Who replaces Nika?

[PacoSwede]

I'm NOT referring to a point guard. We have at least 3 players who will be that with NC-level competence (paige, kaitlyn, kk) plus others who could fill the role in a pinch (morgan in particular, eventually azzi, and even sarah).

I AM referring to a very rare combination of virtues nika provided: fire, great leadership, intensity and savvy on the court, energy and never-say-die toughness. she could be seen as uconn's 'engine' (as alyssa thomas was for the mohegan sun).

paige obviously provides leadership, and perhaps some of nika's other attributes. but can she add the glue that nika did? maybe. that's asking a lot from paige, who's providing so much and is dealing with immense pressure already.

does uconn need a nika clone? hopefully it can succeed without one, because her contributions -- not including her defense, assists and feeble-though-timely scoring -- are hard to find.

who on the '24-'25 squad will show she has what it takes? that would be a huge plus that the BY overlooks.

 

[Zarathustra]

I'm NOT referring to a point guard. We have at least 3 players who will be that with NC-level competence (paige, kaitlyn, kk) plus others who could fill the role in a pinch (morgan in particular, eventually azzi, and even sarah).

I AM referring to a very rare combination of virtues nika provided: fire, great leadership, intensity and savvy on the court, energy and never-say-die toughness. she could be seen as uconn's 'engine' (as alyssa thomas was for the mohegan sun).

paige obviously provides leadership, and perhaps some of nika's other attributes. but can she add the glue that nika did? maybe. that's asking a lot from paige, who's providing so much and is dealing with immense pressure already.

does uconn need a nika clone? hopefully it can succeed without one, because her contributions -- not including her defense, assists and feeble-though-timely scoring -- are hard to find.

who on the '24-'25 squad will show she has what it takes? that would be a huge plus that the BY overlooks.

We will have to clone tissue samples from Nika's inner cheeks, put them into a petri dish and have
Nika visit to breathe "fire" into the new SUPERWOMAN. Failing that: The role will fall to whoever finds the strength to
pull that sword out of the rock!

 

[Huskee11]

No one can replace Nika. She is unique. Incredibly special as a player and a person. She just provides so much energy and positive vibes. Mazda saw it! Now go buy one.

And teams always look different. As Geno said, you can't dip your toe in the same river twice. Players come, they go. It happens way too fast.

The 2024-2025 team will be outstanding, and may very well cut the nets down in April. It will forge its own identity and I think Paige will provide all the leadership they need. The experienced Chen as well, and Azzi in her own quiet way. I also think that the younger players like KK, Shade, Ice, Jana and Sarah are mature beyond their years and will be able to handle the intense pressure on the horizon quite well.

I am really pumped for the upcoming season but will also feel a bit sad at the jump that Nika is not part of it, that she is elsewhere, and most of all, that she is injured. I am hoping that her rehab brings her to Storrs. That would make perfect sense, would it not?

 

[JoePgh]

The only way that the invitation for Kaitlyn to come to Storrs makes sense (at least to me) is if she assumes part of the leadership role that Nika had last year (recognizing that Paige will be the overall team leader). She may not have the fiery temperament that Nika had, but I don't think that is necessary. Whatever she lacks in that department, she will make up in on-court basketball skill, particularly her threat to score from anywhere and in many different ways.

 

[Bone Dog]

The primary Nika-quality that may be hard to replace is fire. Paige has some of it, as do KK and Kaitlyn. But Nika didn’t just have fire. She was fire incarnate. The player who may be closest to Nika in this regard may be Jana. I like to think of her as Big Nika.

@Huskee11 is right. Every team looks different. This one may not be quite as fire-like without Nika. They are mainly a team of silent assassins — Azzi Allie Ash Aubrey Ice Ayanna Caroline Q. They don’t roar when they score, except for Paige and Jana. Maybe Morgan too.

 

[Husky fanatic]

I believe that Jana will fill the fire and enthusiasm role.

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

What makes Nikka so special is that, respectfully, she came to Uconn as an ok player, and left campus a star. That's incredibly hard to do at Uconn.

 

[Hoops66]

I can't disagree with much that was said above, but I can't stop thinking of last year's overachievement by Ash. I don't think that there was one minute when she wasn't going full out. Diving for possession, making a key rebound, or important basket, moving without the ball, setting screens, all in her first year. She's the kind of player that any coach and every fan would be overjoyed to have. Go get 'em Ash!

 

[MSGRET]

I can't disagree with much that was said above, but I can't stop thinking of last year's overachievement by Ash. I don't think that there was one minute when she wasn't going full out. Diving for possession, making a key rebound, or important basket, moving without the ball, setting screens, all in her first year. She's the kind of player that any coach and every fan would be overjoyed to have. Go get 'em Ash!

I stated in one of the Ash threads that she would be one of the energy bunnies on the team. When you look at all of the training videos on her and what she did in High School you just knew that she would be one of the most physically fit players on the team. What I think is amazing is when she returned for her Sophomore season she was even more toned than she was last year, she must have one heck of workout routine over the summer.

 

[DefenseBB]

Nika was clearly a fan favorite who became an outstanding distributor of the ball with a great assist to turnover ratio and developed a great 3 pt shot to the degree of a .402 percentag. Plus the shine on her hair was always glorious. That said, every year we lose someone we were clearly drawn to yet the team finds a way to survive. We don’t need to replace Nika as this team will develop their own identity as all teams do.

My fellow posters are over starting the “fire and intensity“aspect instead of the possibilities each of our returning players could bring. Those that say Jana will have Nika’s “” are speaking from ZERO KNOWLEDGE. All the conjecture is solely from inferring from prior Geno comments.

I need the season to begin to stop this fruitless and over trite dialogues from colleagues who are even more anxious than I am to see the team.

I just hope those who have “jumped the shark” on all this pre-season hyperbole will realize it and do a mea-culpa…highly doubtful but that’s my dream this season.

 

[Bone Dog]

Those that say Jana will have Nika’s “” are speaking from ZERO KNOWLEDGE. All the conjecture is solely from inferring from prior Geno comments.

You make a good point -- I mean except for the last couple sentences. We don't need to replace Nika. Geno can put the team together in various ways.

Though it is worth observing that Geno and CD have said on various occasions that they recruit for scrappiness, or some other version of the same quality. Bearing this in mind, it's easy to see why they would have wanted Nika coming out of Croatia.

As for Jana, it isn't conjecture, or at least not entirely conjecture, though there is some extrapolation involved. But it also isn't "ZERO KNOWLEDGE." The fire was easy to see in the various FIBA games before her injury. She regularly fought through double and triple teams, took the ball at the top of the key to drive a packed lane, fought for rebounds, and was also the "hype woman" for her teammates. This was also easy to see in her HS games, several of which actually are available on YouTube. The commentary is in Arabic which can make them trickier to find and hard to follow in places. But the fact is she's not an unknown quantity, and her intensity is readily apparent in lots of games for anyone who cares to look.