Carolyn Ducharme an upgrade at No.33?

[and one]

The little we have seen of CD gives hope she can be an AA type player. Before she gets into AA conversations through, she'll have to accomplish a few things first, like be a starter, be first team all-conference, have a bunch of big games and play well against quality teams. Little stuff like that. Maybe she can meet some of those goals this year, or the next or the next after that. On the other hand we know KLS checked all the boxes and was an elite level college player for most of her career. Although I understand the impulse to compare them, it really, really is way to early for that. We literally have seen more games played by KLS than minutes by CD. Patience.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

No doubt Caroline had a great day...and she did what the TEAM needed her to do...just like Freshman Lou.
We will all be very happy if Caroline can become a 3 Time AA... you know...like Lou did.

 

[Surly1]

This is so inaccurate I don't even know where to begin. By all means give Caroline her props and flowers and accolades but let's not diminish KLS. KLS had Napheesa collier, Gabby Williams and Morgan Tuck and Stewie playing in front of her as a freshman and still managed to be a starter by season's end on a Championship team.

Absolutely spot on. Although I shouldn’t be surprised, I find it perplexing how people turn a glimpse into speculation, then into prognostication. KLS is a member of the 2,000 point club in UConn basketball lore. As CocoHusky stated, give her props, but let Ducharme’s career happen first. We all recall Christyn Williams game against ND in her freshman year. How has that trajectory turned out?

I seriously doubt that Ducharme will be the first option when you have a healthy Bueckers and Fudd on the floor. Ducharme has tremendous potential, but there are many facets of her game that she can improve on.

 

[STLCardinal]

I completely agree with what some have said before this. I'll never understand the need by some to compare one player to another. Maybe it's the inability to evaluate somebody's abilities and contributions for what they are. Maybe you should work on that. It will give you something better to do than dissecting an 18 year old kid like an insect in a high school lab.

I also think it's inaccurate to say that Geno wouldn't know how good Caroline is if people weren't hurt because he wouldn't have played her enough. She may have played completely different if playing with Paige and/or Azzi, Nika and Aubry than she has without them. You don't know if she would have depended on Paige, as the others seem to have, or not. Some of these comments are almost unimagineable. And I do commend those of you that recognize these are 18-22 year olds that are in pressure filled situations that most others could never handle.

 

[PacoSwede]

i don't get the urge to place Lou on a scale opposite Caroline.

i never thought, 'gee, caro really reminds me of lou' -- except for the #33 on the uniform (along with jamelle and shea and, maybe, pattyson).

sure, there are traits shared by lou and caroline, height and a good eye from 3, most obviously. ann strother had those too, so why not put ann on the scale instead of lou?

and caroline seems to have some other qualities that may be a lot more reminiscent of other huskies of yore than lou. like a determination to 'get after it' like gabby or renee -- or nika, for that matter. how about using them as a yardstick for measuring caroline? is she clutch? maybe. so, compare her to diana? or versatile, like maya?

in 9 games she's shown hints of these various qualities, but ...

why does caroline remind anyone of lou? it hadn't crossed my mind that they were especially similar. there're plenty of other huskies who could evoke such comparisons -- but what's the point? caroline will be caroline.

but the op has produced another long BY thread.

 

[msf22b]

Comparing her to other wonderful players who happened too wear he same number is silly.

Surly is worried that we not go head over heals as we did with Christyn after Notre Dame and he has a point.

But Caroline is her own type of player, not a kind we seen much of lately, aggressive, opportunistic. a lunch box type; DeBusschere, even Bird...not one who wows you with her athleticism (Geno) but someone who gets the job done hanging around under the hoop, boxing out, and at range.

I suspect that a player with a game like that will not be a one-off wonder, rather a constant presence.
A huge help for Paige and Azzi as the natural wing. Focus on the shooters too much, she slips, silently to the hoop.

Aside from the number on her back , I can't see much alike in any of their games of the folks mentioned

Except possibly, that as the season progresses...she developes into a winner.

 

[Bald Husky]

What impressed me at the game was that Caroline did most of her work in the fourth quarter. Remember, the fourth quarter when EW and CW seem to fade? Caroline played 40 minutes, but saved the best for last when nobody else could make a shot. She saved us from another SC and GT meltdown. When Paige and Azzi come back Caroline will not fade to the back as was posted previously, but she will be of equal stature with her driving ability as well as her 3 pt shot. Do not forget, Caroline beat Azzi in the Slam 3 pt contest last year. Azzi may turn out to be the better 3 pt threat in the long run, but Carolines' overall game will be harder to defend than Azzis.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I agree that Caroline Ducharme looked outstanding against Louisville - great handle, high IQ, terrific rebounder, great engine, and one or two outstanding cuts to the basket. I just kept asking myself: is there any Squeaks does better even though she's three years older? On the court yesterday, I did not see it. Then again, I felt the exact same way when Squeaks singlehandedly lit up Notre Dame as a frosh. And I don't know I've seen such a complete performance from her since.

It's hard to remember frosh Lou but the Lou I remember was still a better and more reliable 3 point shooter and was stronger on boxing out and defending under the basket. In that sense, I think Caroline Ducharme will have a slightly different role as more of a jack of all trades. But man, was she fun to watch!

As a freshman, Lou wasn't driving or doing a lot of ball handling. In a short period of time...Ducharme figured out how she could get playing time and separate herself from other guards...which was to be willing to come off the 3 point line and drive. This team really needed more people to drive and force defenses to rotate. Her length also separates her.

 

[sun]

Azzi may turn out to be the better 3 pt threat in the long run, but Carolines' overall game will be harder to defend than Azzis.

Now Caroline & Azzi remind me of Mantle & Maris.

 

[CocoHusky]

Talk about soooo inaccurate. So by season's end she was starting in front of Stewie, Phee, Gabby and Morgan? She played behind the fifth player not these players. She could never displace any of these player.

That’s not what I wrote.

 

[tchalla1]

I don't understand the need to applaud one player at the expense of another. 2 completely different players on 2 completely different teams. Lou had Stewie, Tuck, Jefferson, Chong, Willliams, Nurse and Collier on the team. I don't recall if all were healthy, but that's way more fire power than what we have now.

Westbrook, Williams, ONO, Juhasz, and Edwards. In the L'ville game Geno played one player off the bench (well Deberry got 3 minutes), and none of our starters (who have been her at least 3 years) scored over 10 points. Only the 2 newbies did.

So Caroline stepped up because she needed to. If Jefferson, Tuck, Stewie, and Nurse consistently stunk up the joint, I'm sure KLS and Napheesa would have been needed to do a lot more than they did. But it's apples/oranges.

Exactly, different teams, different circumstances---the comparisons just don't work that well. As Coco pointed out, the talent level on the KLS team was immensely higher--that was a star-laden team. As good as she's shown, Caroline as a freshman would have probably only gotten scant playing time on that KLS team. But she does have all the tools to be an AA. I just hope now that Caroline has been "discovered", (as several of us have pointed out, she was no secret or a surprise) that too much expectation is not placed upon her. She still is a freshman in her first 10+ games.....

 

[tchalla1]

It is really great that we are seeing he emergence of CD as a bonfide asset to the Team. Remember, we would not have seen this explosion of talent had not Paige, Nika, Azzi, and Aubrey been taken out for injuries. Until we start seeing Azzi Fudd score 5 three's per game and play defense, is she going to start over Carolyn? When does any quality player get a real chance to demonstrate their strengths, when everyone else is dead?

Very good questions that you asked--imo, Azzi and Caroline will not be competing for any starting role--they both will be supplanting current starters for play minutes and prime time minutes...

 

[tchalla1]

Absolutely spot on. Although I shouldn’t be surprised, I find it perplexing how people turn a glimpse into speculation, then into prognostication. KLS is a member of the 2,000 point club in UConn basketball lore. As CocoHusky stated, give her props, but let Ducharme’s career happen first. We all recall Christyn Williams game against ND in her freshman year. How has that trajectory turned out?

I seriously doubt that Ducharme will be the first option when you have a healthy Bueckers and Fudd on the floor. Ducharme has tremendous potential, but there are many facets of her game that she can improve on.

Well if I were CD, I'd be a bit embarrassed being compared to one of UConn's all-time greats, a 3-time All-American, twice first team AA, and the fifth all-time scorer in UConn history. Wow. What daunting expectation for someone who's only played 9 collegiate games.... But I'm going to add to the hoopla and say that she is indeed a "can't miss" player--but I've been saying this all along--even when she stumbled a bit in her first few games... And if Geno had not become Captain Hook once more and let her play a little longer, chances are we would have gotten glimpses of CD's stardom even earlier...

 

[MrRick]

Too early to tell. CD definitely has better moves.

 

[Cuango]

Talk about soooo inaccurate. So by season's end she was starting in front of Stewie, Phee, Gabby and Morgan? She played behind the fifth player not these players. She could never displace any of these player.

SMH I’m not sure why so many posters are so insistent that after two or three games a player has to be better than a UConn great? I happen to believe that Caroline is going to be a “wall” player for us but to say (after one outstanding game) that she is better than Lou is simply a bridge to far.

CocoHusky was not saying Lou was better than those other players merely pointing out that she was a very good player on a team made up of good players. The point being, once again, that it is way too early to start saying that Caroline is better (or even equal) to Lou.

 

[tchalla1]

I agree that Caroline Ducharme looked outstanding against Louisville - great handle, high IQ, terrific rebounder, great engine, and one or two outstanding cuts to the basket. I just kept asking myself: is there any Squeaks does better even though she's three years older? On the court yesterday, I did not see it. Then again, I felt the exact same way when Squeaks singlehandedly lit up Notre Dame as a frosh. And I don't know I've seen such a complete performance from her since.

It's hard to remember frosh Lou but the Lou I remember was still a better and more reliable 3 point shooter and was stronger on boxing out and defending under the basket. In that sense, I think Caroline Ducharme will have a slightly different role as more of a jack of all trades. But man, was she fun to watch!

Ah yes, and as Geno has often pointed out, when you're the 4th option (as CW was behind Pheesa, KLS, and Meg-- three AA's BTW) in the ND game, the defense kind of loses you--you get the 4th best defender, and it's a lot easier than when you are the focal point of a defense like CW is without Paige and Azzi..

 

[Cuango]

And if the current rash of injuries had not happened Geno would never know how good she is. At this time in his coaching career Geno coaches like a very tight poker player. Next year he will have to play these underclassmen and win the NCAA. These seniors have more than plateaued.

He would never know? He’s been telling us for weeks that she is good!

 

[hard2please]

on a team with a history of so many legendary players, we can barely wait to anoint the next one (of recent memory, cw against notre dame comes to mind) lets let the players greatness materialize by her own schedule in the course of a career.

 

[tchalla1]

What impressed me at the game was that Caroline did most of her work in the fourth quarter. Remember, the fourth quarter when EW and CW seem to fade? Caroline played 40 minutes, but saved the best for last when nobody else could make a shot. She saved us from another SC and GT meltdown. When Paige and Azzi come back Caroline will not fade to the back as was posted previously, but she will be of equal stature with her driving ability as well as her 3 pt shot. Do not forget, Caroline beat Azzi in the Slam 3 pt contest last year. Azzi may turn out to be the better 3 pt threat in the long run, but Carolines' overall game will be harder to defend than Azzis.

Good points made--I agree, it was impressive to see a freshman have that much composure in the 4th Q. As to the Slam 3-point contest, let's remember that Azzi was in a boot when she competed and actually made more 3-pointers than CD... They will certainly compliment the other's game, Azzi and CD... Can't wait to see them play with Paige, that will be one dynamic trio...

 

[Jim]

I think Caroline had a great game and her future looks bright. That said, I think you also have to be careful extrapolating from a single game played by a freshman. Opponents don't yet have much game film of the freshman playing against D1-level competition, and might not have a good scouting report on the newcomers. When they don't plan for them, freshmen can have a big game early in their careers which might become more difficult to do once do opponents plan accordingly.

I think part of the problem lately with Evina and CW scoring is that there is a lot of film of them and they haven't developed anything new to counter the opponents' game plans for them.

 

[oldhusky]

I think the fact we are making comparisons to KLS is a very good sign. I see many similarities, but a few areas where Caroline might have an advantage. Her release might be a little quicker, and her HS highlights show very deep range way beyond the 3pt line. She also looks to be better at fakeing the three and then driving, and might be a better shot blocker and rebounder.

KLS was a good passer, and I think Caroline will be good too, but I might give the edge there to Katie Lou, and another plus for her was she made very few mistakes, not many turnovers or fouls. That is where Caroline needs to get better and probably will.

 

[Zorro]

Comparisons ae odious!!

 

[eebmg]

I think Caroline had a great game and her future looks bright. That said, I think you also have to be careful extrapolating from a single game played by a freshman. Opponents don't yet have much game film of the freshman playing against D1-level competition, and might not have a good scouting report on the newcomers. When they don't plan for them, freshmen can have a big game early in their careers which might become more difficult to do once do opponents plan accordingly.

I think part of the problem lately with Evina and CW scoring is that there is a lot of film of them and they haven't developed anything new to counter the opponents' game plans for them.

I would say Caroline has played well in 3 of the most important games, ND, UCLA and Louisville under big lights. I see a trend.

 

[SVCBeercats]

He would never know? He’s been telling us for weeks that she is good!

Running ones mouth is not the same as having ganas to play the player for extended minutes.

 

[ABCDFE]

What impressed me at the game was that Caroline did most of her work in the fourth quarter. Remember, the fourth quarter when EW and CW seem to fade? Caroline played 40 minutes, but saved the best for last when nobody else could make a shot. She saved us from another SC and GT meltdown. When Paige and Azzi come back Caroline will not fade to the back as was posted previously, but she will be of equal stature with her driving ability as well as her 3 pt shot. Do not forget, Caroline beat Azzi in the Slam 3 pt contest last year. Azzi may turn out to be the better 3 pt threat in the long run, but Carolines' overall game will be harder to defend than Azzis.

Let’s be clear. She beat Azzi with a boot on her foot. And she beat her barely. But regardless Caroline is a player.