Nika Muhl

[Boreifs]

How does one do the ignore feature?

Just tap on the member’s name.

 

[npignatjr]

Nick-I love your enthusiasm, but Nika has only played in 19 games this year, she missed the Maryland game in concussion protocol. Your averages per game are off due to this miscalculation.

Nika leads D1 in total assists 167 to Caitlin Clark's 157 and both have 10 games remaining. By playing in one game less, Nika is averaging 8.8 assists per game and Caitlin is at 7.8 apg. Note that Nika is 64 off the school season record (231) and would only need to average a paltry 3.2 assists per game to break it.

That stats are from ESPN, they are up to date. UConn 19-2

 

[gold2323]

And tough as nails….if I found myself late at night in a dark night in a dark alley in an unfamiliar city….I would like Nika there with me.

 

[#12in21]

Often in any of the discussions pertaining to Nika and in particular her value to/impact on the team there is talk of intangibles. Aside from her NCAA wcbb leading assist numbers, statistically she doesn't stand out. Along side many of her teammates who were highly ranked recruits not to mention a couple 'generational players' you wouldn't think she would stand out. And yet she does. I think if you ask opposing coaches and players, her teammates and her own coaches they would agree that she is very impactful.

Geno recently said that she is unique, he has only had a handful of players over his career that he can compare her to, Jen Rizzotti being one of them. We all have acknowledged Nika's energy and intensity, her toughness and the edge she plays with but recently Geno cited another trait, her confidence. He said that she believes she can do anything and added that that has rubbed off on her teammates.

So it's worth wondering if a great deal of the value Nika brings to her team is in how by her very being she has empowered her teammates. Why does she have so much influence, being the voice they listen to on the floor in their huddles, responding to her directions to shift on defensive coverage or run - not jog up the floor. Several of these guys are arguably more 'talented' players than Nika and yet she is their leader.

I would argue that due to her very nature, her confidence is not only in herself but extends to her team, she see's herself as part of a whole not as an individual (she never misses an opportunity to frame herself in that context). So she is not only supremely confident in herself but by extension she is equally so in her team. She believes they can beat anybody, whatever the odds against them and with whatever five are available on any given night. I think that perhaps Nika's greatest value to her team is that they believe that as well. No questioning, no excuses they just go out there every game believing in themselves and that they are going to win.

Perhaps the inner self confidence and drive that has led to Aaliyah's ascension this season and Lou's growth from being a tremendous scorer to becoming a fiercely completive complete basketball player have been at least in some part fed by absorbing the persona of the kid from Croatia.

 

[Littlemin]

Leaders are born not made. Leadership is very difficult to define but can be very easy to recognize. Leadership does not require one to be the most talented, the smartest, the best looking, the best anything.
Leaders, in my mind, can be best defined as those individuals who put the collective first and only; while inspiring in the collective the feeling that following me is our best chance of getting to where we want to go together.
Muhl is a leader, and obviously the Uconn players accept and respond to her leadership. So Muhl can yell at an Edwards to keep hustling in a game already decided not because she is remotely a more talented player, but because Edwards has enough respect for her as the team leader to accept it as motivation, not criticism.

 

[DefenseBB]

Actually Nika has played in 20, the game against the team in Orange was UConn's 21st game.

I have the NCCA Stats up on my tabs full time and they did not update until well into the next day long after the "overnight cycle" @npignatjr was correct and I was incorrect!

 

[PacoSwede]

that's leadership

 

[JellyBean]

She made up for it.

 

[Geew1992]

There are many players, in all of WBB, that have better, or more impressive stats than Nika. But Nika is one of those that falls into the area of amazing performers on the court, and one if you are on the other team you don'twanttoguard. . I love her, and all of the other UCONN players.
Please keep everyone healthy, as this small group is FF candidates.

She’s also that player you thank god is on your team

 

[Gus Mahler]

Does this mean she can't scrimmage with JJ on the opposing team?

Ah, I see what you did there.

 

[Gus Mahler]

She made up for it.

Yup. She's averaging 20 minutes a game down there!

 

[Beemer]

I know I've said this before and undoubtedly I will say it again until she graduates: That's my girl!!!!!

 

[FormerCTrez]

Excellent comparison by the head coach.

 

[mordecai]

UConn is a better team with Nika on the floor.. no matter who is available to play..

 

[sno-cat]

Don’t forget the turnover aspect of the discussion:

 

[JSB60]

She’s really a star now. I saw a young woman at my gym in PA wearing her jersey. No idea who gets the money, since Nika can’t get NIL but it was fun to see.

 

[#12in21]

Anybody else here see Nika on staff as the guard coach at UCONN some years down the line?

 

[Florida Fan]

She is manhandling these "mini-mite" point guards across America. Anxious for SC. (no more Destiny Henderson, big advantage UConn). The Trees have a freshman PG, no where near the physical attributes of Nika.
The concern over fatigue worries me a little. Being over-protective of our players takes away UConn advantages. It is what it is.
I love it when she makes the opposing PGs pick up their dribble and she "smothers" them, often leading to a turnover or she just takes the ball from them. Absolutely text book!!

Takes the rebound from a bigger player, heads up the floor, blows by the the first defensive line and hits a team member with a scoring pass; nobody better.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Anybody else here see Nika on staff as the guard coach at UCONN some years down the line?

Probably not.

 

[huskeynut]

The Croatian Sensation has kind of a nice ring to it.

But to the opposition, she's the Croatian Nightmare!

 

[DennieEddy]

Well, Nike is into everything else, so it’s only a matter of time before they take over awards as well.

New Balance hardly wins any awards anymore in basketball!

 

[Skeets]

Anybody else here see Nika on staff as the guard coach at UCONN some years down the line?

You mean after her career in the WWE?

 

[EdSaid]

If Nike isn't in the next Nancy Lieberman PG award watch list, I'm gonna start throwing things.

How far do you think you can throw a golf club? I've thrown a few in my day.

 

[Huskiefan23]

I think this is Clark's to lose but Nika will probably finish second or third in this.

 

[#12in21]

I found that this moment (at the end the players portion of the Providence postgame presser 2/1/23) speaks volumes about how much Nika has grown over her time at Uconn. Freshman year there was the hair ruffle upon departure and this year an empathetic hand on the shoulder of her coach. Couple that with her response to Maria (at the end of game courtside) after Maria cited her being only one assist away from a double double she quickly rebutted 'yeah practically a triple double with my turnovers'.

From being the kid that Geno had to put up with her downside because she was just so valuable to have on the court to where she is today as his trusted floor general and a rock for her teammates has and continues to show incredible growth, as much as a person, as her performance on the court. Just love this kid and have no worries that whether its on the basketball court or wherever life takes her she will be successful and always impact those around her in very positive ways.