Offseason Potpourri

[aphilso1]

18 hours ago, nustudent said:

Some clarification on this...the game still counts record wise.   Its just an exempt game from scheduling. 

 

Do you have a source for that interpretation?  Because the cited Rivals article pretty clearly says it won't count record wise.

[nustudent]

Robin clarified later in the thread 

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

[uneblinstu]

I can dig:

 

Quote

“We’re going to be really good,” Gill said. “We’ve got the pieces to be a lot better than people think. We have guys who want to be good and who want to do it the right way and for the team.”

 

Have Husker fans heard this before? Yes. Have they seen it come to fruition? Occasionally, like when NU improved from 10-18 in 1989-90 to 26-8 in 1990-91.

 

Is that a prediction? Hardly. But the vibe around this team clearly has changed. Those ready to suit up can say “I Play for Nebraska” with a straight face.

 

[Huskerpapa]

It is exciting to hear, yet, talk is cheap.  Need to see it on the floor.  Hope it can happen!!

[uneblinstu]

FWIW, the vibe around the team was really good going into last season, too.

[AuroranHusker]

25 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

FWIW, the vibe around the team was really good going into last season, too.

 

Everyone's undefeated this time of year, but as I recall, last year NU was still recovering from the sour grapes portion of the AW-III grad transfer "situation."

[Norm Peterson]

23 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

FWIW, the vibe around the team was really good going into last season, too.

 

I don't remember that.  I remember angst over Andrew White III leaving us high and dry.  There were a lot of people who thought we'd do better than how we'd been picked, but some untimely injuries kind of put an end to those hopes.

[uneblinstu]

31 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

I don't remember that.  I remember angst over Andrew White III leaving us high and dry.  There were a lot of people who thought we'd do better than how we'd been picked, but some untimely injuries kind of put an end to those hopes.

Last fall, especially. Saw it first hand. They were a pretty tight, loose unit. The AW3 situation instigated a lot of that.

[Norm Peterson]

From the Barfknecht article, Gill says he expects to be fully recovered, healthy for the start of the season, and his best basketball is yet to come.

 

Hmmm!

 

If that's true, and if he returns as the player we watched scorch the nets in his first open scrimmage after he arrived on campus, then you're looking at your starter at the 2 guard spot, and that would not be a bad thing at all.

[Norm Peterson]

Let's say Gill does come back healthy, that his best basketball really is ahead of him, that he plays this year like the top 50 recruit we saw in the open scrimmage 1 1/2 years ago.  Does that change anyone's perspective on the season?  Because the kid I saw that day was a damn good player and an explosive athlete who could score from all three levels.  If that's the Anton Gill we get this season, I'm all in.

[uneblinstu]

Of course it does. The health of him and Copeland (not to mention his eligibility) are huge wild cards in this. If they both get healthy and play to their stature coming out of high school, it could be pretty special for NU next year, but that's the extreme end of the pendulum. The case where everthing breaks in NU's favor. Those sorts of scenarios rarely work out that way. God, if it did, though...

[Fullbacksympathy]

Gill has great athleticism.  He just needs to make open shots because he has plenty of elevation and quickness to get open.  I think he comes off the bench for Allen.  

[lang]

I'm with you Norm, wouldn't that be something ?   He was the most dazzling player on the floor the night of that scrimmage.  We're due for something unexpectedly good to happen haint we ??

[Norm Peterson]

12 hours ago, lang said:

I'm with you Norm, wouldn't that be something ?   He was the most dazzling player on the floor the night of that scrimmage.  We're due for something unexpectedly good to happen haint we ??

 

Yeah, I'd say so.  Long overdue.

 

And I agree he was the most dazzling player on the floor the night of that scrimmage.

[49r]

 

Way Too Early 2017-’18 Big Ten Power Rankings 2.0 - Miles Bridges Shakes Things Up

Check out BTP's second set of offseason Big Ten power rankings.

 

http://www.btpowerhouse.com/2017/5/30/15700780/2017-18-big-ten-power-rankings-predictions-projections-minnesota-maryland-purdue-indiana-michigan

 

#14 - Nebraska Cornhuskers (--)

At one point last season, Nebraska was 9-6 overall, 3-0 in Big Ten play, and had wins over Dayton, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana Tech, Maryland, and South Dakota. That’s three wins against top 50 KenPom teams (including two on the road), five against top 100 opponents, and six against top 150 opponents. 

Oh, and those six losses? Five came against top 50 teams and four came away from home. That might not have been a top five resume, but it was certainly on pace to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

However, Nebraska has been in meltdown mode since that point last season. The team finished 3-13 down the stretch and has suffered massive roster attrition since then. The team lost its best player in Tai Webster to graduation and four (!!!) players to transfer, including probable star forward Ed Morrow.

Thanks to newly available players like 2017 prospect Thomas Allen and transfers Isaac Copeland* and James Palmer, there’s hope for Nebraska next season. But substantial improvement will be necessary for the Huskers to finish above the bottom-tier in next year’s Big Ten.

* - Copeland is appealing for eligibility for the first semester next season.

 

[hskr4life]

I do not think there is a way we finish 14th.

[49r]

I would be shocked if the final standings at the end of next season anywhere near resembles these rankings.  Shocked.  100% floored.  Gobsmacked.

 

I would NOT, however, be shocked to see Nebraska finish last in the standings again.  I mean, what reason do we have to believe they will finish any higher?

[kldm64]

37 minutes ago, hskr4life said:

I do not think there is a way we finish 14th.

 

There is definitely a way we finish 14th.  We could finish 3 - 13 down the stretch like we did last year.  And the fact the Big 10 will be loaded next year with good teams and players returning.  I certainly hope we don't finish 14th but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

[Norm Peterson]

2 hours ago, 49r said:

I would be shocked if the final standings at the end of next season anywhere near resembles these rankings.  Shocked.  100% floored.  Gobsmacked.

 

I would NOT, however, be shocked to see Nebraska finish last in the standings again.  I mean, what reason do we have to believe they will finish any higher?

 

Jordy Tshimanga, Glynn Watson, Thomas Allen, Isaac Copeland, James Palmer, a developing Isaiah Roby and a healthy Anton Gill; having at least 4 players who can shoot at or near 40% from beyond the arc.  There are probably other reasons as well, but that's what I could come up with off the top of my head on short notice.

[Norm Peterson]

3 hours ago, 49r said:

 

Way Too Early 2017-’18 Big Ten Power Rankings 2.0 - Miles Bridges Shakes Things Up

Check out BTP's second set of offseason Big Ten power rankings.

 

http://www.btpowerhouse.com/2017/5/30/15700780/2017-18-big-ten-power-rankings-predictions-projections-minnesota-maryland-purdue-indiana-michigan

 

#14 - Nebraska Cornhuskers (--)

The team lost its best player in Tai Webster to graduation and four (!!!) players to transfer, including probable star forward Ed Morrow.

 

 

OMG, we lost four (!!!) players to transfer last year?

 

Holy crap!!!

 

What percentage of our points and minutes did those guys account for? 

 

Oh, just 27.5% of our minutes and 25.5% of our scoring?  By those 4 players combined?  Not individually?

 

So, the other 7 guys who didn't transfer accounted for 72.5% of minutes and 74.5% of points?

 

Yeah, I think we can survive.  That news probably didn't deserve the number of exclamation points the writer gave it.

[Norm Peterson]

2 hours ago, kldm64 said:

 

There is definitely a way we finish 14th.  We could finish 3 - 13 down the stretch like we did last year.  And the fact the Big 10 will be loaded next year with good teams and players returning.  I certainly hope we don't finish 14th but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

 

Sure, there's a way.  If we finish 3-13 down the stretch again.  That might do it.

 

I don't think the odds of that happening are very high, though.

[Dead Dog Alley]

There's a possibility that only two teams in the Big Ten (other than Nebraska) will be better than they were last year.  As it looks now: Michigan State - should be better; Penn State - maybe better; Northwestern, Minnesota, and Rutgers - probably about as good; Maryland, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa - probably not as good, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State - should not be as good.

[Norm Peterson]

5 minutes ago, Dead Dog Alley said:

There's a possibility that only two teams in the Big Ten (other than Nebraska) will be better than they were last year.  As it looks now: Michigan State - should be better; Penn State - maybe better; Northwestern, Minnesota, and Rutgers - probably about as good; Maryland, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa - probably not as good, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State - should not be as good.

 

I agree with this sentiment for the most part.  Might move some of the teams into different categories, but overall I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that the B1G is going to be overall better or across the board better than it was this year.  

[nustudent]

3 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

OMG, we lost four (!!!) players to transfer last year?

 

Holy crap!!!

 

What percentage of our points and minutes did those guys account for? 

 

Oh, just 27.5% of our minutes and 25.5% of our scoring?  By those 4 players combined?  Not individually?

 

So, the other 7 guys who didn't transfer accounted for 72.5% of minutes and 74.5% of points?

 

Yeah, I think we can survive.  That news probably didn't deserve the number of exclamation points the writer gave it.

Um...where did you get those numbers?   We lost basically 50% of our points.