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Ah, what the hell

Norm Peterson

By Norm Peterson
in The Haymarket Hardwood

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jayschool
jayschool

Yes, they'll need to learn to play together, and it might be January before they gel, but experience for this year's club is much greater than last year's. And without Mack in Italy, the team wasn't p

Cazzie22
Cazzie22

I believe Thor will start.

Norm Peterson
Norm Peterson

A year ago, while we were all gushing about the job Hoiberg had done in bringing in, what, 11? recruits in 30 days around April-May, this pundit guy on Twitter was panning him. I kind of challenged th

Norm Peterson

Norm Peterson

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Posted (edited)

A year ago, while we were all gushing about the job Hoiberg had done in bringing in, what, 11? recruits in 30 days around April-May, this pundit guy on Twitter was panning him. I kind of challenged the guy at the time because it seemed pretty impressive work to me for Hoiberg to completely fill a roster with what seemed to be a decent mix of players in a very short period of time. And the guy's response, which I couldn't really argue with, was yeah but there are no stars in that group.

 

A 7-win season later, and I'm looking at the roster for next year asking myself, ok, where are the stars?  Are there dudes in that group who are better than the players they'll face on other teams? Do we have any position advantages compared to teams in the top half of the conference?

 

How much better is Year 2 really likely to be compared with Year 1?

 

I think we'll be better. I think we'll be a lot better. But we were so bad this last year that we could improve a ton and still not be very good. So, do we have stars in this group? Do we have enough firepower to compete in this league?

 

I honestly don't know and, until I see them play some games, I'm going to withhold judgment.

Edited by Norm Peterson
Navin R. Johnson

Navin R. Johnson

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

A year ago, while we were all gushing about the job Hoiberg had done in bringing in, what, 11? recruits in 30 days around April-May, this pundit guy on Twitter was panning him. I kind of challenged the guy at the time because it seemed pretty impressive work to me for Hoiberg to completely fill a roster with what seemed to be a decent mix of players in a very short period of time. And the guy's response, which I couldn't really argue with, was yeah but there are no stars in that group.

 

A 7-win season later, and I'm looking at the roster for next year asking myself, ok, where are the stars?  Are there dudes in that group who are better than the players they'll face on other teams? Do we have any position advantages compared to teams in the top half of the conference?

 

How much better is Year 2 really likely to be compared with Year 1?

 

I think we'll be better. I think we'll be a lot better. But we were so bad this last year that we could improve a ton and still not be very good. So, do we have stars in this group? Do we have enough firepower to compete in this league?

 

I honestly don't know and, until I see them play some games, I'm going to withhold judgment.

 

Very good point and I was thinking the same thing.  Do we have that star or hammer we can go to in the clutch? Playing like a team is extremely important but sometimes you need that one guy to carry you, especially against the good defensive teams.  Maybe someone will develop into that guy.

bball23

bball23

Posted
Posted

This is just my $0.02.  The reason for optimism for me is numerous things.

 

Teddy Allen is a player.  Out of boredom the other day I went to YouTube and watched some of his WV highlights.  He dropped 20+ on KSU and OU who were solid teams.  He has a knack for putting the ball in the hoop.  The announcers of the game were calling him "Teddy Buckets"  As long as he can keep his head on straight, I think he will truly flourish in Hoiberg's "freedom" offense.

 

Kobe King. If he's eligible you are talking about a guy with D1 experience that averaged 10.5 PPG in the B10.  That alone gives me hope.  Also the fact he will know what the grind of the B10 is like.  His body is strong enough to handle the B10.  Nothing against Burke, Mack or Green, but none of them exactly had a B10 body.  Mack was able to make up for it with his quickness, but couldn't shoot the outside shot.  With that being said, I do wish Mack would have come back.

 

Webster.  Quick guard that knows how to score.  And he was doing that on a team where they knew he was the "go to guy"  Now, much lesser competition, but he showed he could do it against some good teams and he will have a better roster around him at NU to take that weight off his shoulders.  I think he may be that guy that on certain nights gets extremely hot and we roll with him.

 

Stevenson.  He is my dark horse.  I love Stevenson.  STRONG body which will hold up in the B10.  Confident player, has a lot of swagger and did this in a tough ACC league.  So again, another P5 player that had success.  Moves well without the ball which is huge in Hoiberg's offense.

 

Banton. Smooth operator.  Long, athletic.  Not sure how great of a shooter he is, but with his slashing ability and passing ability could be a very good player for us.  I'm very excited to see him play.  Watching their European tour, I honestly thought he was our best player.

 

Walker is the most "unknown" to me.  Here is what I do know, he also played in a P5 league and has a B10 body.  

 

I know I'm not mentioning every player, but the biggest thing for me is that every player above (outside of maybe Banton to a degree) have B10 bodies.  Fred has referenced this as well.  He like that we will be able to "open up his offense" as he has so many versatile players.  I'm excited to see what year 2 brings.

nustudent

nustudent

Posted
Posted

For me the improvement stems from the fact that we will be more experienced, more complete of a team.   The guys that are being added have been added over time and vetted rather than thrown together in a month.   Furthermore, we’re adding guys who have not only excelled at JUCO but have legit p5 experience and success.   

Red Don

Red Don

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

 ok, where are the stars?

 

Not to be a contrarian here, and just as a devil's-advocate,  Were there any stars on Fred Hoiberg's Iowa State teams?  (now before anyone starts to jump to conclusions, just bear with me for a moment; I mean Before they Got to Fred.  I really don't know :Confused:)

aphilso1

aphilso1

Posted
Posted
50 minutes ago, bball23 said:

...but the biggest thing for me is that every player above (outside of maybe Banton to a degree) have B10 bodies.  Fred has referenced this as well.  He like that we will be able to "open up his offense" as he has so many versatile players.  I'm excited to see what year 2 brings.

 

This is a solid point.  Fred appears to have found guys that are built to withstand the bumps and bruises of conference play, while also having the skill sets that he's looking for to run his offense.  Last year I think we did have some of the offensive pieces he wanted (although obviously needed an extra shooter or two), but didn't have guys that could hold their own on the defensive end physically.  And as the year wore on, that effected the offensive productivity as well.

49r

49r

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Handy Johnson said:

It’s easy to get excited about Teddy/Delano & the Kobe’s, BUT let’s not forget, how much Kevin, Thor & especially Yvan improves will go along way in determining whether we’re a 10 win team or .500....

 

An addendum to your thoughts re: Kevin and Yvan.  The old saying about "the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores" comes to mind here.

TheKamdyMan

TheKamdyMan

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Cazzie22 said:

A wait and see approach should be taken.  I was fooled by our start in B1G play that we would be competitive.  Our lack of quality depth hurt badly and we were wore down game by game.  NU should be a deeper team which could lead to more victories.  


 UCR, Southern Utah, and George Mason told me everything I needed to know heading into conference play. North Dakota then showed me the first two conference games were a fluke. The team was just flat out bad. 

millerhusker

millerhusker

Posted
Posted

Here is Washuts prediction. As of right now, he’s hearing the transfers could both be immediately eligible. 
 

Banton
McGowens

King

Allen

Sanogo

 

Personally, I would swap Walker and Sanogo to start the year. People seem to be skeptical of Walker, but I keep thinking about two things.. 1. Jervay said he was the best post defender on the team. 2. If I remember right, he went 9 for 9 from the field in a 40 minute scrimmage this year.

 

It’d also be tough for me to leave out Shamiel. Might be our most complete player. 

 

jayschool

jayschool

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, millerhusker said:

Here is Washuts prediction. As of right now, he’s hearing the transfers could both be immediately eligible. 
 

Banton
McGowens

King

Allen

Sanogo

 

Personally, I would swap Walker and Sanogo to start the year. People seem to be skeptical of Walker, but I keep thinking about two things.. 1. Jervay said he was the best post defender on the team. 2. If I remember right, he went 9 for 9 from the field in a 40 minute scrimmage this year.

 

It’d also be tough for me to leave out Shamiel. Might be our most complete player. 

 

If Washut's correct and both are eligible immediately, there's going to be a lot of competition for the top eight spots, and if we need a ninth, 10th, or even 11th man because of injuries, suspensions, or sickness, then we have intriguing and talented options there, too.

 

 

49r

49r

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, millerhusker said:

Here is Washuts prediction. As of right now, he’s hearing the transfers could both be immediately eligible. 
 

Banton
McGowens

King

Allen

Sanogo

 

Personally, I would swap Walker and Sanogo to start the year. People seem to be skeptical of Walker, but I keep thinking about two things.. 1. Jervay said he was the best post defender on the team. 2. If I remember right, he went 9 for 9 from the field in a 40 minute scrimmage this year.

 

It’d also be tough for me to leave out Shamiel. Might be our most complete player. 

 

 

If King and McGowens are eligible AND we get Sanogo?

 

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