First NU Basketball Coaches Show

[throwback]

Coach Hoiberg on last night - had some highlights from Italy trip, as well as him breaking down each player who's eligible this season. Here are some quick paraphrased notes with only one semicolon:

 

• Mack – As fast anyone with ball in his hands, team speed is our advantage and he leads the way, can get downhill as a great play maker, great feel for the game, he’s key to us playing up tempo
• Green – Very versatile player, with Mack & Green both can play off the ball or with ball in their hands, need good spacing to allow them to play downhill and take advantage of speed, Green is good defender, strong, explosive & athletic
• Burke – Every time he steps on floor he leaves it all out there, plays with passion, good defender who will disrupt offenses, one thing on his mind is scoring the ball and we need that, improved his shot form, we worked a lot on his footwork stepping into his shot, also can go downhill well
• Curtis – Can play with ball in his hands or off the ball, one of our better shooters, fortunate to have gotten him, can really score, he has a learning curve especially on defense, but he’s constantly improving
• Thor – I love Thor, has as high of an IQ as anyone on our team, on our offense all spots are interchangeable and Thor can play any of those spots, great cutter, worked very hard on his shot this offseason and it’s paying off, sees the floor well, going to have a great year
• Cheatham – Rock solid, fits nicely with interchangeable parts of our offense, has been well coached in his career, most capable leader of the group, a lot of versatility
• Kavas – Can really shoot it, been one of the top 3-pt shooters in country last couple of seasons, been through a lot, so we’ll rely on him for leadership
• Yvan – World-class kid, very young and should be in the 2020 recruiting class, fortunate to have him, great size and strength even though never really has done strength conditioning, we’re going to need his big body in league play, going to continue to improve
• Cross – Great versatility, which attracted us to him, can shoot it, good pick and pop guy, great passer and it's his most impressive skill, getting in better shape with 15 pounds lost already
• Arop – Great kid, as good an athlete as we have on the roster, as a frosh he must adjust, but he’s making steady progress, shooting it better, improving constantly
• Stevenson – When you look at bodies in Big Ten ("and that’s one thing that scared me when I went to the Media Day in Chicago") we need bodies that can compete with that size and strength and physicality, Stevenson has that type of body at 6-6/245, very athletic, can knock down shots (no talk of whether they think he’ll be eligible earlier than semester; Sharpe mentioned he might be eligible early, but coach did not take the bait and just ignored the comment)
• Easley – Played great in Italy, can just shoot it, but also good footwork defensively, finds the open spot, always has great spacing, can make a play with the ball in his hands
• Piatkowski & Porter – Been great for us, just know how to play, how to fill a role
• No talk of Walker or Banton

 

ITALY TRIP

• Liked seeing the guys get more comfortable with each other during Italy trip, getting to know each other, great benefit.
• So many cool experiences off the floor for these guys
• Whole experience was unforgettable
• Good learning opportunity on the court, some good moments, some teaching moments
• Just to have the teachable moments we did was good, was able to use the film to do some corrections once we got back
• Great trip from bonding side and learned a lot about our team

 

FRIDAY EVENT

• A lot of fun
• Important for players to get in front of the fans in the building, good for fans to be able to put faces to the names
• Scrimmage was more like an all-star game
• Ross was only 1.5 hours late,  but he put on a good show
• I had go back underneath because it was so loud, thought my pacemaker might explode
• Really needed to get out there and feel the energy in the building with the fans there, so that was good
• Closed door scrimmage coming up is a good opportunity too, as you can set your own rules, but nothing quite the same as having the fans there
• Our guys are tired of going against each other, so looking forward to exhibitions
• Season opener vs UC-Riverside, has good shooters, skilled 7-footer
• We know we're going to be undersized all year, even in the first game, so it'll be a good challenge out of the box

 

[49r]

It makes me both nervous and excited to hear how much they think Thor fits into what they plan to do.

 

It's also great to hear about Kevin getting into better shape.

[AuroranHusker]

I presume the 'no talk of Banton and Walker' is due to the fact that neither will be able to play this season as transfers.

 

I wish NU had *both* available this year, they're exactly the type of dudes that will work well in Hoiberg's offensive system.

 

 

[Norm Peterson]

1 hour ago, 49r said:

It makes me both nervous and excited to hear how much they think Thor fits into what they plan to do.

 

It's also great to hear about Kevin getting into better shape.

 

Thor makes things happen in a good way. He's a very heads-up kind of player. Always have thought that about him.

 

His lack of a jumper was what made me think he would a) not be suited to the Hoiberg system and, therefore, b) probably figure into the "roster attrition" thread.

 

But if he's made strides with his jumper, he's a pretty decent player otherwise, and can obviously do some things we'd want and need.

 

Happy for Thor if this pans out. By all indications, he's a great kid and a great teammate.

[khoock]

His comments on Arop scream RS to me. Im also biased bc I think he is someone who we could develop into a nightmare for the opposition in this system.

 

I also think Easley could be a sneaky RS option. I know its not common for walkons to RS if they are healthy. But he definitely has some tools. Maybe we could entice him with the opportunity of being on scholarship for 1-1.5 years. Its not uncommon for the completion of college to exceed 4 years now anyway.

[bigFRED]

If we can land a good big man for next year yet, we may have the best frontcourt depth we've had in a long time. Yvan, Walker, Cross, (2020 class big), Stevenson and Banton height.. would be fun.

[AuroranHusker]

3 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Thor makes things happen in a good way. He's a very heads-up kind of player. Always have thought that about him.

 

His lack of a jumper was what made me think he would a) not be suited to the Hoiberg system and, therefore, b) probably figure into the "roster attrition" thread.

 

But if he's made strides with his jumper, he's a pretty decent player otherwise, and can obviously do some things we'd want and need.

 

Happy for Thor if this pans out. By all indications, he's a great kid and a great teammate.

 

Love the moxie of dudes like Thor and a guy like Benny Parker before him. Takes a strong man to buck up & get better when it looks like you're the odd man out.

 

 

[hskr4life]

6 hours ago, 49r said:

It makes me both nervous and excited to hear how much they think Thor fits into what they plan to do.

 

It's also great to hear about Kevin getting into better shape.

 

After seeing Thor for longer stretches to end last year, I actually thought more highly of him as an all-around player than I initially did.  I think he has a good comparison to Benny Parker, and a young Tai Webster in terms of how some view the "outlook" on him.  I think Norm nailed it by saying that an improved jumper could make him a much more valuable contributor.  However, for as much as it sounds like we will be moving and cutting, I could certainly see Thor fitting in with that style.

[Fullbacksympathy]

Thrilled Thor's shot is coming around.  Thrilled Cross is down 15lbs already.  

 

We're going to play so effing fast with this system and these guards.  I think home games are going to be nuts.  

[Art Vandalay]

Granted it was only one jumper I saw but thought Thor’s shot was much quicker and less of a sling shot. Every team needs glue guys and he fits the bill

[49r]

8 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Thor makes things happen in a good way. He's a very heads-up kind of player. Always have thought that about him.

 

His lack of a jumper was what made me think he would a) not be suited to the Hoiberg system and, therefore, b) probably figure into the "roster attrition" thread.

 

But if he's made strides with his jumper, he's a pretty decent player otherwise, and can obviously do some things we'd want and need.

 

Happy for Thor if this pans out. By all indications, he's a great kid and a great teammate.

 

I've always liked Thor's game.  If he can become a regular rotation guy I'll be thrilled.

[Dead Dog Alley]

2 hours ago, 49r said:

 

I've always liked Thor's game.  If he can become a regular rotation guy I'll be thrilled.

 

Thor had as many assists in the last two games of the season as Nana had the whole year.  The wrong guy was playing.

[AuroranHusker]

46 minutes ago, Dead Dog Alley said:

 

Thor had as many assists in the last two games of the season as Nana had the whole year.  The wrong guy was playing.

 

Definitely agree on that one.

 

 

[HuskerActuary]

This is radio as opposed to TV, right? Does anyone have a link to listen, by chance?

[throwback]

2 hours ago, HuskerActuary said:

This is radio as opposed to TV, right? Does anyone have a link to listen, by chance?

This was his TV show - they usually have it on-demand on Huskers.com a few days after it airs, but I don't see it up there yet.

 

Looks like there will be another one for the next NU football bye week too, so Nov. 10 air date in Lincoln. Then it begins airing weekly after NU football season ends.

 

I'm not sure what the Sports Nightly weekly call-in radio show schedule is for Coach Hoiberg & assistants yet. I want to say Coach Miles was on Mondays the last few years, but I'm not 100% sure.

 

Edited October 22, 2019 by throwback

[jason2486]

On 10/22/2019 at 9:12 AM, throwback said:

I'm not sure what the Sports Nightly weekly call-in radio show schedule is for Coach Hoiberg & assistants yet. I want to say Coach Miles was on Mondays the last few years, but I'm not 100% sure.

 

 

Speaking of Sports Nightly, I almost called in a couple weeks back to voice my displeasure, specifically with Nate Rohr. It was the Monday after the scrimmage, and Nate said something along the lines of "it seems a bit early to be talking basketball", and Sharpe agreed. Yeah, that sounds great to recruits that our own network says stupid things like this. So those guys can talk about the 5th string running back and spring football in February, yet OCTOBER is a bit early to discuss Husker hoops. Sorry, that just got me a tad hot under the collar!

[AuroranHusker]

18 minutes ago, jason2486 said:

 

Speaking of Sports Nightly, I almost called in a couple weeks back to voice my displeasure, specifically with Nate Rohr. It was the Monday after the scrimmage, and Nate said something along the lines of "it seems a bit early to be talking basketball", and Sharpe agreed. Yeah, that sounds great to recruits that our own network says stupid things like this. So those guys can talk about the 5th string running back and spring football in February, yet OCTOBER is a bit early to discuss Husker hoops. Sorry, that just got me a tad hot under the collar!

 

You should have called in, jason, and put those fellas on blast.

 

 

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

Couldn't agree more. I hate that kind of myopic (non) thinking. I think we should all call when stupidities like that are voiced statewide. Most of us hang on any kind of recruiting information or any other kind of basketball news. Frankly, it is much more compelling than the empty minutia that is trotted out every football season.