Preliminary starting lineup for 21-22

[nustudent]

42 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

Are there any holes in this 21-22 lineup? If so, where?

 

How good is Lat Mayen? Can Eduardo Andre progress enough to be a Big Ten-worthy rim-running rim protector?

 

If we get favorable answers to those two questions, I think the roster lines up pretty darn well. The strength would be the backcourt, but as long as the front court isn't a weakness, I think we'll be good to go.

If everyone is as advertised....there are no glaring holes.   But we're going to be losing someone....just a matter of who.   So that could change things.

[aphilso1]

If Lat comes back, plus 2 out of 3 among Yvan, DW, and Eduardo, then I don't see any gaps in the roster.  Regardless of what style we prefer to run , there will always be some B1G games where we need to grind out wins with a little bit of muscle.  Having a true stretch big plus a couple traditional post players is a necessity.  

 

I don't have any concerns at the 1-3.  Prior to Bryce I was worried about not having a true facilitating PG on the roster.  Now I don't care so much.  We have plenty of guys that can slash and pass, or slash and shoot.  Now we've also got a guy who can slash, pass, and shoot at a high level.  I just don't think a Glynn Watson/Cam Mack facilitator is needed to make the offense click now.

[hugh42]

7 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

If Lat comes back, plus 2 out of 3 among Yvan, DW, and Eduardo, then I don't see any gaps in the roster.  Regardless of what style we prefer to run , there will always be some B1G games where we need to grind out wins with a little bit of muscle.  Having a true stretch big plus a couple traditional post players is a necessity.  

 

I don't have any concerns at the 1-3.  Prior to Bryce I was worried about not having a true facilitating PG on the roster.  Now I don't care so much.  We have plenty of guys that can slash and pass, or slash and shoot.  Now we've also got a guy who can slash, pass, and splash at a high level.  I just don't think a Glynn Watson/Cam Mack facilitator is needed to make the offense click now.

 

Fixed that for you. 

[Norm Peterson]

2 hours ago, nustudent said:

If everyone is as advertised....there are no glaring holes.   But we're going to be losing someone....just a matter of who.   So that could change things.

I like the length and athleticism of Eduardo Andre. I hope he’s not a stiff and has some skills. If he develops decently, he could be the missing link. A year from now is go-time and he better be ready.

[thrasher31]

3 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

Are there any holes in this 21-22 lineup? If so, where?

 

How good is Lat Mayen? Can Eduardo Andre progress enough to be a Big Ten-worthy rim-running rim protector?

 

If we get favorable answers to those two questions, I think the roster lines up pretty darn well. The strength would be the backcourt, but as long as the front court isn't a weakness, I think we'll be good to go.

We'll find answers to these questions this year I imagine. This year, while it's a good team, is about finding fits. Still a fairly unknown roster until they hit the floor. 

 

I was discussing the front court with my dad today as a matter of fact. As long as they find two reliable bigs to throw their body around with the big ten bigs and a guy or two who can rotate down low when they want to go small, I like it. Throw in Wilhelm to that equation also and you'll have A LOT of options next year. Options are not a bad thing to have. 

[hugh42]

1 hour ago, thrasher31 said:

We'll find answers to these questions this year I imagine. This year, while it's a good team, is about finding fits. Still a fairly unknown roster until they hit the floor. 

 

I was discussing the front court with my dad today as a matter of fact. As long as they find two reliable bigs to throw their body around with the big ten bigs and a guy or two who can rotate down low when they want to go small, I like it. Throw in Wilhelm to that equation also and you'll have A LOT of options next year. Options are not a bad thing to have. 

 

Regarding bigs, Yvan proved adequate in the post last year and Walker should be capable as well. Hopefully Andre can be too. That would be two more bigs than what we had last year.

[thrasher31]

1 hour ago, hugh42 said:

 

Regarding bigs, Yvan proved adequate in the post last year and Walker should be capable as well. Hopefully Andre can be too. That would be two more bigs than what we had last year.

Honestly, I'm very optimistic on Yvan. I really liked what I saw by the end of the year and he lost weight. Hopefully it wasn't any muscle, but I feel fairly good about him. Between Andre and Walker, one has to be good. 

 

Regardless, you're right, it's much better than what we had last year. Had to play Cross at the 5 which led to mismatches galore and Yvan was late getting here so he has to cram everything before the season started. I like our big rotation this year. At least 3 bodies, possibly 4/5 depending on if Stevenson bumps down

Edited November 14, 2020 by thrasher31

[Norm Peterson]

Not picking favorites or dissing any player; just trying to look at this objectively.

 

What does Yvan have that Eduardo lacks?

 

I haven't seen a birthdate for Eduardo, but given how young Yvan was, I'm going to go out on a short limb and guess that they might be roughly the same age. Eduardo might even be a bit older.

 

Yvan has a full year of D1 ball under his belt; Eduardo was working out with the team all summer while Yvan was stuck in France. I think Eduardo has been playing American ball longer.

 

Yvan if beefier than Eduardo; Eduardo is longer (by a good margin) than Yvan. I think I saw that Yvan's wingspan is right at 6'9" whereas Eduardo's is more like 7'3". Don't remember where on here I saw that or who posted it, but let's assume for the sake of argument that it's true.

 

I've seen Yvan play. He's very strong and he's good at not getting backed down in the paint. But his offensive skills were underdeveloped. His shooting needed a ton of work. He cups the ball in the palm of his hand rather than in his fingertips and he doesn't flex his wrist very well, so he's using more of the big muscles in his arm rather than the small muscles that would be involved in fine tuning (i.e. "touch.") When catching an entry pass, he would take too long (indecisive?) to gather himself to go up with the ball, by which time the defense almost always had time to react and get in position to contest him. Remember that time he had a clear path to the rim and got blocked from behind? Some of that is stuff that can be addressed with coaching. But Covid last spring and him being in France limited the amount of individual workouts after the season.

 

This is basically all I know of Eduardo:

 

 

So, someone want to handicap the race? How long would it take for Eduardo to make up the ground Yvan gained by starting on a D1 basketball team when other people his age were playing against high school kids?

[jayschool]

1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

I haven't seen a birthdate for Eduardo, but given how young Yvan was, I'm going to go out on a short limb and guess that they might be roughly the same age. Eduardo might even be a bit older.

 

So, someone want to handicap the race? How long would it take for Eduardo to make up the ground Yvan gained by starting on a D1 basketball team when other people his age were playing against high school kids?

According to this site, Eduardo Andre was born in 2001. Yvan Ouedraogo was born in March 2002. Andre is at least three months older and maybe as many as 14 months older than Ouedraogo.

[Norm Peterson]

I'm going to go out on another one of my limbs and say that I'll be shocked - or at least disappointed - if Eduardo Andre gets fewer than 10-15 minutes per game this season. This is a kid who, because of his measurables, you want to see develop. That length, combined with his agility, is a rare combination. I love the active hands shown in some of the steals he got in his highlight film above. I think we got pretty lucky with this kid.

[hhcmatt]

On 11/14/2020 at 8:12 AM, Norm Peterson said:

Not picking favorites or dissing any player; just trying to look at this objectively.

 

What does Yvan have that Eduardo lacks?

 

I haven't seen a birthdate for Eduardo, but given how young Yvan was, I'm going to go out on a short limb and guess that they might be roughly the same age. Eduardo might even be a bit older.

 

Yvan has a full year of D1 ball under his belt; Eduardo was working out with the team all summer while Yvan was stuck in France. I think Eduardo has been playing American ball longer.

 

Yvan if beefier than Eduardo; Eduardo is longer (by a good margin) than Yvan. I think I saw that Yvan's wingspan is right at 6'9" whereas Eduardo's is more like 7'3". Don't remember where on here I saw that or who posted it, but let's assume for the sake of argument that it's true.

 

I've seen Yvan play. He's very strong and he's good at not getting backed down in the paint. But his offensive skills were underdeveloped. His shooting needed a ton of work. He cups the ball in the palm of his hand rather than in his fingertips and he doesn't flex his wrist very well, so he's using more of the big muscles in his arm rather than the small muscles that would be involved in fine tuning (i.e. "touch.") When catching an entry pass, he would take too long (indecisive?) to gather himself to go up with the ball, by which time the defense almost always had time to react and get in position to contest him. Remember that time he had a clear path to the rim and got blocked from behind? Some of that is stuff that can be addressed with coaching. But Covid last spring and him being in France limited the amount of individual workouts after the season.

 

This is basically all I know of Eduardo:

 

 

So, someone want to handicap the race? How long would it take for Eduardo to make up the ground Yvan gained by starting on a D1 basketball team when other people his age were playing against high school kids?

 

Keep in mind that Andre's competition for playing time is not just Yvan...it's Yvan, Walker, and Mayan

 

I feel like you could take this entire argument and substitute in Jordy Tshimanga.  Is freshman year Jordy playing 10-15 minutes for our 20-21 team? 

[Norm Peterson]

3 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

Keep in mind that Andre's competition for playing time is not just Yvan...it's Yvan, Walker, and Mayan

 

I feel like you could take this entire argument and substitute in Jordy Tshimanga.  Is freshman year Jordy playing 10-15 minutes for our 20-21 team? 

 

I was thinking about Jordy when I was typing this. He and Andre have some things in common, not least of which is that they are both lefty posts. I think Andre is more agile than Jordy was and he appears to be just a better athlete all around with a better set of skills at this moment. Jordy showed flashes as a freshman. You wanted him to get minutes to see him develop in the same way I'd like to see Andre get minutes to develop. But Jordy took a step back as a sophomore.

 

I agree that Walker and Yvan are competition for minutes. But it seems like Lat will be the stretch 4 in a lineup that features either Walker or Yvan. And from what I've seen, Andre could swing between those two spots and back either Lat or whoever gets the starting nod between Walker and Yvan at the post/5/center/whatchacallit spot. And I think there's some remote possibility that the front court starters are Lat and Andre. Can't say it's likely, but it seems like a possibility at least.

 

In other words, it appears the starting front court will include Lat and either Yvan or Walker or even possibly Andre. Assuming Andre doesn't start, which seems a safe assumption, I could see him getting minutes behind Lat or whoever starts at the 5.

 

And, then again, I could be way off. But I am anxious to find out.

[REDitus]

On 11/14/2020 at 8:12 AM, Norm Peterson said:

What does Yvan have that Eduardo lacks?

 

 

Okay I'll bite.

 

Yvan has 30 starts under his belt and averaged 21.3 minutes a game.   He average 6.3 rebounds a game as a freshmen

• Nebraska Single-Season Freshman Rebounding Record (203)
• Nebraska Single-Game Freshman Rebounding Record (19 vs. Northwestern)
• Nebraska Single-Season Freshman Record for Double-Doubles (3, tied)

Edited November 16, 2020 by REDitus

[Norm Peterson]

3 minutes ago, REDitus said:

 

Okay I'll bite.

 

Yvan has 30 starts under his belt and average 21.3 minutes a game.   He average 6.3 rebounds a game as a freshmen

• Nebraska Single-Season Freshman Rebounding Record (203)
• Nebraska Single-Game Freshman Rebounding Record (19 vs. Northwestern)
• Nebraska Single-Season Freshman Record for Double-Doubles (3, tied)

 

Yep, like I said in that post, Yvan has a full year of D1 ball under his belt.

 

Then again, while he was stuck in France over the summer, Andre was here.

 

One question I asked was how long would it take for Andre to catch up to Yvan's level of experience?

 

I think Yvan does some things well. But I think his ceiling is lower than Yvan's. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, and I hope he does.

[REDitus]

I have not seen Andre live.   The only thing we have to judge is a few clips.   Meanwhile as HHCmatt pointed out,  you have Walker and Lat also competing for minutes.   How do we know Andre is the main competition for Yvan?   It might be Walker.  We've had some impressive gains by redshirts in recent years. We have had good reports about last year's scout squad which includes Walker.   Plus we don't know how many minutes Lat is going to get if we go small.     I also think the single season rebounding record for freshmen is no small feat and I would be somewhat surprised if Yvan didn't get around the same time as he did as a freshmen.    From what we have seen he's slimmed a bit and looks more explosive off the floor.    I am excited to see his progress.   

 

I am thrilled we have Andre.   I have no idea what his impact will be.   I do think we have good depth at the post now and minutes will be hard to come by.    I am not going out on a limb with Andre  because I don't think I have to. 

[hhcmatt]

2 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

But it seems like Lat will be the stretch 4 in a lineup that features either Walker or Yvan.

 

Lat will most often function as a 4.  However, there have been indications that we will play small at times and he would function as our center.  Another way to think about it, in terms of minutes per game, is how many MPG will we average where we don't have a traditional center on the court as that will eat into all of those guys' minutes.

[cornfed24-7]

5 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

Is freshman year Jordy playing 10-15 minutes for our 20-21 team

I would hope not. He was tough to watch. Just a black hole. Although in the beging I was mesmerized by what could have been. He had that one drive down the middle of the lane(oops left side of the lane). Man o man it could have been amazing.

 

This one! 

Edited November 16, 2020 by cornfed24-7

[Norm Peterson]

3 hours ago, REDitus said:

I have not seen Andre live.   The only thing we have to judge is a few clips.   Meanwhile as HHCmatt pointed out,  you have Walker and Lat also competing for minutes.   How do we know Andre is the main competition for Yvan?   It might be Walker.  We've had some impressive gains by redshirts in recent years. We have had good reports about last year's scout squad which includes Walker.   Plus we don't know how many minutes Lat is going to get if we go small.     I also think the single season rebounding record for freshmen is no small feat and I would be somewhat surprised if Yvan didn't get around the same time as he did as a freshmen.    From what we have seen he's slimmed a bit and looks more explosive off the floor.    I am excited to see his progress.   

 

I am thrilled we have Andre.   I have no idea what his impact will be.   I do think we have good depth at the post now and minutes will be hard to come by.    I am not going out on a limb with Andre  because I don't think I have to. 

 

I didn't say Eduardo would be the main competition for Yvan let alone the only competition.

 

I'm looking at those two specifically because 1) Yvan is a projected starter (by some) and 2) they seem to be comparable in terms of age and experience and position and size and things like that. Comparable doesn't mean the same, by the way.

 

I think Yvan has a head start over Eduardo because of all the playing time he got last year. But let's be clear: Yvan didn't get playing time as a true freshman because he was of such skill and ability that he was able to beat out an established upper classman for the job. He got the playing time because our alternative was Kevin Cross.

 

Yvan grabbed a lot of boards because there weren't a lot of other guys on the roster who were fighting him for rebounds. This year, it won't be that way.

 

I suspect his rebound numbers will decrease and his playing time might also.

 

Other than the head start he got from playing college last year as essentially a high school senior, I don't see a lot of other attributes which give him an advantage over Eduardo. And so I simply ask the question what does Yvan have that Eduardo lacks?

 

 

[Vinny]

French citizenship for starters.

[Fullbacksympathy]

I'm a softy for bigs and their potential.  Andre is a real specimen.  There are plenty of tools to work with there.  

 

When comparing him to Yvan, I think we'll basically be trading height for quickness.  Yvan is a very good lateral defender, and he'll probably be amazing this season when he hedges on the pick and roll after chiseling up his body.  But I don't think he'll be a rim protector simply because of his height.  I also think Yvan will be an improved rebounder with his lift.  

 

Andre has a God-given wingspan and will alter a ton of shots when he's in.  I don't think he'll be a strong rebounder initially.  So I'd say Yvan's lateral defense, rebounding, and general feel/flow within the offense will be why he gets minutes over Andre... but I agree that the distance between the two in terms of their value is minimal, and there will be matchups where we'll need Andre's height in the defensive post.  

[Nebrasketballer]

Before Bryce McGowens committed to Nebraska, my answer to the starting lineup question would have been

 

1- Dalano Banton

2- Trey McGowens

3- Teddy Allen

4- Lat Mayen

5- Yvan Ouedraogo

 

I'm even more curious about this question now that McGowens will be here. Is there any chance that the first 5-star in Nebraska basketball history could somehow not start next season? That sounds ludacris to say out loud, but who would he knock out? Would Bryce take Banton's place at the 1 spot?

 

 

[aphilso1]

11 minutes ago, Nebrasketballer said:

Before Bryce McGowens committed to Nebraska, my answer to the starting lineup question would have been

 

1- Dalano Banton

2- Trey McGowens

3- Teddy Allen

4- Lat Mayen

5- Yvan Ouedraogo

 

I'm even more curious about this question now that McGowens will be here. Is there any chance that the first 5-star in Nebraska basketball history could somehow not start next season? That sounds ludacris to say out loud, but who would he knock out? Would Bryce take Banton's place at the 1 spot?

 

 

Maybe, but I think a more likely scenario is that we play positionless basketball 1-4 with a stretch big on the floor. 
 

1-4: McGowens/McGowens/Banton/Allen

 

5: Mayen

[Nebrasketballer]

1 minute ago, aphilso1 said:

Maybe, but I think a more likely scenario is that we play positionless basketball 1-4 with a stretch big on the floor. 
 

1-4: McGowens/McGowens/Banton/Allen

 

5: Mayen

This would be such an exciting lineup to watch.

[Fullbacksympathy]

52 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

Maybe, but I think a more likely scenario is that we play positionless basketball 1-4 with a stretch big on the floor. 
 

1-4: McGowens/McGowens/Banton/Allen

 

5: Mayen

Terrifying bunch right there.  What do you even do to prepare for that group if you’re the opposing defense?  They are going to score an insane amount of points.  
 

 

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

I would like to see Stevenson grab a starting spot. I think sometime this season he will be starting.