Sam Mckewon asks...

[HuskerFever]

WHAT ABOUT UNO???

[cipsucks]

WHAT ABOUT UNO???

We have a couple of decks of uno cards at Conlee's. 

[HB]

WHAT ABOUT UNO???

We have a couple of decks of uno cards at Conlee's. 

Anyone not playing with a full deck at Conlee's?

[Cousin Mose]

And, for the record, I'm not saying that Greg McDermott is a bad recruiter, either.  I'm just not sure you can yet conclude that he'll be able to land Big East-level talent on a sustained basis.  His first full recruiting year in the Big East would not necessarily support that conclusion and I don't think his time at ISU would either.

 

I'm not trying to slight you, Mose, and I'm trying to be careful not to bash Creighton, either, although a part of me would enjoy rubbing it in some noses over on the BJU.  But yours is not one of them and it is not now, nor has it ever been, my purpose to try to troll you or the other Creighton fans who post here.

 

I get that, but your contention isn't entirely true, the Euro kid had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia (in the OWH) and the previous year Harrell had offers from several major conference teams including Purdue and Leon Gilmore had an offer from Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of the Texas schools.  Heck, Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson had offers from Major programs when the Jays were still in the Valley.

[Norm Peterson]

I get that, but your contention isn't entirely true, the Euro kid had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia (in the OWH) and the previous year Harrell had offers from several major conference teams including Purdue and Leon Gilmore had an offer from Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of the Texas schools.  Heck, Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson had offers from Major programs when the Jays were still in the Valley.

 

I don't want to derail this into a discussion of Creighton because I know some people around here don't like that, but ...

 

Hegner's a good player.  I'm surprised Hanson has not had more of an impact, but he's still young.

 

I am NOT surprised about Leon Gilmore.  I hate to say that because I'm sure he's a good kid who tries hard, but if you go back to our recruiting thread on him, I was un-sold on him from the very beginning when we were supposedly recruiting him.  I say "supposedly" because I'm not sure we ever really gave him a commitable offer.  His mom made some comment about how other schools will regret backing off of him.  I'm guessing that was in reference to us, but I don't know for certain.  I just know I never thought he was that good and that was BEFORE he committed to you guys, so it's not sour grapes.

 

Harrell is a puzzler.  Not enough info to know whether his issue is needing to add some bulk or that he didn't really merit the Rivals rating he received.  Who knows?  I certainly don't.  But those guys were all committed before Creighton played their first Big East game.

 

I would have assumed after your season last year that you would have gotten more of a recruiting bump than you appear to have gotten.  You got the two transfers last spring, which is obviously important.  But it didn't carry over into the fall signing period, and that was my point.  Your first full recruiting cycle in the Big East was the class you just signed this past November (and the commit from Thomas you just got.)  Your best players in the class are from Omaha and there simply isn't enough talent in Omaha year after year to have that be your primary recruiting area. 

 

You have another kid from Iowa, which was a sort of traditional recruiting base for Creighton in the Mo Valley days.  Outside of Creighton, though, the Big East footprint really runs from the east coast to the rust belt.  You don't have any kids from there.  Not in the 2015 class.  The Euro kid popped up on the recruiting scene very late in the game.  He was unknown on the BJU until literally 3 days before signing day.  So, again, there was no pitched battle for the kid. 

 

In looking at the 2015 class -- which might pan out and be a very good one for you -- there are no solid indications of Mac being a great recruiter.  And this was a signing period where you were coming off of a good season with one of your best teams ever.  So, it's mystifying to me how Mac managed to whiff on all the top-rated players he was after this year and, to me, that's not an indicator of him being a good recruiter.

 

Sam made the claim that Mac has always been a good recruiter.  And I'm just saying I don't think the 2015 class proves it and, in fact, might be evidence of the opposite. 

 

At best, you'd have to say the jury is still out.  You don't agree?

[bleujay]

 

I get that, but your contention isn't entirely true, the Euro kid had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia (in the OWH) and the previous year Harrell had offers from several major conference teams including Purdue and Leon Gilmore had an offer from Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of the Texas schools.  Heck, Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson had offers from Major programs when the Jays were still in the Valley.

 

 

 

In looking at the 2015 class -- which might pan out and be a very good one for you -- there are no solid indications of Mac being a great recruiter.  And this was a signing period where you were coming off of a good season with one of your best teams ever.  So, it's mystifying to me how Mac managed to whiff on all the top-rated players he was after this year and, to me, that's not an indicator of him being a good recruiter.

 

Sam made the claim that Mac has always been a good recruiter.  And I'm just saying I don't think the 2015 class proves it and, in fact, might be evidence of the opposite. 

 

At best, you'd have to say the jury is still out.  You don't agree?

 

 

Hate to say it Norm, but I agree with you that the 2015 class is not a bright indicator for future recruiting successes. We missed on every high school kid that had another competitive offer. It's really hard to blame the staff though (or Mac specifically), when almost every kid we recruited talked about how Creighton was coming after them "the hardest", when they're hitting the road full time to see as many kids as possible, when they're only trying to sell the pitch as best they can. The Sellers hire was thought to be huge when it was announced, but he needs to start securing 4 year, talented players out of high school in order to build a proper roster

 

IMO, there's a stigma surrounding CU with high school kids that it isn't" big time". We're in a small city with nothing to do, on a small private campus and even though we're now in the Big East (objectively speaking, as good a conference as the B1G this year) we are still plagued with the mid major mentality. How do you convince a kid otherwise? We have top shelf facilities, top 5 attendance, good academics. A good conference. We play on nat'l tv. Scouts will notice you due to the amount of NBA talent in the conference. Omaha is a vibrant city with lots to offer. Our coaches are wholesome and always have the best in mind for their athletes. Yet, all of that aside, we still have that small time label because of our years in the Valley. So how do you get around this seemingly impassable roadblock in recruiting? If you can't get the best talent, get the more mature, experienced talent (transfers). Guys that know exactly what they want in a school and won't get caught up in the hype surrounding certain programs. Older players might not be more talented than some younger guys, but they are already adjusted to the speed of the game, they know what they can do to contribute to a team, and they are probably miles ahead of freshmen on defense. It's not a perfect strategy but, until the staff can find something else to leverage to talented high school kids, it seems to be their best option. On the flip side, you go after guys that appear to offer more than their current level of production (Patton, Thomas) as well as guys that, for whatever reason, flew under the radar but appear to be good enough to play in a high major conference (Stewart, Krampelj)

[49r]

If only we could get kudzu to grow in Nebraska...

[Cousin Mose]

The jury is still out on the 2015 class, yes, but that is only because they haven't played a game.  Greg McDermott has recruited more than one NBA player in his time and has put together rosters that have won games in the NCAA tournament.  Is this class the four star bonanza we all hoped for? No, but that isn't an overarching indication of his ability to recruit at this level.

[Silverbacked1]

I get that, but your contention isn't entirely true, the Euro kid had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia (in the OWH) and the previous year Harrell had offers from several major conference teams including Purdue and Leon Gilmore had an offer from Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of the Texas schools.  Heck, Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson had offers from Major programs when the Jays were still in the Valley.

 

 

In looking at the 2015 class -- which might pan out and be a very good one for you -- there are no solid indications of Mac being a great recruiter.  And this was a signing period where you were coming off of a good season with one of your best teams ever.  So, it's mystifying to me how Mac managed to whiff on all the top-rated players he was after this year and, to me, that's not an indicator of him being a good recruiter.

 

Sam made the claim that Mac has always been a good recruiter.  And I'm just saying I don't think the 2015 class proves it and, in fact, might be evidence of the opposite. 

 

At best, you'd have to say the jury is still out.  You don't agree?

 

Hate to say it Norm, but I agree with you that the 2015 class is not a bright indicator for future recruiting successes. We missed on every high school kid that had another competitive offer. It's really hard to blame the staff though (or Mac specifically), when almost every kid we recruited talked about how Creighton was coming after them "the hardest", when they're hitting the road full time to see as many kids as possible, when they're only trying to sell the pitch as best they can. The Sellers hire was thought to be huge when it was announced, but he needs to start securing 4 year, talented players out of high school in order to build a proper roster

 

IMO, there's a stigma surrounding CU with high school kids that it isn't" big time". We're in a small city with nothing to do, on a small private campus and even though we're now in the Big East (objectively speaking, as good a conference as the B1G this year) we are still plagued with the mid major mentality. How do you convince a kid otherwise? We have top shelf facilities, top 5 attendance, good academics. A good conference. We play on nat'l tv. Scouts will notice you due to the amount of NBA talent in the conference. Omaha is a vibrant city with lots to offer. Our coaches are wholesome and always have the best in mind for their athletes. Yet, all of that aside, we still have that small time label because of our years in the Valley. So how do you get around this seemingly impassable roadblock in recruiting? If you can't get the best talent, get the more mature, experienced talent (transfers). Guys that know exactly what they want in a school and won't get caught up in the hype surrounding certain programs. Older players might not be more talented than some younger guys, but they are already adjusted to the speed of the game, they know what they can do to contribute to a team, and they are probably miles ahead of freshmen on defense. It's not a perfect strategy but, until the staff can find something else to leverage to talented high school kids, it seems to be their best option. On the flip side, you go after guys that appear to offer more than their current level of production (Patton, Thomas) as well as guys that, for whatever reason, flew under the radar but appear to be good enough to play in a high major conference (Stewart, Krampelj)

Is Creighton a Nike or Adidas school?

[jimmykc]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

[Fullbacksympathy]

 

Creighton can put a true 1-5 on the court, with subs.  That alone makes them more talented than our roster because their talent is skill and position specific.  I don't think their team is incomplete as much as I think they are full of ordinary players.  

 

Next year, we can put a true 1-5 on the court, with subs, and athleticism.  That will make us more talented than them and a lot of other teams.  

Who is our true 5 for next year?  I missed the news if we've gotten a new commit from someone.

 

 

Hammond.  The only thing missing is weight, which I'm confident he'll put on.  He's a highly touted recruit.  I've seen nothing to discourage my thoughts that he's going to be very good.  I think we'll get a lot of blocked shots next year between him and Morrow.  

[Norm Peterson]

The jury is still out on the 2015 class, yes, but that is only because they haven't played a game.  Greg McDermott has recruited more than one NBA player in his time and has put together rosters that have won games in the NCAA tournament.  Is this class the four star bonanza we all hoped for? No, but that isn't an overarching indication of his ability to recruit at this level.

OK.  Not going to argue with you. You're far more knowledgeable about CU than I am.

 

From my outsider's POV, I assumed you'd get more of a bump this year in recruiting than you seemed to get.  From what bluejay said, it doesn't appear to be for lack of effort and fortunately there was some good, local talent for you.

 

And bluejay, the transfer market worked out very well for ISU.  If you think Omaha is regarded as a small city with nothing to do, go plunk yourself down in Ames for a weekend and try to keep yourself occupied.  Yet, Fred Hoiberg has thrived there and he did it by hitting the transfer market hard.

 

I think you nailed it when you said that transfers are more mature people/players who already are used to the speed of the game.  It's also more the Devil you know.  Not so much mystery about how a player will pan out when you're talking about transfers.  More is known about their game and how it translates to college ball.  And it seems to be an ever increasing feature on the landscape of college basketball.

[leonidas]

Others more knowledgeable and prominent in coaching and recruiting have explained Sam best to me as follows: He can write well but his ability to evaluate (especially players and recruits) has always been subpar.

[Jugular]

Pretty sure Gilmore did not have an offer from us

And, for the record, I'm not saying that Greg McDermott is a bad recruiter, either.  I'm just not sure you can yet conclude that he'll be able to land Big East-level talent on a sustained basis.  His first full recruiting year in the Big East would not necessarily support that conclusion and I don't think his time at ISU would either.

 

I'm not trying to slight you, Mose, and I'm trying to be careful not to bash Creighton, either, although a part of me would enjoy rubbing it in some noses over on the BJU.  But yours is not one of them and it is not now, nor has it ever been, my purpose to try to troll you or the other Creighton fans who post here.

 

I get that, but your contention isn't entirely true, the Euro kid had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia (in the OWH) and the previous year Harrell had offers from several major conference teams including Purdue and Leon Gilmore had an offer from Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of the Texas schools.  Heck, Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson had offers from Major programs when the Jays were still in the Valley.

[Cousin Mose]

Pretty sure Gilmore did not have an offer from us

 

 

And, for the record, I'm not saying that Greg McDermott is a bad recruiter, either.  I'm just not sure you can yet conclude that he'll be able to land Big East-level talent on a sustained basis.  His first full recruiting year in the Big East would not necessarily support that conclusion and I don't think his time at ISU would either.

 

I'm not trying to slight you, Mose, and I'm trying to be careful not to bash Creighton, either, although a part of me would enjoy rubbing it in some noses over on the BJU.  But yours is not one of them and it is not now, nor has it ever been, my purpose to try to troll you or the other Creighton fans who post here.

 

I get that, but your contention isn't entirely true, the Euro kid had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia (in the OWH) and the previous year Harrell had offers from several major conference teams including Purdue and Leon Gilmore had an offer from Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of the Texas schools.  Heck, Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson had offers from Major programs when the Jays were still in the Valley.

 

 

And maybe he didn't, but his rivals page shows that he does and that is the benchmark Norm was using.

[Norm Peterson]

 

I could not care less if you answer Sam on twitter...but perhaps it is of interest to respond here...especially since we lost in our building. I am still dumbfounded and extremely dissappointed.

 

This is much to often a conversation in Omaha. I am tired of saying, "Well yeah, but not next year."

 

And I really do believe that.

 

Any thoughts?

Getting back to the original topic, I have a question:

 

If Creighton has more talent, let's say we could go over to their program and poach one underclassman from their roster to play on our team next season.  Who do you poach, and where in our rotation would you put them?  Starter?  Sixth man?  Key reserve?  Where?

[huskerbaseball13]

 

 

I could not care less if you answer Sam on twitter...but perhaps it is of interest to respond here...especially since we lost in our building. I am still dumbfounded and extremely dissappointed.

 

This is much to often a conversation in Omaha. I am tired of saying, "Well yeah, but not next year."

 

And I really do believe that.

 

Any thoughts?

Getting back to the original topic, I have a question:

 

If Creighton has more talent, let's say we could go over to their program and poach one underclassman from their roster to play on our team next season.  Who do you poach, and where in our rotation would you put them?  Starter?  Sixth man?  Key reserve?  Where?

 

 

Underclassman? I guess it would have to be Hanson by default.  Seeing that we need any warm body with size...even though he has proven to be pretty mediocre thus far. 

[49r]

 

 

I could not care less if you answer Sam on twitter...but perhaps it is of interest to respond here...especially since we lost in our building. I am still dumbfounded and extremely dissappointed.

 

This is much to often a conversation in Omaha. I am tired of saying, "Well yeah, but not next year."

 

And I really do believe that.

 

Any thoughts?

Getting back to the original topic, I have a question:

 

If Creighton has more talent, let's say we could go over to their program and poach one underclassman from their roster to play on our team next season.  Who do you poach, and where in our rotation would you put them?  Starter?  Sixth man?  Key reserve?  Where?

 

 

Groselle, no question about it.  Fits the biggest area of need.

[49r]

 

 

I get that, but your contention isn't entirely true, the Euro kid had offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia (in the OWH) and the previous year Harrell had offers from several major conference teams including Purdue and Leon Gilmore had an offer from Nebraska, Oklahoma and most of the Texas schools.  Heck, Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson had offers from Major programs when the Jays were still in the Valley.

 

 

 

In looking at the 2015 class -- which might pan out and be a very good one for you -- there are no solid indications of Mac being a great recruiter.  And this was a signing period where you were coming off of a good season with one of your best teams ever.  So, it's mystifying to me how Mac managed to whiff on all the top-rated players he was after this year and, to me, that's not an indicator of him being a good recruiter.

 

Sam made the claim that Mac has always been a good recruiter.  And I'm just saying I don't think the 2015 class proves it and, in fact, might be evidence of the opposite. 

 

At best, you'd have to say the jury is still out.  You don't agree?

 

 

Hate to say it Norm, but I agree with you that the 2015 class is not a bright indicator for future recruiting successes. We missed on every high school kid that had another competitive offer. It's really hard to blame the staff though (or Mac specifically), when almost every kid we recruited talked about how Creighton was coming after them "the hardest", when they're hitting the road full time to see as many kids as possible, when they're only trying to sell the pitch as best they can. The Sellers hire was thought to be huge when it was announced, but he needs to start securing 4 year, talented players out of high school in order to build a proper roster

 

IMO, there's a stigma surrounding CU with high school kids that it isn't" big time". We're in a small city with nothing to do, on a small private campus and even though we're now in the Big East (objectively speaking, as good a conference as the B1G this year) we are still plagued with the mid major mentality. How do you convince a kid otherwise? We have top shelf facilities, top 5 attendance, good academics. A good conference. We play on nat'l tv. Scouts will notice you due to the amount of NBA talent in the conference. Omaha is a vibrant city with lots to offer. Our coaches are wholesome and always have the best in mind for their athletes. Yet, all of that aside, we still have that small time label because of our years in the Valley. So how do you get around this seemingly impassable roadblock in recruiting? If you can't get the best talent, get the more mature, experienced talent (transfers). Guys that know exactly what they want in a school and won't get caught up in the hype surrounding certain programs. Older players might not be more talented than some younger guys, but they are already adjusted to the speed of the game, they know what they can do to contribute to a team, and they are probably miles ahead of freshmen on defense. It's not a perfect strategy but, until the staff can find something else to leverage to talented high school kids, it seems to be their best option. On the flip side, you go after guys that appear to offer more than their current level of production (Patton, Thomas) as well as guys that, for whatever reason, flew under the radar but appear to be good enough to play in a high major conference (Stewart, Krampelj)

 

 

You know, with a few small edits, you have almost perfectly described the Husker program and their struggle for relevancy for about the last 15 or so years.  Substitute "mid-major" and "Valley" with "history of mediocrity" and substitute "Omaha" with "Lincoln" and you're mostly there...and it's kind of interesting that the remedy you suggest describes pretty much what Tim Miles has done with his program.  Getting transfers like Petteway, Pitchford, White, Abraham, and possibly more to come soon has seemed to energize the program somewhat, despite the sneers of some of your blue brethren who seem to want to feel so superior to anything that comes from the southwest, it's possible you're on to something.

 

Question is, is that the path that McDermott is likely to pursue?  It seems to me that they have their class sizes really nicely balanced out right now and would prefer if at all possible to keep going after HS kids at any cost.  I dunno, your post just kinda got me thinking...

[49r]

Oh and substitute "small private campus" with "major land grant research institution" too, I suppose.  

 

But you get my point.

[Norm Peterson]

49r and baseball13, let's say you got Groselle and Hanson, respectively.  And let's say the player you chose was somehow immediately eligible to play here next season.  Where do they fit in the rotation?  Neither of you answered that part of the question.

[huskerbaseball13]

49r and baseball13, let's say you got Groselle and Hanson, respectively.  And let's say the player you chose was somehow immediately eligible to play here next season.  Where do they fit in the rotation?  Neither of you answered that part of the question.

 

Assuming we don't sign anyone else for next year...I would say first off the bench to replace Pitchford.  Right now I would put him over Hammond only because Hammond still needs to add some LB's and strength. 

[Norm Peterson]

OK, well, how about this year?  Who would you have poached off of their team to be on our team THIS year?  And where in the rotation would you put them?

[Norm Peterson]

 

49r and baseball13, let's say you got Groselle and Hanson, respectively.  And let's say the player you chose was somehow immediately eligible to play here next season.  Where do they fit in the rotation?  Neither of you answered that part of the question.

 

Assuming we don't sign anyone else for next year...I would say first off the bench to replace Pitchford.  Right now I would put him over Hammond only because Hammond still needs to add some LB's and strength. 

 

Listen, if we're going to magically poach someone from their roster and make them immediately eligible to play for us next season, we're waiving scholarship limits right along with it. 

[49r]

49r and baseball13, let's say you got Groselle and Hanson, respectively.  And let's say the player you chose was somehow immediately eligible to play here next season.  Where do they fit in the rotation?  Neither of you answered that part of the question.

 

 

Starting Center, Walt moves to the 4, Hammond is the backup C.