Nika Muhl is Fun to Watch

[CocoHusky]

"Last you looked", last year UConn played their best ball, unequivocally, you must not have looked, was when Nika stepped up and took over the 1. PB obviously slid over to the 2. Nika's biggest impact was defensively. Her pressure on the ball is the catalyst for what they can do on D. She is also more than capable of getting the offense started, which of course is to get the ball to PB and now Azzi Fudd. Then, when you weren't looking, Nika went down in the tournament, and UConn had to finish without her. Do you think Nika could have made a difference in that AZ game?

As @DefenseBB migght say a little perspective might be helpful here. UCONN played its best basketball last season against South Carolina, Baylor and Iowa. Nika didn't have anything to do with those last two. The SC game was a game that went into OT, so I went back to check if Nika had any positive stats/impact on that OT-she did not. Nika did hit a 3Pt shot early in the 4th quarter which put UCONN up by 7 but she started celebrating too early. From that point on she committed two fouls and a turnover and was not on the floor for the final 2 minutes of the game. Pressure defense would have been helpful against the SC guards who orchestrated the come back . A facilitator would have been very helpful to Paige instead of Paige having to set her self up for all the UCONN OT offense. BTW. Nika played 21 minutes in the Arizona game. That UCONN season ended when Nika was cleanly stripped of the basketball on the second to last UCONN possession and with Nika missing a 3pt FGA on the final possession.

 

[CocoHusky]

sometime during her career she will rack up a double-double while scoring no points

I pretty sure the rules prohibit her from reaching double digits in PF, so what other statistical categories did you have in mind.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

As @DefenseBB migght say a little perspective might be helpful here. UCONN played its best basketball last season against South Carolina, Baylor and Iowa. Nika didn't have anything to do with those last two. The SC game was a game that went into OT, so I went back to check if Nika had any positive stats/impact on that OT-she did not. Nika did hit a 3Pt shot early in the 4th quarter which put UCONN up by 7 but she started celebrating too early. From that point on she committed two fouls and a turnover and was not on the floor for the final 2 minutes of the game. Pressure defense would have been helpful against the SC guards who orchestrated the come back . A facilitator would have been very helpful to Paige instead of Paige having to set her self up for all the UCONN OT offense. BTW. Nika played 21 minutes in the Arizona game. That UCONN season ended when Nika was cleanly stripped of the basketball on the second to last UCONN possession and with Nika missing a 3pt FGA on the final possession.

A little perspective indeed. Tell me how well MoJeff, Bria Hartley, Rene Montgomery, Ketia Swanier, Caroline Doty played their freshman year and in the playoffs where they did not have the misfortune to having been injured early in the playoffs and then reluctantly inserted in the FF semis because she wasn't fully recovered? Might she not have been playing in pain in that game?.....after all, the lingering effects of that injury had to be dealt with early this season which made her miss games....

Am not proposing Nika place in the firmament of UConn PGs.....just asking for perspective re: how those freshmen played....because as far I as recall, all of them were uneven.

 

[maccca3232]

Moriah Jefferson went scoreless at ND in a UCONN blowout in 2014. X

Although she went scoreless, she only played 21 minutes that game.

Spoiler: Answer

Kyla Irwin (twice)
Maria Conlon
Lorin Dixon
Kelly Faris (twice)
Saniya Chong (twice)
Anna Makurat
Tiffany Hayes
Ann Strother

 

[npignatjr]

"Last you looked", last year UConn played their best ball, unequivocally, you must not have looked, was when Nika stepped up and took over the 1. PB obviously slid over to the 2. Nika's biggest impact was defensively. Her pressure on the ball is the catalyst for what they can do on D. She is also more than capable of getting the offense started, which of course is to get the ball to PB and now Azzi Fudd. Then, when you weren't looking, Nika went down in the tournament, and UConn had to finish without her. Do you think Nika could have made a difference in that AZ game?

Yes with her in my opinion they win.

 

[npignatjr]

As @DefenseBB migght say a little perspective might be helpful here. UCONN played its best basketball last season against South Carolina, Baylor and Iowa. Nika didn't have anything to do with those last two. The SC game was a game that went into OT, so I went back to check if Nika had any positive stats/impact on that OT-she did not. Nika did hit a 3Pt shot early in the 4th quarter which put UCONN up by 7 but she started celebrating too early. From that point on she committed two fouls and a turnover and was not on the floor for the final 2 minutes of the game. Pressure defense would have been helpful against the SC guards who orchestrated the come back . A facilitator would have been very helpful to Paige instead of Paige having to set her self up for all the UCONN OT offense. BTW. Nika played 21 minutes in the Arizona game. That UCONN season ended when Nika was cleanly stripped of the basketball on the second to last UCONN possession and with Nika missing a 3pt FGA on the final possession.

Came in for few minutes in the 1st half was playing on one leg, same foot injury that flared up this year limited her at the start and eventually shut her down for games this year. The statement played their best was Geno's. Aubrey only played 6 minutes in the Arizona game, then was benched.

 

[#12in21]

Nika last five games 184 minutes (36.8/game), 27 assists (5.4/game), 8 to (1.6/game), 3.375 a/to, 22 reb (4.4/game), 3blk, 4 st. Too bad she doesn't contribute anything - oh wait...

 

[npignatjr]

I pretty sure the rules prohibit her from reaching double digits in PF, so what other statistical categories did you have in mind.

Rebounds

 

[CL82]

I pretty sure the rules prohibit her from reaching double digits in PF, so what other statistical categories did you have in mind.

But that won’t stop her from trying! That woman is a menace!

 

[browns]

One cannot deny the kick she gives this team at times, it’s invigorating and shows a lot of leadership which has been absent at times. But, in my day she was what we called a bricklayer. No malice, just calling it what it is. I think if and when everyone is healthy she might be hard pressed to get 15 minutes of PT.

Only if Geno retires.. he praised her today saying she held they're pg scoreless and disrupted her in the 4th quarter..if she wasn't playing hurt last year I think uconn would have won it all

 

[#12in21]

I pretty sure the rules prohibit her from reaching double digits in PF, so what other statistical categories did you have in mind.

Maybe rebounds and assists, good effort towards it last year against Marquette, 2/5/21 7 REB, 9 A, 5 S, 8 PT

 

[CocoHusky]

A little perspective indeed. Tell me how well MoJeff, Bria Hartley, Rene Montgomery, Ketia Swanier, Caroline Doty played their freshman year and in the playoffs where they did not have the misfortune to having been injured early in the playoffs and then reluctantly inserted in the FF semis because she wasn't fully recovered? Might she not have been playing in pain in that game?.....after all, the lingering effects of that injury had to be dealt with early this season which made her miss games....

Am not proposing Nika place in the firmament of UConn PGs.....just asking for perspective re: how those freshmen played....because as far I as recall, all of them were uneven.

They were all uneven, most UCONN freshman are. Renee was perhaps the least uneven. Caroline' unevenness was directly attributable to a reoccurrence of her HS ACL injury. With the exception of Ketia Swanier all the players you mentioned had better freshman offensive statistics when compared to Nika. For example Caroline Doty was a day one freshman starter on an undefeated National Championship team where the other starters were Renee Montgomery, Maya and Tina Charles.
You also need to consider that Nika is closing in on the end of her sophomore season and this is where a comparison of Nika offensive numbers compared to any of the players you mentioned dramatically falls apart. The primary reason for this is because although Nika is averaging roughly the same amount of minutes per game Nika is actually shooting the ball worse this season than she did last season.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

They were all uneven, most UCONN freshman are. Renee was perhaps the least uneven. Caroline' unevenness was directly attributable to a reoccurrence of her HS ACL injury. With the exception of Ketia Swanier all the players you mentioned had better freshman offensive statistics when compared to Nika. For example Caroline Doty was a day one freshman starter on an undefeated National Championship team where the other starters were Renee Montgomery, Maya and Tina Charles.
You also need to consider that Nika is closing in on the end of her sophomore season and this is where a comparison of Nika offensive numbers compared to any of the players you mentioned dramatically falls apart. The primary reason for this is because although Nika is averaging roughly the same amount of minutes per game Nika is actually shooting the ball worse this season than she did last season.

As I recall, all those others were scoring PGs or combo guards in high school. Nika almost disdains scoring and prefers an assist, so being asked to shoot when open is a change in mindset.

Plus Nika's improvement in scoring was later in the season last year AFTER a steady run of games. You and I know how this season started for her and the run of games were intermittent until only recently. Statistics without context and using it to judge a player......???

Nah, I can't bear the thought.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Only if Geno retires.. he praised her today saying she held they're pg scoreless and disrupted her in the 4th quarter..if she wasn't playing hurt last year I think uconn would have won it all

As much as I think that is a stretch - their winning it all - if Nika was her normal self, she would have caused mayhem when Arizona was manhandling Paige, especially after the blindside tackle one of their bigs delivered (not sure she saw it though).

So, who knows what might have happened if they got to the final where UConn is undefeated.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Here's something that really impresses me about Nika.

As a general statement, she is really janey-on-the-spot regarding loose balls, tipped passes, and tipped rebounds. But she excels at being in good rebounding position and grabbing a ball that was a long shot that barely grazes the front of the rim and drops down at about Mach 1, usually cleanly. Then of course she turns in the blink of an eye and motors toward the other end like a bat out of somewhere and good things often happen.

She has her qualities.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Here's something that really impresses me about Nika.

As a general statement, she is really janey-on-the-spot regarding loose balls, tipped passes, and tipped rebounds. But she excels at being in good rebounding position and grabbing a ball that was a long shot that barely grazes the front of the rim and drops down at about Mach 1, usually cleanly. Then of course she turns in the blink of an eye and motors toward the other end like a bat out of somewhere and good things often happen.

She has her qualities.

Since you're pointing out things not in the box score, thank you.....then we can add how ready she is to set screens of all kinds to either freeze the defensive player or directly give space for the shooter.....ah, there more little things like that that don't show up in the box score.....many of these are well timed.

Last year she really eased the ballhandling pressure on Paige as well.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Here's something that really impresses me about Nika.

As a general statement, she is really janey-on-the-spot regarding loose balls, tipped passes, and tipped rebounds. But she excels at being in good rebounding position and grabbing a ball that was a long shot that barely grazes the front of the rim and drops down at about Mach 1, usually cleanly. Then of course she turns in the blink of an eye and motors toward the other end like a bat out of somewhere and good things often happen.

She has her qualities.

BY'ers rarely mention her physicality. We can't "feel" her impact on the floor with our customary seat at the top of the 2nd deck. (where the camera sits)
I also didn't read much on here about the game Lexi Held had against UConn Friday night. You know Nika had much to do about that! (I actually think she drew a line in the sand with Held the last time they played and Nika held her ground.)

 

[CocoHusky]

As I recall, all those others were scoring PGs or combo guards in high school. Nika almost disdains scoring and prefers an assist, so being asked to shoot when open is a change in mindset. Plus Nika's improvement in scoring was later in the season last year AFTER a steady run of games. You and I know how this season started for her and the run of games were intermittent until only recently. Statistics without context and using it to judge a player......???
Nah, I can't bear the thought.

UCONN basketball is not exactly a democracy where players get to choose to only do those things that they "prefer". Kiah Stokes was a world class defender who did not want to be fully engaged on the offensive end of the floor although she was very capable and had averaged well over 20 points per game and was a McDonalds AA in HS. Kiah Stokes only started a handful of games at UCONN and she could have been an AA. Moriah Jefferson is yet another player that had to learn to become a better deep shooter to make UCONN a better team.
Nika is not being asked to do these things for herself she being asked to do them to make UCONN a better team. Sticking to her "preferences" in this situation would be rather selfish. Relax people, I'm not calling Nika selfish-quite the opposite that kid would run through a brick wall to help UCONN win. I refuse to believe she would "prefer" not to shoot more if that is what is required of her for UCONN to become a better team. Last season shortly after she became a starter Geno said of Nika paraphrased: "She needs to make enough shots to keep the defense honest."
Not only is Nika taking fewer shots per game this season than last (4.36 vs 4.56) FGA/G, as I mentioned in the prior post Nika is shooting less accurately this season especially from deep. Every team UCONN is playing is conceding the deep ball to Nika and leaving her wide open. They will continue to do that until she steps up and make them pay.

 

[CocoHusky]

Yes with her in my opinion they win.

.

 

[tchalla1]

For some reason critique of Nika play seems to hit many BY posters differently that critique of some other UCONN players and I don't know why

Now this is entirely factual and cannot be questioned. I won't go into the merits of Nika's play (I'm pro-Nika basically) because i feel both pro and con posts have suitably been provided in a balanced way. However, Coco's above statement is quite evident: I see CW, Liv, Dorka, AE, and even to some degree the spectacular Azzi Fudd, strongly critiqued up and down here but for some reason it is taboo to do so with Nika-- it is an interesting phenomenon...

I guess we'll have to start calling Nika "Elliot Ness"... ')

 

[noirwestern]

Now this is entirely factual and cannot be questioned. I won't go into the merits of Nika's play (I'm pro-Nika basically) because i feel both pro and con posts have suitably been provided in a balanced way. However, Coco's above statement is quite evident: I see CW, Liv, Dorka, AE, and even to some degree the spectacular Azzi Fudd, strongly critiqued up and down here but for some reason it is taboo to do so with Nikia-- it is an interesting phenomenon...

I guess we'll have to start calling Nika "Elliot Ness"... ')

I think it's the way it's being done. Out of the players you mentioned she's the only one who isn't going to get playing time once the "better" players get healthy.

 

[jchusky]

Doesn’t like foreigners. American exceptionalism at it best.

to be fair Geno once said "I can't coach Europeans"

 

[MSGRET]

Kia Nurse
Kiah Stokes?
Kelly Faris?
L. Crockett?
Ashley Battle?
Evina Westbrook?

Yes, I'm guessing.

Kia had a game where she went something like 0 for 10 in the AAC, she came of the floor tearing off her tape and was crying. I remember Geno going over to talk to her about the good things that she did and not to get upset that she didn't score.

 

[TB12]

I expect that when Paige and Caroline Ducharme return, Paige will be the starting point guard. Geno, and the girls said she is their leader.

Lets be more positive about our team and the players.

 

[Mdoggie]

Kia had a game where she went something like 0 for 10 in the AAC, she came of the floor tearing off her tape and was crying. I remember Geno going over to talk to her about the good things that she did and not to get upset that she didn't score.

I once had a player score 2 points in the first quarter and no more the entire game. She was upset at the end. We won the game by 2. I asked her to tell me who one the game for us. She was crying and didn’t answer. You know what I told her.

 

[HuskyNan]

Now this is entirely factual and cannot be questioned. I won't go into the merits of Nika's play (I'm pro-Nika basically) because i feel both pro and con posts have suitably been provided in a balanced way. However, Coco's above statement is quite evident: I see CW, Liv, Dorka, AE, and even to some degree the spectacular Azzi Fudd, strongly critiqued up and down here but for some reason it is taboo to do so with Nika-- it is an interesting phenomenon...

I guess we'll have to start calling Nika "Elliot Ness"... ')

Some people go overboard with criticism of Nika and make it sound personal. I’ve deleted some comments that makes me wonder why people bother to watch UConn, they dislike the players so much

 

[Skeets]

Now this is entirely factual and cannot be questioned. I won't go into the merits of Nika's play (I'm pro-Nika basically) because i feel both pro and con posts have suitably been provided in a balanced way. However, Coco's above statement is quite evident: I see CW, Liv, Dorka, AE, and even to some degree the spectacular Azzi Fudd, strongly critiqued up and down here but for some reason it is taboo to do so with Nika-- it is an interesting phenomenon...

I guess we'll have to start calling Nika "Elliot Ness"... ')

I agree. For many fans, I'm one of them, there's a personal connection that runs a little deeper with Nika than some of the other players. It could have to do with coming over from Europe.

Years ago I was at Gampel when a frustrated (angry) Geno called time out. After the time out Svet headed back onto the court. Geno grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her towards the bench. I thought 10,000 babushkas were going to rush the court and tear Geno limb from limb. Geno came real close to buying the farm The personal connection with Svet was also very deep. Again a European.

 

[#12in21]

I think it's the way it's being done. Out of the players you mentioned she's the only one who isn't going to get playing time once the "better" players get healthy.

I can't speak for anyone else but as someone who has been and remains unapologetically appreciative for what Nika brings to this team I am in agreement with noirwestern and with HuskyNan (Some people go overboard with criticism of Nika and make it sound personal. I’ve deleted some comments that makes me wonder why people bother to watch UConn, they dislike the players so much).

I doubt any posters that post positive Nika posts have or are suggesting that Nika is the best player on the team, or even among the most elite players, yet many negative Nika posts have a feel that they need to demean her or the poster they are responding to. I can say from personal experience that that happened to me last season early on. It does seem that some negative reactions have an incensed tone that anyone could possibly be positive about what she brings or even that she is on our team - very defensive and I would say irrational vehemence in expressing their negative thoughts. With other player criticism the tone is 'disappointment that they aren't doing what we expect them to do', with Nika its often 'are you seriously applauding the contribution of an end of bencher, at the best".

Nika, herself in a very early interview spoke of how she has never been the star of any team she has been on, that is not her self perceived role, that role is to be the energy person, the one that does all the little things that make her team better. That is what she set out to do on this team, and has done and I believe that is what most positive posters are applauding. I would add that, I believe, that is also what Geno wants from her and what he feels he is getting from her. In several pressers, where she is never the focus, he cites the unique things she brings to the team. He values her, her teammates value her, the fans value her so it's difficult to understand why some posters beyond not valuing her feel a need to demean her or those that do. We all would love to see her hit a few more shots, I'm sure she would love that as well but scoring isn't the reason she started this year or last. And let's not hear again about injuries being the only reason she is even on the court. Seriously listen to Geno and see how and when he uses her.

 

[Ron and Vida]

Now this is entirely factual and cannot be questioned. I won't go into the merits of Nika's play (I'm pro-Nika basicaly I see CW, Liv, Dorka, AE, and even to some degree the spectacular Azzi Fudd, strongly critiqued up and down here but for some reason it is taboo to do so with Nika-- it is an interesting phenomenon...

I think she is a lovable combination of being “Precious “ to her coach and many of her fans (including me) and a fearless assassin to her opponents

 

[Bama fan]

Nika has many positive qualities, and a few negative ones too. But watch and listen to her coach and her team mates. They all acknowledge her value to the team. Her zest and determination make her a "good" player, but more importantly those qualities make her mates better players. That is her value to this team. No amount of stats bashing will diminish that aspect. They love her, so why don't some hypercritical fans give that respect?