Caroline minutes

[Waquoit]

Not the same situation between Lou and Caroline. Lou was the 3 point sharp shooter the team needed. Caroline has a couple of other in front of her like Paige and E.

Exactly, that team didn't have as many good returning players as this one does.

 

[JellyBean]

Yeah I was shocked that she only got 4 minutes out there. Hopefully over the weekend, Coach goes a little deeper with the team and allow some players time to play, make mistakes, but get some minutes out there to just play. Build up their confidence. Never know when we are going to need them.

 

[Dokey]

Not the same situation between Lou and Caroline. Lou was the 3 point sharp shooter the team needed. Caroline has a couple of other in front of her like Paige and E.

True, there is a difference. I love Lou but Caroline can play defense. (Lou is getting better and better on defense, the 3 x 3 helped, especially with Plum who was great offensively and a waste of space on defense on the floor). And it would be bad to have more than two 3 point shooters why? Especially given all of Caroline’s baskets so far have been close in.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

UM...Azzi can get her own shot anytime and can get to the rim easily on footwork and dribble skills alone and I watched maybe ten minutes of video. She's fast enough. I just thought she may have closed out too tight or was confused about the defense they were playing. Last game her defense wasn't great, but that was one game. And I'm sure there's some adjustment in coming into the game cold off the bench. She has NO IDEA what that is! lol Very few players are GREAT on defense. You know that because you coached 25 years. Off the top of my head I can only think of a handful of Uconn guards that I would place in that category...Moriah Jefferson, Nykesha Sales, Jen Rizotti. Speaking of quickness...I wouldn't even use that word to describe anyone on this team. They are fast enough.

Azzi is a great player, but to put her in the same talent category as Paige is doubtful in my opinion. I don’t think she’s scoring 34 points, having 4 assists, 6 rbs, and a couple steals, at the beginning of her sophomore season next year like Paige did on Sunday.

 

[The deacon]

It's like mlb players drafted. More often than not the top few players drafted are the studs but it's not all that unusual for some kid drafted in round 5 to be the real find. Evaluation is subjective. I'm just trying to project. Maybe I'm wrong. I know I'm a minority of about 1 or 2 on this board. I love Azzi as a kid. As a terrific young lady who her parents are extremely proud of and who will be a solid player and an even better person. No question about any of that. I'm just saying long term, against top competition, I'd take Caroline because I think she helps me win against top competition. She gets her hands in a lot of passing lanes. She rebounds well and is fundamentally strong. She gets to the basket well. I think she will be a better defender than Azzi if she isn't already. She blocks a lot of shots for a guard. She actually passes well also, seeing the floor well. She doesn't make many mistakes with the ball. She is almost as good a shooter as Azzi and has been a top 3 point competitor with maybe even more range than Azzi. She has a great step back jumper. She gets her shot off quickly and is difficult for a guard to block. She has dominated in big games in high school. She looks and acts like she belongs. Look at Haley Jones who had a triple double this week and was the MVP last year in the championships. A big guard can make a tremendous difference against tough competition. Look at all the Uconn players with size who could shoot the 3. Caroline fits the profile of a player who could become special.

I'm part of the minority, too, TeamFirst, and I believe it's more than 1 or 2 who want to see more minutes for Caroline. I understand some will say you can't judge from one game, and it really was only 3:52 that she was on-court. However, other than shuffling her feet for a borderline travel just before the half, I saw nothing Caroline did that was wanting. Less than 40 seconds into her first stint, she caused a turnover when her length caused a five-second violation by Arkansas. She was called for a foul on a Spencer drive, but that was even questionable, and notably she made a clean block of Spencer's shot.

There hasn't been a ton of on-court evidence, for sure, but she showed impressive glimpses of what she could do, given the chance, against Fort Hays (yes, a weaker opponent). I'll bet she'll be one of UConn's truly valued pieces very soon. Let's not wait too long to find that out...

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Azzi is a great player, but to put her in the same talent category as Paige is doubtful in my opinion. I don’t think she’s scoring 34 points, having 4 assists, 6 rbs, and a couple steals, at the beginning of her sophomore season next year like Paige did on Sunday.

I don't think she needs to. Paige had a great freshman campaign because that is what the team needed. Azzi and Paige stepped into two completely different team scenarios. They also play two different roles/positions. I wasn't even thinking about Azzi the sophomore because...she just started her freshman year.

 

[Amashutcha]

I think if Caroline made the kickout pass to CW at the end of the half, she would've been given more minutes. Still very bullish on her.

 

[The deacon]

Very possible... you were one step (pass) ahead of me, and apparently Caroline.