Nika appreciation thread | The Boneyard

Nika appreciation thread

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HuskyNan said:
She does so much that doesn’t show up in a box score, but assist do. Nika is awesome. (Cranky pants critics, pick another thread to gripe in, please)

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We met her last night after the game on her way to the team bus. What an effusive, generous and warm personality! We just love this kid and told her so. Her reaction? Big hugs! She is the best.
 
Since I first saw her play in 1994, Jen Rizzotti has been my all-time favorite Husky, but Nika's done something I never thought possible, she's edged out Jen. I just love everything about this kid, her grittiness, her hustle, how genuine she is in interviews, just everything.
 
HuskyNan said:
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I posted a ways back that before Nika is done at Uconn she will leave a mark that will be LOOOOONGED remembered and Nika is doing it. With enough games ahead of her, she could be NO.1 at Uconn in assists.I have said that NIKA is NIKA and there is no one else like her. She will be on the wall of honor when she leaves Uconn and more than desrves it. If some PRO team takes her, they are getting a diamond in disguise and she will prove it. GO NIKA!!!! GO FRESHMEN!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!
 
A few more stats to highlight where Nika has written herself into the UConn career record book:

Most consecutive dbl. digit assist games (4)

Most dbl. digit assists games in a career (15)

Among players with 13 or more assists in a game there have been 9 games by 5 players - Nika has done that 5 times, 4 other players have do it once each

If Nika can continue at her current (assist/game) rate, by the end of the regular season she would sit at 621 career assists which is solidly in 5th place

Depending on how deep the team goes in the BE and NCAA tournaments she could find herself within the top three (3rd Jen Rizzotti 637, Diana Taurasi 648) and conceivably approach or surpass Moriah (659) as the all time career assist leader

Where ever Nika ends up in terms of total career assists she will be remembered among the all time greats at feeding her teammates, have etched her name on countless UConn assist records and most assuredly will have done so on the hearts of her teammates, coaches and UConn wcbb fans.

I would offer a slight revision to what Geno has often quoted Nika as saying when he met her, 'Scoring makes one person happy, making an assist makes two people happy' - in Nika's case I think we can safely add a few thousand Husky fans to that joy!
 
In the NCAA tourney her freshman year, Nika injured her ankle in the first game ( High Point?).
They showed Nika propped up on a bench watching the game with tears streaming down her face.
She had an ice pack on her leg and it must have hurt, but you could not doubt that the anguish and tears were those of frustration.
She must have suspected that her first season was ending with her being helpless to participate next to her teammates.
I remember thinking “Wow!! This girl REALLY wants to play!!
Since then, Nika, far from perfect as she is, has done NOTHING to disabuse us of that impression.
She has accepted Geno’s guidance & criticism and “worked her ass off” to address the weaknesses in her game.
More & more she is elevating her knowledge & performance to match her passion.
Maybe the “Nika Haters” have been doing Nika and her fans a favor by throwing fuel in her fire.
One thing will be written in the UCONN history book:
NIKA WAS HERE!
 
Next 12 said:
I posted a ways back that before Nika is done at Uconn she will leave a mark that will be LOOOOONGED remembered and Nika is doing it. With enough games ahead of her, she could be NO.1 at Uconn in assists.I have said that NIKA is NIKA and there is no one else like her. She will be on the wall of honor when she leaves Uconn and more than desrves it. If some PRO team takes her, they are getting a diamond in disguise and she will prove it. GO NIKA!!!! GO FRESHMEN!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!
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She needs to be first team All American to make the Wall and people that vote on AA awards usually don’t recognize defense and assists as much as gaudy scoring numbers
 
I was going to save this as part of a post I am planning for the end of the year, but worth bringing up now. When she passes Webber she will be passing a player who started her senior year, over a highly heralded freshman who lived up to expectations (Sales), yet no one thought that was mistake.

Also, the offense this year has been the most efficient during Muhl’s tenure. Before this year she facilitated offenses that did not match the shooting percentages of those run by the top two assist leaders on the list.
 
Watched the old interview with Nika at the NBA program of foreign players held at the 2019 final 4. Always loved that interview, but what I realized was how her English has gotten to the point that I don't hear an accent anymore. She is an all-American girl at this point in her UConn stay. Would love to have her stay a little longer, maybe 1 year longer.
 
JoePgh said:
OK, so if she enters the WNBA draft this spring, where will she be drafted? My guess is mid-second round.
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Nika is more than a point guard who brings the ball up the court and passes or drives to the hoop. She is a gritty lock down defender, she has great court vision and disrupts the defense, shoots the three with accuracy, rebounds more than most guards, is tenacious, inspiring and a great team mate. She will finish assist records, defensive accolades and the adulation and admiration of fans.

Point guards are scarce in the W and will be at a premium in this draft. I think she could go as high as 7 to Minnesota but no later than 12 to L.A.
 
Nika has been my favorite player on the team for the last 4 years..to watch how she has grown each and every year is amazing..There have been a lot of mentally and physically tough players on Uconn teams of the past but I think Nika is the toughest of them all
 
I wonder how many more assists Nika would have if the players had hit all of their bunnies over the past 3+ years. Almost every game there are at least 5 bunnies that have been missed, I think there was something like 8 of them last night.
 
MSGRET said:
I wonder how many more assists Nika would have if the players had hit all of their bunnies over the past 3+ years. Almost every game there are at least 5 bunnies that have been missed, I think there was something like 8 of them last night.
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I'm with you. Also for Moriah and Crystal.

This might not have been Nika, but in the St. Johns game someone came flying down the lane and made a spiffy pass to Aaliyah who was standing right by the basket. Aaliyah then pulled a Moses Malone and missed the layup but scored the put back. So the passer lost an assist and Aaliyah gained a rebound. [this is levity]
 
Gus Mahler said:
I'm with you. Also for Moriah and Crystal.

This might not have been Nika, but in the St. Johns game someone came flying down the lane and made a spiffy pass to Aaliyah who was standing right by the basket. Aaliyah then pulled a Moses Malone and missed the layup but scored the put back. So the passer lost an assist and Aaliyah gained a rebound. [this is levity]
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I think it was Shade who made the pass.
 
besides all the praise above, i think her outstanding attribute is the way she inspires her teammates. it's innate, kind of like charisma: some have it and some don't -- and it's unclear why. nika inspires those around her.
 
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