Killer Instinct

[#12in21]

They got smoked in a Sweet 16 game, not a Final Four game. That's not UConn BB. And I don't mean to be critical Muhl, she's trying and working hard. I'm critical the folks here peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

With all due respect, you might be peeing on your own leg and think it's others if you believe it doesn't appear that, as you say , 'you don't mean to be critical of Mühl'. That loss was a team breakdown and team loss. Nika had her worst game of the season in that loss but her performance in that loss was an anomaly within the exceptional season she had. Last years squad as a team did not show a killer instinct but unquestionably exceeded any expectations and I would venture that had they not fallen to tOSU, even with all they had to fight through all season, they very possibly could have won it all.

Going forward with a healthy squad for 23-24, I think we'll see a very hungry team that has the talent and numbers to reclaim that killer instinct and within that whole a reincarnation of 'the gnat' being her pesky self particularly on the defensive end.

 

[Rowdy831]

They got smoked in a Sweet 16 game, not a Final Four game. That's not UConn BB. And I don't mean to be critical Muhl, she's trying and working hard. I'm critical the folks here peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

Nika made some mistakes but with Edwards out she was playing with 4 other players who couldn't play physical enough to break a press. The lacked the ability to catch a pass and they certainly didn't attack the basket when they did break the press. But the biggest weakness to me was early in the game when they had several open 3's that would have put them up by 10 and they couldn't make one of them. That is the killer instinct mentioned in this thread that was missing.

 

[Carnac]

They got smoked in a Sweet 16 game, not a Final Four game. That's not UConn BB. And I don't mean to be critical Muhl, she's trying and working hard. I'm critical the folks here peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

Mr. Positive, please don’t ever change. I always enjoy reading your comments. I may not always agree with you, But I enjoy the balance you bring to the table. This would be a very boring and unimadgenitive board if we all agreed on every topic. Blah.

I’m always interested in the thoughts and concerns of other UConn WBB fans, especially my fellow boneyarders, which include some of the most knowledgeable and informed fans in sports.

 

[Bone Dog]

They got smoked in a Sweet 16 game, not a Final Four game. That's not UConn BB. And I don't mean to be critical Muhl, she's trying and working hard. I'm critical the folks here peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

I don’t think the loss to tOSU was Nika’s fault. Some here think that but watching that game, I come to a very different conclusion. So, if that’s your main reason for dismissing her, I can’t agree. But you said she’d only done well against JV type opponents. Well, I showed you some top 10 opponents she played exceptionally well against.

Where I might agree with you is in thinking that Nika by herself was unable to break tOSU’s press. Georgia Amoore did exactly that in the very next game. Nika is not the type of pg Amoore is. She’s a better defender and passer, but not as good a scorer and ball handler. Interestingly, I suspect KK may turn out to be exactly that sort of pg.

 

[Waquoit]

I don’t think the loss to tOSU was Nika’s fault.

Let's get this straight, I'm not blaming Nika for the loss. I'm not saying the loss was her fault, it was a team loss. I'm saying I disagree with the killer instinct claim. And my "peeing on my leg" part comes from my experience with the "our girls" contingent on the board overrating players and clustering like army ants over any criticism. I went through it with KLS when I dared to say that the Big 3 was really a Big 2 based on performance against the varsity. Of course, subsequent perfromance as a professional has validated my point.

 

[Blond D.]

can we get an emoji on here that is a "respectfully disagree" emoji? I am never angry at someone on here for expressing their opinion but I do disagree.

 

[Bone Dog]

Let's get this straight, I'm not blaming Nika for the loss. I'm not saying the loss was her fault, it was a team loss. I'm saying I disagree with the killer instinct claim. And my "peeing on my leg" part comes from my experience with the "our girls" contingent on the board overrating players and clustering like army ants over any criticism. I went through it with KLS when I dared to say that the Big 3 was really a Big 2 based on performance against the varsity. Of course, subsequent perfromance as a professional has validated my point.

I'm much closer to you on this than you might have thought. I didn't list Nika as a prime killer in my post -- for me that's Paige and Azzi, because they drop the daggers. I do think she is a fierce competitor. But that's not the same thing. And I certainly don't think she's the best pg out there, much less on the huskies.

Nika is pretty much the player Geno wanted when he recruited her and has probably developed in ways he mainly anticipated. If I try to guess what he was thinking back then, it was that he wanted a fighter to play next to Paige, someone who just had more in-your-face ferocity than Paige typically shows. But without Paige (or Azzi) in the lineup, like last season, Nika ends up being asked to do things that aren't exactly her strengths. She made the effort and surprised a lot of us by becoming the backcourt player to beat (next to Lou) on the huskies. When she floundered, the team as a whole floundered. I hope she doesn't have to do that again this year because the team needs to be more than she can make it by herself.

One instructive episode for thinking about Nika, and especially in her relationship to Lou is that Tennessee focused on denying the ball to Lou, and they lost. SC focused on denying the ball to Nika and they won. Obviously, there were other factors in both games, and in my view we had a shot to win the SC game at the end. But to me that says an opposing coach diagnosed the husky attack and recognized how important Nika was to it. But, as I said above, I hope she's not that important to it this season.

 

[Skeets]

Nika made some mistakes but with Edwards out she was playing with 4 other players who couldn't play physical enough to break a press. The lacked the ability to catch a pass and they certainly didn't attack the basket when they did break the press. But the biggest weakness to me was early in the game when they had several open 3's that would have put them up by 10 and they couldn't make one of them. That is the killer instinct mentioned in this thread that was missing.

I've said this before, I'll say it again, Edwards sitting on the bench with foul troubles was huge. How many times did she park herself at mid-court to help break the press during the regular season? Who helped Nika against tOSU? Who filled in for Edwards? I'll give you a hint, it was a nice round number, like zero. Did Nika turn the ball over, well she took the stats, but it was a team thing. You disagree? Go rewatch the game.

 

[The deacon]

Let's get this straight, I'm not blaming Nika for the loss. I'm not saying the loss was her fault, it was a team loss. I'm saying I disagree with the killer instinct claim. And my "peeing on my leg" part comes from my experience with the "our girls" contingent on the board overrating players and clustering like army ants over any criticism. I went through it with KLS when I dared to say that the Big 3 was really a Big 2 based on performance against the varsity. Of course, subsequent perfromance as a professional has validated my point.

Strange at this point to come to KLS' defense four years after her final UConn game, but a defense of KLS is called for.

If you have followed her pro career, she battled injuries during her first two seasons and has been a starter through her third and fourth seasons for Seattle and LA, respectively. Is she scoring 20 points per game? No, but she's become a consistent rebounder and is acknowledged in all the broadcasts I've watched for her excellent defense, often taking on bigger players in the paint (can you imagine Geno thinking that'd happen... LOL?).

And you might totally dismiss Euro play, but she was the MVP of her league there during the summer of '21 and was an all-Euro all-star, leading her team to some appreciable playoff successes.

I don't know how motherhood and a year off from playing will affect her WNBA future, but I would judge that Katie Lou has already proven she's been a solid pro player in a league that is quite challenging to make one's mark.

 

[huskeynut]

While most are sighting individual players having a killer instinct, you miss the point.

Killer instinct must be a team characteristic. Every player on the team has to believe that they have the ability to deliver the knockout punch. They have to believe that when an opponent is down, you step on them and keep them down. No let up. No mercy. Run the opponent into the ground. You do what is needed to keep it going. It is winner takes all.

Blaming any one player for a loss from last season is crazy, especially the Ohio State game. Injuries robbed the team of some of their best. It was a team that played with heart and courage despite the injuries. The team was physically and mentally exhausted.

We will see if this year's team has a killer instinct.

 

[Bone Dog]

We will see if this year's team has a killer instinct.

I agree, it’s more a team instinct than an individual thing, even if certain individuals contribute more to it. I predict the team will have that instinct as long as they are not stabbed through the heart again before the season even starts.

 

[Conndog]

I think with Nika, it’s more instinct to kill than killer instinct

 

[EricLA]

Late to the party, but killer instinct is different from intensity. To me killer instinct is getting an opponent down by 20, then putting your foot on their throat and pushing that up to 30, then 40 etc.

There were too many games last season where the team would get up 20 in Q4, then lose focus and end up winning by somewhere between 8-12. That is NOT killer instinct, and just ___ on the part of the team (laziness, sloppiness, fatigue, any or all of the above... or something else).

What was the missing ingredient last season? Paige. IMHO she's the only one with a killer instinct. Again this is not to say the rest of the team doesn't play hard - we have an AWESOME team, kids who are tough as nails, and last year made a great run with so many missing pieces. But IMHO, Paige IMHO is the only stone cold killer on the team.

 

[Cuango]

The difference between Paige and Nika in my opinion is: Nika has the full 40 minute (actually it's probably 24/7) killer instinct. She doesn't know when or how to back down. Paige's killer instinct rises to the occasion, builds as the game goes on reaching a crescendo, and if need be, goes off the charts in the last 5 minutes of the game. It's good to have both.

With all due respect, Nika is not even in the conversation! There is Paige, then a considerable gap then Caroline , and that’s it! Azzi could possibly develop but is not there yet.

 

[Blond D.]

Nika IS in the conversation and is one notch below Paige. Nika never stops and never lets up but her weapons are using the her team mates and if THEY dont have the killer instinct then its hard for Nika to keep her foot on the opponents throat.

 

[Dogstar]

With all due respect, Nika is not even in the conversation! There is Paige, then a considerable gap then Caroline , and that’s it! Azzi could possibly develop but is not there yet.

I thk a lot of the opponents guards would disagree with you, take off the "offense only" Shades and enjoy the beauty of the whole game it's very entertaining .

 

[Huskyfan63]

With all due respect, Nika is not even in the conversation! There is Paige, then a considerable gap then Caroline , and that’s it! Azzi could possibly develop but is not there yet.

I think in terms of a steal and a lay in at the other end for a momentum swing. Or catching a lazy defense getting back after a basket with a fast pass downcourt to a cutter for a lay in. Things that take it to other team, and take the wind right out of their sails. Just a couple of what I consider killer instinct traits, and those put her in the conversation for me. I'm glad he recruited her, she brings an edge they definitely need.

 

[Huskyfan63]

Late to the party, but killer instinct is different from intensity. To me killer instinct is getting an opponent down by 20, then putting your foot on their throat and pushing that up to 30, then 40 etc.

There were too many games last season where the team would get up 20 in Q4, then lose focus and end up winning by somewhere between 8-12. That is NOT killer instinct, and just ___ on the part of the team (laziness, sloppiness, fatigue, any or all of the above... or something else).

What was the missing ingredient last season? Paige. IMHO she's the only one with a killer instinct. Again this is not to say the rest of the team doesn't play hard - we have an AWESOME team, kids who are tough as nails, and last year made a great run with so many missing pieces. But IMHO, Paige IMHO is the only stone cold killer on the team.

I see it a little different. I see a player with a killer instinct as the one who wills you to victory in an overtime game with a game winning play. One who wants it more than the other players on the court. One who wants the ball in their hands, or finds a way to get it out of the other team's star player's hands and back into their own team's possession. I don't see any value in a 40 point win. The subs should be mopping up while my stars are on the bench at that point.

 

[Bone Dog]

I see it a little different. I see a player with a killer instinct as the one who wills you to victory in an overtime game with a game winning play. One who wants it more than the other players on the court. One who wants the ball in their hands, or finds a way to get it out of the other team's star player's hands and back into their own team's possession. I don't see any value in a 40 point win. The subs should be mopping up while my stars are on the bench at that point.

I’ll make this case for Nika’s killer instinct — even though I think Paige is the true killer on the team. My case for Nika is best exemplified in the game two seasons ago against Tennessee. We had a lead at half time, and in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter Nika brought out a burst of defensive intensity, hit a 3, got a steal at mid court and scored again. Tennessee never recovered. It was the proverbial punch in the face. When they showed any signs of life after that, Azzi pressed her foot on their necks.

That burst at the beginning of the 3rd is practically a Nika signature for me. It’s Nika time. In the past we’ve put games away in the first quarter or maybe the second. But that injury riddled year didn’t go that way and it was more often in the second half that we put games away. The following year was similar and we needed Nika’s fire for longer stretches.

I expect next year we won’t need to lean on Nika so much. Paige and Azzi will end games in the first half, either by shooting the lights out or by keeping the double teams off Aaliyah & Co in the post. But I’m thankful that Nika was there when we needed her, and can be there again as needed.

 

[#12in21]

Uconn has had several great player that could take over a game or put the dagger in and twist it. Maya was great at that. She could just erupt and dominate on both ends giving her team s comfortable lead and just as quickly fall back into a good team flow. Paige has shown that ability, perhaps not as balanced as Maya - Paige definitely more on the offense end. I admittedly may not be totally objective but to me the beauty of Maya’s game and her ability to just seemingly effortlessly and at will go to another level taking over a game on both ends and then drop back into the rhythm of the game is unmatched!

For me the beauty of Uconn wcbb basketball, at its best, is in the co-ordinated efficiency on both offense and defense of all five players on the floor. Those teams didn’t play against the opponents across from them they were striving for perfection, and at some point the five on the other side of the court just couldn’t compete with that. Those teams just found another gear and put the game away way before the final whistle. On the rare occasions that they lost they redoubled their efforts the next outing. They believed in themselves and each other and chased perfection.

That’s the killer instinct I’m hopeful of witnessing this season. This team has the talent, depth and hunger. I think its better odds than not that they can add this group to the conversation of those great Uconn teams. If they do it won’t be because they have one or two stars that have a killer instinct, at Uconn it’s a team thing!

 

[Childhood]

With all due respect, Nika is not even in the conversation! There is Paige, then a considerable gap then Caroline , and that’s it! Azzi could possibly develop but is not there yet.

True. I never heard that someone put Marcus Smart or Draymond Green in the conversation of killer instinct. After I read this post, I am so confused what are they talking about.

 

[Huskyfan63]

I’ll make this case for Nika’s killer instinct — even though I think Paige is the true killer on the team. My case for Nika is best exemplified in the game two seasons ago against Tennessee. We had a lead at half time, and in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter Nika brought out a burst of defensive intensity, hit a 3, got a steal at mid court and scored again. Tennessee never recovered. It was the proverbial punch in the face. When they showed any signs of life after that, Azzi pressed her foot on their necks.

That burst at the beginning of the 3rd is practically a Nika signature for me. It’s Nika time. In the past we’ve put games away in the first quarter or maybe the second. But that injury riddled year didn’t go that way and it was more often in the second half that we put games away. The following year was similar and we needed Nika’s fire for longer stretches.

I expect next year we won’t need to lean on Nika so much. Paige and Azzi will end games in the first half, either by shooting the lights out or by keeping the double teams off Aaliyah & Co in the post. But I’m thankful that Nika was there when we needed her, and can be there again as needed.

100% agree with your take on this coming season. This looks like a very balanced and proficient team. Fingers crossed...

 

[Happydad745]

Most all of the players have the "Killer Instinct", but which ones are real "Killers"?