Caroline

[Fairfield Fan]

100% on target with that comment! This kid plays with more skill, fire, confidence, and guts than anyone UConn is putting on the floor right now !

And she's still early in her freshman year!!!

 

[Majic Hands]

I give it a head shake and eye roll. My memory/recollection is that Caroline is doing "everything" that BYers have been saying players need to do to be contribuers to the team, the program, and advancement of their BB careers.

Somehow, Caroline doing it makes I wrong? Perhaps we have BYears who think that if "THEY" haven't endorsed/anointed a player, somehow they aren't equipped and don't qualify. It doesn't matter what they do . . . It's wrong.

I think I'm in the camp of who wants it enough to step up and take it. Deserves it. Hello Caroline

All I got to say is " Go Big Caroline! Take yourself to the TOP!"

 

[Longtime fan]

I can’t believe people are throwing shade at Caroline for her shooting against Oregon. Yes, she was 1-8 from three but she was 9-13 from two with slashes to the basket, fast break points, jumpers, and that underhand flip shot that I haven’t seen a Husky make consistently since Maya graduated. Caroline can create her own shot, something that Paige can do, maybe Azzi, but no one else.

The kid is a freshman who just played her 12th college game. She is also, suddenly, a focus of the opponent’s defense, like Liv. While Caroline’s scoring hasn’t suffered due to the double teams and added attention, her shooting percentage has. That’s youth. In a year or two, she’ll learn how to use the defender’s aggressiveness to draw some fouls and get to the line - where she’s 85% from the FT line.

One more thing about the missed threes. She HAS to shoot those or else there will be 4 defenders on Liv in the paint. Opposing coaches know she’s a threat from the perimeter and has to be guarded. That adds real value to the team. Keep shooting, Caroline!

And she is a freshman whom no one expected to have these responsibilities this early ( i.e. starting guard and leading scoring threat ). We hope AZZI can create her own shot. We hope she is a complete player like Paige and Caroline. It will not do if her only contribution is to drain threes when she is given an open shot. We have good reason to believe that the number one recruit in the nation will " have it all." But that is not guaranteed.

 

[Urshurak]

Who’s throwing shade at her? Why would they?

 

[TeamFirst!]

Azzi was a better player before the foot injury. There is a real good chance we will have one of the best college backcourts in history the next couple of years. We all are hoping for a full recovery for Azzi and we should be confident it will occur.

 

[HuskyNan]

And she is a freshman whom no one expected to have these responsibilities this early ( i.e. starting guard and leading scoring threat ). We hope AZZI can create her own shot. We hope she is a complete player like Paige and Caroline. It will not do if her only contribution is to drain threes when she is given an open shot. We have good reason to believe that the number one recruit in the nation will " have it all." But that is not guaranteed.

At this point, if all we got from Azzi was good 3 point shooting, I’d be good with that. With Azzi, Caroline, and Christyn on the perimeter, it will take the heat off of Liv, Dorka, and Aaliyah.

 

[Cuango]

And she is a freshman whom no one expected to have these responsibilities this early ( i.e. starting guard and leading scoring threat ). We hope AZZI can create her own shot. We hope she is a complete player like Paige and Caroline. It will not do if her only contribution is to drain threes when she is given an open shot. We have good reason to believe that the number one recruit in the nation will " have it all." But that is not guaranteed.

Sure, we all hope Azzi is a “complete player”! However, let’s say she ends up being KML2 and shoots threes at 50% and breaks the record for threes. Would any of us be disappointed? I certainly wouldn’t! Either way, she would be a tremendous weapon for our team!

 

[TeamFirst!]

Azzi was one of the best players on USA basketball. No doubt that injury has affected her though. You could see it in her last USA basketball stint. She's been hurt for a while. If she's healthy she will clearly be a major asset.

 

[Inthepaint]

Until we can get healthy and reconstitute our offensive strategy (and actually execute it), I think it's pretty obvious that we are up the creek.
Right now Caroline Ducharme is the paddle.
She shouldn't be...others should be reaching inside for something extra (see Liv)....but they ain't so far.
I believe that Geno has given her a green light to shoot whenever she thinks she can make it go in. Some shots will be better than others.
Anything Azzi or CW or EW or NM can do to at least distract defenses a little bit would be most helpful.
If & when Paige returns 100%, a confident, seasoned Caroline Ducharme who isn't afraid to shoot won't gum up the works.
IMHO

 

[TCC Kid]

Amen! I’ll take 2 more Caroline’s please.

So, you are not greedy. I'll take 6 more and 2 dozen Paige--as long as I'm ordering. Who caters this joint?

 

[TCC Kid]

If CW went 1-8 from 3 then she would get slammed, but since it's Caroline then that's okay, all understandable and excuses are made.
Double standards simply don't compute.
No excuses, the stat speaks for itself.
Caroline is great, but Geno said the loss was due to poor guard play and too many turnovers.
We can't trade baskets with an opponent if we turn the ball over too much which contributes to the margin of loss in the end.

CW is a SENIOR and a NUMBER 1 recruit. Caroline is a FRESHMAN and not close to 1 as she was recruited. That's a huge difference. 8 games or less of experience VS 140 or so for CW. I'm sure you are seeing the Apples and tractor trailer comparison!! We expect, rightly so, more from CW.

 

[eebmg]

So, you are not greedy. I'll take 6 more and 2 dozen Paige--as long as I'm ordering. Who caters this joint?

I don't think God can fill that order. Hasn't yet.

 

[sun]

CW is a SENIOR and a NUMBER 1 recruit. Caroline is a FRESHMAN and not close to 1 as she was recruited. That's a huge difference. 8 games or less of experience VS 140 or so for CW. I'm sure you are seeing the Apples and tractor trailer comparison!! We expect, rightly so, more from CW.

They should not be held to different standards, and I don't think they would be if they were both starting in the tourney or a NC game.
Win or lose, they do it as a team.
They wouldn't be able to get to the FF without each other contributing.
Right now, we all realize just how important CW is.
Neither CW nor Caroline are good enough to beat the ranked teams without each other contributing, plus the rest of the team.
There's not a lot of room for error by anyone unless we suddenly develop some excess scoring capacity with Paige and Azzi playing.
It's a long storm alright.

 

[TCC Kid]

Until we can get healthy and reconstitute our offensive strategy (and actually execute it), I think it's pretty obvious that we are up the creek.
Right now Caroline Ducharme is the paddle.
She shouldn't be...others should be reaching inside for something extra (see Liv)....but they ain't so far.
I believe that Geno has given her a green light to shoot whenever she thinks she can make it go in. Some shots will be better than others.
Anything Azzi or CW or EW or NM can do to at least distract defenses a little bit would be most helpful.
If & when Paige returns 100%, a confident, seasoned Caroline Ducharme who isn't afraid to shoot won't gum up the works.
IMHO

Geno, with thousands of games of experience knows ; If you tell a Freshman to not shoot under certain conditions she may never shoot. So, the choice is Shoot when you feel you are ready or don't get any production from her. With Caroline, often in games, as the ONLY scorer shooting what choice does Geno have?
Obviously, I agree with you.

 

[sun]

The PG also helps decide who gets to shoot.
When Caroline started missing too many shots the passes went to other players.
And Caroline helps decide too by not shooting once she realizes that she's accumulated a lot of misses.
She also needs to have some confidence in her teammates, like Liv and whoever else that may get a hot hand.
She's a smart cookie, she'll learn when to shoot & not shoot, or else she'll get pulled out or there will be a time out.

 

[TCC Kid]

They should not be held to different standards, and I don't think they would be if they were both starting in the tourney or a NC game.
Win or lose, they do it as a team.
They wouldn't be able to get to the FF without each other contributing.
Right now, we all realize just how important CW is.
Neither CW nor Caroline are good enough to beat the ranked teams without each other contributing, plus the rest of the team.
There's not a lot of room for error by anyone unless we suddenly develop some excess scoring capacity with Paige and Azzi playing.
It's a long storm alright.

I agree

 

[TeamFirst!]

Caroline already makes great decisions about when to shoot. You can see that she restrains herself or just isn't feeling it sometimes so she doesn't shoot. No one needs to restrain her. She's making solid decisions already. A lot of players are shooting 31% or so for 3 pointers. The kids often shoot better as the year goes on. She's just starting. Chances are this small sample size data skews up over time.

 

[TeamFirst!]

May I remind the board that SOMEONE has to shoot. Is anyone better? You can't go in the paint ever time.

 

[sun]

What we've seen in many games is that an early lead gets squandered.
Officiating is never perfect, but turnovers and missed shots are the mistakes that are usually to blame.
IMO every missed shot is an opportunity lost unless there's a RB and follow up basket.
Everyone needs to be more perfect in order to win more games.

 

[Centerstream]

May I remind the board that SOMEONE has to shoot. Is anyone better? You can't go in the paint ever time.

Well we certainly should be able to go into the paint almost every time against most of our opponents. And this, as many have noted, would help Caroline get plenty of "open" looks from beyond the arc.

 

[The deacon]

The PG also helps decide who gets to shoot.
When Caroline started missing too many shots the passes went to other players.
And Caroline helps decide too by not shooting once she realizes that she's accumulated a lot of misses.
She also needs to have some confidence in her teammates, like Liv and whoever else that may get a hot hand.
She's a smart cookie, she'll learn when to shoot & not shoot, or else she'll get pulled out or there will be a time out.

Yes, the point guard has a hand in who gets to shoot... unfortunately, after watching the Oregon game twice, I had confirmed what I've seen before: Nika rarely passes the ball to Caroline when she's wide open (as well as not early enough to Dorka and Olivia in the post). The best scoring chances Caroline gets is when she receives passes from Liv. Nika gets raves from so many for all the great things she brings as point guard. Just what are those things?

If she doesn't score, doesn't get many assists and turns it over often, how is it that she's the point guard so many believe she is? (and a close look at the defense she plays might dissuade a few folks about the supposedly standout D she gives the Huskies).

Yes, I understand our sad state of affairs as far as guards available, and I know Evina isn't playing well, but when some here criticize Dorka, Evina or Caroline, they need to remember just who it is supposedly initiating the half-court offense.

Here's hoping Nika can turn in the kind of 12-point, six-assist, 2 TOs game vs. Seton Hall that we'd need from her to give the Huskies a much better chance to win.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Other teams are packing the paint ever since Louisville and Georgia Tech. The outside shots are available. Of course against teams with no height even packing it in doesn't stop our bigs. I'm all for getting the bigs the ball but it would be a lot easier if we could nail some 3 pointers.

 

[Cuango]

Geno, with thousands of games of experience knows ; If you tell a Freshman to not shoot under certain conditions she may never shoot. So, the choice is Shoot when you feel you are ready or don't get any production from her. With Caroline, often in games, as the ONLY scorer shooting what choice does Geno have?
Obviously, I agree with you.

Actually, this makes me admire Caroline even more as it shows her willingness and desire to do what her coach asks her to do! Yes, she was 1-8 but at least she kept trying to do what coach asked. We’ve seen and continue to see that some of the other players have not done that.

 

[Cuango]

Well we certainly should be able to go into the paint almost every time against most of our opponents. And this, as many have noted, would help Caroline get plenty of "open" looks from beyond the arc.

Yeah, it’s not so easy when the other team is basically ignoring your outside game and are packing it in and closing down the lane while at the same time are focused on preventing entry passes to the posts. Meanwhile, that very skill, entry passes, is one of the weakest areas of this team. Paige was really the only player we had that was actually good at it. Everyone else seems to be a turnover waiting to happen. Either they don’t do it at all or they do it at the wrong time! It must be incredibly frustrating for Liv,Dorka, or AE to work their rear off getting position and then either ignored, get thrown a bad pass that negates all their work, or, what happens quite regularly, they (the guards) throw it too early or too late.

 

[freshler40]

Yes, the point guard has a hand in who gets to shoot... unfortunately, after watching the Oregon game twice, I had confirmed what I've seen before: Nika rarely passes the ball to Caroline when she's wide open (as well as not early enough to Dorka and Olivia in the post). The best scoring chances Caroline gets is when she receives passes from Liv. Nika gets raves from so many for all the great things she brings as point guard. Just what are those things?

If she doesn't score, doesn't get many assists and turns it over often, how is it that she's the point guard so many believe she is? (and a close look at the defense she plays might dissuade a few folks about the supposedly standout D she gives the Huskies).

Yes, I understand our sad state of affairs as far as guards available, and I know Evina isn't playing well, but when some here criticize Dorka, Evina or Caroline, they need to remember just who it is supposedly initiating the half-court offense.

Here's hoping Nika can turn in the kind of 12-point, six-assist, 2 TOs game vs. Seton Hall that we'd need from her to give the Huskies a much better chance to win.

The Nika motor needs to run at 80%, just like a golfer needs to swing at that pace. She will then not dribble into double teams. She will see earlier who is open to pass and get the passes into shooter earlier. Our guard coaches have to drill this into her.
The mom needs new batteries and get her pace up to 80%. Don't dribble do much, more passing and open court offense is needed. Please run the offense without a 10+ second rundown of the clock setting up a stagnate half-court offense. Keep the bigs fresh with minutes from our promising bench core. Play zone when they come in, make the opponents shoot three. We win!