Most Improved Player?

[unl]

Who's everyone got for the most improved player this year?

 

I believe Roby, Watson and Allen will be noticeably improved this year. I also think Cope will be better off (further away from back surgery). I don't think Palmer has peaked but he doesn't have as much room to grow as some of the others.

 

I do think the young guns will be improved too, but any improvement will be noticed due to where they were last year.

 

So I'm going Allen as my most improved with Roby a close second. How far can they take us and how durable will they be for 35 games? 

[khoock]

I think Thomas Allen will be the most noticeable from a statistical stand point just bc i think his minutes will double. Could easily see him jump to 8 or 9 points a game.

 

From a talent stand point i want to say Roby. But with so many other weapons and that fact that Roby hasnt necessarily been the most assertive player on the court (even though he should be our second option and one could say first with no arguement from me) I am hesitant to make that claim. However, if we are fortunate enough to have Roby for his senior year i think he will be putting up monstrous numbers.

[Navin R. Johnson]

I will go with Allen as well.  He is a shooter that didn't get the the chance to get in the flow of the game and get enough repetitions to get his shot going.  I think he can be a big time shooter for us this year. 

[AuroranHusker]

I'm going out on a limb (I've done that lately on here to mixed results... lol) and say that Nana Akenton will be the most improved on the roster. We'll see if he can wind his way into a role of much significance in the 1st month of the season. GBR

[atskooc]

Roby.

 

Think of how good he'd be if he was our most improved?

[Huskerpapa]

Glynn.  I thought he had an okay season last year, but he struggled with his stroke.   I believe he is going to find his shot, and with the cast that will be surrounding him, and Amir pushing him, he will have an outstanding senior year.

[bigFRED]

3 minutes ago, Huskerpapa said:

Glynn.  I thought he had an okay season last year, but he struggled with his stroke.   I believe he is going to find his shot, and with the cast that will be surrounding him, and Amir pushing him, he will have an outstanding senior year.

 

If this happens, we are Top 3 B1G

[uneblinstu]

Not sure I'd put Glynn in that category. He's been a bit of a yo-yo in his time here. If he returns to his soph. year production, is that improvement? I think you could see Roby be that guy and take that last step to being the player we all know he can be. My darkhorse is Copeland. My sleeper is Borchardt.

[Norm Peterson]

What's the difference between a dark horse and a sleeper?  Legit asking; not making fun.

[atskooc]

1 minute ago, Norm Peterson said:

What's the difference between a dark horse and a sleeper?  Legit asking; not making fun.

I had the same question.

[nustudent]

Most Improved:  Need it to be Nana or Thor

 

But we might rather have a Better than Expected than a Most Improved.   We'd root for Chan on that one.

[uneblinstu]

1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

What's the difference between a dark horse and a sleeper?  Legit asking; not making fun.

It's the difference between sundown and midnight. IDK. Sleeper feels a little more buried on the list to me. Or it's just a way to add a name to the list. That's probably it.

Edited August 23, 2018 by uneblinstu

[Swan88]

Since you asked, here's a distinction the internet provides: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/30507/differences-between-sleeper-and-dark-horse

Here's a part of it:

 

dark horse |ˈdɑrk ˈˈhɔrs| noun
1 a person about whom little is known, esp. someone whose abilities and potential for success are concealed : [as adj.] a dark-horse candidate.
2 a competitor or candidate who has little chance of winning, or who wins against expectations : a preseason dark horse as the nation's top collegiate football team.

 

sleeper |ˈslipər| noun
3 a movie, book, play, etc., that achieves sudden unexpected success after initially attracting little attention, typically one that proves popular without much promotion or expenditure. • an antique whose true value goes unrecognized for some time.

 

Actually, Black Beauty is a "dark horse," while a lazy, old nag is a "sleeper."

[uneblinstu]

Looks like I nailed it.

[hhcmatt]

The nuance is that a dark horse is a known entity that wins unexpectedly whereas a sleeper is an unknown entity that wins unexpectedly.

In this instance dark horse probably applies to returning scholarship players whereas sleeper applies to returning walk-ons. Borchardt is in the eye of the beholder.

[Norm Peterson]

1 hour ago, nustudent said:

Most Improved:  Need it to be Nana or Thor

 

But we might rather have a Better than Expected than a Most Improved.   We'd root for Chan on that one.

 

I've said my dark horse candidate to contribute in the rotation is Karrington Davis.  I think it's just me and @aphilso1 who have expressed any inkling that this kid might be good, and if he turns out to be a player who cracks the rotation, we'll look like friggin geniuses (because, of course, we are.)

 

I'm hoping both Karrington and Dedoch are in the "Better than Expected" category; otherwise, you'll need one of the aforementioned between Nana and Thor to be through-the-roof most improved.

 

I say all of this while acknowledging that I think Amir Harris is looking pretty good.  I hope he's as good as expected because I'm expecting him to be in the rotation already.

[Handy Johnson]

Hopefully Roby has worked on his mid-range game. At his size he should be able to pull up and shoot  12-15 foot jumpers over anybody. Kid could be downright lethal, needs to get that "Mamba" mentality.

[PointGuard]

Just looked at the video of Karrington, and wow can he shoot.  Great stroke.  Only unknowns seem to be his recovery from an injury and can he adjust to college play.

 

Then I was curious as to what ever happened to Nana.  I went back to his Topic and reread all the nice posts. IE:  Comments like, "Best player on the best team in Illinois" etc. This board seems to have cooled on him a lot in the last year.  I don't know people close to the team, I can only read internet info.  Went to all the games last year and only saw him play a few minutes.  It seemed to me that he was the 10th man on a very strong 9 man rotation.  That didn't make him a bad player, just behind some very good players.

Check out this video.  This guy is lethal shooting 3's.  On offense all he would have to do is move around the perimeter, shoot a few 3's and let the team play 4 on 4.  He has had a year to adjust to college play.  Now it is reported that he is working hard on his game.  Since he didn't leave, I'm thinking the coaches have challenged to improve.

 I think Nana could be the surprise for this year.

 

http://www.hudl.com/profile/6500304/Nana-Akenten

Edited August 24, 2018 by PointGuard
Correct name

[LNKtrnsplnt]

I’ve always thought Nene Ekantan had a lot of potential. Hoping he’s the dark horse/sleeper. 

[49r]

[49r]

I think Nenê's best years are behind him though.

[Handy Johnson]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 8:54 AM, Norm Peterson said:

What's the difference between a dark horse and a sleeper?  Legit asking; not making fun.

Sleeper is a Woody Allen movie, and Dark Horse I believe is a Craft Brew... (sorry couldn't resist)