In defense of Nika

[Bald Husky]

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.

 

[meyers7]

Don't know if Muhl needs defending. She had a fantastic year.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I don't know why we need to defend anyone. The team made it to the sweet sixteen without their best player and their second best player for most of the year. Add in all of the other adversity, and it was a miracle just winning the Big East and getting this far.

 

[Happydad745]

Nika did a great job this year at PG, her turnover rate was a little high, and some games she had too many fouls, but she did have a record number for assists and lead UConn to a great season considering all the injuries. Paige Bueckers is also a great PG and it is up to Geno to figure out which one works best for the team.

 

[BRS24]

Last night, after hearing a reference to Hailey Van Lith's total playing time at least once, I looked at the stats, and both she and Nika played at least 35.5 MPG on average. If Nika had not gotten injured vs Princeton, her numbers would have been the same if not slightly higher than HVLs, as she lost approx 1.5 games. Needless to say, I'm impressed with anyone that can play that quantity of minutes for 36/37 games. Bravo!

 

[sun]

I think that Azzi also received unfair criticism yet had a relatively productive game under the circumstances by playing with a knee brace & despite not returning until the BE Tourney
Posters have said that Dorka & Lou played the best game, yet Azzi led the team in steals, tied Dorka for blocks & was the 2nd highest scorer.
IMO it's doubtful that Nika will be playing a full 40 minutes in the Sweet 16 next year, the PG position will be a shared position & up for grabs because there will be more guards getting PT.

Player - Nika - Azzi
Mins - 40 ----38
RB's ---2------3
PF's ----3------2
Ass'ts---5-----1
TO's ----7-----4
Blocks---0-----2
Steals----0----5
Points----3----14

Women's Basketball vs Ohio St. on 03/25/23 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

University of Connecticut Athletics

uconnhuskies.com

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

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.

There are always SOME people who just have to point a finger at someone when a loss like this happens that ends a season. It is just plain silly!!! Nika has been one of the hardest workers and hardest playing members of the Team throughout her 3 years at UCONN. Geno is happy she chose UCONN, and I am too.

Haters gonna hate...??? There is NO reason for it. The Team thought they were prepared for what OSU was going to present, but OSU had another idea and the result is the result. Post Mortems have no real purpose!

The Coaches and Team will learn from this and prepare for more in the next season.

GO HUSKIES

 

[Rowdy831]

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 watched the game a couple times and I didn't think the press was as problematic as UCONN just not hitting shots they usually hit. It wasn't just one player either, they all had moments they could have made a huge impact on the game and simply couldn't get it done. Nika made her share of mistakes but she is the tip of the spear against any pressure defense so that is expected.

 

[Rowdy831]

UCONN had three or four chances to put real pressure on Ohio State and couldn't get the shot to fall. They had 3 or 4 shots early on wide open threes that would have put Ohio State down double digits and they just bounced off. They had chances in the 3rd quarter when they were making a run to cut it 4 and missed a couple and Ohio State hit them.

It just wasn't their day on Saturday and you have those days. In the aftermath though I thought Geno looked relieved that all the crazy streaks were over and they can get to starting another one. That was a lot of pressure on the team that was above and beyond what any other team has had to carry. They will be back.

 

[HuskyNan]

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.

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

 

[PvP]

There are always SOME people who just have to point a finger at someone when a loss like this happens that ends a season. It is just plain silly!!! Nika has been one of the hardest workers and hardest playing members of the Team throughout her 3 years at UCONN. Geno is happy she chose UCONN, and I am too.

Haters gonna hate...??? There is NO reason for it. The Team thought they were prepared for what OSU was going to present, but OSU had another idea and the result is the result. Post Mortems have no real purpose!

The Coaches and Team will learn from this and prepare for more in the next season.

GO HUSKIES

Post Mortems have no real purpose?? Really? No need to learn from our mistakes??

Nika's already annointed as next year's PG. This despite the fact that even she acknowledges that she is the second best PG on the team?

Well, I guess that fits the thinking, or lack thereof, that says post mortems have no purpose.

 

[Centerstream]

It's deja vu all over again.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Post Mortems have no real purpose?? Really? No need to learn from our mistakes??

Nika's already annointed as next year's PG. This despite the fact that even she acknowledges that she is the second best PG on the team?

Well, I guess that fits the thinking, or lack thereof, that says post mortems have no purpose.

We're still doing this "Nika isn't our PG" thing even after 3 years?

 

[sun]

The reality is that as an AA Edwards became the leader & go to player on the court.
And when she was taken out of the game UConn was without a major scoring option.
No one else was able to make up for Edwards' missing point production.

 

[Pharos]

Last night, after hearing a reference to Hailey Van Lith's total playing time at least once, I looked at the stats, and both she and Nika played at least 35.5 MPG on average. If Nika had not gotten injured vs Princeton, her numbers would have been the same if not slightly higher than HVLs, as she lost approx 1.5 games. Needless to say, I'm impressed with anyone that can play that quantity of minutes for 36/37 games. Bravo!

Sorry... who's Hailey Van Lith?

 

[hoopsfan22]

Sorry... who's Hailey Van Lith?

Hailey Van Lith

 

[browns]

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

 

[Pharos]

The people we write about are wonderful basketball players. Cream of the crop. Exceptional. AND... they are young... not to excuse... just to remind... Think about the 18-23-year olds that you know... : )

 

[ballerfan]

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.

No question? I like the idea of Nika and Paige on the floor together, as they were their freshman year, and Nika does not need to be defended. She’s great. But I suspect Geno will start Paige as PG. Geno has talked about how Paige, unlike others on the team, sees the problems on the floor and can fix them. A combination of high BBIQ and leadership. Maybe Paige can do that at the 2, but it’s the PG that runs the offense. We’ll see. I like Nika, though.

 

[cohenzone]

I watched the game a couple times and I didn't think the press was as problematic as UCONN just not hitting shots they usually hit. It wasn't just one player either, they all had moments they could have made a huge impact on the game and simply couldn't get it done. Nika made her share of mistakes but she is the tip of the spear against any pressure defense so that is expected.

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.

 

[sun]

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

 

[Centerstream]

Why do people compare one player's stats to another? Makes absolutely zero sense. Every player comes from different backgrounds. Every team is different. Every game is different. Even if you compare the players to common opponents, it is not comparable because each player has different teammates and possibly different opposing players.

But I get it, people cherry picking to back up their opinions during every offseason and also during the season.

Nika is unique. Paige is unique. XXX (fill in the Xs) is unique.
But I will say this, after seeing Nika in tears after being sent to the bench in her freshman year, it could have gone in a few different directions for her. I would hope every Huskie WBB fan is grateful for the direction she took!!!!

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Post Mortems have no real purpose?? Really? No need to learn from our mistakes??

Nika's already annointed as next year's PG. This despite the fact that even she acknowledges that she is the second best PG on the team?

Well, I guess that fits the thinking, or lack thereof, that says post mortems have no purpose.

So sorry @PvP I wrote that a bit too quickly. What I meant was Post Mortems by US... BY'ers serve no purpose for the benefit of the Team. I am VERY CONFIDENT that The Coaches and the Team are doing their Post Mortems... which is what I meant by my last sentence... "The Coaches and the Team will learn from this..." I guess that wasn't clear enough for you??????

I don't understand why some (many??) BYers think they need to find someone to blame... to scape goat. The players were visibly upset at the loss and the season coming to an end as it did. THEY will do their best to prepare for more next year.

 

[sun]

Why do people compare one player's stats to another? Makes absolutely zero sense. Every player comes from different backgrounds. Every team is different. Every game is different. Even if you compare the players to common opponents, it is not comparable because each player has different teammates and possibly different opposing players.

But I get it, people cherry picking to back up their opinions during every offseason and also during the season.

Nika is unique. Paige is unique. XXX (fill in the Xs) is unique.
But I will say this, after seeing Nika in tears after being sent to the bench in her freshman year, it could have gone in a few different directions for her. I would hope every Husky WBB fan is grateful for the direction she took!!!!

If fans want to proclaim Nika to be the starting PG next year despite KK entering the picture, then let's look at Geno's options objectively.
If KK ends up being as good as Kiki Rice, then why should KK sit on the bench all year?
Let's look at it from the perspective of Geno, Paige and the rest of the team.
UConn is just like any other team & will always have a need for a multi talented guard who can also be a back up PG.
Every player on the floor needs to make passes & plays & shouldn't be expected to play 40 minutes.
Maybe some folks think that the PG position can't be shared as other capable players earn PT & need to be trained based on circumstances & their natural abilities.
We'll see what Geno does as next year's team undergoes its annual growing pains.

 

[Pharos]

One more... No question that people this young can be talented, disciplined, and shoulder a lot of responsibility. But... try to remember what it was like (is like for some of us) to ride in a car driven by a 19-year old. Just sayin'

 

[JoePgh]

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 have seen very little of UCLA's game play this year, but the statistics that you have gathered suggest to me that Kiki Rice's role on the UCLA team was more similar to Christyn Williams's role with UConn last year than to Nika's role this year. Having only 111 assists for an entire season (less than 3 per game?) does not suggest that Kiki had a role as a true point guard.

It should be noted that Nika's A/TO ratio was 2.23, while Kiki's was 1.81, based on your statistics.

It's true that Nika didn't draw a lot of fouls, reflecting the fact that driving to the basket was not a big part of her game. That is definitely an area of potential growth for her next year. She started to do it late in the season, but there is a lot more that she could do in that area.

If Geno could trade Nika for Kiki, should he do it? He said he wouldn't trade Nika for any college guard, and I think he had in mind her intangible contributions to the team when he said that.

If Cori Close could make that trade, would/should she trade Kiki for Nika? Again I think the answer is probably No. Each player fulfills a vital role for her team, but it's not the same role.

 

[Zarathustra]

It's deja vu all over again.

Yogi... at his best!

 

[hoopsfan22]

If fans want to proclaim Nika to be the starting PG next year despite KK entering the picture, then let's look at Geno's options objectively.
If KK ends up being as good as Kiki Rice, then why should KK sit on the bench all year?
Let's look at it from the perspective of Geno, Paige and the rest of the team.
UConn is just like any other team & will always have a need for a multi talented guard who can also be a back up PG.
Every player on the floor needs to make passes & plays & shouldn't be expected to play 40 minutes.
Maybe some folks think that the PG position can't be shared as other capable players earn PT & need to be trained based on circumstances & their natural abilities.
We'll see what Geno does as next year's team undergoes its annual growing pains.

Geno will do what he has always done. He's not going to change after 38 years, and I doubt he's going to bench his senior point guard who has started for the last few years for a freshman with zero experience. If you're a freshman and you want to start, you basically need to be Paige level good or the team has a need and no one else to fill the role. This team will not be lacking in experienced guards next season with a junior Azzi, and senior Paige and Nika. That's one position I think we can rule out a freshman starting.

 

[huskeynut]

I won't use the word haters, but there were plenty that have criticized Nika being the point guard. She did not meet their definition of a point guard. They wanted a shoot first, pass second one. That's not Nika and is never going to be Nika. It's the same mindset that we have to have a 6' 5" or bigger post banger. And by the way, this post player must have a hook shot.

By anyone's standards, Nika has an exceptional year. But we are very spoiled and entitled fan base. We can't accept the defeat. So having an exceptional season is not enough.

I will say Nika will start as point guard next year. If healthy, Paige and Azzi are the 2 and 3 guards. Then you have Caroline and probably Aubrey ready to come in. It will be extremely difficult for a frosh guard to break into that lineup. That is reality.

 

[Stinger92860]

Nika did a great job this year at PG, her turnover rate was a little high, and some games she had too many fouls, but she did have a record number for assists and lead UConn to a great season considering all the injuries. Paige Bueckers is also a great PG and it is up to Geno to figure out which one works best for the team.

We also have Arnold coming in. We should be good.