Just thinking like a parent here

[msf22b]

Biff:
I am reminded of the july UConn piece about her:

Caroline Ducharme, with "huge" chip on shoulder, quietly surprising at UConn

After being overlooked throughout much of the recruiting process, Ducharme is ready to stick it to anyone and everyone who doubted her.

www.theuconnblog.com

Some highlights:

Was under the radar in HS: prep school, injuries...until her senior year, then everyone took notice...

“She’s got a huge chip on her shoulder about a lot of things like that" (her ability), Auriemma said. “She’s pissed.”

“They don’t know how she does it but she beats their ass,” Auriemma said. “But they don’t know how she does it. They just walk away shaking her head.”

“If you were to ask [Andrea] Hudy in the weight room and the conditioning and even the coaches on the floor, ‘Who’s the most improved player since June 1?’ They would say Caroline Ducharme,” he said.

And there are lots of other good quotes

Why am I not surprised?

 

[Brewski]

Biff:
I am reminded of the july UConn piece about her:

Caroline Ducharme, with "huge" chip on shoulder, quietly surprising at UConn

After being overlooked throughout much of the recruiting process, Ducharme is ready to stick it to anyone and everyone who doubted her.

www.theuconnblog.com

Some highlights:

Was under the radar in HS: prep school, injuries...until her senior year, then everyone took notice...

“She’s got a huge chip on her shoulder about a lot of things like that" (her ability), Auriemma said. “She’s pissed.”

“They don’t know how she does it but she beats their ass,” Auriemma said. “But they don’t know how she does it. They just walk away shaking her head.”

“If you were to ask [Andrea] Hudy in the weight room and the conditioning and even the coaches on the floor, ‘Who’s the most improved player since June 1?’ They would say Caroline Ducharme,” he said.

And there are lots of other good quotes

Why am I not surprised?

Yes, I don't see Caroline dribbling the ball off her foot again.

 

[Woof 101]

She reminds me more of Larry Bird, she does everything well and seems so nonchalant about.

Agree 99% only because she does not talk the smack Larry did. You are correct on her abilities otherwise.

 

[msf22b]

Another earlier story that I didn't notice earlier

UConn basketball: How Milton native Caroline Ducharme became one of the nation's top prospects

Caroline Ducharme remembers listening to “The Obstacle Is The Way” — a book based on the third-century Hellenistic philosophy of stoicism — as she rehabbed from a torn ACL. “The obstacle in the path becomes the path,” the book’s author Ryan Holiday wrote. “Never forget, within every obstacle is...

www.boston.com

I think we were were so taken with the Azzi / Paige combo that we neglected to dig deep on Caroline...BTW, her entire family; mother, father, siblings. are exemplary
athletes.

 

[MSGRET]

Agree 99% only because she does not talk the smack Larry did. You are correct on her abilities otherwise.

Give her time, she's only a Freshman.

 

[hoophuskee]

The team needs perimeter shooting and she is a fearless natural scorer. Perfect situation for the type of player she currently is.

 

[jabstep]

Caroline to me is a perfect 3. She can shoot. Yeah!! She can drive. She is now making the Paige type pass to CW streaking up the court. She blocks shots. She steals the ball. She has a great Euro step except that Xaxier defended her well on that move. She can help on the press bringing the ball up and she rebounds well. No one on UConn has all of those skills except for her. When Paige comes back she will stay the starter unless she turns into the Caroline who walks a lot and dribbles the ball off her feet.

 

[cohenzone]

AZ is not yet a proven quantity at the college level; but CD is. I would not expect Geno to just yank CD to let AZ start!

Of course he won’t. If Fudd proves herself and can handle the ball, Muhl is the most likely one to find herself doing high 5s.on the bench. Westbrook ain’t exactly chopped liver either. But yes, Azzi has to do her thing first.

 

[cohenzone]

How cool for Caroline to get any of those comparisons. Hearkening back to another I read here a few days ago, I think Dave DeBusschere might be an even more apt comparison for style of play... another of your Knicks, Littlemin. I think she needs to show a bit more of Paige's passing acumen before I'd go to Bird as the best comparison. Whichever direction we go, they'd all be complimentary comparisons for Caroline. Here's hoping she can keep it going.

Damnit we are old. FWIW, one of the great moments in UConn men hoop history was my freshman year in the NCAA round of 16 when Dom Perno stole the ball from Bill Bradley of Princeton to seal a major upset. Of course Duke, who else, trounced UConn in the next round.

I think DeBusshere might well be the better comparison. Either way, Caroline is herself and that seems like a pretty good thing to be.

 

[JellyBean]

As game time approached SNY played a little teaser/promo. With a shot of Caroline in action, the promo went something like " Coming up Caroline Ducharme and the UConn Huskies take on the Xavier Musketeers at the XL Center in Hartford".

So I thought, who on God's earth would have thought that CD would be getting in a promo with star billing for the UConn Huskies especially midway though her Freshman year. This summer all the talk was about Azzi and (of course) Paige. People wondered how much play time there would be for her this year. Oh sure there have been lots of extenuating circumstances, but this kid came through when the Huskies needed her to do it. If I'm her parents, I'd be way beyond proud.

That would be pretty awesome to see as a parent. Seeing how, as a freshmen, my daughter is getting that type of love from the fans and coaching staff. CD has stepped up and it is sad that it took several injuries before she got the love, trust, and respect of the coaching staff, well coach G, to get minutes.

I was looking back at some of the games and stats of this season. The Seton Hall game. CD got 5 minutes on the floor. She made a few mistakes and coach pulled her. No playing time against South Carolina, 3 minutes against Arkansas, 3 minutes against South Florida, and 11 minutes against Minnesota. In that game, I thought for sure she was going to get more minutes after she played well in that game. But I am just happy for the young lady and pray that once the rest of the troops are back, she continues to get solid minutes and not get pulled for making a few mistakes.

 

[Centerstream]

That would be pretty awesome to see as a parent. Seeing how, as a freshmen, my daughter is getting that type of love from the fans and coaching staff. CD has stepped up and it is sad that it took several injuries before she got the love, trust, and respect of the coaching staff, well coach G, to get minutes.

I was looking back at some of the games and stats of this season. The Seton Hall game. CD got 5 minutes on the floor. She made a few mistakes and coach pulled her. No playing time against South Carolina, 3 minutes against Arkansas, 3 minutes against South Florida, and 11 minutes against Minnesota. In that game, I thought for sure she was going to get more minutes after she played well in that game. But I am just happy for the young lady and pray that once the rest of the troops are back, she continues to get solid minutes and not get pulled for making a few mistakes.

I agree with you about Caroline getting her minutes once the troops are back. As I posted earlier, I don't see Azzi cracking the starting lineup this season. She wasn't a starter before her injury so that shouldn't change after she is back to playing. When Paige is back at 100%, I am curious who Paige replaces in the lineup. This will result in many of it's own threads, of course. As of now, I say Caroline stays in it. But she will be treated as any other player, if she makes glaring mistakes, she will get pulled...it's the UConn way.

 

[CL82]

I agree with you about Caroline getting her minutes once the troops are back. As I posted earlier, I don't see Azzi cracking the starting lineup this season. She wasn't a starter before her injury so that shouldn't change after she is back to playing. When Paige is back at 100%, I am curious who Paige replaces in the lineup. This will result in many of it's own threads, of course. As of now, I say Caroline stays in it. But she will be treated as any other player, if she makes glaring mistakes, she will get pulled...it's the UConn way.

Keep in mind you haven’t seen a healthy Azzi yet. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but will know more once she’s back on the court and has a chance to get in the flow of games.

 

[Centerstream]

Keep in mind you haven’t seen a healthy Azzi yet. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but will know more once she’s back on the court and has a chance to get in the flow of games.

You are correct but I am also thinking that defensively, Caroline has a better upside, which will be needed for the upcoming part of the season. But if Azzi starts and averages 18 or more ppg, then it should become a very interesting rotation.

 

[darkstar1]

Of course he won’t. If Fudd proves herself and can handle the ball, Muhl is the most likely one to find herself doing high 5s.on the bench. Westbrook ain’t exactly chopped liver either. But yes, Azzi has to do her thing first.

Not so sure that Geno would remove Nika from the starting lineup so quickly, even if Azzi is back and “proves herself”. Geno has stated repeatedly how he wants her energy to set the tone at the outset. But what happens when both Paige and Azzi are in n the swing? We think one of the seniors (CW like he did with E?) and Azzi would make more sense coming off the bench, with plenty of firepower (and more minutes played than Nika). Ultimately, I can’t see Geno taking mg CW out of the starting lineup, but what a delightful problem to have…once Paige and Azzi are in the swing.

 

[JRRRJ]

Since she became a starter, isn't Caroline the leading scorer?

In the games Caroline has started, she's scored 18.6 per game and 21.88 points per 40 minutes. Christyn is second in both categories at 14.58 and 16.13. Olivia and Dorka are in virtual ties for third in both categories.

 

[CL82]

You are correct but I am also thinking that defensively, Caroline has a better upside, which will be needed for the upcoming part of the season. But if Azzi starts and averages 18 or more ppg, then it should become a very interesting rotation.

Wasn’t Azzi a defensive stopper on team USA?

 

[Centerstream]

Wasn’t Azzi a defensive stopper on team USA?

I'm basing my opinions on her UConn career.

 

[cohenzone]

Not so sure that Geno would remove Nika from the starting lineup so quickly, even if Azzi is back and “proves herself”. Geno has stated repeatedly how he wants her energy to set the tone at the outset. But what happens when both Paige and Azzi are in n the swing? We think one of the seniors (CW like he did with E?) and Azzi would make more sense coming off the bench, with plenty of firepower (and more minutes played than Nika). Ultimately, I can’t see Geno taking mg CW out of the starting lineup, but what a delightful problem to have…once Paige and Azzi are in the swing.

Big unknown is Azzi. As I said in another post, if Paige and Azzi are both back and Azzi lives up to her hype, distribution of minutes will hopefully be a good problem.

Nika is interesting. She has her scoring games here and there. The current unknown about Azzi aside from hoping she lives up to her scoring reputation, is her defense. If she can ball handle even to an average level and play acceptable defense, Nika might just becthecD change if pace that messes up the other team. We thought we had that in Aubrey, but not to be this year.

 

[CL82]

Big unknown is Azzi. As I said in another post, if Paige and Azzi are both back and Azzi lives up to her hype, distribution of minutes will hopefully be a good problem.

Nika is interesting. She has her scoring games here and there. The current unknown about Azzi aside from hoping she lives up to her scoring reputation, is her defense. If she can ball handle even to an average level and play acceptable defense, Nika might just becthecD change if pace that messes up the other team. We thought we had that in Aubrey, but not to be this year.

I see Nika backing up Paige as the principal point guard. She’ll also get some minutes playing with Paige where page slides to the two.