This is the Beginning...

[HuskerFever]

This may be a little sunshine pumping, but I am honestly convinced that this is just the beginning of something bigger than where we're at now. I've had my fair share of eternal "realism" with Nebraska basketball, but somehow this just feels different.

 

My biggest gripe has been that we've never been able to find continuity and build upon our successes (or small wins some years) year-in and year-out. We lose out due to coaching changes, support staff/assistant coaching changes, transfers, injuries, etc. We make the tournament and then drop off a cliff the next year. But this year we found ourselves with very minor injuries, our team gelled more than other years, we put a competitive product on the court, and we found a way to fight through roster management (sitting former starters, Jordy asking to leave, etc.), real world/political issues, Miles on the hot seat for 75% of the season, and dealing with the schedule we were dealt (the most 1-day recovery games).

 

Things didn't pan out this year, but that has to put a real bitter taste in our team's mouths. That just might be the recipe we needed for longer term success. We may find that 90% of our roster sticks together next season, we come back with even more to prove, and we start building something that will start to be self-sustaining for the long term. Had we slid into this tournament it could've been a rinse-and-repeat 2014 year where we wait another 4 years for another change at an at-large bid.

 

This is just the beginning, folks. Let's build on this year and turn this thing into something that can set us up for more exciting years to come.

[hskr4life]

This is where we’ve always wanted to be too!  We’re here.  In contention.  A few rotten results and some rotten luck.

[huskerbaseball13]

Hope you are right, I think this will be a very critical offseason for all involved with the program.  If we return the bulk of our production the talk should be how high of a seed can we achieve rather if we will make it or not. 

[HuskerFever]

5 minutes ago, huskerbaseball13 said:

Hope you are right, I think this will be a very critical offseason for all involved with the program.  If we return the bulk of our production the talk should be how high of a seed can we achieve rather if we will make it or not. 

 

This is 100% the key.

 

I've been told by sympathetic college basketball fans (of other teams) for the past month "Well, the NIT would be good for you guys." And I'd always say "Absolutely not. For over a decade we haven't found a way to stabilize a roster and build upon the previous year. The NIT would do us no good." But if we do keep our team together, we can actually build upon this successful year and start making a footprint that we've been trying to build for years.

[Huskerone]

some folks make it to the acceptance stage of grief quickly

[TomEadesSucks]

Hopefully we can be a #1 seed in the NIT while some 6-12 team from the Big 12 with an overhyped one and done can be a four seed.

Edited March 12, 2018 by TomEadesSucks

[Dead Dog Alley]

3 minutes ago, Huskerone said:

some folks make it to the acceptance stage of grief quickly

 

[Huskerpapa]

Hard to see the silver lining at this moment...

[colhusker]

2 minutes ago, TomEadesSucks said:

Hopefully we can be a #1 seed in the NIT while some 6-12 team from the Big 12 with an overhyped one and done can be a four seed.

Or a team with a worse RPI getting a higher seed and a home game over us in the NIT

[PimpMario]

Not even close to the bubble, behind Penn State is not really in contention.  We are apparently delusional and Joe Lunardi was right.

[Bugeaters1]

Just now, colhusker said:

Or a team with a worse RPI getting a higher seed and a home game over us in the NIT

But they did beat the OSU three times.

[colhusker]

1 minute ago, Bugeaters1 said:

But they did beat the OSU three times.

I meant Mississippi State

[hskr4life]

14 minutes ago, PimpMario said:

Not even close to the bubble, behind Penn State is not really in contention.  We are apparently delusional and Joe Lunardi was right.

 

WRONG.  Joe Lunardi was not right.  Get outta here with that crap.  The way this all played out was wrong.  Period.  The seed we got in the NIT was wrong.

[uneblinstu]

NU should have a massive, year-long chip on its shoulder. 

[HuskerFever]

17 minutes ago, PimpMario said:

Not even close to the bubble, behind Penn State is not really in contention.  We are apparently delusional and Joe Lunardi was right.

 

It's also hard to accept that we are one of three teams out of 300+ not to make the tournament. And the only Big Ten team ever to not make the tournament with 13+ wins. It's not an excuse, but as much as I understand the frustration and absolute need to be in contention, this seems like a very strange outlier. But "in contention" would mean that we'd win the games we needed to this year and that just didn't happen.

[FredsSlacks]

10 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

NU should have a massive, year-long chip on its shoulder. 

i hope so. we likely wouldn't have made it real far in the tournament this year anyways. if these guys all come back, we can be a legitimate contender next year.

Edited March 12, 2018 by TimSmiles

[RexxRacerX]

I love the optimism here.  Hope the team has already turned this disappointing night into a rally cry for this tournament, and that would be a GREAT thing to add to a foundation for next year.

[Bugeaters1]

4 minutes ago, TimSmiles said:

i hope so. we likely wouldn't have made it real far in the tournament this year anyways. if these guys all come back, we can be a legitimate contender next year.

Provided that Miles schdules right.

[Handy Johnson]

Everything you suggest, I was right there with ya in 2014, but sittin' here tonight, I'm not feelin it. We straight up got jobbed today, and I think it'll show in our performance. Not in the long term mind you, but certainly in the next few days.

 

Edited March 12, 2018 by Handy Johnson

[FredsSlacks]

2 minutes ago, Bugeaters1 said:

Provided that Miles schdules right.

schedule was fine this year IMO

 

i'm disappointed it took half the season to realize roby should be playing more than 18 mpg. non con could have gone a lot better.

[49r]

1 minute ago, TimSmiles said:

schedule was fine this year IMO

 

i'm disappointed it took half the season to realize roby should be playing more than 18 mpg. non con could have gone a lot better.

 

That's a little unfair.  It took Roby half the season before he was able to play without committing fouls every couple of minutes he was in the game.

[nustudent]

1 minute ago, 49r said:

 

That's a little unfair.  It took Roby half the season before he was able to play without committing fouls every couple of minutes he was in the game.

 

While he struggled with that early...the alternative that was playing was even more foul prone than Roby was

[49r]

...and to be clear, I really like the Roby kid, nobody's a bigger fan, but at the beginning of the year he just struggled a little.  I think he was in his head a little too much.  Thank goodness he turned it around and played some pretty fantastic ball in league play.

[49r]

1 minute ago, nustudent said:

 

While he struggled with that early...the alternative that was playing was even more foul prone than Roby was

 

Which is why there was a platoon early on.  It's probably why coach started Jordy over Roby to begin with.  He knew who was more valuable to the team and probably wanted to preserve Roby for the end of games.

[Huskerone]

29 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

NU should have a massive, year-long chip on its shoulder. 

How many seconds were left on the clock in the KU game, or when did we lose the lead at PSU, or Creighton?  19 point loss at MSG to MU.  Put that on the clock after every work out, every practice and work as hard as you can for that much longer.  Day, by day!