Nika Mühl

Nika Mühl (born 9 April 2001) is a Croatian college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference. She plays the point guard position.[1] Twice a Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023), Mühl is the Huskies' all-time single season record holder for assists with 284 in the 2022-23 campaign.

Nika Mühl
Mühl with UConn in 2022
No. 10 – UConn Huskies
PositionPoint guard
LeagueBig East Conference
Personal information
Born (2001-04-09) 9 April 2001
Zagreb, Croatia
Listed height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Listed weight64 kg (141 lb)
Career information
High schoolIII. Gymnasium
(Zagreb)
CollegeUConn (2020–present)
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2020ŽKK Trešnjevka 2009
Career highlights and awards
  • Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023)
  • All-Big East Second team (2023)
  • All-WABA League Second team (2019)

Club career

ŽKK Trešnjevka 2009

Mühl played four seasons for ŽKK Trešnjevka 2009 in the Croatian Prva Ženska Liga, from 2016 to 2020.[2][3] She appeared in 24 games in the Prva liga in her first season, averaging 6.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists.[4] The following season she averaged 9.2 points, 6.9 rebounds og 5.0 assists in the Prva Ženska Liga and 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the Women Adriatic Basketball Association (WABA).[5]

In 2018–2019, she averaged 10.0, 7.9 and 6.2 assists in the Prva Ženska Liga and 11.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the WABA. She continued her stellar performance with Trešnjevka during the 2019–2020 season, Mühl averaged 8.6 points and 7.1 assists in the Prva Ženska Liga and 11.7 points and 7.2 assists in the WABA.[6]

College career

Recruiting

Mühl received scholarship offers from NCAA Division I basketball programs including Oregon, Ohio State, Louisville, and USF.[7] On April 8, 2019, Mühl announced her commitment to University of Connecticut. She credited Coach Auriemma's personal trip to Croatia as one reason for her decision: “He was the first one to visit. He made me think that he really cared and that he really wanted me there.”[8] On November 13, 2019, Mühl signed a National Letter of Intent with UConn.[9][10]

Freshman

During her freshman season, Mühl averaged 5.0 points, 2.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.8 steals across 22 games. She made 14 consecutive starts.[11] On 25 February 2021, she scored a season high 19 points in an 81-49 victory against Creighton.[12] In UConn’s first game against High Point in the NCAA Tournament, Mühl rolled her ankle and needed to be helped off the court. She missed the next three games and was unable to return to form in the Final Four.[13]

Sophomore

Mühl was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021–22 season[14] after averaging 2.2 steals per game, second best in the Big East, and headlining the Huskies defense which allowed a league best of 50.8 points per game against conference opponents.[15]

Fran Belibi and Nika Muhl during the 2022 NCAA Final Four.

Junior

With Paige Bueckers out for the season, Mühl became UConn’s most important player.[16] Mühl took on the role of leader on both the defensive and offensive end. On November 20, 2022 she set the program record for most assists in a single game with 15 against NC State, record held previously by teammate Paige Bueckers.[17] She also has led the nation in assists per game for most of the 2022-2023 season, only finishing behind Caitlin Clark by .2 assists. In the final regular-season game, against Xavier, Mühl recorded seven assists to bring her season total to 236, five more than the school record set by Sue Bird in 2002.[18] Starting throughout UConn's three games in the Big East Tournament and three more in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, Mühl finished the season with 284 assists.[19]

National team career

Represented Croatia at the 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship averaging 10.9 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game.[20]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020–21 UConn 231524.438.134.372.72.42.71.70.21.94.9
2021–22 UConn 331921.743.134.222.23.02.61.40.21.53.8
2022–23 UConn 363636.641.234.372.93.97.91.50.11.47.1

Personal life

Mühl was born in Zagreb, Croatia to parents Roberta and Darko Mühl, both of whom played basketball.[21][22] She has one younger sister, Hana Mühl,[2][23] who plays for Ball State University.[24]

Awards and honors
College

References
  1. Paul Doyle (17 February 2022). "UConn women's basketball guard Nika Mühl impacting games without scoring: 'Whatever my team needs'". CT Insider. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  2. "Nika Mühl - Women's Basketball". University of Connecticut Athletics.
  3. Alexa Philippou (22 April 2021). "UConn women's basketball's Nika Mühl stands out with her toughness and stubborness, and Geno Auriemma wouldn't want it any other way". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  4. "ZKK Tresnjevka 2009 Zagreb - 2016–2017 statistics". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  5. "ZKK Tresnjevka 2009 Zagreb - 2017–2018 statistics". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  6. "ZKK Tresnjevka 2009 Zagreb - 2019–2020 statistics". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  7. Daniel Connolly (8 April 2019). "2020 International Commit Nika Muhl on How UConn Found Her". Rivals.com. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  8. Logan, Michael (April 15, 2019). "COLLEGE BEAT: Being first across the pond helped Geno bring Croatia star to Storrs". Record Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  9. Putterman, Alex (November 13, 2019). "UConn women's basketball recruits Paige Bueckers, Nika Muhl, Mir McLean sign letters of intent, making commitments official". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  10. Mike Anthony (18 March 2021). "Nika Muhl idolizes Dennis Rodman". The Cincinnati Post. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  11. Doug Bonjour (23 March 2021). "UConn freshman guard Nika Muhl out for NCAA second-round game against Syracuse". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  12. Doug Bonjour (26 February 2021). "Nika Muhl's offensive breakout carries tantalizing possibilities for top-ranked UConn women". The Cincinnati Post. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  13. Daniel Connolly (14 July 2021). "Nika Mühl, still bitter about Arizona loss, feels like a freshman again". theuconnblog.com. SB Nation. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  14. Maggie Vanoni (16 November 2022). "UConn women's basketball point guard Nika Mühl embracing new role: 'She's grown up a lot'". CT Insider. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  15. Daniel Connolly (3 March 2022). "UConn women's basketball's Nika Mühl named Big East Defensive Player of the Year". theuconnblog.com. SB Nation. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  16. Daniel Connolly (18 August 2022). "UConn WBB Weekly: With Paige Bueckers out, Nika Mühl is now UConn's most important player". theuconnblog.com. SB Nation. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  17. Mike Anthony (21 November 2022). "Why UConn women's basketball guard Nika Mühl had record-setting game with 'subtle' performance". CT Insider. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  18. Inquirer, Carl Adamec / Journal. "UConn women's notebook: Mühl gets assist to break Bird's record". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  19. Riley, Lori (March 24, 2023). "Complex relationship: As Nika Muhl drives UConn women forward, she sometimes drives coach Geno Auriemma crazy". Hartford Courant. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  20. "Nika Muhl at the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 2018 - FIBA.basketball". fiba.basketball. FIBA. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  21. Walter Villa (18 April 2019). "When UConn called, it was game on for Croatian recruit Nika Muhl". ESPN. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  22. Jeré Longman (22 March 2021). "The Road to the Final Four Runs Through Zagreb". New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  23. Carl Adamec (19 November 2022). "Mühl learning how vital a point guard's role is at UConn". theday.com. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  24. "Hana Mühl". 2022-23 Women's Basketball Roster. Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  25. "Maddy Siegrist Named BIG EAST Player of the Year". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
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