23-24 Roster (updated)

[Norm Peterson]

9 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

That is not an NCAA tournament team's rotation. We need at least 2 high-level transfers.

 

What/who would you need to add to get it over the hump?

[MichHusker]

2 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

What/who would you need to add to get it over the hump?

For me, i want a PG and Breidenbach to develop. That would be enough

[k3s3i]

2 hours ago, MichHusker said:

For me, i want a PG and Breidenbach to develop. That would be enough

i’m sure you were in the group that thought last years team would be lucky to win 10 

[MichHusker]

12 minutes ago, k3s3i said:

i’m sure you were in the group that thought last years team would be lucky to win 10 

I'm pretty optimistic going into the season, but you made me go back and look. Predicted 14 before the season started. FWIW I believe Hoiberg gets it done here

Edited April 30, 2023 by MichHusker

[Norm Peterson]

26 minutes ago, k3s3i said:

i’m sure you were in the group that thought last years team would be lucky to win 10 

 

We're a weird group of fans.  Because of our history, we've been conditioned to be pessimistic about our prospects, but we still show up by the thousands. 

[cornfed24-7]

31 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

We're a weird group of fans.  Because of our history, we've been conditioned to be pessimistic about our prospects, but we still show up by the thousands. 

I believe Matt Damon said it best in The Departed, "I'm fucking Irish. I'll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life."

[Chuck Taylor]

17 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

What/who would you need to add to get it over the hump?

A center for one. Mast is a nice inside-outside option, although maybe he's better suited for 4. WB and Keisei Keita are just hopes at this point, that one will develop and the other will be healthy.

I also think we need a PG and don't buy the "positionless offense" argument. The only way this team can win is to play defense and at a slower tempo. We need somebody running a half-court offense, a floor general and a guy who can create shots late in the clock. 

 

I also think we need at least one of them to be a scoring option. Another unpopular opinion: Keisei exploded at midseason and averaged over 17 ppg in the last 10 games, but I think the league was caught completely off guard by his emergence. This season, he'll be the focal point for planning on every game, and it remains to be seen how he can handle that grind over 30 games. I'm not saying he's going to fall off a cliff, but I think we need more options when an opponent shuts him down. 

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier about that 9-man rotation: That is not an NCAA tournament team. I count one guy who could start for a top-half Big Ten team, 4 who could make a rotation and 4 who would not play, unless you add "but he may be healthy," "but he may develop," "but he may shoot better" or "but he may be really good, even though he's never played a game in college."

 

We're building on a 16-16 team that lost 3 starters. This roster doesn't look like it's capable of making the jump needed to get to the NCAA. Pray for Fred to him a couple of home runs in the weeks ahead.

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Chuck Taylor
correction

[Art Vandalay]

1 hour ago, Chuck Taylor said:

A center for one. Mast is a nice inside-outside option, although maybe he's better suited for 4. WB and Keisei are just hopes at this point, that one will develop and the other will be healthy.

I also think we need a PG and don't buy the "positionless offense" argument. The only way this team can win is to play defense and at a slower tempo. We need somebody running a half-court offense, a floor general and a guy who can create shots late in the clock. 

 

I also think we need at least one of them to be a scoring option. Another unpopular opinion: Keisei exploded at midseason and averaged over 17 ppg in the last 10 games, but I think the league was caught completely off guard by his emergence. This season, he'll be the focal point for planning on every game, and it remains to be seen how he can handle that grind over 30 games. I'm not saying he's going to fall off a cliff, but I think we need more options when an opponent shuts him down. 

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier about that 9-man rotation: That is not an NCAA tournament team. I count one guy who could start for a top-half Big Ten team, 4 who could make a rotation and 4 who would not play, unless you add "but he may be healthy," "but he may develop," "but he may shoot better" or "but he may be really good, even though he's never played a game in college."

 

We're building on a 16-16 team that lost 3 starters. This roster doesn't look like it's capable of making the jump needed to get to the NCAA. Pray for Fred to him a couple of home runs in the weeks ahead.

 

Or you could look at it another way. I think we have a starting 5 that can play anywhere.

 

PG - Lloyd (just for argument sake) excellent size and was ahead of Lawrence before redshirting. Top 100 type talent who looks to have added strength in the RS year.

Keisei - Every team would love a shooter like him

Willams - an athletic 6’7” shooter from all three levels could play on most any other team

Gary - part time starter on a sweet 16 top 4 SEC team so safe to say he can play on high level team

Mast - Perfect post for what Fred likes to do. Many P5 team options

 

Reserves - J Lawrence, recently listed as a break out candidate in the BIG and ave double digits down the stretch. Would have lots of P5 options 

 

That is 5 very good players and 6 if Lloyd is legit, that can play on a tourney team.

 

Add the unknowns, Blaise stays healthy, WB takes a leap, We sign another guard (Ulis who I’m not big on but still was a starting BIG player on a tourney team), Allick who is being recruited by a final four team. Rice, athletic 6’7” shooter could be a contributor. Add another transfer who is high level. If 2-3 of those happen I like our chances.

 

I get it we’ve been beat down but it’s not like we were that far off last year and we’ve added 2 real nice pieces and bring back a nice foundation.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Art Vandalay

[jimmykc]

Lest we become too serious about our preseason predictions, it may be instructive to consider last year's Kansas State Wildcats, who were a Great Eight team who could well have won it all. Preseason, they had two returning players, one of whom was a 5'8,160 lb. point guard who was 25 years old, played at Ark Little Rock for three years and was suspended for disciplinary reasons there, and backed up a point guard who transferred to Miami for NIL money. Their other key player was one who wanted to come to Nebraska but was not allowed. Plus, they had a first year coach in the nation's toughest conference. I'm betting there was not much enthusiasm about a successful season. Just a reminder that anything is possible in college basketball at this time of year. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by jimmykc

[millerhusker]

24 minutes ago, Chuck Taylor said:

A center for one. Mast is a nice inside-outside option, although maybe he's better suited for 4. WB and Keisei are just hopes at this point, that one will develop and the other will be healthy.

I also think we need a PG and don't buy the "positionless offense" argument. The only way this team can win is to play defense and at a slower tempo. We need somebody running a half-court offense, a floor general and a guy who can create shots late in the clock. 

 

I also think we need at least one of them to be a scoring option. Another unpopular opinion: Keisei exploded at midseason and averaged over 17 ppg in the last 10 games, but I think the league was caught completely off guard by his emergence. This season, he'll be the focal point for planning on every game, and it remains to be seen how he can handle that grind over 30 games. I'm not saying he's going to fall off a cliff, but I think we need more options when an opponent shuts him down. 

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier about that 9-man rotation: That is not an NCAA tournament team. I count one guy who could start for a top-half Big Ten team, 4 who could make a rotation and 4 who would not play, unless you add "but he may be healthy," "but he may develop," "but he may shoot better" or "but he may be really good, even though he's never played a game in college."

 

We're building on a 16-16 team that lost 3 starters. This roster doesn't look like it's capable of making the jump needed to get to the NCAA. Pray for Fred to him a couple of home runs in the weeks ahead.

 

If you viewed other teams with the same watchful eye as we do Nebraska, I don't think you'd be so down on our roster. I mean, we could potentially snag the starting point guard for one of those top half teams (and an 8 seed in the tourney) and Husker fans are disappointed about it. 

 

Do you think this roster is better, worse or about the same as it was last year? 

We weren't that far off last year. Won 5 or 6 games against tourney teams. And another couple wins against bubble teams. Handled Creighton in Omaha, who was a few seconds away from a final four. Beat two ACC teams. Had zero bad losses. Took a #1 seed to overtime. Went 9-11 facing one of the tougher conference schedules since joining the league. None of this was a fluke. We were every bit as good as many teams in the tournament. If we had Northwestern's or Penn St's non-con schedule, we would've been dancing like they did. Looking around the league, the conference won't be as tough next year, top to bottom. We'll also have an easier non-con schedule.

 

Losing Griesel and Walker obviously hurts. But I see some upgrades on the roster. And I see some continuity and guys who should be better versions of themselves next year. Getting Allick would be a big upgrade from what we got out of that spot last year. 

[cornfed24-7]

2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

A center for one. Mast is a nice inside-outside option, although maybe he's better suited for 4. WB and Keisei Keita are just hopes at this point, that one will develop and the other will be healthy.

I also think we need a PG and don't buy the "positionless offense" argument. The only way this team can win is to play defense and at a slower tempo. We need somebody running a half-court offense, a floor general and a guy who can create shots late in the clock. 

 

I also think we need at least one of them to be a scoring option. Another unpopular opinion: Keisei exploded at midseason and averaged over 17 ppg in the last 10 games, but I think the league was caught completely off guard by his emergence. This season, he'll be the focal point for planning on every game, and it remains to be seen how he can handle that grind over 30 games. I'm not saying he's going to fall off a cliff, but I think we need more options when an opponent shuts him down. 

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier about that 9-man rotation: That is not an NCAA tournament team. I count one guy who could start for a top-half Big Ten team, 4 who could make a rotation and 4 who would not play, unless you add "but he may be healthy," "but he may develop," "but he may shoot better" or "but he may be really good, even though he's never played a game in college."

 

We're building on a 16-16 team that lost 3 starters. This roster doesn't look like it's capable of making the jump needed to get to the NCAA. Pray for Fred to him a couple of home runs in the weeks ahead.

 

I don't disagree with any of your points. But, I could see this being a situation of the whole being better than the sum. Not unlike last year. And does it look like a lock tournament team? No. Does it look like a last 4 in tournament team? I am not convinced it's not.

Ok I lied. I reread your post. I disagree with one point. Keisei is an unstoppable force that will have to be game planned against every game. He will be even better than last year. Take it to the bank. 

[k3s3i]

2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

A center for one. Mast is a nice inside-outside option, although maybe he's better suited for 4. WB and Keisei Keita are just hopes at this point, that one will develop and the other will be healthy.

I also think we need a PG and don't buy the "positionless offense" argument. The only way this team can win is to play defense and at a slower tempo. We need somebody running a half-court offense, a floor general and a guy who can create shots late in the clock. 

 

I also think we need at least one of them to be a scoring option. Another unpopular opinion: Keisei exploded at midseason and averaged over 17 ppg in the last 10 games, but I think the league was caught completely off guard by his emergence. This season, he'll be the focal point for planning on every game, and it remains to be seen how he can handle that grind over 30 games. I'm not saying he's going to fall off a cliff, but I think we need more options when an opponent shuts him down. 

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier about that 9-man rotation: That is not an NCAA tournament team. I count one guy who could start for a top-half Big Ten team, 4 who could make a rotation and 4 who would not play, unless you add "but he may be healthy," "but he may develop," "but he may shoot better" or "but he may be really good, even though he's never played a game in college."

 

We're building on a 16-16 team that lost 3 starters. This roster doesn't look like it's capable of making the jump needed to get to the NCAA. Pray for Fred to him a couple of home runs in the weeks ahead.

 

mast is not guarding 4s in the big, he will play the 5 just fine

[thrasher31]

A center for one. Mast is a nice inside-outside option, although maybe he's better suited for 4. WB and Keisei Keita are just hopes at this point, that one will develop and the other will be healthy.

I also think we need a PG and don't buy the "positionless offense" argument. The only way this team can win is to play defense and at a slower tempo. We need somebody running a half-court offense, a floor general and a guy who can create shots late in the clock. 

 

I also think we need at least one of them to be a scoring option. Another unpopular opinion: Keisei exploded at midseason and averaged over 17 ppg in the last 10 games, but I think the league was caught completely off guard by his emergence. This season, he'll be the focal point for planning on every game, and it remains to be seen how he can handle that grind over 30 games. I'm not saying he's going to fall off a cliff, but I think we need more options when an opponent shuts him down. 

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier about that 9-man rotation: That is not an NCAA tournament team. I count one guy who could start for a top-half Big Ten team, 4 who could make a rotation and 4 who would not play, unless you add "but he may be healthy," "but he may develop," "but he may shoot better" or "but he may be really good, even though he's never played a game in college."

 

We're building on a 16-16 team that lost 3 starters. This roster doesn't look like it's capable of making the jump needed to get to the NCAA. Pray for Fred to him a couple of home runs in the weeks ahead.

 

I'll disagree with a bit of what you said, but I understand where you're coming from. The roster isn't complete yet, so there's still time.

First, Mast will definitely play the 5. Part of the reason Cincy backed off him is because they didn't see him as a 4. He's the best option to play the 5, and forcing him to play the 4 takes away one of the better individual and team defenders on the team in Gary, and likely pushes him to the 3, which he doesn't have the on the ball skills to play.

PG is on the way, and I think everyone else feels the same way. They need a PG in a bad way. Lloyd and Lawrence can run it, but need someone with experience there who has actually ran that spot.

Keisei will get teams first look in scouting reports, as he should, but he did over the last stretch of the season also. Didn't stop him then. Fred also found great ways to get him open with how often he was on the move. Also, over last off-season he added more variety to his game with getting better at finishing around the rim. Let's see what he adds to his game this off-season, as he's going to be pushing for a 2 way contract/g league at the NBA level after next season. He'll be determined.

I don't think there's an "exact" way to play and win. Forming your offense to fit the personnel needs to be the move, not the other way around. Last year was a contrast in Fred's typical play style based on personnel they had, mainly Walker and Sam griesel. I think it'll be a bit faster tempo this year, PG dependant. Probably not as fast as the first few years though.

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

[NUdiehard]

22 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

 

I'll repeat what I said earlier about that 9-man rotation: That is not an NCAA tournament team. I count one guy who could start for a top-half Big Ten team, 4 who could make a rotation and 4 who would not play, unless you add "but he may be healthy," "but he may develop," "but he may shoot better" or "but he may be really good, even though he's never played a game in college."

 

 

This is an interesting statement considering NU is currently hosting Ahron Ulis, who was a starter on an NCAA tourney Iowa team (that finished in the top half of the league), and yet I wouldn't trade a single player in our current top 7 rotation for him (Keisie, Lawrence, Mast, Williams, Gary, Lloyd, Keita).  Most on this board are very ho-hum about the possible addition of Ulis, with one calling him a plan D or E type recruit. 

 

One could argue that Ulis is a better prospect than Wilcher, WB or maybe even Keita, but considering our roster construction, and our need for size and post presence, I would not trade either Keita or WB for Ulis.

 

We definitely need a talent upgrade  The talent on the roster last year was not quite enough.  But I would choose Lawrence six days a week and twice on Sunday over Ulis.  Lawrence, as a true freshman, put up comparable numbers to Ulis (who was a junior), and Lawrence is a very solid defender and much better 3 point shooter. 

 

I understand your reticence to declare the current roster a sure-fire NCAA tourney team.  But to absolutely dismiss its potential seems a bit premature.  With that said, like everyone here, I am definitely hoping to add some more quality transfers.  We have 3 open scholarships, and they will be filled.  The most important need IMO is a PG.

[hhcmatt]

On 4/29/2023 at 8:47 PM, k3s3i said:

i’m sure you were in the group that thought last years team would be lucky to win 10 

 

If they played at the pace of the first 3 seasons, they would have been lucky to win 10.  The change in our style of play on both sides of the ball had as much to do with the improvement in win total as our roster did.

[Chuck Taylor]

19 hours ago, thrasher31 said:

 

 

I'll disagree with a bit of what you said, but I understand where you're coming from. The roster isn't complete yet, so there's still time.
 

 

That's where I am: the roster is not complete.

I'm not saying we can't pick up 2 high-quality guys, I'm saying we NEED to, and have every hope that Fred can make it happen.

 

My original post was not a prediction of doom, it was a pushback against the notion that the rotation that was posted was a good one. I'm saying that rotation is not good enough. 

 

[Swan88]

In last year's pre-season, NU is projected at the bottom of the B1G.

After the exhibition games, I'm thinking: "We're in trouble."

Then, we have some success in the pre-B1G season, and I'm thinking: "Huh. Maybe we're better than projected."

Then, we lose two starters, and the season is going in the tank.

Then, Keisei and Derrick emerge as an incredible tandem, with Blaise coming along--and we beat some teams that end up dancing, and we aren't in the B1G cellar.

Then, we are on the NIT bubble--but Blaise is out, Keisei is cramping, and things go south (as always with NU, it seems).

 

The point:  Hoiberg and Co. are fighting hard.  They showed last season a perseverance and resilience through adversity--with some success.  Can't wait to see what roster they are able to compile for next year.  And can't wait to see what another season of perseverance and resilience (hopefully, with less adversity) will produce.    

[basketballjones]

On 4/29/2023 at 8:47 PM, k3s3i said:

i’m sure you were in the group that thought last years team would be lucky to win 10 

And we were? 16 wins isn't exactly something to write home about. Plus, the "best" version of this team was riding the bench and wouldn't have existed if it weren't for injuries, specifically your handle namesake. 

[Norm Peterson]

23 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

I also think we need at least one of them to be a scoring option. Another unpopular opinion: Keisei exploded at midseason and averaged over 17 ppg in the last 10 games, but I think the league was caught completely off guard by his emergence. This season, he'll be the focal point for planning on every game, and it remains to be seen how he can handle that grind over 30 games. I'm not saying he's going to fall off a cliff, but I think we need more options when an opponent shuts him down. 

 

I don't think this is true. I made comments during the season about how he was the one guy opposing teams were orienting their defenses toward stopping. And they still didn't shut him down.

 

And this year, he's going to have more guys around him who can shoot the ball. So defenses aren't going to be able to key on him next season the way they did this past season.

 

Keisei is very unselfish. He moves very well without the ball. He sets good screens. He's patient, waiting for his opportunities. And I felt like as the season went along, he got a lot better sense of what a good shot opportunity looked like.

 

His two worst shooting nights were back-to-back games against Iowa and Michigan State just before and after New Years, when he went 0-3 from deep in each game. That was AFTER he torched Purdue in early December, so the league knew what we had.

 

And despite Big Ten teams orienting their defenses to try to stop him, he still went 4-8 from deep against Izzo's Spartans at the end of Feb.

 

He's creative as a scorer. He's opportunistic. He's developed a sense for when a lane to the basket is there and he can exploit it. He has all these nifty little floaters and bank shots. And he's deceptively quick. Which is probably a product of being decisive and processing information very quickly than from, say, having a lot of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

 

And now we're going to surround him with guys like Brice Williams, who's a dead-eye shooter in his own right, and Reink Mast, who is capable of launching 3-bombs as a post player. And that's in addition to Lawrence and CJ and Ramel.

 

So, pick your poison. You're an opposing assistant and you drew the Nebraska scout. Who ya gonna try to stop? You think shutting down Keisei is the move? You put your best defender on Keisei and I'll tell you what's going to happen: He's going to just set screens while your best defender hangs out watching our other players launch bombs. Until he catches you sleeping.

[Norm Peterson]

23 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

And we were? 16 wins isn't exactly something to write home about. Plus, the "best" version of this team was riding the bench and wouldn't have existed if it weren't for injuries, specifically your handle namesake. 

 

I beg to differ. Sixteen wins is a hell of a lot more than 10. And that goes beyond just math. The feel of being a break-even team with a shot at a post-season bid was soooooo much more satisfying than only winning 10 games the year before.

[basketballjones]

11 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

I beg to differ. Sixteen wins is a hell of a lot more than 10. And that goes beyond just math. The feel of being a break-even team with a shot at a post-season bid was soooooo much more satisfying than only winning 10 games the year before.

But we still got "lucky" to do it. KT, SH, JL weren't even going to see the floor if it weren't for injuries. 

I have not hidden the fact that I was absolutely geeked up by last year, but to come on this board and be like "bet you didn't expect us to win much more than 10 games!" is pretty asine all things considered. 

[49r]

I will freely admit I did not expect us to win more than 10 games last year.  I definitely thought 10 was the absolute ceiling and I will own that every day and twice on Sundays.

[cornfed24-7]

3 minutes ago, 49r said:

I will freely admit I did not expect us to win more than 10 games last year.  I definitely thought 10 was the absolute ceiling and I will own that every day and twice on Sundays.

I'd be dead right now because I would have bet my life 10 was the high water mark. 

[Vinny]

1 hour ago, basketballjones said:

But we still got "lucky" to do it. KT, SH, JL weren't even going to see the floor if it weren't for injuries. 

I have not hidden the fact that I was absolutely geeked up by last year, but to come on this board and be like "bet you didn't expect us to win much more than 10 games!" is pretty asine all things considered. 

Counter argument to the bold:

 

We might have won more than 16 if it weren’t for injuries, and thank god we had the depth to avoid being a 10 win team. We got the bottom half of our rotation some great experience, they showed a lot more than expected and should come back even better this year.

[Art Vandalay]

1 hour ago, Vinny said:

Counter argument to the bold:

 

We might have won more than 16 if it weren’t for injuries, and thank god we had the depth to avoid being a 10 win team. We got the bottom half of our rotation some great experience, they showed a lot more than expected and should come back even better this year.

Agreed, so not think we were lucky at all.