Fullbacksympathy

Rhule absolutely nails it—you recruit kids that want to be there, period.   
 

This philosophy doesn’t really matter when you get the kid, but it certainly helps for continuity.  
 

Keisei wasn’t a freshman, but he wanted to be here and stay here.  Gary, BW, Mast, Griesel, etc. all wanted to be here and it showed in how hard they play.  

9 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

 

Why does there? Seems like some made up bologna by SEC guys trying to figure out which ACC schools they might flip.

See what I quoted for context.  Not the OP.  I was talking about boosters eventually being tired of ponying up for NIL and Nebraska will probably have the most loyal ones.  

Essegian isn’t a specialist.  He’s an all around player.  Tough to do anything well with an injured back. 
 

Assuming he’s 100% to begin next season we just got an absolute steal and a definite contender to start at the 2.  Either way, if healthy, I expect a huge contribution, and we’ll have him for a couple years.  

1 hour ago, busticket said:

Did Spinelli get us Maric or is my memory failing?  I remember Spinellinas an excellent recruiter and was bummed when he left.

Monster recruiter.  

14 hours ago, Dead Dog Alley said:

 

And I thought the guy would be a greedy scheister.

 

Will there come a point where even the most passionate boosters, who are not financially constrained and are free to act irrationally, will say "Screw this, I'm out"?  Most likely.  50 years from now college athletics may be a distant memory, and people might drive by the stadium wondering what the hell that thing was for.

There’s gotta be some truth to this speculation.  The thing is, if it’s a race to the bottom, Nebraska would be my pick of last ones to lose their support.  No one is obsessed more than our fans.  We’ll probably start winning chips in multiple sports because other programs can’t keep up with our insatiable fandom/NIL.  We don’t have the #1 NIL, but compared to our reach and performance of late, it’s wildly disproportionate in our favor.  I don’t think college athletics will go away, but it will likely die down a little compared to now.  

4 minutes ago, thrasher31 said:

For those asking about essegian and the fall off he had, he had a back injury at the first game of the season and he never found his footing after that. Storr obviously was outstanding, and they did need size at that spot. Blackwell coming in and being as good as he was, that was as bit unexpected also. Barely a top 250 guy that outperformed expectations a lot. So that put Connor 4th in the pecking order in that 2/3 slot for minutes. 

 

I think there's some stuff there for sure. Defense needs improvement definitely, but he has good size at 6'3-6'4. He plays with a bit of fire I remember from the Wisconsin games I watched. 

His freshman tape might be a better indicator of his upside.  He had a hell of a season when healthy.  I'm guessing Fred is pulling out all the stops here.  I'm not sure he's a bench player when healthy.  Pretty natural 2 guard.  

2 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

Maybe it's our PGs or maybe we don't need it but I'm struggling to see a guy who can drive to the basket and draw contact.  Maybe that's Brice but boy we'd better hope that building the entire team around Brice is going to work.

Worster is crafty and physical, particularly in P&R.  Gets in the paint and sprays it around at will.  Just not a great outside shooter.  He is a true primary ballhandler and creator.  A lot of his 10ppg are at the rim/line.  

I think the incoming shooters really help Brice/Worster with space.  Morgan is very good off the dribble for a 5.  I expect another big jump from Gary with his ballhandling in 1v1.  GG is a good leaper and willing finisher if he puts on some weight.  

The kid that might fit your description best could very well be Janowski.  He is a problem 1v1 - great shooter, physical, and extremely crafty in drawing contact.  Might not be textbook quickness drives from the wing, but his midrange post iso game is very impressive.  Three level scorer.  

2 minutes ago, Cornhoopers said:

Essegian had a great freshmen year but his minutes fell off a cliff last season for whatever reason. He’s shown he can be a great contributor and NU coaches can likely get him back on track.

Agree.  I don't understand his reduction in minutes this season at all.  He made the B1G All-Freshman team.  Gard is dumb.  

13 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

I also feel like there's 1-2 hyper athletic guys (guards specifically) we absolutely need to compete against certain teams (w/o overreacting to the A&M game just so we're clear here). And I haven't even seen one identified or visited. 

 

And I think more of my other confusion - which is probably a better word - is actually on the other end, i.e., what/why are some of these people transfering? Like this Wisconsin shooter or the 'Nova guy? Maybe just my confusion with the transfer portal in general. Seems like a lot of guys are just making horizontal moves and putting themselves in similar situations. 

Hyper athletic guys aren't always that skilled, but I think we do have two dudes who can guard a quick PG now.  We didn't have that last season, and when we finally went against a true NBA pg against A&M it showed.  From what I can tell, Worster is a very good perimeter defender and a big body who has no problem punishing smaller players on the other end.  Ulis seems to have the capability to guard the perimeter as well.  We don't currently have a great defender at the 2 but I think Brice is serviceable.  He's just long and, again, will outscore about 95% of his matchups this season at 6'7".  

As for the transfers from other programs, it really depends on what the team needs are going to be and what their situation was.  The kid from Nova got recruited there by an all time great in Jay Wright and then had to play for someone mediocre when he arrived.  The kid from Wiscy was getting spot minutes for all star prick Greg Gard, but it looks like he has a higher ceiling to me, and he blew up Nebraska when we played there this season.  I think he also can be serviceable as a perimeter defender.  In both instances, as specialists, they are almost certain to be able to get a decent paycheck to go somewhere else.  The all conference caliber mid-majors are trying to put their play on film at the high major level and also get a paycheck likely higher than any Euro team would ever offer them.  

13 minutes ago, Huskerpapa said:

This dude appears to be that sixth or seventh man who is a specialist.   Sort of a CJ type of player.  The hope is that he can come in and light it up from three point line and provides a hard driven 15 to 16 minutes a game.  I may be totally off base; but that is my initial reaction. 

100% accurate.  He is a hustle guy who can heat up and plays very fast in the half court coming off of screens.  Another court-stretcher that has to be accounted for.  Not a starter most likely, but he should fit right in.  

22 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

I'm gonna be honest here. I'm really not "seeing the vision" of what type of team we're building here with our transfer commits and the dudes he's still bringing in. 

A better one.

We're adding a big PG with elite passing and solid defense in addition to Ulis who is a good PG.  

We're adding a 6'8" guard who has an NBA future and will undoubtedly find his shot with Fred.

We're adding a skilled, athletic 6'10" center who was all conference and can stretch the court.

We're likely adding another solid 6'4" guard from Wisconsin who is a 3pt specialist.

We're likely going to get Kyle to help with our front court athleticism.

We have a chance to land Milicic as another versatile weapon at 6'10" who can play the 4-5.

In all seriousness, I think the most important thing Fred is looking for is skill.  All of these guys outside of maybe Kyle (who is tremendously skilled defensively) can handle the ball and shoot.  Typically skilled players have learned a lot and worked on their game on their own a lot, which probably means they have a high IQ and work ethic to match their skills.  Coach's dream.  Defensively, our system requires smart players but it's so help heavy it's basically a zone which typically makes up for some lack of athleticism.  I think Fred is looking for long players who can fill it up on offense with the hope that their length creates problems in our hybrid defense.  Brice is like this.  Mast is like this.  Gary is probably the only player left that doesn't quite fit this mold exactly but he has really worked on his offense, and he was already an elite defender, so he still fits in very well.  

I'm intrigued.  

8 hours ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

Kevin, Nebraska had a Kevin. A Cross. 

 

 

I still think about Kevin Cross.

 

 

Here’s him going for 25/12/12/6 Stl playing point center this season.  
 

I’ll never be ok.  

I think we need a big and a wing and to be a little better than last season.  Sam Hoiberg is an awfully good insurance plan at guard though.  I really don't mind him being in the rotation at all.  I wish he was a point guard offensively, because defensively he can guard the hell out of the perimter.  

1 hour ago, roscoe said:

Griffiths reminds me of former Terp Kevin Huerter. And that's meant as a compliment.

Very apt comparison, and also an NBA player.  

Hausen is a straight up 3pt specialist.  He’d be a great threat off the bench with enough size at 6’4”.  
 

He made 61 threes last year at 17min a game at 38%. 
 

KT made 76 threes at 26min a game at 37%. 
 

So to say Hausen is a gunner is an understatement.  He’s gotta love the green light/system KT put on film (not nearly the bag but H is probably as good of a shooter at high volume, which is to say elite).  

1 hour ago, FredsSlacks said:

this guy looks legit. like mast with more athletic ability.

He’s about 25lbs lighter than Mast which makes a pretty big difference defensively in the post, but he could also stretch a 5 on the other end and likely score more than he gives up if he plays the 5.  But he screams 4 to me.  
 

I’m almost positive Morgan is coming here to play the 5.  

24 minutes ago, Cazzie22 said:

Fred will develop this addition into a fine player.  It’s nice to have someone of his size and length that can shoot the rock.

Serviceable ball handler and will dunk on people too.  He’ll benefit massively from our system on offense. 

Bonafide NBA talent.  
 

Transfer quality is unreal so far.  
 

Rollie 6’4”

BW 6’7”

GG 6’8”

JG 6’7”

Morgan/Mast/?? 6’10”

Scary.  

33 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

 

Oh damn he likes defense!

Yes.  

Last two seasons Worster has averaged 5+ assists to <2 TO. 
 

That’s a very big deal.  
 

If he can get his 3pt shot above 30% it sure would be nice.  But he gets to the rim really well in P&R and is a deadly passer.  Do-it-all player everywhere else.  5rbs a game from your PG adds up and helps the team a ton in offensive transition. 
 

Great get.  
 

Put 4 other shooters on the court with this kid and it really is pick your poison.  

The first thought I had when I saw Griffiths play against us was he’s going to the league.  Makes sense his accolades were that high.  Enormous ceiling.  
 

Worster looks like a nice big body PG who can really pass well and is elite in P&R (not a shooter).  
 

Both would be phenomenal, but GG is the one I’m most excited about of all the possible ones we’re in on.  Crazy skill and trigger for 6’8”.  He would start at the 3 and be a problem.  

17 minutes ago, royalfan said:

Someone on here was saying that Morgan is easily athletic enough to play some 4 next to Mast. 

I definitely believe he is.  He might be a tad bit of a liability on defense but the mismatches he and mast would create offensively with their skill would be terrifying and we’d murder on the glass.

So pumped with this get.  Great player who can dunk on you or stretch the court.  He does a whole lot at 6’10” 250. 
 

Hopefully Mast can get healthy because we might not need another big between Mast/Morgan/Gary.  Really, really good and diverse rotation there.  

Now get a 6’7” athletic wing who can knock down threes and a PG who is at least a serviceable backup and we’re scary.  

14 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

He's 6'7" and can shoot 3s. I get why we're interested

Yep.  He’s taller than Gary and an outstanding spot up shooter.  He also plays way above the rim.  He’d be an awesome get as a versatile 3-4.  

1 hour ago, AGHANSEN said:

Wowza.