Someone who may have an idea please tell me if you think Nika will be as good or better than Loren Dixon. Does she seem, based on her mix tapes, as talented at the same stage in their careers?
1. Paige has spent some time in the weight room.First thing I noticed was that Paige isn't nearly as skinny as she used to be. She bulked up a lot.
The “big girl” looks like a legit “big”. She maybe the surprise of the pack!
On the surface, Nika should be ahead of Dixon heading Into her freshman year simply due to her significantly more experience in Europe.Someone who may have an idea please tell me if you think Nika will be as good or better than Loren Dixon. Does she seem, based on her mix tapes, as talented at the same stage in their careers?
Maybe we can just start with some Dolson film on how to set a good screen with that body she has. I want to see a little guard chasing Chrystin get bounced by a monster screen. If she can get her teammates some open shots then she'll be doing good her freshman year.Gabriel is certainly big, and she has some great tools to work with(size, runs the court well, soft hands), but she is incredibly raw and quite new to the game(only started taking it seriously 4 years ago). I think it is unfair to expect much more than garbage minutes here and there for her this year.
Nika seems to be much more talented than Lorin Dixon. For starters Nika appears to be a much better long range shooter and more of a natural scorer. Lorin only shot 22 % on 3pt FGA for her UCONN career. Because Dixon was not a natural scorer nor an adequate deep shooter opportunities to get playing time at UCONN was limited. Nika appears to be as good defensively, a better play maker in the half court set and is versatile enough to play SG as well as PG. The one thing that is very similar is the talent that UCONN acquired while Dixon was at UCONN. As a Freshman Dixon joined a roster that already included Greene and Montgomery. The next season Doty and Hayes were added followed by Faris who was followed by Hartley. Dixon really never had a chance to establish her self as a UCONN starter because of all this talent. In fact Dixon started more games as a freshman (10) than she did for her last three years at UCONN combined (8). Dixon minutes peaked at 21MPG as a senior. I suspect if Nika were to average 20 MPG for UCONN at any point in her UCONN career she will be more productive than Dixon was as a senior where she only averaged 2.9 PPG. I'm projecting a Saniya Chong like UCONN career for Nika with better defensive efficiency.Someone who may have an idea please tell me if you think Nika will be as good or better than Loren Dixon. Does she seem, based on her mix tapes, as talented at the same stage in their careers?
I believe that Nika will have a career in a higher level than Saniya Chong. She will be playing more in her Sophomore and Junior years than Saniya.Nika seems to be much more talented than Lorin Dixon. For starters Nika appears to be a much better long range shooter and more of a natural scorer. Lorin only shot 22 % on 3pt FGA for her UCONN career. Because Dixon was not a natural scorer nor an adequate deep shooter opportunities to get playing time at UCONN was limited. Nika appears to be as good defensively, a better play maker in the half court set and is versatile enough to play SG as well as PG. The one thing that is very similar is the talent that UCONN acquired while Dixon was at UCONN. As a Freshman Dixon joined a roster that already included Greene and Montgomery. The next season Doty and Hayes were added followed by Faris who was followed by Hartley. Dixon really never had a chance to establish her self as a UCONN starter because of all this talent. In fact Dixon started more games as a freshman (10) than she did for her last three years at UCONN combined (8). Dixon minutes peaked at 21MPG as a senior. I suspect if Nika were to average 20 MPG for UCONN at any point in her UCONN career she will be more productive than Dixon was as a senior where she only averaged 2.9 PPG. I'm projecting a Saniya Chong like UCONN career for Nika with better defensive efficiency.
No...lets let her get her feet wet before we throw her into the pool...I think people are massively under selling Nika.
Saniya was a UCONN starter at the beginning of her Sophomore year before being replaced by freshman Kia Nurse. Saniya's junior season was mostly limited by an IT band injury. Even with better health I don't see Nika becoming a starter as a sophomore because......I believe that Nika will have a career in a higher level than Saniya Chong. She will be playing more in her Sophomore and Junior years than Saniya.
I think you are massively under selling her competition for minutes at UCONN.I think people are massively under selling Nika.
* Please note that the player not to be mentioned has not been.Anna, Aaliyah, and Nika have played for their National team's, what other current Husky player has done that? All three National teams that they played for are better then most college teams, so I wouldn't sell them short. Yes they will have to adapt to Geno ball but they aren't like normal Freshman. Look at Anna, at the beginning she did look like a deer in the headlights, but at the end of the season she was one of the top players on the team.No...lets let her get her feet wet before we throw her into the pool...
I don't think I've ever seen the Boneyarder's more excited about not only an upcoming season but an upcoming class. Isn't this great? Who's going to contribute the most? Who will start? Who will get the most minutes?
Can we beat the top teams on our schedule? And, because no one has mentioned it in this post, will Azzi choose Uconn? We’ll know soon.
How good UConn can be will be measured against Baylor, Louisville and South Carolina.
If they do then we would have to go back to the time we originally played in the Big East. Was it Notre Dame?Steelerone, those are the two biggest questions that loomed over this program all summer. If it was mentioned, I missed it, but I don’t recall reading a comment or concern about up coming conference play.
The $64,000 question remained consistent throughout the summer. Can this UConn team win the BIG games on their schedule this season? We were wondering then, we’re wondering now. How good UConn can be will be measured against Baylor, Louisville and South Carolina. Azzi: will she or won’t she?
It really hasn’t been a topic of discussion so far, but what are the chances UConn runs the table in conference play this year?
And the best thing is that not only do we finally have some height but they are athletic.Me too. First thing that hit me about this group shot. Want to see her contributing on the floor this year.
Nice pic. It will be a big help in recognizing who is on the floor when watching a game on TV. During a game I track by quarter UConn player's baskets made (and whether 3 or 2 pt), free throws made and fouls. Generally it takes a few games for me to recognize the new players if I can't see their number. Maybe this year will be a faster learning curve.
A comment on the pic at the Instagram site was that Nike swoosh on Aaliyah's socks are upside down. How is that even possible?
She has the top inch of the sock folded over.A comment on the pic at the Instagram site was that Nike swoosh on Aaliyah's socks are upside down. How is that even possible?
Kids these days, what are ya gonna do?!How did CD miss Aaliyah's sock scandal?Maybe it is a canadian pushback?
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Nika will be 1st off the bench or starting by the end of the season. Great court vision & she makes her teammates better. Hard to "teach" that at 17.
Nika will be 1st off the bench or starting by the end of the season. Great court vision & she makes her teammates better. Hard to "teach" that at 17.