Forecasting 2023-24 lineup

[Huskerpapa]

13 hours ago, Red Don said:

 

That is exactly what I thought when I saw the tweet clip.  Maybe it will be like Fred's comment during an interview earlier this year that he didn't like 'floaters;' unless it was Keisei taking them. 

But it is important to remember that he is simulating the #1 scorer for the opposing team.  So in theory these are not his shot selections  per se.

[75unlgrad]

16 hours ago, Handy Johnson said:

The “X” factor is obviously getting that Player in the Portal that could take us to the next level. Who that might be I can only speculate, but they’ll have more to do with our success than the foundation that’s already laid. 

I agree but at least we see the beginnings of a foundation.

[Art Vandalay]

16 hours ago, Handy Johnson said:

The “X” factor is obviously getting that Player in the Portal that could take us to the next level. Who that might be I can only speculate, but they’ll have more to do with our success than the foundation that’s already laid. 

I’m not so sure. Totally agree we need 2-3 impact transfers but I think the foundation is vital. We need to commit to continue valuing defense and ball movement. The foundation guys need to provide that and step up their games for us to move forward.

[Handy Johnson]

2 hours ago, Art Vandalay said:

I’m not so sure. Totally agree we need 2-3 impact transfers but I think the foundation is vital. We need to commit to continue valuing defense and ball movement. The foundation guys need to provide that and step up their games for us to move forward.

I’m as excited as anyone for the players we have coming back & the valuable experience they’ve gained down the stretch, but if we add a Chucky Hepbern or someone of that ilk we could easily make the jump from 11 to 4. 

[cornfed24-7]

20 minutes ago, Handy Johnson said:

we could easily make the jump from 11 to 4. 

We definitely don't want 4. Speaking from experience

[Norm Peterson]

On 3/5/2023 at 8:13 PM, Handy Johnson said:

I’m as excited as anyone for the players we have coming back & the valuable experience they’ve gained down the stretch, but if we add a Chucky Hepbern or someone of that ilk we could easily make the jump from 11 to 4. 

 

Chucky alone does not help us make that kind of jump. We'd still need a suitable replacement for Walker. And it would be nice to find one more stud scorer. But someone on the "team player" end of the spectrum rather than a black hole "I need to get my shots so I can establish my NBA cred" kind of player.

[Huskerpapa]

I will say this about Chucky, he was the ultimate team player while in HS.  He only took over a game if and when required.  He was coached well.  To this day I will continue to say that he was the best player to come out of Nebraska that cycle.

 

I agree with Norm, we desperately need a replacement for DW.  Fred had that same type of player at ISU and that type of player is both hard to come by and a match up nightmare for opposition teams.  

 

 

[Handy Johnson]

3 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Chucky alone does not help us make that kind of jump. We'd still need a suitable replacement for Walker. And it would be nice to find one more stud scorer. But someone on the "team player" end of the spectrum rather than a black hole "I need to get my shots so I can establish my NBA cred" kind of player.

Replacing Walker will be a tall order (pun intended) Ben Johnson referred to him as an All-League Player several times on his radio show today. I’m using Chucky as an example, but a Veteran PG & Post are equally important. 

[Norm Peterson]

On 3/3/2023 at 7:40 PM, Bugeaters1 said:

 

 

This video shows some big-time skill for a 6'6 kid.

 

He would probably be more advanced next year if he'd played this year rather than sitting out, but make no mistake: Ramel Lloyd will have gained from this year. He will not start out the season like your typical true freshman.

 

So, with that said ...

 

PG (pick 1):  Q? (not convinced Q will be that guy)

 

SG/Wing (pick 2):  Jamarques, CJ, Sam H., Keisei?, Ramel

 

Bigs (pick 2):  Blaise, Wilhelm, Juwan, Oleg, Eli, Denim? (not sure where to put Denim)

 

I have a feeling we'll keep all or most of the guys we'd like to keep and clear some room for some portal opportunities. Just my feeling.

 

 

[hhcmatt]

11 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

PG (pick 1):  Q? (not convinced Q will be that guy)

 

In terms of an impact guard off the bench, Sam H ended up becoming the role player that it seemed Q was destined to be before he was lost for the season. Right now I'd think QM and DD are the two guys with the unsure roles going forward because we've proven that we put together a functional defense that values scheme as much as raw talent. 

 

I think we certainly need to look at a transfer portal PG (or Portal Passing Big man) but in the meantime think we could cobble something together with a combination of Lloyd, Lawrence, and Hoiberg to bring the ball up the court and start the offense.

[Ron Mexico]

I'm not sure how to quantify this, but how much of our offense is run through DW? Seems like a lot. HCFH has found this to be a winning strategy. DW's loss will be immense I think. Can he be replaced in the aggregate with Oleg, BW, and BK?

I think a lot more will be put on SH next season. He's going to be a swiss army knife.

Can RL Jr fill the role of SG? If so that would be nice.

Having JG back next season will be huge, especially since we will likely be going with a 3 guard lineup the majority of time.

JL will start next season. He's been the biggest surprise of the season. 

 

Next years lineup w/o any consideration for new players coming in or current players leaving.

G RL/SH

G KT/CJW

G JL/QM

F JG/DD

F WB/BK/Oleg

 

I think this gives us a lot of continuity which we sorely need to avoid early season struggles that we had this season.

This group to me is a nice base. 

[basketballjones]

100 Coins, split them up between does Ramel come back or is he gone: I'm 75 he's gone, 25 he comes back. 

We have been told he wasn't healthy... Looks pretty healthy in those clips? 

[BjoeHusker]

4 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

100 Coins, split them up between does Ramel come back or is he gone: I'm 75 he's gone, 25 he comes back. 

We have been told he wasn't healthy... Looks pretty healthy in those clips? 

90 he comes back, 10 he leaves

[basketballjones]

Just now, BjoeHusker said:

90 he comes back, 10 he leaves

I hope you're right! But truly why did he redshirt then this year? He looks completely capable. 

[Norm Peterson]

5 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

100 Coins, split them up between does Ramel come back or is he gone: I'm 75 he's gone, 25 he comes back. 

We have been told he wasn't healthy... Looks pretty healthy in those clips? 

 

Hadn't heard Ramel wasn't healthy. Had heard Griesel had a nagging hip problem. I might have, at some point, misspoke and said it was Ramel rather than Griesel, if that info came from me.

 

I've heard Ramel is back. That could always change. But most recent word was he's looking forward to returning. And, given that film we should be looking forward to seeing what he can do once he shreds that redshirt.

 

I think a lineup that includes whichever PG is behind Portal #3, and a big man, possibly even the Wofford transfer, would present a pretty appealing lineup with the talent we have returning, including Lawrence and CJ at SG, Ramel at wing, and Gary at PF.

[colhusker]

On 11/9/2022 at 1:13 PM, basketballjones said:

How sure are you Walker is still not on the team? 

We can HOPE he gets the Grant Gibbs wavier for one more year of fun.

[Norm Peterson]

So, just for shits and giggles, I'm going to fill out the roster based on rank speculation given what some on here have reported and nothing more:

 

PG Chucky Hepburn

SG Jamarques Lawrence

SG Ramel Lloyd

PF Juwan Gary

PF BJ Mack

 

Don't know that Hepburn would ever leave Wiscy; even if he did, don't know if he'd come here; reported on here by @millerhusker that it's being rumored in Omaha schools.

 

Lawrence showed himself out as a true freshman stepping up when Bandoumel went down. Feel pretty good about him.

 

Lloyd. Did you see the spliced clips in that tweet? The kid has skills. I mean, he's a bucket. And good length. Have no clue about his defense, but let's just say ...

 

Gary should be back and better than before, which was already good enough to start.

 

And Mack looks like a guy who could fill the Derrick Walker role AND shoot threes.

 

Is that a starting lineup that moves us into the top half of the conference? Y/N?

[basketballjones]

2 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Is that a starting lineup that moves us into the top half of the sweet 16? Y

fixed it for you. 

[aphilso1]

I don't think our starting lineup will be what decides whether we are a top half team.  It's whether we have the depth to spell our starters without a significant dropoff.  

[Red Don]

Ramel's video clip looks a lot like what I've seen opposing teams do to us.  

[Nebrasketball1979]

57 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

100 Coins, split them up between does Ramel come back or is he gone: I'm 75 he's gone, 25 he comes back. 

We have been told he wasn't healthy... Looks pretty healthy in those clips? 

 

I have to strongly believe he is back.  If the staff knew he was leaning heavily towards leaving, I can't imagine they put out the video clips of him tearing it up.  That would make zero sense.

[Fullbacksympathy]

Ramel looks like Sam Griesel with more upside.  I think we'll see him punish guards in the post in a very similar way.  

 

BJ Mack is basically the same player as Walker.  I think Fred may have identified an overlooked body type that he can specifically recruit for and pitch.  Undersized, muscular big men who are crafty scorers are truly only good in a system where they have room to isolate and punish lankier, softer bigs on an island.  Mack would be crazy not to come here after watching film of Walker.  Wofford runs a very similar offense to Fred in how they use him at the 5.  

[Nebrasketball1979]

40 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

So, just for shits and giggles, I'm going to fill out the roster based on rank speculation given what some on here have reported and nothing more:

 

PG Chucky Hepburn

SG Jamarques Lawrence

SG Ramel Lloyd

PF Juwan Gary

PF BJ Mack

 

Don't know that Hepburn would ever leave Wiscy; even if he did, don't know if he'd come here; reported on here by @millerhusker that it's being rumored in Omaha schools.

 

Lawrence showed himself out as a true freshman stepping up when Bandoumel went down. Feel pretty good about him.

 

Lloyd. Did you see the spliced clips in that tweet? The kid has skills. I mean, he's a bucket. And good length. Have no clue about his defense, but let's just say ...

 

Gary should be back and better than before, which was already good enough to start.

 

And Mack looks like a guy who could fill the Derrick Walker role AND shoot threes.

 

Is that a starting lineup that moves us into the top half of the conference? Y/N?

 

This is almost exactly my thought, minus the inclusion of the actual transfer names.  Assuming Keisei is gone, I can envision JL, RL, and JG starting along with two new transfer starters - PG & PF/C.  If we land the impact transfers again and most of the role players do return (WB, BK, SH, CW, QP, etc), I think we have a very solid team that is very capable of finishing in the top half of the conference.

[basketballjones]

20 minutes ago, Nebrasketball1979 said:

 

I have to strongly believe he is back.  If the staff knew he was leaning heavily towards leaving, I can't imagine they put out the video clips of him tearing it up.  That would make zero sense.

FWIW, they didn't, his dad did. And all players have access to their practice/game film and can clip things up however/whenever they want. Not saying that means anything, but just wanted to clarify. 

[hhcmatt]

1 hour ago, basketballjones said:

I hope you're right! But truly why did he redshirt then this year? He looks completely capable. 

 

It's funny because 5 years ago we'd be begging for guys to redshirt.  Now it's become a 'what is wrong here' scenario. 

 

Senior was a heck of a college basketball player but he was essentially the 8th man on his freshman team and then spent a year sitting before transferring to what would be considered a lesser school. Things certainly might have been different had he redshirted his first year.

 

If Junior was looking at potentially being behind Lawrence and made a calculated decision that had some basis on Senior's experience, then playing here next season is easily the move as you retain your free transfer if you want that and also retain a grad transfer if desired. 

 

No idea if Junior will end up being a mercenary or a guy who stays in one place.  In some regards Senior did both as he did transfer but also stayed at Cal Long Beach for three years where he's the 8th all-time leading scorer.  Really depends on what one values.