Coach Miles Radio Hour - Dec 2

[throwback]

Starts at 7 - I can try to take some quick notes on what's said, unless someone else would like to do it

 

Not that this would be different from usual, but it should be a fun show with plenty of energy - I saw Coach Miles on the Husker N Side TV show last night and they had a segment about basketball with Davison. When Matt mentioned Miami & CU coming up this week, Coach just started clapping and nodding ... I think he's pretty fired up to see where the team stands with a pair of good challenging games.

[throwback]

Davison on now - had a few things to say about hoops

 

NIU game?

 

• Even when don't play best, still nice to get a win, that means we're getting better as a program
• NIU just kept hanging around, made things tight
• Still a ways to go for the team
• We'll learn a lot this week
• Coach still trying to figure out the best combos
• Still trying to do a lot of teaching
• Should be a fun week - 2 good opponents

 

Tweaking starters?

 

• Webster should start 
• I like Biggs off the bench, great spark, changed the NIU game
• Smith very impressive coming off the bench
• Then Petteway, Pitchford, Shields, and Gallagos likely start
• Gallegos struggling, so maybe that's where a change occurs
• Biggs has done a lot on offense so far this season, even though he's not playing a lot of minutes thus far

[throwback]

Coach Miles says he's happy to be 5-2 right now, "beats the alternative"

 

Foul vs no foul?

 

• Too much time left to foul
• Kenya just said he thought it was too early, and we all agreed
• Just decided to put Parker on ball, as he's our best there
• Parker did a nice job of gathering and contesting shot, even though he's small
• Thankful it didn't go in, game needed to end

 

Parker?

 

• Height is his issue, but he does a great job
• Taller guys in the B1G will cause him some problems
• Some nights it's hard to get bigger guards under control
• Parker did pretty well vs UAB's Frazier

 

Biggs energy?

 

• Didn't play first 8 minutes
• As soon as he came in he was ready
• Didn't pout or hang his head
• Made a lot of plays for us
• He was in at the end and that's what matters
• He and Smith both from Seward CC - they both do well coming off the bench
• Nice to have distributor like Tai and/or Parker in early
• Can't have all scorers in early in the game
• As we find right mix of guys, we'll be all right

 

Smith?

 

• When he's hitting FTs can really score
• Had a couple of turnovers, going into double teams that weren't characteristic for him
• Very pleased to get 13 & 9 out of him

 

Blocks?

 

• We do a good job of forcing turnovers
• 16 turnovers no surprise by NIU
• 16 turnovers by us was a surprise
• Happy we had a lot of blocks vs NIU, but it won't happen most nights

 

3 pt shooting for NU?

 

• My preferred number of 3 attempts is whatever flow of game dictates
• I want to attack the rim
• "Love the rim, like the 3" we always say
• Screen and roll, drive, whatever, just get to the rim, put pressure on teams, make them defend the rim
• Sometimes we don't shoot enough 3s, but I'll take that when we're shooting a lot of FTs
• Important part of our game plan to get to FT line vs NIU
• We didn't shoot well vs NIU, 6 for 27 by Petteway, Pitch & Gallegos combined
• Then throw in Shavon only playing 17 min, we were in trouble

 

Gallegos health?

 

• I think he's OK
• I met with him today, he'll be fine
• He's going from a role of 39 min per game to 25 min per game - doesn't have to shoot every shot this year
• He just has to adjust mentally because that's not changing

[throwback]

Big week?

 

• We're going to find out what we're made of
• Same kind of week as we had at Charleston, which didn't go as well as we wanted
• We have to fast forward our maturity
• Miami won 2 games at the tourney, where CU only won 1
• Miami is just getting better and better
• CU has a team of a lifetime

 

Miami new players?

 

• Lot of length, toughness, athleticism
• Coach L has 500+ wins, he's great

 

Practice time since Charleston?

 

• It's been beneficial
• So much practice may have made us a bit sluggish vs NIU
• But we need to practice
• I see some light bulbs starting to click on
• Finals week will also give us a lot of time to practice
• We need it

[hhcmatt]

Late to the show, we've got a crawling baby here!

[throwback]

Jay Z concert?

 

• You should see me moving to Jay Z
• Kenya didn't get to go - gotta earn that ticket
• Nice time
• Coach Smith went too
• Stayed through power outage - posed for probably 30+ pictures
• I knew 3 songs going in, now I know 5
• Got some Jay Z on my iPod
• Ready for a Justin Timberlake concert now

 

I think somebody needs to call in with some real questions 

 

Kenya Hunter will be on next segment

 

• As soon as I talked to him, I knew I wanted to hire him
• Great guy
• Really knows basketball
• When he left G-town for NU, I asked him if he was tired of winning 
• He said, no I want to make NU a consistent winner
• Great asset for our program
• He's here for the right reasons

[throwback]

Kenya Hunter will have this segment - Coach Miles probably getting some queso 

 

• Love Lincoln
• Family is adjusting well
• Missed Jay Z because my wife had me hanging Xmas lights
• Not buying Coach Miles knows 5 Jay Z songs

 

Working with this team?

 

• We have a young team
• Obviously with so many new parts, everyone is trying to figure out his role
• Taking some time
• But by teaching them the right things, we can end up being pretty good

 

Work ethic of players?

 

• Very competitive guys
• Petteway & Shields are our hardest workers & bring other guys in the gym
• Rey too
• All of them do their part helping each other & getting everyone in the gym

 

Kenya's role on staff? Recruiting?

 

• Coach has us in certain areas
• I'm handling Chicago, Michigan, Wash DC areas
• We also all split up the prep schools, try to make good contacts & leads
• Trying to get a jump on 2015 class

 

Great story to tell at G-town to recruits - what do you tell about NU?

 

• Coach Miles resume speaks for itself as a builder
• We have good working parts now
• Add 1-2 parts to what we have, we'll continue to get better & grow into league & national contender

 

What did you know about NU coming in? Thoughts now?

 

• Just need to get the recruits here
• Facilities and atmosphere sold me on this job, just blew me away
• Winning games will help recruiting 
• Once we get them here for a visit, we like our chances of winning recruits

 

Scouting? Tough to adjust to what Coach Miles wants?

 

• We do things a good way here
• I'm learning the terminology they use - important so we're all on the same page
• I did UAB scout, sorry to say
• I bounced back with NIU scout
• Hoping to get better at learning terminology used here

 

Coming from Big East, what about Big Ten?

 

• Know it's a top league with ACC
• Excited to see some new competition
• Important to continue working next couple of weeks
• Set of three games coming up need to get better

 

You're working with guards?

 

• Point guards are constantly getting better
• Biggs 1st year at this level, Tai a freshman, Benny's 2nd year
• All of them are competing vs each other & working hard
• Work in progress

 

Nice to have so many gym rats?

 

• A sign that the program is moving the right way
• Gives you a chance to get better when guys are living in the gym
• We have a chance to do special things this year even

End of segment - Coach Miles will be back next

[throwback]

Prob should keep Coach Hunter?

 

• We're pleased to have him
• He has work to do on scouts 
• He did a great job with NIU scout, we took their best stuff away
• Most of our mistakes were self-inflicted
• Kenya had us ready

 

Caller question - blue fan   who is glad Coach Osborne hired Coach Miles - wants to see both teams doing well - how do you plan to take away CU's strengths?

 

• Very wily move by blue fan to ask for our game plan
• Start watching them, figure out quick they're tough to stop
• Brooks a strong driver
• Wragge great shooter
• Gibbs is a play maker
• McDermott can hurt you a lot of ways
• Interesting to watch how GW guarded McD - 6-10 guy stayed down well, didn't take fakes
• I don't know that we have that kind of player, but we'll have to do it with a lot of different guys
• They have a team of a lifetime at CU
• From personal experience S Diego St can make you look bad 
• GW coach was at Vermont where they went to a lot of NCAAs - does a nice job
• GW will be tougher than people think
• CU is a tough matchup for us & for anyone
• GW type game happens to everyone - anyone can have a bad night
• Can't wait for CU, but I'm focused on Miami first
• McD will be ready for us
• I'm glad Coach Osborne hired me too, I love being at Nebraska

 

Caller - very excited about Miami & CU - Miami was Top 10 last year right? - Smith might not be MVP, but he may be guy you can least afford to lose - worry about his health - seems like he limps a lot in games?

 

• Very astute comments, I agree
• Smith is a vital part of what we're doing
• Had a knee injury at SMU - very serious
• He has scar tissue in there, and it sometimes swells up, limiting his mobility
• Our trainers and team drs are working closely with him
• We'll hold him out of practice if needed
• He says knee feels good
• One of the games he was limping, but it was a charley horse, not the knee
• He & Shavon are very important to us
• We don't want to lose Smith that's for sure

 

Smith coming off bench?

 

• Yes he brought it up to me before season
• He thought it would be good for team and would be a role he would embrace
• I talked to Smith & Biggs both about coming off bench - they'll both get starter minutes anyway & likely be on the floor at the end in most games
• Somewhat rare to have guys like that who are willing to come off bench
• Some guys don't handle it well - want to make a big play right away so I don't take them out - that only happens if I'm mad at them & don't like them 

 

Iowa lost in tourney final?

 

• Villanova is a tough team
• B1G teams have fared well in most of these events
• Purdue didn't play great, neither did we
• Penn St got to a final
• Interested to see how Big Ten-ACC challenge comes out
• Hurts B1G if Michigan isn't fully healthy vs Duke

[throwback]

Final segment - Big Ten/ACC challenge begins tomorrow - NU plays Wednesday

 

• Miami is in town now & they're at Misty's downtown if anyone wants to harass them - not saying do anything illegal 
• I've met Coach L a few times, great coach
• Told Miami's assistant coach whom I know well that I was doing radio show tonight, he's probably listening, so I want to announce that we're changing everything we've been doing 

 

Big week?

 

• 2 national TV broadcasts
• CU can be a great rivalry, if we can start beating them
• Big Ten/ACC challenge great to be a part of
• Need to figure out ways to win - our methods of winning likely will be different each night because we have so many options

 

How is Bracketing of challenge done?

 

• Coaches have no say
• I don't know how they figure out matchups
• Probably officials at each conference get together, try to make even matchups
• I think they figured we'd be better since Miami was Sweet 16 team last year - then again we were last in Big Ten poll, not that I'm bitter & bring that up every week 
• We're really excited for Miami
• Very evenly matched game
• Need fans to be loud & rowdy - make those ushers work

 

Finals week?

 

• Dead week & finals week are tricky for practice - can't play games during finals week
• Also have to work around Xmas
• This is a big time for players academically
• Always worry about illnesses if guys are getting enough sleep
• Have to make sure all of them are on top of things academically, most do a really good job on their own
• Great support staff here at NU

 

Between semesters practice?

 

• We can do just about anything with practice time during that period - we're above the law
• We'll send them home 2-1/2 days total
• Bad part you have to bring them back Xmas night
• We'll have a work out that night
• Practice Dec 26 then fly out to Cincy
• Good time to tidy up zone defense, work on specifics, out of bounds plays, etc
• Throw in a few new wrinkles

 

Zone from Miami?

 

• Showed a lot of 3-2 matchup zone
• Can't overthink that stuff
• Just have to play offense - move ball, move people, drive and get ball inside, get open shots for teammates

 

Tweak lineup?

 

• Still thinking about it, not going to say in case Miami coaches are listening
• Had a great crowd Saturday with 11K + 
• Really need them in Lincoln Wednesday
• And need our fans in Omaha Sunday too

[HB]

Great job, Throwback. I actually was able to listen tonight, and you didn't miss a thing.  Good to know I can miss a show but not really miss it due to your summary. 

[49r]

 

Final segment - Big Ten/ACC challenge begins tomorrow

 

• Had a great crowd Saturday with 11K + 

 

I had wondered about this, hadn't seen an attendance number.  But I got to thinking.  Last year, this was the kind of game that would only have drawn around 3 or 4k.  That's really amazing to think about how much excitement there is for what's going on with the program.

 

I was standing out on the terrace after the game watching the Michigan/OSU game on the Railyard screen and the 3-5 thousand Husker fans cheering on Michigan during that last drive and I said to someone standing next to me "did you ever, in your life, think you'd see a scene like this for a basketball game in Lincoln, Nebraska?" and he just smiled and shook his head.

 

It still boggles my mind.  Folks, we're building something really special here, and this is only the beginning!

 

Thanks, Throwback for your liveblog of the radio show.  It's really great!

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

Final segment - Big Ten/ACC challenge begins tomorrow

 

• Had a great crowd Saturday with 11K + 

 

I had wondered about this, hadn't seen an attendance number.  But I got to thinking.  Last year, this was the kind of game that would only have drawn around 3 or 4k.  That's really amazing to think about how much excitement there is for what's going on with the program.

 

I was standing out on the terrace after the game watching the Michigan/OSU game on the Railyard screen and the 3-5 thousand Husker fans cheering on Michigan during that last drive and I said to someone standing next to me "did you ever, in your life, think you'd see a scene like this for a basketball game in Lincoln, Nebraska?" and he just smiled and shook his head.

 

It still boggles my mind.  Folks, we're building something really special here, and this is only the beginning!

 

Thanks, Throwback for your liveblog of the radio show.  It's really great!

 

 

Concur on all fronts. And, the entire Canopy Street & PBA area is also an amazing stroke of genius for the city of Lincoln.

[throwback]

Not a problem - listening to Coach Miles is always entertaining 

[a0t0w0]

Like the others said- Thanks for the great summary.

 

Cracks me up Timmy went to the concert last night. I hope he wasn't responsible for setting off the smoke trigger.

[HB]

Late to the show, we've got a crawling baby here!

 

Metaphor for our young team?     Gotta learn to crawl before you can walk....

[Silverbacked1]

Thanks Throwback.

[doc1394]

Throwback this is so awesome every week.

 

Great idea by the university to do something like this to really show off Coach Miles and feed off the energy that is being created. 

 

Does Bo do a radio show like this?

[hhcmatt]

 

Late to the show, we've got a crawling baby here!

 

Metaphor for our young team?     Gotta learn to crawl before you can walk....

 

 

Honestly we thought she was going to forgo crawling and just start walking.  Babies and basketball teams surprise you sometimes

[hhcdave]

THANK YOU for doing this.

[twinswingohuskers]

Thanks Throwback

  For those of us that can't always listen, this is fantastic.

[Buglem]

Agree with everyone else, I listened to the last half hour and you didn't miss anything! Amazing job! Thanks Throwback!

[Norm Peterson]

Throwback has some mad typing skilz.

[royalfan]

Yep, Throwback quickly becoming a posting MVP.