So, is this the year we come off of probation and scholarship reductions?

[Norm Peterson]

By my count (and I'm not a math guy) we have two spots left.  One of those remaining spots might very well be filled by the end of the day by one Jeriah Horne.  (I'm hoping that turns out to be the case.)

 

That leaves us with one more spot and, in my opinion, two more needs.

 

So.

 

Is this the year we come off our 4-year, self-imposed probation, and sign a full allotment of players?

 

Last spot needs to go to either a guard who can shoot lights out or a true center, hopefully an athletic guy at least 6'10", who can rebound and defend the post.

 

I'm betting we fill our roster up this year.

 

And I'd say odds are 80% that we fill the class in November and only 20% chance that we wait until spring to sign the last kid.

 

I'd say there's a 35% chance we over-sign by one before it's all over.

[Red Don]

  Here's hoping Norm! 

[Swan88]

So, let's say we fill our allotment in November and over-sign by one in June, with one current player transferring. Then early August arrives, and something like this happens: a four-star / top-fifty Center, who signed elsewhere (let's say, hypothetically, at Wisconsin), finds out last-minute that he can't enroll there for some technical reason. He now wants to enroll at Nebraska. What can we do?

[Norm Peterson]

So, let's say we fill our allotment in November and over-sign by one in June, with one current player transferring. Then early August arrives, and something like this happens: a four-star / top-fifty Center, who signed elsewhere (let's say, hypothetically, at Wisconsin), finds out last-minute that he can't enroll there for some technical reason. He now wants to enroll at Nebraska. What can we do?

The odds of that happening don't warrant leaving a spot open.  Even if we don't over-sign by one, it would be too late by early August to subtract one player in order to add another.  I think, IIRC, you have to non-renew a player's scholarship by sometime in July before the school year starts.

 

And we don't over-sign in June.  The late signing period is done in May.  If you haven't signed a guy by then, you can add, but it's not binding until they show up and enroll in classes.

[hhcmatt]

So, let's say we fill our allotment in November and over-sign by one in June, with one current player transferring. Then early August arrives, and something like this happens: a four-star / top-fifty Center, who signed elsewhere (let's say, hypothetically, at Wisconsin), finds out last-minute that he can't enroll there for some technical reason. He now wants to enroll at Nebraska. What can we do?

 

I'd make this part of the first chapter of Nebrasketball II: I can't believe we have Jayhawk type problems

[Norm Peterson]

Just thinking out loud ...

 

2016-2017 season:

 

Tai Webster, 6-4 G, Sr

Andrew White, 6-7 F, Sr

 

Anton Gill, 6-3 G, Jr

Nick Fuller, 6-7 F, Jr

Jake Hammond, 6-10 C, Jr

 

Glynn Watson, 6-0 G, So

Bakari Evelyn, 6-2 G, So

Jack McVeigh, 6-7 F, So

Ed Morrow, 6-7 F, So

Michael Jacobson, 6-8 F, So

 

(Jeriah Horne, 6-6 F, Fr)

Isaiah Roby, 6-8 F, Fr

 

 

You're the coach.  Two questions:

 

One spot left.  Do you make it two?

 

One spot left.  What kind of player are you looking for to fill that last spot?

 

Edited to add:  By the way, that's 1 player over 6'8"; 7 players between 6'6" and 6'8"; and 4 players under 6'6".  I'd say we could do with one fewer kid between 6'6" and 6'8" and add another 6'10" guy and another guard.  That would be ideal, but I'll take adding the 6'6" kid today and finding the best available player after that to finish out the roster.

[HuskerCager]

I don't know if under-utilizing the roster number can be characterized as "self-imposed".  With all the early transfers happening anymore, I think it's really hard to have 13 scholarship players at a given time.  Unless a coach elects to fill it with warm bodies.

I'd be interested to see how many Big Ten schools have a full roster right now.

[Norm Peterson]

So, srsly, what to do with that last spot? Hold it for another year?

[MichHusker]

So, srsly, what to do with that last spot? Hold it for another year?

Maybe we can get Jordy Tshimanga?

[AuroranHusker]

When does Shaq's kid become eligible for college ball?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Huskerpapa]

We need to keep recruiting as if we have more than one open spot.  I have heard that kids that do not get to play as much as they wish, sometimes transfer...the horror!!!  Sooo, with that as a possibility we keep hammering for a true post player and a terrific shooter. 

[colhusker]

Agree with what cwg said.

[HB]

We need to keep recruiting as if we have more than one open spot.  I have heard that kids that do not get to play as much as they wish, sometimes transfer...the horror!!!  Sooo, with that as a possibility we keep hammering for a true post player and a terrific shooter. 

 

From Lee B's article this morning, it sounds like we are pursuing several players for the last spot.  Whether we get anyone remains to be seen, but the staff is clearly tying to fill the spot rather than hold it.  Perhaps someone can link the article.

[AuroranHusker]

 

We need to keep recruiting as if we have more than one open spot.  I have heard that kids that do not get to play as much as they wish, sometimes transfer...the horror!!!  Sooo, with that as a possibility we keep hammering for a true post player and a terrific shooter. 

 

From Lee B's article this morning, it sounds like we are pursuing several players for the last spot.  Whether we get anyone remains to be seen, but the staff is clearly tying to fill the spot rather than hold it.  Perhaps someone can link the article.

 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/huskers-land-top--recruit-in-power-forward-jeriah-horne/article_ec3ff48a-6887-11e5-8f32-53b6891ccb12.html

[hhcmatt]

 

We need to keep recruiting as if we have more than one open spot.  I have heard that kids that do not get to play as much as they wish, sometimes transfer...the horror!!!  Sooo, with that as a possibility we keep hammering for a true post player and a terrific shooter. 

 

From Lee B's article this morning, it sounds like we are pursuing several players for the last spot.  Whether we get anyone remains to be seen, but the staff is clearly tying to fill the spot rather than hold it.  Perhaps someone can link the article.

 

 

They haven't been trying to hold a spot since year 1...we're definitely going to try and fill our last scholarship for 2016-17.

[Swan88]

Thanks for all the support. But my question above, following the newly-available-Center hypothetical, is this: "What can we do?"

The non-responsive responses are some variation of, "that's ridiculous, Miles would never hold a scholarship on purpose."

The correct and direct answer to the question is this: we could do nothing--we'd have to pass on that recruit. Fortunately, the football team had no such constraint in a real-world / actual situation involving a Wisconsin recruit.

Now, back to the ridiculous proposition: having a scholarship remain open every year so far, when at-least-marginal players were available, says something about Miles' strategic plans.

Now . . . I'm hunkered down in my bunker--so, fire away.

[AuroranHusker]

Honestly, it seems that Miles has purposely held a spot for a mid-season (or an after the season) transfer possibility. He has alluded to that prospect in the past, perhaps it's not a strategy but more of an unfulfilled circumstance. Nebrasketball has had to find creative recruiting outlets, so it certainly could be a 'way of life' for Husker hoops. I didn't find any evidence of that type of "holding back a scholarship on purpose" in the new Nebrasketball book. There is likely no way of proving it unless Miles has been quoted from his earliest days at NU that he meant to do that. Mystery, unsolved.

[ShortDust]

I have a gut hunch that they'll shoot for another grad transfer and that there will be at least one player leaving the program after the year.

[Norm Peterson]

Thanks for all the support. But my question above, following the newly-available-Center hypothetical, is this: "What can we do?"

The non-responsive responses are some variation of, "that's ridiculous, Miles would never hold a scholarship on purpose."

The correct and direct answer to the question is this: we could do nothing--we'd have to pass on that recruit. Fortunately, the football team had no such constraint in a real-world / actual situation involving a Wisconsin recruit.

Now, back to the ridiculous proposition: having a scholarship remain open every year so far, when at-least-marginal players were available, says something about Miles' strategic plans.

Now . . . I'm hunkered down in my bunker--so, fire away.

No, Swan, you're incorrect.  My response was definitely responsive.

 

I said that the possibility of what you're suggesting is so remote that you wouldn't and shouldn't intentionally leave a spot open just in case someone fails to gain admission into Wisconsin.  And, besides, I believe at the time that happened to the FB program, it was after the deadline to inform student athletes of a scholarship non-renewal.

 

You should infer from that answer that my response is basically you'd have to pass on the guy.  And, further, you should infer from my response that I'm saying it would be dumb to leave a spot open just in case a prospect happens to become available by virtue of being denied entry to another school.  If you have space available through some sort of attrition and you just happen to be able to take on another player, fine.  But you shouldn't "save" a spot just in case some hot shot 5-star Center can't gain admission to Duke or something.

[Norm Peterson]

Oh, and, Swan, in the remote chance something happened like what you describe -- I still wouldn't leave a 'ship open just in case -- if the player was high-value enough of a target, then you bring Scholarship Player #13 in to your office, remind him of his lingering issues with night sweats and bone spur-itis of his, y'know, pituitary thing and tell him it might not be his heart, but one should take no chances; grant him a medical hardship allowing him to remain on scholarship as a valued member of the ... student managers; and tell Mr. High Value Recruiting Target that a space on the roster just became available.

[hhcmatt]

Thanks for all the support. But my question above, following the newly-available-Center hypothetical, is this: "What can we do?"

The non-responsive responses are some variation of, "that's ridiculous, Miles would never hold a scholarship on purpose."

The correct and direct answer to the question is this: we could do nothing--we'd have to pass on that recruit. Fortunately, the football team had no such constraint in a real-world / actual situation involving a Wisconsin recruit.

Now, back to the ridiculous proposition: having a scholarship remain open every year so far, when at-least-marginal players were available, says something about Miles' strategic plans.

Now . . . I'm hunkered down in my bunker--so, fire away.

 

"What can we do?" is a distinctly different question from "What will we do?"

If we wanted to, we could have the guy verbal and then drop a player from scholarship at the end of the year if none are leaving. We had this scenario with Agau and McVeigh. We could have had Agau transfer here, McVeigh verbal, and then figured it out at the end of the year. If we wanted to, we could verbal the Top 50 guy and let the guys figure out who is getting cut in the offseason. For better or for worse Miles doesn't seem to run his rosters like that though Agau wasn't a top 50 guy so we really don't know for sure what will happen.

 

"Holding a scholarship" requires a bit of discussion because the natural inference to me is that Miles is deliberately not recruiting a year because he's going to use the scholarship for a better player or bigger need in a later class. I believe he specifically stated this intention his first year. However, the resulting years of us not filling that scholarship have been the product of our unwillingness to over-recruit coupled with our inability to reel in the few people we were recruiting. We choose not to settle for a JUCO guy in the belief that we will fill the scholarship the next year. It might be semantics, but I call what he's doing 'not filling a scholarship' as opposed to 'holding a scholarship'.

[AuroranHusker]

  If you have space available through some sort of attrition and you just happen to be able to take on another player, fine.  But you shouldn't "save" a spot just in case some hot shot 5-star Center can't gain admission to Duke or something.

 

 

This player from Mail, West Africa, is having trouble getting eligible at KU. It happens, but I doubt it's an honest strategy that programs like an NU would use to get a guy away from a blueblood. I touched on that part of 'recruiting' in my short diatribe on page 1 of this thread as it's more likely a circumstance than a strategy...

 

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article37274838.html#emlnl=College_Sports_Extra

[AuroranHusker]

 

  If you have space available through some sort of attrition and you just happen to be able to take on another player, fine.  But you shouldn't "save" a spot just in case some hot shot 5-star Center can't gain admission to Duke or something.

 

 

This player from Mail, West Africa, is having trouble getting eligible at KU. It happens, but I doubt it's an honest strategy that programs like an NU would use to get a guy away from a blueblood. I touched on that part of 'recruiting' in my short diatribe on page 1 of this thread as it's more likely a circumstance than a strategy...

 

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article37274838.html#emlnl=College_Sports_Extra

 

Two players, one for UK and one for KU, have had significant delays for eligibility.

 

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2015-10-07/skal-labissiere-ncaa-clearance-kentucky-cheick-diallo-guardian

 

[Norm Peterson]

Just thinking out loud ...

 

2016-2017 season:

 

Tai Webster, 6-4 G, Sr

Andrew White, 6-7 F, Sr

 

Anton Gill, 6-3 G, Jr

Nick Fuller, 6-7 F, Jr

Jake Hammond, 6-10 C, Jr

 

Glynn Watson, 6-0 G, So

Bakari Evelyn, 6-2 G, So

Jack McVeigh, 6-7 F, So

Ed Morrow, 6-7 F, So

Michael Jacobson, 6-8 F, So

 

(Jeriah Horne, 6-6 F, Fr)

Isaiah Roby, 6-8 F, Fr

 

 

You're the coach.  Two questions:

 

One spot left.  Do you make it two?

 

One spot left.  What kind of player are you looking for to fill that last spot?

 

Edited to add:  By the way, that's 1 player over 6'8"; 7 players between 6'6" and 6'8"; and 4 players under 6'6".  I'd say we could do with one fewer kid between 6'6" and 6'8" and add another 6'10" guy and another guard.  That would be ideal, but I'll take adding the 6'6" kid today and finding the best available player after that to finish out the roster.

Bumped for the sake of forecasting and I'll amend the above to add another season onto these players:

 

Anton Gill, 6-3 G, Sr

Nick Fuller, 6-7 F, Sr

Jake Hammond, 6-10 C, Sr

 

Glynn Watson, 6-0 G, Jr

Bakari Evelyn, 6-2 G, Jr

Jack McVeigh, 6-7 F, Jr

Ed Morrow, 6-7 F, Jr

Michael Jacobson, 6-8 F, Jr

 

Jeriah Horne, 6-6 F, So

Isaiah Roby, 6-8 F, So

 

Aguek Arop, 6-5 F, Fr

 

 

 

That's one true big, three guards, and two empty spots.

 

 

(I'm calling Arop a forward based on what everyone who's seen him play has said about his game and skillset.)

[Norm Peterson]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I'm as worried about needing another guard as I am about needing a big.

 

Since we're in the private recruiting forum, I'll say I'm not convinced Bakari Evelyn is the kind of player that will help us compete at the top levels of the Big Ten that we aspire to.  He's someone who might have had a spot on a Collier roster, but that's not the kind of player who will help us get where we want to go.  I'll give him credit for having made some nifty passes.  But I don't see him getting starters minutes any time soon.

 

I think we need a shooting guard in the '16 class to go along with Roby and Horne.  I also think we need a true center like a Jordy Tshimanga in that '16 class.  So, if we could find another vacancy, I'd try to add two more players to this class.

 

I think we need a good PG in the '17 class with Arop.  Whether you really call Arop a guard or a forward, I think we need another point in that class at the latest.

 

Corprew sounds like a combo guard who could play point like Tai Webster.  Right now, from all I've seen, Corprew and Tshimanga would be my choices to fill out the '16 class, which would mean someone would have to move on.  We have a glut of tweeners, guys who are somewhere in the middle between the guards and the centers.  But you can't really field a team of wings and power forwards.  You need to have some backcourt players and, hopefully, a post or two. 

 

Just my $0.02