uneblinstu’s postgame chatter: vol 12; ed 4 - vs. Southern

[khoock]

Burke's minutes from game to game is something interesting to watch. Only played 19 in a game that went to OT.

[HolyBobpilgrimage]

10 hours ago, Nebrasketball1979 said:

Anyone down for a Monday night, Cayman Classic drinking game???

 

Anytime we go 0fer from the free throw line you take a shot.  The bonus, blackout drunk shot happens on an 0-3 and you have to finish the bottle!

 

So, who wants to spend Monday night in the hospital with me and have a scheduled sick day from work on Tuesday and likely Wednesday?

 

lol love it. But seriously, we should make up something to do in concert together as the games are on TV, maybe a less intense drinking game? im serious, it sounds like fun. Can't wait to see how we look away from home and these thanksgiving holiday mini  tournaments are the best of the best. :D 

[hhcmatt]

I thought Sean Woods on the other side was a pretty good coach. They were draining shot clock in the 2nd half to keep us from going on runs and possibly to keep possessions down so his key guys wouldn't foul out. They had a good game plan to beat us.

[jimmykc]

I detect a bit of cynicism on the thread. Obviously this is a team setting themselves up for a reputation of "playing to the level of their opponent." Let's hope they are also one of those teams who relax and play better on the road. (or at least shoot free throws better).

[millerhusker]

9 hours ago, LK1 said:

We are so good in transition off of defensive rebounds that I still want to see Cross and Yvan in at the same time.  Rebounding and the inability to alter shots defensively is almost as terrifying as our free throws.  

 

Starting to figure it out offensively though.  But transition is our only prayer.  Need two bigs.  
 

Samari and Thor both gave good minutes.  

The 5 guys who were on the court in overtime are our 5 best rebounders, in my opinion (Cam, Jervay, Cheatham, Thor and Yvan)

[hhcmatt]

5 minutes ago, jimmykc said:

I detect a bit of cynicism on the thread. Obviously this is a team setting themselves up for a reputation of "playing to the level of their opponent." Let's hope they are also one of those teams who relax and play better on the road. (or at least shoot free throws better).

 

In all truthfulness I hope we are capable of playing to the level of our opponents because they are about to be higher level

[hhcmatt]

Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg

On pushing through to the end of the game

“We responded so much better this time around [to adversity]. Last time, I think we got down 4-6 (points) and then it got to 15 or 18 right away when they caught fire. Those guys were hitting shots all over the place on us, but we found a way. We tried to throw a little zone on them but it didn’t work. Jervay [Green] was the one who said ‘stick with them, don’t help. Don’t switch.’ He did a really good job contesting (on Micah Bradford). Not very often you give up 25 offensive rebounds and miss 18 free throws and win a game, but give our guys credit for finding a way. It’s certainly better to win, and learn from a win, then a loss.

 

On their rebounding

 “I thought they were more physical than us, especially in the first half. They were getting all the loose balls and we tracked the 50-50 balls, they were the first to the floor on a lot of those. You have to go out there and establish that early. That just breeds confidence. Then we got up by 11 and it was great to see the ball go in the basket for Matej [Kavas] tonight, but they got right back in. A lot of it had to do with loose balls and rebounds. 25 [offensive rebounds] is just way too many. You are not going to win too many games when that happens. You have to find a way to do it with 5 guys. We talked about it from the first day we met, that rebounding was going to be an issue for our group, but we have to find a way to compete better than we did tonight on the glass.”

 

On junior guard Jervay Green

“Jervay is a guy that can play all day. I would like that. Jervay is just a guy that can go out there and compete at a high level. Whether he’s making shots or not, he’s always going to impact the game because of his defense and defensive intensity. Haanif [Cheatham] did a great job last game against Douglas Wilson with South Dakota State. I know he had a big game last night against Arizona. The best match-up for us tonight was Jervay on [Micah] Bradford. We can learn with this group, but we closed out with our hands down to a kid that had 27 points (at the time) a couple times. It’s inexcusable. You can’t do that. Again, I give our guys credit for finding a way to win a hard-fought game.”

 

On the personality of the team

“I can see it in the huddle that they’re engaged. In the game a couple weeks ago I could see heads down, not pouting, but hunched over shoulders. Tonight, those guys were engaged, and they kept going and kept fighting and kept battling. That’s growth. That’s growth for a group. If we can continue to do that and again, find a way to battle on the boards, and make a free throw here and there, we’re going to have a chance. We scored 93 points and missed 18 free throws. We did a lot of good things tonight, but rebounding is a huge concern and a huge area that we need to get better on."

[hhcmatt]

In reference to what Hoiberg said up there, I specifically remember Cheatham not closing out on Bradford after he already had 20+ points and Bradford buried another 3. Disappointing lack of awareness from the senior.

[hhcmatt]

9 hours ago, Husker4theSpurs said:

- I've been more impressed with the offensive skills of Ouegraogo and Kevin Cross, but man Cross is like a black hole ... toss the ball to him and it's not coming back likely. (I kind of expected they each would be more limited ability-wise)

 

Tonight Cross had as many assists (2) as he had missed shots

[millerhusker]

We did a lot of things well offensively. Love to see 19:9 assist to turnovers. We missed 18 free throws (obviously a problem) and several bunnies and still got to 93. Glad to see Yvan finish with authority a couple times late in the game.

 

To my eye, the ball kind of sticks and doesn’t move as well when Burke, Cam and Jervay are on the court at the same time. Cam and Jervay are already forming a solid backcourt duo. I’d still love to have Burke come off the bench to provide a spark. Perhaps he will if/when Stevenson gets his waiver.

 

On-ball defense was similar to the SUU game. Really poor. Disappointing after showing improvement in that area against SDSU. Their guards penetrated at will, broke down the defense and kicked out to shooters. Defensive rebounding was similar to the Riverside game. A lot of guys watching the ball and not making contact before attacking the glass. We’re gonna get out-rebounded being undersized, but a lack of effort isn’t acceptable. 

 

Edited November 23, 2019 by millerhusker

[Fullbacksympathy]

24 minutes ago, millerhusker said:

The 5 guys who were on the court in overtime are our 5 best rebounders, in my opinion (Cam, Jervay, Cheatham, Thor and Yvan)

I don’t think Thor is a better rebounder at the 4 than Cross would be, and Cross has great offensive skills.  We haven’t seen Cross at the 4 yet.  Thor battles but he And Cheatham still get killed on the offensive glass.

[Vinny]

1 hour ago, khoock said:

Burke's minutes from game to game is something interesting to watch. Only played 19 in a game that went to OT.

Curious about that too. Seemed he wasn’t out there at all the last 15-20 minutes including overtime. I was looking this morning to see if maybe he got hurt.

[millerhusker]

37 minutes ago, LK1 said:

I don’t think Thor is a better rebounder at the 4 than Cross would be, and Cross has great offensive skills.  We haven’t seen Cross at the 4 yet.  Thor battles but he And Cheatham still get killed on the offensive glass.

That’s fair. We almost always have to have either Yvan or Cross in the game. Not sure they’re conditioned well enough to have them play a significant amount of time together on top of their current minutes. 
 

Three of our best rebounders are on the bench in street clothes. Better times are ahead 

[Silverbacked1]

Started the Keto diet today because as fat as I am this team will kill me.

 

They are very hard on the heart!

[thrasher31]

So. Wanted to give myself a full night to think

 

-#freeshamiel

-jervay is a GAMER. Makes plays in tight games like last night. Loved the way he defended Budford in the second half. Helped a bit at times but always seemed to recover quickly. Same goes for Cam. That's 2 out of the last 4 where it seems like Cam has "taken over" within 4 minutes of the end of the game

-rebounding. Woof.

-Yvan showed me quite a bit in OT. That move from the top of the key where he dribbled into the paint was the highlight for me. Every game he seems to be figuring something else out

-cross had a couple good moves on offense, but he couldn't defend at all. Now all this probably changes next year with Walker coming in and Cross primarily being a 4 next year. Regardless, his defense was not good. 

-I've said it once, I'll say it again. This team plays much better with Thor in the game. Thor had his bumps in defense also (counted two baseline drives by southern on him)

-#freeshamiel

 

We finally got our shooting. I'm excited to see this team against a real P5 team (if you consider WSU a P5 school). And on the road. First time away from PBA with the exception of WSU scrimmage. 

 

Edited November 23, 2019 by thrasher31

[HuskerBB]

The idea that we are a team that plays to the level of our opponent is a really optimistic take :)   Sure hope that is true, but kind of afraid that we may be in for a rude awakening when we get home from Cayman and start playing some of those better teams.  

 

This might well be the worst rebounding team I have seen in 50 years of watching NU basketball - although to be fair when you miss that many free throws you do pad the other team's rebounding stats a bit.  But offensive boards were something like 25-3?   Hard to comprehend that happening against anyone, much less a SWAC team.

 

While the clock was running we did seem to find our shooting touch though - and the team is fun to watch at times, and they do play with enthusiasm on the offensive end.   It does make it a little less stressful to watch games in seasons like this where expectations are low and any win against any team can be viewed as a positive.

 

Let me preface my next comments by saying that I love watching Cam Mack play and appreciate his talent.   Might be the best passing point guard we have had - at least since Brian Carr which is something I really appreciate as a fan.  Love players who see the court so well.

 

All that say - boy do I wish he would cut out all the hotdog celebrations and just play the game.   I don't want to take away his enthusiasm - and I don't mind some celebrating as long as it does not detract from the game.   But at times his show boating extends to situations where he should be focusing on the game and defense.     The wicked crossover that broke the guys ankles was fun to watch - but after it happened he was more focused on pointing at the guy to emphasize what he had done, than he was at taking advantage of the situation and going past the defender who was on the floor.   I would not have argued if the ref had blown a whistle and t'd him up for taunting on that play - and frankly in the long run it might have done him good if that had happened.   The other thing that bothers me is how much time he spends waving his arms to try to get the crowd involved.  That is a good thing for players to do in some situations - but again he seems more focused on waving to the crowd than he is on playing focused.   Last night his guy just went right past him while he was doing that.  As a fan I am more likely to stand and yell if I see players working hard and really focused on playing defense - than I am if the players seem focused on getting me to stand and yell.    Again I love most of the things about Cam's game - just wish he would keep his focus more on playing the game - than calling attention to himself.   If he plays hard on both ends believe me the people in the stands at NU will notice and appreciate him without him asking them to do so all the time.

 

[cornfed24-7]

46 minutes ago, HuskerBB said:

 "I would not have argued if the ref had blown a whistle and t'd him up..."

 

Don't worry friend I will argue this for you.

Had the ref T'd him there it would have been a ridiculous bushleague call.

[Swan88]

1 hour ago, HuskerBB said:

“Although to be fair when you miss that many free throws you do pad the other team's rebounding stats a bit”; and 

 

“boy do I wish he would cut out all the hotdog celebrations and just play the game.”

 

On these two thoughts, (i) interesting point on free throw misses affecting rebound stats, and (ii) agree on hotdogging.

Edited November 23, 2019 by Swan88

[49r]

I disagree on the "hotdogging".  First of all I appreciate the swagger.  We need more of it on the team and not less.  Second, I didn't see it as Cam celebrating after making a shot, more trying like hell to wake up the pathetic crowd and inject some energy into the team.  Like it or not we were in the middle of making a comeback.  Finally, I'm not sure he was pointing at the defender after he broke his ankles on the crossover as much as maybe he was asking the refs to call him for the flop.  That was my initial reaction.  Either way it doesn't matter all that much because like I said before I appreciate the swagger, and I want to see more of it from this team.

[royalfan]

Cam is going to be Cam.  Like it or not, it is going to happen.  

[Husker4theSpurs]

5 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

 

Tonight Cross had as many assists (2) as he had missed shots

He sure did ... I'd like to see that happen more frequently.

[Husker4theSpurs]

57 minutes ago, 49r said:

I disagree on the "hotdogging".  First of all I appreciate the swagger.  We need more of it on the team and not less.  Second, I didn't see it as Cam celebrating after making a shot, more trying like hell to wake up the pathetic crowd and inject some energy into the team.  Like it or not we were in the middle of making a comeback.  Finally, I'm not sure he was pointing at the defender after he broke his ankles on the crossover as much as maybe he was asking the refs to call him for the flop.  That was my initial reaction.  Either way it doesn't matter all that much because like I said before I appreciate the swagger, and I want to see more of it from this team.

I agree I'm glad to see the swag, but while Mack was calling on the crowd he lost his guy twice with the last resulting in an open 3 pointer that fortunately they missed.

[Huskerpapa]

Had some time to think about it.  Still frustrated...

 

Yes we are short and bulk is lacking.  But rebounding is about effort, positioning and fundamentals.  I will trust that we had the effort, but man, you have to find your man and box him out.  We seemed to stand under the basket and attempted to out jump them...didn't happen.

 

I love Cam.  But cut the histrionics just a bit.  It is important to play defense after we make a great play.  It is also good to fire up the crowd, just find the sweet spot.

 

Team defense, is about "team."  We can look good for 20 seconds, and then we break down.  We don't have a prototypical eraser on the back end, so, everyone has to help out.  I am quite sure that isn't always happening.  That said, when Jervay started guarding Bradford, he basically shut him down.  That was great to see.

 

Free throw shooting...that was atrocious. The only fix is between the ears of each and every player.  We should have won that game by 15 in regulation.

[AuroranHusker]

21 hours ago, 49r said:

If you told me before the game that we were going to shoot 57% from the field AND from 3 I'd have told you we were gonna win by 40.

 

It's probably why it's not recommended that college basketball teams get out-rebounded 54-28. Sheesh. That was one NU had to sweat it out 'til the final minutes of overtime. Glad the Huskers fought like champs. It was a fun game, minus the mistakes on the glass. Drago is a DUDE!

 

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by AuroranHusker

[AuroranHusker]

10 hours ago, millerhusker said:

The 5 guys who were on the court in overtime are our 5 best rebounders, in my opinion (Cam, Jervay, Cheatham, Thor and Yvan)

 

I concur. Cam Mack's typically able to hunt for caroms. Same goes for the other 4 listed. Nebraska needs to figure out its best rotations next week in the Caymans.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by AuroranHusker