uneblinstu's postgame chatter: vol 15, introduction: Chadron State

[hhcmatt]

3 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

Understandable. But the weaknesses were glaring and the "oh that's how we could potentially lose games" was obvious. 

Don't watch the Colorado game. That is how you ruin your mind for the year. Trust me. 

 

I don't think it will be televised so this potentially should be real easy

[hhcmatt]

More of the same from the 4 last night as Wilhelm went 1-4 from 3 and Gary went 2-7 as neither guy is shy about pulling up from 3 if open.  The one twist is that if the defense doesn't put a body on Gary he's a 2pt put back waiting to happen. 

[NUdiehard]

It was an exhibition game with NU running vanilla offense, so we shouldn't try to read too much into things.  But it was a bit concerning that the team got off to slow starts in both the first half and second half.  Seemed like things turned around, and the team went on runs, when the backups came in.  Obviously, Gary's big day played a role in this, but it just seemed the first team offense struggled to find it footing and the first team defense definitely is not as electric as the backups.  It will be interesting to see if Fred continues to start Wilhelm over Gary.  Another factor was Wilcher had an off day shooting just 1-8 (1-4 on 3s), but he has proven himself enough that I don't think we need to worry about a systemic problem with him and/or his shooting. 

 

Going into this season I was worried how we would handle "quick" guards who are able to drive past our taller/slower defenders and Chadron St. proved this could continue to be an issue.  Also, did anyone else notice that the weak side shooter always seemed to be wide open and NU was susceptible to a skip pass for a wide open 3?

 

Regarding rotation, no huge surprises.  Keisei and Dawson were 8th and 9th in the rotation while Lloyd and Lawrence are currently on the outside looking in.  Those battles will continue and Keisei will have to start hitting some shots to keep his spot.  I still believe he can be an asset and he can hit those shots in games, and just being on the court helps stretch the defense, but no doubt he is on the clock.

 

Oh, and Denim Dawsom has some hops.

Edited October 24, 2022 by NUdiehard

[Navin R. Johnson]

1 hour ago, millerhusker said:

After Griesel's dunk he sprinted back on defense. No staring down the kid he posterized or flexing to the crowd. He acted like he's been there before. Like that's just what was supposed to happen. Loved it. Last year, Trey had a similar dunk and proceeded to celebrate like we won the Big Ten championship while Western Illinois went to the other end and got an open three, then went on to beat us a few minutes later. Later in the year, Bryce had a similar dunk and started taunting his opponent while we were losing by 20+ points late in the game. Those little things are signs and symptoms of a losing team that won't get better until there's a mentality change. I get jealous/frustrated when I see other teams' players act the way Griesel did after a big play. 

 

There was almost no ball stopping on offense yesterday (pretty good considering we didn't run any sets). Very different from the previous 3 teams. No time where four guys stood around watching one guy display his dribble moves and unnecessary counters that his instagram trainer had him practice in the offseason. If you like the style of play you see in an all-star game, I suppose you won't enjoy watching this team. 

 

I saw more guys willing to scrap and fight for rebounds, and more guys get down in a defensive stance and give effort for the full shot clock, than Hoiberg's previous teams. You don't need to wait until conference season to be able to see the overall mentality and competitiveness of a team. How you do anything is how you do everything. I expect Colorado to handle us next weekend, but I don't care. This team will be more competitive throughout the year than Hoiberg's other teams and I suspect some of you negative nancy's will fall in love with this group before too long. 

 

I remember Lat doing the same thing at a critical time and not getting back on D.  Can't remember who we played. I did not see the game but your review makes me optimistic about the effort we will give this year.  Can't believe last year's team couldn't figure it out.  

[Tallbaby21]

Offense: Slightly encouraged by what I saw. Newcomers seemed more skilled than I expected. Got a lot of wide open threes. Might not be a total catastrophe like I feared. 

 

Defense: I liked picking up 94' and harassing opposing PGs. We really focused on funneling all ball handlers to the sidelines. We are long and big and strong, we are also slow. I couldn't tell if the blow bys by Chadron's guards were part of the plan to get them caught among the trees or what but it seemed not good. I also don't get why you would try and take charges if yo are 7', block the shot!

 

Overall this team will play ugly and tough. The effort will be there, lots of good talk from the new guys who know how to communicate and keep intensity up. There are wins to be had if we can really lock in the D. 

[hhcmatt]

6 minutes ago, Navin R. Johnson said:

 

I remember Lat doing the same thing at a critical time and not getting back on D.  Can't remember who we played. I did not see the game but your review makes me optimistic about the effort we will give this year.  Can't believe last year's team couldn't figure it out.  

 

If you think about it, who out there playing major minutes was going to get on his case?  This year I think that Bando or Griesel can be that guy.

[Tallbaby21]

2 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

If you think about it, who out there playing major minutes was going to get on his case?  This year I think that Bando or Griesel can be that guy.

Yep, that was one of the things that stuck out to me. Bando, Gary and Griesel leading. Getting guys in the right place on defense, calling out picks etc. Also once in the first half Chadron was shooting free throws and our guys were just kind of milling around and Griesel made a point to call everyone into a huddle and get everyone on the same page. 

[mkroll12345]

20 minutes ago, Navin R. Johnson said:

 

I remember Lat doing the same thing at a critical time and not getting back on D.  Can't remember who we played. I did not see the game but your review makes me optimistic about the effort we will give this year.  Can't believe last year's team couldn't figure it out.  

It was Ohio State like second to last possession last year

[basketballjones]

2 hours ago, NUdiehard said:

Also, did anyone else notice that the weak side shooter always seemed to be wide open and NU was susceptible to a skip pass for a wide open 3?

Yes. Yes I did. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by basketballjones

[basketballjones]

2 hours ago, Tallbaby21 said:

We really focused on funneling all ball handlers to the sidelines. We are long and big and strong, we are also slow. I couldn't tell if the blow bys by Chadron's guards were part of the plan to get them caught among the trees or what but it seemed not good. I also don't get why you would try and take charges if you are 7', block the shot!

I was highly perplexed by this and really hope to see an adjustment made by Maine. There's trying to keep guys on the sidelines, and then there's whatever we were doing which was basically allowing a straight line drive to the front of the rim forcing help up situations through our body position. 

[Faux Mike Peltz]

Just remember fellas, we ran Colorado out of the gym last year and everyone thought we were going to the big dance after the game. Exhibition games are just not too telling either way…

[hskr4life]

The highlights video the basketball page  posted sure looked good!

 

I know it was a highlights video, but there were some nice things we saw in there including attacking the offensive glass.

[Jacob Padilla]

4 hours ago, Tallbaby21 said:

I also don't get why you would try and take charges if yo are 7', block the shot!

 

Don't hold your breath. Keita averaged 0.6 blocks last season. He was a bit better his first year at 1.6, and he does a good job of staying vertical around the basket, but he's just not an explosive player in any way. You need more than height to be a good shot-blocker at the college level. Between Walker and Keita, expect to see a lot of charge attempts because they are much better at positioning than they are getting off the ground and swatting shots. 

[Fullbacksympathy]

Only watched highlights.. 

 

Lineup of Griesel, Dawson, Wilcher or Bando (can’t remember), Gary, and Keita jumped off the screen to me.  The rest was kind of expected, but that group looked really fluid, long, and athletic enough for D1.   
 

Keita definitely has some old man to his mobility game, but looks like he has sound fundamentals.  He was very comfortable in the high post and has great feel for handoffs/pick and roll.  Looks extremely coachable. 
 

Am I way off base thinking that was our best lineup?  

Edited October 24, 2022 by Fullbacksympathy

[millerhusker]

2 hours ago, Fullbacksympathy said:

Only watched highlights.. 

 

Lineup of Griesel, Dawson, Wilcher or Bando (can’t remember), Gary, and Keita jumped off the screen to me.  The rest was kind of expected, but that group looked really fluid, long, and athletic enough for D1.   
 

Keita definitely has some old man to his mobility game, but looks like he has sound fundamentals.  He was very comfortable in the high post and has great feel for handoffs/pick and roll.  Looks extremely coachable. 
 

Am I way off base thinking that was our best lineup?  

I thought the same. That lineup (with Bando) has the potential to be extremely tough to score on. 

I also thought Keita moved well and has good balance for his size. At least compared to many of the bigs we've had in the past. Was impressed with the play where he caught the pass on the run from Keisei in transition, gathered himself without traveling, was patient and made the layup. Jordy and Yvan would've either traveled, fallen down or darted the shot off the backboard. He'll have some growing pains for sure, but he looks like he belongs at this level. 

 

That lineup did play well together yesterday. But our best lineup this year will definitely include Walker. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by millerhusker

[royalfan]

Would like to see us recruit some quick jumping type big men.  We are going to have to win with defense here.  Not sure if Hoiberg is capable of winning with that style of basketball but he is trying it at least.  I was encouraged for the most part.  We need to recruit rim protection for it to work though.  We have absolutely none and that will be an achilles heel.  At the end of the day, it will be more fun watching us compete by playing hard and lose plenty than watching us underachieve and not try on defense and lose.  I still stand on the island that we will be better than most here think, but there are obvious limitations on the ceiling of this bunch.  We will need Keisei shooting out there a lot IMO.  He does understand defensive positioning but his limitations on that end don't mesh well with having no rim protection.  Fred going to have to thread the needle perfectly to make this work well.  

[jimmykc]

I hope he is well stocked with thimbles.

[basketballjones]

On 10/24/2022 at 8:41 AM, NUdiehard said:

It was an exhibition game with NU running vanilla offense, so we shouldn't try to read too much into things. 

Great post but I need to push back on this part if you don't mind. We weren't running a "vanilla" offense - we were running the basic motion offense that we have run every year under Hoiberg. And the first team dudes had absolutely zero rhythm and flow in it. Matter of fact, the newcomers at the end of the game ran the shell motion offense significantly better. By vanilla, he means he didn't run many specific set plays or quick hitters outside of our basic motion, or anything "new" from a motion perspective that better aligns with our personnel/strengths. 

[nustudent]

14 hours ago, royalfan said:

Would like to see us recruit some quick jumping type big men.  We are going to have to win with defense here.  Not sure if Hoiberg is capable of winning with that style of basketball but he is trying it at least.  I was encouraged for the most part.  We need to recruit rim protection for it to work though.  We have absolutely none and that will be an achilles heel.  At the end of the day, it will be more fun watching us compete by playing hard and lose plenty than watching us underachieve and not try on defense and lose.  I still stand on the island that we will be better than most here think, but there are obvious limitations on the ceiling of this bunch.  We will need Keisei shooting out there a lot IMO.  He does understand defensive positioning but his limitations on that end don't mesh well with having no rim protection.  Fred going to have to thread the needle perfectly to make this work well.  

This has been my wish and thoughts dating back to the Collier days.   We don't need 7-footers.   We need Copelands and Robys.  It's not a surprise that our best record since the Nee era came with the most explosive and versatile frontcourt.  Give me long lean athletic guys who can explode over the 7-foot plodders.

Edited October 25, 2022 by nustudent

[uneblinstu]

I've seen bad teams have great exhibition games and good teams have terrible exhibitions games. It's a fools errand to make any judgments about any team in games like this unless a key contributor gets hurt or something. It'll all get sorted out over time and as they get more comfortable playing with each other. In the limited footage I've sen of the the game, we have enough guys to play and win some games in the Big Ten. Probably not enough to compete in the top half, though. We'll see. I think there are some nice building blocks, though.

[HuskerFever]

Unless it's a secret scrimmage, it doesn't count.

[Shawn Eichorst's Toupee]

 

Highlights for anyone interested.

[LNKtrnsplnt]

Despite our best interests, you can now watch the upcoming cursed exhibition game. 
 

 

[Fullbacksympathy]

16 hours ago, Shawn Eichorst's Toupee said:

 

Highlights for anyone interested.

 

I'm intrigued by the defensive philosophy.  It's definitely an effort to run players off the three point line into contested midrange shots without fouling on the attempt.  It will take a lot of awareness and discipline not to give up easy buckets, but those midrange/floater type shots don't happen nearly as often and are pretty uncomfortable for a lot of players.  We might get killed in points in the paint, but I didn't see a ton of wide open threes.  It is essentially a matchup zone which takes less of a toll on our energy on the defensive end as well.  Definitely a bit exotic in terms of what I think we're trying to do.  It's sort of an analytics defense--it doesn't necessarily look pretty but statistically it might end up matching the numbers (CSU was 25% from 3 and 38% overall).  

[basketballjones]

1 hour ago, Fullbacksympathy said:

 

I'm intrigued by the defensive philosophy.  It's definitely an effort to run players off the three point line into contested midrange shots without fouling on the attempt.  It will take a lot of awareness and discipline not to give up easy buckets, but those midrange/floater type shots don't happen nearly as often and are pretty uncomfortable for a lot of players.  We might get killed in points in the paint, but I didn't see a ton of wide open threes.  It is essentially a matchup zone which takes less of a toll on our energy on the defensive end as well.  Definitely a bit exotic in terms of what I think we're trying to do.  It's sort of an analytics defense--it doesn't necessarily look pretty but statistically it might end up matching the numbers (CSU was 25% from 3 and 38% overall).  

This is from like their second or third possession - We gave up essentially this look the entire first half. Middle driver has options to drop down, kick to corner, hit his crackback, or hit the top of the key.