Lou: If she plays like she did today which one of the pre-season best 5 will she knock out for first team All-American?

[Bone Dog]

Nika played more or less as Geno wanted her to. Bear in mind that Geno isn’t interested in running the offense through a full-time pg. he has said repeatedly that any number of people can bring the ball up the court and set a play. Azzi did it several times in this game.

That said, Nika was more active offensively than last season. There’s still room for improvement. But I saw a pull up jumper, which wasn’t in her arsenal last year. Paige was what Megan and Kara have called the “hype player” for the team. She can still supply some of the energy from the sideline. But it’s really up to Nika to take that over now. No one else really has that personality.

 

[Brown Eyed]

Forget the Caitlin Clark comparison. How many of you think that Lou will be more offensively productive this year than either Evina or Christyn were last year? I believe there is at least a 50% chance that she will.

If she does, then I think she can realistically be a late 1st-round or early 2nd-round draft choice in the WNBA draft this spring.

Lou appears not shy to take THE shot — as tIme is running down. Evina and Christyn NEVER wanted the ball. My % take for Lou is >75%
B&C

 

[Bone Dog]

Lou appears not shy to take THE shot — as tIme is running down. Evina and Christyn NEVER wanted the ball. My % take for Lou is >75%
B&C

“Taking the shot” is highly sought after in the W. It’s a faster game and they value shooters like Lou. Caitlin Clark will be valued even more highly, I expect, at least in the draft for her talent but also for her name recognition

 

[Brown Eyed]

That’s not what I was saying. Clark does the flopping and begging. Bueckers doesn’t have to, she’s above it.

Bingo.

 

[oldhusky]

Wow I've heard of the glass being half full, but between this, and Ayanna being national freshmen of the year is like holding a tea cup under Niagra Falls!

Lou is exactly the kind of player we needed to pick up in the transfer portal, she fills a need and should be an excellent backup behind Azzi at the 2 and Caroline at the 3 at a minimum. She could start over Nika or Caroline, but that is far from certain. As good as she looks as a versatile scorer in many ways, that is her main superior skill. She may be solid in other areas, but won't get All American consideration because of her rebounding, passing or defense.

As for Ayanna, you don't get to be national freshmen of the year if you don't start and put up big numbers. Short of an injury to Dorka or Aaliyah that is very unlikely. She could easily be a very good third big in a three big rotation, but that is her realistic upside, at least for this year. She is not yet a polished offensive performer, and getting used to scoring over size will probably be a work in progress. It may come but right now she is a great athlete, rebounder and defender who is mostly a garbage scorer around the basket.

In both cases I am very happy with what we have and expect both to be very good key contributors, but All American and freshmen of the year based on an exhibition against a Division 2 team is beyond unrealistic IMO.

 

[Charliebball]

All American?..............very unlikely...............All Conference..........possibly...............average 13-15 points a game for the season..........probably

 

[Charliebball]

Wow I've heard of the glass being half full, but between this, and Ayanna being national freshmen of the year is like holding a tea cup under Niagra Falls!

Lou is exactly the kind of player we needed to pick up in the transfer portal, she fills a need and should be an excellent backup behind Azzi at the 2 and Caroline at the 3 at a minimum. She could start over Nika or Caroline, but that is far from certain. As good as she looks as a versatile scorer in many ways, that is her main superior skill. She may be solid in other areas, but won't get All American consideration because of her rebounding, passing or defense.

As for Ayanna, you don't get to be national freshmen of the year if you don't start and put up big numbers. Short of an injury to Dorka or Aaliyah that is very unlikely. She could easily be a very good third big in a three big rotation, but that is her realistic upside, at least for this year. She is not yet a polished offensive performer, and getting used to scoring over size will probably be a work in progress. It may come but right now she is a great athlete, rebounder and defender who is mostly a garbage scorer around the basket.

In both cases I am very happy with what we have and expect both to be very good key contributors, but All American and freshmen of the year based on an exhibition against a Division 2 team is beyond unrealistic IMO.

a dunk or two will raise her recognition level enough to at least be considered if she has really solid numbers........great for NIL money too!!

 

[Cuango]

please do not overreact to one game vs a team that isn't even capable of competing in Division 1.

There are some pretty bad teams in Division 1 basketball!

 

[Stymie]

Over all the years I've watched basketball I've rarely made such an early assessment. I watched a player today who was far more than just someone who started because Caroline couldn't. I may be wrong but you don't always need a large sample.

How many times do you think Geno had to see Paige play before he knew she had the goods? (No, I'm not comparing Lou to Paige so please don't go there.)

Agree wholeheartedly.
Inside, outside, gets half a step and takes it to the rim.
Smart, finds space, not just a bombs away scorer.
Granted, against a D II team, but she looked like she’d been wearing a UCONN jersey for more than 4 months.
And that, friends, is a huge accomplishment ( to me).

 

[borninansonia]

Please.... they are both great basketball players and three pointer shooters! Who was
better Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle... the comparisons are endless. I have a favorite here
.. the one wearing the UCONN jersey!

Duke Snyder, center fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

 

[WFFL]

22 points in an exhibition and now she's touted as an All American...geez louise folks

 

[eebmg]

22 points in an exhibition and now she's touted as an All American...geez louise folks

Start small. All - French

 

[Zarathustra]

Willie Mays, no question

Nothing like making an over- the- head catch in dead center field / the Polo Grounds!
But, then ... " the Mick" hit the facade of the upper deck in right field Yankee Stadium to
put the lights out on the opposition that night ( I think it was against the Orioles ). Z

 

[Zarathustra]

Other than being loud and agressive, what evidence do we even have of Nika being a better defender than Azzi, Caroline or even Lou? Big deal, she got 5 steals against the worst team we will play this year. And steals are just one metric. Last year which guard was on the other teams top scoring guard? CW. CW had about the same number of steals as well as playing the other team’s top scorer. That alone would make CW a better candidate for big east defender of the year. Look up the numbers. Even Liv warranted it more per the numbers. Again, give me players who are great against great competion. Good luck stopping Rori Harmon.

As I recall the DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR in the BIG EAST was based on the votes of the BIG EAST head
coaches. So..... that was the "metric".. the number of votes she received from the HCs. Of course, even
Geno admitted that Nika got no votes from the refs!!!

 

[Zarathustra]

Duke Snyder, center fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Yes, one of the great ones!

 

[Carnac]

Willie Mays, no question

My personal all-time favorite player.....even though he was a member of our hated rivals the Giants. I was able to look past that, and see him for the great player and man he was. I would have loved to have met him, and taken a picture with him.

He's still alive at 91, but seldom makes personal appearances. I was lucky enough to see him in his "heyday" after the Giants and Dodgers came west after the 1957 season. I saw him in the LA coliseum for 4 years (1958-1961) while Dodger Stadium was being built. We lived in the area. I used to ride my bike all around the Coliseum (through the tunnel and out on to the field when the gate was open) and Exposition Park (and the USC campus which is right across the street) during this time.

 

[hard2please]

most likely she will knock out boston because i cant see her knocking out azzi, caroline, dorka, or edwards

 

[Bone Dog]

My personal all-time favorite player.....even though he was a member of our hated rivals the Giants. I was able to look past that, and see him for the great player and man he was. I would have loved to have met him, and taken a picture with him.

He's still alive at 91, but seldom makes personal appearances. I was lucky enough to see him in his "heyday" after the Giants and Dodgers came west after the 1957 season. I saw him in the LA coliseum for 4 years (1958-1961) while Dodger Stadium was being built. We lived in the area. I used to ride my bike all around the Coliseum and Exposition Park (and the USC campus which is right across the street) during this time.

View attachment 80478

I saw him at Shea stadium in 1973 with my dad. Willie hit one of his last homers that day, against the Reds, I think.

Fun fact about Willie: he was 5’10” and 170lbs, or a bit heavier probably but otherwise roughly the size of Nika Muhl. That puts things in perspective.

 

[The deacon]

My personal all-time favorite player.....even though he was a member of our hated rivals the Giants. I was able to look past that, and see him for the great player and man he was. I would have loved to have met him, and taken a picture with him.

He's still alive at 91, but seldom makes personal appearances. I was lucky enough to see him in his "heyday" after the Giants and Dodgers came west after the 1957 season. I saw him in the LA coliseum for 4 years (1958-1961) while Dodger Stadium was being built. We lived in the area. I used to ride my bike all around the Coliseum (through the tunnel and out on to the field when the gate was open) and Exposition Park (and the USC campus which is right across the street) during this time.

View attachment 80478

Tag team from me to you, Carnac: for my first major league game, my Dad took me to the Polo Grounds for my 7th birthday in 1956 to see Willie and the Giants vs. the star-studded Redlegs. The highlight of the game for me on a windy day was Mays sprinting well into leftfield to make a catch in front of defensively-challenged leftfielder Hank Sauer. We did get to see him play a few more times when the SF Giants came to NYC to play the Mets. The Say Hey Kid was a joy to watch, wasn't he?

 

[Blue Huskie]

Let's tap the brakes on this line of thinking for now. Please wait and see.

 

[Carnac]

Tag team from me to you, Carnac: for my first major league game, my Dad took me to the Polo Grounds for my 7th birthday in 1956 to see Willie and the Giants vs. the star-studded Redlegs. The highlight of the game for me on a windy day was Mays sprinting well into leftfield to make a catch in front of defensively-challenged leftfielder Hank Sauer. We did get to see him play a few more times when the SF Giants came to NYC to play the Mets. The Say Hey Kid was a joy to watch, wasn't he?

None better. He was a 5 point player. The only player that I saw use the "basket catch" on a regular basis. I tried doing it during my little league practices. I couldn't do it. My coach was furious when he saw me trying that, especially after seeing the results. I never had the stones to try that in a game.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Yes but also the Caroline that shot 29% from the 3 point line last year

and was not 100% due to a hip issue

 

[#12in21]

None better. He was a 5 point player. The only player that I saw use the "basket catch" on a regular basis. I tried doing it during my little league practices. I couldn't do it. My coach was furious when he saw me trying that, especially after seeing the results. I never had the stones to try that in a game.

I grew up in Pittsburgh and my all time baseball hero was #21 Roberto Clemente, who like Willie was a regular user of the basket catch. He also featured a cannon for an arm which he displayed many a game with strikes thrown to the plate from deep in right field at Forbes Field (which was as deep as just about any field in the country). If memory serves me right he had a lifetime BA of .317 and a dozen gold gloves. Hit a lot of long line drives, which if he had played at Three Rivers Stadium rather than Forbes Field, would have been in the stands. Truly a joy to get to watch throughout my youth. His life was tragically cut short as the small plane he was on delivering humanitarian aid to Nicaragua went down in a storm. His body was never found - even as his close friend and teammate Manny Sanguillen spent weeks diving in search of it.

Possibly due to my age 66, baseball was the only sport I cared about as a kid. So many truly great players and rivalries in that era. IMO not the same game today. They lost me after the strike and then with so many star players moving from team to team. Probably after Clemente's death my interests wained in baseball and I became a Los Angles Lakers fan, from Jerry West's time through Kobe's. I spent a brief 4-5 year stint cheering on the Orangemen of Syracuse due to very close friends there ( so many a game in the Dome). But beginning in the late 90's into the early 2000's my attention was more and more focused on our Uconn Huskie women. I was hopelessly hooked by Maya's time and haven't looked, back or sideways since. Uconn wcbb is my sports passion, although i do love to follow many of are alumni in their pro careers.

 

[meyers7]

I’m fine with Nika getting 20 minutes PT. It keeps everyone fresh and healthy and it should enable the players out there to move without the ball more, which is absolutely key to this teams success. But they better be moving and talking or they sit.

That's good. Cause she's gonna get a lot more than that. I'd say around 30-33 mpg. (if she can keep herself out of foul trouble)

 

[Carnac]

I grew up in Pittsburgh and my all time baseball hero was #21 Roberto Clemente, who like Willie was a regular user of the basket catch. He also featured a cannon for an arm which he displayed many a game with strikes thrown to the plate from deep in right field at Forbes Field (which was as deep as just about any field in the country). If memory serves me right he had a lifetime BA of .317 and a dozen gold gloves. Hit a lot of long line drives, which if he had played at Three Rivers Stadium rather than Forbes Field, would have been in the stands. Truly a joy to get to watch throughout my youth. His life was tragically cut short as the small plane he was on delivering humanitarian aid to Nicaragua went down in a storm. His body was never found - even as his close friend and teammate Manny Sanguillen spent weeks diving in search of it.

Possibly due to my age 66, baseball was the only sport I cared about as a kid. So many truly great players and rivalries in that era. IMO not the same game today. They lost me after the strike and then with so many star players moving from team to team. Probably after Clemente's death my interests wained in baseball and I became a Los Angles Lakers fan, from Jerry West's time through Kobe's. I spent a brief 4-5 year stint cheering on the Orangemen of Syracuse due to very close friends there ( so many a game in the Dome). But beginning in the late 90's into the early 2000's my attention was more and more focused on our Uconn Husky women. I was hopelessly hooked by Maya's time and haven't looked, back or sideways since. Uconn wcbb is my sports passion, although i do love to follow many of are alumni in their pro careers.

Clemente was also one of my favorites. I remember Sanguillen also. He wore #35. Always hustled, and was very animated behind the plate.
Like Mays, I saw Clemente in his heyday. He had the arm that ALL other outfielders were judged by. Baseball lost me too after that strike.

I remember that day in December 1972 when Clemente's cargo plane went down. I remember that he had gotten his 3000th hit at the end of that season, and to honor him, baseball decided to waive the 5-year retirement rule for consideration for entry into the HOF, and induct him immediately. I was a Laker fan during the "show-time" era. Went to a lot of games at the Forum in Inglewood. I've been a USC football fan since 1964 when Mike Garrett was toting the rock for John McKay. Still try to make 1-2 games a year.

 

[cgshuskie]

I was lucky enought to see 'Say Hey' at Connie Mack Stadium in Philly. Saw him hit a home against the Phillies. Also, saw Hank Aaron hit two in the same stadium. Probably 1960.

 

[Zarathustra]

I grew up in Pittsburgh and my all time baseball hero was #21 Roberto Clemente, who like Willie was a regular user of the basket catch. He also featured a cannon for an arm which he displayed many a game with strikes thrown to the plate from deep in right field at Forbes Field (which was as deep as just about any field in the country). If memory serves me right he had a lifetime BA of .317 and a dozen gold gloves. Hit a lot of long line drives, which if he had played at Three Rivers Stadium rather than Forbes Field, would have been in the stands. Truly a joy to get to watch throughout my youth. His life was tragically cut short as the small plane he was on delivering humanitarian aid to Nicaragua went down in a storm. His body was never found - even as his close friend and teammate Manny Sanguillen spent weeks diving in search of it.

Possibly due to my age 66, baseball was the only sport I cared about as a kid. So many truly great players and rivalries in that era. IMO not the same game today. They lost me after the strike and then with so many star players moving from team to team. Probably after Clemente's death my interests wained in baseball and I became a Los Angles Lakers fan, from Jerry West's time through Kobe's. I spent a brief 4-5 year stint cheering on the Orangemen of Syracuse due to very close friends there ( so many a game in the Dome). But beginning in the late 90's into the early 2000's my attention was more and more focused on our Uconn Husky women. I was hopelessly hooked by Maya's time and haven't looked, back or sideways since. Uconn wcbb is my sports passion, although i do love to follow many of are alumni in their pro careers.

Prior to the Syracuse "dome", when the crowd would be jumping up and down in the beacher seats, the
dust would rise from the field house floor. Roberto was " a good man"!

 

[Skeets]

Being team first means being objective and putting the team first. I can see that Nika is trying and trying hard and I hope for the best from her but strategically I'd still put the ball in Azzi's hands at the point and enable her to penetrate and dish off as needed or take that pull up or 3. No doubt we will need her depth at point but a couple penetrating drives by Nika against our worst opponent of the year is not indicative of her season. There is little reason to think Nika can finish at the rim or make people defend her at the point, especially compared to Azzi, Lou or Caroline. If she were playing for Geogetown she would still score 10 points a game at best. EVERYONE looks great against Kuztown. Ideally, we need to force the opposing team to play straight up defense or a zone. Objectively, we are a better team for it. And Azzi's defense is just as good overall. Geno is a manager, trying to squeeze productivity out of everyone because he knows he will need it before the season is done. Eventually he will go to team A at crunchtime and at least some of us know it.

I'm not saying that Azzi would not be a great PG, but having Azzi being harassed trying to get the ball up court on offense, or running around harassing the other team's PG of defense to shave seconds off the shot clock, or being the primary facilitator to start the offense is not the best way to manage Azzi's energy budget. Nika can do these things maybe (I said maybe) as good as Azzi. Isn't it better for Azzi to be the scoring machine rather than doing the mundane aspects of a PG that Nika can excel at?

 

[Stymie]

I'm not saying that Azzi would not be a great PG, but having Azzi being harassed trying to get the ball up court on offense, or running around harassing the other team's PG of defense to shave seconds off the shot clock, or being the primary facilitator to start the offense is not the best way to manage Azzi's energy budget. Nika can do these things maybe (I said maybe) as good as Azzi. Isn't it better for Azzi to be the scoring machine rather than doing the mundane aspects of a PG that Nika can excel at?

Absolutely agree.
Let Nika become he primary.
Have Azzi bring it up once in a while.
Nika is the primary PG until she begins to tire or picks up her 2nd personal.
When that happens, bring in Lou or Caroline, switch off to Azzi and let the opponent pick their poison.
Meanwhile, up front, Pound Pound Pound.

 

[Bone Dog]

I'm not saying that Azzi would not be a great PG, but having Azzi being harassed trying to get the ball up court on offense, or running around harassing the other team's PG of defense to shave seconds off the shot clock, or being the primary facilitator to start the offense is not the best way to manage Azzi's energy budget. Nika can do these things maybe (I said maybe) as good as Azzi. Isn't it better for Azzi to be the scoring machine rather than doing the mundane aspects of a PG that Nika can excel at?

Absolutely agree.
Let Nika become he primary.
Have Azzi bring it up once in a while.

I sorta agree. Yes, the energy budget isn't a bad way to think about the problem. However, Geno is on record on this topic as saying that he doesn't favor having a true pg, and whoever happens to bring the ball up the floor should be capable of initiating the offense. He even gave the example recently of Azzi doing this and said when she does it he's confident that "good things will happen." Not an exact quote. I take him to mean that he likes to approximate a positionless offense, probably because this makes it harder for opposing teams to key on a special player. Lots of teams do this to some extent, but we (and Stanford and Princeton) have made it a central concept in our scheme.

Now I also agree that Azzi is probably our best pg in terms of skills and offensive energy. I've even said she may be the best in the country, when I get carried away. But people have objected to this sort of hyperbole. Let's leave it at "she's damn good whenever she has the ball in her hands."

But even with this, I like to see Nika bring the ball up and initiate the offense for exactly the reason that you guys mention, that it takes some of the burden of the team off Azzi. And if Nika's offensive capabilities continue progressing in the way I think we got a glimpse of against Kutztown (a pull-up jumper), we all may come to like seeing Nika bringing the ball up the floor.