Observations Before Senior Day

[Surly1]

A couple of musings before the last regular season game:

Christyn Williams may not be as outgoing as Paige, Evina or even Azzi, but she seems to be an even keeled, sweet young lady. She had expectations placed on her, struggled a bit, but came out on the other side with her dignity intact.

Olivia has had a very good career. Early on, people wanted her to be everything she isn’t. She is a very effective, see less teammate who I hope has a long career in the WNBA.

Evina seems to be having a ball the last month, and regardless if UConn wins a NC, it appears she doesn’t think twice about not turning pro last season. She is playing a fantastic brand of ball right now.

I’ll say it - Azzi Fudd is the best pure shooter in the college game. Caitlin Clark may be the best 3-pt shooter off the dribble, but Azzi has no peer when it comes to catch and shoot. UConn will have the best starting backcourt in the country next year.

Paige is definitely a generational talent. I admit I didn’t think she’d be back this season. She looked like she hadn’t missed any time last night.Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes missed 6 games and you could see instantly she incurred some rust. Without much practice time, Paige glided to the basket effortlessly last night. Her pull-up jumper is a thing of beauty - the way she releases her shot at the apex of her jump.

Aailyah looks like she is back to being the player we expected her to be this season. It’s amazing to see how she moves her feet for her size.

At her length, Caroline uses her height & body to her advantage in a way that Haley Jones does. When she sets herself, you know instantly when her 3-pt shots are going in.

After some early issues, Dorka has settled in and become a strong contributor to the team and is part of the UConn fabric.

Nika makes the most of her ability and she is always fun to watch, particularly on the defensive end.

Besides the accolades and achievements, what makes watching UConn play is the brand of ball they play. When they are playing team defense like they have for the last 4-5 games, spreading the floor, makes crisp passes and exhibiting unselfishness, it is a pleasure and a joy to watch.

While SC is the legitimate favorite to win the NC and Stanford having the horses to repeat, this UConn team is motoring in the right direction. After all the turmoil of this season, I thought we’d have to wait until next year. However, this team firing on all cylinders, let’s get it started.

 

[Bald Husky]

A couple of musings before the last regular season game:

Christyn Williams may not be as outgoing as Paige, Evina or even Azzi, but she seems to be an even keeled, sweet young lady. She had expectations placed on her, struggled a bit, but came out on the other side with her dignity intact.

Olivia has had a very good career. Early on, people wanted her to be everything she isn’t. She is a very effective, see less teammate who I hope has a long career in the WNBA.

Evina seems to be having a ball the last month, and regardless if UConn wins a NC, it appears she doesn’t think twice about not turning pro last season. She is playing a fantastic brand of ball right now.

I’ll say it - Azzi Fudd is the best pure shooter in the college game. Caitlin Clark may be the best 3-pt shooter off the dribble, but Azzi has no peer when it comes to catch and shoot. UConn will have the best starting backcourt in the country next year.

Paige is definitely a generational talent. I admit I didn’t think she’d be back this season. She looked like she hadn’t missed any time last night.Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes missed 6 games and you could see instantly she incurred some rust. Without much practice time, Paige glided to the basket effortlessly last night. Her pull-up jumper is a thing of beauty - the way she releases her shot at the apex of her jump.

Aailyah looks like she is back to being the player we expected her to be this season. It’s amazing to see how she moves her feet for her size.

At her length, Caroline uses her height & body to her advantage in a way that Haley Jones does. When she sets herself, you know instantly when her 3-pt shots are going in.

After some early issues, Dorka has settled in and become a strong contributor to the team and is part of the UConn fabric.

makes the most of her ability and she is always fun to watch, particularly on the defensive end.Nika

Besides the accolades and achievements, what makes watching UConn play is the brand of ball they play. When they are playing team defense like they have for the last 4-5 games, spreading the floor, makes crisp passes and exhibiting unselfishness, it is a pleasure and a joy to watch.

While SC is the legitimate favorite to win the NC and Stanford having the horses to repeat, this UConn team is motoring in the right direction. After all the turmoil of this season, I thought we’d have to wait until next year. However, this team firing on all cylinders, let’s get it started.

Nika makes the most of her ability? Why must you, as well as some others, seem to refer to her as an afterthought? It sounds like you think she is lucky to be on the team. She started 19 games last year and did a great job. When she came off her injury this year the team noticeably got better. She is a great defensive player, she gets rebounds, she gets steals, and gets assists. She is a great passer, and IMHP, an excellent point guard. Just because someone else comes along that is a better shooter, it doesn't mean they are a better all-around player, or someone who can do a better job in her position. (I don't mean Paige, as nobody in the country is better than her). Give the girl some credit please, and as I said, not an offhanded compliment. She is a solid, valuable member of this team.

 

[Surly1]

Nika makes the most of her ability? Why must you, as well as some others, seem to refer to her as an afterthought? It sounds like you think she is lucky to be on the team. She started 19 games last year and did a great job. When she came off her injury this year the team noticeably got better. She is a great defensive player, she gets rebounds, she gets steals, and gets assists. She is a great passer, and IMHP, an excellent point guard. Just because someone else comes along that is a better shooter, it doesn't mean they are a better all-around player, or someone who can do a better job in her position. (I don't mean Paige, as nobody in the country is better than her). Give the girl some credit please, and as I said, not an offhanded compliment. She is a solid, valuable member of this team.

On the contrary, Nika wouldn’t be starting for one of the most talented teams in the country if she wasn’t worthy and a good player. I am a huge fan of hers.

Also, making the most of her ability is a compliment. Her shot is not fluid or true like some of her other lauded teammates, yet she has proven to be effective. She is not as offensively talented as the rest of the guard corps, yet she excels in her role.

Sorry you took my comments as a slight, but there was none intended, and her contributions to the team are just as vital as her more illustrious peers.

 

[fomalhaut]

Nika Muhl currently has a better three-point percentage than anyone on the team except Fudd (who would be 7th in the country if she qualified) and Christyn Williams (and Edwards, who is oddly 2-5). She's also ahead of Caitlyn Clark.

 

[CB360]

On the contrary, Nika wouldn’t be starting for one of the most talented teams in the country if she wasn’t worthy and a good player. I am a huge fan of hers.

Also, making the most of her ability is a compliment. Her shot is not fluid or true like some of her other lauded teammates, yet she has proven to be effective. She is not as offensively talented as the rest of the guard corps, yet she excels in her role.

Sorry you took my comments as a slight, but there was none intended, and her contributions to the team are just as vital as her more illustrious peers.

Surly1, Not all of us took you comment about Nika negatively. Why people think you were putting her down escapes me. I for one understood exactly your point. There's an awful lot of misunderstanding people posts here and I just don't get it other then maybe to create controversy?? SMH......

 

[Bald Husky]

Surly1, Not all of us took you comment about Nika negatively. Why people think you were putting her down escapes me. I for one understood exactly your point. There's an awful lot of misunderstanding people posts here and I just don't get it other then maybe to create controversy?? SMH......

Not trying to create controversy, and since I liked his other comment, I understood what he meant. Still, some people talk about her as if she was not important, and I for one wanted to state in so certain terms that she is a valuable player on this team. Thats it, no controversy.

 

[tchalla1]

Surly1, Not all of us took you comment about Nika negatively. Why people think you were putting her down escapes me.

When will you guys learn? You should know by now, as Coco Husky has aptly pointed out, it is taboo here to critique Nika--even if your assessment is neutral or with positive intent. I am saying this as a big Nika fan, but time in and time out, if you analyze Nika in a post, you should be prepared for pushback, It is the Nika rule of post...

 

[CB360]

When will you guys learn? You should know by now, as Coco Husky has aptly pointed out, it is taboo here to critique Nika--even if your assessment is neutral or with positive intent. I am saying this as a big Nika fan, but time in and time out, if you analyze Nika in a post, you should be prepared for pushback, It is the Nika rule of post...

I'm one of Nika's biggest supporters, my point was too many post's here are taken out of context.

 

[Littlemin]

When will you guys learn? You should know by now, as Coco Husky has aptly pointed out, it is taboo here to critique Nika--even if your assessment is neutral or with positive intent. I am saying this as a big Nika fan, but time in and time out, if you analyze Nika in a post, you should be prepared for pushback, It is the Nika rule of post...

Oh nonsense, there are plenty of posters here who critique her unfairly, who don’t have a clue about what contributes to a winning team because they can’t see it on a highlight tape.

 

[tchalla1]

Oh nonsense, there are plenty of posters here who critique her unfairly, who don’t have a clue about what contributes to a winning team because they can’t see it on a highlight tape.

Now this I will agree with, but also I've seen fair assessments and neutral posts about Nika draw the yellow flag as well...

 

[LoboDays]

You can only critique what you can see. Nika is the kind of player I would want on my team because I want her team members to play off of her effort and emotion. But critique is based on floor skills. Showing much better skills recently but past performances were deserving of poor critiques.

 

[phil sampieri]

Will the presentations of seniors be televised byCBSSN ?

 

[Littlemin]

You can only critique what you can see. Nika is the kind of player I would want on my team because I want her team members to play off of her effort and emotion. But critique is based on floor skills. Showing much better skills recently but past performances were deserving of poor critiques.

Again, funny, I didn’t read any of the “poor critiques” when Fudd went 0-7 and 1-7 and rightfully so, she is a terrific player who had bad shooting nights, it happens.
Muhl is not a “stat player” so you and others harp on her lack of stats, critiquing them as bad performances while acknowledging she makes the team better via her effort and emotion as if effort and emotion aren’t skills to be recognized; which I guess you can’t because ”You can only critique what you can see.”