Morrow leaving

[Cazzie22]

The team played without Morrow for much of the season so it will not be shock to the system.  I loved how Morrow played around the rim but his face up game was very limited.  Coaches can not always develop skills in players.  I wish the kid well but time to move on.  We can gnash our teeth all we want but it's not going to change the situation.

[royalfan]

Losing him  is not as big of a deal on the court as most here think.  He is a very flawed player.  He can't do the things that most great teams have 4's that can do.  He is too undersized for the 5.  But this is bigger than that, and we all know it.  This sucks.  This is basically the realization that Miles won't be here in a year most likely, and we are going to have another 1-2 years of sucking after that while it gets built up, if it gets built up.  It is maddening.  We have awesome facilities, awesome fan base, great academic support, and we still are so much worse than so many programs that we should be better than.  I don't get it.  It almost seems as though we need to overspend to get good, or good pretty lucky and we have fiscally responsible leadership. 

[cozrulz]

This bugs me more about the current Husker basketball culture.  Not being able to keep guys around (assistants or players) to build for more than a year.  Relying on transfers that don't necessarily have a long term connection to the school.

[Chuck Taylor]

7 hours ago, AuroranHusker said:

 

This angered me when I read it, so I decided not to post then. But I'm still mad. Tim's trying to make the narrative about "competing for a cause bigger than yourself." Yeah, the kids are selfish, blah, blah, blah. What about his responsibility in this matter? He recruited Ed, he put together the roster that forces a 6-7 kid to play center, he failed to develop him into more than a one-dimensional offensive player, and he's responsible for him playing on a crappy team for two years. Who's Tim competing for if not himself? He's paid big $$$$ and we're supposed to believe he's just in it for DONU? Tim's good at promoting himself, I wish he were better at coaching.

[basketballjones]

7 hours ago, Cazzie22 said:

The team played without Morrow for much of the season so it will not be shock to the system.  I loved how Morrow played around the rim but his face up game was very limited.  Coaches can not always develop skills in players.  I wish the kid well but time to move on.  We can gnash our teeth all we want but it's not going to change the situation.

Exactly. And while I'm severely disappointed because I love Ed and know his value to the team - what you said about his face up game is spot on. Dude, if you think you're a wing and have wing skills, your face up game should be elite. And it wasn't. 

[jimmykc]

Kind of glad I went to bed early last night and only got to this contentious thread with a cup of coffee in hand.  1.I hope this doesn't mean karaoke night at Conlees is off. 2. I would like the poster who predicted this would happen several weeks ago to step forward so that I can give him an up arrow. 3. I read somewhere that 40% of each year's recruits will eventually transfer so our record is probably no worse than most, percentage-wise. I just hope I don't wake up to any more of these surprises.Now let's try to get on with our day and be nice to each other.

[ajb5856]

I understand the sentiment that Ed's transfer is viewed as a move to jump a sinking ship. It may be.  I get that the transfer is viewed as an indictment on Miles and the program. This may be proven in the coming days and weeks or maybe not. But just thought i would offer this up...

 

I'm glad my job doesn't depend on managing the happiness of 18 and 20 year old kids. In general, it's very easy these days to flee when things don't go exactly your way instead of digging in and doing work. It's easier to find a better situation than it is to make a better situation with what you have.

 

Ed wanted to transfer after last season. He never told the coaches or his parents. His main reason/complaint at that time was playing time. He thought he should play more. He was a true freshman AND he was injured. He still got minutes. He had to be convinced that he should come back and give it another try. And he did.

 

Now this season comes and goes. More frustration, more losses, more of being injured. He wants to transfer again. Tells very few people, doesn't tell his parents until last week, and now he's gone. Wanted more time at the wing to promote his NBA game. I get having dreams and can't fault him for that at all but c'mon. 

 

Time will tell.

[HB]

1 minute ago, ajb5856 said:

 

 

I'm glad my job doesn't depend on managing the happiness of 18 and 20 year old kids. In general, it's very easy these days to flee when things don't go exactly your way instead of digging in and doing work. It's easier to find a better situation than it is to make a better situation with what you have.

 

 

 

Perfect.  Although I would up the age.  Pretty much see that up to age 35 these days.  And I have employed people for 30+ years.

[Norm Peterson]

2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

This angered me when I read it, so I decided not to post then. But I'm still mad. Tim's trying to make the narrative about "competing for a cause bigger than yourself." Yeah, the kids are selfish, blah, blah, blah. What about his responsibility in this matter? He recruited Ed, he put together the roster that forces a 6-7 kid to play center, he failed to develop him into more than a one-dimensional offensive player, and he's responsible for him playing on a crappy team for two years. Who's Tim competing for if not himself? He's paid big $$$$ and we're supposed to believe he's just in it for DONU? Tim's good at promoting himself, I wish he were better at coaching.

 

Listen, Chuck, it's not the roster that forces Ed to play center.

 

I'd been grappling with this for a long while now, trying to pencil Ed in as a power forward.  But it finally hit me about a month left in the season that Ed plays center because that's what Ed is.  Has nothing to do with the roster around him and everything to do with his skillset.  Which is limited.

 

And I noticed last year -- and I'm sure I pointed it out on the board, probably more than once -- that all Ed seemed to want to do in warmups was dunk the ball.  He didn't practice jump shots during warmups like other players.  He'd just dunk.  And dunk again.  And dunk some more.  You never saw him try to do the kinds of drives to the basket that you'd see Tai Webster practicing or Shavon Shields or even Michael Jacobson.  And you didn't see him pull up for jumpers like Jack McVeigh or Glynn Watson or Andrew White.

 

No, Ed was pretty predictable.  When he got to the front of the line, he'd take a couple of dribbles and go dunk.

 

So, when he could work on anything he wanted to -- anything at all -- what he chose to do was dunk.

 

And you wonder why he doesn't possess a face up game?  And you wonder why he plays center?

 

Chuck, answer me this:  What tools does Ed have that you'd put him anywhere but center?

[Blindcheck]

Ed Morrow has potential to be a very good player...what will work in his favor more than anything else...is that he has to sit a year...if he takes advantage of that year and develops his game...he could become a threat as a traditional 4...I don't see him becoming a stretch 4...but stretch 4s aren't the only way you play the 4.

[AuroranHusker]

 

[hhcmatt]

The replacement for Ed is pretty key here to how much this loss hurts. I think we can make up for Ed's athleticism with skill and size.

 

Replace Ed with Moses Abraham production and we're hosed.

Replace him with Leslee Smith or better production and now we have a guy that pairs nicely with Jordy.

 

We gonna convince Mark Donnal to come here? That would work pretty well.

 

[aphilso1]

1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Listen, Chuck, it's not the roster that forces Ed to play center.

 

I'd been grappling with this for a long while now, trying to pencil Ed in as a power forward.  But it finally hit me about a month left in the season that Ed plays center because that's what Ed is.  Has nothing to do with the roster around him and everything to do with his skillset.  Which is limited.

 

And I noticed last year -- and I'm sure I pointed it out on the board, probably more than once -- that all Ed seemed to want to do in warmups was dunk the ball.  He didn't practice jump shots during warmups like other players.  He'd just dunk.  And dunk again.  And dunk some more.  You never saw him try to do the kinds of drives to the basket that you'd see Tai Webster practicing or Shavon Shields or even Michael Jacobson.  And you didn't see him pull up for jumpers like Jack McVeigh or Glynn Watson or Andrew White.

 

No, Ed was pretty predictable.  When he got to the front of the line, he'd take a couple of dribbles and go dunk.

 

So, when he could work on anything he wanted to -- anything at all -- what he chose to do was dunk.

 

And you wonder why he doesn't possess a face up game?  And you wonder why he plays center?

 

Chuck, answer me this:  What tools does Ed have that you'd put him anywhere but center?

 

Do you manage, mentor, or coach anyone?  If your employee/mentee tells you that they want to improve on a specific skill (wing play) in order to achieve a specific goal (play professionally), and you see them consistently miss opportunities to improve that skill (dunk rather than shoot in warmups) and you fail to correct them, then are you a good manager/mentee/coach?

Edited March 30, 2017 by aphilso1

[aphilso1]

HINT: The answer is no.

[hskr4life]

Just now, aphilso1 said:

 

Do you manage, mentor, or coach anyone?  If your employee/mentee tells you that they want to improve on a specific skill (wing play) in order to achieve a specific goal (play professionally), and you see them consistently miss opportunities to improve that skill (dunk rather than shoot in warmups), then are you a good manager/mentee/coach?

 

There also comes a point when you have to do what's best for the team/company.  Ed playing the wing was not what was best for the team.  If you consistently have a guy who wants to improve on a specific skill by performing a certain position that will hurt the team/company... are you a good manager/mentee/coach if you allow them to do that at a cost to the team/company?  I love Ed.  He was a good player and really would have helped us...... but not with what he want's to do.  Sorry, but I'm not risking the team/company overall production to please one person who wants to do a job that they just can't or that there are players/workers who are better than them at.

[aphilso1]

8 minutes ago, hskr4life said:

 

There also comes a point when you have to do what's best for the team/company.  Ed playing the wing was not what was best for the team.  If you consistently have a guy who wants to improve on a specific skill by performing a certain position that will hurt the team/company... are you a good manager/mentee/coach if you allow them to do that at a cost to the team/company?  I love Ed.  He was a good player and really would have helped us...... but not with what he want's to do.  Sorry, but I'm not risking the team/company overall production to please one person who wants to do a job that they just can't or that there are players/workers who are better than them at.

 

How is Ed dunking in warmups helping the team?  Whether you're a basketball coach or office manager, you have to constantly balance developing your personnel with using your human capital effectively.  And we're not just talking about one player.  The number of returning starters who have left early in the last few years is staggering.  That's a trend, not an isolated incident.  And trends, good or bad, can almost always be tied back to leadership or lack thereof.

Edited March 30, 2017 by aphilso1

[busticket]

1 hour ago, Blindcheck said:

Ed Morrow has potential to be a very good player...what will work in his favor more than anything else...is that he has to sit a year...if he takes advantage of that year and develops his game...he could become a threat as a traditional 4...I don't see him becoming a stretch 4...but stretch 4s aren't the only way you play the 4.

 

Thank you.  Everyone nowadays is so enamored  with the stretch 4 that they forget that is not the name of the position.  Ed is an old school enforcer at the 4.  I truly believe there is a place for that.  Water under the bridge now but I would have loved to see Jordy and Ed become like Ewing and Oakley for the knicks in the late 80's.  

[Fullbacksympathy]

1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Listen, Chuck, it's not the roster that forces Ed to play center.

 

I'd been grappling with this for a long while now, trying to pencil Ed in as a power forward.  But it finally hit me about a month left in the season that Ed plays center because that's what Ed is.  Has nothing to do with the roster around him and everything to do with his skillset.  Which is limited.

 

And I noticed last year -- and I'm sure I pointed it out on the board, probably more than once -- that all Ed seemed to want to do in warmups was dunk the ball.  He didn't practice jump shots during warmups like other players.  He'd just dunk.  And dunk again.  And dunk some more.  You never saw him try to do the kinds of drives to the basket that you'd see Tai Webster practicing or Shavon Shields or even Michael Jacobson.  And you didn't see him pull up for jumpers like Jack McVeigh or Glynn Watson or Andrew White.

 

No, Ed was pretty predictable.  When he got to the front of the line, he'd take a couple of dribbles and go dunk.

 

So, when he could work on anything he wanted to -- anything at all -- what he chose to do was dunk.

 

And you wonder why he doesn't possess a face up game?  And you wonder why he plays center?

 

Chuck, answer me this:  What tools does Ed have that you'd put him anywhere but center?

 

First, good points.  I view Ed as a "traditional" 4--one that could develop a 10-15 foot jumper (which he did make on occasion), one that could block shots on the weakside, and one that could be a pest on the glass by ruining the day of a soft stretch 4 trying to box him out.  When you have a center in Jordy who proved he was legitimately capable of earning double teams around the basket, the dream should've been to have a guy like Ed there to clean up the glass.  While his offensive game is definitely unorthodox and not at all "stretch," I would also argue that his non-dunk finishes around the basket were pretty reliable--definitely moreso than Jacobson or Jordy.  Defensively, playing the 5 forced him to bog down and lean rather than move around and create havoc with help defense.  

 

As a counter point, I'd ask this:  what can Jacobson do at the 4 that Ed couldn't?  It definitely wasn't making shots, and Jacobson's lack of lateral quickness was exploited in multiple games by 4s with guard skills last year.  I don't think Ed would've been a defensive liability in those situations at all.  I love Jacobson--he's a very good young player.  But I see him more of a utility 4-5 who should get legit minutes as a spot guy in both areas.  I don't think he should've ever been starting over Ed or Jordy.  

 

Now, since Copeland can knock down open threes and still legitimately guard the 4, and if Roby develops a reliable-enough 3pt shot in the offseason, and if Akenten is as good as advertised, this will probably end up being a net gain.  In fact, it could end up being a blessing in disguise if we move Jacobson to the 5, where I think he should play most of his minutes.  

 

Watson - Taylor

Akenten - please God a great shooter grad transfer - Gill 

McVeigh - Palmer

Copeland - Roby

Jordy - Jacobson

 

That's a really nice looking roster to me, and spots 1-4 are all legitimate 3pt threats which means the lane will be open or post game will be hard to double team.  

 

With Jacobson, I think the kid will be strong enough, athletic enough, and EASILY tough enough to play the 5 next year.  I would love to see him work on nothing but jump hooks.  He's capable of getting high percentage shots close to the basket, and he jumps well.  Just learn to make a bunny, kid!  

 

[Blindcheck]

2 minutes ago, busticket said:

 

Thank you.  Everyone nowadays is so enamored  with the stretch 4 that they forget that is not the name of the position.  Ed is an old school enforcer at the 4.  I truly believe there is a place for that.  Water under the bridge now but I would have loved to see Jordy and Ed become like Ewing and Oakley for the knicks in the late 80's.  

 

To me a stretch 4 is a guy that couldn't hang down low...so he had to develop an outside shot to earn playing time because he couldn't earn it the traditional way....Nothing wrong with it..as guys that want to play...have to figure out a skill that results in the coach putting them in the game.

 

[Fullbacksympathy]

2 minutes ago, busticket said:

 

Thank you.  Everyone nowadays is so enamored  with the stretch 4 that they forget that is not the name of the position.  Ed is an old school enforcer at the 4.  I truly believe there is a place for that.  Water under the bridge now but I would have loved to see Jordy and Ed become like Ewing and Oakley for the knicks in the late 80's.  

 

Yep.  Oakley and Rodman came to mind for me as well.  Ed is completely molded for that sort of skillset, and there's nothing wrong with that.  The game has to be won in a bunch of areas, and PFs are often your dirty work guys to get those wins.  

[Norm Peterson]

23 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

 

Do you manage, mentor, or coach anyone?  If your employee/mentee tells you that they want to improve on a specific skill (wing play) in order to achieve a specific goal (play professionally), and you see them consistently miss opportunities to improve that skill (dunk rather than shoot in warmups) and you fail to correct them, then are you a good manager/mentee/coach?

 

You are making a big assumption that the coaches failed to try to correct him.

 

I've been told quite the opposite, actually.

[hhcmatt]

 

5 minutes ago, busticket said:

 

Thank you.  Everyone nowadays is so enamored  with the stretch 4 that they forget that is not the name of the position.  Ed is an old school enforcer at the 4.  I truly believe there is a place for that.  Water under the bridge now but I would have loved to see Jordy and Ed become like Ewing and Oakley for the knicks in the late 80's.  

 

There is. However, that's not what Ed necessarily wants either. He wants to be a stretch 4/wing.

[Fullbacksympathy]

1 minute ago, hhcdimes said:

 

 

There is. However, that's not what Ed necessarily wants either. He wants to be a stretch 4/wing.

 

True, the whole "wing" thing really caught me off guard.  That's completely delusional.  

[hskr4life]

5 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

 

How is Ed dunking in warmups helping the team?  Whether you're a basketball coach or office manager, you have to constantly balance developing your personnel with using your human capital effectively.  And we're not just talking about one player.  The number of returning starters who have left early in the last few years is staggering.  That's a trend, not an isolated incident.  And trends, good or bad, can almost always be tied back to leadership or lack thereof.

 

I'll give you that... the Ed loss is staggering.  However, with the way that transfers happen these days, everyone should expect it.  Really though who have we "lost?"  An unmotivated Pitchford?  Petteway went Pro.  White... who wanted everything for himself and nothing for the team?  Ed is really the first guy who I was like WOW... that one could hurt the team.  But after hearing what he wanted and what was best for our team.... It doesn't seem as much as a wow.  So to me... those points are moot because we didn't really "lose" anyone to a transfer that was good for the team and Petteway went pro.

[Hooper]

We'd better hope that was the last of the transfers. I have no direct information, but there are certainly rumors going around that Glynn and MJ might still be in play. Keeping my fingers crossed here.