uneblinstu's Post Game Chatter: Vol 9, Ed 7 - Clemson

[throwback]

So ... many ... chances. Sigh. Trying to stick to the positives:

• With Clem in the bonus midway thru 2nd half and with their strength at the FT line, I thought we did a good job hanging in there. The game could've gotten away from us a few different times in that 2nd half. Did a good job not fouling that last 10 min.
• Also hung in there decently considering we didn't reach the bonus in either half till 2.9 seconds remained ... and that only happened because of an purpose foul. I know Clem is good at not fouling, but for a team that attacks the paint like we do, our FT opportunities seem to be MIA. And it wasn't just last night. Seems to be a consistent thing. Not sure how we can improve on drawing contact (or making it look like we draw contact), but it'd be nice to get more chances at the line.
• Scored 34 points in the paint.
• Forced 17 turnovers and came up with 9 steals - normally those are winning numbers - but only turned them into 6 fast break pts.
• Roby did a decent job on Blossomgame I thought.
• MJ was more aggressive/active offensively; he had some struggles defensively certainly, but Blossomgame is really good.
• Jordy's foul problems were disappointing, but he was also very active/aggressive - showed some nice confidence.
• Clutch 3 by Watson to tie it - and Webster got a pretty good look at the last shot, all things considered. 
• Our rebounding has been a pleasant surprise all season > +8 last night and 18 offensive boards (just need more than 12 2nd chance pts though)
• Morrow with his 2nd double-double of the season ... guessing it won't be his last. He keeps getting better.
• Clem with 14 2nd chance points - seemed like every offensive rebound in the 2nd half they got ended up as a 3-pt make. (Sorry, that's not positive - but that part of the game really pissed me off. Just corral one of those rebounds and it's a different game.)

 

Edited December 1, 2016 by throwback

[Buglem]

2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

Freshman ppg through 7 games:

Jordy 2.6

Horne 2.3

Roby 2.3

Through 7 games last year:

Watson 8.6

McVeigh 7.1

I'd argue last year's team was better at this point, but it's debatable so let's call it a wash. Conclusions: (1) We might have overestimated the abilities of this year's freshman class (2) Miles had a more veteran team last year and was willing to live with more freshman errors (2) Glynn and Jack are better players than any of this year's frosh (4) or the coward's way out: too small a sample size to draw conclusions. 

 

 

 

don't forget (5) significantly higher level of competition in those first 7 games this year

[Buglem]

14 minutes ago, throwback said:

So ... many ... chances. Sigh. Trying to stick to the positives:

• With Clem in the bonus midway thru 2nd half and with their strength at the FT line, I thought we did a good job hanging in there. The game could've gotten away from us a few different times in that 2nd half. Did a good job not fouling that last 10 min.
• Also hung in there decently considering we didn't reach the bonus in either half till 2.9 seconds remained ... and that only happened because of an purpose foul. I know Clem is good at not fouling, but for a team that attacks the paint like we do, our FT opportunities seem to be MIA. And it wasn't just last night. Seems to be a consistent thing. Not sure how we can improve on drawing contact (or making it look like we draw contact), but it'd be nice to get more chances at the line.
• Scored 34 points in the paint.
• Forced 17 turnovers and came up with 9 steals - normally those are winning numbers - but only turned them into 6 fast break pts.
• Roby did a decent job on Blossomgame I thought.
• MJ was more aggressive/active offensively; he had some struggles defensively certainly, but Blossomgame is really good.
• Jordy's foul problems were disappointing, but he was also very active/aggressive - showed some nice confidence.
• Clutch 3 by Watson to tie it - and Webster got a pretty good look at the last shot, all things considered. 
• Our rebounding has been a pleasant surprise all season > +8 last night and 18 offensive boards (just need more than 12 2nd chance pts though)
• Clem with 14 2nd chance points - seemed like every offensive rebound in the 2nd half they got ended up as a 3-pt make. (Sorry, that's not positive - but that part of the game really pissed me off. Just corral one of those rebounds and it's a different game.)

 

 

Pretty much agree across the board with your assessment.  The thing that just killed us was their offensive rebounds that turned into 3's.  Momentum changers and ultimately what got us beat.

 

My positives:

• Jordy played the best I've seen so far.  He's showing signs of "getting it".  Hopefully soon he will be giving us 10-15 minutes and 4-6 points and 4-6 rebounds a game
• Roby played decent defense on Blossomgame, looked a little more comfortable but still overthinking it
• Although Jack didn't hold up his end offensively, I thought he played good defense most of the time and wasn't a liability out there
• MJ played his best game of the year.  If he can start consistently playing like that we may have found our 4th scorer
• Morrow played soft in the first half but came back strong in the second
• Team showed a lot of toughness.  If they can keep their confidence they will figure out how to close these games out.

[atskooc]

I was pretty rough on MJ in the game thread (especially early), but he really did turn in a pretty darn good game.  Would like to see that continue (as well as seeing a few of those jumpers dropping).

Though Roby played pretty well on Blossomgame, I think I'd prefer to see him on a lesser offensive player right now, because I think his defensive prowess comes in help defense.  He can come out of nowhere and block a shot (or, at the very least, get in the way and make the offensive player adjust).  That's the defense from him I saw when he exploded in the exhibition.

[khoock]

-If we can develop some type of bench going in to Big Ten play I still think we will be alright. But that's a big IF right now.

-I have no don't Jack can play and is fit for this level of competition but man he picked a rough stretch to completely disappear offensively.

-Morrow and Jacobson rebound hard. And Jordy looks like he's getting better and more comfortable each game. Like I've said before I really like our front court.

-Morrow gets an additional mention bc that boy is a GROWN MAN

-I dislike AW3 even more now bc if we had his 3pt shorting we'd be in really good shape. 

-Watson once again proves he can put up big numbers in the scoring column. And how about that clutch 3 to tie the game. He's gonna be a hell of a player come is senior year.

-Tai was solid again. I know Tai is the senior leader but I would have rather had Glynn take the last shot however. Kid has ice in his veins.

 

I'm hoping USD turns into a game where we can play our bench players another 20+ minutes each bc boy do they need it. Also it would be nice to get the starters a rest with busy week they just had. With how poorly the bench has been playing we are going to need the starting 5 rested and ready to play alot of minutes against Creighton. GBR.

 

 

[hhcmatt]

2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

I'd argue last year's team was better at this point, but it's debatable so let's call it a wash.

 

Last year's team had gone 1-2 vs quality opponents coming into the ACC game where it lost an OT game at home.

 

2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

We might have overestimated the abilities of this year's freshman class

This is always true. It's typically just a matter of how much.

[hhcmatt]

Box score

 

[big red22]

There is one play that stands out to me in this game and that is the play where Jack McVeigh had an open look and passed the ball to I believe Watson with 1 second left on the shot clock.  On that play we had a shot clock violation...

 

If Jack can't hit shots we are screwed this season.  He needs to come out of his funk, because we're F'd without him!

 

Also the Assist to Turnover ratio is going back to hero ball numbers.  What happened to the assists we were seeing early on in the season.  I am a firm believer in letting this Sophomore class get seasoned before getting out the torches and Pitchforks, but I do not like seeing us revert back to old habits... especially hero ball habits

Edited December 1, 2016 by big red22

[Fullbacksympathy]

Jordy has earned more minutes, in my opinion.  I thought he was a game changer when he was in there.  I have no idea why we refuse to play he and Morrow together and absolutely destroy other teams inside with physicality.  I think Morrow would've had an easier time guarding Blossomgame than Jacobson.  I thought Jacobson and Jordy should've split minutes at the 5 last night. 

 

More on Jordy:  I'm not sure how many are paying attention, but he has excellent court awareness on both ends.  He's a good passer and is comfortable with the ball in his hands.  He also knows how to clear the lane for guards to get to the rim, and is a mean offensive rebounder.  Defensively, he had some nice blocks and shot alterations.  Let him foul out for all I care, but let the kid play.  He's good.  

[hhcmatt]

1 minute ago, big red22 said:

There is one play that stands out to me in this game and that is the play where Jack McVeigh had an open look and passed the ball to I believe Watson with 1 second left on the shot clock.  On that play we had a shot clock violation...

 

If Jack can't hit shots we are screwed this season.  He needs to come out of his funk, because we're F'd without him!

 

He only took 2 shots this game. I can imagine that he was challenged by the staff to impact the game beyond his shooting and part of that is him rationalizing that he's not going to shoot unless absolutely open.  He's more concerned about not making a mistake right now than realizing at times he will shoot poorly. Tai's entire 2014-15 season where he took 107 total shots was like this.

 

I'd rather see him go 0-10 in 23 minutes than 0-2 because that 0-10 guy at least has the confidence to make the next one.

[big red22]

1 minute ago, hhcdimes said:

 

He only took 2 shots this game. I can imagine that he was challenged by the staff to impact the game beyond his shooting and part of that is him rationalizing that he's not going to shoot unless absolutely open.  He's more concerned about not making a mistake right now than realizing at times he will shoot poorly. Tai's entire 2014-15 season where he took 107 total shots was like this.

 

I'd rather see him go 0-10 in 23 minutes than 0-2 because that 0-10 guy at least has the confidence to make the next one.

I agree... That attitude is not going to work

[bigred4]

13 minutes ago, LK1 said:

Jordy has earned more minutes, in my opinion.  I thought he was a game changer when he was in there.  I have no idea why we refuse to play he and Morrow together and absolutely destroy other teams inside with physicality.  I think Morrow would've had an easier time guarding Blossomgame than Jacobson.  I thought Jacobson and Jordy should've split minutes at the 5 last night. 

 

More on Jordy:  I'm not sure how many are paying attention, but he has excellent court awareness on both ends.  He's a good passer and is comfortable with the ball in his hands.  He also knows how to clear the lane for guards to get to the rim, and is a mean offensive rebounder.  Defensively, he had some nice blocks and shot alterations.  Let him foul out for all I care, but let the kid play.  He's good.  

 

I agree with playing Morrow and Jordy together, I just don't think it will happen, even though Morrow has shown he can step out and hit a 15 footer.  I would like to see more Horne, his shot looks like it will go in about every time he shoots.  May just have to live with some defensive errors, especially since we live with other player's shortcomings.

[khoock]

Unfortunately for Horne, defensive shortcomings isn't usually a flaw that Miles will live with. 

[hhcmatt]

3 minutes ago, khoock said:

Unfortunately for Horne, defensive shortcomings isn't usually a flaw that Miles will live with. 

 

On the flip side though it's not like Miles is unwilling to play freshmen.

[bigred4]

32 minutes ago, khoock said:

Unfortunately for Horne, defensive shortcomings isn't usually a flaw that Miles will live with. 

 

Yah, but at some point you have to score more than 58 points to win.  Flip side Taylor goes in because of his defense last minute last night and gets beat and has to grab the guy and fouls.

[King James]

52 minutes ago, LK1 said:

Jordy has earned more minutes, in my opinion.  I thought he was a game changer when he was in there.  I have no idea why we refuse to play he and Morrow together and absolutely destroy other teams inside with physicality.  I think Morrow would've had an easier time guarding Blossomgame than Jacobson.  I thought Jacobson and Jordy should've split minutes at the 5 last night. 

 

More on Jordy:  I'm not sure how many are paying attention, but he has excellent court awareness on both ends.  He's a good passer and is comfortable with the ball in his hands.  He also knows how to clear the lane for guards to get to the rim, and is a mean offensive rebounder.  Defensively, he had some nice blocks and shot alterations.  Let him foul out for all I care, but let the kid play.  He's good.  

Probably getting limited minutes because of fouls.  4 fouls in 9 minutes last night (averaging a foul almost every two minutes on the floor)...hard to find him much more playing time under the circumstances. 

[hhcmatt]

On a less serious note, if you watched this game via ESPN3/WatchESPN or any games you'll notice that they replay the same commercials over and over and over again.

 

Tonight it was playing a video clip to Kurtis Blow's "Basketball".  TBH this was a best case scenario because this song is awesome.

 

[Swan88]

Last night's loss has to rank as one of the biggest Nebrasketball disappointments in a while.  That's because the kids played well against a good team of experienced players--and it took some incredibly bad luck along the way and at the end to assure the loss.

On the other hand, with a break-or-two we'd all be typing here today about how incredibly well these kids are developing and what a great job the coaches are doing at bringing them along just-right.  The difference here between great discouragement and extreme optimism is very slight.

The encouraging thing from last night and recent games is that the Huskers are performing well much of the time against high quality-competition . . . and are doing it with sophomores and freshmen playing major roles.  Many of these youngster roles will be increasing as the season moves along.

Jordy is looking impressive at times (imagine saying that four games ago).

Isaiah is getting more comfortable.  

Morrow is coming into his own.  

Glynn has ice in his veins.  

Etc.

And who would've ever thunk, over the past two years, that our lone-senior Tai could play this well . . . and do it consistently!

[Huskerpapa]

2 hours ago, Buglem said:

 

Pretty much agree across the board with your assessment.  The thing that just killed us was their offensive rebounds that turned into 3's.  Momentum changers and ultimately what got us beat.

 

My positives:

• Jordy played the best I've seen so far.  He's showing signs of "getting it".  Hopefully soon he will be giving us 10-15 minutes and 4-6 points and 4-6 rebounds a game
• Roby played decent defense on Blossomgame, looked a little more comfortable but still overthinking it
• Although Jack didn't hold up his end offensively, I thought he played good defense most of the time and wasn't a liability out there
• MJ played his best game of the year.  If he can start consistently playing like that we may have found our 4th scorer
• Morrow played soft in the first half but came back strong in the second
• Team showed a lot of toughness.  If they can keep their confidence they will figure out how to close these games out.

Ed may have played soft if the first half due to the foul called him in the first several seconds of the game.  That could spook the best of us.  Once he no longer was in "foul trouble" (whether real or perceived) he let it loose and became more aggressive.  He became the Ed we know and love

[HuskerFever]

15 minutes ago, Swan88 said:

Last night's loss has to rank as one of the biggest Nebrasketball disappointments in a while.

 

We've blown 10 point leads against Dayton, Virginia Tech, and Clemson this year. We seem to be starting a trend of starting off strong and letting off the gas as the game goes on.

[HuskerBB]

3 minutes ago, HuskerFever said:

 

We've blown 10 point leads against Dayton, Virginia Tech, and Clemson this year. We seem to be starting a trend of starting off strong and letting off the gas as the game goes on.

 

I see that point - but unlike the Virginia Tech game I thought last night we competed well in the 2nd half.  Clemson simply stepped up their game more than we did.  If they go 4-6 from 3 point range in the 2nd half instead of 5-6 - we win the game.

[HuskerBB]

21 minutes ago, Swan88 said:

Last night's loss has to rank as one of the biggest Nebrasketball disappointments in a while.  That's because the kids played well against a good team of experienced players--and it took some incredibly bad luck along the way and at the end to assure the loss.

On the other hand, with a break-or-two we'd all be typing here today about how incredibly well these kids are developing and what a great job the coaches are doing at bringing them along just-right.  The difference here between great discouragement and extreme optimism is very slight.

The encouraging thing from last night and recent games is that the Huskers are performing well much of the time against high quality-competition . . . and are doing it with sophomores and freshmen playing major roles.  Many of these youngster roles will be increasing as the season moves along.

Jordy is looking impressive at times (imagine saying that four games ago).

Isaiah is getting more comfortable.  

Morrow is coming into his own.  

Glynn has ice in his veins.  

Etc.

And who would've ever thunk, over the past two years, that our lone-senior Tai could play this well . . . and do it consistently!

 

Agree.  We could very easily have won those last two games and if we had won those games people on here would be looking up the location of NCAA regional site locations.  Unfortunately those did not go our way - but while our record is worse than I would have hoped (actually expected to lose to Dayton and then win the next two to be 2-1 in that tourney) - we are also probably playing better than I expected at this point.  The kids certainly are playing hard.   It is a shame that AWIII decided not to buy in to what was here - because with him playing the way he is capable and with a "team" attitude, I think this could easily be an NCAA tournament team.  

[49r]

Am I going to have to pull out the Hoosiers clip again?

 

THIS IS YOUR TEAM!

[colhusker]

34 minutes ago, 49r said:

Am I going to have to pull out the Hoosiers clip again?

 

THIS IS YOUR TEAM!

Clip me my man, clip me

[cozrulz]

13 hours ago, brfrad said:

If he is open, he needs to take them.  He has good form, and the shots look good.  He is very capable of making them.  It will give him more lanes for him to drive.

 

He is 4-26 in his career (.154).  He isn't a 3-point shooter.  Good form on a shot doesn't make it within a player's range.  Defenses give him the space because he hasn't shown he can make them.