UConn stats....Nika vs Hailey Van Lith...

[sun]

Then let's be fair and go back to the poster's comment regarding Offense and wanting Hailey Van Lith to shoot. You have to look at the argument both ways-- If we're going to count only 1-2 seconds then on Offense then why would anyone choose Hailey Van Lith vs many other taller players because she is small to have to get off her shot with such little time. It can easily get blocked because she has no time to put the ball on the floor in order to get separation.

Yes- Nika would pass to Hailey Van Lith. Not sure why you felt a need ot bring this up? Has someone sent you on post on here suggesting anything different?

That's nice-- Hailey Van Lith was one of two players to account for the stats you cite. I'll counter with the stat that Nika broke SUe Bird's assist record. Considering UCONN is the premiere program historically - then this is a huge accomplsihment. Plus Nika got DPOY in BE.

A lot of BB involves specialization for different tasks & positions.
Both Hailey & Nika have multiple specializations but I think that overall Hailey has a few more.
She can twirl & elude defenders to more easily score while Nika is mostly a passing specialist & for man on man defense.
But Hailey being quicker on foot also gives her some defensive utility.
Hailey & Morrow were considered to be the top transfer players this year & Nika would have been too if she chose to go that route.
But because of specializations & match ups with other players, their PT would boil down which of them that Geno favors in any particular situation.
The whole premise is based on who Geno would chose & would depend on the situation & match ups.
I think the answer to the question of who is the better player is the same day in & day out.
Geno provides the answer by how he rewards PT.
If Geno gives NIka more PT than KK, then Nika is a better player than KK.
If Paige gets more PT than Nika, then Paige is a better player than Nika.

I've noticed that one area of specialization where Nika is #1 is in being the best puckerer upper in WCBB.
No one puckers up for the camera & blows as many kisses as Nika does.
For a while there she was puckering up so much that I thought she was becoming a fish!
Nika just loves to pucker up for her fans!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

You are comparing two different players who are asked two full different roles for their respective teams.

Van Lith is a scorer and that has been her role at Louisville and I imagine will be at LSU. Nika, while important, is more of a supporting player. She isn’t the top option and the statistics reflect that in terms of the volume of shooting she does compared to Van Lith. She’s more of a facilitator for UConn rather than a top offensive threat (she still is a threat, mind you, but she isn’t the primary focus of the other team).

As to who is better… it depends what you are looking for. If you want someone who is a scorer, you choose Van Lith. If you team had a bunch of offensive stars, then you want Nika because she’ll be the one to bring them together and get them the ball.

Sakibomb25- - - Kim Mulkey is going to use Hailey Van Lith as LSU's point guard this season! Hailey Van Lith wants to be the PG!
So comparing Nika to Hailey as 2 PG's is worth a look!
Who would you want in the 4th quarter, down 1 with 30 seconds left to set up a winning play, PG's Hailey or Nika?
Remember if Hailey has the ball Nika is defending her!

 

[JoePgh]

There is an advanced stat called 'Points Produced'.

Last season for players in P5 + Big East (min. 200 mins) Hailey Van Lith was 6th overall versus Nika Muhl 118th overall.

The graph below shows the Top 10 overall plus selected players.

View attachment 91991

To change the subject slightly (since the main topic has been thoroughly exhausted), I find it interesting that in this "P5 + Big East" chart, ranks 2, 4 and 5 are taken by Big East players, and none of them are from UConn! Aaliyah is the highest ranking Husky at #15. Lou is at #50, Dorka at #97, and Nika at #118 as noted.

It appears to me that this metric is dominated by players who are the main scoring threat for their teams, and therefore tends to penalize players who play on teams with a more balanced offensive output. Beyond the UConn players, the facts that Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles of Notre Dame are #69 and #75 respectively, and Haley Jones and Cameron Brink of Stanford are both in the 40's, support this conclusion.

 

[Blond D.]

Another way to look at it is if they put 5 Hailey Van Liths on the floor VS 5 Nika Muhls on the floor, who would win? My money is on Team Nika.

 

[Bone Dog]

I saw that game and yes you are right that UConn lost not because Nika failed to score enough points, but because OSU’s full court press knew Nika when pressured would look to pass and pick up her dribble. Her defender would immediately back away and a tipped or stolen pass was the result. A point guard never picks up her dribble in the backcourt, it’s suicidal. It was basically 4 on 5. If Paige had been presented with the same situation, she would’ve immediately raced up the court and headed for the hoop.

This is the most cogent critique of Nika's skills as pg I've seen. I've also noticed this, that she can pick up her dribble at bad moments. This is something she improved on last year -- it was worse in her first two years -- but under stress she sometimes reverted to it. This and a midrange jumper are the final pieces of the puzzle for her. And given the strides she made last season, I'm hopeful to see improvement in these areas too next season.