Most Under-rated Recruit

[Norm Peterson]

In the Huskerpapa spirit of getting some off-season banter going, thought I'd throw out a question about which recruit came in and turned out to be a lot better than you were expecting?

 

We've had guys come in and fail to live up to hype.  But who do you remember doing the opposite?  Are there any players you remember coming in thinking "man, I wasn't expecting much out of him, but dayum!"?

[Norm Peterson]

I'll start.

 

JR Strowbridge was a whole lot better than I thought he'd be.  The players we'd typically picked up late in the late signing period had historically not been very good.  Can't even think of some of their names because they'd be here a year, never play, and then transfer.  So, when we suddenly extended a late offer to JR and we brought him in, I was expecting another guy to sit at the end of the bench and never see the floor.  I figured it was particularly likely since we had a lame-duck coach at the time.

 

But dayum.  He comes in, he's a smart kid and a hard worker, and even though the new coach never thought he was quick enough to be the kind of guard we needed, he played really tough man D and developed a solid jump shot.  Would have liked to have seen him stay 4 years.

 

Another one that fits that mold is Evan Taylor.  No real offers until we came along in June with a need for a guard.  He was so much better than we had any reason to hope he'd be.  Very fortunate for us that he was still available when Andrew White bailed on us.

[Huskerpapa]

The most recent is likely James Palmer.  Before the season he was sort of an after thought to many.  The buzz started to grow, but wasn't until well after the start of the season before people started to say "dang - he is good."  Before that it may have been TP.

Edited June 11, 2018 by Huskerpapa

[Huskerpapa]

4 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

I'll start.

 

JR Strowbridge was a whole lot better than I thought he'd be.  The players we'd typically picked up late in the late signing period had historically not been very good.  Can't even think of some of their names because they'd be here a year, never play, and then transfer.  So, when we suddenly extended a late offer to JR and we brought him in, I was expecting another guy to sit at the end of the bench and never see the floor.  I figured it was particularly likely since we had a lame-duck coach at the time.

 

But dayum.  He comes in, he's a smart kid and a hard worker, and even though the new coach never thought he was quick enough to be the kind of guard we needed, he played really tough man D and developed a solid jump shot.  Would have liked to have seen him stay 4 years.

 

Another one that fits that mold is Evan Taylor.  No real offers until we came along in June with a need for a guard.  He was so much better than we had any reason to hope he'd be.  Very fortunate for us that he was still available when Andrew White bailed on us.

Can't really disagree with either player.

[colhusker]

Benny Parker - didn't figure he would play a lot and didn't figure when it was clear he didn't fit in that he would stick around.  Kid stuck around and I would love to have a Benny on the team again.  Not a superstar by any stretch, but would be a great backup to give folks a rest.

 

Evan Taylor would be a good pick too.

Edited June 11, 2018 by colhusker

[49r]

Shavon.

[hskr4life]

Brandon Ubel.  Having him as a senior the year after he graduated would have been great for this team.  Senior Brandon on next years team would have been great as well.

[TourneyBound]

A few that pop into my head..

 

Ade Dagundaro-  3 star recruit I believe whom really improved throughout his years at Nebraska.

 

Rey Gallegos-  only a 2 star recruit whom helped get Nebraska back to the NCAA tournament.

 

Leslie Smith-  Hard working Juco I believe if he doesn't have his knee issues would have really been a factor his senior year.

[hskr4life]

I also think, by the end of his time here, Isiah Roby will be considered "Underrated" coming out of HS.

[Fullbacksympathy]

I'm going to pick two players that haven't gotten here yet:  Heiman and Davis.  

 

I think Heiman ends up Frank Kaminsky-lite (which is really, really good) by his senior year.

 

I think Davis legitimately steps into James Palmer's role by the time he is a junior.  He has a very similar skillset, and is more athletic.  Every time I watch his film, I'm more impressed by what he's doing at 6'5".  Hopefully he heals up well.  I think he'll get minutes this year if he does--probably over Thor and Nana.  

[Norm Peterson]

9 minutes ago, LK1 said:

I'm going to pick two players that haven't gotten here yet:  Heiman and Davis.  

 

I think Heiman ends up Frank Kaminsky-lite (which is really, really good) by his senior year.

 

I think Davis legitimately steps into James Palmer's role by the time he is a junior.  He has a very similar skillset, and is more athletic.  Every time I watch his film, I'm more impressed by what he's doing at 6'5".  Hopefully he heals up well.  I think he'll get minutes this year if he does--probably over Thor and Nana.  

 

This is actually where I was going with this thread. 

 

I think we have some underrated players in this recruiting class.  I think we have some recruits who are a lot better than a lot of the gurus expect them to be.

 

And, from time to time, it happens that you have a player who comes in and turns out to contribute right off the bat when you didn't think he was likely going to amount to much at all.  Or gets there a lot faster than you even hoped he would.

 

Whoever said Shavon Shields upthread is on the mark.  Shavon is a good example.  I think Davis could be that kind of player for us.

 

It'd be nice to have one or both of these freshmen guards be that Trey Burke kid who is so much better than anyone thought he'd be and who comes in and commands serious minutes if not a starting job right off the bat.

 

Actually, this would be a really good year for us to have that kind of player.  Be nice if one of these freshmen is like a poor man's Trey Burke in that way.

[big red22]

1a) Ryan Anderson - Although his vertical may have only been 20", his bball IQ was off the charts.  Had a great looking 3 ball too

 

1b) Brian Conklin - Still the best three point shooter Nebraska has ever had and he had a the frame of a post player... 65 for 117 Not sure if we will ever see that again!

 

Player

GP

GS

Tot

Avg

FG

FGA

Pct

3FG

FGA

Pct

FT

FTA

Pct

Off

Def

Tot

Avg

PF

FO

A

TO

Blk

Stl

Pts

Avg

 

CONKLIN, Brian

31

14

645

20.8

80

152

.526

65

117

.556

20

22

.909

31

90

121

3.9

52

0

36

30

10

14

245

7.9

Edited June 11, 2018 by big red22

[Swan88]

3 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

JR Strowbridge was a whole lot better than I thought he'd be. 

Agreed.  I remember watching JR play in an Omaha summer league game before his first season at Nebraska -- l believe the game was, actually, over in Council Bluffs somewhere.  Anyway, I was sitting near a basketball "expert" (I mean that genuinely--no sarcasm intended), who commented on JR Strowbridge: that he was a horrible player, that Nebraska had  no business recruiting him, and that he'd end up being a wasted scholarship.  Thereafter, I was always amazed at how well JR played -- including his last season, at Oregon.

[49r]

2 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

Whoever said Shavon Shields upthread is on the mark.  Shavon is a good example.

 

Who else could it be but me, @Norm Peterson 

 

I just vividly remember Shavon's freshman year and the ease with which he could get to the hoop and score.  He would make me say "wow" at least once a game that season.  Wasn't Benny supposed to be the big get in that recruiting class anyway?  Shavon was just the throw away offer package deal kind of recruit.  It's how I remember it.

[Huskerpapa]

I'm unsure how under the radar Shavon was.  His dad was a Husker legacy.   He was a low end 3 star recruit, yet was one of top recruits out of the Kansas City area.  The only KC player with a higher reputation was his senior year house-mate, Willie Cauley-Stein, who went on to Kentucky, etc.

 

That said, his performance at Nebraska still exceeded expectations. 

[Handy Johnson]

Id say Andrew Drevo, but he was a walk on. How bout "the Toaster" Eric Johnson?

[Silverbacked1]

the first I will throw is...Mikki Moore

[Norm Peterson]

2 hours ago, Swan88 said:

Agreed.  I remember watching JR play in an Omaha summer league game before his first season at Nebraska -- l believe the game was, actually, over in Council Bluffs somewhere.  Anyway, I was sitting near a basketball "expert" (I mean that genuinely--no sarcasm intended), who commented on JR Strowbridge: that he was a horrible player, that Nebraska had  no business recruiting him, and that he'd end up being a wasted scholarship.  Thereafter, I was always amazed at how well JR played -- including his last season, at Oregon.

 

I think I was at that same game, Swan.  Going into that game, I didn't expect much of JR.  After watching him I was like, OK, this kid can play.

[aphilso1]

Sek Henry.  IIRC, we picked him up like a month before the season started and he had no other decent scholarship offers.

[AuroranHusker]

David Rivers.

 

Andrew Drevo.

 

Brian Conklin.

 

Terran Petteway.

 

Jay-R Strowbridge.

 

[big red22]

I forgot one... What about Ade Dagunduro

 

He was the star player on Doc's undersized miracle run team.  He led a team that had no business being in the post season, and got them there.

 

Not the most saught after prospect

 

Here is his stats for the 2008-2009 season...

 

Scroll down

 

All I know is I did not expect him to be the stand out he was on that team!