Times Change I Guess

[Papa Gordon]

My grandson took me to my first game at the new arena.  I haven’t actually been to a game in 20 years, so I must say, very nice building and certainly first class.

 

I know that the opponent was less than good, but thought the intensity could have been better. 

 

I’ve been wondering what’s wrong with the program, you only get so much from radio and TV.  A few other things I noticed:

 

1). Warmups-  when I coached, I did not allow dunking, and for gosh darn sakes, my players use the board!  I can’t tell you how many players didn’t use the board on layups.  You play like you practice and sloppy warm ups tell me alot.

One kid had his darn hood from his hooded shirt on his head.  Could not believe we would allow this.  We have a kid coaching kids I think.

 

2). Some of the carries while dribbling are very disappointing.  What ever happened to hands on top of the ball on the dang dribble?

 

3). Post play.  Do we have a play feeding the post?  Are we coaching an inside game?  Every good club needs a post up offense.

 

4). I saw very few jump stops and triple threat stances, so much off balance catch and shoot or dribble.

 

We need fundamental team play if we’re ever going to start winning again.  Maybe this was just a bad team to watch them play, but I doubt it.  

 

You look good, you feel good, you practice good, you play good.  That was my motto from the uniform to warming up to winning games.

 

Edited December 23, 2017 by Papa Gordon

[HuskerFever]

7 minutes ago, Papa Gordon said:

My grandson took me to my first game at the new arena.  I haven’t actually been to a game in 20 years, so I must say, very nice building and certainly first class.

 

So do you think the new arena is good for the team, or are you a fan of the old? Just curious on your thoughts. I see benefits on both sides.

[Huskerpapa]

Well...I played a lot of years ago.  I also have coached a number of sports over a lot of years, but certainly not at this level.  Times have changed, for example, triple threat position looks so much different these days, but it is still present.  And if you read through much of the critique on this board about Jordy, you will note some concern with the sets involving our post players.  Not only the sets, but execution of those sets. 

 

Welcome to the board.

[Papa Gordon]

30 minutes ago, HuskerFever said:

 

So do you think the new arena is good for the team, or are you a fan of the old? Just curious on your thoughts. I see benefits on both sides.

The building is quite nice, but the glam gets to kids heads.  I think the old Devaney days were better days...back to the wood bleachers on the floor.  Remember those days?  Tougher home court made tougher kids and coaches.

[ajb5856]

I don't mind the way we are warming up. There are almost zero teams that roll all the way through their layup line with all form layups. I do have a question about warmups though. When did they change the dunking rule to now allow it? Used to be a technical at least during the final warmup period before the tip.

[Dean Smith]

40 minutes ago, Papa Gordon said:

My grandson took me to my first game at the new arena.  I haven’t actually been to a game in 20 years, so I must say, very nice building and certainly first class.

 

I know that the opponent was less than good, but thought the intensity could have been better. 

 

I’ve been wondering what’s wrong with the program, you only get so much from radio and TV.  A few other things I noticed:

 

1). Warmups-  when I coached, I did not allow dunking, and for gosh darn sakes, my players use the board!  I can’t tell you how many players didn’t use the board on layups.  You play like you practice and sloppy warm ups tell me alot. Curious to know how many players you actually had that could really dunk. No assumptions on my part.

One kid had his darn hood from his hooded shirt on his head.  Could not believe we would allow this.  We have a kid coaching kids I think.

I agree about that you should have some intensity in warm-ups but dunking and watching your teammates throw one down can really get the adrenaline going. And the hood, If it is OK with Roy Williams (I've seen Tarheels with hoods or towels for that matter) then it is OK with Nebraska. I liked to maintain a unified team look but you're right, times have changed. One thing I did learn is you don't have to control everything. The motion offense is much better than the flex. Let them play the game

2). Some of the carries while dribbling are very disappointing.  What ever happened to hands on top of the ball on the dang dribble?

I do think that carry makes it easier to beat someone on the crossover. They don't need to get carried away but that could be cleaned up. I do like the way traveling is called today. When you coached the big jump stop or the pass fake on the layup were both travels. Why does how high you jump or in changing directions on your layup step make one move traveling and the other OK? The answer is they don't and the game is better for allowing those moves to happen.

3). Post play.  Do we have a play feeding the post?  Are we coaching an inside game?  Every good club needs a post up offense.

Good post play is hard to find. The European influence means bigs that can shoot are more in demand. It has created a more open game but I still like a strong post.

4). I saw very few jump stops and triple threat stances, so much off balance catch and shoot or dribble.

Catch and shooting off a jump stop instead of a rhythm catch  will reduce your shooting percentage.  

We need fundamental team play if we’re ever going to start winning again.  Maybe this was just a bad team to watch them play, but I doubt it.  

I'm sorry Norman Dale, but if you watch Kentucky, North Carolina or Michigan St., they are doing the same things only better.

You look good, you feel good, you practice good, you play good.  That was my motto from the uniform to warming up to winning games.

The old Devany days are gone and they need to stay gone if you want a winning team. There is an arms race with facilities today and right or wrong, you're not signing the players you need to win with wooden bleachers. Welcome to the 21st Century. 

And you kids get off my lawn!

[Papa Gordon]

11 minutes ago, Dean Smith said:

And you kids get off my lawn!

Tell you what, when you show me that we’re winning like Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State then I will shut up and agree that we can win playing undisciplined basketball.  Heck I’d even take a win against the boys in Omaha once in a while.

 

Until then, fundamentals and discipline will win us more games than screwing around and wearing a dad gum hood on your head in warmups.

 

we haven’t earned the right to think we can consistently win the same way the teams that you mentioned do.  

[Swan88]

Thanks for posting, Grandpapa.  Sorry to hear of your unhappiness with what you saw.

And here’s my take as a Grandpa, who has gone to a game or two with my Granddaughter (I've been attending Nebrasketball games most years since 1977):

   —The three point line is a huge blessing.  My old long shots only counted for two (and “long shots” had a double meaning).

   —I love the Vault.  Wouldn’t want to  go back to the Devany for anything.  

   —Thank God for the shot clock.  The old Iba days of passing forever to feed Smith in the post for a layup (I don’t remember many dunks) are, happily, gone.

   —College players seem much more athletic and play more physically these days, from what I remember in the past.

   —I love the chairs for this old fanny and back.

Now . . . if the Huskers can keep it going this year, I’ll be one happy Grandpa!!

[hskr4life]

So, I can’t tell if you’re really upset, or just annoyed that things have changed.  However, the way it sounds is that things have changed and you’re just going to have to deal with that fact.  However, I’ll address a few things.

 

I don’t think warmups are sloppy as much as they have just changed to more athletic warmups.  If someone has that wide open of a layup these days, they are going to dunk, not lay it in.  Kids also change.  You have to adapt with the times.  As Billy Beane says “Adapt or Die.”

 

I will actually agree that the carry has gotten “carried” away.  Stinks, and I think they could tighten down on that.

 

Post play has changed as well.  It’s a much more fluid game and with the addition of the three point line, a need for a dominant post isn’t as necessary as it once was.  Minnesota has some of the best bigs we will see. We beat them.

 

I think the term “fundamental” has to be adapted as well.  There is no need for us to look like a team of robots.  We need to look fluid and as Dean mentioned, rhythm will actually help percentages.

 

I guess, from what I am reading, you are just from an older point in time than the game is currently at.  I don’t see it changing either.  PBA is great and glamour is what is going to help de

raw the best players in to win.  Enjoy the times, welcome to the board, and we will win this year.  Trust the process.

[Huskerpapa]

Hahaha...there is one thing I would like back from the BOB, the popcorn   what the heck, I would like to have all of the concessions for that matter.  Other than that, I am glad the BOB is a thing of the past (except for Volleyball and the Olympic sports.)  If you really want old school back, we could bring back the venue that I attended my first year at UNL...the Coliseum.  Man, we could make the floor quake when we were jumping on the bleachers.

Edited December 23, 2017 by huskercwg

[Huskerpapa]

By the way, in all seriousness, when did you get to the Vault?  If you get there early, you would see the actual warm-ups where the assistant coaches are on the floor with the players and they go through drills and half-court sets.  They then go back into the locker rooms and come out for the "more relaxed" "staying loose" process.  They are basically in and out of the locker rooms 3 times prior to game time.

[Papa Gordon]

11 minutes ago, huskercwg said:

By the way, in all seriousness, when did you get to the Vault?  If you get there early, you would see the actual warm-ups where the assistant coaches are on the floor with the players and they go through drills and half-court sets.  They then go back into the locker rooms and come out for the "more relaxed" "staying loose" process.  They are basically in and out of the locker rooms 3 times prior to game time.

One kid had a dad gum hood on his head, couldn’t see his eyes!!  You tell me what time It’s ok to where a hood on your head in warmups?  I don’t care when I show up as a fan to see that bologna.

 

That is undisciplined no matter what excuses you wanna make about the times.  You don’t win at NE looking like your here to play school yard ball.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Papa Gordon

[khoock]

Dont see the big deal about wearing a hood during warmups (assuming it was Evan Taylor)

[Dean Smith]

43 minutes ago, Papa Gordon said:

Tell you what, when you show me that we’re winning like Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State then I will shut up and agree that we can win playing undisciplined basketball.  Heck I’d even take a win against the boys in Omaha once in a while.

 

Until then, fundamentals and discipline will win us more games than screwing around and wearing a dad gum hood on your head in warmups.

 

we haven’t earned the right to think we can consistently win the same way the teams that you mentioned do.  

I didn't say anything about undisciplined basketball. I'm saying you can't control everything down to whether they want to wear the hood that is on the team provided warmup or not. Pretty much every team that is signed with Adidas has warm ups with hoods. They are certainly not mutually exclusive. If you think wearing a hood is undisciplined then there's not much more room for our discussion. You don't have to march around like little soldiers to have a disciplined basketball team. When players did things that were out of control they came and took a seat on the bench. Things do change and if you don't you get left behind. I think Bobby Knight was a basketball genius but you can't stay employed being Bobby Knight anymore and you certainly can't sign the type of players we need to be successful with his attitude and actions. And if it was Evan Taylor that that's exactly the kind of disciplined, team first players we need. He has no problem doing the dirty work. If discipline was all you needed to be successful than West Point and the Naval Academy would be playing for the final every year. North Carolina is disciplined or the will face the wrath of Roy but he is a good enough coach that has done his work in practice that he has enough trust in his players to allow them some individual creativity that makes the game fun to watch.

[hskr4life]

14 minutes ago, Papa Gordon said:

One kid had a dad gum hood on his head, couldn’t see his eyes!!  You tell me what time It’s ok to where a hood on your head in warmups?  I don’t care when I show up as a fan to see that bologna.

 

That is undisciplined no matter what excuses you wanna make about the times.  You don’t win at NE looking like your here to play school yard ball.

 

I mean they’re called “warmups” for a reason.  

 

In all seriousness,  I don’t see it as that big of an issue either.  Probably something the kid has do e for years and it’s his way of warming up.  When I played in HS, I would change my socks after warmups.  It was just a little quirk that I had.

[Shawn Eichorst's Toupee]

See I always knew that was the problem with Doc's teams! They wore too many hoods to ever be competitive!

[Huskerpapa]

23 minutes ago, Papa Gordon said:

One kid had a dad gum hood on his head, couldn’t see his eyes!!  You tell me what time It’s ok to where a hood on your head in warmups?  I don’t care when I show up as a fan to see that bologna.

 

That is undisciplined no matter what excuses you wanna make about the times.  You don’t win at NE looking like your here to play school yard ball.

I would agree with you if this were football.  But basketball is slightly different at Nebraska.  We do not wear the same general uniform  IT WAS THE UNIVERSITY that supplied the warm ups that are provided to the player, I may not like the hoods up, but that option is provided to the player.  Also, I came from the period where all the players wore the same shoes, that is no longer the case.  Hair is different, players have tats now, players are different in that they are millennials.  They are different from Gen Xers and so forth.  Just because they are different, does not make them bad or undisciplined.  It just makes things different.  Change is hard.  A wise person once told me to lead, follow or get the hell out of the way. 

 

So you may not like it, but the days of Coach Knight or Coach Wooden have passed us by.  Even Coach K and Coach Boheim have had to change in order to stay on top.

 

Good discussion though.  I personally do not like the warm up bottoms.  Are they snapped, are they unsnapped, what the heck?  But again, if the players like them, so be it.  And by the way, I still think a small reason that Morrow left the Huskers related to the shoes.  But then again, I also believe some of the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination. 

Edited December 24, 2017 by huskercwg

[Papa Gordon]

3 minutes ago, hskr4life said:

 

I mean they’re called “warmups” for a reason.  

 

In all seriousness,  I don’t see it as that big of an issue either.  Probably something the kid has do e for years and it’s his way of warming up.  When I played in HS, I would change my socks after warmups.  It was just a little quirk that I had.

Many of you obviously haven’t been a part of a winner to see what it takes.  I don’t blame you, our program has underperformed fir what seems like forever.  You probably don’t understand why the Patriots can win year after year with less talent.  You don’t understand why Bob Knight was successful.  I’m sorry, I know you all don’t like me now, but it’s the little things that make teams like Creighton better than us, not the big things.  

[hskr4life]

1 minute ago, Papa Gordon said:

Many of you obviously haven’t been a part of a winner to see what it takes.  I don’t blame you, our program has underperformed fir what seems like forever.  You probably don’t understand why the Patriots can win year after year with less talent.  You don’t understand why Bob Knight was successful.  I’m sorry, I know you all don’t like me now, but it’s the little things that make teams like Creighton better than us, not the big things.  

 

Ok, I see where this is going.  

[Shawn Eichorst's Toupee]

2 minutes ago, Papa Gordon said:

Many of you obviously haven’t been a part of a winner to see what it takes.  I don’t blame you, our program has underperformed fir what seems like forever.  You probably don’t understand why the Patriots can win year after year with less talent.  You don’t understand why Bob Knight was successful.  I’m sorry, I know you all don’t like me now, but it’s the little things that make teams like Creighton better than us, not the big things.  

Because they have the best quarterback and head coach of all time? 

[Dean Smith]

8 minutes ago, Papa Gordon said:

Many of you obviously haven’t been a part of a winner to see what it takes.  I don’t blame you, our program has underperformed fir what seems like forever.  You probably don’t understand why the Patriots can win year after year with less talent.  You don’t understand why Bob Knight was successful.  I’m sorry, I know you all don’t like me now, but it’s the little things that make teams like Creighton better than us, not the big things.  

I'm pretty sure Coach Mac has no problem with a player having his hood up in warmups. Huge Bob Knight fan when it comes to his concepts but he nor anyone else could be successful today with his methods. I've been involved with some very successful basketball coaches. I would way more successful than you regardless of who you are because they were the most successful in Nebraska history. They taught fundamentals, had very disciplined teams and could give a rat's ass about who's warmup hood was up.  

Edited December 24, 2017 by Dean Smith

[Dean Smith]

Just now, Shawn Eichorst's Toupee said:

Because they have the best quarterback and head coach of all time? 

I've even seen Belichick with his hood up on the sidelines. 

[Huskerpapa]

...and the Patriots QB was also guilty of cheating.  Is that a new form of discipline?   

[tcp]

2 hours ago, Papa Gordon said:

My grandson took me to my first game at the new arena.  I haven’t actually been to a game in 20 years, so I must say, very nice building and certainly first class.

 

I know that the opponent was less than good, but thought the intensity could have been better. 

 

I’ve been wondering what’s wrong with the program, you only get so much from radio and TV.  A few other things I noticed:

 

1). Warmups-  when I coached, I did not allow dunking, and for gosh darn sakes, my players use the board!  I can’t tell you how many players didn’t use the board on layups.  You play like you practice and sloppy warm ups tell me alot.

One kid had his darn hood from his hooded shirt on his head.  Could not believe we would allow this.  We have a kid coaching kids I think.

 

2). Some of the carries while dribbling are very disappointing.  What ever happened to hands on top of the ball on the dang dribble?

 

3). Post play.  Do we have a play feeding the post?  Are we coaching an inside game?  Every good club needs a post up offense.

 

4). I saw very few jump stops and triple threat stances, so much off balance catch and shoot or dribble.

 

We need fundamental team play if we’re ever going to start winning again.  Maybe this was just a bad team to watch them play, but I doubt it.  

 

You look good, you feel good, you practice good, you play good.  That was my motto from the uniform to warming up to winning games.

 

 

Dang, remind me not to walk across your lawn!   

[basketballjones]

Man I’ve quit reading and posting on a couple boards because the amount of real conversation is zero and the amount of trolls is too high to count. This is a troll, right?