My Jimmy Chitwood post

[hhctony]

"I figure it's about time I start doing some posting....."

 

Nebraska basketball is in the pooper as I type this. It's been a rough year. I've been kind of noticably absent from this board for awhile. Even last year. When we got hot, I quit watching, so I thought if I started watching it would ruin us. Well, I watched the second of Ohio State and the NCAA game, so you tell me.

 

At any rate, I've decided to really start watching this team going forward. I'm gonna DVR games and really watch. I watched most of the second half against Indiana. This was my initial take. And, what I really think is happening.

 

1. I called us lazy on Twitter. In retrospect, I'll use another word -- tired. Our five starters over the past seven games have played an average of 36 minutes per contest. It was summed up for me at the end of the game when Petteway lost the ball to Ferrell after rebounding a missed free throw. It looked like a lazy play. TP got the ball, but didn't block out; Yogi came in from behind and slapped the ball off his leg. It was a tired play.

 

2. We miss Rey more than we could have realized. He was a shooter that we could set up Shield and Pettaway with and keep the defense honest. He also helped free things up for Pitch. While he didn't score much (7.3 ppg) he was enough of a threat that teams had to play him honest. Bascially, Terran Smith is not yet Rey and we don't trust Nick Fuller (who you would think could be a match-up nightmare) enough yet on the defensive end.

 

3. We miss Leslee way more than we could have realized. He allowed us to disperse minutes. Consider last year: Pitch (23.2), Leslee (16.8), Rivers (20.0). This year: Rivers (29.8), Pitchford (27.8). This is mind blowing to me. I don't think there is a soul on the board who thought we'd be playing David Rivers for 30 minutes a game.

 

4. The Parker/Webster switch. Last year, Webster played 22.8 minutes per game and Benny at 14.9. This a bit skewed considering Benny went from non-existent when DB was here and took over more minutes at the end of the season. This year, Benny is playing 30 and Tai is at 19.5. It's interesting to see how this might play out going forward.

 

5. The role of Nick Fuller. I think many had high hopes for him this year (count me on this bus) and it just hasn't clicked for Nick yet. That said, he's a freshman. If it does click and he can fill even 10 spot minutes that could really help us. As Miles said in the OWH today:

 

“I thought about playing more guys,” Miles said. “I would say if I felt more comfortable in practice and saw more in practice, I would be more likely to do that.”

 

Fuller played three minutes in the second half against Indiana, with all zeroes on his stat line.

 

“Unfortunately, he got involved in a switch and gave up a basket within one of the first one or two possessions,” Miles said. “Being a sub is tough. You come into a tight game and any mistake seems like it is magnified.

 

“I don’t know if that’s a true description of what those guys can do. But against Incarnate Word, our bench was minus-20. We’ve got to get those guys going.”

 

In the choice between using weary players or unprepared players, neither is preferred.

 

“But you have to pick your poison,” Miles said. “We’ve picked weariness as our poison.”

 

 

Can we fix it this year? I don't know. I think that the loss of Abraham and Leslee Smith both has cost us three games, at least. And, if both would have been healthy all season as Miles planned? That puts you in a heck of a nice 9-man rotation.

 

I'm not even sure what I'd do to help? Can we play zone a little bit? Maybe, though I don't think Miles wants to do it necessarily. And, when you have a tough time rebounding, rebounding from a zone is even more difficult. I'd reckon we'd get killed on the boards going zone.

 

I think offensively, we do get stagnant more than we like. We try to run set stuff instead of maybe just trying to run motion and get looks for anybody. We get into 1-on-1 and 2-man set stuff more times than not.

 

The one thing we really lack is confidence. Benny and Tai need to be scoring threats and teams are guarding them like Doug Gottlieb. That means we are playing 3-against-5 a lot of times offense. It'd be nice to see if we could get Tarin Smith going. I think he is the guy we could get "confident" the quickest. Even over Tai and Benny. I do love Benny's motor though.

 

I don't know that we can stay on the same floor with Iowa. We've got to hope for a Northern Iowa type game. Once that is methodical -- in the 50s -- to have a chance. If they are shooting well and playing at tempo we'll be in trouble.

 

So, I have posted a post and I bought a Heart Over Hype shirt at the women's game on Saturday to see if I can change our fortunes. Don't blame me either way.

[hskr4life]

Good post man!  A few thoughts...

 

1.  One of the things we really lack I think so far is confidence.  Last year when we made that run, it was like "oh look, you punched us, I am going to punch you back and punch you harder."  You can tell that this year is totally different so far, and I do not know why. The players seem to back down when someone punches us in the gut.

 

2.  I think that the expectations at the beginning of the season should be out the window now for both fans and players.  This could be good for both though if it lowers the pressure on them.  At some point Nebrasketball is going to have to learn to play under pressure of expectations.  This year is not that year yet though.

 

3.  I want to see this team when we get Smith and Moses back.  I think that those two combined will be about 1 player when they are back, so basically we will have an 8 to 8.5 man rotation.  I think that this will be good for the team though. 

 

4.  At what point does Miles start playing Fuller a little more for the "future" rather than this year?  Not saying he will give up as no one should, and not saying this will happen, but it is a thought.

 

5.  Anyone, players, fans, media, coaches, whoever, think that this season is "over" or "a lost cause" need to look no further than a year ago when a little team that could made a mad run to the NCAA's.  We have a lot of season left.  We have the pieces (Some are broken and being mended at the moment  ) Lets do this thing!

[hhctony]

What gets me on Fuller is this: If Moses and Leslee were healthy, he wouldn't even be a thought right now. And, I thought he'd be a nice addtion to this team as a RS freshman. I hope he stays confident, keeps working hard and figures out a way to get in the rotation. He'll be a nice help.