What is needed for HuskerHoops to be successful?

[Huskers/Cubs]

I’ve been a HuskerHoops fan since the late 70’s,I usually went to 3 or 4 home games a year and secured season tickets when the Huskers moved to Pinnacle Bank Arena, I live in Omaha. For many years the talk was the university just did not make a full commitment to HuskerHoops, no practice facility, just an average arena in the Devaney Center and hiring mid-major coaches. After getting a state of art practice facility, new arena in Pinnacle Bank arena and finally hiring a power 5 coach that has NCAA tourney wins, the program has sunk to 

worst stretch I have seen. My question is what’s it going to take for Fred to turn this program around? I realize BIG conference is a great basketball conference, but I see many other programs (Football schools) invest much less than HuskerHoops and are making the NCAA tournament on a regular basis and other power 5 programs with new coaches  turn it around in the first few years. My final thoughts, HuskerHoops needs to recruit the state of Nebraska much better, especially when they are highly rated players.

Thanks for listening, 

 

HuskerHoops fan in Omaha.

[49r]

14 minutes ago, Huskers/Cubs said:

HuskerHoops needs to recruit the state of Nebraska much better

 

I agree 100% with this.  It's always been a problem for new coaches since Nee (who did recruit in state very well).  Miles seemed to get that figured out but by the time he did it was too late.

[HuskerFever]

22 minutes ago, Huskers/Cubs said:

I realize BIG conference is a great basketball conference, but I see many other programs (Football schools) invest much less than HuskerHoops and are making the NCAA tournament on a regular basis and other power 5 programs with new coaches  turn it around in the first few years.

 

...you probably don't want to know what's going on behind the scenes in the SEC schools who have started to invest in coaches, facilities, and other hoops resources in the last decade and seeing success. You probably get an idea just how many infractions on the surface that have been arising.

[Dead Dog Alley]

I think if we just build a new arena, and hire a coach who has had success in the NCAA Tournament, and are fortunate enough to have some Top 75 talent in state, we will finally break through as a program.

 

Or at least I thought that 10 years ago.  Now...

[busticket]

I think sacrificing chickens may be involved at this point.

[Handy Johnson]

We need another Dave Hoppen type player who’s a transformative talent but also one of US who wants to stay home & make Dear Old Nebraska U a Winner…! I’ll always be convinced even after Nee & Miles, if we can have some consistent success this thing will REALLY take off.

[HuskerFever]

1 hour ago, 49r said:

 

I agree 100% with this.  It's always been a problem for new coaches since Nee (who did recruit in state very well).  Miles seemed to get that figured out but by the time he did it was too late.

 

1 minute ago, Handy Johnson said:

We need another Dave Hoppen type player who’s a transformative talent but also one of US who wants to stay home & make Dear Old Nebraska U a Winner…! I’ll always be convinced even after Nee & Miles, if we can have some consistent success this thing will REALLY take off.

 

It's what has made Wisconsin so well-rounded and successful in their hoops and football programs over the recent decades.

[aphilso1]

1 hour ago, busticket said:

I think sacrificing chickens may be involved at this point.

 

Been doing that for years.  Time to escalate to goats.

[cipsucks]

I so much love innocent Husker basketball fans.  My advice to you Husker/Cubs, stay in the Shire.  Mordor is a really dark world.....

[Cazzie22]

Develop players.  We are rarely going to attract the top talent so we must develop players who by their Jr. and Sr. seasons are good B1G level players. We do need to land the best the state has to offer and hope they want the University Team to succeed. 

 

Wisconsin has established shed an identity where they develop players and on occasion get a great talent like Davis this year.  I would hope that could be a model to follow.

[tcp]

4 hours ago, busticket said:

I think sacrificing chickens may be involved at this point.

 

way past this point. Jobu's charging a lot more for this kind of heavy lifting. 

 

 

[tcp]

2 hours ago, aphilso1 said:

 

Been doing that for years.  Time to escalate to goats.

 

put the suckers on the (e)scape, right? 

 

past this, too. 

 

Probably going to require something big this time. Like, I dunno, a Moos(e).

 

 

[Silverbacked1]

3 hours ago, tcp said:

 

put the suckers on the (e)scape, right? 

 

past this, too. 

 

Probably going to require something big this time. Like, I dunno, a Moos(e).

 

 

Or a virgin?

[Handy Johnson]

13 hours ago, HuskerFever said:

 

 

It's what has made Wisconsin so well-rounded and successful in their hoops and football programs over the recent decades.

Wisconsin hoops had 14 straight Top 4 finishes, Miles had 2 in 7 years & we decided that wasn’t good enough. Now we 5 Conference wins in year 3 of a new regime. Our fortunes can change quickly tho, Texas Tech played for a Title, Baylor won one. We have to have a foundation of High School talent “enhanced” by Transfers, not the other way around…

[The Polish Rifle]

Is there any obvious pick for a guy that could lock down the borders as far as an Asst Coach (or even head coach)? Creighton locked down the 2 NBA guys from Nebraska this past decade, was there a guy behind the scenes doing work for them?

[HuskerFever]

1 minute ago, The Polish Rifle said:

Is there any obvious pick for a guy that could lock down the borders as far as an Asst Coach (or even head coach)? Creighton locked down the 2 NBA guys from Nebraska this past decade, was there a guy behind the scenes doing work for them?

 

Many many many Benjamin Franklins. Like 1,000+ Benjamin Franklins.

[The Polish Rifle]

4 minutes ago, HuskerFever said:

 

Many many many Benjamin Franklins. Like 1,000+ Benjamin Franklins.

Creighton certainly was ahead of the game on NIL, so far ahead the rule hadn't been passed yet. 

[hhcmatt]

Boy isn't this the 18 million dollar question

[Chuck Taylor]

I promise this is the last time posting this familiar screed:

 

The time to lock down local talent would have been 20 years ago, but we can start building bridges now that will pay off later.  We have virtually no relationship with Omaha high schools and AAU programs. Omaha kids have been going to (you know who) individual and team camps since they were 3rd graders, and (you know who) coaches and players participate regularly in school and AAU clinics. We're seen as the hotshots who might get in contact if a player gets some notice and later make an appearance in the bleachers for a game just to look interested. Think about how that plays when you're a program with our record of success the last 20 years. So not only are we missing out on kids, we've also given scholarships to kids who didn't pan out. 

 

Where do I get my info? I know Omaha coaches, my kids played high school basketball, I coached non-varsity high school (just call me Kidney Jr.) and have a friend who was closely tied to OSA. They all say the same thing. I haven't been to high school games and gabbing with these people the last couple years because of Covid, so maybe something has changed under Fred, but I doubt it. 

 

Assuming at the very least we'll have one new assistant next year, I'd put him in charge of identifying local talent and building bridges with local coaches. Or maybe hope our next head coach figures it out. I think the problem is that our new hires see that the recruiting base is limited and think they have to bring in national-level talent to get somewhere. But you can see that we end up missing out on roster stability, solid 4-year contributors and the occasional kid who turns into a star.

 

[millerhusker]

58 minutes ago, The Polish Rifle said:

Is there any obvious pick for a guy that could lock down the borders as far as an Asst Coach (or even head coach)? Creighton locked down the 2 NBA guys from Nebraska this past decade, was there a guy behind the scenes doing work for them?

Darian DeVries 

[uneblinstu]

From my view, you need a coach with a clear identity, the patience to develop and build towards that identity and the discipline to stay rooted in it. Sounds simple, but it isn't, in any walk of life. Transformative players are nice, but for them to really be transformative, the identity and culture needs to have taken root first.

Edited January 16, 2022 by uneblinstu

[uneblinstu]

47 minutes ago, Chuck Taylor said:

I promise this is the last time posting this familiar screed:

 

The time to lock down local talent would have been 20 years ago, but we can start building bridges now that will pay off later.  We have virtually no relationship with Omaha high schools and AAU programs. Omaha kids have been going to (you know who) individual and team camps since they were 3rd graders, and (you know who) coaches and players participate regularly in school and AAU clinics. We're seen as the hotshots who might get in contact if a player gets some notice and later make an appearance in the bleachers for a game just to look interested. Think about how that plays when you're a program with our record of success the last 20 years. So not only are we missing out on kids, we've also given scholarships to kids who didn't pan out. 

 

Where do I get my info? I know Omaha coaches, my kids played high school basketball, I coached non-varsity high school (just call me Kidney Jr.) and have a friend who was closely tied to OSA. They all say the same thing. I haven't been to high school games and gabbing with these people the last couple years because of Covid, so maybe something has changed under Fred, but I doubt it. 

 

Assuming at the very least we'll have one new assistant next year, I'd put him in charge of identifying local talent and building bridges with local coaches. Or maybe hope our next head coach figures it out. I think the problem is that our new hires see that the recruiting base is limited and think they have to bring in national-level talent to get somewhere. But you can see that we end up missing out on roster stability, solid 4-year contributors and the occasional kid who turns into a star.

That reputation has totally been earned, too. Miles realized it too late, but he did eventually get there. Just didn't get to reap the rewards. A coach that could build those relationships in a genuine way over time will be a player for that talent eventually. 

[Silverbacked1]

19 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

From my view, you need a coach with a clear identity, the patience to develop and build towards that identity and the discipline to stay rooted in it. Sounds simple, but it isn't, in any walk of life. Transformative players are nice, but for them to really be transformative, the identity and culture needs to have taken root first.

But then you have fans who want this guy gone because we are turning it around right now.  I am in for the long haul most on here are. But quiet a few aren’t’t.

[HuskerFever]

22 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

From my view, you need a coach with a clear identity, the patience to develop and build towards that identity and the discipline to stay rooted in it. Sounds simple, but it isn't, in any walk of life. Transformative players are nice, but for them to really be transformative, the identity and culture needs to have taken root first.

 

And that identity needs to be implemented by your recruiters' evaluations as well...

[uneblinstu]

21 minutes ago, Silverbacked1 said:

But then you have fans who want this guy gone because we are turning it around right now.  I am in for the long haul most on here are. But quiet a few aren’t’t.

If you got rid of the staff after this year and brought in a coach who showed clear progress towards an identity year by year, fans would be willing to let that grow for a while. I think that's the problem with this staff, it doesn't appear as that's what's happening. It seems like it's going the opposite direction. If Trev thinks he's going to have to make a change in two years if he doesn't make a change after this season, then he should make it now. If he thinks they (Trev and Fred and support systems together) get it figured out with some adjustments, then it would make sense to stay the course. But that's going to be Trev's task.