I am thinking Nika Muhl will be drafted in the first round. What WNBA team wouldn’t want her big time after watching her handling of Caitlin Clark last night. Also a great backup point guard, and her shooting has really improved. Nika definitely upped her draft status this game. Anyone else think she will be invited to attend on draft night?
Nika Muhl and WNBA Draft
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The WNBA is a joke with the way they draft players in the first round and then cut them weeks later for financial reasons. There's no guarantee for top players, nevermind defensive specialists.
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Give an example of a first rounder who was cut for financial reasons and later became a force in the WNBA. Charlie Collier had clothes specifically designed to wear on draft night; where is she now?
That may have been Nika's best game as a Husky. I'm sure she will be drafted somewhere, but she is also happy with her fallback option of a spot in the European league and with Croatian national team. She can have a long career there and will also make a great future coach.
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Geno said several years ago that it's so important to be drafted by the "right" team that can effect a player's chances in the WNBA!
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It’s hard to make it in the current W. Part of it is financial but the larger part may be a function of the dynamism of play there. Players need to evolve quickly from where their D1 skills left them and few can do that. Cunane may be en example of the latter. Good skills for a big in D1 but rather limited for the W. Compare her to players like Liv or Dorka, whom she matched up well against in college, but who seemed better suited to respond to new demands.
Agree with that 100%
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I'd be surprised if Nika plays in America this summer. One would guess that she'd foremost want to play for the Croatian team in the Olympics. Even though the WNBA has an Olympic break, it would likely be to her benefit to train and play with the team earlier in the summer.
The relatively few openings are somewhat a by-product of the salary cap. Most championship contending teams find it is better to spend the $70,000 or so on upgrading a rotation player, say one of your top 8, than using it for a 12th player. The rebuilding teams might want to try to develop a rookie, and they can't use their cap space sometimes because good free agents don't want to come there.
In addition the high picks go to the weak teams, and the late first round picks in addition to being lesser prospects, go to the better teams that often are shooting for a roster of 11, not 12.
Agreed, plus she's a great teammate.
Nika was impressive last night. All her strengths were on display. The lock down defense, the high % 3 pt shooting. The incredibly toughness( wanting to stay on the court when she could barely walk) our best performance last nite. Gonna miss her.
Huskee11
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It wouldn't shock me if she went 11 to the Liberty. They have Vandersloot and Ionescu but don't appear to have a backup to them at point. They also have Dojkic on the roster, who is from Croatia.
Maybe Stewie will put in a good word.
Unfortunately the Lynx don't have a second round pick and their first round pick, at 7, is probably too high for Nika and too low for Aaliyah.
The defending champion Aces have three second round picks. They do not appear to have a great amount of depth at guard and they certainly don't need offense off the bench. Could see them taking her if she is still around at 18, maybe even at 16.
Maybe Rizzotti takes her at 10 but I doubt it. Would be intriguing with her and Moriah Jefferson together. The Sun have a good backup at the point in Tyasha Harris already though.
Maybe Stewie will put in a good word.
Unfortunately the Lynx don't have a second round pick and their first round pick, at 7, is probably too high for Nika and too low for Aaliyah.
The defending champion Aces have three second round picks. They do not appear to have a great amount of depth at guard and they certainly don't need offense off the bench. Could see them taking her if she is still around at 18, maybe even at 16.
Maybe Rizzotti takes her at 10 but I doubt it. Would be intriguing with her and Moriah Jefferson together. The Sun have a good backup at the point in Tyasha Harris already though.
huskeynut
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Ask Maddie Siegrist. She got very few minutes last season. What a waste of talent.
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Correct. Bigs have to be skilled plus be physically and mentally tough. Guards and wings have to be able to process the game very quickly while playing really fast under control. Very few kids coming out of college have those combinations and that's why veterans in their late 20s and 30s can stick around so long.
Bigboote
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I think the Lib would be a good landing spot. Sloot is becoming more of a defensive liability, so Muhl would give them a falloff in scoring and an improvement in defense, still with good passing. The Mystics are pretty lacking in the point guard department. Cloud left and Sykes is pretty much it, plus they're a good organization in general (despite playing in an arena that holds 3400). The Dream also have only Canada, though I'm not sold on Atlanta being a good fit otherwise.
Nika would put lots of fannies in seats in Mohegan.
Still don't know what Dallas was thinking. They had something like 6 or 7 picks last year, and they were just about all wings. Siegrist was the most versatile of them all, but as has been pointed out, the best college players don't necessarily make the best WNBA players.
I look for Nika to be between mid-first and mid-second round. I'm hoping after her showing in the tourney that ESPN invites her to the draft.
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One thing to remember is that Nika started playing b-ball much later than most if not all of her American counterparts. No league play or AAU growing up. She played volleyball, swam and I believe a bunch of other sports before exclusively focusing on basketball in middle school.
In a very short time she was recognized by the Croation national teams and found success being named mvp at one level, then she was chosen as a select member of international players by Basketball without Borders where she was included in the all star team. Next it was UConn.
So she has played the game competitively for a much shorter time than most of the players she’s in the conversation with. Just looking at how much she has developed during her time at UConn, coupled with her obvious love, intensity and respect for the game should make any GM give her a serious look.
I think Nika still has a lot more potential growth in her game before her, so with the right team and coach she could be a steal that just keeps on giving for many years to come.
In a very short time she was recognized by the Croation national teams and found success being named mvp at one level, then she was chosen as a select member of international players by Basketball without Borders where she was included in the all star team. Next it was UConn.
So she has played the game competitively for a much shorter time than most of the players she’s in the conversation with. Just looking at how much she has developed during her time at UConn, coupled with her obvious love, intensity and respect for the game should make any GM give her a serious look.
I think Nika still has a lot more potential growth in her game before her, so with the right team and coach she could be a steal that just keeps on giving for many years to come.
No guarantee in the wnba but nika will have a Chance!!