NIKA Thou Shall Not??

[#12in21]

Check out Nika's arm in this photo! I'm guessing she has zero ounces of body fat on her body. She plays so intensely. She was almost down Jensen's throat much of this game. She plays so hard every second of the the game, particularly on defense. I loved what Geno said in the Creighton presser, 'that this team plays with so much energy because Nika forces us to play at her level'. Yes she does! Just watched the replay of the game and Nika has so many great passes that result in misses by the recipient and many that are fumbled on the receiving end that she gets credited with the turnover ( not just in this game) but she just keeps on pushing and feeding her teammates. As much as Geno critizises/challenges her I think deep down he loves this kid to death. Enjoy her while we have her these next couple years because she is one of a kind.

 

[Topdawg]

First two years was about high energy, some scoring, some passing. This year has been about leading, excellent passing, and not fouling as much (per minute). She works hard, so next year I expect her to broaden her game and score more to become one of the most sought out guards going to the pros.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I do believe Nika took a fine summer conditioning and stropped a razor edge onto it. Careful, she'll cut you.

 

[RogueDave]

Agree with the NM positive's all aptly expressed. Equally Excited by the opportunities in her game to grow and learn how to run the expanded offense.

She excels at executing 1st option, seems like when 1st option is taken away the team resorts to the individual with the ball at the time making a play instead of continuing the offense movements, interested in herself and team to develop and include 2nd and 3rd options within the offense.

Another level of leadership she can work towards, continuing her upward trajectory. Think Sue Bird ability to control the offense.

 

[TeamFirst!]

No doubt Nika is having her best year ever but she's still option # 6 or 7 as a scorer. Especially on her drives but she has developed a classic flop manuever no matter what happens on the way in and she's getting those calls. She's a smart basketball player and getting the most from her abilities. She can make some 3's but she can also throw up 4-5 bricks in a row. She's probably a .350 3 point shooter which is decent. On some teams, she'd be a real option but on Azzi and Lou's team she's way down on the list. Nika's weakness still is that she doesn't have to be closely guarded on offense. That may actually be to her advantage though as a passer as she's often unencumbered in executing plays. She's doing a solid job defensively and doing a great job running the team overall.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I still wouldn't play her more than 25 minutes though if Caroline, Lou, Azzi and Aubrey are available. Not to mention Paige.

I also think Ice could well be our 5 next year. I don't think a lot of people push her around and she can finish at the rim.

 

[AzzisBraids]

As a kid in high school Kia had a reasonable reliable 3 pointer. It could be that the pressure of a freshman year made it go away for a time.

Yes Kia was known as a potent slasher and good 3pt shooter, high energy. Transformed herself into one of the best 3 and D players UConn has ever had. She'd play great defense and leak out for a transition 3. Really caused problems in match-ups that didn't respect her.

 

[AzzisBraids]

I wrote in a preseason post that Azzi should start over Nika and she has made a fool out of me. She is the mitochondria of this team. The assists, defensive energy and are great but I underestimated her as a game manager. There are times when she calls a play and the team gets organized quicker than I've ever seen a team. I hear her yelling in the tv on plays she's not even a part of.

Teams get physical with her and she has none of it. No one bullies her and everyone listens. I think a big chunk of everyone's success this season is they all eat well because she feeds everybody plenty.

 

[Skeets]

I wrote in a preseason post that Azzi should start over Nika and she has made a fool out of me. She is the mitochondria of this team. The assists, defensive energy and are great but I underestimated her as a game manager. There are times when she calls a play and the team gets organized quicker than I've ever seen a team. I hear her yelling in the tv on plays she's not even a part of.

Teams get physical with her and she has none of it. No one bullies her and everyone listens. I think a big chunk of everyone's success this season is they all eat well because she feeds everybody plenty.

It doesn't always get picked up on TV, but if you have the opportunity for a game to sit lower than the nose bleed seats, Nika is very loud and very often. Sort of like the old E.F Huton commercial, when Nika yells, people listen.

 

[diggerfoot]

A little more love for Nika and how much she's stepped up her game this year:
-Nika's season high in assists was 15 at NC state. Last year, it took her 9 games into the season to reach 15 assists
-She had 87 total assists last season which she surpassed after her ninth game of the season this year against Florida State
-Assist to turnover ratio this year is just a hair under 3.0 which is almost doubled from her first two seasons which has been around 1.57.

One thing I do miss a bit is that it feels as though she's not getting as many steals this year, but this is probably a direct result of a conscious effort not to get into foul trouble and not being as aggressive going for steals as a result. In terms of her ranking among elite point guards this year, I would put Nika 4th after Caitlin Clark, Olivia Miles, and McKenna Hofschild, who is having a spectacular season at CSU.

Excelling both at steals and locking down your opponent are somewhat at odds. There are a few who have done OK at both, like Jefferson, but usually one will either excel at theft, like Sales, or locking down, like Faris.

In the past Muhl was not the one chosen to lock down, usually that was C. Williams. The more Muhl is tasked with making life difficult for players like Clark, the less steals she will get.

As for the increase in A/T, that is partly because of improved shooting by the team, while improved shooting by a player like Griffin is due to the excellent passing by Muhl, ie, synergy at work.

 

[HuskyNan]

No doubt Nika is having her best year ever but she's still option # 6 or 7 as a scorer. Especially on her drives but she has developed a classic flop manuever no matter what happens on the way in and she's getting those calls. She's a smart basketball player and getting the most from her abilities. She can make some 3's but she can also throw up 4-5 bricks in a row. She's probably a .350 3 point shooter which is decent. On some teams, she'd be a real option but on Azzi and Lou's team she's way down on the list. Nika's weakness still is that she doesn't have to be closely guarded on offense. That may actually be to her advantage though as a passer as she's often unencumbered in executing plays. She's doing a solid job defensively and doing a great job running the team overall.

Did you really write a screed on Nika’s failure as a scorer without actually looking up the facts?

Here are some facts:

• Nika shoots 38.2% on three pointers, third best on the team after Lou (50.8%) and Azzi (42.6%)
• Her points per game average is 6.5, just behind Caroline’s 7.6 ppg
• Nika has never thrown up 4-5 so-called bricks in a game. She took 8 shots in the entire game vs Seton Hall, a season high number of attempts, and made 5 of them. Against Notre Dame, she was 4 of 7.
• You disparage Nika’s scoring but you’re talking about her shooting, which is different. As point guard, Nika is a playmaker. All of those assists you fail to mention create points. Nika passes to the player with the highest percentage shot rather than force up a bad shot to please cranky Boneyarders. The term playmaker has a meaning, too. Look here if you don’t know what it means What is a Playmaker in Basketball - What is their Role? | TSR
• Sorry, not sorry, the facts aren’t what you want but feel free to continue making up ”facts” if they fit your narrative

By the way, your derogatory comment that Nika flops when she gets the benefit of a foul shows you simply don’t like her. I don’t know why you just don’t admit it and save yourself a lot of typing.

 

[LarryLegend]

I don’t care if she scores 0 points. Only concern is that she burns herself out or gets seriously injured. Hopefully Geno can figure a way to take some of the load off of her.

 

[#12in21]

I still wouldn't play her more than 25 minutes though if Caroline, Lou, Azzi and Aubrey are available. Not to mention Paige.

I also think Ice could well be our 5 next year. I don't think a lot of people push her around and she can finish at the rim.

I'll let Chris Dailey respond (her comments after Nika returned from her concussion).

“I don’t think you can underestimate her value,” Dailey said. “You saw it when she was out. Nika is our energy. She has a passion for playing. She is the first one excited about what her teammates do. She loves playing, and she is the kind of unselfish player that you want to play with.

“On and off the court, everything with her is about the team. When you have someone like that who has the ball in her hands and really controls the tempo, when you don’t have her it is really evident.”

Her assessment of Nika's significance after ten games (your suggested timeframe for when we would all be able to truly see where Nika fits in). She went on to talk about even in practice Nika's absence was notable. She isn't alone in her assessment of Nika's role - listen to what Geno has said about her as well this season.

Funny after your suggested ten game analysis period you are still unable to accept that Nika is our point guard, the leader of our team on and off the court and that we are very lucky to have her. For whatever reason you continue to evaluate her 'value' in terms of where she is as a scoring option. You may want to reread Nan's post above (#41).

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[HopJim]

While we have always talked about Nika in terms such as "great energy," she is a much smarter, more mature player this year. In the past, I have been critical of her ability to run a set, half court offense, but this year her constant movement has applied to most facets of the game. Love watching her drives to the basket, opening up the court for teammates and causing defenders to back off. Less needless fouls as well. While Nika likely has bigger things in mind, Most Improved would certainly apply.

 

[huskeynut]

I still wouldn't play her more than 25 minutes though if Caroline, Lou, Azzi and Aubrey are available. Not to mention Paige.

I also think Ice could well be our 5 next year. I don't think a lot of people push her around and she can finish at the rim.

For whatever reason, you continue to write negatives about Nika. I don't get it.

Let's review - Nika is the classic pass first point guard. Just like Jen Rizzotti and Sue Bird. She is the leader of this team. Geno has said it, CD has said it and her teammates have said it. Nika is reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East. What more do you want?

You think that having 3 guards that can nail the 3 is a better offense set. That has been you push since pre-season. Geno disagrees, CD disagrees.

 

[The deacon]

“I don’t think you can underestimate her value,” Dailey said.

This is taken out of context for sure, but CD didn't help Nika's case when she said this after a recent game. We all know Nika's value, but Chris certainly must've wanted to whack herself upside the head after this one...

 

[Beemer]

Loving all the love for my girl Nika <3

She's worked so hard to correct the weaknesses in her game and it is wonderful to watch it pay off in her play this season.

Now, if she can just stop getting her head whacked that would be great!!! There's no point telling her to be less aggressive out there but I can't help but be concerned after she's had her head hit twice in the past few weeks.

 

[fomalhaut]

This is a different team when she's out of the game. Even with Fudd (and Bueckers next year) back, I'd still start her at point guard.

She'd be dead if she actually had zero body fat, but she does look like she's put on some muscle. She's a pretty good rebounder for a 5'10" guard.

I'm happy for her to give up a couple of steals a game for a couple fewer fouls. Keeping out of foul trouble has been a big improvement this year (one of several).

 

[TeamFirst!]

I said “Nika is probably a 35% 3 point shooter which is decent”. In other words I think she probably will shoot 3 pointers at about a 35% rate which is good for most teams. It will fluctuate from game to game but that’s my estimate of her abilities.

Most teams don’t have Azzi and Lou available and would be relatively happy with 35% but Lou and Azzi look capable of shooting 3 pointers at a 45% rate. I’d take the 45% personally but I guess that makes me a “hater”

And if you don’t see her throwing her hands out on virtually every drive maybe some of YOU should watch the video again. She flops just like world class soccer players flop. It’s part of the game and especially the international game. I’m GLAD she flops as it helps her get to the line more often.

I really don’t hate her. I admire how much she has improved and how hard she works. She’s obviously doing a great job leading the team.

As I’ve said at least 3-4 times I just think this team is going to need to be firing on all cylinders to beat teams like SC and to me that means Azzi at the point breaking down the defense in the same ways Paige used to do, with Lou as the shooting guard and Caroline/Aubrey alternating at the 3 providing tons of movement and other strengths. A team like SC is just going to put Beal on Azzi and someone else on Lou to shut them down at the 3 point line and force Nika, Aubrey and Caroline to shoot from the perimeter. SC will win the rebounding battle. We need to convert at a high percentage or we lose. It’s that simple.

Do you want to fix the problem or just ignore it? We have to shoot extremely well to beat teams like SC and Stanford.

 

[TeamFirst!]

We have a difference of opinion regarding Nika’s value. It’s not my job to prop up her self esteem while it clearly is Geno’s job and CD’s job etc. OF COURSE they are going to boost Nika and she is doing a great job. The difference is I don’t think this team wins it all with this configuration and apparently most of you think Nika is irreplaceable. Look at lots of great teams with scoring PG. Paige, Clark and Miles for example. Putting the ball in their hands improves those teams and with the right planning and picks putting the ball in Azzi’s hands more would improve this team.

 

[eggfit]

It's pretty simple. Nika has become the most solid, valuable player on this team.

 

[jazz]

We have a difference of opinion regarding Nika’s value. It’s not my job to prop up her self esteem while it clearly is Geno’s job and CD’s job etc. OF COURSE they are going to boost Nika and she is doing a great job. The difference is I don’t think this team wins it all with this configuration and apparently most of you think Nika is irreplaceable. Look at lots of great teams with scoring PG. Paige, Clark and Miles for example. Putting the ball in their hands improves those teams and with the right planning and picks putting the ball in Azzi’s hands more would improve this team.

yep... you are on to something there., PB, Clark and Miles are better players than nika. of course, most people already know this. that doesn't mean that nika isnt a really good player in her own right. with the ball in her hands, she contributes right at 30pts per game for uconn... about 6-7 points behind miles.

Azzi is a great shooter but she can't create opps for others like nika. in fact, few can.

on this team, this year, yes nika is irreplaceable.

GA doesnt blow smoke up his players backsides so if he says NM is a catalysts or whatever he says, I generally think he is being honest. If anything, GA exaggerates when he is criticizing a player, not the other way around.

 

[jazz]

No doubt Nika is having her best year ever but she's still option # 6 or 7 as a scorer. Especially on her drives but she has developed a classic flop manuever no matter what happens on the way in and she's getting those calls. She's a smart basketball player and getting the most from her abilities. She can make some 3's but she can also throw up 4-5 bricks in a row. She's probably a .350 3 point shooter which is decent. On some teams, she'd be a real option but on Azzi and Lou's team she's way down on the list. Nika's weakness still is that she doesn't have to be closely guarded on offense. That may actually be to her advantage though as a passer as she's often unencumbered in executing plays. She's doing a solid job defensively and doing a great job running the team overall.

most of your post is inaccurate…

NM does not throw up bricks and certainly not 4-5 in a row. She barely takes that many shots in a game. 35% is pretty good and better than decent (unless you are the primary shooting guard). No knock on CD, but for comparison, CD shot less than 30% from three last year although I think she is better this year, still less than nika. this year I think nika is closer to 40% but I think she will mostly hover around 35% which is a good percentage considering she is a pass first point guard and not your starting shooting guard.

Classic Flop---can you tell me where she has done this? If you knock NM down, you generally have to earn it and wack her pretty good. But if she is savvy enough to flop her way into a call or two, what exactly is your beef with that?

Not closely guarded...that hasn't worked well for opposing teams lately. Also, teams are finding out that if for nothing else, they better guard her tight to disrupt her passing line of sight.

Unencumbered.... really? So now she doesn't get credit for being a great passer because the other team is just allowing her to do so???

I see something very different than you. I see a magician with the ball. Her no-look passes are exceptional. She draws, even baits the defense to her and then kicks it out for open jumpers. Just ask her teammates. AE in particular. Not to mention the break where she passes the ball where her teammates need to be. The pass is almost always perfect so the shooter can use the least amount of time getting the shot off.

What about her rebounding? Is she unencumbering her way to getting them too??? She's getting close to 5 a game lately (I would guess about 4 on average for the year)...not many point guards do this...on top of everything else she does.

There is a reason why she plays almost the entire game....but maybe it goes over your head...

 

[trisailin]

We have a difference of opinion regarding Nika’s value. It’s not my job to prop up her self esteem while it clearly is Geno’s job and CD’s job etc. OF COURSE they are going to boost Nika and she is doing a great job. The difference is I don’t think this team wins it all with this configuration and apparently most of you think Nika is irreplaceable. Look at lots of great teams with scoring PG. Paige, Clark and Miles for example. Putting the ball in their hands improves those teams and with the right planning and picks putting the ball in Azzi’s hands more would improve this team.

@TeamFirst! seems to be forgetting a fundamental part of Basketball: Defense. Morgan Tuck was quoted saying "They can't win if they can't score" Nika is doing a pretty remarkable job on the defensive side of the court and I suspect would still be on the court big minutes even if she wasn't leading the country in assists.

 

[HuskyNan]

I said “Nika is probably a 35% 3 point shooter which is decent”. In other words I think she probably will shoot 3 pointers at about a 35% rate which is good for most teams. It will fluctuate from game to game but that’s my estimate of her abilities.

Most teams don’t have Azzi and Lou available and would be relatively happy with 35% but Lou and Azzi look capable of shooting 3 pointers at a 45% rate. I’d take the 45% personally but I guess that makes me a “hater”

And if you don’t see her throwing her hands out on virtually every drive maybe some of YOU should watch the video again. She flops just like world class soccer players flop. It’s part of the game and especially the international game. I’m GLAD she flops as it helps her get to the line more often.

I really don’t hate her. I admire how much she has improved and how hard she works. She’s obviously doing a great job leading the team.

As I’ve said at least 3-4 times I just think this team is going to need to be firing on all cylinders to beat teams like SC and to me that means Azzi at the point breaking down the defense in the same ways Paige used to do, with Lou as the shooting guard and Caroline/Aubrey alternating at the 3 providing tons of movement and other strengths. A team like SC is just going to put Beal on Azzi and someone else on Lou to shut them down at the 3 point line and force Nika, Aubrey and Caroline to shoot from the perimeter. SC will win the rebounding battle. We need to convert at a high percentage or we lose. It’s that simple.

Do you want to fix the problem or just ignore it? We have to shoot extremely well to beat teams like SC and Stanford.

Even when I give you a link to the stats, you won’t look at them. You’re using your subjective eye test to determine how well someone is playing. Your use of the words “probably” and “estimate” - when the actuals were hand fed to you - means you stubbornly refuse to accept facts and choose to use your skewed perception instead. That completely negates any faux statistical analysis you present.

Once more, even though it’s been explained many times - Nika’s job isn’t to score, it’s to facilitate. She creates points by passing to the most open scorer. She is literally the best in the country at facilitating.

Have you never noticed Geno shifting Paige from point guard to shooting guard? That’s because it is the shooting guard’s job to shoot. When Paige plays point she - wait for it - passes the ball, the way a point guard is supposed to do. When Geno shifts her, he wants her to take more shots.

And, by the way, you like Caroline better than Nika but at this point, Nika’s fg% is 43.1% overall and 38.2% from three while Caroline is 41.0% and 36.4%. Their points per game are similar at 6.5 and 7.6.

What is “the problem” you want to fix? What, exactly, is your solution? Pull Nika and put in….who? Freshman Ines? If you shift Azzi to point guard, she’s not going to score anywhere near as many points and there would be more pressure on Lou.

Honestly, I’m not sure why I bothered answering. I hope I’m not turning into this guy

 

[Skeets]

We have a difference of opinion regarding Nika’s value. It’s not my job to prop up her self esteem while it clearly is Geno’s job and CD’s job etc. OF COURSE they are going to boost Nika and she is doing a great job. The difference is I don’t think this team wins it all with this configuration and apparently most of you think Nika is irreplaceable. Look at lots of great teams with scoring PG. Paige, Clark and Miles for example. Putting the ball in their hands improves those teams and with the right planning and picks putting the ball in Azzi’s hands more would improve this team.

Not surprised the Deacon is the only one to give you a "thumbs up" on this.

Of course you cannot have the BE DPOY and the NATIONAL ASSIST LEADER playing. That would be a losing proposition, right?