The 2016 Transfer Thread

jason2486 · April 13, 2016

Makinde London has redshirted already, so he'd come in with 3 years to play 2, with one of those years sitting out as a transfer. His one season playing at Xavier, he only averaged 5 minutes and about 1 1/2 pts and rebounds/game. That's as a redshirt freshman who has already sat out a season. So, he's in the original class of 2014 just like Jake Hammond. Hammond's numbers this season weren't a lot better but they were actually better. And it's pretty much apples to apples because they were both in their second year in their respective programs.

I think that'd be like trading a '99 Volkswagon Jetta with 156,000 miles for a '01 Ford Festiva (single owner, very nice) with 145,000 miles. I don't think you moved up very far in the car department by making that swap.

At the same time, however, we traded in our Volkswagon Jetta and have nothing to show for it! This sounds like he could have some potential, as well as more athleticism than Jake.

AuroranHusker · April 13, 2016

Norm Peterson · April 13, 2016

Makinde London has redshirted already, so he'd come in with 3 years to play 2, with one of those years sitting out as a transfer. His one season playing at Xavier, he only averaged 5 minutes and about 1 1/2 pts and rebounds/game. That's as a redshirt freshman who has already sat out a season. So, he's in the original class of 2014 just like Jake Hammond. Hammond's numbers this season weren't a lot better but they were actually better. And it's pretty much apples to apples because they were both in their second year in their respective programs.

I think that'd be like trading a '99 Volkswagon Jetta with 156,000 miles for a '01 Ford Festiva (single owner, very nice) with 145,000 miles. I don't think you moved up very far in the car department by making that swap.

At the same time, however, we traded in our Volkswagon Jetta and have nothing to show for it! This sounds like he could have some potential, as well as more athleticism than Jake.

That's why I'm thinking that the tweet about PBA being nicer to TM if he finds a big man and the announcement of Hammond leaving were in some way connected and that stuff is going on that we don't know of and don't see.

jason2486 · April 13, 2016

Makinde London has redshirted already, so he'd come in with 3 years to play 2, with one of those years sitting out as a transfer. His one season playing at Xavier, he only averaged 5 minutes and about 1 1/2 pts and rebounds/game. That's as a redshirt freshman who has already sat out a season. So, he's in the original class of 2014 just like Jake Hammond. Hammond's numbers this season weren't a lot better but they were actually better. And it's pretty much apples to apples because they were both in their second year in their respective programs.

I think that'd be like trading a '99 Volkswagon Jetta with 156,000 miles for a '01 Ford Festiva (single owner, very nice) with 145,000 miles. I don't think you moved up very far in the car department by making that swap.

At the same time, however, we traded in our Volkswagon Jetta and have nothing to show for it! This sounds like he could have some potential, as well as more athleticism than Jake.

That's why I'm thinking that the tweet about PBA being nicer to TM if he finds a big man and the announcement of Hammond leaving were in some way connected and that stuff is going on that we don't know of and don't see.

I hope you're right, Norm! It's scary, but also kinda fun, to know that we have 3 scholarships available. My only worry is the availability of quality guys to fill those spots. It's been bad enough (and discussed) leaving one scholly open for a couple of seasons. Could you imagine if we have two open spots going into summer?! I hope your feelings about his tweet having a deeper meaning than what's on the surface areally true. One would hope that these 2 recent openings were somewhat expected and carefully planned for.

ajb5856 · April 13, 2016

Makinde London has redshirted already, so he'd come in with 3 years to play 2, with one of those years sitting out as a transfer. His one season playing at Xavier, he only averaged 5 minutes and about 1 1/2 pts and rebounds/game. That's as a redshirt freshman who has already sat out a season. So, he's in the original class of 2014 just like Jake Hammond. Hammond's numbers this season weren't a lot better but they were actually better. And it's pretty much apples to apples because they were both in their second year in their respective programs.

I think that'd be like trading a '99 Volkswagon Jetta with 156,000 miles for a '01 Ford Festiva (single owner, very nice) with 145,000 miles. I don't think you moved up very far in the car department by making that swap.

At the same time, however, we traded in our Volkswagon Jetta and have nothing to show for it! This sounds like he could have some potential, as well as more athleticism than Jake.

That's why I'm thinking that the tweet about PBA being nicer to TM if he finds a big man and the announcement of Hammond leaving were in some way connected and that stuff is going on that we don't know of and don't see.
I hope you're right, Norm! It's scary, but also kinda fun, to know that we have 3 scholarships available. My only worry is the availability of quality guys to fill those spots. It's been bad enough (and discussed) leaving one scholly open for a couple of seasons. Could you imagine if we have two open spots going into summer?! I hope your feelings about his tweet having a deeper meaning than what's on the surface areally true. One would hope that these 2 recent openings were somewhat expected and carefully planned for.

So do you guys think Miles encourages these guys (Hammond, Evelyn) to seek other opportunities without some solid plans in place for restocking of the roster or at least good feelings on landing at least 2 more bodies? I mean, we already had 1 opening prior to these two guys 'deciding' to transfer. I'm assuming Miles gave each the Benny Parker treatment and was brutally honest about their chances at playing time in the future. Hammond's decision came right after the end of season meeting with Miles. What has it been now? About 2 weeks since those and now we finally have Bakari's decision? Was he deciding that entire time? Or did something happen recruiting-wise and now Miles 'allows' him to transfer? I'm also assuming Miles would prefer to have bodies as opposed to leaving open scholarships again. So after all of those questions I guess what I'm getting at is are these transfer decisions all by player choice and on their timetable and not at all connected to new player recruitment or does Miles have some say and they are potentially tied to landing or the feeling of being close to landing other players?

King James · April 13, 2016

Makinde London has redshirted already, so he'd come in with 3 years to play 2, with one of those years sitting out as a transfer. His one season playing at Xavier, he only averaged 5 minutes and about 1 1/2 pts and rebounds/game. That's as a redshirt freshman who has already sat out a season. So, he's in the original class of 2014 just like Jake Hammond. Hammond's numbers this season weren't a lot better but they were actually better. And it's pretty much apples to apples because they were both in their second year in their respective programs.

I think that'd be like trading a '99 Volkswagon Jetta with 156,000 miles for a '01 Ford Festiva (single owner, very nice) with 145,000 miles. I don't think you moved up very far in the car department by making that swap.

I think the difference is the quality of the other players on the kid's team at his position. Xavier had quite a few skilled big guys keeping London from seeing action.

hhcmatt · April 13, 2016

So do you guys think Miles encourages these guys (Hammond, Evelyn) to seek other opportunities without some solid plans in place for restocking of the roster or at least good feelings on landing at least 2 more bodies?

JH was basically benched the second half of the season until Morrow wasn't able to play....he's projecting to be Jacobson/Morrow insurance next year. BE basically played mop up duty and if Gill is anything like we think he'll be, he's playing mop up behind Watson/Gill/Webster. JH and BE were both guys who transferred during high school to get better opportunities...you'd probably have to re-recruit both of those guys and it doesn't look like we did. I'm not sure that JH ever puts it together to become a 20 min/game B1G player and I honestly have no idea with Bakari. In the short term though we're talking about 2 guys that project to be emergency depth for a team with more pressing needs, which currently is B1G post players and/or difference makers.

While maybe we think we have someone locked up, not keeping those guys doesn't say we know we have guys locked up as much as it says we know what is required of us to compete this year and next year. Also, I have to think that we actually pull the trigger on a JUCO big man this year if necessary...we're way too close in year 5 not to.

trickey · April 13, 2016

and if Gill is anything like we think he'll be, he's playing mop up behind Watson/Gill/Webster.

Dimes,

I agree with most all of what you posted...yet, please explain why you see Gill as a 4th backup behind Watson/Gill/Webster instead of higher.

AuroranHusker · April 13, 2016

and if Gill is anything like we think he'll be, he's playing mop up behind Watson/Gill/Webster.

Dimes,

I agree with most all of what you posted...yet, please explain why you see Gill as a 4th backup behind Watson/Gill/Webster instead of higher.

It appears dimes double-Gill'ed this.

atskooc · April 13, 2016

and if Gill is anything like we think he'll be, he's playing mop up behind Watson/Gill/Webster.

Dimes,

I agree with most all of what you posted...yet, please explain why you see Gill as a 4th backup behind Watson/Gill/Webster instead of higher.

I think he was saying Evelyn would have been that backup, not Gill. His pronoun-antecedent agreement was a little bit confusing.

ajb5856 · April 13, 2016

So do you guys think Miles encourages these guys (Hammond, Evelyn) to seek other opportunities without some solid plans in place for restocking of the roster or at least good feelings on landing at least 2 more bodies?

JH was basically benched the second half of the season until Morrow wasn't able to play....he's projecting to be Jacobson/Morrow insurance next year. BE basically played mop up duty and if Gill is anything like we think he'll be, he's playing mop up behind Watson/Gill/Webster. JH and BE were both guys who transferred during high school to get better opportunities...you'd probably have to re-recruit both of those guys and it doesn't look like we did. I'm not sure that JH ever puts it together to become a 20 min/game B1G player and I honestly have no idea with Bakari. In the short term though we're talking about 2 guys that project to be emergency depth for a team with more pressing needs, which currently is B1G post players and/or difference makers.

While maybe we think we have someone locked up, not keeping those guys doesn't say we know we have guys locked up as much as it says we know what is required of us to compete this year and next year. Also, I have to think that we actually pull the trigger on a JUCO big man this year if necessary...we're way too close in year 5 not to.

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

hhcmatt · April 13, 2016

and if Gill is anything like we think he'll be, he's playing mop up behind Watson/Gill/Webster.

Dimes,

I agree with most all of what you posted...yet, please explain why you see Gill as a 4th backup behind Watson/Gill/Webster instead of higher.

I think he was saying Evelyn would have been that backup, not Gill. His pronoun-antecedent agreement was a little bit confusing.

Yup. PSA kids: that post right before bed can wait until tomrrow

hhcmatt · April 13, 2016

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

Up until this point I think we were content to not fill it if we didn't find enough freshmen/transfers. If Tarin Smith and Bakari represent end of the roster lottery tickets, do we want to use that last schollie for a JUCO? Another lottery ticket? The ability to pick up a mid-season transfer? It seems like the answer so far has been flexibility. In hindsight it seems like we should have been streaming JUCO big men for the entire Miles era. If we had a junior JUCO big man last year doing the JUCO junior year struggle to this level of play, would we have the post player we need for this year? Would that have come at the expense of developing Jacobson/Morrow? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

I'd have to timeline it a bit more but off the top of my head we end up with an empty scholarship because we're trying to fill the roster exactly the way we want and missing on some guys while everyone else is filling their musical chairs. At what point do we compromise?

Norm Peterson · April 13, 2016

I agree.

Jugular · April 13, 2016

http://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/unlv-rebels/basketball/unlv-s-ben-carter-considering-transferring-basketball-team

http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/ben_carter_906702.html

Averaged about 9 and 6 for them.

HB · April 13, 2016

http://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/unlv-rebels/basketball/unlv-s-ben-carter-considering-transferring-basketball-team

http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/ben_carter_906702.html

Averaged about 9 and 6 for them.

ACL tear on 1/30/16. One can get ready in 9 months these days, but that could be a little dicey....

Donkey · April 13, 2016

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

Up until this point I think we were content to not fill it if we didn't find enough freshmen/transfers. If Tarin Smith and Bakari represent end of the roster lottery tickets, do we want to use that last schollie for a JUCO? Another lottery ticket? The ability to pick up a mid-season transfer? It seems like the answer so far has been flexibility. In hindsight it seems like we should have been streaming JUCO big men for the entire Miles era. If we had a junior JUCO big man last year doing the JUCO junior year struggle to this level of play, would we have the post player we need for this year? Would that have come at the expense of developing Jacobson/Morrow? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

I'd have to timeline it a bit more but off the top of my head we end up with an empty scholarship because we're trying to fill the roster exactly the way we want and missing on some guys while everyone else is filling their musical chairs. At what point do we compromise?

Lots of valid points here. Basketball recruiting is so much different than football (yes I know I sound like a broken record). AAU really changes things up. In football, most players are limited to their high school teams. If a star athlete is playing at your position, you can either wait your turn or move to another position. I always think of Quincy Enuwa in this scenario. Quincy was buried on an incredible team with 4 and 5 star talents a year ahead of him. When Quincy committed to Nebraska, the ratings services had nothing on him because there was little, if any, tape. By the time Quincy finished his senior year, Nebraska had a 3/4 star WR commit.

With basketball, players can move to another AAU team (or in some cases create their own) in the event far superior athletes are keeping them off the floor. As a result, players are fairly well evaluated/slotted by their senior years. Consequently, coaches try to have their "Plan A" guys sign in November. The November signees, for the most part, are known commodities. Normally, you see a ton of high level guys sign, but a few of the really highly rated guys wait until spring for various reasons. However most of the highly rated guys who wait narrow down their list to major schools like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, etc.

The spring guys are usually a collection of JUCOs, high school guys who feel they were undervalued (and are looking for more/better opportunities), and international players (Jordy) who were not very well scouted.

I look at JUCO guys like role players. They should be fully developed with a clearly defined skill set that would fit a need. While there are JUCO superstars who come in to dominate college basketball (Steve Francis), those are few and far between. I am a bit surprised that Miles has not brought in JUCOs, but I have noticed that JUCO coaches seem to be a very tight nit group and some of the best talent tends to be funneled to specific schools where there is a connection (Doc had these types of connections and used them too regularly).

The undervalued high school players also seem to be role players, at best. Some of them are like Tarin Smith, who was buried behind better talent in high school. Others are like Evelyn who transferred and got lost in the shuffle. Others are late bloomers who suddenly grow 6" between their junior and senior years. After watching how players pan out, I do not put a lot of hope in this group. They are known commodities. If Nebraska was to take in one of these players, I would go with a late bloomer. Let them redshirt a year and develop. However, many of these kids want to play now (which is usually why they held out to spring for other offers).

If we were to take the lottery ticket approach, I would go after the international kids like Jordy who started playing basketball in North America within the last 2-3 years. They are raw and have more of an opportunity for growth.

Finally, I looked up 5 of the most discussed Center recruits under Miles who did not sign and the results were a bit of a surprise.

Matthew Attwe: Spring Signee. He was essentially last big man remaining at the time. He signed with Auburn over Nebraska and then transferred. I am not sure why he did not acrue any stats in 2015-2016.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66246/matthew-atewe

Dusan Ristic. Spring Signee. If memory serve correct, he was a Nebraska lean until Arizona had scholarship opening as a result of draft departures. The guy is a backup at Arizona.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3134882/dusan-ristic

Djery Baptiste. November Signee. Redshirted last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3911624/djery-baptiste

Elbert Robinson. November Signee. Backup in two years at LSU

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3136215/elbert-robinson-iii

Mike Edwards. Spring Signee. Averaged 16.4 minutes (sorry for the mistake!) in first year as a true frosh.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3914271/mike-edwards

All of these guys except Baptiste had Nebraska in their top 2-3 (Baptiste may have, but I cannot find anything which supports that belief). Looking at those guys, none have been huge players and Robinson may be considered a bust. Mike Edwards may turn out to be the best of the bunch. It shows just how hard it can be to really evaluate players at times. All of these guys were 3 stars or better.

(BTW, how is it that we have lost so many recruiting battles to the SEC?)

hhcmatt · April 13, 2016

Matthew Attwe: Spring Signee. He was essentially last big man remaining at the time. He signed with Auburn over Nebraska and then transferred. I am not sure why he did not acrue any stats in 2015-2016.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66246/matthew-atewe

Atewe has been plagued with injury problems in his shin...we probably dodged a landmine.

Norm Peterson · April 13, 2016

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

Up until this point I think we were content to not fill it if we didn't find enough freshmen/transfers. If Tarin Smith and Bakari represent end of the roster lottery tickets, do we want to use that last schollie for a JUCO? Another lottery ticket? The ability to pick up a mid-season transfer? It seems like the answer so far has been flexibility. In hindsight it seems like we should have been streaming JUCO big men for the entire Miles era. If we had a junior JUCO big man last year doing the JUCO junior year struggle to this level of play, would we have the post player we need for this year? Would that have come at the expense of developing Jacobson/Morrow? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

I'd have to timeline it a bit more but off the top of my head we end up with an empty scholarship because we're trying to fill the roster exactly the way we want and missing on some guys while everyone else is filling their musical chairs. At what point do we compromise?

Lots of valid points here. Basketball recruiting is so much different than football (yes I know I sound like a broken record). AAU really changes things up. In football, most players are limited to their high school teams. If a star athlete is playing at your position, you can either wait your turn or move to another position. I always think of Quincy Enuwa in this scenario. Quincy was buried on an incredible team with 4 and 5 star talents a year ahead of him. When Quincy committed to Nebraska, the ratings services had nothing on him because there was little, if any, tape. By the time Quincy finished his senior year, Nebraska had a 3/4 star WR commit.

With basketball, players can move to another AAU team (or in some cases create their own) in the event far superior athletes are keeping them off the floor. As a result, players are fairly well evaluated/slotted by their senior years. Consequently, coaches try to have their "Plan A" guys sign in November. The November signees, for the most part, are known commodities. Normally, you see a ton of high level guys sign, but a few of the really highly rated guys wait until spring for various reasons. However most of the highly rated guys who wait narrow down their list to major schools like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, etc.

The spring guys are usually a collection of JUCOs, high school guys who feel they were undervalued (and are looking for more/better opportunities), and international players (Jordy) who were not very well scouted.

I look at JUCO guys like role players. They should be fully developed with a clearly defined skill set that would fit a need. While there are JUCO superstars who come in to dominate college basketball (Steve Francis), those are few and far between. I am a bit surprised that Miles has not brought in JUCOs, but I have noticed that JUCO coaches seem to be a very tight nit group and some of the best talent tends to be funneled to specific schools where there is a connection (Doc had these types of connections and used them too regularly).

The undervalued high school players also seem to be role players, at best. Some of them are like Tarin Smith, who was buried behind better talent in high school. Others are like Evelyn who transferred and got lost in the shuffle. Others are late bloomers who suddenly grow 6" between their junior and senior years. After watching how players pan out, I do not put a lot of hope in this group. They are known commodities. If Nebraska was to take in one of these players, I would go with a late bloomer. Let them redshirt a year and develop. However, many of these kids want to play now (which is usually why they held out to spring for other offers).

If we were to take the lottery ticket approach, I would go after the international kids like Jordy who started playing basketball in North America within the last 2-3 years. They are raw and have more of an opportunity for growth.

Finally, I looked up 5 of the most discussed Center recruits under Miles who did not sign and the results were a bit of a surprise.

Matthew Attwe: Spring Signee. He was essentially last big man remaining at the time. He signed with Auburn over Nebraska and then transferred. I am not sure why he did not acrue any stats in 2015-2016.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66246/matthew-atewe

Dusan Ristic. Spring Signee. If memory serve correct, he was a Nebraska lean until Arizona had scholarship opening as a result of draft departures. The guy is a backup at Arizona.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3134882/dusan-ristic

Djery Baptiste. November Signee. Redshirted last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3911624/djery-baptiste

Elbert Robinson. November Signee. Backup in two years at LSU

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3136215/elbert-robinson-iii

Mike Edwards. Spring Signee. Averaged 16.4 points in first year as a true frosh.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3914271/mike-edwards

All of these guys except Baptiste had Nebraska in their top 2-3 (Baptiste may have, but I cannot find anything which supports that belief). Looking at those guys, none have been huge players and Robinson may be considered a bust. Mike Edwards may turn out to be the best of the bunch. It shows just how hard it can be to really evaluate players at times. All of these guys were 3 stars or better.

(BTW, how is it that we have lost so many recruiting battles to the SEC?)

Bag men.

Jugular · April 13, 2016

Might want update that to minutes and not points on Edwards. There are some on this board that might have a heart attack reading 16.4 points/game!!

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

Up until this point I think we were content to not fill it if we didn't find enough freshmen/transfers. If Tarin Smith and Bakari represent end of the roster lottery tickets, do we want to use that last schollie for a JUCO? Another lottery ticket? The ability to pick up a mid-season transfer? It seems like the answer so far has been flexibility. In hindsight it seems like we should have been streaming JUCO big men for the entire Miles era. If we had a junior JUCO big man last year doing the JUCO junior year struggle to this level of play, would we have the post player we need for this year? Would that have come at the expense of developing Jacobson/Morrow? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

I'd have to timeline it a bit more but off the top of my head we end up with an empty scholarship because we're trying to fill the roster exactly the way we want and missing on some guys while everyone else is filling their musical chairs. At what point do we compromise?

Lots of valid points here. Basketball recruiting is so much different than football (yes I know I sound like a broken record). AAU really changes things up. In football, most players are limited to their high school teams. If a star athlete is playing at your position, you can either wait your turn or move to another position. I always think of Quincy Enuwa in this scenario. Quincy was buried on an incredible team with 4 and 5 star talents a year ahead of him. When Quincy committed to Nebraska, the ratings services had nothing on him because there was little, if any, tape. By the time Quincy finished his senior year, Nebraska had a 3/4 star WR commit.

With basketball, players can move to another AAU team (or in some cases create their own) in the event far superior athletes are keeping them off the floor. As a result, players are fairly well evaluated/slotted by their senior years. Consequently, coaches try to have their "Plan A" guys sign in November. The November signees, for the most part, are known commodities. Normally, you see a ton of high level guys sign, but a few of the really highly rated guys wait until spring for various reasons. However most of the highly rated guys who wait narrow down their list to major schools like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, etc.

The spring guys are usually a collection of JUCOs, high school guys who feel they were undervalued (and are looking for more/better opportunities), and international players (Jordy) who were not very well scouted.

I look at JUCO guys like role players. They should be fully developed with a clearly defined skill set that would fit a need. While there are JUCO superstars who come in to dominate college basketball (Steve Francis), those are few and far between. I am a bit surprised that Miles has not brought in JUCOs, but I have noticed that JUCO coaches seem to be a very tight nit group and some of the best talent tends to be funneled to specific schools where there is a connection (Doc had these types of connections and used them too regularly).

The undervalued high school players also seem to be role players, at best. Some of them are like Tarin Smith, who was buried behind better talent in high school. Others are like Evelyn who transferred and got lost in the shuffle. Others are late bloomers who suddenly grow 6" between their junior and senior years. After watching how players pan out, I do not put a lot of hope in this group. They are known commodities. If Nebraska was to take in one of these players, I would go with a late bloomer. Let them redshirt a year and develop. However, many of these kids want to play now (which is usually why they held out to spring for other offers).

If we were to take the lottery ticket approach, I would go after the international kids like Jordy who started playing basketball in North America within the last 2-3 years. They are raw and have more of an opportunity for growth.

Finally, I looked up 5 of the most discussed Center recruits under Miles who did not sign and the results were a bit of a surprise.

Matthew Attwe: Spring Signee. He was essentially last big man remaining at the time. He signed with Auburn over Nebraska and then transferred. I am not sure why he did not acrue any stats in 2015-2016.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66246/matthew-atewe

Dusan Ristic. Spring Signee. If memory serve correct, he was a Nebraska lean until Arizona had scholarship opening as a result of draft departures. The guy is a backup at Arizona.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3134882/dusan-ristic

Djery Baptiste. November Signee. Redshirted last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3911624/djery-baptiste

Elbert Robinson. November Signee. Backup in two years at LSU

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3136215/elbert-robinson-iii

Mike Edwards. Spring Signee. Averaged 16.4 points in first year as a true frosh.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3914271/mike-edwards

All of these guys except Baptiste had Nebraska in their top 2-3 (Baptiste may have, but I cannot find anything which supports that belief). Looking at those guys, none have been huge players and Robinson may be considered a bust. Mike Edwards may turn out to be the best of the bunch. It shows just how hard it can be to really evaluate players at times. All of these guys were 3 stars or better.

(BTW, how is it that we have lost so many recruiting battles to the SEC?)

Red Rum · April 14, 2016

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

Up until this point I think we were content to not fill it if we didn't find enough freshmen/transfers. If Tarin Smith and Bakari represent end of the roster lottery tickets, do we want to use that last schollie for a JUCO? Another lottery ticket? The ability to pick up a mid-season transfer? It seems like the answer so far has been flexibility. In hindsight it seems like we should have been streaming JUCO big men for the entire Miles era. If we had a junior JUCO big man last year doing the JUCO junior year struggle to this level of play, would we have the post player we need for this year? Would that have come at the expense of developing Jacobson/Morrow? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

I'd have to timeline it a bit more but off the top of my head we end up with an empty scholarship because we're trying to fill the roster exactly the way we want and missing on some guys while everyone else is filling their musical chairs. At what point do we compromise?

Lots of valid points here. Basketball recruiting is so much different than football (yes I know I sound like a broken record). AAU really changes things up. In football, most players are limited to their high school teams. If a star athlete is playing at your position, you can either wait your turn or move to another position. I always think of Quincy Enuwa in this scenario. Quincy was buried on an incredible team with 4 and 5 star talents a year ahead of him. When Quincy committed to Nebraska, the ratings services had nothing on him because there was little, if any, tape. By the time Quincy finished his senior year, Nebraska had a 3/4 star WR commit.

With basketball, players can move to another AAU team (or in some cases create their own) in the event far superior athletes are keeping them off the floor. As a result, players are fairly well evaluated/slotted by their senior years. Consequently, coaches try to have their "Plan A" guys sign in November. The November signees, for the most part, are known commodities. Normally, you see a ton of high level guys sign, but a few of the really highly rated guys wait until spring for various reasons. However most of the highly rated guys who wait narrow down their list to major schools like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, etc.

The spring guys are usually a collection of JUCOs, high school guys who feel they were undervalued (and are looking for more/better opportunities), and international players (Jordy) who were not very well scouted.

I look at JUCO guys like role players. They should be fully developed with a clearly defined skill set that would fit a need. While there are JUCO superstars who come in to dominate college basketball (Steve Francis), those are few and far between. I am a bit surprised that Miles has not brought in JUCOs, but I have noticed that JUCO coaches seem to be a very tight nit group and some of the best talent tends to be funneled to specific schools where there is a connection (Doc had these types of connections and used them too regularly).

The undervalued high school players also seem to be role players, at best. Some of them are like Tarin Smith, who was buried behind better talent in high school. Others are like Evelyn who transferred and got lost in the shuffle. Others are late bloomers who suddenly grow 6" between their junior and senior years. After watching how players pan out, I do not put a lot of hope in this group. They are known commodities. If Nebraska was to take in one of these players, I would go with a late bloomer. Let them redshirt a year and develop. However, many of these kids want to play now (which is usually why they held out to spring for other offers).

If we were to take the lottery ticket approach, I would go after the international kids like Jordy who started playing basketball in North America within the last 2-3 years. They are raw and have more of an opportunity for growth.

Finally, I looked up 5 of the most discussed Center recruits under Miles who did not sign and the results were a bit of a surprise.

Matthew Attwe: Spring Signee. He was essentially last big man remaining at the time. He signed with Auburn over Nebraska and then transferred. I am not sure why he did not acrue any stats in 2015-2016.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66246/matthew-atewe

Dusan Ristic. Spring Signee. If memory serve correct, he was a Nebraska lean until Arizona had scholarship opening as a result of draft departures. The guy is a backup at Arizona.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3134882/dusan-ristic

Djery Baptiste. November Signee. Redshirted last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3911624/djery-baptiste

Elbert Robinson. November Signee. Backup in two years at LSU

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3136215/elbert-robinson-iii

Mike Edwards. Spring Signee. Averaged 16.4 points in first year as a true frosh.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3914271/mike-edwards

All of these guys except Baptiste had Nebraska in their top 2-3 (Baptiste may have, but I cannot find anything which supports that belief). Looking at those guys, none have been huge players and Robinson may be considered a bust. Mike Edwards may turn out to be the best of the bunch. It shows just how hard it can be to really evaluate players at times. All of these guys were 3 stars or better.

(BTW, how is it that we have lost so many recruiting battles to the SEC?)

Bag men.

Kuzo

AuroranHusker · April 14, 2016

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

Up until this point I think we were content to not fill it if we didn't find enough freshmen/transfers. If Tarin Smith and Bakari represent end of the roster lottery tickets, do we want to use that last schollie for a JUCO? Another lottery ticket? The ability to pick up a mid-season transfer? It seems like the answer so far has been flexibility. In hindsight it seems like we should have been streaming JUCO big men for the entire Miles era. If we had a junior JUCO big man last year doing the JUCO junior year struggle to this level of play, would we have the post player we need for this year? Would that have come at the expense of developing Jacobson/Morrow? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

I'd have to timeline it a bit more but off the top of my head we end up with an empty scholarship because we're trying to fill the roster exactly the way we want and missing on some guys while everyone else is filling their musical chairs. At what point do we compromise?

Lots of valid points here. Basketball recruiting is so much different than football (yes I know I sound like a broken record). AAU really changes things up. In football, most players are limited to their high school teams. If a star athlete is playing at your position, you can either wait your turn or move to another position. I always think of Quincy Enuwa in this scenario. Quincy was buried on an incredible team with 4 and 5 star talents a year ahead of him. When Quincy committed to Nebraska, the ratings services had nothing on him because there was little, if any, tape. By the time Quincy finished his senior year, Nebraska had a 3/4 star WR commit.

With basketball, players can move to another AAU team (or in some cases create their own) in the event far superior athletes are keeping them off the floor. As a result, players are fairly well evaluated/slotted by their senior years. Consequently, coaches try to have their "Plan A" guys sign in November. The November signees, for the most part, are known commodities. Normally, you see a ton of high level guys sign, but a few of the really highly rated guys wait until spring for various reasons. However most of the highly rated guys who wait narrow down their list to major schools like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, etc.

The spring guys are usually a collection of JUCOs, high school guys who feel they were undervalued (and are looking for more/better opportunities), and international players (Jordy) who were not very well scouted.

I look at JUCO guys like role players. They should be fully developed with a clearly defined skill set that would fit a need. While there are JUCO superstars who come in to dominate college basketball (Steve Francis), those are few and far between. I am a bit surprised that Miles has not brought in JUCOs, but I have noticed that JUCO coaches seem to be a very tight nit group and some of the best talent tends to be funneled to specific schools where there is a connection (Doc had these types of connections and used them too regularly).

The undervalued high school players also seem to be role players, at best. Some of them are like Tarin Smith, who was buried behind better talent in high school. Others are like Evelyn who transferred and got lost in the shuffle. Others are late bloomers who suddenly grow 6" between their junior and senior years. After watching how players pan out, I do not put a lot of hope in this group. They are known commodities. If Nebraska was to take in one of these players, I would go with a late bloomer. Let them redshirt a year and develop. However, many of these kids want to play now (which is usually why they held out to spring for other offers).

If we were to take the lottery ticket approach, I would go after the international kids like Jordy who started playing basketball in North America within the last 2-3 years. They are raw and have more of an opportunity for growth.

Finally, I looked up 5 of the most discussed Center recruits under Miles who did not sign and the results were a bit of a surprise.

Matthew Attwe: Spring Signee. He was essentially last big man remaining at the time. He signed with Auburn over Nebraska and then transferred. I am not sure why he did not acrue any stats in 2015-2016.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66246/matthew-atewe

Dusan Ristic. Spring Signee. If memory serve correct, he was a Nebraska lean until Arizona had scholarship opening as a result of draft departures. The guy is a backup at Arizona.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3134882/dusan-ristic

Djery Baptiste. November Signee. Redshirted last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3911624/djery-baptiste

Elbert Robinson. November Signee. Backup in two years at LSU

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3136215/elbert-robinson-iii

Mike Edwards. Spring Signee. Averaged 16.4 points in first year as a true frosh.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3914271/mike-edwards

All of these guys except Baptiste had Nebraska in their top 2-3 (Baptiste may have, but I cannot find anything which supports that belief). Looking at those guys, none have been huge players and Robinson may be considered a bust. Mike Edwards may turn out to be the best of the bunch. It shows just how hard it can be to really evaluate players at times. All of these guys were 3 stars or better.

(BTW, how is it that we have lost so many recruiting battles to the SEC?)

Bag men.

Kuzo

Kudzu, man, it's kudzu.

kudzu+15.jpg

Red Rum · April 14, 2016

I agree with this that not having these guys that transferred doesn't hurt us because they wouldn't be playing next year anyway. It just gives us opportunity to go after better talent. But what happens when we don't fill all 3 of those openings? Yes, people will be upset and continue to bash Miles for continuing to leave an open spot. Miles knows what type of player it takes to win in this league. If we don't have that player is it better to have an opening or have guys who don't play and will eventually transfer?

Up until this point I think we were content to not fill it if we didn't find enough freshmen/transfers. If Tarin Smith and Bakari represent end of the roster lottery tickets, do we want to use that last schollie for a JUCO? Another lottery ticket? The ability to pick up a mid-season transfer? It seems like the answer so far has been flexibility. In hindsight it seems like we should have been streaming JUCO big men for the entire Miles era. If we had a junior JUCO big man last year doing the JUCO junior year struggle to this level of play, would we have the post player we need for this year? Would that have come at the expense of developing Jacobson/Morrow? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

I'd have to timeline it a bit more but off the top of my head we end up with an empty scholarship because we're trying to fill the roster exactly the way we want and missing on some guys while everyone else is filling their musical chairs. At what point do we compromise?

Lots of valid points here. Basketball recruiting is so much different than football (yes I know I sound like a broken record). AAU really changes things up. In football, most players are limited to their high school teams. If a star athlete is playing at your position, you can either wait your turn or move to another position. I always think of Quincy Enuwa in this scenario. Quincy was buried on an incredible team with 4 and 5 star talents a year ahead of him. When Quincy committed to Nebraska, the ratings services had nothing on him because there was little, if any, tape. By the time Quincy finished his senior year, Nebraska had a 3/4 star WR commit.

With basketball, players can move to another AAU team (or in some cases create their own) in the event far superior athletes are keeping them off the floor. As a result, players are fairly well evaluated/slotted by their senior years. Consequently, coaches try to have their "Plan A" guys sign in November. The November signees, for the most part, are known commodities. Normally, you see a ton of high level guys sign, but a few of the really highly rated guys wait until spring for various reasons. However most of the highly rated guys who wait narrow down their list to major schools like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, etc.

The spring guys are usually a collection of JUCOs, high school guys who feel they were undervalued (and are looking for more/better opportunities), and international players (Jordy) who were not very well scouted.

I look at JUCO guys like role players. They should be fully developed with a clearly defined skill set that would fit a need. While there are JUCO superstars who come in to dominate college basketball (Steve Francis), those are few and far between. I am a bit surprised that Miles has not brought in JUCOs, but I have noticed that JUCO coaches seem to be a very tight nit group and some of the best talent tends to be funneled to specific schools where there is a connection (Doc had these types of connections and used them too regularly).

The undervalued high school players also seem to be role players, at best. Some of them are like Tarin Smith, who was buried behind better talent in high school. Others are like Evelyn who transferred and got lost in the shuffle. Others are late bloomers who suddenly grow 6" between their junior and senior years. After watching how players pan out, I do not put a lot of hope in this group. They are known commodities. If Nebraska was to take in one of these players, I would go with a late bloomer. Let them redshirt a year and develop. However, many of these kids want to play now (which is usually why they held out to spring for other offers).

If we were to take the lottery ticket approach, I would go after the international kids like Jordy who started playing basketball in North America within the last 2-3 years. They are raw and have more of an opportunity for growth.

Finally, I looked up 5 of the most discussed Center recruits under Miles who did not sign and the results were a bit of a surprise.

Matthew Attwe: Spring Signee. He was essentially last big man remaining at the time. He signed with Auburn over Nebraska and then transferred. I am not sure why he did not acrue any stats in 2015-2016.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/66246/matthew-atewe

Dusan Ristic. Spring Signee. If memory serve correct, he was a Nebraska lean until Arizona had scholarship opening as a result of draft departures. The guy is a backup at Arizona.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3134882/dusan-ristic

Djery Baptiste. November Signee. Redshirted last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3911624/djery-baptiste

Elbert Robinson. November Signee. Backup in two years at LSU

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3136215/elbert-robinson-iii

Mike Edwards. Spring Signee. Averaged 16.4 points in first year as a true frosh.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3914271/mike-edwards

All of these guys except Baptiste had Nebraska in their top 2-3 (Baptiste may have, but I cannot find anything which supports that belief). Looking at those guys, none have been huge players and Robinson may be considered a bust. Mike Edwards may turn out to be the best of the bunch. It shows just how hard it can be to really evaluate players at times. All of these guys were 3 stars or better.

(BTW, how is it that we have lost so many recruiting battles to the SEC?)

Bag men.

Kuzo

Kudzu, man, it's kudzu.

Sorry spelling isn't my thing and I was in a hurry to get that one in.

Norm Peterson · April 14, 2016

See how that stuff engulfs entire buildings? Why would you want to deal with that crap? But still these recruits go to SEC country.

AuroranHusker · April 14, 2016

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