Nika Mühl: new UConn single-game assists record!

[jazz]

Nika is a shooter when she has to be. She shoots enough to keep the defense honest. Why shoot when you have Azzi, Lou, Edwards and Aubrey to shoot for you?

this is the point that some dont get. nika finds our best shooters as she did last year. thus far this year, our best shooters are hitting shots at a better rate than last year. nika doesnt need to score much for us to win. she had her hand in on almost half our points this past game but yet people still focus on her being left open. we can win with nika shooting the ball 3-5 times a game. with Azzi and lou and CD, I wouldn't want her shooting more anyway. just find the best shooters and we will be fine. nika will be an opportunistic scorer and that is about all she needs to be.

if nika was a terrific shooter, along with her defense and passing, she'd be a rare talent and be first team all american.

she plays terrific D and also found a way to get 5 rebounds - nobody saying much about this - one of the smallest kids on the floor finds other ways to help....... besides scoring herself.

people keep saying that she needs to score more...not when you bring the energy she does, play D the way she does and faciliate the ball as well as she does. similar to last year, except our shooters didn't make the shots. She will be an opportunistic scorer and that will be enough.

 

[jazz]

Where did it say that I only wanted her to play 5 minutes a game? You interpreted what you wanted to hear, not what I said. We were talking about who should start and who should get the most PT. As of today, Aubrey is scoring 14.3 points a game, shooting .692 from the floor, getting more rebounds and playing great defense. Who is more valuable? Nika or Aubrey? I'd take Aubrey in a heartbeat. Most division one point guards would be getting 10 assists a game on this team, if they played the same amount. It seems that half the team's assists are to Azzi alone. Pass the ball to Azzi and watch her score. It's valuable but NOT as valuable as shooting at a .692 rate and scoring 14.3 points a game mainly against top competition. We are getting fast break points on turnovers because of players like Azzi, Aubrey and Lou getting out on the break. I've said over and over that Nika is valuable. I've just said she should play less and Aubrey and Caroline should play more. I said the other day that Aubrey should start over Nika. I stand by that analysis. I get that Azzi already has a load on her shoulders and not having to worry about bringing the ball up the court helps relieve some of her stress. That's an important function but at crunch time I want the A team on the floor of Dorka, AE, Azzi, Lou and either Aubrey or Caroline. Caroline looks just like she looked last year before she actually got more than a few minutes of PT. When she had regular PT she was a major contributor.

some are finding other ways to criticize nika. now if she finds our open shooters, well that counts for nother either, because anybody could do this. geez...

 

[eebmg]

Good things happen when we give the ball to Azzi. Put her in Caitlin Clark mode. She's just as good if not better.

Azzi has a lot more discretion on her shots than Caitlin. Thats a good thing. I would not mind her driving a little more and get to the FT line however. Love seeing her on the FT line. But she is just like Paige, find the best shot, not the wow shot.

 

[CL82]

I wouldn’t trade her for anyone for while Nika may not be a perfect point guard, she’s perfect for this team.

Exactly! Geno has says that players need to find the thing that they do better than everyone else and do it consistently. That fits Nika to a T.

On a team loaded with scores Nika does not have to look for her shot. She is the perfect engine for this team. Her aggressive tendencies, both in looking down the court on the break and finding the open man and in her absolutely relentless defense set the tone for the entire team.

 

[eebmg]

Nice article

Nika Mühl breaks Paige Bueckers single-game UConn assist record

UConn women's basketball point guard Nika Mühl had a program record 15 assists in a victory over NC State. 'Just unbelievable,' Geno Auriemma said.

www.ctinsider.com

The day started with the most unsettling of scenes, with associate head coach Chris Dailey fainting on the court just after the national anthem and being led away on a stretcher. Mühl and teammates left the court and filed into the locker room, most of them sobbing out of concern.

“She was probably more shook up about it than anybody,” Auriemma said. “Those two fight like cats and dogs every single day. So she was more shook up about it. But she's the most emotional kid, too. There's something about that kid. It's just infectious. Everything she does, she does it with her heart and doesn't ever back down to anybody.”

“I don't know what to say,” Mühl said of the record. “I feel like it's a nice accomplishment. They always laugh at me for saying the same thing, but it's my teammates that made the shots, that ran hard in transition, that set hard screens for other people. So I feel like it's a team accomplishment at the end of the day, but I feel good about it.”

 

[huskeynut]

Good things happen when we give the ball to Azzi. Put her in Caitlin Clark mode. She's just as good if not better.

Caitlin Clark is an excellent player, but a one person show for the most part. Iowa is Clark and Czinano. That is not going to get you very far. Certainly not to a National Championship.

You should know that it takes more than 2 players with a variety of skill sets to win. UConn has always been about the team concept. On any given night, a different UConn player can go off on a tear. We saw 5 players destroy a very good NC State. Nika was an integral part.

You do not see the value because your view of how the game should be played varies greatly from many on this board. Nika is a major factor for the team's success.

I am not going to change your mind, that is obvious. So the banter will continue.

 

[MD#12Fan]

this is the point that some dont get. nika finds our best shooters as she did last year. thus far this year, our best shooters are hitting shots at a better rate than last year. nika doesnt need to score much for us to win. she had her hand in on almost half our points this past game but yet people still focus on her being left open. we can win with nika shooting the ball 3-5 times a game. with Azzi and lou and CD, I wouldn't want her shooting more anyway. just find the best shooters and we will be fine. nika will be an opportunistic scorer and that is about all she needs to be.

if nika was a terrific shooter, along with her defense and passing, she'd be a rare talent and be first team all american.

she plays terrific D and also found a way to get 5 rebounds - nobody saying much about this - one of the smallest kids on the floor finds other ways to help....... besides scoring herself.

people keep saying that she needs to score more...not when you bring the energy she does, play D the way she does and faciliate the ball as well as she does. similar to last year, except our shooters didn't make the shots. She will be an opportunistic scorer and that will be enough.

I’m in your camp for sure.
‘She’s not small. She’s even long and she’s seriously stout. I remember a couple of years ago and she trapped a player in the corner and the player basically fell out. Running into Nika on a screen or a hedge. She’s reaching up and engulfing these steals, like a shot blocker that jumps up and catches the ball. Rebounding happens on the floor, not above the rim, especially in the women’s game, and Nika is a serious factor all over the floor, 100% of the time.
You can’t value what she does statistically.
Scoring is one part of the game. Just one part. Besides, she facilitates scoring.

 

[azfan]

Just ordered my Nika Muhl t-shirt.

I plan to wear it December 28th in Omaha at the Creighton game.

We're visiting family for the holidays and this will be my first opportunity to see the team play in person. I'm tremendously excited and looking forward to this event.

 

[azfan]

She should enjoy the record of 15, because she'll probably break it herself once or twice more. The record she broke was Paige's, so not that old.

I think the record is so recent because the typical team shares the ball so well. Wasn't there a team with Stewie that had five players with 100 assists by the end of the season?

 

[#12in21]

Go to the Thread: Nika for the wise, You stated it verbatim in post #58.

You don't have to even make the effort to find it in that thread, I inserted it in its entirety in #65 on this thread.

 

[eebmg]

I think the record is so recent because the typical team shares the ball so well. Wasn't there a team with Stewie that had five players with 100 assists by the end of the season?

I think the record of 13 Assists before Paige broke it was held by quite a few guards from the older period.

 

[gold2323]

I was a former doubter but experience and tenacity that very few can match ….she has proven herself…Hala Nika

 

[HuskyNan]

No Nan, I disagree. Some ugly things have been said. I won't hunt up the posts, but I know who made them (i.e. there would be less angst if it was Nike who blew out her ACL). I have yet to see anything close to a retraction, and I don't expect one because such people are clearly more astute basketball minds than the majority of the people on the BY. Feel free to delete this post.

I’m not addressing all of the comments made about Nika because I deleted a lot of garbage and some of the posts left up were borderline. I was talking about the portion of us, some of us, that disputed that Nika would suddenly become a 10+ points a game scorer that a faction asserted. There was a wild-eyed segment of Nika supporter, don’t forget.

I don’t think anyone has doubted Nika’s defensive prowess or willingness to facilitate. She breathes energy into the team every time she steps on court and I, among others, didn’t want her replaced or sent to the end of the bench.

 

[eebmg]

I cant wait till until the ND game (Dec 4) when Nika squares off against Olivia Miles. Major attitude on the court. Miles must still be smarting over the Master Class Paige did on her. Hopefully Dorka is back by then and not a bad game for Caroline to replicate what she did to ND last time.

 

[Beemer]

To all the Nika doubters: Do you want your crow fried or baked? With or without ketchup?

 

[CocoHusky]

this is the point that some dont get. nika finds our best shooters as she did last year. thus far this year, our best shooters are hitting shots at a better rate than last year. nika doesnt need to score much for us to win. she had her hand in on almost half our points this past game but yet people still focus on her being left open. we can win with nika shooting the ball 3-5 times a game. with Azzi and lou and CD, I wouldn't want her shooting more anyway. just find the best shooters and we will be fine. nika will be an opportunistic scorer and that is about all she needs to be.

if nika was a terrific shooter, along with her defense and passing, she'd be a rare talent and be first team all american.

people keep saying that she needs to score more...not when you bring the energy she does, play D the way she does and facilitate the ball as well as she does. similar to last year, except our shooters didn't make the shots. She will be an opportunistic scorer and that will be enough.

This is the part I don't get: What is wrong with us wanting Nika to become a "terrific shooter and first team All-American"?
It is not like it has never been done before at UCONN. The UCONN all time leader in assists was every bit the passer, game changing defender, and had multiple teammates that were far better shooters than Nika and yet she became a better shooter as a sophomore and was an AA (junior and senior) and National Defensive Player of the year (senior) & the teams best shooter as a (junior and senior).

 

[Beemer]

Just ordered my Nika Muhl t-shirt.

I plan to wear it December 28th in Omaha at the Creighton game.

We're visiting family for the holidays and this will be my first opportunity to see the team play in person. I'm tremendously excited and looking forward to this event.

Where did you order it?

 

[jazz]

I’m not addressing all of the comments made about Nika because I deleted a lot of garbage and some of the posts left up were borderline. I was talking about the portion of us, some of us, that disputed that Nika would suddenly become a 10+ points a game scorer that a faction asserted. There was a wild-eyed segment of Nika supporter, don’t forget.

I don’t think anyone has doubted Nika’s defensive prowess or willingness to facilitate. She breathes energy into the team every time she steps on court and I, among others, didn’t want her replaced or sent to the end of the bench.

 

[jazz]

I must have missed this thread this past summer but I doubt NM will average 10 plus points a game this year or next. Somewhere between 5 and 8 is where I think she will top out at. But in now way is she a liability to this team and she wasn't last year either simply because she isn't a double digit scorer. This is the essence of what was said, but it much stronger terms. She has some limitations shooting the ball, no doubt about it - she needs to be open and requires and extra tick to get her shot off. She lacks a mid-range as well but neither is a huge problem in our offense. You have to balance this what what she does do that nobody else does for us. Her percentage from three is respectable as well.

 

[Surly1]

I had three questions about Muhl before the season started.

Could she stay out of foul trouble? I was fairly confident this at least would happen, as most everyone at UConn tends to improve in this area.

Would she avoid Chuck Knoblach syndrome? I thought her missed foul shots as a sophomore and missed layups at the start of her freshman year were because of mental blocks and not lack of skill. This was wholly unpredictable to me, but I think she has outgrown her mental blocks.

Would she shoot when needed? The jury is still out on this. I think she has generally made the right decisions, and that is what counts. Btw, taking only uncontested threes on this particular roster are good decisions. There may come a time when the right decisions would mean taking 8-10 shots, but those times will not be often and I have hope she can rise to that occasion. There have been a few past games when she took that many.

On the other hand, once Bueckers went down I always felt Muhl was the best leader. Thankfully, at least on this point not many disagree.

I also thought she was the best remaining decision maker. Her stats from the first two years back this up and this year they are off the charts. Am I right in guessing her A/T ratio is close to 4? Remarkable. I’m not sure anyone disagrees with this either, though some (one?) thinks this is because of our three point shooters. I am guessing at least five assists were transition passes in the lane, and that is a respectable number of total assists for anyone, let alone just transition ones. Faulting Muhl for racking up additional assists to three point shooters does not understand why Bird’s A/T ratios were less than the junior and senior versions of Jefferson.

I also thought she was the best remaining ball handler. The stats support this as well, though I know some disagree based on the eye test. Eye tests are subjective, so who really knows on this point?. I will say that her skills on display this year were also on display in Croatia and, despite some claims to the contrary, they were occasionally on display the past two years. No one should be surprised about her court vision and pinpoint passing this year, though it seems some are. Has she improved further? Certainly. Should that be surprising for an Auriemma coached team?

There should be zero controversy about Nika's performance so far or her style of play. Truthfully, the only opinion that matters is the coach and he is clearly happy. The difference between Nika and Azzi from last year is that they are now healthy. In retrospect, it is crystal clear that both were hobbled physically somewhat last season.

UConn is humming and there are a lot of key contributors, but Nika is guiding the train. Having Aubrey back and healthy again, she is demonstrating her ceiling has a long way to go. Azzi is the best pure catch and release shooter in the women's game. She is a shooter who can score and pass. Is she capable of playing the point and facilitating like Paige? Yes, but that is not her strength. Nike allows Aziz to do what she does best - shoot and score.

Any comparison of Azzi with Caitlin Clark misses the point. They are both highly skilled, but much different players. Azzi is one of the most fundamental, efficient players I've watched and perfectly suited to UConn's style of play. Clark is a pure scorer, who prefers to shoot on the move, particularly from deep. Put Clark in a UConn uniform and I think she would have much different results.

While it leaves the mind to fantasize just what a backcourt with a healthy Paige and Azzi would look like, so far this team has to be outperforming everyone's expectations. Lou is a godsend, especially with the physical struggles that Ducharme is experiencing. It boggles the mind how good this team can be if all the pieces are available.

It is a long season and I hope that Azzi and Nika are not forced to play 35+ minutes every game. They look in amazing shape and are capable of doing so, but after last season and the injuries already incurred this season, I am concerned about the wear and tear.

Nonetheless, UConn is right in the mix with SC and Stanford as one of the top teams and Nika is one of the integral reasons why.

 

[jazz]

This is the part I don't get: What is wrong with us wanting Nika to become a "terrific shooter and first team All-American"?
It is not like it has never been done before at UCONN. The UCONN all time leader in assists was every bit the passer, game changing defender, and had multiple teammates that were far better shooters than Nika and yet she became a better shooter as a sophomore and was an AA (junior and senior) and National Defensive Player of the year (senior) & the teams best shooter as a (junior and senior).

Said player was not as prolific a passer as nika. Be that as it may, I never said that people can't want her to be a terrific shooter and first team AA. How many said players have there been in history of uconn to accomplish what said player accomplished. How many players have her quickness. To compare anybody with said player or any other is just not realistic.

Nika can be Nika and that was good enough to salvage our season last year when PB went out and helped get us to a FF. She is now doing it again this year. My contention is that she was a lot better in past years than you or some others gave her credit for. Can't hit a layup - geez. Slow feet when she had bum foot, etc etc. A foul waiting to happen - ok sometimes but never fouled out or cost us a game. She's a darn good player and getter better. She will never be a prolific scorer in my opinion, but more like an opportunistic one, which I think and hope will be enough. Her 3 pt percentage (probably around 33%) is respectable for somebody not known to be a shooter. Do I wish it was a bit better - maybe 37-38%, well yes, but how many shoot it that well at her size? Those that do, do they do all the other things NM does? For instance, she took 2 charges that I remember and should have had a third which I thought was a poor call. She could have had 25 assists if not for 10 open shots missed by our players...

 

[DefenseBB]

I cant wait till until the ND game (Dec 4) when Nika squares off against Olivia Miles. Major attitude on the court. Miles must still be smarting over the Master Class Paige did on her. Hopefully Dorka is back by then and not a bad game for Caroline to replicate what she did to ND last time.

While I don't disagree that Miles plays with a chip on her shoulder, to me the epitome of attitude is little Mabry. I want Nika or Aubrey to literally shut her out and have her whining like always.

 

[jazz]

I’m in your camp for sure.
‘She’s not small. She’s even long and she’s seriously stout. I remember a couple of years ago and she trapped a player in the corner and the player basically fell out. Running into Nika on a screen or a hedge. She’s reaching up and engulfing these steals, like a shot blocker that jumps up and catches the ball. Rebounding happens on the floor, not above the rim, especially in the women’s game, and Nika is a serious factor all over the floor, 100% of the time.
You can’t value what she does statistically.
Scoring is one part of the game. Just one part. Besides, she facilitates scoring.

She had a hand in almost 50% of our points...think about that. She missed out on 10 assists from missed shots. She could have had 20 assists easily. She a darn good player and always has been...just getting better year in and year out.

 

[Blacketh’D]

this is the point that some dont get. nika finds our best shooters as she did last year. thus far this year, our best shooters are hitting shots at a better rate than last year. nika doesnt need to score much for us to win. she had her hand in on almost half our points this past game but yet people still focus on her being left open. we can win with nika shooting the ball 3-5 times a game. with Azzi and lou and CD, I wouldn't want her shooting more anyway. just find the best shooters and we will be fine. nika will be an opportunistic scorer and that is about all she needs to be.

if nika was a terrific shooter, along with her defense and passing, she'd be a rare talent and be first team all american.

she plays terrific D and also found a way to get 5 rebounds - nobody saying much about this - one of the smallest kids on the floor finds other ways to help....... besides scoring herself.

people keep saying that she needs to score more...not when you bring the energy she does, play D the way she does and faciliate the ball as well as she does. similar to last year, except our shooters didn't make the shots. She will be an opportunistic scorer and that will be enough.

I think most people do understand this. All the topics around her seem to dredge up old arguments from the past two seasons. Of course she is going to improve and of course she doesn't have to score. The way ppl talk about her though, you would think she's been the most/second most important player on the team from the jump. Ppl have always praised her defense and intangibles. She's shown she can make her shots even if she's very picky about taking them. You must be latching on to a very select few comments.
It's only been a couple games. In the past she definitely has needed to score more. That remains a truth. If the team as its constructed now can provide all the scoring for her, you are correct, her defense and great passing will be enough. If the team clicks and gels and run away with their competition then she was a perfect leader in a perfect spot to provide for THIS team. She's still writing her narrative and there's no reason to get upset that people think she needs to score more. What was true last year might not be true this year. Coming off the bench and starting are much different roles and we are finally seeing what she can really do with the opportunity. Being a bench player isn't always easy and she didn't always step up. Yea our shooters didn't always make the shots...but that means you have to take yours. Even Stockton and Nash weren't this conservative with their scoring. If she doesn't have to this year then good for her, they got her a roster that can help her thrive. It's a team game.

 

[Bone Dog]

Nika can be Nika and that was good enough to salvage our season last year when PB went out and helped get us to a FF. She is now doing it again this year. My contention is that she was a lot better in past years than you or some others gave her credit for. Can't hit a layup - geez. Slow feet when she had bum foot, etc etc. A foul waiting to happen - ok sometimes but never fouled out or cost us a game. She's a darn good player and getter better. She will never be a prolific scorer in my opinion, but more like an opportunistic one, which I think and hope will be enough.

This is an admirable defense of Nika, and I'm one of her defenders. But there's a few things we ought to acknowledge if we want this theme in our threads to go away.

1) Nika didn't salvage the team when Paige went down last season -- that was Evina initially, then Caroline, then Azzi. Did Nika help, too? Yes, of course. But the real burden was carried by those three. I hope I can assume this is what you meant, that Nika helped, too.

2) No one in their right mind would deny she can hit an open layup. She's done this plenty of times in run-outs off her own steals. That's never been the issue. Can she finish at the rim in the half court offense? This is something she has not been able to do consistently. She can do it when the defense makes a mistake and leaves her an open lane. But I'd expect a pg to be able to challenge an opposing big directly, maybe draw a foul, or...

3)... or get an interior assist by forcing a big to shift over to her when she drives to the rim, allowing her to dish the ball to one of our bigs. I can't recall her once doing this last season. Part of the problem is that by midseason opposing teams knew she wouldn't try to shoot in the paint and so she couldn't create an opening for an interior assist.

4) She is good at finding our perimeter shooters, and she often does this by flashing into the lane and then passing out. She has done this a few times in each of our previous games. But if her passing game becomes one-dimensional, if she's only able to drive and then pass back out, other teams will learn to shut this down in March.

5) The only reason people have wished for her to expand her offensive skill set to include pop-up jumpers in the midrange and more confidence finishing at the rim is that she may need this in March, and the rest of the team may need her to be able to do this. No one is demanding that she become Paige or Azzi. If she went from 4ppg to 8ppg I'm sure everyone would be thrilled. it's not like she has to make a ton of midrange shots and layups. She just needs to be willing to take a few more of them. That's perfectly consistent with being an opportunistic scorer.

6)... and pointing to those standing set-shot 3s she can make doesn't really address the concern. I'm thrilled when she makes those. But it doesn't really change the way teams defend her that much. A mid-range jumpshot off the dribble would do exactly that, change how she's defended (in the latter half of the season) and open up even more passing lanes.

Some folks here think she can never change at this point in her career. But I think that's selling her short. I think she's already improved since last season. Her passing is sharper, she runs the break even better, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a pop-up jumper soon. I think it will all come together for her this season.