A Rather U-Nika Start
The Story: Even though she was the starting point guard for 19 games last season as a sophomore, Nika Muhl‘s role has changed heading into her junior year with Paige Bueckers out — and so far, she’s handling it well.
A WELL-ROUNDED GAME: Muhl has scored just nine points in two games — three in the season-opening win against Northeastern on Friday and six in the win over No. 3 Texas on Monday. She has taken just six shots and made three. But it’s her other numbers, and her contributions elsewhere, that stand out.
• Muhl tied sophomore Azzi Fudd with a team-high six steals against Northeastern and had seven assists. She then matched a career high with nine assists and had three steals against the Longhorns. And while an exhibition is an exhibition, Muhl had seven points, eight rebounds, 11 assists and five steals against Kutztown.
• Last season’s Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Muhl was always highly regarded for her defense. (We remember the black eye late in her freshman year.) But she played a smothering style on Monday that would have put her right at home if she were playing for Texas.
WORTHWHILE CONTRIBUTIONS: Our biggest concerns as soon as Bueckers went down weren’t necessarily about Muhl. It was about her role — namely, how someone who doesn’t often look to score would fit with so many other questions.
• We wondered who was going to score with Bueckers out. Fudd, with a school record 58 points through the first two games, was known to be a great shooter. But Fudd last season was more promise than proof. And junior Aaliyah Edwards was very start and stop last season, but with 25 points through two games is more of an offensive force than she was last season.
• Redshirt senior Lou Lopez Senechal has also been a pleasant surprise. We didn’t know how well she’d go from playing at Fairfield — even as the MAAC Player of the Year — to appearing in a game between two of the top five teams in the country. She’s averaging 14.5 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting and is far exceeding expectations.
• Muhl, surrounded by a capable cast of scorers, can focus on excelling in other ways. Her defense, court vision and ability to facilitate stand out and will be assets as the Huskies grow into the season.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “Nika’s made a lot of progress, right?. She’s matured a lot. She’s grown up a lot. She’s taking things to heart — you know, even more so than she did when she already did. She’s taking more responsibility for everything, which is great.”
Larin Ready for World Cup Spotlight
The Story: Canada striker Cyle Larin, who starred at UConn in 2013 and 2014 before turning pro, will reach a career pinnacle as he competes in the World Cup, which begins Sunday, for the first time.
WHO IS LARIN? A native of Brampton, Ontario, Larin, 27, had two successful years with the Huskies before becoming the No. 1 pick in the MLS Draft after his sophomore year and is Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer.
• Larin was the AAC Rookie of the Year as a freshman and the AAC Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. He then signed a Generation Adidas contract with MLS and joined a program that allowed him to turn pro early in exchange for playing in the league, and Orlando City promptly chose him first.
• After three seasons in Orlando, Larin in 2018 joined Besiktas, a team based in Istanbul, and emerged as a scoring threat. He was the team’s top scorer in 2020-21 with 23 goals across all competitions and helped it win the Super Lig and the Turkish Cup.
• Larin signed a three-year contract in July with Club Brugge, which is fourth in the Belgian Pro League and into the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. He has just one goal and one start in nine appearances in his team’s 23 games, however.
A CANADIAN HERO: Larin has spoken of wanting to play in the World Cup since he was a kid, when he would see the flags of other nations lining the streets of Brampton but never saw Canada’s.
• Larin has made 54 appearances for Canada since debuting for the national team in 2014 and has scored a record 25 goals. He passed Dwayne De Rosario in January during a World Cup qualifier against the United States.
• The son of a single mother, Larin is now the father of twin daughters and has said that the pride he has in his family is what motivates him. “I think I’ve created something for my name and for my family’s name for them to watch back and see I did something special,” he said.
• Canada is returning to the competition for the first time since 1986 and only the second time since it was first played in 1930. Its first game in Qatar will be next Wednesday, when it plays Belgium as part of the four-team Group F that also includes Croatia, the runner-up in 2018, and Morocco. And it’s unlikely Canada will face the United States, as the two wouldn’t meet until the semifinals at the earliest.
HISTORY BEING MADE? Unfortunately, while it’s believed Larin is the first former UConn player to appear in the men’s World Cup (we don’t know for sure), three have played in the women’s World Cup.
• Sara Whalen represented the United States in 1999 when it won the title, Tori Patterson played for Jamaica in 2019 and Stephanie Labbe was selected by Canada in 2011, 2015 and 2019.
Morning Reads
• The Bristol Boys, Victor Rosa and Donovan Clingan, have taken their friendship and talent to UConn — and it’s paying dividends. (UConnHuskies.com)
• Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins out? No problem for the Huskies so far. (Hartford Courant)
• The women’s basketball team’s surprise 11th-hour recruit, Egyptian forward Jana El Alfy, said even her friends and teammates in Cairo know about UConn. That’s why she wanted to play for the Huskies. (Hartford Courant)
Top photo: Geno Auriemma has trusted Nika Muhl to run the offense. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
