What Caroline’s return does

[HuskyNan]

Seeing Caroline on the court last night was a welcome sight. More than being a positive that this admirable young woman is recovered from her concussion, Caroline brings some tangible benefits:

• An extra body to give the starters a breather, yes, but more than that, a proven scorer and confident shot of energy off the bench. Before Caroline’s return, Geno was reluctant to sub in when he needed a scoring punch off the bench, now he’s got someone he trusts to maintain - or improve- the level of play set by the starters.
• Another ball-handler. It’s true Caroline is a wing/forward but I’d rather have her dribbling in the paint than Dorka or Aaliyah
• Someone besides Lou that can create a shot. Caroline and Lou were moving, moving, moving when they were on the court together in the 4th quarter and the defense was working really hard to keep track of them. That opened up the lane a bit and moved defenders away from the perimeter. Give Caroline or Lou a peek of daylight and they can find a way to create a shot. Invaluable.
• Speaking of Lou and Caroline and what they do for each other, watch the clip below. Both are on the perimeter and Lou gets the ball. Two defenders collapse on the team’s best three point shooter, leaving Caroline wide open in the corner. I’ve been waiting weeks to see this again. Just imagine when Azzi gets back

 

[my2cents]

The more scorers you have on the floor, the more space you have for everybody else to operate.

 

[Inthepaint]

So good!
So good!
SO GOOD!!

 

[Millenial23]

That was a very nice play! In the first half though, it seemed to me that Lou and Caroline were tripping over each other, especially on defense. There was definitely one incident where Lou kinda grabbed Caroline from behind and said you go that way, I'll go this way. But I attribute that to Caroline being rusty and her and Lou not having played together much. I'm sure they will get better chemistry together as they play more together.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Dorka had the big steal and Aliyah had one bucket in the post and some key rebounds but that 4th qrtr run was driven by Caroline, Nika and Lou (19 pts by my rough count). How long has it been since we had a run that wasn't driven by post play? Having CD on the floor just forces the defense to play us more honestly. It opens up everybody's game.

 

[SLY63]

CD is our best penetrator off the dribble who can break down a defense. It is a key element we were missing.

 

[Rb335]

I got ROASTED in the Marquette postgame thread for questioning why Geno didn’t employ offense/defense substitutions for the purpose of giving fouls. (Have the bench foul so starters could remain available to take the shots). Last night we found ourselves in a tight game, and Geno went Caroline for offense, Aubrey for defense. Worked out pretty well.

It’s a luxury we haven’t had, to change up the look of the lineup. Caroline and Aubrey are both great players with different strengths. Both will get lots of playing time as the rotation expands a bit.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Saw her go down on a foul under the basket, get up gingerly, and go sit on the bench, where she applied an ice pack to the back of her head.

I hope she's okay. No game is worth damaging one's long-term health.

Fingers crossed....

 

[MdStang]

Obviouly she will go in for Aubrey, but I think Geno will sub in Caroline for anybody but Nika who needs a break or is not playing well.

 

[ucbart]

How many games have Azzi, Lou, and Caroline played together?

 

[Conndog]

Actually, I think the Creighton game was a great opportunity to have both Caroline and Aubrey in together as Creighton isn't full of very tall players. Have either Aaliyah or Dorka get some rest while out on the court is Caroline, Aubrey, Lou, Nika and either Aaliyah or Dorka as the designated big. With that group, UConn has 5'9 Nika, 6'1 Aubrey who also is team's best defensive player, 6'1 Lou, 6'2 Caroline, and either 6'3 Aaliyah or 6'5 Dorka. Now you have good shooters, good defenders and good rebounders, and you can take advantage of the fast break opportunities too.

 

[Conndog]

Just imagine when Azzi gets back

That's just it, I don't want to imagine it but actually see it happen!

 

[RedStickHusky]

Her 21 minutes last night came from Aubrey (12), Dorka (8), and Lou (1). Aliya and Nika played 40 . Even as Caroline stretches out, Aubrey will still get plenty of time on the floor.

 

[Jokerman619]

After watching the replay, Caroline did add some very quality minutes. Shooting, rebounding, free throws. She was a spark. And when Caroline and Lou gel. It will bring the rain. But definitely a team effort. No stop. Constant hustle. All we need is our third partner in the game, Azzi. And the 3s will rain.. Would be so nice to see Azzi at Villanova. They are getting healthy and gelling at the right time. They are some amazing women. I believe she is very close. So again a great comeback. Go Huskies.

 

[Bama fan]

Against four Creighton guards who could shoot the ball, AG was not having a very good night. So I think Caroline subbed for her due to her "off" night. But Caroline can give Lou some rest , especially against bigger, less offensively minded teams. So I have hope moving forward and await Azzi's return.

 

[HuskyNan]

Against four Creighton guards who could shoot the ball, AG was not having a very good night. So I think Caroline subbed for her due to her "off" night. But Caroline can give Lou some rest , especially against bigger, less offensively minded teams. So I have hope moving forward and await Azzi's return.

You need two shooters on the court to keep the defense from packing the lane. Otherwise we continue to see Lou/Caroline manhandled and defenders pushing the bigs out, just as we’ve been seeing for the last few weeks

 

[JBK]

I think he will sub according to the players performance. Aubrey was off last night and Lou was playing well. Geno also said he wants to play a 4 guard rotation against the small big East teams.

 

[Surly1]

Seeing Caroline on the court last night was a welcome sight. More than being a positive that this admirable young woman is recovered from her concussion, Caroline brings some tangible benefits:

• An extra body to give the starters a breather, yes, but more than that, a proven scorer and confident shot of energy off the bench. Before Caroline’s return, Geno was reluctant to sub in when he needed a scoring punch off the bench, now he’s got someone he trusts to maintain - or improve- the level of play set by the starters.
• Another ball-handler. It’s true Caroline is a wing/forward but I’d rather have her dribbling in the paint than Dorka or Aaliyah
• Someone besides Lou that can create a shot. Caroline and Lou were moving, moving, moving when they were on the court together in the 4th quarter and the defense was working really hard to keep track of them. That opened up the lane a bit and moved defenders away from the perimeter. Give Caroline or Lou a peek of daylight and they can find a way to create a shot. Invaluable.
• Speaking of Lou and Caroline and what they do for each other, watch the clip below. Both are on the perimeter and Lou gets the ball. Two defenders collapse on the team’s best three point shooter, leaving Caroline wide open in the corner. I’ve been waiting weeks to see this again. Just imagine when Azzi gets back

Before the rash of injuries, I think everyone was envisioning an efficient offense featuring spacing, open lanes, crisp passing highlighted by the best outside shooting in the country by Paige, Azzi, Caroline and Lou. Imagine the floor combinations.

Unfortunately, it has rarely occurred this season, although we've seen glimpses. However, some other teams have shown how deadly this type of offense can be with the right personal. Indiana comes immediately to mind. They have 3 outside shooters. Sydney Parrish is almost a mirror image of Ducharme. Both are 6'2, can play both inside and out. Chloe Moore-McNeil is their version of Aubrey. Both are shut-down defenders. MacKenzie Holmes is their counterpart to Aaliyah. Imagine what Aaliyah can do if not tripled-teamed down low.

Iowa also does a great job of spacing the floor, with players hitting their spots, knowing Clark will find them.

Hopefully, UConn's offense will start to resemble the precise, efficient work of art of past teams with Caroline back. It can only get better if Azzi is able to come back.

 

[oldude]

I must say the BY may be over analyzing the Aubrey vs Caroline situation. Aubrey wasn’t as effective offensively against Creighton’s defense which packed the lane. At the same time, Aubrey was, by far, UConn’s most active defender, providing help defense all over the court against Creighton’s motion offense and bevy of shooters.

With UConn down in the 4th qtr by double digits, and struggling to score, Caroline was a better option to not only score points, but also to spread the floor giving Lou and the rest of her teammates more room to operate.

It was a situational substitution by Geno because he absolutely needed points at that time in the game. If, for instance, UConn is hanging on to a small lead against Villanova on Saturday in the 4th qtr, you can expect Aubrey to be in the game, locking down Maddy Siegrist

 

[CL82]

My only hesitancy about more Caroline is that it seems to mean less Aubrey. figuring out that balance is above my pay grade though.

 

[cancontent]

It was great to see her play as well as she did. Geno mentioned they have to limit her minutes to 10 minutes per half. I hope they continue to take this pragmatic approach. I know her contributions are needed but I still get nervous seeing her in there considering how long it's taken her to return to the court.

 

[Littlemin]

Seeing Caroline on the court last night was a welcome sight. More than being a positive that this admirable young woman is recovered from her concussion, Caroline brings some tangible benefits:

• An extra body to give the starters a breather, yes, but more than that, a proven scorer and confident shot of energy off the bench. Before Caroline’s return, Geno was reluctant to sub in when he needed a scoring punch off the bench, now he’s got someone he trusts to maintain - or improve- the level of play set by the starters.
• Another ball-handler. It’s true Caroline is a wing/forward but I’d rather have her dribbling in the paint than Dorka or Aaliyah
• Someone besides Lou that can create a shot. Caroline and Lou were moving, moving, moving when they were on the court together in the 4th quarter and the defense was working really hard to keep track of them. That opened up the lane a bit and moved defenders away from the perimeter. Give Caroline or Lou a peek of daylight and they can find a way to create a shot. Invaluable.
• Speaking of Lou and Caroline and what they do for each other, watch the clip below. Both are on the perimeter and Lou gets the ball. Two defenders collapse on the team’s best three point shooter, leaving Caroline wide open in the corner. I’ve been waiting weeks to see this again. Just imagine when Azzi gets back

I am going to make another point on that particular play; Muhl pushed the ball hard, got it forward to Senechal, who made the pass to Ducharme right where she could catch and shoot perfectly in rhythm. Great example of offense while the defense is scrambling to get set.
Also, there is ball handling and there is ball handling; Ducharme is not a great open court ball handler but superb at using the dribble to breakdown the defense in the half court. And FWIW, her last drive was IMO, an obvious foul on the hand.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Saw her go down on a foul under the basket, get up gingerly, and go sit on the bench, where she applied an ice pack to the back of her head.

I hope she's okay. No game is worth damaging one's long-term health.

Fingers crossed....

Yeah, weird that after 6 weeks and 13 games, they said "screw it, let's just throw her out there and see what happens".