Adjustments

[brfrad]

9 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

I don't recall him saying they'd start. He may have, but that's not how I remember it.

 

Where did he call Morrow unimportant to NU's success?

This roster doesn’t have many high-ceiling guys. Jacobson, Morrow and Taylor aren’t getting you to the NCAA tournament.

 

That makes it sound like Morrow is not going to be very good.  You don't avg. 9 and 7.5 in your soph. year, in the Big 10, because you don't have a high ceiling. 

[nustudent]

Taylor's ceiing isn't very high.

 

I think it's laughable that he scoffs at Jake and Morrow though.   I don't think either one of those guys is going to be future first team all conference or NBA draft pick...but both of those guys are legit BIg 10 players.   Not superstars.   But legit players

[brfrad]

It might be me with Dirk's writing style.  He rubs me the wrong way because he makes the positive people feel like morons because we see the good in our players, and he looks at everything through all their weaknesses.  I swear he gets his kicks out of when the football team and basketball teams struggle, so he can rip on the coaches and players, and show how terrible they are.

[nustudent]

4 minutes ago, brfrad said:

It might be me with Dirk's writing style.  He rubs me the wrong way because he makes the positive people feel like morons because we see the good in our players, and he looks at everything through all their weaknesses.  I swear he gets his kicks out of when the football team and basketball teams struggle, so he can rip on the coaches and players, and show how terrible they are.

 

I dont have as much of an issue with Dirk as most do.   He's not popular.   But he's usually right.  People don't like him because its just not what they want to hear.   That doesnt make him wrong.

 

I do think he's off here.   We have more talent than our record indicates and have more tools coming in

[uneblinstu]

41 minutes ago, brfrad said:

This roster doesn’t have many high-ceiling guys. Jacobson, Morrow and Taylor aren’t getting you to the NCAA tournament.

 

That makes it sound like Morrow is not going to be very good.  You don't avg. 9 and 7.5 in your soph. year, in the Big 10, because you don't have a high ceiling. 

I guess it doesn't come across that way to me. And I don't think Dirk has a vendetta.

[HuskerFever]

41 minutes ago, brfrad said:

It might be me with Dirk's writing style.  He rubs me the wrong way because he makes the positive people feel like morons because we see the good in our players, and he looks at everything through all their weaknesses.  I swear he gets his kicks out of when the football team and basketball teams struggle, so he can rip on the coaches and players, and show how terrible they are.

 

That's never going to change. We could win the National Championship and Dirk would argue that we didn't win by enough.

[tcp]

3 hours ago, swmckewon said:

 

Well, you never know. 

 

I'm not sure Miles has felt much outside media/fan pressure until now; Barry and Doc - even Nee, after the player walkout - had it tougher than Miles has to this point.

 

Sometimes necessity is a catalyst. 

 

And we know what happened to those 3 shortly thereafter...:)

[swmckewon]

26 minutes ago, tcp said:

 

And we know what happened to those 3 shortly thereafter...:)

 

After the player walkout Nee had another 4 years. All years I was in school. And I'm telling ya: The press was pretty tough on him. Miles has had it easier than all of them. 

[Huskerpapa]

9 minutes ago, swmckewon said:

 

After the player walkout Nee had another 4 years. All years I was in school. And I'm telling ya: The press was pretty tough on him. Miles has had it easier than all of them. 

With all due respect, the "media" today is much different than when Danny was here.  Danny did not need to deal with the social media that is present today.  I would argue that stories and gossip in written and spoken form are much more spontaneous and tough today in comparison to Danny's years. 

[swmckewon]

37 minutes ago, huskercwg said:

With all due respect, the "media" today is much different than when Danny was here.  Danny did not need to deal with the social media that is present today.  I would argue that stories and gossip in written and spoken form are much more spontaneous and tough today in comparison to Danny's years. 

Spoken form? 

 

[Norm Peterson]

OK, well, speaking of adjustments ...

 

One of the things that strikes me is that our offense is not terribly complex.  There's a little bit of movement, a little bit of ball screening, and mostly one guy who tries to go one-on-one to get a basket.  The screens we set tend not to be solid and the screener tends to vacate his spot before the defender gets there.  In addition, many if not most of our ball screens get rejected by the ball handler -- in other words, they dribble away from the screen rather than drive their guy into it.

 

So, I pulled up the Michigan State game from last year just to remind myself of what our offense looked like with slightly different personnel, including a more prolific three-point shooter than any we had on the roster this year.  And one thing struck me about how much more complex Michigan State's offense was.

 

I've posted the full game video below.  Go to about the 8:15 mark of the video, about 15:45 left in the first half, Nebraska down 8-6.  MSU sets up in the half court with Valentine getting the ball out beyond the top of the key.  At this point, Schilling is right side low post, guarded by Morrow; Javon Bess is left side high post, guarded by White; Benny is on Valentine at the top of the key; Jack covers McQuaid on the right wing; and Tai is covering Eron Harris on the left wing.

 

Action starts with Valentine passing to McQaid on the right wing and then rotating over to the left wing, switching with Harris who moves to the top of the key.

 

And here's where it gets interesting.

 

McQuaid reverses the ball back to the top of the key to Harris who then feeds Valentine on the left wing.  At this point, Schilling has sprinted from the right block out to the left wing to set a ball screen for Valentine.  Bess moves from left high post into the lane to screen Ed Morrow from following Schilling while Harris continues to move to his right taking Tai with him.  Valentine then drives Benny right into Schilling's screen, and, since Ed Morrow was blocked by Bess in the lane, there is NO ONE AVAILABLE to hedge the screen, and Valentine is left with a wide open trey, which he promptly drains.  11-6 Michigan State on top. 

 

All five Michigan State players had a job in that sequence and they all did something important to make that action work.  The result was a wide-open three.

 

 

[royalfan]

Our offensive package isn't complicated to begin with like Norm said, and it doesn't get more complex as the season goes on like other teams.  That is why we get worse as the season goes on.  We are doing the same things while others are seemingly getting better.  No better example than Michigan.  Night and day how much better they got since even the first time we played them.  They have a hell of a coach.  We have a mediocre X and O coach that doesn't seem quite smart enough to hire guys that are good and X and O items.   I thought we had something in Lewis, but not so sure after watching us fail to improve during the season yet again. 

[hhcmatt]

2 hours ago, swmckewon said:

 

After the player walkout Nee had another 4 years. All years I was in school. And I'm telling ya: The press was pretty tough on him. Miles has had it easier than all of them. 

 

It was pretty brutal

[hhcmatt]

6 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

Miles had a team at CSU that averaged better than 40% from 3?

 

He doesn't tell you they were towards the bottom of the country in attempts like most Miles teams.  That CSU 3pt% was fueled by the only two guys on the team with over 100 attempts.  The stats that backup the point make it into print. I'm certainly guilty of that too....it's just worth pointing out that you shouldn't be mesmerized by the numbers he throws out.

 

 

 

 

[Dead Dog Alley]

10 hours ago, swmckewon said:

 

After the player walkout Nee had another 4 years. All years I was in school. And I'm telling ya: The press was pretty tough on him. Miles has had it easier than all of them. 

 

After Nebraska beat Kansas in Hamilton's senior year, I was at Barry's Bar & Grill and saw Shatel go over and congratulate Danny and shake his hand, and Danny had a look on his face like he had just stepped in dogshit.  Danny held a lot of grudges, and a lot of those were reciprocated.

[hal9000]

14 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

OK, well, speaking of adjustments ...

 

One of the things that strikes me is that our offense is not terribly complex.  There's a little bit of movement, a little bit of ball screening, and mostly one guy who tries to go one-on-one to get a basket.  The screens we set tend not to be solid and the screener tends to vacate his spot before the defender gets there.  In addition, many if not most of our ball screens get rejected by the ball handler -- in other words, they dribble away from the screen rather than drive their guy into it.

 

So, I pulled up the Michigan State game from last year just to remind myself of what our offense looked like with slightly different personnel, including a more prolific three-point shooter than any we had on the roster this year.  And one thing struck me about how much more complex Michigan State's offense was.

 

I've posted the full game video below.  Go to about the 8:15 mark of the video, about 15:45 left in the first half, Nebraska down 8-6.  MSU sets up in the half court with Valentine getting the ball out beyond the top of the key.  At this point, Schilling is right side low post, guarded by Morrow; Javon Bess is left side high post, guarded by White; Benny is on Valentine at the top of the key; Jack covers McQuaid on the right wing; and Tai is covering Eron Harris on the left wing.

 

Action starts with Valentine passing to McQaid on the right wing and then rotating over to the left wing, switching with Harris who moves to the top of the key.

 

And here's where it gets interesting.

 

McQuaid reverses the ball back to the top of the key to Harris who then feeds Valentine on the left wing.  At this point, Schilling has sprinted from the right block out to the left wing to set a ball screen for Valentine.  Bess moves from left high post into the lane to screen Ed Morrow from following Schilling while Harris continues to move to his right taking Tai with him.  Valentine then drives Benny right into Schilling's screen, and, since Ed Morrow was blocked by Bess in the lane, there is NO ONE AVAILABLE to hedge the screen, and Valentine is left with a wide open trey, which he promptly drains.  11-6 Michigan State on top. 

 

All five Michigan State players had a job in that sequence and they all did something important to make that action work.  The result was a wide-open three.

 

 

Nice analysis Norm.  And was it after the GW game that Miles said he would simplify things on offense for the players?  I don't feel as if our offense has ever been that intricate, so to simplify it ever more didn't seem to work, especially in the long run.  Teams started to figure us out staring with Northwestern. 

 

I would like for Miles and Co. to take a serious look at changing our offense to try to generate more assists, more team ball.  This mostly one on one stuff isn't going to cut it in the BIG.  Of course, one thing that would really help is if we can knock down our outside shots. 

Edited March 10, 2017 by hal9000

[brfrad]

Watching Michigan and Purdue.  I feel we have every bit as much talent as these teams.  The difference is these 2 teams have guys that can hit shots and a lock down defender to take away the opponent's player one on one. 

[Dean Smith]

15 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

OK, well, speaking of adjustments ...

 

One of the things that strikes me is that our offense is not terribly complex.  There's a little bit of movement, a little bit of ball screening, and mostly one guy who tries to go one-on-one to get a basket.  The screens we set tend not to be solid and the screener tends to vacate his spot before the defender gets there.  In addition, many if not most of our ball screens get rejected by the ball handler -- in other words, they dribble away from the screen rather than drive their guy into it.

 

So, I pulled up the Michigan State game from last year just to remind myself of what our offense looked like with slightly different personnel, including a more prolific three-point shooter than any we had on the roster this year.  And one thing struck me about how much more complex Michigan State's offense was.

 

I've posted the full game video below.  Go to about the 8:15 mark of the video, about 15:45 left in the first half, Nebraska down 8-6.  MSU sets up in the half court with Valentine getting the ball out beyond the top of the key.  At this point, Schilling is right side low post, guarded by Morrow; Javon Bess is left side high post, guarded by White; Benny is on Valentine at the top of the key; Jack covers McQuaid on the right wing; and Tai is covering Eron Harris on the left wing.

 

Action starts with Valentine passing to McQaid on the right wing and then rotating over to the left wing, switching with Harris who moves to the top of the key.

 

And here's where it gets interesting.

 

McQuaid reverses the ball back to the top of the key to Harris who then feeds Valentine on the left wing.  At this point, Schilling has sprinted from the right block out to the left wing to set a ball screen for Valentine.  Bess moves from left high post into the lane to screen Ed Morrow from following Schilling while Harris continues to move to his right taking Tai with him.  Valentine then drives Benny right into Schilling's screen, and, since Ed Morrow was blocked by Bess in the lane, there is NO ONE AVAILABLE to hedge the screen, and Valentine is left with a wide open trey, which he promptly drains.  11-6 Michigan State on top. 

 

All five Michigan State players had a job in that sequence and they all did something important to make that action work.  The result was a wide-open three.

 

 

It's just a set play. We could run more set plays. I would like to see a secondary break like UNC runs into motion and then something Calipari does (I think I've mentioned it before) is go into your set play with 12 or so seconds left. If you run your play first and get nothing, most of the time you end up with a 1 v 1 at the end of the shot clock. Run the secondary into motion to keep the pressure on and then run the set play at the end of the shot clock to increase your chance at a higher percentage shot. The difficulty with this concept is you don't know where everyone is going to end up when you run motion, so every player needs to be able to run every play from every position. 

[uneblinstu]

I don't know if Miles has the cajones to do it, and they don't have the shooters right now, but I'd love to see NU transition to the Grinnell College model. I'm dead serious about that, too.

Edited March 10, 2017 by uneblinstu

[hhcmatt]

18 hours ago, nustudent said:

 

I dont have as much of an issue with Dirk as most do.   He's not popular.   But he's usually right.  People don't like him because its just not what they want to hear.   That doesnt make him wrong.

 

I do think he's off here.   We have more talent than our record indicates and have more tools coming in

 

Yup, it's not his job to write rah-rah stories about any of the local teams.

 

If this sort of effects your mood one way or the other there's another silver lining for you with Miles coming back: nothing he prints should matter a whole lot for the next year because Miles is either the guy or he's not. If you are a fan engaged enough to participate in a Nebraska basketball message board you will already know where we are in that process as the year progresses.  At the end of the year DC is going to gush about how all the signs were there that Nebraska was going to put it together or remind you about how all the past signs should have told you that this was the same ending you should have expected. 

[brfrad]

9 minutes ago, hhcdimes said:

 

Yup, it's not his job to write rah-rah stories about any of the local teams.

 

If this sort of effects your mood one way or the other there's another silver lining for you with Miles coming back: nothing he prints should matter a whole lot for the next year because Miles is either the guy or he's not. If you are a fan engaged enough to participate in a Nebraska basketball message board you will already know where in that process as the year progresses.  At the end of the year DC is going to gush about how all the signs were there that Nebraska was going to put it together or remind you about how all the past signs should have told you that this was the same ending you should have expected. 

He doesn't have to write rah-rah stories.  And, with Nebrasketball, it is not all sunshines and rainbows.  However, when you write a story everytime about how fans overrate talent, it grows on the fan base who have to live on hope.  It's not like the fans have overrated the talent on this team.  We have recruiting boards who rate these players as some of the better players in the country. 

 

And, like you said with the last sentence, he will show you right he was.

Edited March 10, 2017 by brfrad

[brfrad]

I think Taylor has a place on this team.  He needs to be a lock down defender, who can hit shots consistently from 15 + feet, to make teams at least guard him.  It's somebody every team needs.

[Dead Dog Alley]

1 hour ago, brfrad said:

Watching Michigan and Purdue.  I feel we have every bit as much talent as these teams.  The difference is these 2 teams have guys that can hit shots and a lock down defender to take away the opponent's player one on one. 

 

Michigan?  In terms of ability, at this very moment.

D.J. Wilson > Ed Morrow

Moritz Wagner >> Michael Jacobson

Zac Irvin = Tai Webster

Muhammed-Ali Abdur-Rahmann >> Evan Taylor

Derrick Walton > Evan Taylor

Mark Donnal = Jordy Tshimanga

Duncan Robinson >> Jack McVeigh

Roby, Horne = Michigan's four freshmen who barely played (2 4-stars, 2 3-stars).

 

Michigan has a roster better than any we've had here except maybe once or twice, a lot of size, with some pretty good athletes, great senior guards, tons of experience, outstanding shooters with five guys shooting over 40% from 3 (which is more than NU over the last 5 years), and a great coach who has been to a final four and a couple final eights. And Michigan is a bubble team that finished in a four way tie for fifth in a conference that won't have a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

 

At this level a lot of things have to go right to just be mediocre.

 

[Blindcheck]

I have never been fond of running set plays...I prefer running an motion offense where players read the defense and get themselves in position.

 

I think if you have set plays, you do that because your team does not have a High Basketball IQ....so you put them in positions where you hope to create a shot.

 

I like the mover Blocker offense...Where you have 3 movers and two guys setting screens and rolling to the hoop..among other actions...To defend you have to know the rules of the offense, but players are free to read the defense....much more difficult to defend then a play you have seen on film, so you know where the play is going once you read the play.  Virginia runs the Mover blocker offense and Wisconsin used to run it with Dick Bennett...  The guys setting the screens if they are good at rolling can get 20 points a night and nobody realizes they had 20 until they see the box score. I thnk Jacobsen and Morrow would definitely flourish in this offense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[49r]

3 minutes ago, Dead Dog Alley said:

 

Michigan?  In terms of ability, at this very moment.

D.J. Wilson > Ed Morrow

Moritz Wagner >> Michael Jacobson

Zac Irvin = Tai Webster

Muhammed-Ali Abdur-Rahmann >> Evan Taylor

Derrick Walton > Evan Taylor

Mark Donnal = Jordy Tshimanga

Duncan Robinson >> Jack McVeigh

Roby, Horne = Michigan's four freshmen who barely played (2 4-stars, 2 3-stars).

 

Michigan has a roster better than any we've had here except maybe once or twice, a lot of size, with some pretty good athletes, great senior guards, tons of experience, outstanding shooters with five guys shooting over 40% from 3 (which is more than NU over the last 5 years), and a great coach who has been to a final four and a couple final eights. And Michigan is a bubble team that finished in a four way tie for fifth in a conference that won't have a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

 

At this level a lot of things have to go right to just be mediocre.

 

 

The main difference is Michigan has 6 seniors on their roster.