I am a little concerned about all the Shields love.

[PimpMario]

Shields just had a great game, I can't deny that but I am a little weary to crown him the savior of the program.

 

I am concerned some of my fellow Nebrasketball fans and local media are setting themselves and Shavon up for a letdown.  On the radio they were talking about how good he can be the rest of his career.

 

From what I can tell he has had 1 great game and 1 good game this year.

 

I was at the Purdue game and Shields had a good game, which was especially noticeable because Gallegos and Talley had bad games and Ubel was out.

 

While his 18 points were nice after he sank his second 3 I turned to my dad and said "Shields can't make 3s... can he?"

 

We checked and he was 2-14 at that time.  He has since improved to 5-17.

 

Shavon f 6-11 2-2 4-6 18 

 

I understand that Shields had a good week and we should congratulate him for that BUT I don't see why and I think it is unfair that we act like he is going to be a great one.

 

Before last week I thought he could be a solid player and maybe develop into a consistent start on a better team next year.

 

I think we should temper our expectations and not put too much pressure on the kid.

[MandRHusker]

In a way I agree with you. We now have four scoring options on this team with Shavon as one of them. This makes us a more dangerous team and more difficult to defend. But to expect Shavon the be the guy each and every game is not realistic. I do think he is getting better because his elbow is healed, he is very coachable and has a high basketball IQ. So I do expect him to get better over his career. But I will be very happy if he is just one of multiple scorers we have on the team going forward, and nothing more.

[Silverbacked1]

Geez Pimp don't you know that this is a message board and we are to only write things like: best ever, total bust, should transfer, next______.

 

You can't come on here and make thoughtful comments like the one you just did.

 

I mean "Come on Man"

 

I really kind of felt the same way looking at some of the things I read yesterday. 

 

The Illini will be on the look out for him.

[Norm Peterson]

We're 1-5 in the B1G.  I wanna love something.  Shavon stands out.  He's gonna get the props for it.  I'm OK with that.  It's a whole lot better giving Shavon effusive praise than what a lot of people are saying about Benny Parker.

 

And by the way, Shavon is .500 from 3 pt range during B1G play.  So, forget the 2-14.  Those are his old stats.

 

We should give Shavon love when he's earned it and, after the last week he had, he's earned it.

[hal9000]

Well, I haven't perceived anyone crowing him the savior of the program.  I think we're all smart enough to know that he's got a long way to go.  I can see it that the media (Kent, Matt, Culhane) has high praises for him. On the other hand, he is getting more attention this week (and deservedly so) because of his last two games, because each we he does seem to be getting better and better, and he's doing what he's doing as a true freshman.  So there's a certain amount of hope and anticipation that he's only going to get better. 

[royalfan]

More about how it looks to the eye than the results.  My eye tells me he has a chance to be a very good player. 

[GATA]

I see him being a rock-solid B1G player over the next four years with a reasonable chance to be better than that. I think we can all agree that he has been better than advertised, especially when you consider his elbow injury. We will see how he responds with extra defensive attention.

[efhutton]

What I believe with Shields recent performance as he is one player for the future that is a difference maker.   We need 6 to 8 more of them to get where we can achieve the success we want

[PimpMario]

I am really worried about the next 2 games.  If we don't get 1 of them I feel like this team and the fans could start to slip.

[TheKamdyMan]

The one positive you have in Shavon is his father.  He has been around and knows what it takes to perform at the highest of levels and what the expectations are when you are there.  He had a great upbringing and his mom definitely keeps him in line.  I dont think heaping praise on Shavon will effect him either way.  

[Huskerpapa]

My appreciation of Shavon does not have anything to do with his scoring.  It is with his court awareness, his ability to find the open spots on the floor, his hands, his sense of the moment, his ability to defend, the appreciation of Shavon by his teammates, his pedigree, his touch on shots, his ability to draw contact, and yeah, I guess, his ability to score.  Some players you look at and you wonder about the holes in his game.  I am not going to say that Shavon doesn't have a hole or two or three.  But, he has the ability to pick things up that more experienced players sometimes lack.  The kid has the "it' factor that we have missed for quite some time.  Sorry, but he does.

[uneblinstu]

What I believe with Shields recent performance as he is one player for the future that is a difference maker.   We need 6 to 8 more of them to get where we can achieve the success we want

What are you defining as a "difference maker"?

[Huskerpapa]

I am really worried about the next 2 games.  If we don't get 1 of them I feel like this team and the fans could start to slip.

Why worry Pimp..if you were to write the story of this season, it would be a story about the building of a foundation, not about wins and losses.  It is about finding the silver linings, not about the downward spiral of a program.  Although we all love wins and losses, any win seems to be extraordinary.  Expectations were and still continue to be low with regards to wins and losses.  People want to see a progam that is moving foward.  So you admire what Talley or Ubel may accomplish, but we revel in what Rivers, Shields, Parker or Gallegos does because tomorrow is definitely brighter than today...

[Donkey]

As one of my oldest, dearest friends used to say: "after a long enough drought, even the fat chicks seem appealing." Shields may not be a homely wall flower, but he definitely is not the prom queen. He is somewhere in the middle and the sexiest of a shallow group which arguably has not had a homecoming queen since Tyron Lue obsconded for a wealthy suitor.

People want hope and Shields offers an immediate glimpse into the future. We need Nebrasketball to be a front page item and overtake random articles of winter weightlifting and spring practices or football recruiting news about guys who probably will not see the field for another two years. If Shields helps Nebrasketball's exposure, give him a crown, scepter, and a bouquet of roses (although I doubt he would wear a dress), and anoint him royalty for all I care. Either way, Shields is something good, so lets run with it.

[49r]

I'm with Kamdy on this one...the thing that makes me fairly confident that he'll be able to maintain a reasonably high level of play is because of who his father is.  He knows what kind of dedication it takes to reach the highest levels of performance and from all I've heard from the kid he understands very well that he is far from reaching that level.

 

But, as cwg has mentioned, you can see that the kid has all the tools he needs to get there...just by his ability to be where he needs to be.  His awareness of the situation, it's as if he has an innate knack for the game, some call it basketball IQ.  I think Shavon's got that - in spades.

 

No need to worry about him, IMO.  Sure, he can't be expected to get 29 every night.  He'll probably have games where he just won't be there.  But I'm gonna bet he has more nights where he blows up and gets 20-30 points than nights where he just doesn't show up.

 

But that's my opinion.

[49r]

Oh, did I mention I really like the Shields kid?  

[Norm Peterson]

Yeah, Shields is good.  He's the best true freshman we've had in here in awhile.  That much is very clear. 

 

I was thinking about Standhardinger the other day when the "best since ______" thread was first posted.  And I was thinking that Christian could have been the player that Shavon is likely to become.  Christian had some advantages over Shavon.  His length, for one.  I think Christian was maybe a bit quicker.  But I honestly don't fault Doc's handling of Christian because I don't think Christian wanted to learn; he just wanted the ball. 

 

Shavon has let the game come to HIM.  He hasn't gone and chased around after the game like a chicken with a craniectomy.  Christian's downfall was not the type of player he was.  His downfall was more the type of person he is.  And by that I don't mean that Christian was an inherently bad person.  But neither was he a person, like Shavon, who was interested in learning and improving and growing and providing to the team what he could for the benefit of the team.

 

If Christian and Shavon traded places, I don't think Shavon sits on Doc's bench.  I think Shavon plays.  And plays a lot.  Because, in part, Shavon doesn't bring a ME ME ME attitude to the table.  And I think Christian kind of did.

 

And what the hell is the point I'm driving at?  Actually, there's more than one.  The first is that Shavon isn't defined merely by his athleticism and skills.  He has intangibles that make his total package greater than the sum of its parts.  The second is that, in context (and cognizant of the worry that we inflate the myth of Shavon too greatly) Shavon Shields is not simply the best player in this recruiting class.  He stands out as the best freshman we've had over probably at least the last half dozen or more recruiting classes.  So, worried or not, hey, the love he's getting is warranted.

 

And I guess the third thing is this:  Shavon has shown himself to be the type of kid and the type of player who isn't going to be worried about getting his shots next year.  And that's good because we bring in a few players each of whom might have been that best true freshman in years if Shavon had not arrived in this class.  Any of Webster, Fuller and Hawkins (and perhaps all of them) could be every bit the player that Shavon Shields is.   And that's not hyperbole.

 

Everyone knows what's been written about Webster.  I've heard glowing praise for Hawkins.  And I've seen the video of Fuller and I'm telling you I haven't seen a Husker recruit show that kind of ability in a highlight film since maybe Will Harris.  And I think probably better than Harris.  So, by Nebraska standards, we may be enjoying an embarrassment of riches in the coming few years.  And I think Shavon Shields is going to be fine with that. 

[49r]

Great post, Norm.  Agree 100%

 

Another note on the Shields/Standhardinger comparison.  I feel like Sheilds is just a WHOLE lot more fluid with his motions.  He just seems to get where he needs to be all the time and looks effortless doing it.  With 'dinger, it's a lot of herky-jerky motion and you never knew if he was going to get to the spot, or if he was going to run over three teammates or what he was going to do.  It almost felt like he was a danger to himself and the team out there.

[tcp]

the best way to support a kid like this is for fans to not live so extremely in the latest result. Not too high, not too low. Besides, he has a coach who can temper his ego and psychology. Always a good idea to let them do their jobs.

 

Shavon's going to have setbacks. We may see the first tonight, since he's now going to have  target on his back or the first time. It's a process, just like other sports. Rookie takes league by storm, league adjusts, rookie re-adjusts, etc.

 

Personally, I think it's great that fans have a reason in a year like this to get excited about anything.

[cipsucks]

I am really worried about the next 2 games.  If we don't get 1 of them I feel like this team and the fans could start to slip.

We haven't won an outright conference championship in a century.  Where are we going to slip to? 

[tcp]

I am really worried about the next 2 games.  If we don't get 1 of them I feel like this team and the fans could start to slip.

We haven't won an outright conference championship in a century.  Where are we going to slip to? 

missouri valley conference? no need to get up, I'll punish myself.

[hhcmatt]

Shields just had a great game, I can't deny that but I am a little weary to crown him the savior of the program.

 

I am concerned some of my fellow Nebrasketball fans and local media are setting themselves and Shavon up for a letdown.  On the radio they were talking about how good he can be the rest of his career.

 

From what I can tell he has had 1 great game and 1 good game this year.

 

I was at the Purdue game and Shields had a good game, which was especially noticeable because Gallegos and Talley had bad games and Ubel was out.

 

While his 18 points were nice after he sank his second 3 I turned to my dad and said "Shields can't make 3s... can he?"

 

We checked and he was 2-14 at that time.  He has since improved to 5-17.

 

Shavon f 6-11 2-2 4-6 18 

 

I understand that Shields had a good week and we should congratulate him for that BUT I don't see why and I think it is unfair that we act like he is going to be a great one.

 

Before last week I thought he could be a solid player and maybe develop into a consistent start on a better team next year.

 

I think we should temper our expectations and not put too much pressure on the kid.

 

1. After we beat the worst team in the B1G you get radio hosts blowing up and plenty of sunshine pumped....in the moment people get way high and way low.

 

2.  Shields has been playing with a bum elbow most of the year.  He's going to be inconsistent going forward because he's a freshman.  If he scores 4 points against Illinois because they put the focus on him don't really worry.  The guys has a high basketball IQ and is fairly athletic....he'll help this team and get plenty of playing time regardless of whether he scores or not.

[bball23]

Here is why I'm fairly high on Shields....first, he has a way of being around the ball.  Second, he has a VERY high basketball IQ, and thirdly, the guy missed what, 7 games already so is "behind" and yet playing well.  

[jimmykc]

I think we should amend the thread originator"s name to PrescientPimpMario.

[hhcmatt]

I think we should amend the thread originator"s name to PrescientPimpMario.

 

If Northwestern is running back door cuts against Shields he might foul out in 5 minutes