Mühl's growth on display vs. Tennessee: 'Big part to our success'

[SVCBeercats]

UConn point guard Nika Mühl's growth on display in Tennessee win

UConn women's basketball has shaped how it runs its offense the past two seasons thanks to Nika Mühl's passionate approach on the court.

www.ctinsider.com

"Two years ago, then-freshman Nika Mühl sat on the bench for the entirety of UConn women’s basketball’s game at rival Tennessee. On Thursday, ,,, in Knoxville, the point guard from Croatia played the full 40 minutes and led the game with four steals and 14 assists."

"Nika’s grown up from being all emotional all the time and never considering the consequences of her emotions," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "And her emotions were a big reason why she's in the starting lineup, eventually. They're a big reason why we played the way we play, how hard we play. And she's channeled those emotions into a positive and that's what's allowed her to become the kind of player that she is right now."

 

[RogueDave]

It appeared to me on offense the team has been working on passing.

This season especially because of the turnovers I believed we just seemed to be a bit slow moving the ball and forcing the other teams to react, with the lineup shuffling in hindsight I should have expected that.

It is a small thing but what thrilled me vs TN was Nika speed of recognition and the quicker pace we moved the ball. This coincided with better player movement realize these go together just seemed to me there was a very noticeable improvement with the team as a whole in this facet of the game and I believe Nika and the coaches gave this emphasis in practice recently. I hope it continues, that 1st quarter was very high quality basketball from an execution and scoring standpoint.

 

[freshler40]

It appeared to me on offense the team has been working on passing.

This season especially because of the turnovers I believed we just seemed to be a bit slow moving the ball and forcing the other teams to react, with the lineup shuffling in hindsight I should have expected that.

It is a small thing but what thrilled me vs TN was Nika speed of recognition and the quicker pace we moved the ball. This coincided with better player movement realize these go together just seemed to me there was a very noticeable improvement with the team as a whole in this facet of the game and I believe Nika and the coaches gave this emphasis in practice recently. I hope it continues, that 1st quarter was very high quality basketball from an execution and scoring standpoint.

Nika is the little engine that could! What a great game she played, moved the ball well, fought for rebounds and had some key tieups late in TN game.

 

[Next 12]

NIKA is the spark plug that makes the UCONN engine run and the battery that gives UCONN life. She has become the heart of UCONN and she wants a NC. The cohesiveness on this team is mind blowing and a testament to GENO's and CD's coaching. As the games go by, I am less and less worried about UCONN's future. Our fantastic five is a wonderment to behold and God bless them. NIKA is a role model that all the Huskies emulate. GO NIKA!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[Bald Husky]

The thing about Nika is that we need her to distribute the ball. Our turnovers have been terrible, and at times, Nika has produced some of them. However, I have been getting so tired of lazy passes on the perimeter and passes to the paint that have no chance of connecting. Lou and Aubrey have been terrific, but those two are guilty of alot of them. I wouldn't trade either of them, but for the most part, Nika can get the ball to where we need it, and that's to the players that can score, evidenced by her assist rate. She has to be the main distributor. Every player in that line-up has contributed to our success, but if Nika is not in the line-up, we will not score enough to win, and our turnovers will increase. They all are valuable, but Nika in invaluable.

 

[donalddoowop]

Nika committed to UConn knowing Paige had already committed. That was an indication of how tough and fearless she would be.

 

[EricLA]

Nika is a treasure. Geno nailed it mentioning how she has learned to channel her emotions into something positive instead of just being emotional on the court with no regard for the consequences. Her growth as a player has been phenomenal.

She still has a tendency to go for the extra high degree of difficulty pass, but overall, her play has been exceptional. I realize they list Clark as a PG so it's not likely Nika will win any national awards, but she's the best pure PG in the nation and I'm so grateful we have her!!

 

[#12in21]

Imagine a raging river tearing through anything in its path

That is who Nika was as Geno describes her. Then this summer he gave her an ultimatum. Auriemma told Connecticut Insider.“I told her I was gonna bench her ass,” “… We went to breakfast one morning and I just said, ‘Here’s what’s going to happen. You stay the way you are right now; I don’t care if we went down to one guard, you’re not gonna play. If you change the things that I know you can change and we need to change, then you’re gonna have a phenomenal year. So, what’s it going to be?’” This was no small request, basically he told her she had to change her very nature. So she did.

She contained that raging river, which was no small feat, and transformed it into what on the surface appears to be a tranquil lake. But all that energy wasn't simply lost it just became constant, controlled and focused.

Geno sees the potential in all his players and challenges them to realize it. He did with Nika this past summer and it's quite obvious that she has accepted the challenge. Who knows how far it will ultimately lead her, but she's committed to make that journey and we are lucky enough to be along for the ride. So far the views are stunning!

 

[veryolddog]

Nika's growth and maturity has taken very positive steps in the last two years. I'm sure many of the folks remember when she got ino the game, she had two fouls within five minutes. As Geno has said on TV, she channels her emotions in a more positive direction. She is like a Marine who has gone through Force Recon Training.

 

[TheGOAT23]

Nika played a helluva game against Tennessee. Kudos! She was under control and didn’t make any of those head scratching passes that have a slim to zero chance of finding her teammates. Seems like she’s been making better decisions the past two games. This is the Nika that I want to see the rest of the season.