2024-2025 Roster Breakdown.. Swipe

[hoopsnloops32]

Nika has the most assists two seasons in a row, then breaks the all time assists record at UConn and you say others could have covered her offense. What are you smoking and can I get some of it.

Yea you are right. Nika is the best PG in UConn history. Definitely better than Sue, Mo Jeff, DT, and Paige.

Sorry but “most assists” is a bit meaningless to me. I do think Nika’s offense is very replaceable.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Muhl's admittedly impressive stats were aided somewhat by the circumstances of the last two seasons. In 2023 she was the only healthy guard on the team. (Bettencourt wasn't ready) Senechal was a 6'1 wing and didn't have the handle to play guard, never mind pg. But she was a very efficient scorer and the combination was a part of Muhl's record assists. In 2024 there were seven players and 4 were in the 1st year so Muhl again shouldered the bulk of the pg minutes.

Saying that there are players on the 2025 roster whose skills can give UConn everything they could want isn't in any way a negative comment about Muhl. It's the fans who are saying that "she can't be replaced" who are disrespecting the 2025 guards.

I believe that no one is ever replaced. New players come in with their skills and succeed or fail on their own merits. If a fan had posted a prediction prior to the 2021 season that Muhl would set the all-time assist record they would have faced laughter. The general view was that she would spend 4 years as Bueckers' backup at pg. Fans should keep that in mind.

Also important to mention she played the majority of the PG minutes because she was the least versatile guard on the roster, not because she was the best option at Pg.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

Nika has the most assists two seasons in a row, then breaks the all time assists record at UConn and you say others could have covered her offense. What are you smoking and can I get some of it.

You don't think Paige is a better Point Guard than Nika?

 

[hoophuskee]

I believe that no one is ever replaced. New players come in with their skills and succeed or fail on their own merits. If a fan had posted a prediction prior to the 2021 season that Muhl would set the all-time assist record they would have faced laughter. The general view was that she would spend 4 years as Bueckers' backup at pg. Fans should keep that in mind.

Taking a look back - who woulld have thought she'd be a 1st round pick in which her last game she would be sort of "containing" an all-time great college player in the Final Four for an entire game?

If, in fact, UCONN puts for example Paige and Azzi on the Wings in some manner, then having a guard like Nika that shoots 40% from 3 and has a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio feding them teh ball to score woudl be pretty awesome. this "Nika" role seems suited for KK and Kaitlyn.

OFC if there is an efficient scoring Wing such as Ashlynn, Caroline (I hope hope hope she is healthy and reverts to her frosh year), Q and others that are near efficent scoring as Paige/Azzi, then Paige nearly all at the point when she is in is utterly "beastly."

 

[Bone Dog]

You don't think Paige is a better Point Guard than Nika?

I don’t think this is the most useful way to put the question. Look at it this way: Whenever Nika fouled out last season or was injured the season before, it was disastrous. Paige was still on the floor in last season’s games and yet the lack was really felt. So clearly Nika was a really important player even if Paige is better than her in some sense or other. She was not easily replaced given the roster we had the last two seasons. Also, people often forget that a PG is not just a passer/enabler on offense. They are also typically the primary defender on the other team’s PG. This was a role Nika filled really well.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

IMHO starting is sometimes an overstated issue!
Remember Caroline Doty's senior year where she started the 1st 5 to 6 minutes then was substituted for as Geno thought she gave the team the best juice right off the bat!
So Geno will look at who's the one that he needs to "start the snowball rolling downhill"

 

[Geew1992]

IMHO starting is sometimes an overstated issue!
Remember Caroline Doty's senior year where she started the 1st 5 to 6 minutes then was substituted for as Geno thought she gave the team the best juice right off the bat!
So Geno will look at who's the one that he needs to "start the snowball rolling downhill"

Pretty sure Bria had something to do with the decision to come off the bench

 

[GirlBoo1020]

I don’t think this is the most useful way to put the question. Look at it this way: Whenever Nika fouled out last season or was injured the season before, it was disastrous. Paige was still on the floor in last season’s games and yet the lack was really felt. So clearly Nika was a really important player even if Paige is better than her in some sense or other. She was not easily replaced given the roster we had the last two seasons. Also, people often forget that a PG is not just a passer/enabler on offense. They are also typically the primary defender on the other team’s PG. This was a role Nika filled really well.

The question was whether or not Nika's offense could be offered, not her as a player as a whole. I personally think she was pretty limited offensively and her scoring and passing will be replaced by other players pretty easily.

To your point her leadership will be tougher to lose but I think we have more than enough talent between Paige, Kaitlyn, Azzi, KK, Ali, Sarah and Morgan to make up 6 points and 6 assists per game.

 

[Bone Dog]

The question was whether or not Nika's offense could be offered, not her as a player as a whole. I personally think she was pretty limited offensively and her scoring and passing will be replaced by other players pretty easily.

To your point her leadership will be tougher to lose but I think we have more than enough talent between Paige, Kaitlyn, Azzi, KK, Ali, Sarah and Morgan to make up 6 points and 6 assists per game.

I don't entirely disagree. Nika could score, but she was more valuable in other ways. Would I have liked to see her score more? Yeah, sure. But a PG doesn't really need to score more than what's required to force defenders to guard her, and Nika did this in her last two seasons. The formula for the high scoring PG is also possible, as Caitlin Clark showed. But it's not necessary, and I'd argue that it's not the best formula for team success.

I completely agree that this year's Huskies will be able to make up for the loss of Nika's leadership, and it's about time since the team was too vulnerable to her foul trouble last season. In fact, I look forward to seeing who steps up besides Paige. I'm guessing Ash will be key, since she's used to being a leader from her HS teams. KK and Kaitlyn, too, of course. We know Azzi can be a leader as she showed two years ago, but that's not necessarily her best mode. She's more the silent assassin who lights you up the second you forget about her... and I suspect teams will tend to forget about her in this lineup with Sarah and Jana occupying so much of their attention. That's when Azzi will torch them. I think we'll see a lot of faulty rotations on defense from opposing teams as they run at one of our shooters.

 

[MSGRET]

You don't think Paige is a better Point Guard than Nika?

In some ways yes, but Geno stated in Nika's Freshman year that the team was better with Nika at PG. If Geno thinks that why would I not agree.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

In some ways yes, but Geno stated in Nika's Freshman year that the team was better with Nika at PG. If Geno thinks that why would I not agree.

You seem to assume that is because of Nika's ability to play point versus Paige's instead of Nika (and other guards) inability to play other positions compared to Paige's.

 

[MSGRET]

You seem to assume that is because of Nika's ability to play point versus Paige's instead of Nika (and other guards) inability to play other positions compared to Paige's.

The team was better with Nika on the floor, PERIOD!

 

[GirlBoo1020]

The team was better with Nika on the floor, PERIOD!

Yes last year, but we are talking about this year. And I still say her offensive contributions are more than replaceable with our current roster. Her on court leadership is the only question mark in terms of who will replace it and I am confident in growth from the team to figure that out by the end of the year.

 

[Bone Dog]

Yes last year, but we are talking about this year. And I still say her offensive contributions are more than replaceable with our current roster. Her on court leadership is the only question mark in terms of who will replace it and I am confident in growth from the team to figure that out by the end of the year.

Geno said this in Nika’s freshman year. Leadership isn’t just about barking out orders, though Nika did plenty of this. It’s also about imparting a bit of fire into one’s teammates and Nika had plenty of fire to go around.

Which is why your second question is such a good one. Where will the fire come from? Paige can impart some fire, but others will have to bring some fire, too. I suspect one reason Jana will see a lot of minutes is because she is FIERCE. I like to think of her as “Big Nika.” If you watch the Egyptian team from last summer you can see it.

 

[Alydar]

I don't entirely disagree. Nika could score, but she was more valuable in other ways. Would I have liked to see her score more? Yeah, sure. But a PG doesn't really need to score more than what's required to force defenders to guard her, and Nika did this in her last two seasons. The formula for the high scoring PG is also possible, as Caitlin Clark showed. But it's not necessary, and I'd argue that it's not the best formula for team success.

I completely agree that this year's Huskies will be able to make up for the loss of Nika's leadership, and it's about time since the team was too vulnerable to her foul trouble last season. In fact, I look forward to seeing who steps up besides Paige. I'm guessing Ash will be key, since she's used to being a leader from her HS teams. KK and Kaitlyn, too, of course. We know Azzi can be a leader as she showed two years ago, but that's not necessarily her best mode. She's more the silent assassin who lights you up the second you forget about her... and I suspect teams will tend to forget about her in this lineup with Sarah and Jana occupying so much of their attention. That's when Azzi will torch them. I think we'll see a lot of faulty rotations on defense from opposing teams as they run at one of our shooters.

Fudd is fully skilled. Geno said she was a better defender than Bueckers in her freshman season. Her shooting dominates most comments about her.

UConn's line up has the potential to be an historic scoring machine IF they develop chemistry. The freshmen are all reported to have high BBIQ's and if they "get it" quickly UConn will be tough to beat. Bueckers will find great shots for great shooters and UConn has an amazing group of shooters right now.

 

[Majic Hands]

You seem to assume that is because of Nika's ability to play point versus Paige's instead of Nika (and other guards) inability to play other positions compared to Paige's.

Some folks don’t seem to understand that a coach or general organize their assets to create the most effective & efficient group possible to improve their likelihood of success.

When you look back at what Nika brought to the team and what Paige brought to the team Nika as a 1 and Paige as a 2, 3, or even a 4 is a no brainer.

Some coaches are playing chess and some stay at the remedial level.

 

[oldhusky]

The team was better with Nika on the floor, PERIOD!

You are both right here in your own way. I think the decision back then was that Geno concluded first that the team was better with Nika on the floor. Once he decided she would be on the floor with Paige, he realized that Nika is much better as a PG than a SG, while Paige can be great at either, or as she has shown since even at SF or to a lessor extent at PF.

It is not who is the best PG, but rather given the 5 that are on the floor, what is the most effective position distribution. From that standpoint it was clear that PG Nika and SG Paige was much better than the other way around, even though Paige is obviously better than Nika at either position.

For this year Paige is certainly the best player at 1-3, and possibly even the 4 but Sarah might be the best there. There could be a similar situation this year if KK or Kaitlin starts. Both of them can probably play off the ball better than Nika, but still because Paige is so great at three positions, if KK or kaitlin are in the game they should probably play the point, with Paige at the 3 and maybe Azzi at the 2. Azzi and Paige together means Azzi should be the 2, and Paige either the 1 or 3, but Azzi is clearly a 2, not quite good enough a rebounder for the 3 or passer for the 1.

In essence whether we are talking about Nika, KK, Kaitlin, Azzi, or any of the others, Paige's incredible play anywhere enables the other players to mostly stay at their best positions, which is worth a lot.

 

[jdote33]

Im being a bit lazy but by the numbers I wonder how good of a shooting team UConn has been since 2020. We've had some great shooters but they've struggled with health. Many point to the lack of a dominant big but could the issue in most recent years have been inconsistent perimeter shooting. What's interesting is that's really what pushed South Carolina to a new level last season. It's also what I worry about objectively with some of the other top teams in the country. Like does Notre Dame have good enough perimeter shooting. Same question with Texas and USC. I think UConn is pretty hard to assess. Like how many of the team's shooters will be +40 percent from 3 this upcoming season. How many will be +35 percent. Then how many will be above 30 percent.

 

[hoophuskee]

UCONN had 3 pg's in their lineup at the same time for most of the game and their assist-to-turnover ratio wound up being 1.51. Their EFG% was 55.43%. Their 3 title years and the two years that followed (they were undefeated in reg. season these 2 years),, their assists to turnover was between 1.75 to 1.94. Their EFG% was between 59% to 60.5%% with the exception of 13-14 at 56.99% because Tuck and KML missed a lot of time.

Their assist-to-turnover ratio affects their EFG' % and vice-versa. Looking at the 4 years they were healthy with their elite teams from 14-15 thru 17-18 as an average their overall assist-to-turnovers were 1.84, and their EFG% was 59.58%. And all these teams (2 lost in Final Four) would have had much better overall Defenses. So, the Offense will have to be elite to be similar to our past super teams and make up for a lesser Defense. Therefore efficiency in scoring is most important. And their two least efficient shooters that will most certainly be required to score are KK and Kaitlyn. IMO in big games both these guards have to limit their "acrobatic less-efficient" 2 point shots and get the ball to the more projected efficient scorers.

The efficient scorers imo are a healthy Paige and Azzi and because they would be so efficient, Sarah I view as a 3rd efficient scorer (ofc other possibilties. These are just my picks.) playing off of the focus the other teams will naturally apply to Paige and a healthy Azzi. Then on the flip-side, if these players are efficient, then they make players like KK and Kaitlyn become much more efficient than they were in the past in terms of both scoring and passing. As a result, the team assist-to-turnover ratio and EFG% will spike to the level of 14-15 thru 17-18. At that level, they are no longer getting beaten handily and have a shot for greatness keeping in mind that the Offense overall needs to be great because the Defense inside is so young and probably can be exploited by some of the more quality experienced teams on occasion.

 

[hoophuskee]

Im being a bit lazy but by the numbers I wonder how good of a shooting team UConn has been since 2020. We've had some great shooters but they've struggled with health. Many point to the lack of a dominant big but could the issue in most recent years have been inconsistent perimeter shooting. What's interesting is that's really what pushed South Carolina to a new level last season. It's also what I worry about objectively with some of the other top teams in the country. Like does Notre Dame have good enough perimeter shooting. Same question with Texas and USC. I think UConn is pretty hard to assess. Like how many of the team's shooters will be +40 percent from 3 this upcoming season. How many will be +35 percent. Then how many will be above 30 percent.

Balance on Offense not just 3pt shooting.

From 14-15 thru 17-18 UCONN shot 59.5% from 2 and 39.79% from 3.

The best 2pt shooter for UCONN was Edwards at 59.3% and next was Paige at 58.83 (maybe a non-scorer was higher hitting some layups).

the 2pt shooting goes hand-in-hand with 3pt shooting. To be "great" the 2pt shooting efficiency plays off of the effectiveness of the 3pt shooting and vice-vera. OFC on a given day you can either be just hot or just off. And these players aren't pros.

 

[#12in21]

You seem to assume that is because of Nika's ability to play point versus Paige's instead of Nika (and other guards) inability to play other positions compared to Paige's.

Nika is gone. This year's team has exceptional talent and, if healthy, should be able to put all the pieces together to raise a 12th banner. I've been off the Boneyard a bit but after visiting a couple other topics today I hit this current page to catch up on folks thoughts. Ironically, after the women is gone - a non factor this season on UCONN wcbb, I'm still reading some of the same garbage about Nika. Definitely, not calling you out specially GirlBoo1020.

Basketball being a team sport is very reliant on chemistry and complimentary talent for team success. All star teams do not usually make for the greatest success. Putting the five players on the floor that mesh to give the best outcome is the challenge. The discussions about Nika's talent compared to Paige, Azzi or who ever miss the point. Geno saw it, said it and I believe does not question his statement that the team was better with Nika on the floor. He said it multiple seasons, including both her Freshman and Senior seasons when Paige was on the floor with her.

He also said as well, you need a player like Nika Mühl to win a championship. She consistently rose to the challenges the coaches, situations and the team presented to her. She was never the star, never considered herself as that or expected anyone else to. But she gave everything she had, played a unique role and she was extremely valuable to her team's success over her Uconn career, Geno, the other coaches and her teammates clearly saw and believed this. As some have throughout her career at UCONN, to off handedly discount her contributions and achievements as something anyone else put in her position, in the past or future, could/would match is simply incorrect.

The facts that Nika led her team in minutes the past two seasons, was twice named BE DPOY, left as the single game, single season (surpassing Sue Bird'sprevious record in each of her last two seasons) and career assist leader, had more multiple assist games (by a big margin) than any UCONN player and finished second to Caitlyn Clark in NCAA single season assists in both her Junior and Senior seasons, would support the argument that it's disingenuous to suggest that anyone in her circumstances could or would accomplish the same.

Having gotten that off my chest. I am very excited to see how things play out this season with such a tremendously deep, diverse and talented rooster. Nobody returning will have quite the same role as they have had in the past and none of the new players will replicate the exact role any past player has played. If we remain healthy the coaching staff will have so many great options and looks to put on the floor. I hope to see everybody excel in whatever their individual roles will be and to see how they mesh as a team.

Nobody is going to want to face us in March and April! This season should be a blast.

 

[Alydar]

Im being a bit lazy but by the numbers I wonder how good of a shooting team UConn has been since 2020. We've had some great shooters but they've struggled with health. Many point to the lack of a dominant big but could the issue in most recent years have been inconsistent perimeter shooting. What's interesting is that's really what pushed South Carolina to a new level last season. It's also what I worry about objectively with some of the other top teams in the country. Like does Notre Dame have good enough perimeter shooting. Same question with Texas and USC. I think UConn is pretty hard to assess. Like how many of the team's shooters will be +40 percent from 3 this upcoming season. How many will be +35 percent. Then how many will be above 30 percent.

The lack of elite perimeter shooters is the only reason Bueckers hasn't been the starting pg for her entire career. But the talent on the outside was there. Both Fudd and Ducharme have been elite 3pt shooters and scorers but have been essentially unavailable for 2 seasons. Their return is still not assured but there are other options. Both Strong and Ziebell are elite 3pt shooters and play at an advanced level due to being exposed to the game at an early age by parents. Most evaluators use the phrase "high BBIQ" in their writeups. That doesn't mean they will start. Even UConn's stars have needed defensive improvement and with their depth this year no one will start unless they are a + defender. But both Strong and Ziebell can come off the bench and provide instant offense much like Muhl and Griffin provided defensive effort as freshmen coming off the bench. Cheli is another "ready to play" freshman, something that has been becoming more common in recent years.
The potential of this team is staggering but the last three years have many fans scared and scarred. Nothing is assured but the smart money is on a memorable season.

 

[Bone Dog]

The potential of this team is staggering but the last three years have many fans scared and scarred. Nothing is assured but the smart money is on a memorable season.

Exactly. This is why so many of us on the BY are nervous about shouting from the rooftops what we all must be able to see. This is a great roster!

 

[HuskyNan]

Nika's graduated and people are still taking shots at her