One writer's thoughts on Caroline Ducharme

[Alydar]

Giving more game minutes to bench players has been a popular POV here. Geno has always said is that minutes are earned in practice. At UConn practices that start next month every shot, every drill is recorded. If a player gets minutes it's because they have practiced well.

There was a game late last season when Geno rotated 8 or 9 players all game.

 

[sun]

Giving more game minutes to bench players has been a popular POV here. Geno has always said is that minutes are earned in practice. At UConn practices that start next month every shot, every drill is recorded. If a player gets minutes it's because they have practiced well.

There was a game late last season when Geno rotated 8 or 9 players all game.

A look at the 2021 - 2022 avg. minutes per game for each player shows:

Bueckers - 29.2
Williams - 33.8
Fudd - 27.9
Ducharme - 21.0
Nelson-Ododa - 27.2
Westbrook - 27.4
Edwards - 24.9
Juhasz - 19.8
Muhl - 21.7
Gabrial - 4.9
DeBerry - 5.2

2021-22 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics - University of Connecticut Athletics

The official 2021-22 Women's Basketball cumulative statistics for the University of Connecticut Huskies

uconnhuskies.com

 

[Alydar]

A look at the 2021 - 2022 avg. minutes per game for each player shows:

Bueckers - 29.2
Williams - 33.8
Fudd - 27.9
Ducharme - 21.0
Nelson-Ododa - 27.2
Westbrook - 27.4
Edwards - 24.9
Juhasz - 19.8
Muhl - 21.7
Gabrial - 4.9
DeBerry - 5.2

2021-22 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics - University of Connecticut Athletics

The official 2021-22 Women's Basketball cumulative statistics for the University of Connecticut Huskies

uconnhuskies.com

That list is minutes played per game played. Bueckers' avg is for 17 games. In fact it's impossible to look at minutes last season. A more descriptive stat for looking at last year is "games played".

 

[Alydar]

A silver lining to last year's ordeal is that 9 players started games and 5 of them are back this season. And they didn't start 3 games each. Those five started 88 games, or 17 games each. That is a lot of experience.

 

[Stymie]

With all due respect, both meaningless.
Brand new team, in many respects.
3 starters graduated-1 out for the year
Pretty much a clean slate.
Azzi early dings last season, not starter from the jump, got starter minutes later on.
Dorka same thing, but not due to injury, due to learning curve.
But, but, but..
i almost consider Nika, Dorka and Azzi returning starters due to per game minutes at the end of last season.
Last year is a perfect example of “ what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.
This season is going to be ELECTRIC.

 

[TCC Kid]

With all due respect, both meaningless.
Brand new team, in many respects.
3 starters graduated-1 out for the year
Pretty much a clean slate.
Azzi early dings last season, not starter from the jump, got starter minutes later on.
Dorka same thing, but not due to injury, due to learning curve.
But, but, but..
i almost consider Nika, Dorka and Azzi returning starters due to per game minutes at the end of last season.
Last year is a perfect example of “ what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.
This season is going to be ELECTRIC.

I agree and disagree. Agree it is NOT exactly the same team, But immediately after Paige's injury (2 times) it wasn't the same. Williams, Ono, Evina are gone--it happens every year. You build on what you have.
I'll agree Dorka was learning the Geno system.
Edwards, Nika, Griffin could all Start--COULD. Will they?
The questions are Ameri, ICE, Ayana, Ines, Fairfield transfer will they quickly learn, can they ever fit into Div 1/Geno systems? My bet is on Fairfield, ICE, Ayana, Ines, Ameri--in that order. Dorka, near the end, before her wrist injury, was playing good Uconn BB--not great, good--Caroline and Dorka can lead the way, if the injuries/surgeries get out of their heads. I'm sure Geno has a grin on his face looking at the possibilities.

 

[Blond D.]

I saw Ice and Ayanna play in games with the top players in the country.....I was not impressed. They have a long way to go before they can start at UCONN

 

[TeamFirst!]

I saw Ice and Ayanna play in those same games. They aren’t going to start at the beginning of the season but both get significant PT. Both can contribute well after 3-4 games at the college level. These are 2 top 5 prospects. They play on any college team in the country.

 

[pk1234]

Started reading through this thread.. if Ayanna is actually good enough to take Caroline's minutes or start over her (at the 3) it either means 1) Caroline is still recovering or didn't come back 100% from her surgery or 2) Ayanna is an absolute superstar and this team will compete with SC and Stanford for the NC.

I'd personally be shocked if Ayanna is playing anywhere near Caroline's minutes all season. I expect Caroline to contend with Azzi for leading scorer (15+ PPG) this season and be in contention for all-conference and even all-American honors.

 

[KCD]

I saw Ice and Ayanna play in games with the top players in the country.....I was not impressed. They have a long way to go before they can start at UCONN

At the U18 tournament that Brady played at, to me she was by far the best player on the court (period). The next best US player was the Ohio State commit. I don't think that either ICE or Ayanna will start at the beginning of the year. But I am very impressed with both of them and believe that both will be significant contributors by mid season. They are both self driven and team oriented young ladies and will find ways to contribute and get playing time.

 

[Alydar]

Started reading through this thread.. if Ayanna is actually good enough to take Caroline's minutes or start over her (at the 3) it either means 1) Caroline is still recovering or didn't come back 100% from her surgery or 2) Ayanna is an absolute superstar and this team will compete with SC and Stanford for the NC.

I'd personally be shocked if Ayanna is playing anywhere near Caroline's minutes all season. I expect Caroline to contend with Azzi for leading scorer (15+ PPG) this season and be in contention for all-conference and even all-American honors.

If Patterson (3/4) can do it she will get minutes at wing but it will be less than half her minutes and not an every game thing. L-S will also play the 2/3. I see Ducharme playing some 2 and either L-S or Patterson or Griffin play the 3. A very large team there. UConn has several multi-position players. We could see some interesting offense/defense subbing late in close games. It's going to be fun.

 

[hoophuskee]

I saw Ice and Ayanna play in games with the top players in the country.....I was not impressed. They have a long way to go before they can start at UCONN

IMO you need to look at the strengths they bring and not worry who starts and get caught up in all of that. And most importantly what have we heard Geno say many, many times? "Do what you're good at."

For example just looking at Ayanna for discussion; did you know in Ayanna's junior year she was guarding the sr Caroline and basically shut her down in a summer league game? You think Caroline is a starter, right? Yet the summer before Ayanna shut her down. It's because she is a freak athlete with good size. Don't you agree she will be in the 99% percentile in WCBB athleticism and that she is very strong and has decent 6'2 size? That defense is and always has been welcome at UCONN.

So not only defense, but she is probably going to be able to offensive rebound, right? And because she is bigger/stronger and to a certain extent more athletic inside than Aubrey Griffin, she'll probably be able to finish inside better too, right? And any player around her size 5'10 to 6'4, she'll probably be able to defend in an excellent manner, right? These things aren't highlighted during these all-star games.

And add to that, did you know she is a good ball-handler? How can she highlight that in the all-star games when the guards want to showcase their talents while she is stuck inside?

UCONN doesn't play one-on-one. She is a tremendous fit for the 4 position. Some think she is more of a 3, I don't agree. The only way she sees significant time at the 3, excluding blowouts, is if Lou just can't cut it. So in summery, early in her career she'll be more athletic than 99% of the competition thus able to defend near any player near her size while also have enough explosive combination of athleticism and strength be able to rebound both offense and defense while also progressing by scoring inside then as her career progresses hit outside shots more effectively. All-the-while she is a good ball handler with quickness for her size in which each year (not much her 1st year) will become apparent.

 

[GEAinAustin]

Once again, to those who question the obvious talent of Patterson, go back and look how hard Auriemma recruited her. When she called him to commit he said he was shocked . She brings a power and overall athletic component that U Conn hasn't had in years.

 

[Bone Dog]

in Ayanna's junior year she was guarding the sr Caroline and basically shut her down in a summer league game

Interesting. I didn’t see that game. If I had to guess, I’d have said she’s a good defensive match for Caroline simply because she’s strong and neither one is super quick. Caroline relies on strength and footwork to muscle past smaller guards, which won’t work as well against Ayanna. But I suspect she’s not going to be able to guard quicker wings as effectively, and probably not against quicker shooting guards.

By contrast, Aubrey at her best two years ago could defend shooting guards effectively. For example, she was able to cover Caitlin Clark and Dijonnai Carrington. She even was able to cover Zia Cooke effectively. This was only for brief stretches, to be sure, and Aubrey is not as big as Ayanna. But she was quite a bit quicker and this matters against players like this.

I think the ceiling is very high for Ayanna for the reasons you cite, even if I don’t think she’s going to be quite as versatile on D as you seem to. For one thing, I suspect she’ll have better offensive skills than Aubrey.

Thinking strategically, however, I picture Ayanna as a serious defensive contributor against SC, where she should be able to shut down Saxton. One of the elements of SC’s attack is a quick front line in Boston and Saxton. I don’t imagine we’ll be able to outplay Boston. But they depend on Saxton, a strong 4 who thrives on rebounding and putbacks. If Ayanna takes that away, I suspect Boston won’t be able to defeat us even if she has a great game. Ayanna is bigger, stronger and quicker than Saxton, and they don’t typically face teams with that much strength and speed on the front line. If Ayanna can shut down Saxton come tournament time, she’ll have done more than enough to earn her spot in the lineup.

If Ayanna can spell Caroline and Lou at the 3 occasionally, I think that will be useful. But I don’t think it’s a lineup we’ll want for long stretches of a game. That would be like putting Aaliyah at the 3. We’ve done that when we had to — watch the UCLA game to see an example — and it came with severe costs against a quick team.

 

[cferraro04]

Boy do we have problems this year...DeBerry might take time away from Dorka,,,Ice Brady might take time away from DeBerry; Ayanna Patterson might take time away from Caroline Ducharme and Aubrey Griffin might take time away from Ayanna Patterson but wait, Aaliyah Edwards might have a break-out year and just be the Huskies most valuable player; Fudd might take over for Muhl...no wait, Muhl according to the UConn staff will have an extended role in this year's version of the Huskies so, Fudd will have to settle for "back-up guard and when she isn't doing that she could spend her time leading the Huskies in scoring knocking down 7-8 three pointers; Lou Senechal might take time from both Fudd and Muhl and then there is Ines Bettencourt...oh my...what is a coach to do? If these are our problems...I take them...all day long.

 

[GEAinAustin]

cferraro04, thank you, that has been what I have been stating all along . This team has mix and match combination depth, depending on the situation and opponent . 1st world problems !

 

[TCC Kid]

I saw Ice and Ayanna play in games with the top players in the country.....I was not impressed. They have a long way to go before they can start at UCON

As I said, I haven't seen them in USA/International BB. My opinion is that that venue tends to speak mountains about their ability in Div One. I'll wait and see how they play in Nov. It is always my hope that the new kids, every year,perform as Caroline and Azzi did this past year. Some have, some havent.

 

[TCC Kid]

Boy do we have problems this year...DeBerry might take time away from Dorka,,,Ice Brady might take time away from DeBerry; Ayanna Patterson might take time away from Caroline Ducharme and Aubrey Griffin might take time away from Ayanna Patterson but wait, Aaliyah Edwards might have a break-out year and just be the Huskies most valuable player; Fudd might take over for Muhl...no wait, Muhl according to the UConn staff will have an extended role in this year's version of the Huskies so, Fudd will have to settle for "back-up guard and when she isn't doing that she could spend her time leading the Huskies in scoring knocking down 7-8 three pointers; Lou Senechal might take time from both Fudd and Muhl and then there is Ines Bettencourt...oh my...what is a coach to do? If these are our problems...I take them...all day long.

HHoly Mackerel, this is going to be a GREAT yeat. 10 or so players for every game. Edwards, I knew would have a break out Junior or Sr year. This beat the heck out of no bench at all. WOW..

 

[hoophuskee]

Interesting. I didn’t see that game. If I had to guess, I’d have said she’s a good defensive match for Caroline simply because she’s strong and neither one is super quick. Caroline relies on strength and footwork to muscle past smaller guards, which won’t work as well against Ayanna. But I suspect she’s not going to be able to guard quicker wings as effectively, and probably not against quicker shooting guards.

I think you are short-changing Caroline's quickness too. Caroline also relies on quickness imo. You can be quick without the basketball. But you're right -- to defend a super quick guard one-on-one they aren't that well. But how many 3's are super quick that are both a great shooter, great passer, and great finisher on a very good / formidable team? To further that, the opposing team is scouted in advance and you can play defense to force them toward help.

They don't have to be "super-quick." Just be quick enough.

 

[Zarathustra]

Interesting. I didn’t see that game. If I had to guess, I’d have said she’s a good defensive match for Caroline simply because she’s strong and neither one is super quick. Caroline relies on strength and footwork to muscle past smaller guards, which won’t work as well against Ayanna. But I suspect she’s not going to be able to guard quicker wings as effectively, and probably not against quicker shooting guards.

By contrast, Aubrey at her best two years ago could defend shooting guards effectively. For example, she was able to cover Caitlin Clark and Dijonnai Carrington. She even was able to cover Zia Cooke effectively. This was only for brief stretches, to be sure, and Aubrey is not as big as Ayanna. But she was quite a bit quicker and this matters against players like this.

I think the ceiling is very high for Ayanna for the reasons you cite, even if I don’t think she’s going to be quite as versatile on D as you seem to. For one thing, I suspect she’ll have better offensive skills than Aubrey.

Thinking strategically, however, I picture Ayanna as a serious defensive contributor against SC, where she should be able to shut down Saxton. One of the elements of SC’s attack is a quick front line in Boston and Saxton. I don’t imagine we’ll be able to outplay Boston. But they depend on Saxton, a strong 4 who thrives on rebounding and putbacks. If Ayanna takes that away, I suspect Boston won’t be able to defeat us even if she has a great game. Ayanna is bigger, stronger and quicker than Saxton, and they don’t typically face teams with that much strength and speed on the front line. If Ayanna can shut down Saxton come tournament time, she’ll have done more than enough to earn her spot in the lineup.

If Ayanna can spell Caroline and Lou at the 3 occasionally, I think that will be useful. But I don’t think it’s a lineup we’ll want for long stretches of a game. That would be like putting Aaliyah at the 3. We’ve done that when we had to — watch the UCLA game to see an example — and it came with severe costs against a quick team.

I saw part of that game of Yanna covering Caroline D. Yanna blocked one of Caroline's driving layups.
I did not think, even at the time, have the impression that Yanna " shut her down". Wasn't that an exhibition game or some " made for TV/ all star" contest? Well, regardless, I'm glad both are now on
the same team! Go Huskies, GO Yanna, GO Caroline.

 

[TCC Kid]

I saw part of that game of Yanna covering Caroline D. Yanna blocked one of Caroline's driving layups.
I did not think, even at the time, have the impression that Yanna " shut her down". Wasn't that an exhibition game or some " made for TV/ all star" contest? Well, regardless, I'm glad both are now on
the same team! Go Huskies, GO Yanna, GO Caroline.

Thanks. If Ayanna can swat 1/2 those driving to the basket shots, big big plus. Uconn needs a "back stop" If Ayanna can make drivers think about driving she has don't half the job. Me too I'm happy BOTH are Uconn Huskies.

 

[Notyetready]

She can definitely be a wing defensively just as Aubrey had also been a wing many times defensively. And the other following players I believe have better outside shooting than her who can possibly / or do play at least some offensively on the perimeter which are: Caroline, Lou, Dorka, Edwards, Brady, and Amari. UCONN doesn't build it's offense around offensive rebounding, so as Geno has said many times "What is it that you're good at?" One thing we saw in the 3 on 3 from Patterson is her freak athleticism and rebounding. Like Aubrey she can be a freak rebounder early in her career and that is best suited for the 4/5 spots.

So unless it's a blowout and Geno is just tinkering, Patterson will probably play the 4/5 spots offensively barring any catastrophes.

She effectively guarded Ashlyn Shade in their high school matchup.

 

[MooseJaw]

IMO you need to look at the strengths they bring and not worry who starts and get caught up in all of that. And most importantly what have we heard Geno say many, many times? "Do what you're good at."

For example just looking at Ayanna for discussion; did you know in Ayanna's junior year she was guarding the sr Caroline and basically shut her down in a summer league game? You think Caroline is a starter, right? Yet the summer before Ayanna shut her down. It's because she is a freak athlete with good size. Don't you agree she will be in the 99% percentile in WCBB athleticism and that she is very strong and has decent 6'2 size? That defense is and always has been welcome at UCONN.

So not only defense, but she is probably going to be able to offensive rebound, right? And because she is bigger/stronger and to a certain extent more athletic inside than Aubrey Griffin, she'll probably be able to finish inside better too, right? And any player around her size 5'10 to 6'4, she'll probably be able to defend in an excellent manner, right? These things aren't highlighted during these all-star games.

And add to that, did you know she is a good ball-handler? How can she highlight that in the all-star games when the guards want to showcase their talents while she is stuck inside?

UCONN doesn't play one-on-one. She is a tremendous fit for the 4 position. Some think she is more of a 3, I don't agree. The only way she sees significant time at the 3, excluding blowouts, is if Lou just can't cut it. So in summery, early in her career she'll be more athletic than 99% of the competition thus able to defend near any player near her size while also have enough explosive combination of athleticism and strength be able to rebound both offense and defense while also progressing by scoring inside then as her career progresses hit outside shots more effectively. All-the-while she is a good ball handler with quickness for her size in which each year (not much her 1st year) will become apparent.

Right? I like your post on face value, I don't understand all the "right" stuff.

 

[Alydar]

Interesting. I didn’t see that game. If I had to guess, I’d have said she’s a good defensive match for Caroline simply because she’s strong and neither one is super quick. Caroline relies on strength and footwork to muscle past smaller guards, which won’t work as well against Ayanna. But I suspect she’s not going to be able to guard quicker wings as effectively, and probably not against quicker shooting guards.

By contrast, Aubrey at her best two years ago could defend shooting guards effectively. For example, she was able to cover Caitlin Clark and Dijonnai Carrington. She even was able to cover Zia Cooke effectively. This was only for brief stretches, to be sure, and Aubrey is not as big as Ayanna. But she was quite a bit quicker and this matters against players like this.

I think the ceiling is very high for Ayanna for the reasons you cite, even if I don’t think she’s going to be quite as versatile on D as you seem to. For one thing, I suspect she’ll have better offensive skills than Aubrey.

Thinking strategically, however, I picture Ayanna as a serious defensive contributor against SC, where she should be able to shut down Saxton. One of the elements of SC’s attack is a quick front line in Boston and Saxton. I don’t imagine we’ll be able to outplay Boston. But they depend on Saxton, a strong 4 who thrives on rebounding and putbacks. If Ayanna takes that away, I suspect Boston won’t be able to defeat us even if she has a great game. Ayanna is bigger, stronger and quicker than Saxton, and they don’t typically face teams with that much strength and speed on the front line. If Ayanna can shut down Saxton come tournament time, she’ll have done more than enough to earn her spot in the lineup.

If Ayanna can spell Caroline and Lou at the 3 occasionally, I think that will be useful. But I don’t think it’s a lineup we’ll want for long stretches of a game. That would be like putting Aaliyah at the 3. We’ve done that when we had to — watch the UCLA game to see an example — and it came with severe costs against a quick team.

Great post. From what I saw of Patterson I think you are underestimating her quickness. The only thing she is lacking is a resume. Time should solve that.

 

[MooseJaw]

Interesting. I didn’t see that game. If I had to guess, I’d have said she’s a good defensive match for Caroline simply because she’s strong and neither one is super quick. Caroline relies on strength and footwork to muscle past smaller guards, which won’t work as well against Ayanna. But I suspect she’s not going to be able to guard quicker wings as effectively, and probably not against quicker shooting guards.

By contrast, Aubrey at her best two years ago could defend shooting guards effectively. For example, she was able to cover Caitlin Clark and Dijonnai Carrington. She even was able to cover Zia Cooke effectively. This was only for brief stretches, to be sure, and Aubrey is not as big as Ayanna. But she was quite a bit quicker and this matters against players like this.

I think the ceiling is very high for Ayanna for the reasons you cite, even if I don’t think she’s going to be quite as versatile on D as you seem to. For one thing, I suspect she’ll have better offensive skills than Aubrey.

Thinking strategically, however, I picture Ayanna as a serious defensive contributor against SC, where she should be able to shut down Saxton. One of the elements of SC’s attack is a quick front line in Boston and Saxton. I don’t imagine we’ll be able to outplay Boston. But they depend on Saxton, a strong 4 who thrives on rebounding and putbacks. If Ayanna takes that away, I suspect Boston won’t be able to defeat us even if she has a great game. Ayanna is bigger, stronger and quicker than Saxton, and they don’t typically face teams with that much strength and speed on the front line. If Ayanna can shut down Saxton come tournament time, she’ll have done more than enough to earn her spot in the lineup.

If Ayanna can spell Caroline and Lou at the 3 occasionally, I think that will be useful. But I don’t think it’s a lineup we’ll want for long stretches of a game. That would be like putting Aaliyah at the 3. We’ve done that when we had to — watch the UCLA game to see an example — and it came with severe costs against a quick team.

I disagree on Ayanna's quickness. Watching the all-star games I saw Ayanna often switch off on guards while she more than held her own. She was like watching an Octopuses arms going everywhere. I think we are in for a big surprise with her footwork, she is not a plodder, more like a frisky filly. Let's not ignore the fact that most freshman have a learning curve. We will have to wait to see how steep Her's and the rest of our newbies will be. Pls forgive the analogies to the animal kingdom, I got carried away.