Nika Muhl and the Croatia U18 Team | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Nika Muhl and the Croatia U18 Team

Muhl is a fearless rebounder. At some point in her career she'll need to be a threat from the perimeter. Hopefully that happens while she's in Storrs.

Meanwhile, Germany hardly missed shots yesterday and hardly made any today. Italy beat Germany 58-36. Emily Bessoir didn't score.
 
In the extensive interview of Nika at the NBA camp in April she mentioned her shooting needed a lot of work.
 
Muhl played more under control today. She makes plays and mistakes, the latter of which I think can be cleaned up with coaching. We'll see about the shot. There isn't much doubt about her toughness or competitive nature.
 
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RockyMTblue2 said:
In the extensive interview of Nika at the NBA camp in April she mentioned her shooting needed a lot of work.
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Sluconn Husky said:
Muhl played more under control today. She makes plays and mistakes, the latter of which I think can be cleaned up with coaching. We'll see about the shot. There isn't much doubt about her toughness or competitive nature.
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I watched a lot of the loss to Germany and hoped that Muhl was ill or just having jitters. Today made me hopeful that it was an aberration. While I agree that she needs to get better at some things they are mostly just skills and are correctable. She has 16 months to practice and she seems to be self-driven so I'm hopeful.

What impressed me most was her feisty play, often against bigger players. She also has that move I dislike, of boxing out a much bigger player by backing into them while bent over, and IMO a form of undercutting. I think that move should be banned but until it is I like that Muhl does what it takes.
Next summer I expect a stronger player with range to the arc.
 
Alydar said:
I watched a lot of the loss to Germany and hoped that Muhl was ill or just having jitters. Today made me hopeful that it was an aberration. While I agree that she needs to get better at some things they are mostly just skills and are correctable. She has 16 months to practice and she seems to be self-driven so I'm hopeful.

What impressed me most was her feisty play, often against bigger players. She also has that move I dislike, of boxing out a much bigger player by backing into them while bent over, and IMO a form of undercutting. I think that move should be banned but until it is I like that Muhl does what it takes.
Next summer I expect a stronger player with range to the arc.
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The best way to box out is to push your backside against the bigger players thigh. This locks their leg and prevents them from jumping at all. Under cutting, to me, is when the player is in the air and you push back so they can't land on their feet. That's dirty, disgusting and once gave me a black out/concussion. Make contact while the ball is in the air, pin their thigh and hold position gets the rebound and is safe because the opponent can't even get in the air.
 
HuskeyinSC said:
The best way to box out is to push your backside against the bigger players thigh. This locks their leg and prevents them from jumping at all. Under cutting, to me, is when the player is in the air and you push back so they can't land on their feet. That's dirty, disgusting and once gave me a black out/concussion. Make contact while the ball is in the air, pin their thigh and hold position gets the rebound and is safe because the opponent can't even get in the air.
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What I am talking about is that once they get their backside on the player they continue to back up and move the player backward. N Ogumike tried to do that to a UConn post, the post moved to evade her and NO stumbled back into KML, in that scary incident where she banged her elbow on the floor falling down and was out for several weeks. It may not be undercutting but it is displacement and as we learned then, it can lead to serious injuries.
 
On a different note, high five form looks stellar:

44623
 
Croatia lost 80-60 to Italy on Monday.

Nika sat for long stretches today. I don't know if that was to rest her because it was the third game in three days or what.

She only took 2 shots and scored both her points from the foul line. She had 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers.



Bessoir bounced back from her poor game with 18 points (8/14 FG) and 11 rebounds
 
Sluconn Husky said:
Croatia lost 80-60 to Italy on Monday.

Nika sat for long stretches today. I don't know if that was to rest her because it was the third game in three days or what.

She only took 2 shots and scored both her points from the foul line. She had 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers.



Bessoir bounced back from her poor game with 18 points (8/14 FG) and 11 rebounds
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Probably some rest because they would have known that they would need a pretty decisive win or some help to change what place they finished in for the final standings. They now get a day off and I think they got a relatively favorable position in the bracket. The teams that finish in the bottom three in the tournament will be dropped down to the Division B tournament in the 2020 European U18 Championships so a win in either of the next two games means avoiding that fate.

Full video:
 
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Luckily she has a year to master foul shooting, shooting from the field, and eliminating turnovers.
 
Nika's U18 stats: 11.3 PPG (33.3 FG%, 14.3 3FG%, 50 FT%), 6.3 RPG, 7.3 APG, 4.8 TOPG, 2.3 SPG.

She led in APG, but had the second highest TOPG. If she can work on both shooting percentages and eliminating turnovers, as @Husky fanatic mentioned, she will be a very good asset. I think she will also have to adjust to learn to playing without the ball, because she appears to be very ball dominant, which isn't really a thing at UConn.
 
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Sluconn Husky said:
Croatia lost again today, this time to Israel by two points. I think that ends their tournament though maybe 'awhom' can confirm.

Nika had perhaps her best numbers of the tourney, admittedly against inferior competition.

20 points (6-14 Fg, 4/8 3-PT, 4/4 FT), 8 rebs, 6 assists, 5 steals, 6 TO


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They do still have two games left on Saturday and Sunday. Everyone plays the same number of games. They must win both or next summer, their U18 team will get dropped down to Division B.
 
It was a tough ending for their A Division aspirations as Nika fouled out halfway through the fourth quarter with the scored tied after having 12 points in 24 minutes and then her team fell 73-70:
www.fiba.basketball

Bosnia and Herzegovina v Croatia boxscore - FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 2019 - 13 July - FIBA.basketball

The official website of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and the governing body of Basketball. FIBA organises the most famous and prestigious international basketball competitions including the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the FIBA World Championship for Women and the FIBA 3x3 World...
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball

It's pretty unbelievable how they went from a clear shot at the semifinals to now just trying to avoid last place. They will finish the tournament against Serbia at 7am ET on Sunday with the YouTube link not up yet, but do not be surprised if they do not go with their full lineup for the whole game.
 
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For the tourney, Nika averaged 12.3 points, 5.7 rebs, 6.6 assists, 2.6 steals, and 4.6 TO's.

38% FG, 38% 3-PT, 61% FT
 
Hard to really evaluate a player when they don't have skilled players around them. That situation always results in the star having to do too much and play gets forced.
 
DEpup said:
Hard to really evaluate a player when they don't have skilled players around them. That situation always results in the star having to do too much and play gets forced.
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You took the words right out of my mouth. Been thinking this since game 1. Everything was work; everything was forced; very little help.



Nika told us in April she has too work on her shooting and she perhaps passes too much. Both correct. Her 6.6 assists per game a Euro high, but there were tons of passes that should have been more assists and when people consistently throw up bricks find your own spot and shoot! This will not be an issue at UConn, but focus of shooting over the course of your year Nika.
 
She needs a little talk from Sue Bird on a good PG passes until the team needs you to take control and you need to recognize that moment and then start shooting and make shots to get your team back on track. I love that about Sue's game. She always knows when she needs to take over.
 
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