In defense of Nika

[Cuango]

I suggest a trip to the dictionary for some on this board. As a preview though, You will find that there is a huge difference between “hate”and “criticism”. People who point out the team’s and Nika’s struggles with turnovers this season and comment that Nika is not a “press breaking” PG are not haters. Nika has done a great job this year. I don’t like to think about what would have happened without her.

However, she too has weaknesses and parts of her game that need improvement.
Personally, I was not very surprised by the OSU loss as their strength coincided with our weakness. Of course, we could still have won but some other player/s needed to play well besides Lou. They didn’t and we could not overcome the turnovers and foul trouble on AE.

I’m not sure where some are finding all this”hate” but since I faithfully read virtually everything on the Boneyard, I can only assume you are reading other sources or, more likely, are having yet another hysterical reaction to some (very little that I’ve seen) criticism regarding Nika’s (and the team as a whole) objective struggles against OSU.

As for whether Nika starts at PG next season, the only person who knows that is Geno, and he likely doesn’t know yet either. This team has talent everywhere! I can’t remember a team that had more talent (some of it unproven to be sure) than next season’s roster! Assuming Paige is fully healthy she will be, at the very least, one of the top three PGs (and SGs) in the country. She is better than Nika at very single thing on a basketball court except for defense and it’s not as though she (Paige) is a huge defensive liability either!

Azzi (healthy) is arguably the best 2 in the country, certainly top two or three. Caroline (healthy) essentially carried our team for several games in the dark days of Covid. Aaliyah is likely to be a top three PF next season and we have Ice, Jana, and Amari to plug in at the five. I expect either Ice or Jana (perhaps both) to be solid contributors next year.

On top of that we have backups for some of those players, who could easily be starters! PG-Nika nuff said, Ines, and KK, SG- Paige, Ashlynn, KK, SF/Wing- Aubrey, Quadence, Ashlynn, PF- Ice, Ayanna, Aubrey, Quadence, Center-Ice, Jana, or Amari! Obviously, this is all self-evident to all of us but my point in listing it out is this; we are so talented that anyone on thi team with the exception of Paige, Azzi, and Aaliyah could conceivably be asked to come off the bench next season! Now I’m not saying she will, but to deny the legitimate possibility that Nika could/should come off the bench next season is just silly!

I think it will ultimately be determined largely by three players. If Paige, Azzi, and Caroline show up in November as the best version of themselves, they will start along with Aubrey and Aaliyah. That’s my prediction. If one or more are still not 100%, then it will be “Katy bar the door” and Nika will almost definitely start. Finally, Geno may mix and match according to who we are playing as well.

Nika has already earned her place as a beloved Husky! That will continue to be true whether she starts or not. No one can deny, or wishes to, from what I can tell, that she has been the most influential player this season! However, much of that opportunity came about because of injuries. To deny that is simply denying reality. This would have been a very different year for her (and everyone) if Paige, Azzi, And Caroline had all been 100%! Hopefully, next season will give us a fully healthy roster and we will finally see the answer to the great question of our time; “Who will be UConn’s starting point guard?”
“
Will it be Nika, will it be Paige?
Here is what Geno says.
Que sera sera, Whatever will be, will be,
The future’s not ours to see,
Que sera sera, what will be, will be!

I wish all my fellow UConn fans all the very best! Have a great, anticipatory off-season, stay healthy and God Bless!
Thanks to Nan and all the moderators for maintaining this site!

 

[tchalla1]

Not everyone that criticizes is a hater. People use that term a little too freely

Thank you again for pointing this out--regardless of how carefully you provide a constructive critique of players and overall team play, it is labeled as hating by a lot of the BY-ers here. If you simply say that Nika had more TOs than points, which is an immutable fact--it's, why are you hating on Nika? if you say, the team looked rattled against OSU's press--you're reminded what an injury-riddled season it's been and cut them a break...

 

[Happydad745]

Speculate all you want....Next year, if Paige and Azzi are healthy, anything can happen. Who cares who starts a PG, as long as this team can win a National Championship, that is all that matters.

 

[hoopsfan22]

When Lou was added to the team, Geno knew what he had and said that players who started last year shouldn't just assume they will start this year (or something to that effect). I'd like to see what KK can do- nothing wrong with a little competition and adding more offense.

Transfers are a bit of a different situation though. In Lou Geno was adding someone with 4 years of college experience. With incoming recruits he's adding players with 4 years of high school experience.

 

[Rowdy831]

Nika is a defense oriented PG as opposed to a PG that knows how to be a scorer.
Here's a comparison of Nika to UCLA freshman PG Kiki Rice.

Player - Nika - Kiki
Games-36----36
Avg.
Mins---36.6 --27.9
FGM----84----148
3PT-----37----13
FT-------51---153
PTS-----256--430
PPG
Avg,-----7.1--11.6
RB's-----145--161
PF's------84---85
Ass'ts---284--111
TO's-----127---61
Steals-----50---45
Blocks------5---20

What's evident from these stats is that Kiki knows how to draw fouls and get to the foul line to score points.
Kiki scored an average of 4.5 more points per game while playing 8.7 less minutes per game.
Kiki is only a freshman PG and already knew how to score more points than Nika who is a junior. with 3 years of PG experience.
Plus Kiki committed less than 1/2 the number of TO's.

Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics

@description

uconnhuskies.com

2022-23 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics

The official 2022-23 Women's Basketball cumulative statistics for the UCLA Bruins

uclabruins.com

I don't think your stats really say that to me. Nika was asked to play too many minutes on a team that didn't need her to score. Her assists are way better and she wasn't on a team that required Nika to score while UCLA was a very guard heavy team. Nika has been back to back defensive player of the year in her league so I would say she has done a remarkable job.

 

[Rowdy831]

That is true. But 26 turnovers leaves a potential 52 to 78 points on the floor if the TOs are evenn17!9t so that’s 9 less possessions for OSU abd 9 more for us. Our D was actually pretty good that we lost by 12 with Aaliyah on the pine for a lot of the game and lousy foul shooting. The whole team pretty much had a hand in the turnovers.

Also, I know she can make some 3s, but Dorka shooting them with a lot of time left on the clock i would think should have been at best option 3 or 4.

But our disappointing year is most program’s-dream year. I’m rooting fir Iowa. Clark is theur version of Diana. Different style, same impact. Fun to watch.

I agree with your assessment of the turnovers. But watching the game they beat the press a lot of times and then turned the ball over. My disappointment was they didn't attack the rim when they got past the defense. Lost opportunities for fast break points and fouls.

 

[TCC Kid]

It didn't take long for the Nika haters to come forth with the premise that we need another PG next year, and it was mostly her fault that we couldn't break the Ohio State press. LOL. Did you guys watch the game? With all the pressure defensives I've seen in all my years, I'm pretty sure one person cannot break a press by themselves. This was a great press by OS, but to break it players have to move towards the ball to get a pass, hell, just move period. Everybody just stood still, waiting for Nika, and any other player to pass the ball to them. Except, nobody did that, just stood around, not giving the ball handler an option.
What's done is done, and I believe in Nika, and for the most part, most of the BYers also do. She will be our PG next year, with Paige and Azzi flanking her for the best backcourt in WBB. How can everyone forget what she accomplished this year, BE DPOY again, breaking Sues assist record, and that's hard to do when the options of good shooters were not abundant. She only missed one game during her concussion protocol, and who knows if she was completely healed. She is a fighter, she is UConn, and no one took losing harder than she did. Don't look at one game, look at the season. For most of the season we depended on 5 players, and they were winners for the most part. All 5 players gave it their all, and Nika ensured that they were dialed in for every game. Next year is her last, and she will be our PG, no question. If some of you still can't see that, then you never will. For most of us, we do see that, and she will IMHO, along with Paige, Azzi, Aubrey, Caroline, and the rest of our crew, bring the NC back to Storrs. God forbid injuries again hit us, and if they don't, we will be hard to stop, and I think we will have the best team since the Stewie years. On to next year, and as always, Go Huskies.

 

[Stinger92860]

I see the starters next season as Nika, Paige, Azzi, Aubrey, and Aaliyah. Caroline and Ayanna first off the bench. Maybe Ice overtakes Ayanna at some point in the big rotation, but she's coming in with zero experience while Ayanna has a season under her belt and that counts for a lot when making the high school to college transition.

That starting 5 are a bit small. I’m not sure either Nika or Aubrey will start, but let’s see what happens over the next 8 months.

 

[TCC Kid]

No defense of ANY Uconn player is needed. Much less Nika. Great play in a horrible injury prone year. Some think when Paige returns Nika shall sit---think again. Who has the experience, is the assist leader, knows this team, knows the plays, has experience ( I know it's a repeat--meant to be). Paige WAS a higher level player. We'll see--so don't shoot Nika just yet, you never know when she'll be needed.
I love this team. Lou, Dorka bring tears to my eyes thinking they won't be here next season. I can't wait to see IcE and DeBerry or Ms Egypt, Ines, Ayanna, the new kids--my days are speeding by too fast--yet, November seems a long way off!!

 

[TCC Kid]

I agree with your assessment of the turnovers. But watching the game they beat the press a lot of times and then turned the ball over. My disappointment was they didn't attack the rim when they got past the defense. Lost opportunities for fast break points and fouls.

ONE time --Dorka made a lay up --after breaking the press. That was the OLD GENO way of taking on a press---make it a lay up contest. All actions of ANY team are not theirs alone--the opponent sometimes determines what they can and cannot do.

 

[bovwa10]

I saw KK and Shade. Was NOT impressed. Neither did anything to stand out like many of the other girls did. KK had 3 fould and a Technical. Shade took one shot and missed. They might have been dynamo's in high school but college at the D-1 level is a totally different animal.

Mikayla Williams was so impressive

 

[hoopsfan22]

That starting 5 are a bit small. I’m not sure either Nika or Aubrey will start, but let’s see what happens over the next 8 months.

Geno has a penchant for seniority like most coaches, and short of anything crazy happening over the summer (not gonna jinx it), I expect him to continue that tradition. That's about all the thought I put into it.

 

[Huskee11]

I thought the covid year was the year prior to their arrival. when they were freshies, they lost to Arizona and then last year to SC and then this year.

The year before their arrival was 2019-2020. Covid did hit in March 2020. UConn won the AAC title convincingly against Cincinnati on 3/9/2020, ending their AAC experience undefeated over seven seasons, I think. But then everything shut down, no NCAA Tournament.

That was not a vintage UConn team but they were playing very well at the end of the year. I would have liked to have seen what they could have done.

Even though Covid hit at the end of the 2019-2020 season and caused cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, that season counted for eligibility purposes. They had already played a full regular season and most if not all conference tournaments were squeezed in as well.

It was the following season, 2020-2021, that was treated differently in order to encourage players to play in what would prove to be a very challenging season, with no crowds, postponements, cancellations, etc. The NCAA announced the rule for winter sports in October, 2020.

So bottom line, the 2020-2021 freshman season for Paige, Nika, and Aaliyah (when they lost to Arizona) didn`t count against them for eligibility purposes. It was a freebee.

 

[DennieEddy]

It didn't take long for the Nika haters to come forth with the premise that we need another PG next year, and it was mostly her fault that we couldn't break the Ohio State press. LOL. Did you guys watch the game? With all the pressure defensives I've seen in all my years, I'm pretty sure one person cannot break a press by themselves. This was a great press by OS, but to break it players have to move towards the ball to get a pass, hell, just move period. Everybody just stood still, waiting for Nika, and any other player to pass the ball to them. Except, nobody did that, just stood around, not giving the ball handler an option.
What's done is done, and I believe in Nika, and for the most part, most of the BYers also do. She will be our PG next year, with Paige and Azzi flanking her for the best backcourt in WBB. How can everyone forget what she accomplished this year, BE DPOY again, breaking Sues assist record, and that's hard to do when the options of good shooters were not abundant. She only missed one game during her concussion protocol, and who knows if she was completely healed. She is a fighter, she is UConn, and no one took losing harder than she did. Don't look at one game, look at the season. For most of the season we depended on 5 players, and they were winners for the most part. All 5 players gave it their all, and Nika ensured that they were dialed in for every game. Next year is her last, and she will be our PG, no question. If some of you still can't see that, then you never will. For most of us, we do see that, and she will IMHO, along with Paige, Azzi, Aubrey, Caroline, and the rest of our crew, bring the NC back to Storrs. God forbid injuries again hit us, and if they don't, we will be hard to stop, and I think we will have the best team since the Stewie years. On to next year, and as always, Go Huskies.

I'm at a loss of where these Nika haters surfaced? The Bald Husky was the initial poster on this thread, and not many subsequent posters followed with a negative Nika attitude.

Perhaps these haters were on other threads.

 

[bovwa10]

The year before their arrival was 2019-2020. Covid did hit in March 2020. UConn won the AAC title convincingly against Cincinnati on 3/9/2020, ending their AAC experience undefeated over seven seasons, I think. But then everything shut down, no NCAA Tournament.

That was not a vintage UConn team but they were playing very well at the end of the year. I would have liked to have seen what they could have done.

Even though Covid hit at the end of the 2019-2020 season and caused cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, that season counted for eligibility purposes. They had already played a full regular season and most if not all conference tournaments were squeezed in as well.

It was the following season, 2020-2021, that was treated differently in order to encourage players to play in what would prove to be a very challenging season, with no crowds, postponements, cancellations, etc. The NCAA announced the rule for winter sports in October, 2020.

So bottom line, the 2020-2021 freshman season for Paige, Nika, and Aaliyah (when they lost to Arizona) didn`t count against them for eligibility purposes. It was a freebee.

Oof, don’t remind of the 2019-20 season, that team just had bad mojo

 

[Martin]

After the fantastic year Nika had it didn't take long for the Nika haters to come out..it was funny because we didn't hear too much all year because they couldn't say anything without looking foolish..Nika was and will be next year the heart and soul of the team
People bring up her TO's..well her assist/to ratio is better than Amore of VT better than Olivia Miles of ND and better than the best player in WCBB Caitlin Clark
She shattered Sue Bird's assist record and set the single game assist mark but that doesn't take in account her defense..2 time BEDPOY and
the one that makes the team defense work
For anyone to even think she won't be the starting pg next year is delusional

Paige is better with the ball in her hands than not. She is their best PG. This doesn’t make me delusional or a hater.

 

[fomalhaut]

Ass'ts---284--111
TO's-----127---61

Plus Kiki committed less than 1/2 the number of TO's.

Muhl has a substantially higher assist to turnover ratio. 3 assists per game for a point guard is nothing to brag about.

By the way, Caitlin Clark probably played the greatest individual game in NCAA history last night, and had 9 turnovers.

 

[Cuango]

Muhl has a substantially higher assist to turnover ratio. 3 assists per game for a point guard is nothing to brag about.

By the way, Caitlin Clark probably played the greatest individual game in NCAA history last night, and had 9 turnovers.

Caitlin doesn’t have a better PG/player on her team. She is the best player/PG on her team just like Paige is on our team!

 

[Huskee11]

Oof, don’t remind of the 2019-20 season, that team just had bad mojo

I know they were not a vintage team and my perception is clouded somewhat by Walker`s decision to leave after the season with a year of eligibility remaining. But they were 29-3, and the three losses were to the teams ranked 1-3 in the final poll. The problem is they were all bad losses.

They ended up ranked fifth.

I saw that team`s final game in the Big East Final and they were flat out playing, admittedly against an overmatched opponent in Cincinnati. I don`t think they would have won it all but they would very likely have made it to the Final Four.

 

[Rb335]

Comparing Georgia Amoore against Nika/Azzi versus the OSU press is eye opening to be honest. She made breaking it look like easy work.

You can’t deny we were lacking that guard play in the Sweet 16. For that reason, I think so much hinges on a healthy Bueckers. And further a healthy Fudd. Nika will play a big role, but I don’t see it being nearly as big as this season.

 

[JBK]

Paige, possibly ahead of KK Arnold? I hope that was a misstatement.

First, let's recap. Nika will start and be the primary ball handler. Paige slots into Lou's spot, which would have been hers if she did not get injured this season. There will be multiple times when Paige handles the ball, particularly pushing an up-tempo offense. I envision more of a shoot-more role for Paige in the upcoming season, as part of a two-headed monster with Azzi. Certainly, Paige will facilitate, but her ability to shoot, penetrate, and create her own shot creates opportunities for everyone on the floor.

A three-guard offense would imply a need for another "big" alongside Aaliyah, who is best suited as a power forward or a "4."

While Arnold maybe very talented, there are experienced, talented players in front of her. There are only so many minutes of playing time available, and if you know Geno's history, starters get the bulk of playing time. Furthermore, Aubrey and Caroline will demand PT, filling in various roles and positions as well.

So, unless the team is in a blowout, I am having a hard time seeing where minutes come for the incoming freshmen, other than Jana & Ice Brady (essentially a freshman since she missed this season). The center or "5" spot, replacing Dorka is the most pressing position to fill for next year with the caveat that everyone will be healthy.

That’s what I love about this site. It allows all of us to give our opinions and thoughts on the team we enjoy rooting for and watching.
I just do not know how we can pick a starting line up next year without ever seeing some of the players coming in. We all have our loyalty and respect for effort and hard work, but must wait and see the talent level next year.
In reading the post last year, no one had Lou as a dominate offensive starter. They all had CD ahead of her. Quick question
If Lou had one more year, who would you have starting - Lou or CD. Lou or Nika
Lou or Azzi or Paige. We do not have that decision to make but some player will surprise USA next year. My point is maybe
A. Shade is the next Lou and we do know yet
I hope we would all agree that we need to cut down our turnovers. Whomever can lead this team and cut our turnovers under 10 should play the point.
Maybe it will be Paige KK or Nika. I would guess one thing - they will all get adequate time to play. Maybe Nika and KK play together at times and we have an awesome full court press
Also, unless we adjust our standards that a NC defines a great season at UCONN we need more offense, less turnovers ( better decision making ) and more domination on the offensive boards.
Fact
Iowa and VT broke OState press so easily - they took off the press in a few minutes .
We can look at this years final four and we can all debate whether a point guard needs to be an offensive threat or not.
With that said, It is a long off season and players improve greatly in the upcoming months. I would never have guessed that Nika would set the all time assist record this year and I am excited to see what she brings to the team next year. I believe she is too unselfish and could be incredibly effective driving to the hoop. I would guess she would like add a pull up to keep the defense honest as well. We cannot have defenses cheating the way they did this past year.
The great news is that we have all of the pieces to be very good next year and should be another exciting season

 

[freshler40]

Comparing Georgia Amoore against Nika/Azzi versus the OSU press is eye opening to be honest. She made breaking it look like easy work.

You can’t deny we were lacking that guard play in the Sweet 16. For that reason, I think so much hinges on a healthy Bueckers. And further a healthy Fudd. Nika will play a big role, but I don’t see it being nearly as big as this season.

Good observation. I watched the first half of the Ohio State game. The press was broken with the dribbling guard quickly moving down the court after any passes inbound. Ohio State also quickly put away the great press they had but reinstated it in the half court game against the center for Va Tech with some effectiveness. It was an Interesting game of defensive efforts.

The women's game is growing rapidly with a lot of talent. This includes the coaches for the top teams and adjustments they are able to make with the better players in the game. Women's college basketball is healthy as shown by the many upsets and difficulty getting past the round of 16.

 

[jazz]

Paige, possibly ahead of KK Arnold? I hope that was a misstatement.

First, let's recap. Nika will start and be the primary ball handler. Paige slots into Lou's spot, which would have been hers if she did not get injured this season. There will be multiple times when Paige handles the ball, particularly pushing an up-tempo offense. I envision more of a shoot-more role for Paige in the upcoming season, as part of a two-headed monster with Azzi. Certainly, Paige will facilitate, but her ability to shoot, penetrate, and create her own shot creates opportunities for everyone on the floor.

A three-guard offense would imply a need for another "big" alongside Aaliyah, who is best suited as a power forward or a "4."

While Arnold maybe very talented, there are experienced, talented players in front of her. There are only so many minutes of playing time available, and if you know Geno's history, starters get the bulk of playing time. Furthermore, Aubrey and Caroline will demand PT, filling in various roles and positions as well.

So, unless the team is in a blowout, I am having a hard time seeing where minutes come for the incoming freshmen, other than Jana & Ice Brady (essentially a freshman since she missed this season). The center or "5" spot, replacing Dorka is the most pressing position to fill for next year with the caveat that everyone will be healthy.

No misstatement. Paige can play either point or shooting guard. GA doesn't play a bench when there is a big drop-off from the starters - which is normally the case but not always. He has in the past used players who you can even argue could have started coming off the bench - Sales comes to mind. I think KK will play and by year end, if she progresses, will play double digit minutes. She looks to have something that the rest of our guards don't quite have - electric speed and quickness, which breaks down defenses and makes it easier for everybody to be effective, not to mention she is a good, tough finisher.

We will see on how much AG or even CD plays. I love AG but I think GA would like to use her in short spurts. I'm not as high on CD due to lack of defensive quickness, but GA seems to like her and, despite missing a lot of shots, he still keeps her in, valueing the stretching of the defense. That said, I still like CD, just a lot better when she is hitting her shots. She rebounds pretty well also. I think you have to 'hide' her a bit on defense.

I hope Ice is a player, but we could have a slow transition to contributing like with Yana this year. Not sure what to expect out of Jana. I do think bigs often take a while to adjust defensively, especially if they are a bit passive (Amari). I hope Jana can adjust quickly.

We will see next year...

 

[jazz]

The year before their arrival was 2019-2020. Covid did hit in March 2020. UConn won the AAC title convincingly against Cincinnati on 3/9/2020, ending their AAC experience undefeated over seven seasons, I think. But then everything shut down, no NCAA Tournament.

That was not a vintage UConn team but they were playing very well at the end of the year. I would have liked to have seen what they could have done.

Even though Covid hit at the end of the 2019-2020 season and caused cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, that season counted for eligibility purposes. They had already played a full regular season and most if not all conference tournaments were squeezed in as well.

It was the following season, 2020-2021, that was treated differently in order to encourage players to play in what would prove to be a very challenging season, with no crowds, postponements, cancellations, etc. The NCAA announced the rule for winter sports in October, 2020.

So bottom line, the 2020-2021 freshman season for Paige, Nika, and Aaliyah (when they lost to Arizona) didn`t count against them for eligibility purposes. It was a freebee.

Thanks for the clarification. Maybe we get an extra year out of some of these players.....

 

[wingsfan055]

Nika had a good year, but IMO, Nika is a perfect "6th man" coming off the bench at PG. She is a good facilitator, defender, and brings high energy. Obviously, she was asked to do too much this year (36 minutes a game!) due to all the perimeter players' injuries. But, she also has weaknesses that good teams exploited.

She had way too many forced TOs, trying to do too much when nothing was there. She's not quick or strong enough to consistently beat her man off the dribble and attack the rim as a scoring threat. She hasnt developed a mid-range shot to keep the defenses honest. As a result, defenders would lay off of her and double team the "shooters" or the passing lanes inside. And, her defense really tailed off during the season. She's not long, and frankly the fatigue factor probably caught up with her.

Again, as I've said before, Geno needs to get much faster and athletic on the perimeter. Hopefully, we get reinforcements next year that will help Nika out.

 

[jfan]

After the fantastic year Nika had it didn't take long for the Nika haters to come out..it was funny because we didn't hear too much all year because they couldn't say anything without looking foolish..Nika was and will be next year the heart and soul of the team
People bring up her TO's..well her assist/to ratio is better than Amore of VT better than Olivia Miles of ND and better than the best player in WCBB Caitlin Clark
She shattered Sue Bird's assist record and set the single game assist mark but that doesn't take in account her defense..2 time BEDPOY and
the one that makes the team defense work
For anyone to even think she won't be the starting pg next year is delusional

Sorry, Nika won't be the starting point guard, Paige will. When you get your star point guard back from injury, she retains her spot back. That's automatic from any head coach.

 

[BobbyJ]

No misstatement. Paige can play either point or shooting guard. GA doesn't play a bench when there is a big drop-off from the starters - which is normally the case but not always. He has in the past used players who you can even argue could have started coming off the bench - Sales comes to mind. I think KK will play and by year end, if she progresses, will play double digit minutes. She looks to have something that the rest of our guards don't quite have - electric speed and quickness, which breaks down defenses and makes it easier for everybody to be effective, not to mention she is a good, tough finisher.

We will see on how much AG or even CD plays. I love AG but I think GA would like to use her in short spurts. I'm not as high on CD due to lack of defensive quickness, but GA seems to like her and, despite missing a lot of shots, he still keeps her in, valueing the stretching of the defense. That said, I still like CD, just a lot better when she is hitting her shots. She rebounds pretty well also. I think you have to 'hide' her a bit on defense.

I hope Ice is a player, but we could have a slow transition to contributing like with Yana this year. Not sure what to expect out of Jana. I do think bigs often take a while to adjust defensively, especially if they are a bit passive (Amari). I hope Jana can adjust quickly.

We will see next year...

All good points. A couple comments on the bolded lines. 1) I also really like Arnold's physical game and skills. I think she has a mental adjustment to make that will determine her PT depending on how long it takes to make. The holes and gaps she exploits with her quickness and handle now in the halfcourt are going to shrink and close quickly in college. Her decision making of when to go and ability to handle a lot more physicality will be key for her. Plus she can get a little sloppy with the ball because of her HS advantages and will need to protect it better at this level. 2) Fundamentally, Brady was much further along coming in than Patterson to play inside. Her footwork, positioning, and especially passing and shooting were all much more college ready. I believe her ability to contribute will develop faster than Patterson's was and the year of watching, learning, and applying will be very beneficial to her as well.

 

[Bone Dog]

I’m glad this was really a thread about who’s going to be in the rotation next year and not just about criticizing Nika. And I agree with several that we didn’t break the press because the team became stagnant, not because of anything Nika did.

Beginning of the year, the starters will be Nika Paige Azzi Aaliyah and Caroline.

First off the bench will be Aubrey Ice Ayanna Jana.

Second off the bench will be KK Ashlynn Inês Q and Amari.

There’s no telling how this lineup will evolve, but I hope we go deeper than past years and that injuries don’t limit us.

If we end up playing just 7 by March, who that 7 is will be situational. Do we need speed or size in a given game?

 

[BBallF]

First of all, I love Nika and so does my entire family. That said, she, like everyone else, needs to work on certain parts of her game. She needs to practice stepping into the pass to get her feet set ahead of her shot on a 3. She also needs to develop a true vertical pull up jumper off the dribble. Finally, she needs to work on twisting her right hand ever so slightly on a layup especially on a breakaway or hard drive so that the ball doesn't career off the glass too hard. The judgment on passing will improve naturally and if not, that can be worked on situationally also.

 

[Pharos]

Seasons change... The Earth pursues it's course... And we find magic in a smile...