uneblinstu's postgame chatter: vol 12; Prologue - vs. Doane

[Swan88]

1 hour ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

I saw Cross draining threes during warm ups, like, quite a few of them. Dude is a solid prospect

Yeah.  A pleasant surprise.  But Cross dribbling the ball up the court is still cringe-worthy.

[Red Don]

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by Red Don

[Nighthawk]

Had some nice comments about Nebraska 

 

[Fullbacksympathy]

Full Game (pretty much):

 

 

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

Really pleased with Cross who may become an excellent player. He seems to play with intelligence and passion, and his skill-set is rather rare, particularly for a true freshman. His body is already radically different from the time he arrived here in Lincoln. He appears to trust the staff which is good for all the players. I anticipate hearing announcers increasingly say what a great surprise or a "steal" he has been as his career unfolds. I just hope Hoiberg and staff reel in a couple of long, bouncy athletic forwards. Read: Mading, Tchikou, Anselem to help with the rebounding going forward.

ALE

[Fullbacksympathy]

2 minutes ago, Husker Hoops Penitent said:

Really pleased with Cross who may become an excellent player. He seems to play with intelligence and passion, and his skill-set is rather rare, particularly for a true freshman. His body is already radically different from the time he arrived here in Lincoln. He appears to trust the staff which is good for all the players. I anticipate hearing announcers increasingly say what a great surprise or a "steal" he has been as his career unfolds. I just hope Hoiberg and staff reel in a couple of long, bouncy athletic forwards. Read: Mading, Tchikou, Anselem to help with the rebounding going forward.

ALE

 

Agree wholeheartedly.  I still can't believe Cross' high school film and how late we got him in the game.  He's a 4* talent, without question.  If we had a couple more bigs, I could see him starting at the 4 as soon as next year.  I had him starting at the 5 this season, but I don't have a problem with how he and Yvan are being rotated.  Our freshmen across the board are really impressive. 

 

I'm also wondering if Easley can't be groomed into a suitable backup PG.  He's a natural and not at all a defensive liability.  I like him at PG a lot more than Curtis.  

 

And yeah.. if I'm a 4* or 5* big looking to get minutes with some monster guards around him, this team looks pretty damned ripe for one... and if they get one, they'll be scary.

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

Well said, LK1! And I initially had reservations about Ouedraogo but don't anymore. Yes, he is raw, but not inordinately so. Like Cross, he seems really coach-able. His size reminds me of the type of load down low that Michigan State usually has and his skills are fairly formidable. Stunning to hear he is seventeen and has never lifted weights! As for Easley, I am totally convinced. He is "the" steal for us. He will grow be a key contributor for years. His intelligence is high and he already plays without fear. His shot looks perfect too. Lest anyone think he is merely a walk-on thereby dampening expectations keep in mind he was rated by at least one recruiting service as a national Top 160 player. To me this is a windfall NU hasn't ever had. And I agree about the 4/5 start Hoiberg-type bigs- who wouldn't want to play with all these great guards? (hoping to add at least one more great guard in Sallis!)

[Art Vandalay]

7 hours ago, NWUhusker said:

Question, and I didn’t get to watch the game at all so I’m just wondering, what makes you say Yvan didn’t play big on offense? My understanding is that bigs in this system aren’t going to post up much at all. They’re more screen and roll guys.

They posted him up more than a few times. Hanif was yelling for him to post a couple times and made sure to dump it in. He has moves but was tentative and over thinking a bit which is normal for a young guy. He needs to learn to play vs other bigs, seemed he just wanted to jump over people for rebounds. Am guessing he has always been the biggest kid and that worked. 
 

excited for his future

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

Wanted to add that Clemence, Breidenbach and the local young man, Jasen Green all would be high-end additions to the team in the next couple of years. I am glad Green has been extended his first offer by NU because his ceiling is limitless. Fantastic game- he plays like a veteran. Versatile and smooth as glass.... Coach A. needs to land him as Sallis.

[Huskerpapa]

I thought I would give a shout out to Thor as well.  He has the cool ability to always be in the right place at the right time.  He should be a contributor this year, and a steadying influence.

[thrasher31]

Didn't follow it closely enough.

 

Looks like turnovers were a problem, which I am not surprised. This is everyones first real game action together. 

Cross's line impressed me. If he's really reshaping his body then that's huge. He has legitimate skill. Just wasn't sure his body could hold up. 

3 point shooting will be hot and cold. Not a huge deal during an exhibition. 

Yvan I didn't hear much about, which can either be really good or really bad. 

Thor will play a lot this year. "Calming factor" to this team. 

I've been on record being higher on arop playing this year than most because his defensive versatility is huge in a 4 or 5-out,  but if he's still skinny then I'm out for the year. He needs muscle

 

Going to the game next Saturday. I'll be the hobo looking guy (kidding but not really) in 101. 

[royalfan]

Shot selection will clearly be pleasing to me.  Won't be taking a lot of longer two point shots.  

[Ashfan]

10 hours ago, Huskerpapa said:

I thought I would give a shout out to Thor as well.  He has the cool ability to always be in the right place at the right time.  He should be a contributor this year, and a steadying influence.

 

The cool ability? So he's the Iceland iceman.

[hskr4life]

18 hours ago, LK1 said:

Full Game (pretty much):

 

 

 

Thanks for this!  Great way to spend a Friday morning.

 

First Half Thoughts:

 

1.  Samari Curtis is deadly even if the shot is ugly.

2.  We're going to kill a few lazy teams this year with our back cuts.

3.  I actually like the Cross and Yuv switch at the 5.  It presents two different looks for opposing teams big men.

4.  Thor has a basketball IQ through the roof.  That kid might not be an All-American, but there is certainly a place for someone like him on every team.

5.  If you thought our shot making ability was rough... check out Doane from about the 15 minute mark to the 5 minute mark.  EEK.

 

Second Half Thoughts:

1.  Burke had 8 points...... in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half.  I have a feeling we will see moments like that out of multiple guys this year.

2.  Do we have some of the best guards in the Big 10?  Interesting to see how they shape up on the guard front once conference play starts.

3.  Sure, we'll be mis-matched in the paint, but we will provide our own fits on the perimeter I think.

4.  We might beat some teams just with our ability to run, run, run.

Edited November 1, 2019 by hskr4life

[49r]

1 hour ago, hskr4life said:

4.  Thor has a basketball IQ through the roof.

 

 

Agreed.  I've said this since he arrived on campus.  To me he's that kind of guy that Wisconsin seems to always have on their team that by their Junior or Senior year just comes out of nowhere and kills everybody.  I'm very bullish on Thor.

Edited November 1, 2019 by 49r

[Red Don]

Haven't seen (sorry if it's already been posted!)

 

Game Recap & Hoiberg's post-game (10/30) press conference (6:47)

https://nebraska.n.rivals.com/news/huskers-roll-past-doane-in-91-63-exhibition-victory

[Mr. Red]

 

Is this the -almost- alley oop of the decade everyone was talking about? (at 1:16:11)

[hhcmatt]

On 10/31/2019 at 9:30 AM, Norm Peterson said:

I'm wondering if he's maybe carrying too much weight. With his height (I think he's legit 6'9) and wingspan (I've read it's over 7 ft), he should be able to dunk effortlessly. He needs to learn to use his shoulder width to carve out space and then just go up over people.

 

Hopefully this is something that a year of the weight room will fix

[49r]

36 minutes ago, Mr. Red said:

 

Is this the -almost- alley oop of the decade everyone was talking about? (at 1:16:11)

 

Yep.

[hhcmatt]

Hoiberg's presser

 

 

Notes from UNL

 

Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg

On how he felt the game went

“For the first time out in front of the fans, I was pleased for the most part with our approach to this game. I thought we had a great shootaround today and a good week of practice coming into this. I thought early on we had some jitters. We dug ourselves into an 8-0 hole, then 10-2. Then we calmed down. I thought Cam [Mack] really took over the game offensively. I thought Thorir [Thorbjarnarson] was a great spark off the bench. I thought he had some great reads and back cuts. I thought they had a good, little chemistry going on. Kevin Cross in the first half had good minutes for us. We ran into some foul trouble early, which had us deviate from our rotation a little bit. I thought after that four-minute stretch in the beginning, those 14 minutes between the first half when we limited them to five points, our defense was really good and active. We got our hands on balls, we rebounded it and that got our transition game going. If we can build off that defensively, to see what we can do and create opportunities on the offensive end is very important for this team.”

 

On if the game was how he envisioned it after the first four minutes

“Yeah, I thought we moved it a lot better, both ball movement and player movement. I thought we were standing around a little bit early. Guys were out there looking frozen, except for Dachon [Burke]. He was running a million miles per hour. That’s what I love about him. He’s got unbelievable energy. In that second half, he really got it going for us. The thing I didn’t like in the second half is that we just traded baskets with them. We were scoring, but we were giving it back to them on the other end. Rebounding, I thought we did a solid job. Our goal was to keep them under 10 on the offensive glass after getting hurt in our scrimmage. Overall, for the most part I was pleased. I thought our pace both on misses and makes in that second half was really good.”

 

On if it was a sign of growth for the team to respond after being down early in the first half

“Yeah, I thought they were great. They stayed with it. I thought they did a good job. [Doane] had played three games already, so we had a pretty good scouting report on them. I thought they followed it pretty well out there. Again, when you get off to a slow start like you do, you can’t press. You can’t get it all back at once. I thought our guys did a good job of really buckling down on the defensive end. I thought were much more solid. As we went on, we were getting back. We gave up a couple of transition baskets early. We got back to our principles, Once we got those stops, we got out in transition on offense.”

[hhcmatt]

MACK, BURKE, THORBJARNARSON PRESSER

 

 

Quotes from UNL

 

Cam Mack, Sophomore, Guard
On if he took the atmosphere during warm-ups
“Definitely. I am trying to enjoy every moment of it. First time in PBA, so it was kind of crazy. Definitely.”

On the reason for the slow start
“Nerves. First game, first exhibition. People came to see us play. We just had to get it (nerves) out and once we got did, we started rolling.”

Dachon Burke Jr., Junior, Guard
On how it felt to play and play well
“It was good. For the team first, it was good to go out there with my brothers and compete. We had a scrimmage at Wichita State and learned some things and went into practice. Tonight, we played hard. For me personally, though, I was a little nervous the first couple minutes. It was like wow; I haven’t played basketball in a year and a half. You can’t compare it to PBA, so it felt good to get out there and play.”

On what Cam Mack brings to the table
“He brings a lot to the table. He is very versatile, and he can push the ball. He can do a little bit of everything. It is fun playing with him and he gets me going.  I like playing with him.”

 Thorir Thorbjarnarson, Junior, Guard
On how it felt to get back out there
“It felt great. We got off to a slow start, but I think it was just the nerves of not playing in PBA for a long time. Being back out there felt great.”

On the key to the transition game
“We have to rebound, that is the main thing. Even though the other team scores, we have to get it out quick, and we want to run as fast as we can. Rebound and just putting your head down when you get scored on.”

 

[hhcmatt]

Quotes from Doane Head Coach Ian McKeithen
On reconnecting with Fred Hoiberg

“It's been a crazy process. I stopped by their camp this summer, just to kind of reconnect with Fred (Hoiberg). I haven’t seen him in a long time, and he hasn’t seen me. For us, 12 years ago, when he was an assistant GM, and I was just an intern getting him coffee every day, literally. For us to be on the same floor in any capacity, and he's had an amazing career as a player and as a coach. I'm just a young guy trying to get my feet wet, even though this is my seventh year as a head coach. He’s somebody who was very courteous to me because I was only 23 or 24 at the time. He was the assistant GM of the team and never looked down on me, always was cordial. To reconnect and coach in the same game as him is really cool feeling for me to come full circle. I owe him and other people in that organization that took a chance on me. You never know where life will take you in basketball. Kind of a cool story. I'm appreciative of Coach Hoiberg for giving me a shot then.”

 

On playing in-state game

"More importantly, I think this was a good night for our university. For us to be 20 minutes away, I know there were a lot of Doane people in the stands. I know there were tailgate parties and different things. For our university, it is big time, and I hope that Nebraska continues to invite local schools, NAIA and Division II Nebraska schools because I think that there are a lot of alums and people in Lincoln and Omaha that can make this atmosphere on a routine basis, even for an exhibition game. I thought it was great.”

 

On team’s performance.

“It’s tough. I really wish Trace Tupper could’ve played in this game. It hurts me that he couldn’t play tonight. For him, he’s a local kid, and a kid that can physically match up with Nebraska at 6-foot-10. I really wish he could’ve played in this game. You just try to rely on your base principles. If we can just do the things we’ve taught them for eight weeks straight, I’m sure [Nebraska] is doing, you just play. If you don’t have that base in it, nothing is going to matter anyway. You can scheme and scout all you want, but if you don’t have core stuff, it is not going to matter. I thought we did a good job of staying with what we do and letting the chips fall.”

[hhcmatt]

[hhcmatt]

Radio 

 

 

[Fullbacksympathy]

Cheatham had the quietest 10 points in human history.