Paige says so
- Thread starter Geew1992
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Notice that Paige said 'our point guard' when talking about Nika. No qualifying what Nika did by saying something like, 'to step in and do what she did this season....' Doesn't sound, to me, like Paige feels Nika will be merely playing as her back up at PG this season. As many have pointed out, Nika and Paige played very well together, the second half of their freshman year. A backcourt trio, of the collective skillsets of Paige, Azzi and Nika is one that I suspect few teams would be anxious to play against.
After the end of her sophomore campaign, Geno famously told Nika, (paraphrase) if you don't change, even if you are the only guard I have I'll sit your ass'. Well we all saw her response! Not talking about her stats here, which showed impressive upticks. She said before leaving that summer that it was time to grow up and she intended to assume a bigger leadership role her junior year. We saw how a mature Nika Mühl could contain her emotions while maintaining her intensity, cut down on fouling and stay on the court for a record number of minutes per game and assume the role of Geno's trusted floor general.
I personally am extremely excited to see what Paige, Azzi, Nika, Aaliyah, ?, and a very talented bench up and down the roster are going to do in 23-24. I may have called it wrong in 21 but I'm pretty hyped for #12 in 24!
After the end of her sophomore campaign, Geno famously told Nika, (paraphrase) if you don't change, even if you are the only guard I have I'll sit your ass'. Well we all saw her response! Not talking about her stats here, which showed impressive upticks. She said before leaving that summer that it was time to grow up and she intended to assume a bigger leadership role her junior year. We saw how a mature Nika Mühl could contain her emotions while maintaining her intensity, cut down on fouling and stay on the court for a record number of minutes per game and assume the role of Geno's trusted floor general.
I personally am extremely excited to see what Paige, Azzi, Nika, Aaliyah, ?, and a very talented bench up and down the roster are going to do in 23-24. I may have called it wrong in 21 but I'm pretty hyped for #12 in 24!
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Obviously I feel vindicated by Paige’s support for Nika as “our point guard.” If Coach P sees it, so does Coach G, and so should the rest of us. Also agree with Coach P about Cotie McMahon. She had a tremendous impact on tOSU’s season, and will probably continue to do so. She’s a big guard who knows how to play to her strengths in transition and avoids getting caught in her weaknesses in the half court game.
When you run a motion offense you benefit from having several players who can handle the ball and create. Where Nika really shines in my opinion is she can really push the pace and if you have a fast break with Paige on one side and Azzi on the other you are going to have a lot of wide open threes in transition.
To me the real question is who will number 5? I think it will be another player that can set impressive picks to open those other two up on the curl. What do you think Paige and Azzi's shooting percentage would be if they were taking open shots from 15-18 feet all game?
To me the real question is who will number 5? I think it will be another player that can set impressive picks to open those other two up on the curl. What do you think Paige and Azzi's shooting percentage would be if they were taking open shots from 15-18 feet all game?
Carnac
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On a bad day, I think Azzi and Paige could shoot at least 55-60% from the field on open looks. These are two of the best shooters right now in WCBB. On a good day when they’re in a groove and in rhythm, they can very easily shoot 70%. How many videos have we seen them hit 8-10 shots in a row?
Carnac
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Did you see the 51-point closeout game 7 that Jason Tatum (Boston Celtics) had yesterday? Paige and Azzi are very capable of finding that kind of rhythm on any given day.On a bad day, I think Azzi and Paige could shoot at least 55-60% from the field on open looks. These are two of the best shooters right now in WCBB. On a good day when they’re in a groove and in rhythm, they can very easily shoot 70%. How many videos have we seen them hit 8-10 shots in a row?
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Nika in fact was the primary PG last year most likely because Paige was injured for the entire season.
UConn fans will have patiently waited over 3 years for Nika to learn how to make a simple stop & pop mid-range jump shot, and I wish they would have the same amount of patience waiting for Amari to develop an inside game.
Even starters have their weaknesses.
UConn fans will have patiently waited over 3 years for Nika to learn how to make a simple stop & pop mid-range jump shot, and I wish they would have the same amount of patience waiting for Amari to develop an inside game.
Even starters have their weaknesses.
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MilfordHusky
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Coach P. hasn’t forgotten her Slime!
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Because folks keep bashing Amari by saying that she's had 2 years to develop inside but hasn't & maybe never will, yet Nika has gone 3 years without showing any mid-range improvement & maybe she never will either.
A lot of folks also complained about Liv not scoring at UConn, but look at her scoring now in the WNBA.
Liv also had less PT as a senior due to Dorka which I expect will happen to Nika too.
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Bald Husky
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You're right, Nikas minutes will decrease, but since she played 36-40 minutes each game it will be welcomed, even by us Nika fans. There is not a chance that Nika will not start between Paige and Azzi. To have one of the best distributers in the country playing next to possibly the two best shooters in the country is like a dream. Complaining about Nikas scoring input makes no sense with those two, Aaliyah, and either Ice or Caroline playing together. Besides, Nika will do what she has to in the scoring department as she did this last season. Why anyone would not want this is crazy, but thank God Geno is the coach and he will make these decisions.
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Paige has
On a bad day, I think Azzi and Paige could shoot at least 55-60% from the field on open looks. These are two of the best shooters right now in WCBB. On a good day when they’re in a groove and in rhythm, they can very easily shoot 70%. How many videos have we seen them hit 8-10 shots in a row?
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Paige has shot 52% and 54% in her two years and done it under extreme circumstances so I tend to agree that she can hit 55-60% of open looks. Hitting 70% of open looks is entirely different in a game than hitting 8-10 shots in a row in practice, so I doubt we will see that. Azzi, despite her great stroke, has hit 46% and 46% in her two years so until she improves her results consistently, I am far less confident in her ability to hit the levels you are thinking about, but would be happy to be wrong!
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Not sure why you pull Nika into your comments about Amari. Everybody on the boneyard, I would assume and hope, would love to see Amari have a breakout Junior year. Comparing her shortcomings or what she has accomplished her first two years to Nika's first two years makes no sense at all.
Nika's Freshman year she became a starter for the second half of the season, her sophomore year she started a good number of games as well and was the BE DPOY and most significantly Geno has said while reflecting on both seasons, that once Nika was inserted in the starting lineup the team played better. Even disregarding everything Nika accomplished her Junior year, there is just no similarity in the impact Nika has had as a Husky in her first two years and what Amari has.
Amari has been blessed with height and skills, if she could add just a portion of Nika's intensity and fire to her game, we would all be ecstatic. It's up to her, and I'll be definitely rooting for her!
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She took fewer chances because she had to stay on the court. Many doubted she could change from her first two years.
Now this coming season she can be her old harassing PITA to opposing guards. I see the 3 guards averaging 25 minutes and if Muhl fouls out after 20-25 min it's OK. Especially if she has 3-4 steals.
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She was defensive player of the year again, so I'd say she was the same old harassing PITA to opposing guards. She has gotten a lot better about making adjustments once she sees how the game is being called.
Tonyc
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Having Nika at the point takes the pressure of bringing up the ball off Paige and Azzi. It frees them up to run around to get open and Nika will get them the ball. All this talk about LSU being number 1 is crazy IMO. When you have Paige and Azzi there are no comparisons. Paige and Azzi are elite and IMO the 2 best players in WCBB this coming season. There are good players and some really good players but there are no 2 players who can be counted on when their needed like Paige and Azzi. Now add Aaliyah and a healthy Caroline and youve got Murders Row. The fear and intimidation will be back
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What figures substantiate that Azzi is "one of the very best shooters......"? Do her percentages indicate that this is true? Not the numbers I have.
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In her one full season, Paige shot .534/.464/.869. As the focus of the offense (and defenses). That's pretty damn good.
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As for Azzi, I have eyes. And apparently Geno does too. And, according to his statements, his eyes see the same thing that my eyes do.
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All of our eyes see the great form, but all of our eyes should also see the 46% shooting percentage for each of the first two years. There is no doubt about her potential and some great games she has had, and that we all hope for better, but there is also no denying that stats from her first two years are not elite.
Azzi has been injured/playing hurt for much of her first two years. However, if you look at her stats for the start of the 2022-2023 season before she got hurt in the ND game (6 games), her FG% was 54.4%, 3pt% was 43.5%, and FT% was 92.3%. If you exclude the first game of the season where she went 1-8 from 3pt, her 3pt% was 19-38 or 50.0%. Yes, this is a small sample (only 5 games), but it shows what she can do when healthy. Until she got hurt and hurt again, her stats do show she is elite. Now if we can only keep her and Paige healthy...