What will it take?

[Norm Peterson]

What will it take for us to climb out of the conference cellar (dead last)?

 

What will it take for us to climb out of the bottom tier (into the conference top 10)?

 

What will it take for us to climb into the top half of the conference?

 

Do we have any players who, in their current positions, are good enough at their spot to get us in contention for an NCAA tourney bid? If so, who are those players and what would we need to have to build around them to make that happen?

 

[royalfan]

Play elite defense is the only way we are likely to be in top half.  Some will say it is hard to watch. I say playing no defense before some coaching responsibility shifts was much tougher to watch.  

[49r]

I'm just gonna put this right here:

 

2023 T-Rank College Basketball Projections

RK	TEAM	CONF	ADJOE	ADJDE	BARTHAG	PROJ. REC		RET MINS	RPMS	TALENT	EXP.	TRANS.
12	Indiana	B10	111.9 24	91.6 11	.9089	23-7	14-6	78.1%	81.6%	79.7	2.16	0
13	Illinois	B10	113.2 13	93.0 26	.9048	21-9	13-7	16.5%	15.0%	82.9	1.41	181
22	Michigan St.	B10	112.7 17	94.4 44	.8854	21-10	12-8	54.1%	55.2%	73	1.89	0
28	Purdue	B10	113.6 9	95.8 65	.8767	20-11	12-8	39.5%	35.9%	57.5	1.49	36
32	Michigan	B10	112.5 20	95.5 60	.8684	18-12	11-9	27.5%	30.5%	88.2	1.56	99
38	Iowa	B10	113.6 10	96.9 86	.8607	20-11	11-9	54.2%	53.1%	49.6	1.74	0
50	Maryland	B10	109.7 41	95.6 61	.8294	18-13	10-10	46.9%	42.5%	50.6	2.4	171
56	Rutgers	B10	105.6 109	92.6 21	.8184	18-12	10-10	63.5%	59.7%	47	2.34	41
61	Ohio St.	B10	111.3 30	98.4 110	.8056	16-13	10-10	23.0%	15.0%	54.7	2.44	185
64	Wisconsin	B10	104.4 128	92.8 23	.7950	16-14	9-11	52.4%	45.2%	47.7	1.64	73
78	Penn St.	B10	105.7 106	95.7 64	.7574	14-14	8-12	56.4%	53.4%	34.8	2.34	138
90	Nebraska	B10	107.1 77	98.5 113	.7247	15-16	7-13	38.3%	28.8%	32.9	2.27	223
95	Northwestern	B10	103.1 148	95.1 54	.7179	14-15	7-13	59.6%	57.2%	47.9	2.2	23
120	Minnesota	B10	105.7 108	100.2 142	.6480	12-17	6-14	20.9%	23.6%	37.4	2.07	208

Compiled by Bart Torvik from sacred data and secret formulas.

[HuskerFever]

You can do each of these with an anomaly season. I'd prefer we build something that consistently gets us out of the cellar.

[Norm Peterson]

24 minutes ago, 49r said:

I'm just gonna put this right here:

 

2023 T-Rank College Basketball Projections

RK	TEAM	CONF	ADJOE	ADJDE	BARTHAG	PROJ. REC		RET MINS	RPMS	TALENT	EXP.	TRANS.
12	Indiana	B10	111.9 24	91.6 11	.9089	23-7	14-6	78.1%	81.6%	79.7	2.16	0
13	Illinois	B10	113.2 13	93.0 26	.9048	21-9	13-7	16.5%	15.0%	82.9	1.41	181
22	Michigan St.	B10	112.7 17	94.4 44	.8854	21-10	12-8	54.1%	55.2%	73	1.89	0
28	Purdue	B10	113.6 9	95.8 65	.8767	20-11	12-8	39.5%	35.9%	57.5	1.49	36
32	Michigan	B10	112.5 20	95.5 60	.8684	18-12	11-9	27.5%	30.5%	88.2	1.56	99
38	Iowa	B10	113.6 10	96.9 86	.8607	20-11	11-9	54.2%	53.1%	49.6	1.74	0
50	Maryland	B10	109.7 41	95.6 61	.8294	18-13	10-10	46.9%	42.5%	50.6	2.4	171
56	Rutgers	B10	105.6 109	92.6 21	.8184	18-12	10-10	63.5%	59.7%	47	2.34	41
61	Ohio St.	B10	111.3 30	98.4 110	.8056	16-13	10-10	23.0%	15.0%	54.7	2.44	185
64	Wisconsin	B10	104.4 128	92.8 23	.7950	16-14	9-11	52.4%	45.2%	47.7	1.64	73
78	Penn St.	B10	105.7 106	95.7 64	.7574	14-14	8-12	56.4%	53.4%	34.8	2.34	138
90	Nebraska	B10	107.1 77	98.5 113	.7247	15-16	7-13	38.3%	28.8%	32.9	2.27	223
95	Northwestern	B10	103.1 148	95.1 54	.7179	14-15	7-13	59.6%	57.2%	47.9	2.2	23
120	Minnesota	B10	105.7 108	100.2 142	.6480	12-17	6-14	20.9%	23.6%	37.4	2.07	208

Compiled by Bart Torvik from sacred data and secret formulas.

 

Bart Torvik's computer is smoking crack.

[49r]

4 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Bart Torvik's computer is smoking crack.

 

Yeah, clearly he has no clue; I just posted it for the purpose of adding data points to the conversation.  It's not editorial content.

[49r]

But looking at it makes one wonder just how good is Indiana gonna be, wow!

 

Lots of people talking about them being a legit national title contender next year.  Gotta say I was skeptical when they hired Woodson last year but seems to be turning out well so far.

[Huskerpapa]

* Team ball

* Strong leadership

* Elite effort, EVERY game

* Rebound (see effort)

* Defense (see effort)

* Top third in the league assist to turnover rate

* Offensive efficiency 

* Coaches who can/will game plan and be willing and able to adjust at halftime and during the game.

* Passion for the game, your school, the fans, your teammates and the coaches.

 

Every one of those categories must be improved upon from last year.  This team must win back the trust and passion of the fans that continues to show unreasonably strong love for the program.   And oh yeah, we better hope that the talent is good enough to play at this high level.

 

If the above takes place...IF...it all falls together, perhaps we can provide a bit of shock and awe.

[aphilso1]

What will it take for us to climb out of the conference cellar (dead last)?

Team cohesion and avoid injuries.  The difference between being a bad team and a miserably bad team usually comes down to whether your players give up on the season or not.  Just don't mail the season in, and don't lose 2-3 key players for an extended stretch of time, and we should be able to finish in the 12th-13th range.

 

What will it take for us to climb out of the bottom tier (into the conference top 10)?

Elite defense.  I don't see enough dudes wearing red that can go get buckets.  Gotta win games via slugfests with this roster.

 

What will it take for us to climb into the top half of the conference?

Elite defense, nearly elite rebounding, and 2-3 guys who unexpectedly turn out to be difference makers on the offensive end.

 

Do we have any players who, in their current positions, are good enough at their spot to get us in contention for an NCAA tourney bid? If so, who are those players and what would we need to have to build around them to make that happen?

Griesel and Gary are good enough, obviously.  They've proven that they can contribute on an NCAA Tourney team.  But as a whole, clearly this is not a roster that is going to challenge for a bid.

[Cazzie22]

2 hours ago, Huskerpapa said:

* Team ball

* Strong leadership

* Elite effort, EVERY game

* Rebound (see effort)

* Defense (see effort)

* Top third in the league assist to turnover rate

* Offensive efficiency 

* Coaches who can/will game plan and be willing and able to adjust at halftime and during the game.

* Passion for the game, your school, the fans, your teammates and the coaches.

 

Every one of those categories must be improved upon from last year.  This team must win back the trust and passion of the fans that continues to show unreasonably strong love for the program.   And oh yeah, we better hope that the talent is good enough to play at this high level.

 

If the above takes place...IF...it all falls together, perhaps we can provide a bit of shock and awe.

All great points!

[Norm Peterson]

3 hours ago, aphilso1 said:

What will it take for us to climb out of the conference cellar (dead last)?

Team cohesion and avoid injuries.  The difference between being a bad team and a miserably bad team usually comes down to whether your players give up on the season or not.  Just don't mail the season in, and don't lose 2-3 key players for an extended stretch of time, and we should be able to finish in the 12th-13th range.

 

What will it take for us to climb out of the bottom tier (into the conference top 10)?

Elite defense.  I don't see enough dudes wearing red that can go get buckets.  Gotta win games via slugfests with this roster.

 

What will it take for us to climb into the top half of the conference?

Elite defense, nearly elite rebounding, and 2-3 guys who unexpectedly turn out to be difference makers on the offensive end.

 

Do we have any players who, in their current positions, are good enough at their spot to get us in contention for an NCAA tourney bid? If so, who are those players and what would we need to have to build around them to make that happen?

Griesel and Gary are good enough, obviously.  They've proven that they can contribute on an NCAA Tourney team.  But as a whole, clearly this is not a roster that is going to challenge for a bid.

 

I think this is pretty spot-on.

 

Seems like Griesel and Gary could be role players for a great Big Ten-level team, good players on a good team, and stars for a poor team. If they're your stars, you probably have problems in this league. But we'll see.

[Huskerpapa]

Great unknown are the newcomers.  Major roles out there for the taking.

[Navin R. Johnson]

2 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

I think this is pretty spot-on.

 

Seems like Griesel and Gary could be role players for a great Big Ten-level team, good players on a good team, and stars for a poor team. If they're your stars, you probably have problems in this league. But we'll see.

 

I see those two as good role players who will score on occasion but not stars. We will need scoring from Bando,Wilcher, Walker, Lloyd and maybe Tominaga. I understand what you are saying but if we can defend and play together, who knows?

[Vinny]

10 hours ago, royalfan said:

Play elite defense is the only way we are likely to be in top half.  Some will say it is hard to watch. I say playing no defense before some coaching responsibility shifts was much tougher to watch.  

Elite or top 100? The Big Ten sent six teams to the tourney last year outside the top 50 in adjusted defense.

[Handy Johnson]

If Blaise Keita is closer to Derrick Chandler than Andre Almeida…

[aphilso1]

10 hours ago, Vinny said:

Elite or top 100? The Big Ten sent six teams to the tourney last year outside the top 50 in adjusted defense.

 

Our offense won't be anywhere close to those teams though.  Gotta have elite defense if you're going to make up for miserable offense.

[Huskerpapa]

When Fred arrived here my assumption was that our offense was going to be exponentially better.  I have been...ahhhh...disappointed.  Do we have the ability to become more effective and efficient?

 

[Norm Peterson]

There's a part of me that thinks our shooters would have better looks if we had a guy inside who was offensively efficient enough to draw double teams.

 

It seems like when we're racing our arses off to close out on shooters because we had to double the opposing post, that's when we get drilled for those long 3-bombs.

 

If Keita can be that kind of offensive force inside, I think our shooters will stand a chance to light it up from outside. I think we have a couple of guys who can do it. Not nearly enough and not nearly well enough, but a couple of guys. Enough to keep us in some games.

 

In order to get out of the cellar and into the conference top ten, having a guy who can force our opponents to double him would really help.

 

In my humble opinion.

[Red Don]

I hear ya, Norm.  I seem to remember a season we finished 19-13, and were invited to the NCAA Tournament (for the first time in many years).  Players: (among others) Walter Pitchford, David Rivers, Shavon Shields, Ray Gallegos, Tai Webster, Terran Petteway (highest scorer in the B1G that year), Benny Parker & Leslee Smith.    The Pre-season polls for the following year had us in the top 20, or higher.

 

I remember reading an article (by Derek Peterson, I think), opining we were not going to do nearly as well as the previous year; principal reason the loss of Leslee Smith due to an injury (suffered I think when he played for his National Team).   I remember thinking at the time, Peterson shouldn't quit his day job; how could one player make such a difference when we had so many other favorite players returning.

 

Of course we all know how it turned out; nor does it seem we have had a comparable "Big" since.  Could Blaise Keita be 'That Guy?'

Edited June 30, 2022 by Red Don

[kldm64]

Pretty strange to say but after losing an NBA 2nd round pick, I think we will be much improved next year and a much more enjoyable team to watch.  We might start out a little rough but don't sleep on Nebraska next year.

[cipsucks]

19 hours ago, Handy Johnson said:

If Blaise Keita is closer to Derrick Chandler than Andre Almeida…

 

Everyone is closer to Andre Almeida....

[Handy Johnson]

1 hour ago, cipsucks said:

It wasn’t meant as a slight, though I’m closer to him weight wise than I once was. I had the pleasure of meeting the man after practice right when the Hendricks had opened. He was surprisingly nimble & came up HUGE in that win over Texas back in 2011…

Edited June 29, 2022 by Handy Johnson

[Dead Dog Alley]

On 6/28/2022 at 9:48 PM, Handy Johnson said:

If Blaise Keita is closer to Derrick Chandler than Andre Almeida…

 

I hope so or he might get stuck in Almeida's Orbit.

[royalfan]

On 6/28/2022 at 9:39 PM, Vinny said:

Elite or top 100? The Big Ten sent six teams to the tourney last year outside the top 50 in adjusted defense.

Elite.  We aren’t going to be winning a lot of beauty contests anytime soon. 

[cornfed24-7]

10 hours ago, royalfan said:

Elite.  We aren’t going to be winning a lot of beauty contests anytime soon. 

Not to you in particular royal, but I want to respond to this thought because it seems a lot share it on this board. I do too for what its worth. 

Has Hoiberg ever coached an elite defense?