Caroline Ducharme and Saylor: How Do They Compare, and Where Do They Fit?

[Alydar]

The value of McClean and Griffin is that they both do a couple of things as well or better than everyone else. The reason they don't play more is that there are other things they don't do so well. But for a bench player doing something really well gets you minutes. SP & CD do one thing very well, shoot from outside. Either one could see them selves in KLS's freshman role of sitting in the corner and shooting 3's. That's enough to give them some minutes next season. If McClean and Griffin start becoming comfortable in the UConn offense flow and continue to improve as defenders then the freshmen are going to have to do more than shoot to see the floor.

It's going to be a battle in practices but for us fans the games should be sublime.

 

[HopJim]

The value of McClean and Griffin is that they both do a couple of things as well or better than everyone else. The reason they don't play more is that there are other things they don't do so well. But for a bench player doing something really well gets you minutes. SP & CD do one thing very well, shoot from outside. Either one could see them selves in KLS's freshman role of sitting in the corner and shooting 3's. That's enough to give them some minutes next season. If McClean and Griffin start becoming comfortable in the UConn offense flow and continue to improve as defenders then the freshmen are going to have to do more than shoot to see the floor.

It's going to be a battle in practices but for us fans the games should be sublime.

Based on the videos, similar to Audrey, Saylor and Caroline have long arms, are aggressive, and anticipate well. Audrey and Mir are quicker, but predict SP and CD will play solid defense. Next year's team will be stacked with shooters so playing time likely will require diverse skills.

 

[Tonyc]

You know what. Next year is next year. The anticapation has been just unbelivable. We are gonna be so-o good its mindboggleing. We have all the pieces to go undefeated, its just a matter of getting those pieces working together. We have 2 deep at every position next year.

This year we need to get games in.

 

[Ozimoto]

To use a phrase I picked up in Mississippi, "True dat!"

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I've seen Saylor in person 3x and Caroline on video in several highlights and a couple of complete games.

I thought and still think that they are very similar. Extremely similar, in fact. Both had/have guard skills and had fairly recent growth spurts (9th-10th grade) and are now 6'2". In addition to being the same height and having similar builds, their games are quite similar in that they both do everything well. Saylor plays in a relatively low-level conference in high school and literally plays positions 1-5. She jumps center, plays in the post on defense, and brings the ball up the floor. She had a triple-double late last season. She does everything well: defense, shot-blocking, passing, ball-handling, and shooting from all over the floor. Her form on FTs is very good. Her 3-point percentage is decent and she shoots from 20-25', as does Caroline. Saylor could improve her left hand, especially on layups, as she tends to shoot them using her right hand, regardless of the side of the basket, but does so quite effectively. She has no appreciable weakness. She's highly versatile, plays hard, and has a good hoops IQ. One thing Saylor does very well is to play "free safety" when her team presses--any pass that's in the air more than 2 seconds winds up being a steal and a likely hoop for Middletown. Her instincts and anticipation are excellent, and she's long and can leap. She'll fit nicely into a full-court press.

Finding differences between Saylor and Caroline seems like an exercise in splitting hairs. I should note that Caroline had a knee injury and recovered very well. In recent play, she has drawn rave reviews and "blown up." Some ranking services have her in the top 5. I think HG moved her from #31 to #5, or something like that. Saylor, in contrast, was rehabbing from post-season hip surgery during the spring and summer, so she didn't play for months. Perhaps as a result, she slipped to HG #30. I suspect both belong about #5 and #15. The recent info on Caroline suggests she's an elite shooter. Previously, I would have rated both her and Saylor as "very good" shooters. Caroline may now be in the "great" category. I'll be interested in seeing how her shooting compares with Azzi's, because Azzi is in the "Curry/Thompson" category that Geno mentioned recently. So, Saylor's advantage over Caroline is that she seems a little stronger; Caroline's advantage may be that she is an even better shooter.

In terms of the fit, I think both Saylor and Caroline can play the 2, 3, or 4. Geno has already said that Saylor can fill in at multiple positions. He also mentioned Caroline's versatility.

I'll see Saylor if Middletown has a season and games are open to the public (and the same for Azzi). I'm looking forward to seeing all 3 plus Amari in Storrs in 5-8 months.

I believe that both Saylor and Caroline were their respective State's Gatorade POY as juniors.

I believe Saylor's advantage will be that she is done with High School and gets the early start on next year's chemistry (experiment) with Geno, CD (the original!!!), Jamelle and company now. Plus the advantage of having 4.5 years of playing (possibly) at UCONN, 3.5 with Paige & 4 with Azzi.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I believe Saylor's advantage will be that she is done with High School and gets the early start on next year's chemistry (experiment) with Geno, CD (the original!!!), Jamelle and company now. Plus the advantage of having 4.5 years of playing (possibly) at UCONN, 3.5 with Paige & 4 with Azzi.

Saylor will have an advantage over Caroline, Amari, and even Azzi, by spending a semester at UConn. When I wrote my comparison, I had no idea that Say was coming early.

 

[slug25]

Saylor will have an advantage over Caroline, Amari, and even Azzi, by spending a semester at UConn. When I wrote my comparison, I had no idea that Say was coming early.

As someone mentioned in the other Saylor thread, SP’s game is analogous to Maddie Siegrist of Villanova. Plenty of playing time for one like her. My only concern about CD and SP is the weakness of their HS competition. Have they played enough big time AAU in light of injury histories?

 

[ju6381]

For some reason I am thinking they could have a Doty-Hayes impact when they get here.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As someone mentioned in the other Saylor thread, SP’s game is analogous to Maddie Siegrist of Villanova. Plenty of playing time for one like her. My only concern about CD and SP is the weakness of their HS competition. Have they played enough big time AAU in light of injury histories?

Caroline’s AAU team had a HUGE summer and even played in Rucker Park in Harlem. Caroline Ducharme drew rave reviews.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Saylor will have an advantage over Caroline, Amari, and even Azzi, by spending a semester at UConn. When I wrote my comparison, I had no idea that Say was coming early.

Understand. My wife found my UCONN sweatshirt, so I wore it to work on Friday, and by 10:30 a.m. word was on the street that Saylor had "charted her course" to UCONN for this weekend. I plan on wearing the sweatshirt more often - even if the weather gets colder....

 

[Jingo]

Caroline’s AAU team had a HUGE summer and even played in Rucker Park in Harlem. Caroline Ducharme drew rave reviews.

RUCKER PARK [from my novel]:
IT IS PERHAPS the most hallowed ground in all of sports. It is the flat land just below the promontory known as Coogan’s Bluff in Manhattan. Willie Mays, the Say-Hey Kid, made his famous over-the-shoulder catch in deep center-field, on these grounds, in the ’54 Series. Sal “The Barber” Maglie routinely shaved Campy and The Duke on this very spot. And it was here, that Bobby Thomson hit “The Shot Heard Round the World”. Yes, it was baseball in all its glory. But unfortunately for denizens of The City that Never Sleeps the lights dimmed in the Polo Grounds after the Giants left N.Y. for San Francisco … and the fabled arena was torn down.

But the spirit in the ground wouldn’t die. New sports legends would trod the hallowed ground but this time in sneakers rather than cleats. Basketball instead of baseball. New names like The Goat, The Stilt, The Doctor, The Hawk, The Pearl and perhaps the greatest streetballer of all time, Joe “The Destroyer” Hammond. The small triangle of real estate on the Harlem River that was once home to the Polo Grounds was now home to NBA and streetball legends. The name was Rucker Park — the world's most famous streetball arena.