When Paige went down this summer, we all responded to a thread asking what else would be required of Nika, on the assumption that she would have to shoulder more of responsibility. This assumption has turned out to be reasonable. Many of us also assumed that Azzi Lou and Caroline would score in double figures on average, and even in the 20s some nights. This assumption has been undermined by Caroline’s injury, but Azzi and Lou have met or wildly exceeded this expectation. This was the context of the discussion of Nika last summer.
Naturally, we picked up on something Geno said on a couple of occasions to the effect that he wanted to see Nika seeking her own shot more. We assumed this meant not merely waiting at the perimeter for a pass but actively creating her own shot. A few of us who’d studied her stats noticed how few shots she took per game, and even fewer of these came in the half court offense. This is not the typical profile of a pg, though it’s not impossible either.
The next step in most people’s thinking was that a midrange game and improved finishing at the rim would help her passing game. These are not unreasonable thoughts, nor are they cruel or callous. When you think about the great point guards, folks like Paige or Clark or Miles, or even MoJeff, it’s hard to overlook how good they were at finishing at the rim, how diverse an arsenal of floaters, flip shots, reverses, pop-ups, etc. they have. And Nika’s skills in this department are quite undeveloped.
Three other observations stood out: 1) as the season progressed the last two years defenses tended to slack off her and pack the paint, 2) that though she slashed through the lane sometimes, she almost never actually even took a shot much less made one, and 3) that her skills in running the break were uneven, she didn’t have Paige’s or Evina’s skill with the long pass and often merely dribbled as fast as she could up the floor.
Again, not unreasonably, many of us feared that just as last season when she was benched (or platooned) in the 4th quarter of close games and in the tournament, Geno would have to resort to this again this year. Unless she developed better pg skills over the summer and fall, we’d be down to 3 guards at the most important moments this season. This was the fear.
Now, were these fears reasonable? What have the first few games shown us?
1) Nika’s passing is sharper than last season, as is her ability to throw the long pass on the break.
2) while we lost Caroline for the first few games, Azzi has been on fire from everywhere on the floor, and Lou has been good too, and Aubrey has exceeded expectations on offense. This has taken some pressure off Nika’s offense. When Caroline returns, this will be even more the case.
3) Nika took two midrange jumpers off the dribble against Kutztown and made one of them. It was only an exhibition game , but it suggests that she’s been thinking about adding this to her game. No one thinks she has to become Paige, or even MoJeff. But as the season wears on and other teams figure out how to defend our perimeter shooters better, this dimension of her offense will be a welcome factor.
4) we are running a very high energy game these days, one that features pressing and aggressive D. This is Nika’s strength. The more we can score off turnovers and generally bring the mayhem to opposing teams, the less pressure there will be on our half court game.
5) Azzi has impressed all of us with her abilities as a pg and this has also reduced the need and the pressure on Nika, and maybe even freed her to focus on sustaining the mayhem/energy game she’s so good at.
My conclusion is that the concerns from this summer were not unreasonable but were also slightly overblown. Geno went in a different direction than most of us expected and it fits the talent he has quite well so far. Still, it’s a long season and different needs may emerge in February and March. I hope Nika is ready for them when the time comes… and I believe she will be. I want her to be on the floor at the end of all the games in the tournament. Our NC hopes may depend on it.
Are we really picking AA teams based on performance in the first 3-4 games into the season? If so let's give Charisma Osborne UCLA some flowers.5"9" 22.4 PPG and 8.4 RPG. Lets's give Freshman Ta'Niya Latson. of FSU some flowers also 26.8 PPG and she is shorter than Osborne. Might as well give the BE some flowers also 3 ( Morrow, Fudd, Siegrist) of the top 8 scorers in the country are BE players. 
