2013 Husker Scrimmage Thread: Hüsker Nü

[busticket]

 

In fairness to Petteway, I'm pretty sure he was hurt....I was speaking to one of the staffers at the arena and they said he sat out their practice before the scrimmage. 

He didn't...  Thinking of Rivers?

 

 

I'll bet you guys are right....the guy I was talking to probably got them mixed up.  Makes sense since Rivers didn't play

[trickey]

This is some serious leap....since he is 6'2" and since the top of his head appears to be at minimum...9'6" (40 inches)

 

 

 

# 15 brings a Ray of Sunshine!...

 

Goooaal....SunShine!

[bobcat402]

This is some serious leap....since he is 6'2" and since the top of his head appears to be at minimum...9'6" (40 inches)

 

 

 

# 15 brings a Ray of Sunshine!...

 

Goooaal....SunShine!

i still side with a the commentator of one of the games last year that Ray will be in the 'League. it may not be right away, and it may take a trip to the d-league, but i think in a niche, he'll find a home.

[HuskerActuary]

Did Peltz play?

[GATA]

Thanks for all the reports, fellas! They are appreciated!

[nustudent]

I don't have the words to describe my feelings in a public forum about my excitement for this year

[MandRHusker]

I saw more dunks, alley oop plays and athleticism last night than the past 10 years of Husker hoops combined! It may not always be pretty, but it will be more exciting!

[colhusker]

Thanks for all the great updates and notes guys.  I am ready to tip it off.

[bigred4]

Like everybody else, I came away really impressed with the athleticism of the team.

 

Most impressed with Pitchford....Kind of reminds me of Jeffrey Taylor from Vandy that we played a few years ago...Can't remember the last time we had a player with his skill set at that size.

 

Leslie Smith might be very important this year...going to need somebody to bang down low...grab rebounds, get some points in the paint....Hope he turns in to a Steffon Bradford type.. Depending on how they want to play.. he might start.

 

The three freshmen all looked like they can contribute right away.  Webster looks smooth and like Pitchford has that swagger...I think Fuller and Hawkins are going to be good players and will get every opportunity to play this year.

 

I'm not putting too much stock into Petteway's performance.  I don't think he is going to be a 3 point shooter during the season and he brings tough defense and another slasher that we need.

 

If the season started today I would think Pitchford, Gallegos, and Shields would be starters.. Tai would probably start, even though I was impressed with Biggs too.  The other spot could go to Petteway/Smith/Rivers I would think.

 

Biggest concern is going to be 3 point shooting.  There is going to be a lot of competition these next four weeks, which is only going to make everyone better.

[Hooper]

I watched the broadcast on Huskers.com and have a few observations:

 

Obviously, the players were pretty tired after practicing for hours, and it showed. The energy wasn't always there, especially after Shavon went down hard. It really sucked the life out of the event for a while. Defensive effort was not up to B1G standards, obviously.

 

Overall, this is a very athletic team, though a small one, which we already knew. I'm still not sure we have anyone on this team with a legit back-to-the-basket game. 

 

OK, some random thoughts on players based on tonight's scrimmage:

 

Tai Webster - Those who've watched a lot of game film of Webster in high school, Olympic qualifiers, etc., pretty much knew what he was about, and he looked like what I expected. He had some highs and lows and will have to become more consistent. I do love Webster's overall athleticism and potential though. His ceiling as a player is very high, and based on the scrimmage, I'd say he projects as a starter at the 1 from the very first game.

 

Ray Gallegos - Ray looked like Ray. What I'm looking for this year are indications that he's developed his dribble-and-drive game. I didn't see much indication of that tonight. He looked like the same pure shooter he was last year. That really has to change. You don't get to the line enough playing the way he plays. Nevertheless, he'll definitely start this year.

 

Nathan Hawkins - I've been a big Hawkins fan since last year and really like his overall game. He's not going to dazzle you with his athleticism, but he does a lot of things well, has good size, and can play the 1, provided he can defend at that position. I love his passing, and he had a couple of nice rebounds as well. Overall, I feel that Hawkins will play quite a bit this year, and that he'll be heavily in the rotation by the time B1G play rolls around, if not sooner.

 

Deverell Biggs - I really want to like Deverell Biggs, but I'm concerned about his propensity to turn it over, and I'm not sure how good a shooter he is. I don't project Biggs as a starter on this year's team and see him coming off the bench as a 1 or 2. He has a lot of athletic ability, but he's not a guy you want taking many shots based on what I saw last night.

 

Nick Fuller - Nick's a natural shooter with great form who I believe could be a real spark for the team this year coming off the bench at the 3 spot. He's also a pretty athletic guy who can elevate and finish around the rim, as well as drive to the basket. I expect him to see quite a bit of playing time this year. He looked pretty good to me in the scrimmage.

 

Terran Petteway - I'm hoping like hell that tonight was just an off night for Petteway because he looked horrible out there. His shots weren't even close to going in most of the time, and he really just had zero rhythm offensively. I thought I remembered an errant pass or two as well. He did have some nice rebounds, but aside from that, this was a night he'll want to forget. Terran looked really frustrated out there, which is understandable. Based on what others have said, he was lights out in the previous scrimmage they held leading up to the public event, and he's not really a 3-ball shooter anyway. I'm going to assume that this was just a terrible night for Terran and that he's much better than he showed.

 

Leslee Smith - I really liked what I saw from Smith. He's trimmed down a bit and showed good overall skill in rebounding, passing and shooting. He finishes pretty well around the rim as well. At this point, I believe a compelling case can be made to insert him into the starting line-up, and I believe there will be many instances where Miles will want to get both Smith and Pitchford on the court together for match-up purposes.

 

Walter Pitchford - I feel that Pitchford showed tonight that any hypothetical starting line-up for this season has to include him. He's likely the most athletic player Nebraska has, and though the 5 definitely isn't his natural position, he's an impressive all-around player with great size and outstanding shooting range. He's still developing physically, but he's going to be a really fun player to watch this year. He does a lot of things well, and obviously has a huge ceiling given his physical skill set.

 

Sergej Vucetic - Sergej is thicker and looks a bit more athletic this year than he did last year. He obviously resculpted his body a bit. I thought he showed signs tonight that he might be able to develop into a guy who can help this team down the road. I'm not sure it's going to be this season, but I've gone from writing him off entirely to taking more of a wait-and-see approach. Ultimately, Vooch is not the type of player you ride into battle with against Adrian Payne and hope to get the best of it, but he might be able to play some significant minutes down the road. If not, I hope we can encourage him to move on and find a place where he can.

 

Benny Parker - Parker looked more confident out there and made a few plays, but also had some turnovers and some low points. I'm not a big Parker fan and don't feel that he's in line for a whole lot of playing time this year. I just feel that some of the other guards bring far more to the table, with much better size, which doesn't bode well for Parker's playing time. When I compare Parker against any other guard from a group consisting of Webster, Gallegos, Petteway, Biggs and Hawkins, I'd rather have any of those guys on the court than Parker. I'd only give him the edge right now over Peltz and Tyrance, and the jury's even out on Wagner.

 

I'm really excited to see how this team develops and how players fit into various roles. It's going to be a fun ride for sure, and based on what I saw tonight, I don't see why this team can't be quite a bit better than last year's team. If I had to put together a starting line-up based on what I saw tonight, it would be Webster, Gallegos, Shields, Smith and Pitchford. I'm aware that Petteway is more likely to find his way into the line-up than Smith. It's just hard to include him based on what I saw last night, which was the only time I've seen Petteway in action.

[FredsSlacks]

I don't know if we can afford to start both Pitchford and Smith. Our bench would be pretty small if we did that, and I'm not sure Smith will play starters minutes.

 

Tai, Ray, Shields, PItchford are guaranteed to start the first game against FGCU

 

Rivers, Fuller, Petteway, Smith will fill the last spot.

[NUdiehard]

As has been mentioned, the guys were gassed before the scrimmage even started.  The earlier practice clearly had taken its toll.  Not sure what the strategy is from Miles on this.  Maybe he wants them to struggle in front of the crowd so he can push them harder in practice.  Otherwise, not sure I see the point of asking 8,000 people to come watch players who are clearly struggling b/c they are so tired they can barely stand up.  And yes, I know practice comes first, but they have 42 days to get in 30 practices, so Miles did not need to practice Friday afternoon (in fact, I read that Creighton delayed its first practice until Saturday just so one single recruit could come and watch.  If Creighton can do it for one recruit, I assume Miles can do it for 8,000 people who came to see a good show).  Anyway. . . .

 

Walter Pitchford stole the show, no doubt.  I was veeerrrryyy happy with what I saw from him.  He appeared to be everything we hope he will be.  But, it was just a scrimmage, so I guess we still have to see if he can bang with the big boys of the B1G, but as far as athleticism and talent, yes, he's got it.  Won the slam dunk contest hands-down (although I didn't like the format as Tai and Ray only got one shot and that was it, kind of lame really)

 

Tai Webster is legit IMO.  From what I saw last night, he has boundless energy, a bounce in his step and game, and a good bit of swagger that I think this teams needs.  He just seems like a very confident player and I loved seeing him shoot the game winning shot without hesitation and nailing it, nothing but net.  Tai started a little slow, but really picked it up as things went along.  Not only did he score his points, but towards the end he had two very nice passes (one was almost a no look, on a seem, right through traffic, to the hoop for a layup, very nice).  One of Tai's biggest assets is his size.  Benny and Biggs both have comparable athleticism, but Tai just seems sooooo much bigger on the court.  Tai can penetrate and he does not appear to get swallowed up by the trees like Benny and Biggs (more on that later).  Now, with that said, you could also see that he can be a bit loose with the ball.  I don't know if it was just for the scrimmage b/c he knew it was a show, but he played a bit of street ball with the way he handled it.  I don't think it is an issue though, cause Miles will reign that in real quick.  He will have his ups and downs, but I like him a lot and definintely think he should start at PG from day 1.

 

Leslee Smith:  Overall, I liked what I saw from him, but I must admit I went in with rather low expectations.  He seems to be a pretty good athlete who is not afraid to bang, and his skills are refined enough that he can play in the B1G.  He won't dominate, but he can be a good garbage man, and every team needs one of those.  He needs to stay healthy and develop a very aggressive attitute to help this team to his fullest potential.  Overall though, I am glad we have him b/c we need the size and muscle down low.

 

Biggs - I already alluded to this, but Biggs just seemed a bit small out there to me.  He has all the athleticism and moves, but his small stature will hold him back.  It is just harder for him to penetrate and kick b/c he seems to get swallowed up by the bigs underneath.  Also not sure about his outside shot.  Nonetheless, he could be a valuable player off the bench, especially if Tai is struggling on certain nights.

 

Benny P:  He is just too small IMO.  He can barely even get the offense started b/c he can't see over the defender.  Just don't see his role on this team with other viable options.  Tai absolutely towers of Benny (who I think can't be taller than 5'6")

 

Fuller:  Fuller did some nice things.  I am reserving judgment on him b/c this scrimmage format probably was not best suited for his strengths.  He seemed a bit slow to me, but we all know he is not a guy who is going to break the defender down going one-on-one.  Rather, he is more of a system guy, must like Shavon.  He will look better in a real offense as opposed to the sloppy street ball game that we all watched last night. 

 

Hawkins:  As many have mentioned, he was probably the "nice surprise" player of the night for me as well.  But like Fuller, I am just not sure how much we can read into this one scrimmage so I am reserving judgment for now.  He looked confident and smooth, but nothing was overwhelming either.  Difficult to know how he will translate to a playing against legit B1G talent, but the first signs were encouraging from him.

 

Gallegos:  I think he is still shooting 3s.  He must have shot 15 of them.  I hope he doesn't think he still has that role on the team, b/c we just don't need him to shoot that much this year (at least not from 3 land).  Anyway, Gallegos has to be my most frustrating player to watch.  IMO, he has a lot of game and potential.  His verticle is ridiculous, yet for 4 years at NU he has relegated himself to being solely a spot-up 3-point shooter.  Why?  I think its b/c he is soft.  I hate to say that, but he has so much more potential in him to be better.  He should be penetrating into the lane and either getting to the basket or kicking it out.  A scrimmage like this was the perferct opportunity to practice that and to show his teammates and fans that he is coming out with a new attitute this year.  But instead, he jacked up a whole bunch of 3s and missed most of them at that.  Not that Ray will ever read or see this, or care if he does, but I am calling him out.  Drive the ball Ray, penetrate and play aggressive.  Maximize your potential and help this team.  It is time.  You are a 5th year senior, time for you to act and play like it.  No more playing soft, time to step it up!

 

Pettaway:  I guess I will save him for last.  Based on reports that he played well in the early scrimmage, I am going to hold off on evaluating him as well.  He clearly was tired, and I felt he tried to do too much.  With that said, I don't care how many 3s he may have made in the earlier scrimmage, that shot of his will NEVER be a thing of beauty.  Let's just hope he doesn't shoot that many 3s in real games and that when he does they go in more often than they did last night.

[Silverbacked1]

All in all I thought it was fun. And I think that is what the whole night was to be about, fun.

I will start to think about players and who I think is good and play and who shouldn't after a few games into the season.

Will be fun this year, will have some tough games this year because we will play some tough games, but the ride will be a good one.

[uneblinstu]

highlights of the action anywhere?  I havent' been able to find anything except Pitchfords dunks and the player intros.

[Huskerpapa]

Folks, this was a scrimmage, we are sooooo early in the process that it is impossible to tell much of anything at this point.  On top of this, the team had practiced for a couple hours prior to this scrimmage.  They couldn't have had much left in the energy tank.

 

My true takeaways:

-- this team is significantly more athletic...very similar to the early Nee teams.

-- we have some very good shooters

-- we have some players that see the court very well.

-- we have depth, very nice depth.

-- the arena is bigger than the BOB, yet for whatever reason, it seems more intimate.

 

By the way...a lot of people waiting to get into the Husker scrimmage yesterday.

 

[uneblinstu]

Did we get Jadler's review?  Did I miss it?

[Huskerpapa]

My daughter, a student, was just a tad disappointed with the view from the front row of the student section.  She learned her lesson for regular season. 

[throwback]

Newbie here – first I want to say it’s great to have a site like this for NU hoops – glad I found it in time in time for this season – I love where the program is heading!

 

Had a chance to catch the scrimmage

• --The Pinn is is a great arena and the surrounding area is very impressive, I loved Devaney, lots of fun memories there, but this is a great time in the progression of the program to move to a new arena & Lincoln did it right
• --I think the arena has the chance to be really loud – last night it was 1/2 full with most of the people shoving food in their faces, but the sound really bounces around in there – should be a great atmosphere when it’s full
• --The 4 newcomers all look like they will contribute at this level this season and look like they’re legit “major” conference level players – been a while since we had a recruiting class this large with no obvious “reaches,” long term “projects,” or flat out “misses”
• --Tai’s scrimmage “winning” shot was a thing of beauty – he looked like he was playing around a lot of the scrimmage, as was everyone, but that last shot was great to see – very confident, very calculated, perfect form, no hesitation in taking that shot, he shot it over Vooch & set him up perfectly so it wouldn’t be blocked.
• --I liked Hawkins’ athleticism and he’ll play this season, but I think Fuller is going to be more ready to contribute immediately. He looked a bit nervous last night, but he has a great looking 3-point shot. (I admittedly am a bit biased toward lefties though.) Fuller seems to have a great nose for the game, too, just was naturally in the right spot on offense a lot, whether it was spotting up in the corner or sneaking in for an offensive board. As someone mentioned already, both of these guys will benefit greatly from more structure versus what we saw last night.
• --Petteway struggled but I thought he looked like he had tired legs, so it’s good to read that he was very sharp in the practice before the scrimmage. I thought it was interesting that when he missed that last 3 badly, his teammates still came over and told him to shake it off. That tells me two things – 1, his teammates trust him to take that “winning” shot, and 2, they didn’t think he was overdoing it with all of the shots he was taking throughout the scrimmage. So I guess I’m more likely to believe the feelings of the players who’ve seen him for a full year in practices & pick-up games & trust him, versus an “off” 25 minutes. If he hadn’t been gassed, I think we would’ve seen more drives to the basket, and that part of his game was strong in the couple of times he did it.

 

My biggest concern right now would be how we match up with the size and bulk in the Big Ten – Pitchford is incredibly athletic, but I’m a little worried he may struggle down low versus very physical players, especially on defense – Smith looks more ready for a physical-style game – if we just had one more physical big, this team would be really tough. I also don’t see any way Vooch helps this team this year, if ever. He still isn’t anywhere near strong enough with the ball down low. There were stretches where Kurkowski outplayed him, I thought. 

 

Anyway great again to find this site – very nice to have a place to read & discuss NU hoops - I probably won’t post a while lot, but when I do, I’ll probably overdo it like this one. 

[throwback]

I don't know how to post tweets, so hopefully this works:

 

Lee Barfknecht‏@leebeeowh

#husker hoopster Shavon Shields practiced today and is fine after nasty fall in Friday's scrimmage.

[ShortDust]

Welcome aboard throwback!

[Silverbacked1]

Good thoughts and welcome.

[NUdiehard]

Folks, this was a scrimmage, we are sooooo early in the process that it is impossible to tell much of anything at this point.  On top of this, the team had practiced for a couple hours prior to this scrimmage.  They couldn't have had much left in the energy tank.

 

 

Throughout the Doc years I always attended at least a portion of one preseason practice (which were open to the public) to see all of the newcomers.  Looking back, I would say that more often than not, my initial impression of individual players turned out to be pretty darn accurate.  It doesn't take a coach or a basketball genius to know you are seeing.  Much like watching American Idol, it often only takes one short performance to discern those who have "it" from those who don't.  Not saying there aren't surprises or exceptions, or that players can't improve, just sayin' . . . 

[royalfan]

Miles is a far superior developer of talent though.  So you most certainly will see more surprises and exceptions on the positive side.  That is 100 percent stone cold lock. 

[Norm Peterson]

I agree, NUdiehard. I don't think you have to see hours of play to get a good sense of what a guy brings to the table.

[Norm Peterson]

So, did anyone publish any attendance estimates? I figured with what was in the upper bowl, had they moved down they would have filled the lower bowl to just about capacity. So, maybe 8,000 to 9,000 fans? Thoughts?