Caroline Ducharme: St. John’s Highlights

[jazz]

Did you see her against Louisville 24pts 10-20 8 rebounds

of course i did and wrote about it as well. great game. poor from three point and some improvement on defense is needed. but very good performance. SC is a different animal entirely.

 

[jazz]

So why didn't you just say SC instead of top teams? It seems like you think only SC is a top team in the country. If a top 5 team isn't one of the top teams in the country then I don't know what else to say.

maybe there is another team out there as well. i have not seen all of them. but at least SC. is this that really that big a deal for you??

 

[jazz]

Caitlin Clark was the top scorer in the nation last year and didn't make 1st team AA, but she did make 2nd team.

im not sure what your point is. but ok...

 

[Gus Mahler]

I'm glad to see her using the inside & 2 point game.
The highlights show that she's very light & quick on her feet.

Yes! Seeing her hit those elbow jumpers was very pleasing, and reminiscent of Paige and KLS.

 

[Gus Mahler]

she's a perfect example of a player who's never going to be the fastest

On a tangent:

Now that Mir is gone and Aubrey and Paige are laid up, I wonder who is winning the suicides these days?

I'll guess CW, though Nika looks pretty fast.

 

[BBallF]

I have a little different perspective on this. Because of Caroline's game, which is really a very old school fundamental game, she may have an off night but she will never be inconsistent. She scores in so many different ways: cuts, back doors, dribble drives, pull ups, 3s, post ups, to name some but not all, that she can have an off night shooting and still get 20 points. Because she has such a multifaceted offensive game, the only way she doesn't score is if she is out of the game with fouls. She is the Big East FOY and a future AA. 18.5 pig and 4.75 rpg since she has been starting. That starts on any team.

 

[Centerstream]

I have a little different perspective on this. Because of Caroline's game, which is really a very old school fundamental game, she may have an off night but she will never be inconsistent. She scores in so many different ways: cuts, back doors, dribble drives, pull ups, 3s, post ups, to name some but not all, that she can have an off night shooting and still get 20 points. Because she has such a multifaceted offensive game, the only way she doesn't score is if she is out of the game with fouls. She is the Big East FOY and a future AA. 18.5 pig and 4.75 rpg since she has been starting. That starts on any team.

I think our opponent tomorrow has this award pretty much sewn up, Aneesah Morrow. She has been the BE FOY 8 times already. Check out her stats.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Yeah, no one is going to top Morrow this year for BEFOY. Regarding Caroline, I see no indication that she will not do well against South Carolina. If you look closely at SC their guards are not that great after Henderson and none match up well with Caroline in terms of height. Her game against Louisville was one of her earliest ones and she stepped up big time in the 4th quarter. She has the heart of a lion. I think she will be a solid asset against top teams.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

And I thought Paige put Correa through a blender last year. Caroline royally abused her. Meghan was going through what the St, Johns coach would do with the UConn players and when it got to Caroline, it was just hope for the best.

What should not be overlooked... Correa is a Junior, she was 1st Team all BE last year as a Soph and BE 6th woman of the year as a Frosh. As is normal, her BIO on the St. Johns WBB web site lists a lot of information on her offensive output, but no indication regarding her defensive prowess... But, as @eebmg says... "Caroline royally abused her." It seemed like Correa was the primary defender on Caroline all game, and Caroline "took her to school"...despite being two years her junior.

 

[jazz]

So why didn't you just say SC instead of top teams? It seems like you think only SC is a top team in the country. If a top 5 team isn't one of the top teams in the country then I don't know what else to say.

you are on to something there but I don't think you know what it is. Just because somebody is ranked in the top 5, doesnt always make them a top team. There may not even be 5 top teams in one season if you ask me. I think of top teams as ones that can win the championship and I guess at this point, I'm looking at SC, Stanford (although I haven't seen but a couple games) and I like TENN and Baylor as well. I think Baylor gets better and better.

so you know there is a way of reading verbatim what someone says and missing the point. Like missing the forest through the trees. The gist of my post was that CD has been very good. She is not perfect however. I even said her outside shooting doesnt concern me and I think she will be a dagger for teams when our better players arrive.

I'm not sure I'd put Louisville in the top team category, no matter where they are ranked. That said, CD has done it exactly once against at top 5 team. She has also struggled against teams with good quickness such as UCLA (not ranked) and has had a number of games, even against weaker competition, where she has shot/performed poorly - Xavier and especially SH (both not ranked) come to mind. She only put up 7 pts on SH and that is a really bad team, but...they do have some quickness and size that bothered CD. I remember a freshman from 3 years ago putting 28 on ND but it seems we are waiting for that freshman magic to reappear consistently in big games...

Anyway, I don't want to take away from the fantastic year CD has had thus far and that was not my aim and it certainly isn't the spirit of my numerous posts, praising the season she is having. I hope she continues against OTHER top FIVE teams...she has done it exactly once. She has a chance coming soon against TENN and from what I have seen of TENN, they will cause a much bigger problem than Louisville did and especially now that CD isn't sneaking up on anybody either. TENN seems to be a much better defensive team than louisville and many other teams for that matter. CD will also have some additional help against Tenn, we all hope.

 

[eebmg]

you are on to something there but I don't think you know what it is. Just because somebody is ranked in the top 5, doesnt always make them a top team. There may not even be 5 top teams in one season if you ask me. I think of top teams as ones that can win the championship and I guess at this point, I'm looking at SC, Stanford (although I haven't seen but a couple games) and I like TENN and Baylor as well. I think Baylor gets better and better.

so you know there is a way of reading verbatim what someone says and missing the point. Like missing the forest through the trees. The gist of my post was that CD has been very good. She is not perfect however. I even said her outside shooting doesnt concern me and I think she will be a dagger for teams when our better players arrive.

I'm not sure I'd put Louisville in the top team category, no matter where they are ranked. That said, CD has done it exactly once against at top 5 team. She has also struggled against teams with good quickness such as UCLA (not ranked) and has had a number of games, even against weaker competition, where she has shot/performed poorly - Xavier and especially SH (both not ranked) come to mind. She only put up 7 pts on SH and that is a really bad team, but...they do have some quickness and size that bothered CD. I remember a freshman from 3 years ago putting 28 on ND but it seems we are waiting for that freshman magic to reappear consistently in big games...

Anyway, I don't want to take away from the fantastic year CD has had thus far and that was not my aim and it certainly isn't the spirit of my numerous posts, praising the season she is having. I hope she continues against OTHER top FIVE teams...she has done it exactly once. She has a chance coming soon against TENN and from what I have seen of TENN, they will cause a much bigger problem than Louisville did and especially now that CD isn't sneaking up on anybody either. TENN seems to be a much better defensive team than louisville and many other teams for that matter. CD will also have some additional help against Tenn, we all hope.

Most of the times Caroline seems to be struggling can be traced to our guards not taking advantage of her movement and getting her the ball to her in the correct places. Glad to hear Geno is forcing the issue by designing and calling specific plays for her.

Now I agree TN will be a real tough contest and if Caroline is the only player that seems to be an offensive threat, they will blanket her into submission so her teammates better be real threats. Hopefully Evina can have a flashback to last year's TN game when she hit critical 3's to get us going when we were floundering. And if Key dominates Liv, that will really hurt. Got to at least play her even.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

CD has been great.

She is being counted on to score and that is a lot different than being the third option. She looks to score and you can see that her mistakes are become a little less frequent. I am really impressed with her midrange game - she hit several of these in the game. She tires the defense out since they have to guard her from 3 pt but cant quite sell out on that bc she can get by you with her skill and length, then stop and pop or get to the hole and/or dish. Terrific player. Can't wait to see her when she starts hitting threes. She has a great compact form so it's just a bit too fast at times for her so her muscle memory is slightly off. But, I really believe that is the easy part, having the midrange game and the presence of mind she has, incorporating a floater as well, that is much more difficult. For example imagine if CW had all that with her strength and quickness. CD is a tough cover and yes, has some LB in her.

Really good player and doing it with teams concentrating on her and this is what 15 games into her freshman year. Now, I do want to see it against top teams. I am a bit worried she may not be as effective due to her athletic limitations, but I am not counting her out...no way. She will score and help us and when we get PB and company back, she can settle into the third option and kill teams for helping out on PB, CW or or being a bit slow on the switch.

LB = Linebacker or Larry Bird or some of each?!?

 

[BBallF]

I think our opponent tomorrow has this award pretty much sewn up, Aneesah Morrow. She has been the BE FOY 8 times already. Check out her stats.

I stand corrected...so far. 20 ppg and 12.5 rpg is very imposing. Should be great seeing both of them tonight.

 

[SVCBeercats]

I stand corrected...so far. 20 ppg and 12.5 rpg is very imposing. Should be great seeing both of them tonight.

Where did Doug Bruno find Ms. Morrow? In Chicago of course!
What was her Hoopgurlz rating? 90! Hoopgurlz' ranking? Not in the top 100! PreGirlsHoops? 46! ProspectNation? 45! ASGR? 34! Anyone have access to BlueStar rating?
Will she be defending Caroline? Should be interesting.

ESPN says this about Ms. Morrow:
USJN-June 2020: Athletic hybrid-4 with college-ready frame punishes defenders in the paint; physical, quick-leaper, plays taller than advertised; brings a feathery touch in the key, rising over the defense and manufacturing shots consistently; offensive arsenal extends to the arc; cleans the glass and handles coast-to-coast, finishes plays through contact; quick and versatile, defends with aggressive persona; among the elite prospects in the class of 2021. (Olson)
The National Championship-July 2019: Athletic-4 pounds the glass, finishes plays in traffic; rebounder deluxe, strong and physical, attacks into the defense off the bounce; mismatch creator; potential. (Olson)
USJN-May 2019: Athletic front court performer brings developing offensive firepower; quick-leaper, active on the glass, scores through contact; superb in transition game; potential. (Olson)

BlueStar quote about Ms. Morrow:
Without question one of the weekend’s top performers was 2021 workhorse Aneesah Morrow. Morrow proved to be too much to handle for defenders all weekend, leveraging multiple 30 point performances in beastly fashion. A kid who can cash out from three one trip, and post up to score the next, she’s a match-up nightmare.

 

[jazz]

LB = Linebacker or Larry Bird or some of each?!?

depends on the sport...but maybe a bit of both...

 

[jazz]

Most of the times Caroline seems to be struggling can be traced to our guards not taking advantage of her movement and getting her the ball to her in the correct places. Glad to hear Geno is forcing the issue by designing and calling specific plays for her.

Now I agree TN will be a real tough contest and if Caroline is the only player that seems to be an offensive threat, they will blanket her into submission so her teammates better be real threats. Hopefully Evina can have a flashback to last year's TN game when she hit critical 3's to get us going when we were floundering. And if Key dominates Liv, that will really hurt. Got to at least play her even.

Good observation eebmg. She does move very well without the ball. CD gets BB. The game clicks for her in so many ways. I also think she is having to play much faster than she is used to and that is causing her some problems with her outside shooting. She does seem to be getting better and better, save the setback against SH. Over 5-6 games, you can see that she has better judgement with ball and is generally better at moving her feet as well and she has used her length well when she gets beat. But...will she be able to do this against what I think are better teams/players...

I am looking forward to seeing how she holds up against TN. On the one hand, I wouldn't be surprised if she struggled on defense, struggled a bit to get her midrange off (her midrange game is really good), but I get this feeling that she may find a way to be good anyway in that game...maybe not great but good. It will be her biggest challenge of the year though.

 

[HopJim]

I have a little different perspective on this. Because of Caroline's game, which is really a very old school fundamental game, she may have an off night but she will never be inconsistent. She scores in so many different ways: cuts, back doors, dribble drives, pull ups, 3s, post ups, to name some but not all, that she can have an off night shooting and still get 20 points. Because she has such a multifaceted offensive game, the only way she doesn't score is if she is out of the game with fouls. She is the Big East FOY and a future AA. 18.5 pig and 4.75 rpg since she has been starting. That starts on any team.

She will never be the best defender, but her basketball smarts and long arms will help her fill the lanes and steal many balls. Thin frame, but she boxes out well and can play any position from the 2-4. Per your post, her constant movement will open the floor for everyone else. Once we have everyone back plus next year's recruits, she will not score as much but when, she plays, she will make everyone better.