Anyone been to any practices?

[Norm Peterson]

Would luuuuuv to get a rundown. Anyone? Coach Miles?

[Daledangdarn]

Practices are open to public? I may have to go down to Lincoln if that's true.

[HuskerFever]

Practices are open to public? I may have to go down to Lincoln if that's true.

If practices were open to the public, Norm would have been in the parking lot tailgating beforehand.

[Daledangdarn]

If practices were open to the public, Norm would have been in the parking lot tailgating beforehand.

Lol, k. I thought that might have been the case but wasn't sure.

[Huskerpapa]

What percentage of college teams open their practices to the public??? I think that we were very lucky that Doc provided us the opportunity to view practices. But...sadly...I think those days are now permanently behind us. I hope not, but if I were a betting man.

[Daledangdarn]

Should I apply for a part time janitorial position at the new practice facility?

[jimmykc]

Sorry, Sideburns Jones still holds that position.

[HB]

Sorry, Sideburns Jones still holds that position.

If only Sideburns would post again!

[jimmykc]

He's probably too busy pushing the old doublewide. And why doesn't HB get credit for all of his previous posts? He's been on the board for quite awhile. Or were they all just so lame that they didn't count? Just wondering.

[49r]

Remember the good old days when the janitors sweeping the court WAS the halftime entertainment?

We (students) sometimes would make it into a race and cheer for the floor sweeper of our choice.

Good times!

Now, it's just dancin' grannies and weirdoes wheeling around in giant contraptions and fools jumping around on mini-tramps.

I say bring back the halftime floor sweeping, and maybe the occasional gymnastics demonstration or something.

[Row6Seat10]

If only Sideburns would post again!

Remember this Classic?

Twas Da' Night Be Fo' Christmas...

Twas da' night be fo' Christmas, and all in da' Bob

Not a people be a peepin', cept Sideburns Jones doin' his job.

Da' mops be a hangin' in da' proper mop racks

Da' Sideburns Man bend down, slightly exposin' his crack.

Da' geriatric ushers be all snug in their beds,

Hard to tell if they be sleepin' or if they be dead.

Sideburns Jones in his jumpsuit and socks of argyle,

Be a scrubbin' some crap off da' bathroom floor tile.

When up in da' nose bleeds, there be a loud noise.

Could it be one of them drunken, Red Zone boys?

Sideburns ran from da' bathroom and headed fo' da' top

Ready to whip out his double-barrel mop.

At da' top of da' Bob what did Sideburns Jones see?

It was Matt Perrault of KXSP.

He be waitin' fo practice so dat he could watch

But Sideburns Jones unloaded, got him right in da' crotch.

Now Matt be cryin' like a lady, but doin' his best

Not to get teardrops on his Creighton sweater vest.

Sideburns Jones be a standin' over him, with a big smile,

He had busted his sorry @ss, Sideburns Jones style.

Now off to da' Tam O', to swill down some brew

With Mad Jack and da' rest of da' custodian crew.

Then it be Cracker Barrel time, fo' an Old Country feast,

Merry Christmas to all, and Peace in da' Middle East!

Sideburns Jones Out!

[HB]

Remember this Classic?

Twas Da' Night Be Fo' Christmas...

Twas da' night be fo' Christmas, and all in da' Bob

Not a people be a peepin', cept Sideburns Jones doin' his job.

Da' mops be a hangin' in da' proper mop racks

Da' Sideburns Man bend down, slightly exposin' his crack.

Da' geriatric ushers be all snug in their beds,

Hard to tell if they be sleepin' or if they be dead.

Sideburns Jones in his jumpsuit and socks of argyle,

Be a scrubbin' some crap off da' bathroom floor tile.

When up in da' nose bleeds, there be a loud noise.

Could it be one of them drunken, Red Zone boys?

Sideburns ran from da' bathroom and headed fo' da' top

Ready to whip out his double-barrel mop.

At da' top of da' Bob what did Sideburns Jones see?

It was Matt Perrault of KXSP.

He be waitin' fo practice so dat he could watch

But Sideburns Jones unloaded, got him right in da' crotch.

Now Matt be cryin' like a lady, but doin' his best

Not to get teardrops on his Creighton sweater vest.

Sideburns Jones be a standin' over him, with a big smile,

He had busted his sorry @ss, Sideburns Jones style.

Now off to da' Tam O', to swill down some brew

With Mad Jack and da' rest of da' custodian crew.

Then it be Cracker Barrel time, fo' an Old Country feast,

Merry Christmas to all, and Peace in da' Middle East!

Sideburns Jones Out!

An all-time classic. Thanks, Row 6.

[Neon Budreau]

Coach Miles and staff did have a clinic for high school coaches Friday night/Saturday. I was able to go and watch practice for awhile Saturday in Devaney.

Take my impressions for what they are worth, I only was able to watch for a little over an hour.

-Coach Miles runs a well organized practice that is uptempo, which is to be expected. What I didn't expect is how physical the practice was, lots of contact, and the hits they were delivering during a take a charge drill were harder than any I saw Saturday afternoon in the football game.

They did a lot of drill work, I didn't see them get up and down the court too much but from what I could tell about individual players.

-Biggs has a very quick first step, and can elevate. Not a consistent outside shooter from what I saw but has some range.

-Parker looks smooth, has a ways to go to pick up the system and things but has talent

-I thought Ray, Menke, and Talley looked like our best shooters, and shooting was emphasized a lot throughout the practice.

-Sergei is all of 7-1, skilled, and lanky, but needs some time in the weight-room before he's ready for the big time

-Pitchford looks the part of a legit power forward, Coach was on his case quite a bit about effort and attitude, I think he expects a lot out of him.

-Shields is going to be a good one, he's somewhat raw but athletic enough to get to the basket. I would expect him to play a ton this year.

I saw a lot of teaching going on during the practice. You can tell it's early and a new system for the kids, but they were working hard. Miles did a nice job of using his assistants who were very involved in the practice.

[Daledangdarn]

^ thanks a ton for the update, sounds great.

[hhcmatt]

^ thanks a ton for the update, sounds great.

Yup, got a +1 from me

[colhusker]

Remember the good old days when the janitors sweeping the court WAS the halftime entertainment?

We (students) sometimes would make it into a race and cheer for the floor sweeper of our choice.

Good times!

Now, it's just dancin' grannies and weirdoes wheeling around in giant contraptions and fools jumping around on mini-tramps.

I say bring back the halftime floor sweeping, and maybe the occasional gymnastics demonstration or something.

Or the days when a couple teams from the Little Fry league got to play on the big floor.

[Silverbacked1]

Yeah one of my crushing moments in my life. Was sick the night we played.

[colhusker]

Yeah one of my crushing moments in my life. Was sick the night we played.

I was one of the really young ones on our team, got wide open from the wing and proceeded to chuck up an airball!

[doctorhoops]

I was at practice yesterday and thought that the biggest thing is the change in systems and how difficult it is going to be for the current players to switch gears. You can tell that they are being asked to play more of a freelance motion now and it looks like they can't believe its ok to fire away and create on their own. I thought that three of the best players on the team won't play in a game until next year in Petteway, Biggs, and Pitchford. That's a good thing for us though as you can see they have solid abilities. Ubel is working his butt off as is Kye Kurkowski....Sergei has a long ways to go to be physical enough to contribute as they had him at the 5 when they did do some team things.

Love the effort and the intensity and the fact that you can tell there is a relationship built...also thought the assistant coaches worked their butts off throughout practice. It will be interesting to see the defense as Coach Miles said they are starting over and many things are opposite of what was taught with the previous staff.

It's a hard working group....but I still am trying to figure out who's gonna score???

[jimmykc]

I would be curious to hear from someone who has watched both coaches run practice and can compare the physical differences between styles regarding the potential for wearing players out. I thought Doc was always inordinately proud of the intensity of his practices which also seemed to generate an inordinate number of injuries. Does coach Tim Miles seem to like to "break down" players mentally?, are practices longer?, are breaks more frequent?, Compare and contrast styles if possible. (looks like I hit the italic button-Darn wide mouse!)

[Donkey]

I was at practice yesterday and thought that the biggest thing is the change in systems and how difficult it is going to be for the current players to switch gears. You can tell that they are being asked to play more of a freelance motion now and it looks like they can't believe its ok to fire away and create on their own. I thought that three of the best players on the team won't play in a game until next year in Petteway, Biggs, and Pitchford. That's a good thing for us though as you can see they have solid abilities. Ubel is working his butt off as is Kye Kurkowski....Sergei has a long ways to go to be physical enough to contribute as they had him at the 5 when they did do some team things.

Love the effort and the intensity and the fact that you can tell there is a relationship built...also thought the assistant coaches worked their butts off throughout practice. It will be interesting to see the defense as Coach Miles said they are starting over and many things are opposite of what was taught with the previous staff.

It's a hard working group....but I still am trying to figure out who's gonna score???

Offensively, do you think its more of a comfort issue (e.g. players not used to having a degree of discretion) or just simply learning a new system?

Do you see much of a difference defensively?

[Neon Budreau]

I watched a number of Doc's practices over the last few years and they were usually very intense. I would say he backed off a little the last couple of years because of injury issues. After only seeing one of Coach Miles' practices I can't necessarily make a great comparison yet. However, like I said in my other post, it was very physical. Guys were really hitting each other in some of the loose ball drills they were working on, it was a point of emphasis. Did Doc do this too, yes, and I think physical toughness is something you have to develop with the way basketball is played today. You have to remember these guys have only had a few chances to catch the new coach's eye so far, so most guys were really selling out. A couple of times I noticed guys tweak their ankles or something similar and not want to leave drills.

As for breaking down players mentally, yes I saw some of the same tactics Doc used. Saturday David Rivers was the target, Miles really got after him a few times, but he also did the same to Walter Pitchford and Benny Parker. Much like the Doc regime, the assistants and teammates would then try and play good cop, and build the guys back up.

It has been mentioned already, but Coach Miles really used his assistants and did more breaking into groups to work on individual skill development.

I didn't notice any difference in the length of practices or breaks.

[Norm Peterson]

Wow, thanks guys for giving me a little bit of a fix. Neon and Doctor, I'm sure I speak for many when I say I look forward to more of your posts.

[doctorhoops]

As I watched practice I was somewhat impressed with how physical we were, especially the post drills. There are no easy reps in the drills. Coach Miles is intense as well! I love what they are doing in terms of taking the time and building the system as it is clearly not the same as anything our guys have seen in recent years.

Defensively, without giving away exactly what they are trying to do, is similar in scheme but very different in how they approach different situations or scenarios. I really expect us to get alot better as the year goes on as alot of habits that were formed, both good and bad, need to be changed. It's all going to take time!

I mentioned how Coach Miles is intense...but he also has the ability to break up practice with a joke or a jab at a player that gets a smile on everyone's faces. The kids seem to really want to work hard for him and the entire staff. He has them doing pushups for turnovers, bobbles, mistakes..etc. The kids drop to the ground and do them on their own for every turnover.

Funniest moment of practice was when Coach Miles asked Dylan Talley if he had made anything yet today...Dylan said no and Coach Miles told him to give him 20 pushups cause he wasn't on scholarship to miss. Talley seems to have bought in big time...always talking to coach and trying to get things right, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

Love what they are doing....just need to be really patient!

[TheGov21]

Talley seems to have bought in big time...always talking to coach and trying to get things right, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how Talley plays this year. I think he was a lot better than he played at times last year and I think some of that was because Doc's conservative style took away a lot of Talley's confidence away. He was too afraid to miss.