Just in case you wanted to know ...

[Norm Peterson]

I know the season is young and these numbers can change significantly over the season, BUT ...

Just in case you wanted to know, our bench, so far, has accounted for 8.7% of our points this season.

And of course, by bench, I mean David Rivers.

Because, aside from one 3 pointer that Mike Peltz drilled against Tulane, only 6 players on our team have scored -- those would be the five starters and David Rivers.

Now, bear in mind that substantial help may be on the way in the form of Shavon Shields who, if he comes back from his injured elbow and scores just 5 points per game, would single-handedly (pardon the pun) nearly double our bench production. One can always hope, right?

[Norm Peterson]

As I look down the bench, I have to say that, other than Shields, the above circumstance is not a situation likely to change significantly as far as our bench production is concerned. But FEAR NOT Husker fans, because we have some guys sitting out as redshirts this year who could represent an infusion of scoring ability next season.

And one of those guys is even taller than 6'6", so ... I'm mean ... we're pretty much sitting in the driver's seat for next year, right?

Except for the fact that we lose to graduation two guys who are 6'10" or better. Two guys who happen to be among our top 4 scorers this year. Which means, aside from Pitchford, the only other scholarship guy on our team that will be taller than 6'6" next year is Sergej Vucetic, who has played all of 1 minutes on the season so far. (And, hey, that could change a lot.)

But, y'know, by next year, in all fairness, Vucetic will have gained a lot of experience watching film and observing how the American game is played and maybe hitting the weight room and the training table and ...

And ...

And if I'm Tim Miles, nevermind what I might have said about jucos, I might just be beating the bushes this winter looking for an ahtletic juco big man or two who could come in right away next year and give us some help. Because I think we're going to need it.

[hhcmatt]

As I look down the bench, I have to say that, other than Shields, the above circumstance is not a situation likely to change significantly as far as our bench production is concerned. But FEAR NOT Husker fans, because we have some guys sitting out as redshirts this year who could represent an infusion of scoring ability next season.

And one of those guys is even taller than 6'6", so ... I'm mean ... we're pretty much sitting in the driver's seat for next year, right?

Except for the fact that we lose to graduation two guys who are 6'10" or better. Two guys who happen to be among our top 4 scorers this year. Which means, aside from Pitchford, the only other scholarship guy on our team that will be taller than 6'6" next year is Sergej Vucetic, who has played all of 1 minutes on the season so far. (And, hey, that could change a lot.)

But, y'know, by next year, in all fairness, Vucetic will have gained a lot of experience watching film and observing how the American game is played and maybe hitting the weight room and the training table and ...

And ...

And if I'm Tim Miles, nevermind what I might have said about jucos, I might just be beating the bushes this winter looking for an ahtletic juco big man or two who could come in right away next year and give us some help. Because I think we're going to need it.

Next year we get

Pitchford - 6-10

Pettaway - 6-6

Fuller - 6-7

Hawkins 6-5

Biggs - 6-0

So far it seems like Miles is building a bigger Colorado St....assuming these guys can shoot and slash.

While having Vucitec pan out being great, we still need can use that 6-8, 6-9 guy who averages 8-10 rebounds a game. Assuming we can't land someone like that in the 4 year range, JUCO or a one year player to balance out our class seems pretty likely.

[Blackshirt83]

Next year we get

Pitchford - 6-10

Pettaway - 6-6

Fuller - 6-7

Hawkins 6-5

Biggs - 6-0

So far it seems like Miles is building a bigger Colorado St....assuming these guys can shoot and slash.

While having Vucitec pan out being great, we still need can use that 6-8, 6-9 guy who averages 8-10 rebounds a game. Assuming we can't land someone like that in the 4 year range, JUCO or a one year player to balance out our class seems pretty likely.

Webster?

[Huskerpapa]

I hope we can get Webster. The next two weeks will be the determining factor.

[49r]

Next year we're gonna have:

Pitchford

Petteway

Parker

Peltz

The Killer P's?

[doc1394]

sorry if you guys don't like looking ahead, but I have a question to run by you guys that I have been thinking about. If we get Webster, what do you think our starting five will be?

My best guesses, which could be way off:

PG: Biggs

SG: Webster

SF: Gallegos

PF: Petteway

C: Pitchford

with

6. Parker

7. Fuller

8. Hawkins

9. Peltz

10. Vucetic

or

PG: Webster

SG: Gallegos

SF: Petteway

PF: Fuller

C: Pitchford

with

6: Biggs

7. Parker

8. Hawkins

9. Peltz

10. Vucetic

Lots of point guards there. I could definitely be way off on what I have heard about these players coming in, but I think you have to play Gallegos if he is our best shooter, and Petteway or Fuller needs to start at the 4.

Thoughts?

[kldm64]

If we are looking ahead to next year already, I'd have to go with my starters as:

Biggs

Webster

Petteway

Fuller

Pitchford

[hhcmatt]

Webster?

Let's sign that LOI first

[hhcmatt]

If we are looking ahead to next year already, I'd have to go with my starters as:

Biggs

Webster

Petteway

Fuller

Pitchford

I'd say Gallegos and Shields have the heads up on Petteway and Fuller at the moment. Quite frankly, not really knowing who the starters are will be a good problem.

[Donkey]

1. We all knew the bench was going to be very shallow this season. Ever since Danny Nee left, Nebraska's depth has slowly diminished. Its not a Barry Collier thing or a Doc Sadler thing; its an institutional problem. Granted, over the years some good players have passed through the program; but when they went to the bench, a lesser, more often than not substantially lesser, player came off the bench to replace him. Confounding matters was that some of the good talent left about the time they were needed to step up in place of a departing senior. Doc did the best he could by bringing in some good JUCO's, but they are only here for two years.

Worsening the problem was a slew of injuries (it seemed like almost every big man had to sit out all or part of a season with a knee injury) or kids failing to qualify academically. It just seems like Nebraska has not had a full squad for some time.

We got by some years thanks to strong guard play, good shooting, and solid defense, but it always felt like everything could fall apart for one season. Unfortunately, that time came this season.

Picture this time if Vander Joaquim and Adrian Coleman qualified; Christian Standhardinger and Myles Holley did not transfer (2009 class).

What if Nebraska would have signed at least 1 high school player in 2010?

What if Diaz, Moore, and Hilliard remained on the team?

What if Niemann's knees did not give out?

Lots of if's there.

2. Miles was very smart by bringing in the transfers. Granted, the back court will be vastly improved next year, but the front court will remain shallow. That being said, size is not always necessary to win. A number of schools have advanced to the NCAA tournament, and even played the second weekend, with 1-3 true bigs. Villanova run a number of 3-4 guard lineups for years. Pittsburgh relied upon "bigs" such as Sam Young (6'7") and DeJuan Blair (6'8") for a few years. George Mason's magical 2006 run relied upon Jai Lewis (6'7") and Will Thomas (6'9") in the post and beat a very talented Connecticut in the Elite 8 which had four players who were 6'8" or taller with Hilton Armstrong, 6'11", Jaron Boone, 6'10", Rudy Gay, 6'9", and Ed Nelson, 6'8". Nelson was not a key contributor and Gay mostly played SF leaving Armstrong and Boone as the primary front court guys with size.

I remember a few Virginia Tech teams with lots of size repeatedly failing to make the tournament over the years.

What really matters is how well the guards and wings perform. If you have a good floor general, a few shooters to keep the defense honest, and a slasher or two, teams have a better chance of advancing to the NCAA tournament. Next year we will have:

PG: Biggs, Parker, Webster

SG: Gallegos, Shields

SF: Petteway, Hawkins, Fuller

In theory, we could put any combination of Petteway, Hawkins, Shields, and Rivers at the 4 with Pitchford or Vucetic at the 5 and be fine.

I do agree it would be nice to have a 6'8"-6'10" JUCO or a prep school signee for next year, but this team has some athleticism and should be able to compensate for its . . . shortcomings.