We are at a crossroads

[hhcmatt]

Seems to me that the board is starting to seperate into two different roads right now. 

 

I don't think you can just lump together how people react to a series of losses into two groups.  

I'd argue you couldn't lump just me into one of whatever different roads you might think people are going down. 

[Silverbacked1]

best kind of Lumpy

[PimpMario]

It is not just that petteway misses a lot of shots. It is that he routinely takes bad and rushed shots. He will sometimes drive and instead of giving the ball up to an open shoot he throws up some prayer in the trees. There is no reason why this team can figure out how to get good shots.

This may corm as a surprise royal, but we don't need petteway to jack up a whole bunch of shots.

This team is learning and it seems like what they are learning is to stand by while TP tries to single handidly out score the other team. This is not how I want this young team to develop.

[MandRHusker]

Disagree on Petteway costing us the ball games.  Disagree in a big way.  He was easily our best player.  Not close.

I think you might be right, but to carry my point Carmelo is most times the best player on his team but there are lesser players make other teams better. Petteway doesn't make his teammates better. He wants to take the whole game into his hands and he is no Melo. Both of those players need the ball in their hands so much to be effective that they detract from what the other players can contribute. I don't think it has to be permanent condition, but right now he needs to pass the damn ball and let the game come to him. For now the offense stagnates as soon as he touches it, and by definition motion offenses cannot do that and be an effective motion offense. What is best for him is not what is best for the team. There are times that this team will need him to go get a basket, but it can't be as often as it is right now. The offense operated the most efficiently today when he was on the bench in foul trouble and look at the end of the game again. He does hit a bad three but then misses on three consecutive trips and UAB got much easier looks at the other end of the floor and pulls away.

I guarantee you that after listening to Husker player parents in the stands here in Charleston, it is an issue. Petteway is a very talented player and can drive all he wants but has to pass the ball out to the open man when he doesn't have a wide open shot.

We also have to block out and learn to switch better. Too many offensive rebounds for the other team and way too many switches where we end up doubling one man while another is left wide open. We have a very effective and dedicated group of coaches and we can and will make significant progress in all of these areas.

[royalfan]

We put up plenty of points to win.  Offense functioned plenty well with Petteway leading the charge.  He isn't scared.  I like it.  Defense is the issue, not Petteway scoring a lot of points and even leading to easy put backs when he did miss by drawing the defense to him.   Very pleased with what I have seen from him.  Nothing remotely resembling your post that we would be better off without him and he should be ran off.  I stick by my statement I made then regarding Petteway.  It is Miles job to define what is a good shot for him and what isn't.  He is shooting over 40 percent from the land of plenty in early going.  So if he is wide open is he supposed to turn that shot down?  I don't know the answer.  I trust Miles to make that determination.  So far it seems he is told to take the shot.  

 

Same people that don't like his shot selection probably didn't care for Talley and Gallegos shot selection either. 

[royalfan]

He does need to improve his vision and passing as his ability to draw defense to him and kick to Gallegos, Pitchford etc for open threes could be deadly.  Sometimes good vision cannot be taught.  You have that skill or you don't.  Lets hope he does.  Cannot yet tell from this sample size. 

[AuroranHusker]

1.We're young and inexperienced

2.We don't have enough big men offensively and defensively

3.We make stupid fouls. (Adjust to the new rules!)

4.We give up too many easy shots in the paint.

5.We don't rebound well.

6.We have basically have no team chemistry offensively or defensively

7.Our assists numbers would say that we're a selfish team.

 

^^^^ So i think we fix those things and we'll be NCAA tourney bound BABY! Awesome with a capital A!!!

 

 

Here's how you could fix those things

 

1. Be patient and let these guys develop

2. Recruit more big guys.

3. simply don't touch the guy you are defending and move your feet.

4. Recruit more size or pack the lane to force more outside shots.

5. Recruit more size or try harder

6. Be patient and let these guys develop.

7. Move without the ball, run more set plays, set more screens, and don't take so many shots early in the shot clock.

 

Recruit more big guys and let our young guys develop are 2 things that aren't going to happen over night. It could take a little while before we are a good team.

 

Agreed w/ most of TimSmiles' points.  I think this team needs to play tougher on D, for starters. Protect the basket, at all costs, as the layup drills we've allowed will loses A LOT of ballgames if not corrected ASAP.

[Nighthawk]

I'm sure I'm going to be in the minority here.  There are a lot of valid points being made....but 1. it's only Coaches second year at Nebraska and 2. it's the first year some of these guys have played together.  I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that Coach sees this stuff and is going to deal with it in his own way.  Might be a bit to early to start playing armchair quarterback (or the basketball equivalent).  We need to support these guys. Also...we are seeing things from a distance...the attitude might just be appearing that way to us.

[hhcmatt]

Sometimes good vision cannot be taught.  You have that skill or you don't.  Lets hope he does.  Cannot yet tell from this sample size. 

 

I think one of the reasons that Miles mentioned him as a "point forward" is that he's one of the guys on the team that can regularly slash into the lane.  Are Biggs and Tai ready to carry this load right now?  Is part of Shield's game slashing to open up shots?

[royalfan]

 

Sometimes good vision cannot be taught.  You have that skill or you don't.  Lets hope he does.  Cannot yet tell from this sample size. 

 

I think one of the reasons that Miles mentioned him as a "point forward" is that he's one of the guys on the team that can regularly slash into the lane.  Are Biggs and Tai ready to carry this load right now?  Is part of Shield's game slashing to open up shots?

 

 

Yeah that is what leads me to believe he is a more willing and able passer than he has demonstrated.  It is also the main reason that I wouldn't be surprised if down the road our best lineup includes none of the "point guards."   If we are quick enough to stay in front of folks, I am not sure a Gallegos, Petteway, Pitchford, Smith, and Shields lineup won't be our best.  Would make us much bigger.  Obviously we would not be able to play that lineup for bulk minutes due to being think on front line and one of the bigs needing to be out there at all times. 

[NUdiehard]

We put up plenty of points to win.  Offense functioned plenty well with Petteway leading the charge.  He isn't scared.  I like it.  Defense is the issue, not Petteway scoring a lot of points and even leading to easy put backs when he did miss by drawing the defense to him.   Very pleased with what I have seen from him.  Nothing remotely resembling your post that we would be better off without him and he should be ran off.  I stick by my statement I made then regarding Petteway.  It is Miles job to define what is a good shot for him and what isn't.  He is shooting over 40 percent from the land of plenty in early going.  So if he is wide open is he supposed to turn that shot down?  I don't know the answer.  I trust Miles to make that determination.  So far it seems he is told to take the shot.  

 

Same people that don't like his shot selection probably didn't care for Talley and Gallegos shot selection either. 

I believe that one of Dean's main points is that Terran's antics on offense may be affecting the whole team in energy and morale, which may be a reason why we are also struggling so much on defense.  Of course, it shouldn't necessarily be that way.  The other players should suck it up and still get back and play 100% all out on offense and defense no matter what Terran is doing.  But they are college kids and they have emotions and get frustrated like anyone else.  If they see Terran jack up a wild shot with 30 seoconds on the clock without ever looking to pass, it is human nature to drop and shrug your shoulders a little.  Meanwhile, the opponent is blazing down the court and getting in position to score.  Bad shots take the wind out of the sails a little.  It is similar to a turnover by the offense in football, psychologically it just makes it a little more difficult for the defense to go out there and try to get yet another stop so soon.

 

And I am quite sure that Miles isn't all that thrilled about all of Petteways shots either.  As Dean aptly stated:

 

From that point on it seemed to me that the whole team just accepted that shots were now going to be jacked up regularly. This acquiescence seemed to suck the energy out the team that showed up mostly on the defensive end. There was a three with just over a minute left that saying it was forced would be an understatement. At the next time out, Miles with his mad face on got in Petteway's face and if I read his lips correctly yelled, "We don't need that! We are only four points down! Play ball!" UAB pulled away when he put up three bad shots in three possessions late in the second half.

[royalfan]

 

We put up plenty of points to win.  Offense functioned plenty well with Petteway leading the charge.  He isn't scared.  I like it.  Defense is the issue, not Petteway scoring a lot of points and even leading to easy put backs when he did miss by drawing the defense to him.   Very pleased with what I have seen from him.  Nothing remotely resembling your post that we would be better off without him and he should be ran off.  I stick by my statement I made then regarding Petteway.  It is Miles job to define what is a good shot for him and what isn't.  He is shooting over 40 percent from the land of plenty in early going.  So if he is wide open is he supposed to turn that shot down?  I don't know the answer.  I trust Miles to make that determination.  So far it seems he is told to take the shot.  

 

Same people that don't like his shot selection probably didn't care for Talley and Gallegos shot selection either. 

I believe that one of Dean's main points is that Terran's antics on offense may be affecting the whole team in energy and morale, which may be a reason why we are also struggling so much on defense.  Of course, it shouldn't necessarily be that way.  The other players should suck it up and still get back and play 100% all out on offense and defense no matter what Terran is doing.  But they are college kids and they have emotions and get frustrated like anyone else.  If they see Terran jack up a wild shot with 30 seoconds on the clock without ever looking to pass, it is human nature to drop and shrug your shoulders a little.  Meanwhile, the opponent is blazing down the court and getting in position to score.  Bad shots take the wind out of the sails a little.  It is similar to a turnover by the offense in football, psychologically it just makes it a little more difficult for the defense to go out there and try to get yet another stop so soon.

 

Yeah I guess I could see that logic, even though I personally don't agree with it at all.  I don't think he took that many bad shots though and think it is completely overblown and had we won the games people would be praising him.  He was usually attacking from what I saw, not jacking up a ton of shots he cannot make.  I haven't watched him enough yet to know what I am comfortable with him taking though quite yet.  Others seem like they do know just because he missed the other day from deep.  What is he from 3?  Is he a 40 percent shooter?  Is it 25 percent?  I don't yet know so I am not going to judge the shot selection as harshly until I do. 

[royalfan]

He has not made me happy at the defensive end thus far though.  He needs to be the leader on that end.  He is athletic enough to be a big factor on that end and he needs to worry about that end far more than he has thus far. 

[hhcmatt]

Via Lee B

 

Miles said he’ll spend the next 24 to 36 hours reviewing practice plans and lineup combinations to change course. But something else is eating at him.

“I just don’t believe the ‘buy in’ is completely there,” the coach said. “We still get guys worrying about how many shots they’ve got.

“It’s going to take time for this group. They are strong, rugged, competitive kids. To get them all on the same page is my job, and that’s what we’re going to get to work on.”

[FredsSlacks]

Everyone seems to be worried about our selfishness on offense, but what does that have to do with the fact that we gave up 87/96 points and were outrebounded in both losses.

[NeeandMe]

Year two of the regime, after 3 wins and 2 losses, they are not at a crossroads.  They are at a point where they need to figure out rotation and which 5 work best together at a given time.  A crossroads is the football program, where you're looking at 6 years of work and trying to decide which way the program is moving.  This isn't even a bump in the road, we pretty well knew they'd be hovering around .500 at this point.  Miles needs to figure out essentially an entirely new rotation this year... if he had it figured out in 5 games he'd be the greatest coach in the history of the game and worthy of naming his salary.

[Husker Fan]

Petteway has shone me nothing but shellfish play. He never gives the ball up in transition.

I blame miles just as much. He is the coach.

Has anyone noticed that petteway has an anger problem? Whenever he gets a foul called on him he looks like he is going to lose it.

I agree with you.  Shellfish play begins in practice and it is the coaches job to either stop it or allow it.  If Doc had not run Dinger off, the same thing was going to happen. 

[FredsSlacks]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MKoU5LiAIE

[royalfan]

NU favored by 3.5.  I predict a nice win and a cover.  Lets get one and get out of this debacle 1-2 and regroup.

[Dean Smith]

Year two of the regime, after 3 wins and 2 losses, they are not at a crossroads.  They are at a point where they need to figure out rotation and which 5 work best together at a given time.  A crossroads is the football program, where you're looking at 6 years of work and trying to decide which way the program is moving.  This isn't even a bump in the road, we pretty well knew they'd be hovering around .500 at this point.  Miles needs to figure out essentially an entirely new rotation this year... if he had it figured out in 5 games he'd be the greatest coach in the history of the game and worthy of naming his salary.

 

All right let me clarify. I should have recognized in the over-dramatic, hyperbolic world we live in, where the meaning of "literally" has now become "figuratively," people would misconstrue the meaning of crossroads. Crossroads is simply a point in which traveling in two directions is possible.

 

I have never judged the success of my teams and the success of the teams I root for based on the win/loss record. I base success on how close a team comes to reaching its overall potential. You can play well and reach your potential and still have a losing record if that is where your potential lies. 

 

This team is young, inexperienced and playing in what projects as the toughest conference in the nation. They are going to have trouble winning games no matter how well they play, but there is still a level of performance that they can still reach. Some teams do over-perform and some under-perform.

 

Trying to stay with the drama people have attempted to turn my position into: There now seems to be a struggle for the soul of this team. It is possible to turn a team around once it has gone off course but it is hugely difficult. If they do not get these issues of rotations, roles, and attitude fixed this will be an under-performing team. If Coach Miles can get his team to "buy in" as he stated in his interview posted somewhere on this site today, then they have the opportunity to reach their potential or even over-achieve. This is the crossroads they are at. That does not mean that we should pack in the season or begin discussing how well of a job Miles is doing. Every season has a crossroads and some years you can have several. Sometimes it is impossible to identify when you arrived at that crossroads until the season is over and you can look back in retrospect. This season that is not the case. It seemed obvious to me (which is why I started this thread) that there was problems with the attitude, effort, cohesion and everything else that some just call team spirit. In reading Coach Miles quote it appears he has come to the same conclusion, I assume long before I did.

 

Whether the Huskers win tomorrow or not will not answer the question as to whether we have these problems sorted. I mentioned I had questions after game 3 & 4 but no one seemed to care because we won those games. Winning did not change the fact that this problems existed and I'm sure Coach Miles was aware of them at that time. The losses just brought these issues out into the bright light. These are issues that can stunt the growth of a season or completely decimate a team if things do break down into an us against them within the team. I don't think our coach will allow that to happen. 

 

We are now at the crossroads. We can go one way and even though I'm sure we will win some more games, be an underachieving team. Or we can use the experience and pull together to start to make strides to reaching our potential. That would be the two directions we have available at this crossroads. You know, that place where it is possible to start going in one of two different directions. One direction being underachieving and the other being potential reaching. Should I have maybe used the phrase "fork in the road."

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twqa9AppfeE

[kldm64]

Disagree on Petteway costing us the ball games.  Disagree in a big way.  He was easily our best player.  Not close. 

 

Just because you score the most points doesn't mean you are the best player.  Right now, Petteway is doing more harm than good for this team.

[royalfan]

Well put Dean. 

[royalfan]

 

Disagree on Petteway costing us the ball games.  Disagree in a big way.  He was easily our best player.  Not close. 

 

Just because you score the most points doesn't mean you are the best player.  Right now, Petteway is doing more harm than good for this team.

 

Don't agree at all unless you speak of his performance at the defensive end which I would agree with.  He needs to be the leader at that end as well if he is going to be at the offensive end.  He has the skill set to make a difference on the defensive end.  But I am of the belief he is a willing and able passer.  Just didn't happen for whatever reason in those two games.  I think his game meshes well with Gallegos.  Time will tell. 

[royalfan]

Actually I do agree that the guy that scores the most isn't necessarily your best player.  But I do think he is right up there on our pecking order of good players.  He will figure it out.  I think he is a guy that wants to win. 

[Hooper]

This is an interesting topic. I honestly don't believe that the Carmelo comparison is entirely valid, because Carmelo is a multimillionaire pro athlete, and it's often extremely difficult for NBA coaches to reign in guys like that. Phil Jackson was in tremendous demand, and incredibly successful, in good part because he was the master of dealing with this type of athlete.

 

Terran Petteway is a college player who has no ability to subvert the coaching staff's whims over a sustained period of time. Eventually, he'll simply find his way out of the starting line-up, his minutes will decline, and this negative reinforcement would likely make him wake up. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

 

Despite all of the negative comments about Petteway hurting this team (and I'm really not arguing this point), I'm surprised that there's not at least a little more excitement about his scoring potency, however unbridled it might be at this point in his development. 

 

We watched a team last year that often had incredible difficulty putting the ball in the basket. Very rarely did scoring come easily for that group. Seeing guys like Petteway and Biggs, despite their failure thus far to play consistently within the scheme, has me a lot more excited than bummed out. It's a much more preferable problem to have a wild stallion that has to be "broken" than to have a plodding plough horse whose potential is at best mediocre.

 

We hear from guys like Petteway and Pitchford in interviews that there's total buy-in from the players. If that's true, then they need to demonstrate that through their actions and not just through their words. 

 

Norm said it's too early to be highly critical of the coaching staff, and I happen to agree. That's not blind faith. It's based on what I saw last year with a staff that wasn't exactly playing with a wealth of resources, in either skill or depth. Despite this, I watched them beat a damned good Valpo team in the third game. I saw them hang tough with much more talented Wisconsin and OSU teams in Lincoln. 

 

I watched them beat a more talented Iowa team, and a more talented Minnesota team that made the NCAAs. Then there was the Purdue win in the first round of the B1G tourney.

 

I felt last year that this coaching staff came pretty damned close to fulfilling the potential of that basketball team. I see no reason to believe they can't eventually do the same with this group. If we're still talking about this topic a month from now and seeing no tangible improvement in rectifying these issues, then let's talk. Until then, I have to believe that Miles and Co. are just as frustrated by these issues as we are, and that they have a plan to get them fixed.