uneblinstu's post game chatter: ed 6, vol 8: Northern Illinois

[uneblinstu]

No list of thoughts today, just one over arching one:

 

There really was no excuse for this game being that close.  This team looked disinterested most of the game, so did the fans, but that didn't surprise me.  It seems like this team needs to have its manhood challenged before they give their best effort.  That's not entirely uncommon for teams learning how to play at this level and how to play together.  We've got a bunch of players like that on this team.  Northern Illinois might have been better than I expected, but this is a team NU should have run out of the building.  If they're going to need to lean on the "we've got something to prove" card, we'll probably see a bunch of games where they play to the level of their competition.  They've got the talent to make a statement, not sure they have the mentality yet.

[Norm Peterson]

Whelmed.  

 

This group of players has not yet congealed into a team.  Some of the guys are way too inconsistent.

 

Lovin' me some Leslee Smith, though.  Great pick up.  Brings a lot to the table and isn't selfish about it.

 

Let's see if they can rise to the occasion against Miami.  Right now it seems they play up or down to the level of the competition, which is something you often see out of young teams.

[hhcmatt]

Box Score

 

[Huskerpapa]

Yikes...that was ugly.  But for Biggs and Leslee, we were extremely underwhelming today.  Hope our learning curve starts an upward turn soon...very soon!

[Norm Peterson]

So Petteway missed 4 times as many shots as Shavon Shields attempted.  That's jacked up.  And, yes, Shields had foul trouble.  I get that.  Still, Shavon is disappearing from our offense. No matter how good you think Petteway is, you can't think we're better if we play like a 1-man team.  Dean Smith and Ladyhusker made some good points the other day and some on here just dismissed what they had to say for some reason.  I don't understand the infatuation some have with Petteway.  He might be our best player in terms of skill and athleticism, but right now he's not making our team better.  

 

I think we looked better the first couple of games.  Right now, our offense looks out of sync.  That's a consequence of guys worried about their own stats rather than the team's stats.

[hhcmatt]

Highlights from the B1G

 

http://www.snappytv.com/landing/b1g-network?s=171590

[hhcmatt]

So Petteway missed 4 times as many shots as Shavon Shields attempted.  That's jacked up.  And, yes, Shields had foul trouble.  I get that.  Still, Shavon is disappearing from our offense. No matter how good you think Petteway is, you can't think we're better if we play like a 1-man team.  Dean Smith and Ladyhusker made some good points the other day and some on here just dismissed what they had to say for some reason.  I don't understand the infatuation some have with Petteway.  He might be our best player in terms of skill and athleticism, but right now he's not making our team better.  

 

I think we looked better the first couple of games.  Right now, our offense looks out of sync.  That's a consequence of guys worried about their own stats rather than the team's stats.

 

I think I only saw one or two shots today from Petteway that were WTF.  The rest of the time he almost seemed a little passive...there were a couple of times where we could have used him to be more selfish.

 

Shields is great but he's not really helping the team by committing dumb fouls all the time either.  Seems hard for him to get involved or shoot if he isn't on the court.

[hhcmatt]

BTW, does anyone else think that Deverell Biggs has a pretty nice looking outside shot

[Huskerpapa]

Generally I thought Petteway took shots in the flow of the game.  On a few occasions that was not the case, but I thought he was more selective and he was more of a team player today.  Walter seemed to force a few today.  We also tried to make a couple of awesome plays, and they ended up being turnovers.

 

We just seem disjointed more often than not.  This was not a good team, but we made them seem better then they were.  I will give them credit, they never quit. 

 

I am still trying to figure out who should be in the starting line up.  Today, if you forgive some of the mistakes, I kind of liked Biggs, Webster, Petteway, Shields and Leslee.  But I am not convinced that should be the starting five.  I walked out of the game today with many, many more questions than answers.

[hhcmatt]

[uneblinstu]

I like the times we've had Smith and Pitchford on the floor at the same time.

[AuroranHusker]

I like the times we've had Smith and Pitchford on the floor at the same time.

 

Especially when Biggs and Webster were also out there on the perimeter...

[Silverbacked1]

So Petteway missed 4 times as many shots as Shavon Shields attempted. That's jacked up. And, yes, Shields had foul trouble. I get that. Still, Shavon is disappearing from our offense. No matter how good you think Petteway is, you can't think we're better if we play like a 1-man team. Dean Smith and Ladyhusker made some good points the other day and some on here just dismissed what they had to say for some reason. I don't understand the infatuation some have with Petteway. He might be our best player in terms of skill and athleticism, but right now he's not making our team better.

I think we looked better the first couple of games. Right now, our offense looks out of sync. That's a consequence of guys worried about their own stats rather than the team's stats.

I think I only saw one or two shots today from Petteway that were WTF. The rest of the time he almost seemed a little passive...there were a couple of times where we could have used him to be more selfish.

Shields is great but he's not really helping the team by committing dumb fouls all the time either. Seems hard for him to get involved or shoot if he isn't on the court.

I would agree with this. There was a couple of times late in the game where nobody seemed to want to take any control.

Young team will grow and I don't have any problems with Tarren at this point unless Tim does and will know that when he sits more than plays.

[basketballjones]

I firmly believe this team should be built around Shavon Shields. Petteway is a fools gold player. Probably has all the tools to be "the dude," on your squad... But there's just something missing. He's can't attempt your most shots. If he does you've got a problem.

I really think Shields is your dude, and Biggs and Webster should be creating for him. Petteway should get buckets in transition, offensive rebounds, steals, and strong drives.

[Silverbacked1]

I know that at least 3 times Terran was the guy who was open on the drive and dish. So if our offense is set up that way, he needs to take and make that shot.

[ajb5856]

I know that at least 3 times Terran was the guy who was open on the drive and dish. So if our offense is set up that way, he needs to take and make that shot.

Agree with this. I still think that people are getting too caught up on the number, the number of shots Petteway takes. I thought the ball was shared today. The offense was a little stagnant at times but it wasn't just Petteway, Petteway, Petteway going 1 on everyone forcing it to the rim on every play. Shields got the ball a number of times and was bottled up. Would everyone be more okay with our offense if Shields forced some shots, really took it to the hoop when nothing was there and forced them so he could get his attempt number up? And what is Petteway supposed to do? Not be aggressive when Gallegos throws a somewhat ill-advised lob? Just let it go so he doesn't add an attempt to his stat line? Not shoot a wide open corner 3 off a beautiful drive and kick by Biggs? I say all of these things still agreeing that Shields needs to be more involved in the offense. I just don't think that Petteway is preventing that right now. The ball was shared today and if we didn't have those aggressive drivers (Biggs/Petteway) then I think there would be frustration from us right now wondering when somebody was going to take charge and assert themselves. Right now we have that, the entire team just needs to sort some things out about who should do this and when they should do this. They will figure it out.

[doc1394]

A lot of great dive and dishes during the first half, loved the ball movement

[doc1394]

Also, I thought pitchford had a great 1st half getting rebounds and hustling actually inside the arc. Gotta keep that effort going into the second half

[ajb5856]

A lot of great dive and dishes during the first half, loved the ball movement

Couldn't agree more about the ball movement in the 1st half. Problem was, we didn't hit our shots today. Those balls go in and magically the offense looks great. In the second half, we struggled, then tightened up and looked lost a little bit. I'm just glad we found a way to hold on despite terrible shooting all day, from the floor, from three, and especially freethrows.

[HuskerCager]

Whelmed.  

 

This group of players has not yet congealed into a team.  Some of the guys are way too inconsistent.

 

Lovin' me some Leslee Smith, though.  Great pick up.  Brings a lot to the table and isn't selfish about it.

 

Let's see if they can rise to the occasion against Miami.  Right now it seems they play up or down to the level of the competition, which is something you often see out of young teams.

Agree with you on Leslee Smith.  I was hoping he could give us 8-10 minutes/game, and a few rebounds.  He's brought that and a lot more.  He has some solid moves inside and appears to be a leader.

This team still hasn't learn to pass.  We've seen that with a few of the newcomers, but was a little surprised and disappointed to see Shavon fall into that habit with a 5-1 break 2 minutes into the second half.  He had a couple of options to dish it off for an easy lay-in but took it on in himself (I do think he got fouled at least).

[basketballjones]

I will say though guys - for the first time in my recent Nebrasketball history I can't say that we are "this guy away from being good."

I think we have enough pieces.... We're just trying to figure out how to use them.

[hugh42]

 

Whelmed.  

 

This group of players has not yet congealed into a team.  Some of the guys are way too inconsistent.

 

Lovin' me some Leslee Smith, though.  Great pick up.  Brings a lot to the table and isn't selfish about it.

 

Let's see if they can rise to the occasion against Miami.  Right now it seems they play up or down to the level of the competition, which is something you often see out of young teams.

Agree with you on Leslee Smith.  I was hoping he could give us 8-10 minutes/game, and a few rebounds.  He's brought that and a lot more.  He has some solid moves inside and appears to be a leader.

This team still hasn't learn to pass.  We've seen that with a few of the newcomers, but was a little surprised and disappointed to see Shavon fall into that habit with a 5-1 break 2 minutes into the second half.  He had a couple of options to dish it off for an easy lay-in but took it on in himself (I do think he got fouled at least).

 

 

No one has really brought this up until now, but Miles has even said that Shavon needs to get better in this area.

[hhcmatt]

 

 

Whelmed.  

 

This group of players has not yet congealed into a team.  Some of the guys are way too inconsistent.

 

Lovin' me some Leslee Smith, though.  Great pick up.  Brings a lot to the table and isn't selfish about it.

 

Let's see if they can rise to the occasion against Miami.  Right now it seems they play up or down to the level of the competition, which is something you often see out of young teams.

Agree with you on Leslee Smith.  I was hoping he could give us 8-10 minutes/game, and a few rebounds.  He's brought that and a lot more.  He has some solid moves inside and appears to be a leader.

This team still hasn't learn to pass.  We've seen that with a few of the newcomers, but was a little surprised and disappointed to see Shavon fall into that habit with a 5-1 break 2 minutes into the second half.  He had a couple of options to dish it off for an easy lay-in but took it on in himself (I do think he got fouled at least).

 

 

No one has really brought this up until now, but Miles has even said that Shavon needs to get better in this area.

 

 

He hasn't mentioned anyone by name in terms of passing more

[hhcmatt]

It was pointed out in the KenPom thread that our defensive efficiency is trending downward quickly.

Does it matter who gets the most shots on offense if we give up 18 points in 22 minutes to guys like Jordan Threloff?  

With all seriousness, can either Surge or Kye play 1-4 minutes of defense a game without fouling?

 

If we lose the Miami game or Creighton game, it's not going to be because a guy shot too much or not enough...it's going to be because a guy like James Kelly puts up 30 or MackD puts up 50.

[hugh42]

 

 

 

Whelmed.  

 

This group of players has not yet congealed into a team.  Some of the guys are way too inconsistent.

 

Lovin' me some Leslee Smith, though.  Great pick up.  Brings a lot to the table and isn't selfish about it.

 

Let's see if they can rise to the occasion against Miami.  Right now it seems they play up or down to the level of the competition, which is something you often see out of young teams.

Agree with you on Leslee Smith.  I was hoping he could give us 8-10 minutes/game, and a few rebounds.  He's brought that and a lot more.  He has some solid moves inside and appears to be a leader.

This team still hasn't learn to pass.  We've seen that with a few of the newcomers, but was a little surprised and disappointed to see Shavon fall into that habit with a 5-1 break 2 minutes into the second half.  He had a couple of options to dish it off for an easy lay-in but took it on in himself (I do think he got fouled at least).

 

 

No one has really brought this up until now, but Miles has even said that Shavon needs to get better in this area.

 

 

He hasn't mentioned anyone by name in terms of passing more

 

 

Miles hasn't said the words "Shavon needs to pass the ball more", but he has said that he needs to get better in terms of assists or something to that affect (paraphrasing here).  This was during a press conference and my interpretation was this wasn't about the number of assists, but about sharing the ball.  Not saying he's selfish, but more about making the smart play like dumping the ball to Petteway or Pitchford for a layup on a 4 on 1 break yesterday.