A Deeper Dive: What Seattle is getting in Nika Mühl | The Boneyard

A Deeper Dive: What Seattle is getting in Nika Mühl

BRS24

LisaG
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Key quote, which is at the heart of everything between both of them:

It’s important to note that out of all the offers Mühl received from stateside universities, Auriemma was the only coach to make the eight-hour-plus trek to Zagreb to meet her in person. For Mühl, his decision won her over and ultimately changed her life.
 

diggerfoot

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Muhl had two strikes against her in the court of public opinion coming to UConn. First, she was from another country playing in foreign leagues. This naturally calls into the question the level of competition through which she is honing her skills. Yet foreign players generally are coached more in the fundamentals, which is particularly valuable for shaping the decision making skills of a point guard. Throughout her college career the only player I ever thought was better at decision making was Bueckers.

Muhl’s second strike in the court of public opinion was not being an elite athlete. Yet awards and records are represented by many who are not elite athletes. Championships often are won by the less athletic team that plays together well. Quickness compensates for not being fast, boxing out compensates for not being tall, etc. Both team offense and defense surpass the worth of individual abilities.

Muhl might have had a third strike against her if she was truly uncoachable as she claimed, but of course that was never true. Instead she was stubborn yet humble. I suspect that some folks view humility as a weakness, rather than the strength of character it actually represents. I think Muhl’s strength of character will be her lasting impression upon me.
 
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Thanks for sharing such a great article. Nika is such a great example of how hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard. I remember when Nika first arrived as a freshman, all I heard or read was "Nika is not that good", "Nika commits too many turnovers. The ball should not be in her hands" or "Nika can't shoot. She is a liability to the team" and a host of other negative comments. Nika put in the work and was a huge reason why the team did well when injuries hit the program. Nika stepped up to be the floor general last season and this season, while sharing the ball with KK and Paige. Nika will be a solid professional because she knows how to seize an opportunity and outwork others. Do your thang, Nika! You Are Chosen! You Are Worthy, Young Lady. Do your Thang!
 
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Nika demonstrates the genius of Geno. How bizarre is it to travel the world evaluating 15/16/17 year old kids and then pluck one of them out of Croatia (of all places). Then coach her up to be the player that she currently is. How many other coaches can do that? Not even the guy in South Florida... Now Jana is coming in from that hotbed of basketball. I hope the pattern continues.
 
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Key quote, which is at the heart of everything between both of them:

It’s important to note that out of all the offers Mühl received from stateside universities, Auriemma was the only coach to make the eight-hour-plus trek to Zagreb to meet her in person. For Mühl, his decision won her over and ultimately changed her life.
Wow, Zagreb is the most important transport hub in Croatia.
Zagreb is a city with a rich history dating from Roman times. The oldest settlement in the vicinity of the city was the Roman Andautonia, in today's Ščitarjevo.

History of Zagreb · ‎Demographics of Zagreb ·
 
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It's true that Nika developed her game tremendously over the time she was at UConn. The key was that the seeds were always there, she just needed the right environment and time for them to blossom. I think the only thing that Geno may have been surprised about her UConn career was that she left with virtually every assist record. He foresaw the rest.

He didn't travel to Zagreb at the time he did during those precious few recruiting days he had available to recruit someone to sit on the bench. He knew what he was getting in Nika. Those who were here during her freshman season can easily recall all the chatter on the Boneyard about why Geno was giving her so many minutes - what could he possibly see in her to warrant that. By the end of that season the answer was apparent when he had her as his starting point guard. She was far from a finished product though. We all saw the continuing series of challenges and successful responses Nika faced over her next three seasons.

He wanted and he got exactly the player that he recruited, a relentless worker, totally committed to team success, a natural leader and a player that wanted to be continually challenged to meet whatever needs the team had for her. She said from the get go that she has never been the star of her teams but that no one would work harder and be more willing to do the little things others didn't want to do (as she put it the dirty work - defense, boxing out, picking...)

She came with her work ethic, her court vision, her love of setting up and feeding her teammates, her team first mentality, her boundless energy, her intensity, and her fire and love of the game. Her development, through her hard work to meet the challenges her coaches and that she herself gave, at UConn resulted in her ability to have control over her emotions, her ability to have sustained focus, her improved scoring and her understanding and implementation of ever-growing leadership abilities and responsibilities.

On the court, as long as she plays the game, her fire and hunger will always be there, as will, her desire to be continually challenged and improve, and her love of being part of and contributing to the success of her team will always be in the forefront. Nika is not done yet!
 
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Key quote, which is at the heart of everything between both of them:

It’s important to note that out of all the offers Mühl received from stateside universities, Auriemma was the only HEAD coach to make the eight-hour-plus trek to Zagreb to meet her in person. For Mühl, his decision won her over and ultimately changed her life.
If I remember correctly other teams visited her but UConn (Geno) was the only Head Coach.
 

BRS24

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If I remember correctly other teams visited her but UConn (Geno) was the only Head Coach.
Receipts or it didn't happen. I'd like to think the journalist did appropriate fact checking before publishing this claim.
 

MSGRET

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If I remember correctly there was a story in Nika's freshman season that Geno came in after Coach Fernandez did and basically stole her from him. I believe that she stated that she was going to commit to Jose, but when Geno visited she and her family were shocked that he wanted her to play at UConn.
 
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Receipts or it didn't happen. I'd like to think the journalist did appropriate fact checking before publishing this claim.
Yeah but "journalist" and "appropriate fact checking" do not belong in the same sentence. However, this was on the internet so you have to believe it. (There is a lesson to be learned here.)

Good sleuthing to those folks who found the other coaches that visited Nika.
 

oldude

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We all love Nika for her toughness, intensity and competitiveness. Her development at UConn has been extraordinary. But I think we sometimes overlook the incredible confidence it took for Nika to commit to UConn back when she was first recruited. UConn already had a commitment from Paige, the best player on the planet who, like Nika, was a pg.

Nika didn’t care. She wanted to play for Geno and she took a leap of faith, believing that she would be successful at UConn regardless of the competition for PT. How many other point guards would have seen Paige at UConn as a reason to look elsewhere?
 

Majic Hands

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We all love Nika for her toughness, intensity and competitiveness. Her development at UConn has been extraordinary. But I think we sometimes overlook the incredible confidence it took for Nika to commit to UConn back when she was first recruited. UConn already had a commitment from Paige, the best player on the planet who, like Nika, was a pg.

Nika didn’t care. She wanted to play for Geno and she took a leap of faith, believing that she would be successful at UConn regardless of the competition for PT. How many other point guards would have seen Paige at UConn as a reason to look elsewhere?
Exactly!
 
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Nika's fun begins today...

GMQWewJXYAAJK5k.jpg
 
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We all love Nika for her toughness, intensity and competitiveness. Her development at UConn has been extraordinary. But I think we sometimes overlook the incredible confidence it took for Nika to commit to UConn back when she was first recruited. UConn already had a commitment from Paige, the best player on the planet who, like Nika, was a pg.

Nika didn’t care. She wanted to play for Geno and she took a leap of faith, believing that she would be successful at UConn regardless of the competition for PT. How many other point guards would have seen Paige at UConn as a reason to look elsewhere?
If we recall from very early interviews with Nika, when asked about committing after Paige, she (paraphrase) was excited about playing against Paige every day in practice ( think steel hardens steel) believed their games complimented each other, that they would play well together and would challenge each other to each get better. Eyes open and thrilled for the challenge - That’s our Nika!
 

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