What Caroline’s return does

[Littlemin]

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

Yeah, that’s what they did; the fully reported and commented on gradual increase in activity from no contact, to light contact, to full contact, to playing was all just a smoke screen when they really just threw “her out there and see what happens“. Come on, really?

 

[Bills Fan]

puts our best defensive player (and possibly the Big East Defensive Player of the Year), Aubrey Griffin on the Bench for 1/2 the game .... [Geno will sub in Caroline for Aubrey and not Lou Lopez Senechal).

It worked in this game because we needed scoring in the 4th qtr, In future games I think CD will sub in for both Lou and Aubrey to give them some rest and maybe even, based on match ups, sub a few minutes for AE at the 4 or, indirectly for Dorka moving AE into the post to give DJ a bit of rest. My point is that CD provides a lot of flexibility except as a PG sub for Nika. Nika will need to play all 40 until (IF) Azzi returns.

 

[BBallF]

Yes but the offense will flow much better and the team will also continue to play good team defenseIt will also be a 6 man rotation with everyone getting a breather. It will also mean you have a faster team when Aaliyah and Dorka are out.

Yes. It also means that there will be a solid 6 man rotation where you are not trading down. Everyone gets s rest. I like the Aubrey, CD, Lou combo out there with Nika and a big.

 

[UConnCat]

 

[BBallF]

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.

Yes and the player who should have been subbed out last night was Aaliyah. I think you will see everyone but Nika in the turnstile.

 

[Bills Fan]

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

Agree about getting back. Hoping I'm wrong but I see her return as IF, not When.

What are we hearing about her return? Crickets !

 

[BBallF]

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

It is now a brand new team with her back. What I found most important about the video, other than the effect on the defense, was the " I am all in on this team" reaction from Jana. I think we have a real Husky there.

 

[BBallF]

It is now a brand new team with her back. What I found most important about the video, other than the effect on the defense, was the " I am all in on this team" reaction from Jana. I think we have a real Husky there.

Once again, "The UCONN Effect".

 

[RedStickHusky]

Yeah, that’s what they did; the fully reported and commented on gradual increase in activity from no contact, to light contact, to full contact, to playing was all just a smoke screen when they really just threw “her out there and see what happens“. Come on, really?

I notice that you dropped the sarcasm emoji from my post....

 

[oldhusky]

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 agree with most everything in this post except for the initial comment. Caroline was not in fact an extra body to give the starters a breather, but more just a different one. It was a limited 6 player rotation before and after Caroline's return. Geno substituted Caroline for Ayanna, and that looks like a significant upgrade, but to get starter minutes down to a more reasonable level he would need to take Caroline's return as an opportunity to expand to a 7 player rotation.

Just using Ayanna or Amari for limited minutes to help the bigs could go a long way.. Great bigs don't usually play anywhere close to 40 minutes, for many it is more like 30 or less than that. IMO the drastic shocking difference in performance and rebounding numbers between the two Creighton games makes a pretty clear case for using his substitutes more. Every starter has been worse lately than earlier in the season, even Ray Charles can see that!

Anyway I know there is tremendous disagreement on this, and Caroline is indeed a major help and can help a little in reducing starter minutes, but mainly because Geno will play her more minutes than he used Ayanna, but that by itself is not enough to provide the rest they need. I know Geno said Creighton playing 5 guards was a factor, so maybe in upcoming games Caroline will be an "extra" body and Geno will expand to a rotation of 7 with Ayanna or Amari.

The rest of the post is very good, and in particular I think we could see the synergy between between Lou and Caroline as you point out. The load on Lou as the sole long range threat has taken it's toll, and Caroline is a tremendous help there.

 

[Bills Fan]

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.

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.

Agree with you about the last foul which put CD at the line, Only one reply showed that contact but the SNY people kept showing the replay where you couldn't see the contact.

What bothers me about Meg's commentary is she seems to want to go overboard as far as being fair to both teams. On this foul, Allen saw the "foul reply" and commented on it. After that replay and after Allen's comment about the hand hitting CD's hand. Meg continued with her "bad call" commentary. Meg you are on the UCONN telecast. No need to being going overboard being positive about our opponent. This is not a national broadcast, it's a Husky broadcast

 

[Bills Fan]

It is now a brand new team with her back. What I found most important about the video, other than the effect on the defense, was the " I am all in on this team" reaction from Jana. I think we have a real Husky there.

Agree. See post #30, above.

 

[hoopsfan22]

What bothers me about Meg's commentary is she seems to want to go overboard as far as being fair to both teams. On this foul, Allen saw the "foul reply" and commented on it. After that replay and after Allen's comment about the hand hitting CD's hand. Meg continued with her "bad call" commentary. Meg you are on the UCONN telecast. No need to being going overboard being positive about our opponent. This is not a national broadcast, it's a Husky broadcast

Maybe she's auditioning for a national network to follow Eric Frede?

 

[topogigio]

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

Exactly, which is why I believe if Azzi is 50% or better and available at tournament time, the starting 5 should be Azzi, Lou, Caroline, Edwards, and Dorka. Nika and Aubrey off the bench for “spark”, and defense. I realize how important Nika is, but Azzi, Lou, and Caroline can handle the ball, and put up points, which is what we need more of. Waddauthink?

 

[Inthepaint]

Yeah, that’s what they did; the fully reported and commented on gradual increase in activity from no contact, to light contact, to full contact, to playing was all just a smoke screen when they really just threw “her out there and see what happens“. Come on, really?

I suspect, with no facts to back it up, that the last step in Caroline’s “Rehab” was to restore her confidence and dispel any lingering fears about the rough & tumble on the floor.
Kudos to “Doctor “ Auriemma for administering the proper dosage.
Those two drives to the hoop were beautiful to watch as she just uncoiled like a sidewinder and flipped the ball in.
Didn’t see any fear as she sliced through the lane and went airborne.
Hope somebody gets a video of the practice sessions before Saturday.
I’m hoping for some renewed mojo.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Exactly, which is why I believe if Azzi is 50% or better and available at tournament time, the starting 5 should be Azzi, Lou, Caroline, Edwards, and Dorka. Nika and Aubrey off the bench for “spark”, and defense. I realize how important Nika is, but Azzi, Lou, and Caroline can handle the ball, and put up points, which is what we need more of. Waddauthink?

????? No. Just no.

 

[ctchamps]

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.

I know the box score says 40 minutes for Aliya but I thought I saw her subbed out for more than a minute during the game. Was it for less?

 

[msf22b]

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

Absolutely correct
It takes away the formula of manhandling Lou and packing the paint that has been used against us for weeks.

OT (had to get this in) But it doesn't explain why Caroline was the only sub.

Geno said that since Creighton was playing 5 guards, it was inappropriate to sub in bigs....Consider the logic of that..
1. We had a guard on the bench
2. We were playing two bigs all evening...would it have been illogical to give them each a 5/7minute rest...one at a time; especially when they were hardly dominating.

Caroline came in and helped win the game as she is wont to do.

But an opportunity of slightly alleviating the overall exhaustion of the squad may have been missed.

Surely a legitimate matter of discussion as it was noticed by far more than me.

Apologies for being persistent.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I know the box score says 40 minutes for Aliya but I thought I saw her subbed out for more than a minute during the game. Was it for less?

Now that you mention it, I do think she came out for a bit late in the game... Maybe when Geno was trying to go off/def?

 

[Littlemin]

I notice that you dropped the sarcasm emoji from my post....

My bad then for sure, but frankly, I went back and looked and there is no emoji on your post that I can see. Assuming there is one and for some reason it is not appearing to me, my apologies for my reply.

 

[Biff]

I notice that you dropped the sarcasm emoji from my post....

There is no emoji in your OP

 

[RedStickHusky]

My bad then for sure, but frankly, I went back and looked and there is no emoji on your post that I can see. Assuming there is one and for some reason it is not appearing to me, my apologies for my reply.

Wow, it's not there.... Posting from my phone maybe? Well it was intended... Mea culpa.

 

[cancontent]

I notice that you dropped the sarcasm emoji from my post....

Your post doesn't have a sarcasm emoji. Maybe it got clipped when posting?

 

[fomalhaut]

I know the box score says 40 minutes for Aliya but I thought I saw her subbed out for more than a minute during the game. Was it for less?

Edwards played 39:38.

 

[fomalhaut]

With that group, UConn has 5'9 Nika,..

Nika would be horrified to be called 5'9". She's listed at 5'10" and claimed in the "icks" video to be 5'11".

 

[HuskyNan]

Yes and the player who should have been subbed out last night was Aaliyah. I think you will see everyone but Nika in the turnstile.

Aaliyah was drawing double teams which opened up one of her teammates

 

[BBallF]

Aaliyah was drawing double teams which opened up one of her teammates

Fair enough. She was exhausted though and when she or anyone else gets that way, there are mental mistakes.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Y’all been waiting.

 

[The deacon]

Y’all been waiting.

Love it, NEforceUConn. Thank you. Sounds like the original release. What I like best is that it doesn't include those annoying 'so good, so good' refrains from the crowds.

Neil Diamond was the best.

 

[Rowdy831]

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

The challenge is to use this one body to give all the starters 4-5 minutes rest per game. AE right now is getting no break and she needs a breath every now and then.