UConn stats... Nika, Nika, Nika...

[DavidinNaples]

It has been quite a week for Nika Muhl..! Fresh off breaking Sue Bird's decades old record for most assists in a single season (236 and counting), Nika repeats as the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. With the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament still to come, Nika still has much work to do as the heart of the Huskies' team. But, consider for a moment the progress in her three years so far at UConn.

Consider:
(All stats are freshman, sophomore and then junior years)
1. Assists - 62 then 87 then 236 assists. Off the charts..!!
2. Points/ shooting % - 112 pts on 38.1%, 127 pts on 43.1%, then 217 on 42.3%.
3. Assist/ turnover ratio - 1.41 then 1.71 then 2.29.
4. Rebounds - 56 then 100 then 118.
5. Steals - 40 then 47 then 40 (and counting)
6. Minutes/game - 24.5 per, 21.7 per, 36.5 per game.
7. Games - 23 of 30 (started 15), 33 of 36 (started 19) and 30 of 31 (started all).
8. Free throws - 8-11 (72.7%), 2-9 (22%), and 41-55 (74.5%) Attempts way up..!
9. 3 pt shooting % - 34.3%, 34.2%, and 37.4%. Very steady..!
10. Fouls - 40, 65 and then 67. ) (0, 0, and 0 according to Nika)

Tremendous improvement across the stat sheet. Nika has also emerged as the voice of the Huskies during the game.
Congrats Nika..!! Tournament time..!!

P.S. - Post #1,000... thanks for reading..

 

[JellyBean]

Congrats on post #1,000!! I am glad that you mentioned the progress Nika has made over the years. I am sure Nika is like, "I told you all what I could do from the jump!" But just watching, as a fan, her progression is a pure joy. I can only imagine the coaching staff's thoughts. Super happy for Nika and for you reaching that 1,000 mark. Looking forward to that 2,000th post!!

 

[Zarathustra]

It has been quite a week for Nika Muhl..! Fresh off breaking Sue Bird's decades old record for most assists in a single season (236 and counting), Nika repeats as the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. With the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament still to come, Nika still has much work to do as the heart of the Huskies' team. But, consider for a moment the progress in her three years so far at UConn.

Consider:
(All stats are freshman, sophomore and then junior years)
1. Assists - 62 then 87 then 236 assists. Off the charts..!!
2. Points/ shooting % - 112 pts on 38.1%, 127 pts on 43.1%, then 217 on 42.3%.
3. Assist/ turnover ratio - 1.41 then 1.71 then 2.29.
4. Rebounds - 56 then 100 then 118.
5. Steals - 40 then 47 then 40 (and counting)
6. Minutes/game - 24.5 per, 21.7 per, 36.5 per game.
7. Games - 23 of 30 (started 15), 33 of 36 (started 19) and 30 of 31 (started all).
8. Free throws - 8-11 (72.7%), 2-9 (22%), and 41-55 (74.5%) Attempts way up..!
9. 3 pt shooting % - 34.3%, 34.2%, and 37.4%. Very steady..!
10. Fouls - 40, 65 and then 67. ) (0, 0, and 0 according to Nika)

Tremendous improvement across the stat sheet. Nika has also emerged as the voice of the Huskies during the game.
Congrats Nika..!! Tournament time..!!

P.S. - Post #1,000... thanks for reading..

Well done on the NIKA stats. There is such a thing as "the 'eye test' ", and then there are stats. It
is very worthwhile for the Boneyarders to see both! We then can all agree to disagree!! ( smiley face )

 

[meyers7]

It has been quite a week for Nika Muhl..! Fresh off breaking Sue Bird's decades old record for most assists in a single season (236 and counting), Nika repeats as the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. With the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament still to come, Nika still has much work to do as the heart of the Huskies' team. But, consider for a moment the progress in her three years so far at UConn.

Consider:
(All stats are freshman, sophomore and then junior years)
1. Assists - 62 then 87 then 236 assists. Off the charts..!!

Totaling up to 385 (and counting) With 3-9 more games....say conservatively 7. At conservatively 6 a game she'll get another 42 for 427.

Next year would need 114 to break into UCONN's top 10. 173 to pass Bird and Dangerfield to move into top 5. Don't know if she can get that many with Bueckers and Fudd picking up a lot of the playing time/assists. But 120-150??? Possible.

 

[PhillyCoach]

David, love your stats. Seems like you always have "interesting and sometimes unusual" info. It's nice that you have 1,000 messages, however, I am most impressed by your 7.2 to 1 reaction scores. I Don't ever remember a post you had that was a dud. Can't be many posters with a higher ratio than 7.2 to 1. There are several quality posters who are at 3 to 1 reaction ratio. Please keep those stats coming.
I greatly appreciate them.

 

[CL82]

I would put apples in the turnovers, blueberries are very good as well.

 

[MilfordHusky]

David, love your stats. Seems like you always have "interesting and sometimes unusual" info. It's nice that you have 1,000 messages, however, I am most impressed by your 7.2 to 1 reaction scores. I Don't ever remember a post you had that was a dud. Can't be many posters with a higher ratio than 7.2 to 1. There are several quality posters who are at 3 to 1 reaction ratio. Please keep those stats coming.
I greatly appreciate them.

David has been known to be "interesting and unusual."

 

[DavidinNaples]

From France,
Here are the turnover stats for Nika. She has 103, which technically is 19.9% of the team total. I’ll round up to the 20% you mention in the Assist thread. You obviously feel that is a big negative for Nika. Let me point out Caitlin Clark from Iowa has 115 turnovers, 27.8% of her team’s turnovers. Maybe both coaches should bench those two to cut down on turnovers? Or, maybe the “high turnovers” is a function of handling the ball virtually every offensive possession…the flip side of record assists..!

One final Nika stat. Her 236 assists are 40.6% of UConn’s total. Double the turnover %. And before you ask, Caitlin only has 1 more assist than Nika, 237.
Go Huskies..!

 

[oldude]

From France,
Here are the turnover stats for Nika. She has 103, which technically is 19.9% of the team total. I’ll round up to the 20% you mention in the Assist thread. You obviously feel that is a big negative for Nika. Let me point out Caitlin Clark from Iowa has 115 turnovers, 27.8% of her team’s turnovers. Maybe both coaches should bench those two to cut down on turnovers? Or, maybe the “high turnovers” is a function of handling the ball virtually every offensive possession…the flip side of record assists..!

One final Nika stat. Her 236 assists are 40.6% of UConn’s total. Double the turnover %. And before you ask, Caitlin only has 1 more assist than Nika, 237.
Go Huskies..!

You always want to see assists > turnovers. An A/TO ratio of 2.0 or greater, particularly for a pg, is considered to be exceptional. So Nika’s 2.29 a/to ratio is excellent.

In comparison, during Paige’s NPOY season she delivered 168 assists with 73 turnovers for an A/TO ratio of 2.30.

 

[The deacon]

From France,
Here are the turnover stats for Nika. She has 103, which technically is 19.9% of the team total. I’ll round up to the 20% you mention in the Assist thread. You obviously feel that is a big negative for Nika. Let me point out Caitlin Clark from Iowa has 115 turnovers, 27.8% of her team’s turnovers. Maybe both coaches should bench those two to cut down on turnovers? Or, maybe the “high turnovers” is a function of handling the ball virtually every offensive possession…the flip side of record assists..!

One final Nika stat. Her 236 assists are 40.6% of UConn’s total. Double the turnover %. And before you ask, Caitlin only has 1 more assist than Nika, 237.
Go Huskies..!

Great work on your part, David, although Caitlin has played one less game and likely would be more than one assist ahead of Nika if they had played in the same number of games.

Now it'll come down to which team (and assist producer) will advance farther in their respective tournaments.

 

[jazz]

It has been quite a week for Nika Muhl..! Fresh off breaking Sue Bird's decades old record for most assists in a single season (236 and counting), Nika repeats as the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. With the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament still to come, Nika still has much work to do as the heart of the Huskies' team. But, consider for a moment the progress in her three years so far at UConn.

Consider:
(All stats are freshman, sophomore and then junior years)
1. Assists - 62 then 87 then 236 assists. Off the charts..!!
2. Points/ shooting % - 112 pts on 38.1%, 127 pts on 43.1%, then 217 on 42.3%.
3. Assist/ turnover ratio - 1.41 then 1.71 then 2.29.
4. Rebounds - 56 then 100 then 118.
5. Steals - 40 then 47 then 40 (and counting)
6. Minutes/game - 24.5 per, 21.7 per, 36.5 per game.
7. Games - 23 of 30 (started 15), 33 of 36 (started 19) and 30 of 31 (started all).
8. Free throws - 8-11 (72.7%), 2-9 (22%), and 41-55 (74.5%) Attempts way up..!
9. 3 pt shooting % - 34.3%, 34.2%, and 37.4%. Very steady..!
10. Fouls - 40, 65 and then 67. ) (0, 0, and 0 according to Nika)

Tremendous improvement across the stat sheet. Nika has also emerged as the voice of the Huskies during the game.
Congrats Nika..!! Tournament time..!!

P.S. - Post #1,000... thanks for reading..

Thanks for the post. Those stats do show a few things:
1. NM is does not have a big problem with TOs. In fact, she is really good at keeping them under control given the number of minutes played, the fact she has the ball in her hands the majority of every set and she is great at passing the ball. The minutes wear her down and leads to some poor decisions. I noticedd how tired she was in a recent game when she deferred running the offense on a few sets by giving the ball up to Ines. Maybe TOs per minute in comparison to others would further put the rest the delusion that NM turns the ball over way too much. Maybe at times, she does turn the ball over more than one likes, but given the above reasoning, she is very good with the ball and decision making.
2. NM is not a foul machine. This one is like a rumor gone wild. Honestly, I even thought her fouls were a bit higher than you have shown. Again, under the circumstances, it is obvious that anybody's fouls would be a bit higher than normal if: they play head up defense all the time like NM does and they play almost the entire game. By the way, just watch NM guard and box out a bigger player...she is one tough son of a gun. It is a thing of beauty watching her battle.
3. NM can't shoot FTs. As I stated last year and again this year, last year's low percentage was an aberration and a very small sample size. Why not use the entire sample size in one's conclusion of her abiltiies at the FT line as you have shown? Again, I thought she was a tick lower on her FT shooting. 70% plus is good, not great for a point, but good.
4. NM can't shoot. Well, she isn't the best shooter and not as good as you would want, but much better than terrible or anything else people say. Being open, as some use in their critique, is just silly. From the three point line, she is pretty darn good - although a bit streaky. Keep in mind she is NOT a shooting guard so expectations should be in line with that. If she was a great shooter or at least a better shooter, there would be no question that she would be AA and one of Uconn's best players ever at the position (given her abilities to pass the ball and her defense). As is, she is pretty darn good anyway - not perfect, not the best in the country, but good, even very good.

None of the above takes into account her great defense in forcing TOs which often does not show up in the box (she does this at least twice a game, which in large part, mitigates her TOs - takes charges or forces a bad pass) and her fiery leadership, among other things.

 

[HuskyNan]

If you want to know a player’s stats like-sized into per-40 minute units, check out @JRRRJ ’s spreadsheet with the comparisons

 

[meyers7]

You always want to see assists > turnovers. An A/TO ratio of 2.0 or greater, particularly for a pg, is considered to be exceptional. So Nika’s 2.29 a/to ratio is excellent.

In comparison, during Paige’s NPOY season she delivered 168 assists with 73 turnovers for an A/TO ratio of 2.30.

Just for comparison. Other UCONN players highest Assist year A/TO ratio

Rizzotti - 222 assists / 1.93 a/to
Bird - 231 assists / 2.48 a/to
DT - 208 assists / 2.51 a/to
Montgomery 199 assists / 1.99 a/to
Jefferson - 204 assists / 2.83 a/to
Dangerfield - 225 assists / 3.08 a/to

 

[SVCBeercats]

10. Fouls - 40, 65 and then 67. ) (0, 0, and 0 according to Nika) LOL

Joined: Apr 1, 2013
Coincidence or more of your sense of humor?