Nika Guarding Caitlin - Thoughts?

[Argonaut]

Nika picked up that first ticky tack foul so early that I think she was just afraid to get another and have to sit. That gave Clark more breathing room in the first half than she would have otherwise gotten. Second half Nika knew she had more fouls to give and I think Clark’s frustration showed it.

 

[HopJim]

Nika picked up that first ticky tack foul so early that I think she was just afraid to get another and have to sit. That gave Clark more breathing room in the first half than she would have otherwise gotten. Second half Nika knew she had more fouls to give and I think Clark’s frustration showed it.

Give Nika, UConn's defense, and Clark credit. Geno had Clark doubled out past the key. Clark still got points, but was under control. Nika did well but would never want to have to guard Caitlin one on one. Too quick particularly for her size.

 

[Argonaut]

Give Nika, UConn's defense, and Clark credit. Geno had Clark doubled out past the key. Clark still got points, but was under control. Nika did well but would never want to have to guard Caitlin one on one. Too quick particularly for her size.

They all get a lot of credit, but I think it’s been pretty widely stated (by coaches and players) that Nika sets the tone. When she can’t be as intense as she wants to be, I do think that permeates to the rest of the team.

But, yes, I agree that limiting Clark was definitely a team effort. I just think Nika was able to be more defensively intense in her assignment on Clark in the second half and that made a lot of difference.

 

[Littlemin]

Give Nika, UConn's defense, and Clark credit. Geno had Clark doubled out past the key. Clark still got points, but was under control. Nika did well but would never want to have to guard Caitlin one on one. Too quick particularly for her size.

Clark was not doubled except a couple of times off the high pick. Muhl’s primary work was done when Clark gave up the ball. NO great player can be stopped one on one. Muhl contained her and that’s all that can be reasonably expected when playing someone as good as Clark.

 

[Charliebball]

So, Nika WAS the primary defender on Caitlin:
1. She only committed 2 fouls (point to Nika!)
2. Clark shot 9-24 (.375) vs. Ave of .472 before this game(pt to Nika!)
3. Clark was 2-11 on 3pt (.182) vs. Ave of .340 before fame (pt to Nika!)
4. Caitlin had 6 assists vs. her 7 average before this game (draw)
5. CC had 3 turnovers vs. 2.5 per game prior (draw).

Nika was also sick (as in under the weather) and was SICK in the game on how well she played!
while there was some switching on/off of Caitlin, Nika was the always picking her up at half court. Hopefully this game has swayed many of the concerning comments on this thread-what say you @Charliebball ?

I'm thrilled that she stayed out of serious foul trouble...........she clearly limited her physical contact and didn't get caught making those tiki tak fouls that have afflicted her in the past.........to do that while being under the weather is an amazing accomplishment..........BTW I said she had a 50%/50% chance of fouling out..........I also said I was concerned that Edwards might run into foul trouble against Czinano and she did but she was magnificent at both ends of the court......I think I also predicted it would be a seven point win.............so all in all, I'm content with the outcome and most of my predictions..........frankly as long as UConn wins and nobody gets hurt I'm a happy camper........

 

[nastynatty]

I did wonder today why we didn’t see much full court press that’s been really key for UConn defensively in the first few games. Possibly just a need to conserve energy or a decision based on Iowa’s shooting personnel. It was weird to see Iowa full court press more than UConn!

 

[Littlemin]

Well said by DefenseBB and #12in21. I wholeheartedly agree Nika did a really good job keeping Caitlin from going off for a really big game. One stat you didn't note, and I know this will draw plenty of dislikes: Caitlin did score 25 points and Nika had 2. My point is that scoring is a big part of basketball and Nika doesn't have to worry about that, pretty much at all. She's excellent at the facets of the game within her skill set.

Muhl has a role on the team, as does Clark, defined by the coaches. I don’t dislike your comment at all, after all it is just an opinion, but I guess you have missed the several times in press conferences Auriemma has said that there is more pressure on Muhl to perform this year than any other Uconn player.

 

[The deacon]

Muhl has a role on the team, as does Clark, defined by the coaches. I don’t dislike your comment at all, after all it is just an opinion, but I guess you have missed the several times in press conferences Auriemma has said that there is more pressure on Muhl to perform this year than any other Uconn player.

Thanks for your thoughts, Littlemin... I remember well hearing Geno's comments to that effect, and Nika has risen to the occasion. I give her full credit for all her numerous contributions. I qualify that only for yesterday when so many gave her credit for what they saw as her one on one D to shut down Clark.

In fact, after watching the replay, I noticed numerous times, even in the second half, that Caitlin got past Nika and was picked up immediately by Azzi, Lou, Caroline, even Aaliyah on a couple of memorable plays. As you, Argonaut and HopJim all noted immediately above, it was the Huskies' superb D that limited Caitlin. Add in the great job by Aaliyah (and Ayanna) on Czinano and we had a formula for victory.

 

[Littlemin]

Thanks for your thoughts, Littlemin... I remember well hearing Geno's comments to that effect, and Nika has risen to the occasion. I give her full credit for all her numerous contributions. I qualify that only for yesterday when so many gave her credit for what they saw as her one on one D to shut down Clark.

I played NAIA college ball at 5’9””; I had a friend I played with in HS who played guard at Wake Forest at 6’4””. I had no obvious physical skills over him, maybe a quarter step of quickness that was more than compensated for by his height advantage. BUT, Neil couldn’t begin to cover me one on one because I knew where I was going and what shot I wanted; one in one defense is by and large 100% reactive when the offensive player has the ball.
Muhl contained Clark, not stopped or shut her down, but contained her the only way possible, limiting her touches, staying in front of her as much as possible, and trying to make her take a little tougher shot than she wanted and hope she misses. Did she have help, absolutely she did. Did Uconn switch sometimes on the screens, absolutely. But as evidently attested to by the TV quote attributed to Clark, Muhl got in her head a bit and limited Clark’s involvement by playing superb face guarding ball denial, and that was all Muhl.

 

[Bone Dog]

Nika's game yesterday was a classic case of the greatness stats don't always capture. Only 2 pts, but she effectively contained Clark. yes, she got help -- this is a team, after all -- and Clark got help from her team trying to scrape Nika off her, but to no avail. Nika was the primary defender and Clark's contributions were not allowed to decide the game. Could Azzi or Aubrey have done as well? Probably, but Geno wanted their attention elsewhere.

And there was a cost to the rest of Nika's game -- she still got 13 assists, but she wasn't quite as prominent a leader on offense as she's been in previous games. It showed in those moments when the offense seemed listless.

Also, just to observe for the record, Nika's 2 points came on a drive to the hoop in the half court offense -- the exact thing we wanted her to add to her offensive arsenal this summer, and there it was.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Clark has Paige's NBA range with the 3 and the ego/nerve to fire it off more often than Paige. Nika's defense was very good. You can contain Clark, not shut her down. Seems to me that Clark doesn't have Paige's ball handling skills, so a lot of her inside moves are easy reads.

 

[The deacon]

I played NAIA college ball at 5’9””; I had a friend I played with in HS who played guard at Wake Forest at 6’4””. I had no obvious physical skills over him, maybe a quarter step of quickness that was more than compensated for by his height advantage. BUT, Neil couldn’t begin to cover me one on one because I knew where I was going and what shot I wanted; one in one defense is by and large 100% reactive when the offensive player has the ball.
Muhl contained Clark, not stopped or shut her down, but contained her the only way possible, limiting her touches, staying in front of her as much as possible, and trying to make her take a little tougher shot than she wanted and hope she misses. Did she have help, absolutely she did. Did Uconn switch sometimes on the screens, absolutely. But as evidently attested to by the TV quote attributed to Clark, Muhl got in her head a bit and limited Clark’s involvement by playing superb face guarding ball denial, and that was all Muhl.

All well said, Littlemin...

Just as an aside regarding your ex-teammate Neil, that wouldn't happen to be Neil Pastushok? If so, he was a solid player for the Deacons, probably best remembered for being a four-year teammate of Wake all-timer Charlie Davis and standout big man Gil McGregor.

 

[Littlemin]

All well said, Littlemin...

Just as an aside regarding your ex-teammate Neil, that wouldn't happen to be Neil Pastushok? If so, he was a solid player for the Deacons, probably best remembered for being a four-year teammate of Wake all-timer Charlie Davis and standout big man Gil McGregor.

Wow, small world, yes it was; averaged about 11 or so at WF; an off the charts great HS player who is best remembered at Roselle Park HS in NJ (home of Rick Barry) for scoring 40 in a state championship losing effort in Atlantic City against Burlington. Me, I remember him best for making two foul shots after the buzzer vs. our arch-rivals Roselle. He was fouled at the buzzer and fans from both schools rushed the court thinking the game over. Finally the police formed a human wall around the foul line area and Neil dropped in both with fans pretty much literally screaming in his ears. I was a sophomore, Neil a senior but basketball in Roselle Park had a great playground feeder system out of Sherman School, an elementary school playground that at one time attracted HS and college players from the wider Union County area. In addition to Barry, frequently John Morrison, who lived in Roselle Park but went to Seton Hall Prep, played at Canisius and got a cup of coffee with Denver in the ABA, was there. Great memories, great games…………

 

[DefenseBB]

Well said by DefenseBB and #12in21. I wholeheartedly agree Nika did a really good job keeping Caitlin from going off for a really big game. One stat you didn't note, and I know this will draw plenty of dislikes: Caitlin did score 25 points and Nika had 2. My point is that scoring is a big part of basketball and Nika doesn't have to worry about that, pretty much at all. She's excellent at the facets of the game within her skill set.

Volume shooting is my retort- 24 shots to get those points. Caitlin hurt her team by not distributing to the hot hand more-Kate Martin for example. Clark is a unique example unlike anyone else in WCBB so a point guard to point guard comparison for any point guard is skewed against that opponent. The other aspect is Clark did not always guard Nika, so Nika worked on both ends of the floor.

 

[Blueconn]

Clark is terrific and yesterday showed her shooting prowess and her force contact drives that ensure buckets from the charity stripe. Tournament Shea made a living doing that ! And Clark’s range and touch are terrific. Nika was relentless all night and it mattered.

 

[The deacon]

Tougher D by the Huskies prevented some of that, Browns... good point.

 

[The deacon]

Volume shooting is my retort- 24 shots to get those points. Caitlin hurt her team by not distributing to the hot hand more-Kate Martin for example. Clark is a unique example unlike anyone else in WCBB so a point guard to point guard comparison for any point guard is skewed against that opponent. The other aspect is Clark did not always guard Nika, so Nika worked on both ends of the floor.

Clark surely is a volume shooter, but she shoots at 47 percent so that's pretty handy, right? That she shot at a lower percentage against the best D she'll face all year was predictable, and understandable. I'd think we'd agree about that.

Regarding Kate Martin, there might have a time or two more when Cailtin could have gotten her the ball but, as we all saw, she wasn't often in the position to distribute as she might have liked. Plus, as I'd guess Coach Bluder would say (similarly to Geno re either Paige or Azzi), she'd always prefer Caitlin taking a shot or going to the hoop. That Clark gets as many assists as she does is a tribute to her team play. Watch Iowa play often and you'd likely agree.

Oh, yeah, by the way, did you think Clark was loafing on D? She has had a bad rap for her defense in the past but is working harder at it now and actually was effective, I thought, vs. the Huskies. It wasn't just on offense that she was expending energy.

All this said, repeating myself, I was impressed by Nika's D on Caitlin and the Huskies' defense in total.

 

[DefenseBB]

Actually, I thought the whole Iowa team, including Caitlin accorded themselves quite nicely on defense especially with the 2-3 zone. The real issue is, like UConn, Iowa really only goes 7 deep in quality games but unlike UConn their starting 5 seems to run out of gas in the 4th quarter-shots coming up short, fouls occurring due to limited footwork movement as examples.

The 2-3 zone is less taxing than Man to Man so I would not say Caitlin was loafing but she certainly did not expend the energy that NIka did. Again, I like Clark but I think you are short changing Nika a bit by comparing Clark's points vs. Nika's points as a quality comparison, it is not is my only retort. But hey, we can agree to disagree.

 

[The deacon]

Wow, small world, yes it was; averaged about 11 or so at WF; an off the charts great HS player who is best remembered at Roselle Park HS in NJ (home of Rick Barry) for scoring 40 in a state championship losing effort in Atlantic City against Burlington. Me, I remember him best for making two foul shots after the buzzer vs. our arch-rivals Roselle. He was fouled at the buzzer and fans from both schools rushed the court thinking the game over. Finally the police formed a human wall around the foul line area and Neil dropped in both with fans pretty much literally screaming in his ears. I was a sophomore, Neil a senior but basketball in Roselle Park had a great playground feeder system out of Sherman School, an elementary school playground that at one time attracted HS and college players from the wider Union County area. In addition to Barry, frequently John Morrison, who lived in Roselle Park but went to Seton Hall Prep, played at Canisius and got a cup of coffee with Denver in the ABA, was there. Great memories, great games…………

Small world, for sure, Littlemin, and perhaps what I like best about the Boneyard.

I'm not surprised about Neil's high school deeds and remember well that when his class arrived on campus it was thought to be a rival for those of Duke, North Carolina and South Carolina (which was also an ACC power at that point). Neil had a really nice touch and his resume speaks well of his Deacon career. I hope he has had a good life since Wake.

As I mentioned, Neil and everyone else were overshadowed by the brilliant Charlie Davis from Brooklyn Tech in NYC, who at one point was the ACC's all-time leading scorer and might have been the best shooter I'd seen at that time. Sadly, he didn't opt to play defense and didn't last in the pros.

 

[HuskyNan]

Looks like Aaliyah helped frustrate Clark, too. Check out Swin leading the cheers in the bottom left of this video

 

[Littlemin]

Small world, for sure, Littlemin, and perhaps what I like best about the Boneyard.

I'm not surprised about Neil's high school deeds and remember well that when his class arrived on campus it was thought to be a rival for those of Duke, North Carolina and South Carolina (which was also an ACC power at that point). Neil had a really nice touch and his resume speaks well of his Deacon career. I hope he has had a good life since Wake.

As I mentioned, Neil and everyone else were overshadowed by the brilliant Charlie Davis from Brooklyn Tech in NYC, who at one point was the ACC's all-time leading scorer and might have been the best shooter I'd seen at that time. Sadly, he didn't opt to play defense and didn't last in the pros.

I never made “The deacon“ connection to Wake Forest. As far as I know, Neil never left NC after going to college there. I do remember him turning down an invite to return to Roselle Park for a Rick Barry Day fest. Pretty common knowledge that Barry was not a very likable fellow to say the least, and the HS had a fair amount of problems getting any of Barry‘s contemporaries to participate.