Player evaluation

[kldm64]

We are approaching the mid-way point in the season already so thought it would be interesting to see what everyone's thoughts are on evaluating where you think each player is right now as opposed to where you thought they would be:

 

Tia Webster - struggling with mind games (a little behind what I expected)

Deverell Biggs - loads of talent but needs to get his act together (behind what I expected)

David Rivers - good luck figuring this one out

Benny Parker - has improved over last year some (about where I expected him to be)

Nathan Hawkins - injury hurt him to start season (a little better than I expected him to be)

Terran Petteway - tremendous upside when he plays under control (better than expected)

Trevor Menke - mop up duty player

Mike Peltz - mop up duty player

Sergej Vucetic - don't see a future with any minutes at NU

Ray Gallegos - expected more from Ray so far (behind where I expected him to be)

Leslee Smith - solid and consistant (better than I expected him to be)

Nick Fuller - redshirting and with good reason

Shavon Shields - pretty consistant but still lacking confidence in outside shot (behind where I expected)

Walter Pitchford - not a post player but good outside shooter (about where I expected him to be)

Kye Kurkowski - mop up duty player

[jdostal]

I expected some semblance of an inside presence from Pitchford, probably because I needed to for my own psyche.

[Huskerpapa]

I am pretty much in line with where you are at KLDM.  My only difference would likely be Tai.  He is adjusting to the American game, adjusting to college ball and adjusting to being far from home.  He is going to be on that EKG maching that Coach Miles described. 

 

It is also important to remember that Petteway, Walter and Biggs all sat out last year.  Plus, Leslee is a JC transfer.  I have always believed that players that sit out or transfer in takes at least a semester to "settle in."  My expectation was for there to be early season struggles, but I also expect to see these players so exponential improvement in the 2nd half of the season.

[throwback]

I also like the OP assessment - I also feel like Webster may be a bit behind where I expected, but I will say Tai may be a victim of a certain college BB analyst who overhyped his game as it currently stands.  If we hadn't heard any of that "top 50" stuff, his play would be about what you'd expect from a frosh point guard.  

 

Overall I think we've got so many newcomers, it's been tough on all of them. Not only are they all trying to adjust to new teammates, but the majority of them (minus Gallegos & Shields) are playing significant D-1 minutes for the first time. They're still feeling their way. I wish it was going faster - so does everyone in that locker room - but patience is required ... and it likely will be required by the gallon these next 2 games. Ugh.

 

After seeing the open scrimmage and the UNK game, the team and players are about where I expected them to be. But if you didn't see anything in the preseason and your first chance to see the team was against FGCU, you may be disappointed with how things played out in the non-con. NU looked so good that night it was easy to kind of fast-forward things for a lot of these guys, but it's pretty obvious now that a chunk of NU's successes that night were because of FGCU's issues.

 

Still there's a lot of potential on your list. It's just going to take time unfortunately.

 

I would also give Parker a bit of a better grade - his on-ball defense has been very impressive thus far, and I think he's found his role on the team. I would have guessed he would play very little this season, so I'd put him ahead of expectations. Still no offensive threat from him, but this team has enough scorers that Benny is in a good spot being a defense-first player.

[49r]

I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone to disagree with you too much on these one way or another.  But I'll add my thoughts on a couple.

 

Tai - came in with way too much hype, IMO.  He's gonna be a good one for us, I have no doubt about that but he's gonna need a season or two go reach his potential.

 

Walt - big disappointment for me.  I love the kid and he's got the athleticism and size we need, but he isn't living up to my personal expectations so far.

 

Terran - big BIIIIG pleasant surprise.  I'm ecstatic about his impact on the team and his performance so far.  I love his game.

 

Leslee - another BIG pleasant surprise.  He is exactly the kind of big man presence we need.  Nice skills and he lets the game come to him.  I pray he can keep himself healthy because he's probably the single most important person on this team right now.

[jimmykc]

I pretty much agree with kldm64 but , at least to me, the biggest disappointments have been Fuller who I had pegged as a contributor this year and Vooch who I honestly thought was going to be given a chance to develop into a contributor in the future. I was obviously incorrect in either of these assumptions. This makes me sad because this year will be of value only in bridge building in all probability.

[kldm64]

I pretty much agree with kldm64 but , at least to me, the biggest disappointments have been Fuller who I had pegged as a contributor this year and Vooch who I honestly thought was going to be given a chance to develop into a contributor in the future. I was obviously incorrect in either of these assumptions. This makes me sad because this year will be of value only in bridge building in all probability.

 

That is pretty interesting.  I have to agree as I expected Fuller to be a contributor this season but after watching him in the exibition game, I'm glad he redshirted as he looked lost and not ready for this level of play yet.   

[Tallbaby21]

Shavon has struggled a bunch to finish at the rim and has had a few no shows in games when we've needed him to step up and lead. That said it's easy to forget he's a sophomore. 

[Dean Smith]

We are always being reminded that we are one big player away. You can't make people something they are not but it appears to me that some of Walter Pitchford's issues in the post is mind set. He is 6'10 and has a 40 some inch vertical. He is not the strongest kid in the world (which can be improved) but in the limited game action I have seen I don't spot a lot of effort on the defensive end. He gets sealed behind the offensive post and just seems satisfied to hang out back there. Offense posts get lower than him and back him down too close to the hoop. I don't know where Miles wants him to guard the post but it seems to me that it would make more sense for him to use his quickness to get in a full front. That's where I'm not seeing much work or desire from him to improve his defensive position. If he got to the front his length would discourage post entries and once he demonstrated that 40 inch vertical the other teams would realize how perfect their lob passes would need to be to get them over the top and not too far for the help side to get involved.

 

I have not seen any desire from him to get to work in the offensive post and get position. I've seen one or two posts from him all year and he is athletic enough he should be giving us something down there if he was willing to work for position or show the slightest interest in the low block for that matter. He is built for the jump hook/double drop favorite and counter move series.

Post play on both sides of the court require an attitude, hard work and the really good ones have a little bit of a mean streak. Maybe he's too nice to be a really good post player but I think there is a lot of room to improve his work effort. (Which is why I am really puzzled by the David Rivers situation. There has got to be more to it than we know.)

[cjbowbros]

We are always being reminded that we are one big player away. You can't make people something they are not but it appears to me that some of Walter Pitchford's issues in the post is mind set. He is 6'10 and has a 40 some inch vertical. He is not the strongest kid in the world (which can be improved) but in the limited game action I have seen I don't spot a lot of effort on the defensive end. He gets sealed behind the offensive post and just seems satisfied to hang out back there. Offense posts get lower than him and back him down too close to the hoop. I don't know where Miles wants him to guard the post but it seems to me that it would make more sense for him to use his quickness to get in a full front. That's where I'm not seeing much work or desire from him to improve his defensive position. If he got to the front his length would discourage post entries and once he demonstrated that 40 inch vertical the other teams would realize how perfect their lob passes would need to be to get them over the top and not too far for the help side to get involved.

 

I have not seen any desire from him to get to work in the offensive post and get position. I've seen one or two posts from him all year and he is athletic enough he should be giving us something down there if he was willing to work for position or show the slightest interest in the low block for that matter. He is built for the jump hook/double drop favorite and counter move series.

Post play on both sides of the court require an attitude, hard work and the really good ones have a little bit of a mean streak. Maybe he's too nice to be a really good post player but I think there is a lot of room to improve his work effort. (Which is why I am really puzzled by the David Rivers situation. There has got to be more to it than we know.)

I wonder if there is possibly a point where Walt would be taken out of the line-up to be replaced by Smith? What would that point be, if Smith would like playing as a starter, and if Myles would evenually make him even if he doesn't want to be?

[Swan88]

Here are some observations on progress of players through the Iowa game:

1. Inconsistency is a problem with this young team, but improvements are occurring at a meaningful pace.

2. Petteway is showing he can score a bunch of points, even against quality teams who know he is a scoring threat. Loved the TV announcer's recent comparison of his Nebrasketball production so far with his 3 points per game average at Tech--makes Tim Miles look like a genius in player development.

3. Biggs is making dramatic progress, even though his progress graph-line has significant peaks and valleys.

4. While it's easy to be frustrated with Pitchford's deficiencies, the reality is that he's making significant improvement. A double/double against Iowa, for example, is no minor accomplishment, and his defensive errors seem to be improving.

5. Webster is growing into his role. Like Biggs, his improvement graph is not a straight line, but it seems to be trending steeply upward nonetheless.

6. Shields' Sophomore slump will not last forever, particularly if progress by those mentioned above continues apace.

7. The fact cannot be ignored that the Huskers put up a valiant effort against Iowa, a ranked team, even though last year's second-leading scorer did not take a single shot from the floor in 23 minutes of play.

The conclusion is this: significant progress is being made with this exceedingly young team.

[Norm Peterson]

We are always being reminded that we are one big player away. You can't make people something they are not but it appears to me that some of Walter Pitchford's issues in the post is mind set. He is 6'10 and has a 40 some inch vertical. He is not the strongest kid in the world (which can be improved) but in the limited game action I have seen I don't spot a lot of effort on the defensive end. He gets sealed behind the offensive post and just seems satisfied to hang out back there. Offense posts get lower than him and back him down too close to the hoop. I don't know where Miles wants him to guard the post but it seems to me that it would make more sense for him to use his quickness to get in a full front. That's where I'm not seeing much work or desire from him to improve his defensive position. If he got to the front his length would discourage post entries and once he demonstrated that 40 inch vertical the other teams would realize how perfect their lob passes would need to be to get them over the top and not too far for the help side to get involved.

 

I have not seen any desire from him to get to work in the offensive post and get position. I've seen one or two posts from him all year and he is athletic enough he should be giving us something down there if he was willing to work for position or show the slightest interest in the low block for that matter. He is built for the jump hook/double drop favorite and counter move series.

Post play on both sides of the court require an attitude, hard work and the really good ones have a little bit of a mean streak. Maybe he's too nice to be a really good post player but I think there is a lot of room to improve his work effort. (Which is why I am really puzzled by the David Rivers situation. There has got to be more to it than we know.)

Dean, I love ya.  Love your insight and contributions.  And this is just a sterling example of the great stuff you add to the board.

 

OK, so we agree Petteway is getting better, shaking off some rust, making better decisions, maturing a bit, maybe, and not forcing shots so much.  Think he'll be pretty good. 

 

Shields is a solid kid.  Solid from the word go.  He's having some rough spots trying to find his role when you add Petteway to the mix, which is a dynamic that didn't exist last year or for the first couple of games this year.  Shavon will get it figured out.  I have no doubt.

 

Walter needs you.  I am absolutely convinced these skills can be learned and mastered by someone motivated to learn and master them.  From my personal experience as an undersized, underquick guy who had no ups but occasionally had to play the post, I strongly believe this stuff can be learned.  As important as anything else, IMO, when you are playing post is DECISIVENESS.  It makes up for lack of quickness, but Walt should have quickness in spades, right?  Plus his leaping ability?  And he has good touch.

 

And decisiveness comes from practice.  And repetition.  Work on 3 or so moves or combinations of moves from each side of the lane until you have those moves down by rote.  Ingrained.  So that you can feel it without even thinking about it.  Then, when you get your inside position and the ball comes your way, you simply FEEL where the defense is and automatically respond with the moved called for by the situation. 

 

Visualization helps in this process.  Walt should take some time and watch a video of someone who's really good, like Andrew Bynum in the video below and see how he executes each move.  Almost 100% of the time, there's a head-and-shoulder fake the opposite way.  It helps him feel and see where the defender is, then going the other way, he creates space to get the shot off.

 

This absolutely can be learned and Walt just needs your help, or Kenya Hunter's help, to learn it.  And think where we'd be with a Petteway who continues to hone his game, a Shields who just needs to feel how the pieces are fitting together, a Tai Webster once he settles into the college game, and a Walt Pichford executing post moves like the ones below.  Git-r-done, Walt.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPhM1Y8EUdw

[Norm Peterson]

How many times do you suppose Bynum had practiced those moves in a gym by himself with no one else around before he pulled them off in games like you see in the video above?  Because I'm convinced a guy like Walt Pitchford could learn this stuff and do it well, it'll be really frustrating for me if he spends the rest of his career hanging out at the 3-pt line.

[tcp]

Re: Pitch, I think it's pretty clear he *is* working on his post game, or were we watching different games Tuesday? I'm guessing if you look at his first few weeks of tape and his last couple weeks, you might see some differences that are beginning to show on the floor.

I'm beginning to think Miles is dropping the "big guy short" bomb daily to light a fire under Walter to motivate him to learn a bit faster.

 

Pitchford's really behind on his post skill set, so this won't be a fast project. But I'm pretty sure he's not just being accepted as the player he wants to be on his terms, either.

[Dean Smith]

 

We are always being reminded that we are one big player away. You can't make people something they are not but it appears to me that some of Walter Pitchford's issues in the post is mind set. He is 6'10 and has a 40 some inch vertical. He is not the strongest kid in the world (which can be improved) but in the limited game action I have seen I don't spot a lot of effort on the defensive end. He gets sealed behind the offensive post and just seems satisfied to hang out back there. Offense posts get lower than him and back him down too close to the hoop. I don't know where Miles wants him to guard the post but it seems to me that it would make more sense for him to use his quickness to get in a full front. That's where I'm not seeing much work or desire from him to improve his defensive position. If he got to the front his length would discourage post entries and once he demonstrated that 40 inch vertical the other teams would realize how perfect their lob passes would need to be to get them over the top and not too far for the help side to get involved.

 

I have not seen any desire from him to get to work in the offensive post and get position. I've seen one or two posts from him all year and he is athletic enough he should be giving us something down there if he was willing to work for position or show the slightest interest in the low block for that matter. He is built for the jump hook/double drop favorite and counter move series.

Post play on both sides of the court require an attitude, hard work and the really good ones have a little bit of a mean streak. Maybe he's too nice to be a really good post player but I think there is a lot of room to improve his work effort. (Which is why I am really puzzled by the David Rivers situation. There has got to be more to it than we know.)

Dean, I love ya.  Love your insight and contributions.  And this is just a sterling example of the great stuff you add to the board.

 

OK, so we agree Petteway is getting better, shaking off some rust, making better decisions, maturing a bit, maybe, and not forcing shots so much.  Think he'll be pretty good. 

 

Shields is a solid kid.  Solid from the word go.  He's having some rough spots trying to find his role when you add Petteway to the mix, which is a dynamic that didn't exist last year or for the first couple of games this year.  Shavon will get it figured out.  I have no doubt.

 

Walter needs you.  I am absolutely convinced these skills can be learned and mastered by someone motivated to learn and master them.  From my personal experience as an undersized, underquick guy who had no ups but occasionally had to play the post, I strongly believe this stuff can be learned.  As important as anything else, IMO, when you are playing post is DECISIVENESS.  It makes up for lack of quickness, but Walt should have quickness in spades, right?  Plus his leaping ability?  And he has good touch.

 

And decisiveness comes from practice.  And repetition.  Work on 3 or so moves or combinations of moves from each side of the lane until you have those moves down by rote.  Ingrained.  So that you can feel it without even thinking about it.  Then, when you get your inside position and the ball comes your way, you simply FEEL where the defense is and automatically respond with the moved called for by the situation. 

 

Visualization helps in this process.  Walt should take some time and watch a video of someone who's really good, like Andrew Bynum in the video below and see how he executes each move.  Almost 100% of the time, there's a head-and-shoulder fake the opposite way.  It helps him feel and see where the defender is, then going the other way, he creates space to get the shot off.

 

This absolutely can be learned and Walt just needs your help, or Kenya Hunter's help, to learn it.  And think where we'd be with a Petteway who continues to hone his game, a Shields who just needs to feel how the pieces are fitting together, a Tai Webster once he settles into the college game, and a Walt Pichford executing post moves like the ones below.  Git-r-done, Walt.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPhM1Y8EUdw

 

Thanks, I believe I'm required to up arrow any post stating their love. Nothing personal Norm, but I prefer someone with a better  set of legs and quite possibly a completely different skill set if you know what I mean.

[NUdiehard]

A few stats:

 

Pitchford has played 296 minutes without a single turnover (although he also only has 5 assists).

 

Gallegos only has 4 turnovers in 291 minutes (20 assists for a 5:1 assist to TO ratio)

 

Biggs has shot 74 times in 189 minutes (that is more than 1 shot for every 3 min played)

 

Petteway has shot 169 times in 403 minutes (almost 1 shot for every 2 minutes)

 

Walt has the highest shooting percentage of the starters at 45%.  Terran has improved to 43% and Shields is at 42%.  Smith leads the team at 58%.

 

Biggs (40%) and Tai (34%) bring up the rear (I give Gallegos a pass at 40% since he almost strictly shoots 3s)

 

Terran has 15 assists to 30 TOs.  Shavon has 23 assists to 21 TOs.

[Norm Peterson]

I'm going to really date myself here, but don't you remember when Roosevelt "Rosie" Grier used to say, "Who loves ya, Kojak"?

 

I still think Pitchford can develop an inside game.  And I think he could do it in a couple of weeks if he put his mind to it.

[Norm Peterson]

Re: Pitch, I think it's pretty clear he *is* working on his post game, or were we watching different games Tuesday? I'm guessing if you look at his first few weeks of tape and his last couple weeks, you might see some differences that are beginning to show on the floor.

I'm beginning to think Miles is dropping the "big guy short" bomb daily to light a fire under Walter to motivate him to learn a bit faster.

 

Pitchford's really behind on his post skill set, so this won't be a fast project. But I'm pretty sure he's not just being accepted as the player he wants to be on his terms, either.

I have a confession to make.  I wasn't actually near a TV on New Year's Eve.  Err, ehm, heh heh.  

[Dean Smith]

I'm going to really date myself here, but don't you remember when Roosevelt "Rosie" Grier used to say, "Who loves ya, Kojak"?

 

I still think Pitchford can develop an inside game.  And I think he could do it in a couple of weeks if he put his mind to it.

I was pretty young but I do remember the catch phrase. I don't know about in a couple of weeks, but it can be done. You do need to rep until there is no thought process, just reaction. I like What Roy Williams does with post moves. You need to be able to drop step both baseline & to the middle. If that is taken away get a favorite move and a counter move from each block. So you look to drop step if not you go straight to your favorite move, if that is taken away then counter, at that point if you haven't created a shot kick it out. I'm sure Pitch is working on the moves. The main issue I have is he doesn't seem to want to do the work that is needed to get open in a post position. Just like the post moves themselves, there is a progression that can be learned of how to get open in the post. You have to have your homework done before you can be in position to score in the post and just like school homework isn't all that exciting but it is necessary to be successful. 

[hugh42]

One area that two huskers (Shields & Webster) need to develop in a big way over the off season is how to finish with their left hand.  Tired of watching both get shots blocked because they won't use their off hand around the rim.