uneblinstu's post game chatter: vol 6, ed 3 - W. Illinois

[uneblinstu]

 

Congrats on Coach Miles getting win #300!

 

- I thought they played pretty well the first half and into the second.  Seemed to let up a bit as the game wore down.  Not sure if that was a mental or physical thing.

- I was impressed with the energy they played with to start the game.  There clearly wasn't the energy in the building there was on Friday and they didn't let that impact their game.  That was good to see.

- Smith played well, for the most part, provided a boost in the first half when it seemed like we were struggling to find a shot.  Showed some nice quickness, too.  

- Pitchford is going to have a devil of a time defending the post this year by himself.  When Miles says we're a big away, that's what he's talking about.  He's going to get backed down pretty easily in the Big Ten.  He'll cause matchup problems on the other end, but that's going to be tough for him.

- Was also good to see him go to the pump fake and drive a couple of times tonight.  Nice added dimension if he can do that to his game.  

- I made the comment after Peltz's blocking foul that it was nearly impossible to draw a charge this year...then Webster comes right down the floor and draws one.

- The chink in Webster's game right now: free throw shooting.  Thought he was off in general tonight, in terms of scoring.  Thought he did a pretty good job of distributing and finding his teammates.  How many turnovers did he have?

- Parker was a spark plug again tonight.  I think he'll still get minutes when Biggs and Gallegos come back.  Not sure how many, but he'll get some.

- Shields did what Shields does.  He's Mr. Steady for the Huskers. 

- Petteway, seemed like he forced it a bit.  Still finished in double figures, but thought he tried to do a little too much tonight.

- Rivers had one shot where last year I think he pulls up for a 15-footer, but he drove to the rim, missed the layup but was fouled.  I think we'll see this a lot this year.  I'll be curious to see how many mid-range jumpers we see as the year goes on when you're almost guaranteed to get the foul called if you take it to the rim.  

- Fewer than ten turnovers was nice.  Hope that continues.

- Sounds like Fuller is for sure going to redshirt now.  That should pay off in a couple of years.

- Not a bad turnout tonight, though it did feel like a Nebrasketball crowd.  Not a ton of energy in the building. Wasn't sure what I expected tonight.  Student section filled in better than I thought it was going to about 5 minutes before the game.

- Really interested to see what the crowd is on Sunday.  S. Carolina St. might be the worst team on the schedule.  That one could be U-G-L-Y...

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[hhcmatt]

Box Score

 

[FredsSlacks]

Congrats on Coach Miles getting win #300!

 

Yes, I'll add some more, hold on...

can we get an ETA?

[Huskerpapa]

The good, the bad and the ugly tonight...first a couple of maintenance items. 

- saw HB at the game with a very nice looking gal on his arm...atta boy HB.

- if fans are going to leave early (and hey, this is Nebraska, you know they will) for the good lords sake, do not allow them to exit out on the floor level behind the basket by the students.  That looks horrible.  Perhaps the students could...uhhh...advise them to find a different exit.

- not quite the number of students, but pretty decent showing.  I could say the same about the general attendence.  Good mid-week showing.

- Shavon, I really like this kid.

- Petteway, he has a couple of springs for legs.  The dude can defend and penetrate, but man, he takes some bad/quick shots at times.

- Tai kind of looked like a human freshman tonight.

- I like Rivers, but the dude has to know his shot and take it when it is there.

- I liked Benny's motor tonight, but he still is struggling a bit on the outside.

- Walter looked good at times and rough around the edges at time.  He needs to improve his interior defense.  That said, he plays good help defense.

- Leslee looked good tonight...PLEASE stay healthy.

- Peltz is our enforcer

 

Overall a decent win against a decent team.  Our defense had their offense confused the entire first half.  I think they banked in two three pointers.  2-0 baby!

[Norm Peterson]

A lot of selfish basketball being played by the Huskers in the second half.

 

Not impressed.  Not happy.

 

And can someone please learn how to post up properly?

[Cheap Seat Perspective]

Congrats to Coach Miles on Win #300. 

 

Just a few things......

 

Are offensive flow was not very good, there was just no rhythm or enough movement. Only 6 assists in the game, I would like to see that number go up in the next games. 

 

On the other hand we only turned the ball over 9 times, that will win you a lot of games. 

 

I thought we played a great game on defense especially in the first half. Also holding a team to only 5 Offensive Rebounds is pretty darn good, they were 1 and done all night. 

 

Pitch, has to get better at Post D though, Ochereoba had some pretty easy buckets on him in the first half, which forced Coach MIles to bring in Smith who did a pretty good job on him. Pitch did make up for it on the offensive end though, especially that stretch of 8 straight points. 

 

I would like to see Tai be a little more aggressive, and force the action a little more on dribble drives. He only has 2 assists in the first 2 games, but he is a very solid player, and only a Freshman I expect him to continue to get better and more comfortable on the court. 

 

Terran is one hell of a rebounder, kind of reminds me of Caleb Walker but with more offensive skills. He forced the action a little too much and had some poor shot selections, but he played on overall good game, dang near a double-double, if he can do that all year I will be flattered. 

 

Overall it's a good win, but there is still a lot of work to do. 

[Cheap Seat Perspective]

A lot of selfish basketball being played by the Huskers in the second half.

 

Not impressed.  Not happy.

 

And can someone please learn how to post up properly?

 

I agree Norm especially to start the 2nd half, the first two possessions did Terran even pass the ball before taking shots?

 

Get used to the no post up. Pitchford is strictly a screen and pop guy, Leslee is the only post up guy we have, and he is average at best at it. 

[FredsSlacks]

A lot of selfish basketball being played by the Huskers in the second half.

 

Not impressed.  Not happy.

 

And can someone please learn how to post up properly?

We are one quality big away. Remember?

 

Miami Heat have no true post up player either, so we can be good without a true post player.

[dskurz]

Student section looked to be filled in by a bunch of older grad students, especially in the section behind the hoop  

 

Props to one of the sideliners (student from behind visitor bench) for coming over to the baseliners & yelling at them to get up & cheer when one of the leathernecks was shooting a FT.

[Cheap Seat Perspective]

 

A lot of selfish basketball being played by the Huskers in the second half.

 

Not impressed.  Not happy.

 

And can someone please learn how to post up properly?

We are one quality big away. Remember?

 

Miami Heat have no true post up player either, so we can be good without a true post player.

 

They also have LeBron James and Dwayne Wade! 

[FredsSlacks]

 

 

A lot of selfish basketball being played by the Huskers in the second half.

 

Not impressed.  Not happy.

 

And can someone please learn how to post up properly?

We are one quality big away. Remember?

 

Miami Heat have no true post up player either, so we can be good without a true post player.

 

They also have LeBron James and Dwayne Wade! 

 

Shields and Webster are like the same right !?!?!?!

[hhcmatt]

 

A lot of selfish basketball being played by the Huskers in the second half.

 

Not impressed.  Not happy.

 

And can someone please learn how to post up properly?

We are one quality big away. Remember?

 

Miami Heat have no true post up player either, so we can be good without a true post player.

 

 

A lot more concerned about the post defense...Pitch was getting destroyed in the paint.

[PimpMario]

Petteway was like a black hole tonight; once the ball went to him he never let go.

[Norm Peterson]

Petteway was like a black hole tonight; once the ball went to him he never let go.

And Webster kind of caught the tone from that and imitated it.  Not good.  1 assist from our starting PG.  And 3 for 8 from the FT line.  Hopefully this will prove to be one of his worst games of the season and one he learns from.  

[FredsSlacks]

I think we should delay any judgements before we see how things look with Biggs and Ray in the rotation.

[NUdiehard]

Petteway needs to understand that Shavon is the best player on this team and the number one option.  I mentioned after last game that Petteway shoots it too quick and takes bad shots.  I saw it in the scrimmage, I saw it in the exhibition and I saw it in the first game.  He took the very first shot the first time he touched the ball last game (got lucky and banked it in).  This game, he shot the very first TWO times he touched the ball to start the 2nd half.  Shavon owned WIU the entire first half, yet NOBODY on this team tried to get Shavon the ball in the 2nd half.  Norm is absolutely right, a lot of selfish (and in come case just poor recognition) play going on.  But I see Petteway as being a potential dividing player unless he gets reined in a bit.  But, it is early, these are things I am sure Miles recognizes and will get worked out.  Petteway does a lot of things well, plays hard and rebounds well.  He can be a very valuable player, but he just needs to find his role on the offensive end.

 

I think Tai's assists will go up once Gallegos get back in the lineup.  There were multiple times when Tai drove and kicked it to either Peltz or Benny for wide open jumpers, but neither of them can convert. Ray will add a new dimension to this team.

 

Pitchford seems to get easily frustrated (although he had reason to with some of the calls tonight) and allows that to take him out of the game a bit mentally.  As others have said, he is going to really struggle guarding in the post.  But boy, he can shoot.  He is another guy that they need to create shots for. 

 

Smith did some nice things and played pretty good post defense.  Not sure how he will match up against a taller post player, but he seems to do well with what he has.

 

Tai played like a freshman who is still feeling it out.  But I think he needs to keep driving it in there and making things happen.  That is his bread and butter and he needs to just keep going to the well.  It will start producing sooner than later.

 

UGLY second half, but nice first half.  Looking forward to getting our full lineup, I think that will make a difference.  Playing Benny and Peltz at the same time tonight was rough.  Hopefully, that will never have to happen again this year.

[Huskerpapa]

...the thing is, Petteway is a scorer and has a scorers mentality.  It is hard to harness that mindset.  He believes he can score everytime he touches the ball.  This year is different then any team we have had in the past several years.  Why?  Petteway is not the only scorer with that mentality on this team.  The kids and this team will improve when they understand each other.  Coach Miles will whip this group into shape.  We got this.

[hhcmatt]

Pitchford seems to get easily frustrated (although he had reason to with some of the calls tonight) and allows that to take him out of the game a bit mentally.  

 

What does a guy have to do to draw an offensive foul this year?  Even if you thought he flopped at one point they certainly could have not called anything.

[FredsSlacks]

We just need to attack the basket more and stay healthy. We should continue to get better.

[HuskerBB]

Petteway did take some quick shots - but he works hard on defense and we really need his rebounding particularly when Smith is not in the game.

 

Pitchford brings alot of pluses - but he got exposed defensively at times tonight.  Smith did a much better job and it wasn't just because of muscle and bulk.  Smith worked to get in the passing lane and front when needed.  Much of the better defense by Smith was done with his feet and not just his bulk.  No reason Pitchford can't do a better job with that if he puts his mind to it.

 

Webster - good poise most of the time but he really needs to get better at the line.  Two straight games with abysmal FT shooting from our PG.

 

Solid game from Shavon and a very nice game from Smith.  Parker was a plus again also - but he does need to look for his jump shot when it is there.  Teams are quickly going to learn not to guard him on the perimeter which impacts our ability to drive.  I think Bennie can make those shots if he gets confident enough to take them.

 

I agree things will look different when Gallegos and Biggs are available.  Pelz minutes will hopefully disappear unless we just need to go knock someone around.

 

Overall a solid game by the Huskers against an overmatched opponent.   At least we are taking care of these games with relative ease.  A few years ago we seemed to have trouble putting these kinds of teams away (and lost to them a couple times).  Miles seems to have them come out with enough of a plan that works to get that early lead and then we can afford to cruise a little bit.  Much better than not coming out prepared and then having to find a way to just win the game in the second half.

 

Crowd was good and was fairly pleased with the number of students that eventually showed up.  But again I cannot understand why the students fill the sides before anyone goes to the end.  The active students need to be behind the basket not on the sideline.

 

Concessions are still a bummer.  Came straight from work so I walked around looking for something before the game and lines were all too long -  with one stand not even open and a friend who was in one long line said they did not have items prepared and ready when people started getting there.  I did get a Val's pizza at halftime and was pleasantly surprised there was not much of a line then.  Also noticed at least one other stand that did have the Val's pizza on the menu which was a plus.  On the other hand you have to pay $1 more ($5 per slice) than we did at Devaney - or that we have to pay at FB games.  If Val's can sell pizza for $4 at a football game why is it $5 at Pinnacle?  Did the arena require them to bump the price to help keep pace with their other selections?  Would be interesting to get an answer to that question from someone at Vals.   The $10 sandwiches and $8 nachos actually looked pretty good - but that is more than I really want to pay for a snack at the game when I need to wash it down with a $3 drink.  Boy would I MUCH rather be able to get a $4 runza (I know I need to stop saying that after every game  ).   Lots of things I like about PBA but it is pretty clear they are going to get less of my concession $'s than I spent at BDSC.  

[hhcmatt]

This was a good reality check game after FGCU...Miles noted after the game that WIU is the kind of school where even if you win you still feel awful about your team after the game.

 

Hopefully playing an awful South Carolina St won't raise our self-esteem too much...they just were beat down by Michigan.

 

Miles is right...we need about 1 more Leslie Smith/big man types....with the way fouls are called we probably need 2 more.

 

Petteway is going to have games where he pours in 20 points and you wish he shot more...and he'll have games like this.  He got himself going on the boards though so even in his off nights he's going to contribute.

 

Speaking of being off and getting something else going it looks like you can just start barreling into the lane.  Has an offensive charge been called in any of our games for either team?  Right now the patron saint of charges Paul Velander is shaking his head.

 

Shavon has a mid-range game?  Can get to the rim?  Oh baby!  He just missed out on a sweet oop from Benny when the defender swatted away the pass...would have been the highlight of the night.

 

Cannot wait to see Biggs and Ray tear it up on Sunday

[jdostal]

There was a charge called on Webster.

[hhcmatt]

There was a charge called on Webster.

 

Missed it, thanks!

[doc1394]

Petteway pulled in 9 rebounds in the game today, so I can't complain about his play. 

 

You can see the determination in the way Benny plays. He is playing as hard as he can.

 

The only reason I'm disappointed in the offense is that we didn't get Runzas. They were up 20 on an opponent they knew they were better than, so I'm not worried about the offense. They shot really well and played fluently when the game was somewhat close. 

 

Happy with the defense, other than post defense. Need to find a way, somehow. 

 

Still very optimistic about this team.

[hhcmatt]

Crowd was good and was fairly pleased with the number of students that eventually showed up.  But again I cannot understand why the students fill the sides before anyone goes to the end.  The active students need to be behind the basket not on the sideline.

 

Maybe it's just me, but standing on the side >>> standing behind the basket.