Wikipedia

Nika Mühl

Nika Mühl (/mjuːl/ MYOOL; born 9 April 2001) is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball as a point guard for the UConn Huskies.[1] Twice named Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year while in college, Mühl is UConn's all-time leader in career assists, with 686, and also holds the program records for most assists in a single season (284, set in 2022–23) and in a single game (15 against NC State on November 20, 2022). She was selected 14th overall by Seattle in the 2024 WNBA draft.

Nika Mühl
Mühl with UConn in 2022
No. 1 – Seattle Storm
PositionPoint guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2001-04-09) 9 April 2001 (age 23)
Zagreb, Croatia
Listed height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Listed weight64 kg (141 lb)
Career information
High schoolIII. Gymnasium
(Zagreb)
CollegeUConn (2020–2024)
WNBA draft2024: 2nd round, 14th overall pick
Selected by the Seattle Storm
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2020ŽKK Trešnjevka 2009
2024–presentSeattle Storm
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023)
  • 2× Second-team All-Big East (2023, 2024)
  • All-WABA League Second team (2019)
  • UConn career assists record (686)

Club career edit

ŽKK Trešnjevka 2009 edit

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 and 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 edit

Recruiting edit

Mühl received scholarship offers from several NCAA Division I basketball programs, including Oregon, Ohio State, Louisville, and San Francisco.[7] On April 8, 2019, Mühl announced her commitment to the 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 edit

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 edit

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]

 
Mühl guarded by Stanford's Fran Belibi during the 2022 NCAA Final Four

Junior edit

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, a 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 single-season 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]

Professional career edit

WNBA edit

Mühl was selected as the 14th pick of the 2024 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm.

National team career edit

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 edit

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 edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020–21 UConn 23 15 24.4 38.1 34.3 72.7 2.4 2.7 1.7 0.2 1.9 4.9
2021–22 UConn 33 19 21.7 43.1 34.2 22.2 3.0 2.6 1.4 0.2 1.5 3.8
2022–23 UConn 36 36 36.6 41.2 34.3 72.9 3.9 7.9 1.5 0.1 1.4 7.1
2023–24 UConn 39 39 32.1 46.2 40.2 57.1 4.0 6.5 1.3 0.2 2.6 6.9

Personal life edit

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] Other than her native Croatian, Mühl speaks English fluently and can speak limited German.[25]

Awards and honors edit

College
  • Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2022)[15]
  • Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2023)[26]
  • All-Big East second team (2024)

References edit

  1. ^ Paul Doyle (17 February 2022). "UConn women's basketball guard Nika Mühl impacting games without scoring: 'Whatever my team needs'". CT Insider. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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. ^ "When UConn called, it was game on for Croatian recruit Nika Muhl". ESPN.com. 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  26. ^ "Maddy Siegrist Named BIG EAST Player of the Year". www.bigeast.com. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-02.

External links edit

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