In defense of Nika

[Longtime fan]

It didn't take long for the Nika haters to come forth with the premise that we need another PG next year, and it was mostly her fault that we couldn't break the Ohio State press. LOL. Did you guys watch the game? With all the pressure defensives I've seen in all my years, I'm pretty sure one person cannot break a press by themselves. This was a great press by OS, but to break it players have to move towards the ball to get a pass, hell, just move period. Everybody just stood still, waiting for Nika, and any other player to pass the ball to them. Except, nobody did that, just stood around, not giving the ball handler an option.
What's done is done, and I believe in Nika, and for the most part, most of the BYers also do. She will be our PG next year, with Paige and Azzi flanking her for the best backcourt in WBB. How can everyone forget what she accomplished this year, BE DPOY again, breaking Sues assist record, and that's hard to do when the options of good shooters were not abundant. She only missed one game during her concussion protocol, and who knows if she was completely healed. She is a fighter, she is UConn, and no one took losing harder than she did. Don't look at one game, look at the season. For most of the season we depended on 5 players, and they were winners for the most part. All 5 players gave it their all, and Nika ensured that they were dialed in for every game. Next year is her last, and she will be our PG, no question. If some of you still can't see that, then you never will. For most of us, we do see that, and she will IMHO, along with Paige, Azzi, Aubrey, Caroline, and the rest of our crew, bring the NC back to Storrs. God forbid injuries again hit us, and if they don't, we will be hard to stop, and I think we will have the best team since the Stewie years. On to next year, and as always, Go Huskies.

Nikka was amazing. Se went from a " back-up" point guard ( behind Paige ) to our only point guard. And performed brilliantly. Both of our top recruits next year are guards. KK Arnold is a point guard. So we'll have Paige, Nilkka, Ines and KK as depth. KK, by the way, is supposed to be " the goods" at that position. McDonalds AA.

 

[fomalhaut]

Those who don't think Connecticut can win a national championship with Nika Muhl at point guard have obviously forgotten about Maria Conlon. And the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 teams were less talented than the team Muhl will be playing with next year if Bueckers and Fudd are healthy.

 

[meyers7]

Seems like many want to use assists as the sole metric to defend or promote Muhl. Using this one measure doesn't do her justice. Relentless defense, leading the fast break, and endless energy would be on the top of my list. She is not the perfect guard and it also ignores some areas of development. While she is one of the best PG's we have had, comparing her to players like Bird and Jefferson is also a stretch.

Just showing people how she stacks up against UCONN's guards.

 

[meyers7]

Those who don't think Connecticut can win a national championship with Nika Muhl at point guard have obviously forgotten about Maria Conlon. And the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 teams were less talented than the team Muhl will be playing with next year if Bueckers and Fudd are healthy.

Conlon and DT were kinda dual PGs. I see Geno having Muhl and Bueckers doing the same next year.

 

[tower1]

I saw KK in the McDonald's AA game last night. She was fast and a good defender but she ended up with no points, no assists and 3 fouls plus a Technical. She brought the ball down the court but after one pass just stood around. I was not impressed with her.
Same thing with Shade.
I wouldnt hold my breath thinking KK is gonna be our starting point guard.

You can't judge any player from the McDonald's all star game. They don't pass to certain players and are just trying to get as many points as they can to get MVP .They pass to certain players that they know only. Even the announcers were one sided. I have watched some of her high school and tournament games and she is the opposite of what you discribe. No one passed the ball to them in the game. So watch some of her games before you criticize them.

 

[Blond D.]

You can't judge any player from the McDonald's all star game. They don't pass to certain players and are just trying to get as many points as they can to get MVP .They pass to certain players that they know only. Even the announcers were one sided. I have watched some of her high school and tournament games and she is the opposite of what you discribe. No one passed the ball to them in the game. So watch some of her games before you criticize them.

I did watch another game with her and Shade and if you had seen my post a little later on I said they did better but I still wasnt overly impressed with them. I said the same thing about Ayanna and Ice the year before.

 

[AJay11]

I don't know whether you saw the OSU-Va Tech game last night, but Va Tech did exactly what you were talking about--not only did they beat OSU's press easily--they didn't panic and unravel like UConn--but they ended the press breaker with an easy layup. OSU came out of their press pretty quickly and it was largely ineffective. That game last night was very indicative of the sentiment that UConn's debacle came not from OSU's press being so formidable but from UConn's players lacking competitive spirit and not coming into the game to play and compete vigorously....

BTW, their PG Amore single-handedly broke down OSU's press with her quickness and ball-handling ability--she rarely picked up her dribble, especially in the backcourt. With some of the comparisons here of recent about PG play, this Amore has the complete PG skillset: she is an amazing ballhandler, she is a great passer, she's lightning quick and a deadeye three-pointer shooter and has great competitive spirit..

Have others gone back to watch the game? The 2nd quarter is what really destroyed most of UConn's chances. AE and Lou didn't play most of that quarter, and before Lou was injured, Azzi and Caroline were pulled because they effectively turned the ball over multiple times. Nika also seemed to lose her "cool" during that quarter. On 2nd watch, they seemed to do okay against the press, except for that 2nd quarter. In the 3rd, Azzi was no longer bringing the ball up. Lou and Dorka were basically the offense (especially after Edwards fouled). I checked out the play-by- play, and the 3rd was mostly Lou and Dorka. Unfortunately, it was a "too little, too late" situation, especially with the fouls and lack of free throw making. I sometimes wonder if Nika is the easiest target (now), because she's not the potential All-American, media hyped player. However, it is pretty clear that there were a few players that didn't play well. As for VA-Tech, I agree with you. What really impressed me though was their maturity. Amoore was Amoore, but from the one singular game I watched, everyone seemed confident about their roles and did what they had to do. A huge difference from UConn. Everyone thinks that if Paige were there, she could have "saved" the day, but if she had it would have been because she had contributions from Dorka and Lou. Even Clark can't save her team with 50 points if the rest of the team doesn't show up.

 

[bovwa10]

Those who don't think Connecticut can win a national championship with Nika Muhl at point guard have obviously forgotten about Maria Conlon. And the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 teams were less talented than the team Muhl will be playing with next year if Bueckers and Fudd are healthy.

I see your point and agree that Muhl will probably start with Paige but you can't compare the current era to 20 years ago. Wcbb is a far more competitive landscape and it is more imperative than ever that all 5 players on the floor have the ability to score consistently.

 

[Zarathustra]

Maybe they both considered the game to be a meaningless exhibition.
She wasn't standing around for the Team USA 3X3 competition, and looked like a star.
She doesn't necessarily need to be a starter.
Her superior skills have been evident all along & I don't believe that Geno rolled craps by recruiting her.

I had the impression that some players, including Ashlynn and maybe KK, played
conservatively at times = not to get injured in an exhibition/meaningless game.

 

[HopJim]

This topic is getting old.

 

[Dynastic]

I won't use the word haters, but there were plenty that have criticized Nika being the point guard. She did not meet their definition of a point guard. They wanted a shoot first, pass second one. That's not Nika and is never going to be Nika. It's the same mindset that we have to have a 6' 5" or bigger post banger. And by the way, this post player must have a hook shot.

By anyone's standards, Nika has an exceptional year. But we are very spoiled and entitled fan base. We can't accept the defeat. So having an exceptional season is not enough.

I will say Nika will start as point guard next year. If healthy, Paige and Azzi are the 2 and 3 guards. Then you have Caroline and probably Aubrey ready to come in. It will be extremely difficult for a frosh guard to break into that lineup. That is reality.

Paige should be the starting PG. I don’t blame anyone who feels Nika should be… That last game was turnovers and missed free throws , we actually led OSU in most other stats. Like Dorka said, “nobody wanted the ball”. The freshman are special but even Maya didn’t start until God forbid some starters got hurt. There is always next year, but yes it was a bummer ending to a very good season.