Geno & Nika's Unique Relationship

[fomalhaut]

Turns out there's razor maker from Germany called M. Muhle, famous for his 2-sided cutting instrument. Might this be a Muhl relative? Can we compare Nika to a 2-sided razor?

I assume she must have German ancestry, because Croatian doesn't have an umlaut-u.

 

[CTinLA]

“Sveta or Nika or Diana or Sue or Maya”. Putting Nika in the company of some of the all time great Huskies says a lot about what Geno thinks of Nika. Even if the comments were more specifically about personality than skill, I don’t think Geno says this unless he sees excellence in Nika. The leap that she made from last season to this season has been remarkable. Although I thought that Nika’s energy and defensive intensity were important to the team last year, I didn’t know that she had the kind of court vision or the passing ability that has been on display this year. It says so much about Nika as a player and as a person that she was willing and able to step into the role of team leader once Paige went down. It could have been too much for her; it would have been too much for some. Instead, Nika upped her game on both ends of the court and became an elite point guard. She might not score much, but she’s not just a defensive stopper anymore. As the orchestrator of the offense, she destroyed Sue’s assist records that had survived Renee and Mo Jeff and Crystal. It’s been impressive. Recent interactions between Nika and Geno make it pretty clear that their relationship is central to her success. The genuine affection between the two is evident, if occasionally buried under layers of sarcasm. Nika has learned to be a coachable player, and Geno has a lot of experience in coaching the uncoachables. In the past, similar relationships with Sveta and Diana and Sue and Maya have led to National Championships. In ten days, I hope that Nika will join that list.

 

[oldude]

Today's article with some extra spice -

Complex relationship: As Nika Muhl drives UConn women forward, she sometimes drives coach Geno Auriemma crazy

Nika Muhl’s feistiness has helped drive the UConn women’s basketball team this season but sometimes it gets her in hot water with coach Geno Auriemma.

www.courant.com

“When we got to the Big East Tournament, after we played Xavier [a 60-51 win], I told Nika on Thursday or Friday, I said, ‘I got tickets to Florida,’” Auriemma said Friday. “She goes, ‘Oh yeah, when you going?’ I said, ‘Sunday morning.’ She goes, ‘What? I said, ‘There’s no chance we’re playing Sunday and Monday in the Big East Tournament, not the way we’re playing. She gives me this look like she wants to rip my face off. I said, ‘I’m just saying. I just go by what I see, man.’

“So after we win Monday night, she goes, ‘Now you can go to Florida and I don’t care if you stay there.’

“I would rather deal with somebody like Sveta or Nika, or Diana or Sue, or Maya [Moore] – I would rather deal with guys like that anytime, instead of the, ‘OK, Coach, OK Coach, OK Coach,’ without there being any pushback and fight,”

So I just read Lori Valley’s story, written yesterday, on Nika and Geno’s relationship. Other than characterizing it as “complex” rather than “unique” it does look remarkably similar to the OP in this thread, which I wrote a day earlier.

Coincidence?
I think not!!!

 

[CL82]

For what it’s worth, from the opening post on down this has been a great thread with interesting observations and insights in timely and appropriate links to articles and videos. Nice job by everybody who participated. This is an example of what makes The Boneyard the best site for college basketball fans.

 

[Carnac]

Today's article with some extra spice -

Complex relationship: As Nika Muhl drives UConn women forward, she sometimes drives coach Geno Auriemma crazy

Nika Muhl’s feistiness has helped drive the UConn women’s basketball team this season but sometimes it gets her in hot water with coach Geno Auriemma.

www.courant.com

“When we got to the Big East Tournament, after we played Xavier [a 60-51 win], I told Nika on Thursday or Friday, I said, ‘I got tickets to Florida,’” Auriemma said Friday. “She goes, ‘Oh yeah, when you going?’ I said, ‘Sunday morning.’ She goes, ‘What? I said, ‘There’s no chance we’re playing Sunday and Monday in the Big East Tournament, not the way we’re playing. She gives me this look like she wants to rip my face off. I said, ‘I’m just saying. I just go by what I see, man.’

“So after we win Monday night, she goes, ‘Now you can go to Florida and I don’t care if you stay there.’

“I would rather deal with somebody like Sveta or Nika, or Diana or Sue, or Maya [Moore] – I would rather deal with guys like that anytime, instead of the, ‘OK, Coach, OK Coach, OK Coach,’ without there being any pushback and fight,”

That's who Nika is. It's in her DNA. It's part of her "charm" and personality. She can't undo who she is any more than we can. I love it. As I commented in another thread. You know for sure she will show up for every game ready to play, and she won't do any magic tricks (disappear). I love the growth and maturity that she has acquired since she's been here.

 

[Bigboote]

Remember how distraught we all were in August when we lost Paige, the former NPOY and the best pg/combo guard in the nation. While many BY’ers considered Nika to be a “serviceable” pg, there was a lot of discussion about moving Azzi to pg, not knowing that we would also lose Azzi for most of the season.

Nika’s efforts to hold this UConn team together and bring it to the precipice of yet another FF have been extraordinary. Consider that she is only 21 assists short of the “Ruthian” total of 300 assists in a single season. 20 years from now those BY’ers still alive and kicking will be singing the praises of the remarkable Croatian pg that saved UConn’s 2022-23 season.

I was sorry to lose Paige and Ice, but I always had confidence in Nika. I'd seen enough footage of her in Europe to know that she is an elite passer. I believed UConn would be in the hunt for another National Championship before the season began.

I'm tickled to death how well she's playing and how the relationship between her and Geno has developed. They both have the alpha-dog personality with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Get Paige actively back in the mix next year and we could be in for a good and humorous ride.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Nika will be on somebody's coaching staff within 5 years

 

[npignatjr]

Watching her on the floor up close against Seton Hall in South Orange and then having great seats against Baylor, it was pure fun seeing their interaction. Against Seton Hall, Nika had totally shut down Park Lane in the first quarter who had 2 fouls right away, and Nika was having a great assist game. She tried to thread the needle on a fast break to Aaliyah with about 20 seconds left in the first quarter instead of setting up a play for the last shot. The game was already over. Geno screamed at Nika, and she didn't look at him but had a "Really? Gimme a break. I'm killing it" look on her face. It was hysterical. Against Baylor, he went crazy on her after she picked up her third foul. Her reaction was as though he wasn't there.

See, Geno got what he wanted. A coach on the floor who has taken ownership of the team and everyone on it. He got a little bit of Sue, a little bit of Jenn, a little bit of Moriah and Crystal and others all in one. Over this summer, when she gets a fast and true pull up J, a quicker release on her 3s by stepping into the pass like Azzi and CD do, and learns to twist her right hand slightly on those breakaway fast breaks so she is not too strong off the glass, you will see an All-American next year.

When you see her live, you also see a truly great college defensive player with the heart of a riverboat gambler who will relentlessly harass, torment, and at times embarrass an opponent.

She is an honorable mention All American this year I believe.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Geno's concern

While watching this ...

I felt like this ...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Nika will be on somebody's coaching staff within 5 years

My guess is she's headed home to Europe for some time anyway. Her ability to play like greased lightning could be a plus there with the short clock and she could return to her preferred way of fouling; you know where she fouls and doesn't get whistled.