What makes Caroline special? | The Boneyard

What makes Caroline special?

my2cents

my2cents

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One of the few positives coming out of this challenging season is the play of Caroline D.
The minutes she is playing, would never have materialized without the injuries. Other than Paige last year, she has been one of the most impressive freshman we have had in awhile.
It's often said that she moves well without the ball. I think it's more than that.
Her hands are excellent, when she posts down low, even if she is covered, she catches the ball and puts the ball in the basket, more often than not.
Also, she can make baskets while she is moving...this is not common. Coming off screens, driving to the basket, pulling up....she doesn't have to be set to score......this is really a skill most don't have ( Paige exception)
With an improvement in her "handle", this player has a really high ceiling.
 
Old fashion player with long arms and a wide assortment of shots suggestive of having spent a lot of time on a backyard hoop, particularly in her mastery of the backboard. Somewhat peculiar jump shot, with a too low (but quick) release, and not much arc, so not going to get the benefit of a shooters roll, i.e. it has to be totally on-target.
 
Some points on Caroline. She has moves when handling the ball, shes got a floater, when shes not hitting outside shots she goes inside. When Paige and Azzi get back she wont have to rush her shots because both can hit outside shots. Caroline can create her own shot and is a pretty good ball handler. When shes around the basket she finishes and she is a very good foul shooter. The dynamic 3 some of Paige Azzi and Caroline can do so much off the dribble makes UConn very difficult to defend.

This is a different team then the team we had early season. We've grown tremendously especially Caroline Dorka and Liv. If we get healthy we should win it all.
 
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I really enjoy watching Caroline play. She is a player who is becoming consistent so that Geno can count on her. Just look at her average for the last 6 games. 18.66 points per game and 4.66 rebounds per game. When UConn's other stars return and when they return to form which I understand might take a while they will bring back 43 points in production per game. UConn over the last 6 games without Paige and Azzi and for the last three games without Christyn has averaged 73 points per game. Add in the additional production by Paige, Azzi and Christyn I would expect that average to go up considerably. Once this team gets to about 85 points they will be hard to beat especially with the way they are playing defense now.

Additionally, I haven't figured in the Olivia, Dorka and Muhl factors. Olivia is playing her best basketball, Dorka has found her rhythm and Muhl is just being her energetic self. I like this team come March if everyone is healthy. I can't imagine UConn playing the role of being the "dark horse favorite" but that could be exactly the role they will play in this years big dance.
 
The rest of the players get to watch Caroline play and learn from her, especially the injured and on the bench.
And it will help to build trust in each others ability in the future so they can develop more chemistry together.
If a friendly rivalry develops among teammates, then that may help to spur them to improve and innovate their game as well.
It should all result with providing Geno with more tools to work with & a better team.
 
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She's in the game every minute. Look at her face ... her expression rarely if ever changes except when she's congratulating a teammate. Otherwise, she's totally deadpan, emotionless and very serious. One of the things I absolutely love about this girl is something oldude pointed out earlier this season. He (basically) said she has no memory and therefore plays without fear of making a mistake or missing a shot. What a rare jewel we have in Caroline Ducharme!
 
veryolddog said:
She is not afraid to play the game.
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Not to be a broken record but if someone could repost that podcast interview with her when she was in HS it would answer the OP's question. She is 100% baller and instinctually knows the game inside and out. My only concern coming in is if she was athletic enough to compete at this level (but I figured if she wasn't Geno would have known). She putting up numbers but for her, it's not about the numbers it's about winning.
 
sun said:
The rest of the players get to watch Caroline play and learn from her, especially the injured and on the bench.
And it will help to build trust in each others ability in the future so they can develop more chemistry together.
If a friendly rivalry develops among teammates, then that may help to spur them to improve and innovate their game as well.
It should all result with providing Geno with more tools to work with & a better team.
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This just might be the best post you've ever made here.
 
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Her uniqueness is her endless motion,
long arms, (skill and talent), good hands,
and GRIT. It also
does not hurt to be 6'2"
when the other UCONN players on the
floor are 6' 5", 6'5", and 6'3" = some
nice height mismatches.
Pluse: Her 'floating" shot lookw like Evina's!
etc., etc. there is alot of " there... there" ( that
lady in Paris ).
 
One of the keys of success at UConn is self confidence in your abilities and CD got that in spades. She is not the most athletic but her high basketball iq is allowing her to recognize what is the move to make and it is very rare that she makes a bad basketball decision.
 
What makes Caroline unique is exactly what Geno said about her at the start of the season. She is consistent at all three levels. 1) As Geno said she gets the ball on the rim as well as anyone including Paige. I haven't seen her show Paige's variety around the rim, but her long arms and proficiency off the glass is as good as anyone UConn has had in many years. 2) She has a sweet pull up game as well as being able to curl off a screen or dribble off of it and score. In other words, her pull up game is, from what I've seen, better than anyone else on the team aside from Paige. Neither CW or E have ever shown the ability to consistently hit pull ups, curl off of a screen and shoot while their bodies are in motion, or dribble off that screen and hit consistent pull ups. Since the Oregon game I've been screaming for her to show more of her pull up game. Hell, I've been screaming for all of the UConn players use their pull up to score, especially Nika, who from my vantage hasn't shot a pull all year. Last game Nika dribbled in close, stopped, turned to pass, then hit from the mid-range, so there's that. But for the two games previous I'd been begging for CD to use her mid-range game more. In the first half against St. John's she did. Then in the second half, not so much. 3) Finally as Geno said, she makes just enough from the arc to keep defenses honest. At this level the wing is her natural position, and I don't see anyone removing her from that spot for her entire duration at UConn. One great advantage that Geno didn't mention before the season is as a wing CD frequently has mismatches, and UConn needs to take advantage of this more often, especially on the block. UConn utilizes her length on back door plays, but they need to isolate her on the block more often. Especially when a team plays UConn straight up as St. Johns did yesterday.
 
dtbtbtb said:
One of the keys of success at UConn is self confidence in your abilities and CD got that in spades. She is not the most athletic but her high basketball iq is allowing her to recognize what is the move to make and it is very rare that she makes a bad basketball decision.
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How much fun it is to have so many of us trying to describe just what it is that Caroline brings to the court. The cool thing is we all appreciate it and are thankful for the serendipitous turn of events that allowed her to show her stuff (even while ruing Paige's absence).

I have a couple of close friends who get to see very few Huskies games and yet are big fans. After watching her methodically take apart the St. John's defense (as she has Louisville's and numerous others'), I realized how I need to describe her: Caroline is the most unspectacular outstanding player I've seen in many a year, a joy to watch if you're a basketball purist.
 
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On December 21st of last year I started a thread titled "Caroline Ducharme, an upgrade at No. 33?" suggesting that I saw aspects of her game and potential that to me compared favorably to the great KLS at a comparable point in her first season. Well I certainly got a lot of grief for even raising the possibility of her potential!

I am gratified that Charmer has had the opportunity to show much more of what I saw way back then and that she is now viewed so universally favorably now here in the Yard.

I hope she continues to make more and more believers here as she shows what a remarkable talent she is.
 
The freshman she reminds me most of is the freshman Shea Ralph. Wasn’t Shea also #33? Versatile and seemingly unafraid. Similar skill set. Shea was maybe slightly stronger, but in general, great movement, good enough shooter, great fundamentals. Kind of ready from the get go and the best is still to come.
 
Caroline doesn’t feel the need to fiddle around with the ball in the paint once she gets it. She’s very decisive and knows what she’s going to do before she catches the ball. Once she has it, the ball goes up and (usually) in. No power dribbles, no weird little fake passes - just up and in.

That’s not to say she won’t do a ball fake (making a motion as though she’s going to shoot, draw the defense, then go by them) - she does - but under the basket, she‘s all business.
 
PvP said:
On December 21st of last year I started a thread titled "Caroline Ducharme, an upgrade at No. 33?" suggesting that I saw aspects of her game and potential that to me compared favorably to the great KLS at a comparable point in her first season. Well I certainly got a lot of grief for even raising the possibility of her potential!

I am gratified that Charmer has had the opportunity to show much more of what I saw way back then and that she is now viewed so universally favorably now here in the Yard.

I hope she continues to make more and more believers here as she shows what a remarkable talent she is.
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Your original post did not refer to KLS as "great", in fact it took on more of a negative vibe as you pointed all the things you believe Katie Lou didn't do as a freshman as compared in your eyes to what Caroline had done by late December. One of the things KLS did not do was rebound. On that team that wasn't her role, nor was it basically throughout her entire career here. Nor was it her role to drive the lane, but she certainly could and can do that. What you forgot in your overall comparison, was to compare the teams and the greatness or lack thereof the players on them. Katie Lou has always been one of my favorites and I found your post disrespectful of a UConn great. No one is a bigger fan of Caroline Ducharme than me, and I have said previously I expect her name to be on the wall before her career here is said and done. So, not that it will mean anything to you, I do support your ability to see the potential greatness (early in the season) in Caroline Ducharme.
 
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I like all the attributes previously stated, but there is another which she can attain but needs a little work on it first. This is her defense. She blocks shots, she gets rebounds, all true, but I think right now her weakness on D is that her opponent often seems able to get past her. I don't know if she has to develop quicker feet (is this possible?), or if she needs to alter her initial position when guarding someone so she can move faster to still stay between them and the basket. A lot of really good defenders seem to stand a little sideways to their opponent so they can move quickly at least in one direction. Paige, for example, is an exceptional defender (what can't she do?) and seems to anticipate and move with her opponent to always be in their way. A lot of the time Caroline is able to make up for her opponent getting past her by blocking their shot, but usually this is against someone much shorter than her.

Caroline is a great player, I always wanted her in the game early in the season so she could get acclimated, and look what has resulted. She is someone whose defense could improve and most likely will. What an asset for the team!
 
NU2BY said:
She's in the game every minute. Look at her face ... her expression rarely if ever changes except when she's congratulating a teammate. Otherwise, she's totally deadpan, emotionless and very serious. One of the things I absolutely love about this girl is something oldude pointed out earlier this season. He (basically) said she has no memory and therefore plays without fear of making a mistake or missing a shot. What a rare jewel we have in Caroline Ducharme!
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To me, Caroline's approach to the game is very mature, especially for a freshman. Not that her game itself is mature - this thread and others mention areas where she could improve - but the lack of fear, the no-nonsense approach, the focus and competitive intensity, all speak to a maturity that is so impressive to watch. Her maturity, together with her BB talent and IQ, makes her the steal of her class. I'm so glad she chose UConn!
 
I just find it so satisfying to watch a UConn player NOT afraid to shoot regardless of the situation. Fearless and that running floater of hers is so much fun to watch. Not worried about the threes one bit.

We really lucked out and I am so glad she hung in there.

Even when Ducharme started to draw interest from bigger schools, specifically UConn, they didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for her. When Auriemma talked to her, he made it clear that he wanted her at UConn but wasn’t sure if he had the roster spot.

“I had to say to her a couple times, ‘Listen, we have no idea what our situation is. We have no idea what our scholarship situation is or where we are and if you know if you can hang in there with us, I think it’s going to work out great. But if you need to make a decision and go someplace, I truly understand,’” Auriemma said.

SB Nation article here

I remember during one of the USA U16(?) tryouts a young Ducharme showed up wearing UConn gear. It's just meant to be.
 
Conndog said:
I like all the attributes previously stated, but there is another which she can attain but needs a little work on it first. This is her defense. She blocks shots, she gets rebounds, all true, but I think right now her weakness on D is that her opponent often seems able to get past her. I don't know if she has to develop quicker feet (is this possible?), or if she needs to alter her initial position when guarding someone so she can move faster to still stay between them and the basket. A lot of really good defenders seem to stand a little sideways to their opponent so they can move quickly at least in one direction. Paige, for example, is an exceptional defender (what can't she do?) and seems to anticipate and move with her opponent to always be in their way. A lot of the time Caroline is able to make up for her opponent getting past her by blocking their shot, but usually this is against someone much shorter than her.

Caroline is a great player, I always wanted her in the game early in the season so she could get acclimated, and look what has resulted. She is someone whose defense could improve and most likely will. What an asset for the team!
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That is a great point you made. For most freshmen, especially those who were stars in high school, defense typically lags behind offense. Caroline happens to have a couple of advantages in her favor that will enable her to improve her individual defense. Her size, long arms, conditioning and her competitiveness will translate to becoming a better defensive player moving forward.

I would think it safe to state that her play has exceeded most of our expectations this season. Obviously, she has benefited from the rash on injuries, becoming an integral piece. To her benefit, she has seized the reins.

Not to nitpick, but as another poster mentioned, I’d like to see Caroline forego some of her 3-pt attempts in favor of putting it on the floor for pull up jumper. In fact, I’d like to see more players take less 3’s and attempt the 15 - 18 ft shots. We have missed watching Paige executing her textbook, deadly jumper. In today’s game, there are a lot of players who could expand their game by including it more. It gives the defense more to worry about and provides a little more space to get a clean look when attempting a thre.
 
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