've said on some of the other posts I made on here that Paige could play some SF. That's why I see Nika as ahead of CD. She can enhance a (Paige/Azzi/CWill) combo when they are 2/3 (don't see Azzi as a 3). She's an elite passer.

I 100% agree with you regarding wing definition etc.

Off-topic- For me when I hear wing -- I think of guard play. I think the wing os more guard-oriented. So when I refer to wing - players from pg/sg/sf can be discussed as perimeter players.

Yet there is also a definition of SF's in which they are part of the frontcourt along with PF/C.
I'm bias and fine with playing smaller wings.
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I appreciate your analysis of all of different options.

It seems that one of Geno's favorite sayings of years ago, "You can't have too many guards" is actually going to be tested this year. With the length of many of the guards, defense will not suffer {mismatches in a negative way} if four guard sets with ONO, DJ or AE, or three guards plus AG, and one of ONO, DJ or AE. I believe a 10 player rotation will be the reality this year, and none of the starters will need to go beyond 30 minutes, and the starters can enjoy the successes of the "second starting five"...

Positionless basketball can "be a thing!"
 
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hoophuskee said:
Hey thank you for the back and forth. It's been very civil. I'm posting way too much here on this thread. I just thought it would be cool to have this conversation. Thank you everyone. I've said on some of the other posts I made on here that Paige could play some SF. That's why I see Nika as ahead of CD. She can enhance a (Paige/Azzi/CWill) combo when they are 2/3 (don't see Azzi as a 3). She's an elite passer.

I 100% agree with you regarding wing definition etc.

Off-topic- For me when I hear wing -- I think of guard play. I think the wing os more guard-oriented. So when I refer to wing - players from pg/sg/sf can be discussed as perimeter players.

Yet there is also a definition of SF's in which they are part of the frontcourt along with PF/C.
I'm bias and fine with playing smaller wings.
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I guess we will see. I don’t see Nika competing with time with Caroline Ducharme. Nika is more of a point guard. I guess when she comes in PB could shift to the two so that potentially takes minutes from Caroline Ducharme. Again, I don’t see Caroline playing major minutes, but it only takes being good a one thing to have a role. And Caroline is very good from deep.
 
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Alydar said:
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.
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Tiger Woods hasn't won anything by 10 shots or more in a minimum of 10 or more years so you obviously ENJOYED watching him win by 10 or more strokes and have a pretty good memory ....
 
Buzzyboy said:
Tiger Woods hasn't won anything by 10 shots or more in a minimum of 10 or more years so you obviously ENJOYED watching him win by 10 or more strokes and have a pretty good memory ....
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There is a lot to remember,
 
Good summary of Caroline's introduction to Geno's attention to detail

Freshman Ducharme at home at UConn | UConn Women's Basketball | journalinquirer.com

“It was one of those things I did that I didn’t even notice,” Ducharme said. “It was my footwork coming off a screen and he (Geno) quickly called me out on it. I wouldn’t even have thought of it. But he’s big into taking care of little details,”


“My decision making is better and I think I’m more confident in every move I make,” Ducharme said. “I’m stronger and faster. I’ve worked on things that, like I said, I would have never even thought of. I watch tape from my first individual workout to what I was doing at the end and it’s like a different player.

“Now I need to stay on top of things, on top of the work that I’ve done here. I want to work out with the same intensity at home that I do here. I don’t want to take any steps back whether it’s in the weight room or on the court.”
 
You can't go into a game now predicting how many minutes each one will play. There so many options now that Geno will have the opportunity to spread the minutes out based on the opponent and game situation. All we need is for the freshmen to become competent enough to spell the starters for meaningful times during a game. For the first time in years UConn will have impact players coming off the bench. Not a defensive specialist, not a rebounding specialist, but players that can actually put the ball in the hoop and become difference makers. Paige, CW, EW played too many minutes LY, becoming gassed and not able to perform up to their potential all the time. The reason, no firepower coming in to replace them. Caroline Ducharme, Saylor, and Dorka will fill that need, enabling the starters to refresh their batteries. Ten minutes, 5 minutes, we don't know how many, but if any of these girls show that they can perform, they will play, and this my friends will make this team very dangerous.
 
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hoophuskee said:
I feel CD is a wing.

In big games-- based on what Paige and Azzi are projected- they would get about 35 minutes right? And CWill will get about 30, right? Even if things are little off with one - but overall these are UCONN's probable three premiere players and you could see the 3 overall average 99-100 minutes, right (and what happens if I count Evina in this mix?)? Between these 3 premiere players they get 100 of 120 minutes between the 1-3 positions. That leaves 20 minutes at the 1-3 positions between Evina, and Nika (and CD). I can't see all 3 splitting these 20 minutes this early in in projecting preseason to season..

At these 1-3 positions in big games, where do you see CD getting more than just smidgen minutes? Evina's minutes at the PF are probably going to go down- so that means she will play more minutes at the 1-3. If she moves to the pg then that means Paige or CW go to the SF. To maximize the offense on this team - wouldn't Geno want to keep two of his premiere 3 in the game at all times in the big games?

And how much is Evina going to play at PG if she isn't "defending the PF spot?" But now that we have Dorka- - how many minutes will Evina have to defend the PF spot? She's a WNBA prospect - she is going to play and at least as of right now not sparing minutes. The more Evina's minutes are taken away at "defending" the PF spot- the more the 1-3 positions become more exceedingly loaded.

I don't see how CD can break into "this monster" at the 1-3 positions as a frosh in big games unless injuries come about. :) - It's this year only. But its a monster.
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I will try to tackle this with myself finding some agreement on both sides. If desired Geno could manage positions 1-3 and not go beyond the 5 players mentioned. For the wings (2-3) he could divide the minutes just between Christyn, Evina and Azzi, but that requires pretty precise timing and eliminates some of Geno's strategic options in the game.

That may be used most of the time but on some occasions I think he will try to get Nika more than backup PG minutes, and play her some with Paige, in which case Paige is the 2 and she eats into some of the trios wing minutes. Then if and only if Carolyn impresses she could get "smidgen" minutes as part of a regular 6 player rotation at the 3, but get fewer minutes than the other 5.

During certain game situations instead of using the best overall player, Geno might choose the traits that Carolyn can bring such as outside shooting and length as long as the overall difference is not too large. Put another way if Geno sticks with an 8 or 9 player rotation I think CD is out, but if it extends to 10, she might be the most likely candidate.
 
Many here wrote off Muhl last year despite Auriemma‘s own comments regarding her; the same many continue to do so. Now Ducharme gets much the same treatment, the fact is she will either earn or not earn playing time based on her performance, as do all UCONN players.
As for PG, there was a reason Bueckers did not play point last year, the same reason she will not this year; it is not her best position at this level, either offensively or defensively.
 
Littlemin said:
Many here wrote off Muhl last year despite Auriemma‘s own comments regarding her; the same many continue to do so. Now Ducharme gets much the same treatment, the fact is she will either earn or not earn playing time based on her performance, as do all UCONN players.
As for PG, there was a reason Bueckers did not play point last year, the same reason she will not this year; it is not her best position at this level, either offensively or defensively.
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I'd suggest that the reason Paige often played the 2 is that we needed her outside shooting and moving without the ball facilitated that. This year's incarnation will be less dependent solely on Paige for a three point threat, so the optimized strategy may be to have 2 players on the court who are high percentage shooters from deep. Just a thought.
 
Littlemin said:
Many here wrote off Muhl last year despite Auriemma‘s own comments regarding her; the same many continue to do so. Now Ducharme gets much the same treatment, the fact is she will either earn or not earn playing time based on her performance, as do all UCONN players.
As for PG, there was a reason Bueckers did not play point last year, the same reason she will not this year; it is not her best position at this level, either offensively or defensively.
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I have to disagree with you on Paige. She is certainly the best pg on this team and will likely be that throughout her UConn career. There may be strategic and personnel reasons for playing her at the 2 spot but it is certainly not because Nika (or anyone else on the current roster) is a better pg. I doubt you could find five better point guards in all of Div 1 women’s bball.
 
Cuango said:
I have to disagree with you on Paige. She is certainly the best pg on this team and will likely be that throughout her UConn career. There may be strategic and personnel reasons for playing her at the 2 spot but it is certainly not because Nika (or anyone else on the current roster) is a better pg. I doubt you could find five better point guards in all of Div 1 women’s bball.
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Well since she didn’t play PG last year, I am not sure your what you are basing your opinion on but you are more than entitled to it. I look at players play and then form opinions and in Bueckers I saw an extremely talented player that depended on picks and kick outs to get her shots off. She almost never broke down a defender in the half court and therefore showed me almost no ability to create her own shot. That is not a knock on her, it is a weakness or maybe better phrased, an area for improvement, in her game.
And by the way, that doesn’t mean she can’t add that to her arsenal but my belief, pure speculation, is that Auriemma WANTED her to do that, hence “hunting shots”, which she refused to do. I believe she lets the “game come to her” to a degree because of that deficiency. Again, she is a freshman and an absolutely terrific player but until she shows me that she can break defenses down I will stand by my position.
One last point, whether Muhl is a better point guard or not is completely irrelevant to whether or not the TEAM is better with her at point and Bueckers off the ball; obviously Auriemma thought so. This is a different year and a different team so we shall see.
 
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This team has an overabundance of talent. This is advantageous if one of our key players gets injured...we can replace them with a quality player whose insertion into the line-up will not be catastrophic to the flow and chemistry of our starters. It will also benefit our players as the competition during practice will be crazy off the charts and that will translate to a better, more well-oiled team that eventually takes the floor as starters. It will also prevent our players from getting midseason to late season fatigue which can also lead to additional injuries.

Our coaches will have the flexibility to try many different combinations of players that will present more options to our coaching staff...and it will keep our opponents off balance not being able to effect match-ups to keep up with the all the different ways UConn will be able to score. Inside, outside, off the dribble, pull-up jumpers, good ball movement our team is going to be an absolute nightmare for most of our opponents.

With all that being said...what is there not to like about this team? Dorka a proven division one interior player, Olivia Nelson Odota - experienced senior, proven interior player, Amari DeBerry - a future All American Interior player; Aaliyah Edwards - a sophomore, olympic interior player with a very successful freshman year behind her. Piath Gabriel - a legitimate big, admittedly a work in progress, but poised to make a sophomore leap with plenty of bigs pushing her.

Aubrey Griffin - my favorite player...because I believe her ability is still untapped, we have seen glimpses of her ability and I think she still has the ability to perform as a starter, her one area that needs to improve is her consistency with the short range jumper. If she gets her shooting to improve there will be no stopping Aubrey.

Mir McLean - very athletic player with a tremendous upside...she could easily develop into a 6 point / 5 rebound type of player.

Then comes our swing / guards back court which I think is going to be the most exciting back court in women's college basketball. The fantastic five of Nika, Bueckers, Williams, Westbrook and Fudd is going to be ridiculously / scary good. I can't even imagine another back court as deep in NCAA Women's basketball. Throw in two sharp shooting three point shooters who have size like the 6'2" twins of Ducharme and Poffenbarger and you tell me...what coach in his right mind would want to face UConn a true juggernaut in the women's game?
 
Littlemin said:
Well since she didn’t play PG last year, I am not sure your what you are basing your opinion on but you are more than entitled to it. I look at players play and then form opinions and in Bueckers I saw an extremely talented player that depended on picks and kick outs to get her shots off. She almost never broke down a defender in the half court and therefore showed me almost no ability to create her own shot. That is not a knock on her, it is a weakness or maybe better phrased, an area for improvement, in her game.
And by the way, that doesn’t mean she can’t add that to her arsenal but my belief, pure speculation, is that Auriemma WANTED her to do that, hence “hunting shots”, which she refused to do. I believe she lets the “game come to her” to a degree because of that deficiency. Again, she is a freshman and an absolutely terrific player but until she shows me that she can break defenses down I will stand by my position.
One last point, whether Muhl is a better point guard or not is completely irrelevant to whether or not the TEAM is better with her at point and Bueckers off the ball; obviously Auriemma thought so. This is a different year and a different team so we shall see.
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As I said, strategic or personnel reasons. I have no argument regarding Paige playing off the ball for those reasons. My point was simply that she is the best pg on this team.
 
This is a reply to Littlimin's comments, in this thread and elsewhere, about Paige and the point guard position. He is too verbose to quote, but basically he is saying that PG is not Paige's best position because she lacks elite penetration skills, and that is why Geno had her at the 2 guard for most of last year. I think he is wrong on both counts.

To take the latter point first, Geno had Paige off the ball for one reason only, which was that she was the best jump shooter on the team, and he wanted to get her open for shots, which is easier to do if she is off the ball. That is obvious; defenders have a harder time keeping up with her if she can move all over the court while the defense is focused on stopping the ball.

The first point, however, is more fundamental. Where is it written that point guards have to be elite penetrators? Sue Bird was not; Sabrina Ionescu is not. Moriah and Crystal were, but that was an "extra" skill for them, which somewhat compensated for the fact that they were not always reliable jump shooters.

The basic requirements for the PG position are court vision and passing, and Paige's skills in those areas are beyond elite. Geno purposely chose not to maximize her use of those skills when he played her off the ball, because anyone she might have passed to would be less likely to score than she was. A PG's personal scoring skills (via either jump shooting OR penetration) need only be sufficient to deter the defense from neglecting her as a scorer and focusing on covering the passing lanes.

This year, with Dorka and Azzi plus another year of improvement for Christyn, Evina, and Alliyah, it should no longer be true that Paige's own jump shot is UConn's best offensive weapon. At that point, it will make sense to put her back at PG where she belongs.
 
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JoePgh said:
This is a reply to Littlimin's comments, in this thread and elsewhere, about Paige and the point guard position. He is too verbose to quote, but basically he is saying that PG is not Paige's best position because she lacks elite penetration skills, and that is why Geno had her at the 2 guard for most of last year. I think he is wrong on both counts.

To take the latter point first, Geno had Paige off the ball for one reason only, which was that she was the best jump shooter on the team, and he wanted to get her open for shots, which is easier to do if she is off the ball. That is obvious; defenders have a harder time keeping up with her if she can move all over the court while the defense is focused on stopping the ball.

The first point, however, is more fundamental. Where is it written that point guards have to be elite penetrators? Sue Bird was not; Sabrina Ionescu is not. Moriah and Crystal were, but that was an "extra" skill for them, which somewhat compensated for the fact that they were not always reliable jump shooters.

The basic requirements for the PG position are court vision and passing, and Paige's skills in those areas are beyond elite. Geno purposely chose not to maximize her use of those skills when he played her off the ball, because anyone she might have passed to would be less likely to score than she was. A PG's personal scoring skills (via either jump shooting OR penetration) need only be sufficient to deter the defense from neglecting her as a scorer and focusing on covering the passing lanes.

This year, with Dorka and Azzi plus another year of improvement for Christyn, Evina, and Alliyah, it should no longer be true that Paige's own jump shot is UConn's best offensive weapon. At that point, it will make sense to put her back at PG where she belongs.
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As thin as Paige was last year, I think Geno feared she would get beat up more than she did. I think Paige can get to the basket anytime she wants but she is going to pay the price more so than many.
 
CL82 said:
I'd suggest that the reason Paige often played the 2 is that we needed her outside shooting and moving without the ball facilitated that. This year's incarnation will be less dependent solely on Paige for a three point threat, so the optimized strategy may be to have 2 players on the court who are high percentage shooters from deep. Just a thought.
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I largely agree with this. Paige is a great PG or SG. Nika is a PG, and not nearly as effective when in the game as a SG with Paige at the point. When she is teamed with Nika the pair is substantially better with Paige off the ball. As CL82 points out we needed her outside shooting. When Paige had the ball in her hands the passing options for three pointers was limited. Evina, Christyn and Nika are ok three point shooters, nothing more than that.

Considering what a high percentage Uconn as a team shoots on two's, and Paige's three point percentage, helping a-lot on Paige and giving up open threes to Evina, Christyn and Nika might be about the best most teams could do against Uconn. With Nika at the point she had at least one player (Paige) to pass to that the defense could not afford to leave open beyond the arc.

In some ways Christyn and Evina don't compliment each other. They both can score in midrange, but neither is a lockdown three point shooter. In general I think effective lineups with Paige should have at least one other very good three point shooter. Out of four likely wings pairing Christyn or Evina with one of the incoming shooters, Azzi or Carolyn, and the other with the other shooter might be more effective than Christyn and Evina together, largely because Paige needs a dangerous three point threat to pass to in the drive and kickout game.
 
oldhuskie said:
I largely agree with this. Paige is a great PG or SG. Nika is a PG, and not nearly as effective when in the game as a SG with Paige at the point. When she is teamed with Nika the pair is substantially better with Paige off the ball. As CL82 points out we needed her outside shooting. When Paige had the ball in her hands the passing options for three pointers was limited. Evina, Christyn and Nika are ok three point shooters, nothing more than that.

Considering what a high percentage Uconn as a team shoots on two's, and Paige's three point percentage, helping a-lot on Paige and giving up open threes to Evina, Christyn and Nika might be about the best most teams could do against Uconn. With Nika at the point she had at least one player (Paige) to pass to that the defense could not afford to leave open beyond the arc.

In some ways Christyn and Evina don't compliment each other. They both can score in midrange, but neither is a lockdown three point shooter. In general I think effective lineups with Paige should have at least one other very good three point shooter. Out of four likely wings pairing Christyn or Evina with one of the incoming shooters, Azzi or Carolyn, and the other with the other shooter might be more effective than Christyn and Evina together, largely because Paige needs a dangerous three point threat to pass to in the drive and kickout game.
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You keep calling her Carolyn. Maybe it's just me but, I believe UConn fans owe it to the players to spell their names right if they are going to post about them. Her name is Caroline. jmo.
 
I'm hoping Caroline Ducharme can develop into a wing - can play either the 2 or 3. She's got the length, shot, & handle. What's unknown without seeing her in action is her quickness, lateral movement, & strength.
 
JoePgh said:
This is a reply to Littlimin's comments, in this thread and elsewhere, about Paige and the point guard position. He is too verbose to quote, but basically he is saying that PG is not Paige's best position because she lacks elite penetration skills, and that is why Geno had her at the 2 guard for most of last year. I think he is wrong on both counts.

To take the latter point first, Geno had Paige off the ball for one reason only, which was that she was the best jump shooter on the team, and he wanted to get her open for shots, which is easier to do if she is off the ball. That is obvious; defenders have a harder time keeping up with her if she can move all over the court while the defense is focused on stopping the ball.

The first point, however, is more fundamental. Where is it written that point guards have to be elite penetrators? Sue Bird was not; Sabrina Ionescu is not. Moriah and Crystal were, but that was an "extra" skill for them, which somewhat compensated for the fact that they were not always reliable jump shooters.

The basic requirements for the PG position are court vision and passing, and Paige's skills in those areas are beyond elite. Geno purposely chose not to maximize her use of those skills when he played her off the ball, because anyone she might have passed to would be less likely to score than she was. A PG's personal scoring skills (via either jump shooting OR penetration) need only be sufficient to deter the defense from neglecting her as a scorer and focusing on covering the passing lanes.

This year, with Dorka and Azzi plus another year of improvement for Christyn, Evina, and Alliyah, it should no longer be true that Paige's own jump shot is UConn's best offensive weapon. At that point, it will make sense to put her back at PG where she belongs.
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Agree with everything you said! I would add one more thing though, Geno was able to do this because he had another pg who while not at Paige’s level, was an elite passer and a tenacious defender. This allowed Paige to be more of a scorer without losing the offensive flow of the game (probably better with two elite passers) while at the same time improving the overall defensive level on the floor. I think we are going to see something special this year with the addition of Azzi, Caroline Ducharme, Dorka, and (hopefully) a focused, hungry, and improved CW, Liv, AE, Nika, a healthier Mama E, and possibly one or two surprise contributors from the rest. I get chills just thinking about the potential of this team!
 
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