Positives I have seen thus far...

[basketballjones]

This year has not gotten off to a great start. Given how big-time of a coach we secured, I don't think anyone assumed we'd start off 0-2 against some pretty poor teams. 

However, it took me about 2 minutes into the scrimmage to know that this was going to be a team who would struggle. We're skinny, inexperienced as a team, young in most places, have zero height or post players. JUCOs typically struggle to translate in their first year. We start a 17 year old. I guessed 16 total wins this year, and I'm even starting to doubt that. 

But guess what... it doesn't matter. Fred Hoiberg is a special coach. I have seen some things thus far that have me incredibly excited for the future of this program. Thought I would lay a few out for you all. 

1. We run.
          Make or miss we run. It has been something I have been screaming about for years now. Wings... Must... Run. Bigs who don't get rebounds... Must... Run. Running doesn't mean you have to play fast or take bad, early shots. But it exhausts the defense and always pays off eventually. If you guys have noticed, our wings run straight to the corner and get wide early, right off the break - make or miss. Our bigs are attempting to rim run every time. I love it. It's literally the most important thing to an effective offense getting off to a good start on a possession. It sucks the defense in, then forces them to boomerang back out to close-out, which creates dribble drives and eventual shots. The biggest misconception of our offense and of an offense like Creighton's is that you can't be efficient or get shots late while running. It's just not true. You can run, and drag possessions out. They are not mutually exclusive. 

2. The Xs and Os are there. 

          You just can't see it yet. Timing isn't there, fluidity hasn't been achieved, and they're still thinking. I love the free-flowing, ball-screen, dribble drive motion that Hoiberg runs. Also, his sets so far are fantastic (we just can't execute them yet). They're simple, but get you moving. They emphasize spacing and match-ups. He really puts you in a "choose your own death" position on each set. Once the guys pick these up, you'll see. Watch for when Hoiberg holds up a 5 and does a "slice" motion. I believe they literally call this 5-Slice. When I am able to see it again, I will attempt to draw it up. It starts with some purposeful cutting that forces defenders to stick to their man, then hits you with a well timed ball screen that help just can't get to. We've ran it a couple times, but with poor execution and timing. He's also ran some really simple, effective sets against zone that we haven't executed. 

3. He Demands respect.

           One of the toughest things about coaching these days is that you don't know how much you can lean on players and keep them around. Unlike Miles (and I don't fault him for this), Hoiberg just seems to demand respect from his players. His resume and career speak for themselves, so when he says something, you have to listen. It's probably one of the more unfortunate and toughest things about coaching - sometimes you can't get what you want until you've had some success and the players just don't second guess you. For what it is worth, I'm not trying to criticize Miles, as I believe I had this issue as a coach too. It's just something natural about a person that commands respect, and it's hard to cultivate out of nothing. You have to earn it, and often times it's earned by things that really weren't and aren't in your control. God made some men 6'5", square-jawed, and athletic. Some men (myself), he did not. Unfortunately sometimes those things command respect and you can't control it. When things get tough, and players are looking for excuses, having a coach who might be inexperienced/unsuccessful/didn't play pro/etc... can be an easy outlet. But when your coach is Fred Hoiberg, who's had success everywhere, played in the NBA, all the ladies want him and guys want to be him  - you don't fall for those easy excuse traps. 

4. I just love seeing Doc on the sideline.

            That's it, just that. 

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

Great, great post!

[49r]

40 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

1. We run.
          Make or miss we run. It has been something I have been screaming about for years now. Wings... Must... Run. Bigs who don't get rebounds... Must... Run. Running doesn't mean you have to play fast or take bad, early shots. But it exhausts the defense and always pays off eventually.

 

 

Reading this part made me think about the DePaul game last night.  They were ruthless with this from the tip.  About a minute into the game they had Iowa down 10-0 and Garza looked already like he was about to melt into a giant pool of sweat.  From there it just got worse for the home team.

 

Our guys have a ways to go to be able to play with the kind of swag and defensive effort DePaul did last night, but I have hope that is where we're headed.  Really cool to see DePaul look like the high-flying Blue Demons of the old Ray Meyer days too, BTW.

[Norm Peterson]

I have been thinking but just hadn't gotten around to posting (there are a few threads that cover a similar point of view) that it's a bit hard to envision what a Hoiberg offense would really look like when it's very reliant on the 3-point shot yet our starters the other night were a combined 3 for 18.

 

But, fine, people, go ahead and question whether Hoiberg can get it done here or what have you. Two games into the season.

[Handy Johnson]

2 hours ago, 49r said:

 

 

Reading this part made me think about the DePaul game last night.  They were ruthless with this from the tip.  About a minute into the game they had Iowa down 10-0 and Garza looked already like he was about to melt into a giant pool of sweat.  From there it just got worse for the home team.

 

Our guys have a ways to go to be able to play with the kind of swag and defensive effort DePaul did last night, but I have hope that is where we're headed.  Really cool to see DePaul look like the high-flying Blue Demons of the old Ray Meyer days too, BTW.

Brings to mind the old CBS promos of the Big Dance when they played Kenny Loggins “This is It” while Mark Aguirre threw down a massive one-handed jam!

[Fullbacksympathy]

I support this post.

 

Fred is a dude.  

 

I have very few concerns he's going to get some dudes in here.  He's already got some great looking underclassmen and some killers sitting out.  It's really an incredible parallel to Frost in terms of timing.  The only difference is a basketball roster can change overnight with the addition of 1-2 players.  Football takes 3-4 years of those sorts of players filling out each class.  

 

It takes awhile to get used to having alpha dogs patrolling the sidelines, but they typically get their way because they are relentless.  I'm glad we have one at the helm of both prominent men's programs.  

[uneblinstu]

Has there ever been a roster situation like we're seeing here? Where nobody has ever played with each other before? I'm sure there has been, but I haven't been able to find it.

[49r]

48 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

Has there ever been a roster situation like we're seeing here? Where nobody has ever played with each other before? I'm sure there has been, but I haven't been able to find it.

 

I was thinking about this the other day and I think a pretty decent parallel might be Coach Miles' first team at Colorado State.

[jayschool]

2 hours ago, uneblinstu said:

Has there ever been a roster situation like we're seeing here? Where nobody has ever played with each other before? I'm sure there has been, but I haven't been able to find it.

University of Miami, 1985-86. They re-booted the program and that was the first year back after 15. However, they used 1984-85 to scrimmage and practice together, but they didn't play a game until the next year. BTW, the 'Canes won their first three games, including an upset of Georgia.

 

Another fun note: the 'Canes played their first few seasons in a convention center auditorium called the Knight Center. Almost all of the seats were on one side, and they put some bleachers on a stage on the other side of the floor. The most bizarre basketball setting I ever witnessed.

Edited November 14, 2019 by jayschool

[49r]

2006 Baylor maybe?  They had like 3 guys from the year before on their team and were not allowed to play any non-con games.  Only conference games and they went 4-12 and lost to Colorado in the Big 12 tournament.

[AuroranHusker]

46 minutes ago, 49r said:

2006 Baylor maybe?  They had like 3 guys from the year before on their team and were not allowed to play any non-con games.  Only conference games and they went 4-12 and lost to Colorado in the Big 12 tournament.

 

Dave Bliss-less.

 

 

 

[uneblinstu]

2 hours ago, jayschool said:

University of Miami, 1985-86. They re-booted the program and that was the first year back after 15. However, they used 1984-85 to scrimmage and practice together, but they didn't play a game until the next year. BTW, the 'Canes won their first three games, including an upset of Georgia.

 

Another fun note: the 'Canes played their first few seasons in a convention center auditorium called the Knight Center. Almost all of the seats were on one side, and they put some bleachers on a stage on the other side of the floor. The most bizarre basketball setting I ever witnessed.

 

2 hours ago, 49r said:

2006 Baylor maybe?  They had like 3 guys from the year before on their team and were not allowed to play any non-con games.  Only conference games and they went 4-12 and lost to Colorado in the Big 12 tournament.

These both seem like different situations than a simple coaching change where the coach chose not to keep any of the players.

[tcp]

no one likes taking a mulligan for a full season, but this is just one of those exceptions. 

 

i still think that given how disappointing last season was, having two brutal seasons like this in a row is tough to stomach. 

 

but we'll get thru them. just support these guys the best we can as long as they're trying. 

 

and get used to a lot of sardonic humor from a few of us. :) 

[AuroranHusker]

6 minutes ago, tcp said:

no one likes taking a mulligan for a full season, but this is just one of those exceptions. 

 

i still think that given how disappointing last season was, having two brutal seasons like this in a row is tough to stomach. 

 

but we'll get thru them. just support these guys the best we can as long as they're trying. 

 

and get used to a lot of sardonic humor from a few of us. :) 

 

 

What's new about that....