As the Huskies run back to play defense in front of Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma and the rest of the team bench, Caroline Doty leans over to gain a better view of how her teammates are positioned. She grips the clipboard on her lap and writes down some notes before looking up, shouting to freshman guard Bria Hartley and then pointing in her direction. Later on, she jumps up from her chair, her arms raised, after Hartley scores a basket and the Gampel Pavilion crowd explodes into cheers.
On the bench this season, Doty is animated talking with players, offering a high-five congratulatory hand slap and jumping up to celebrate a made shot. She is trying to stay as much a part of the game action as she was last year in helping the women’s basketball team win the NCAA Championship. Her recent trick-shot video aside, it’s as close to being part of the action as she is allowed as she continues to recover from her third surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“It’s going great. I was able to start running a few weeks ago. I’m starting to get my wind back. My leg feels stronger than ever,” Doty says of her recovery from the injury that happened last summer while working at a basketball camp.
Doty, who is a junior academically, originally suffered an ACL injury playing soccer in high school, and then lost part of her freshman year in Storrs when she again had the same injury. She still has two years of playing eligibility under NCAA rules.
“I want to be out there,” she says. “But as long as I’m out there with the team it’s fun. Not being able to play is the hard part, but I know if I stay patient, I’ll have two more years with them and it will be worth it.”
During her rehabilitation, Doty has found a sympathetic ear from one of the few people who has been in the same position – assistant coach Shea Ralph, who went through five ACL injuries during her playing career.
“Everybody feels they want to help her and that can be just as frustrating at times,” says Ralph, an All-American player and a key member of the Huskies 2000 NCAA Championship team. “I’m just trying to be there for her. I know her pretty well. If she needs to talk, I’ll be there. I’ll be there in the training room if she needs me there. You can’t really give advice for an ACL injury. Everybody is going to deal with it differently and find different motivation. The only thing I can do is share with her what worked for me and maybe that will help her in some way. She’s got everything it takes [to succeed] and half the battle is mental. ”
Doty agrees that in recovering from another injury, attitude is everything. Always a vocal leader in the locker room and on the court, she says she is taking a positive view of what she can do to get back on the floor, learning as much as possible while sitting on the bench next to the coaching staff.
“It’s a whole different view being on the outside looking in, because I know what’s like being on the inside,” Doty says. “I’m taking a step back, seeing how people react to different situations. I still have the excitement and the joy of whatever they do. I love being passionate about what’s going on.”
Ralph says this season will be a year of growth for Doty as a team leader next season, when she and roommate Tiffany Hayes will carry the mantle of leadership now held by seniors Lorin Dixon and All-American Maya Moore. “You see a lot of things on the bench as opposed to playing,” Ralph says. “It’s going to be interesting how she takes that to understand things and translate it to push everybody’s buttons. That’s the character a great leader has to have. Our expectation is for her to be one of our best leaders in the next couple of years.”
Even as the Huskies move toward the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament in the hope of returning to Storrs in April with another national title, Doty is looking to next season.
“I want to take everything I learned and put it on the floor,” she says.” I’ll be a senior next year. Even with this year’s young team, we’re going to have a few freshmen coming in. I want to be that role model to back up my word of what I’ve been saying to them all year, and put it on the court next year.”
