First Coach's Show

[HB]

First show of the year from Buffalo Wings and Rings.  I was driving and couldn't take notes, and my memory isn't what it used to be, so I will miss a bunch.

 

Miles is such a story teller.  Stories are good, but they do limit the actual basketball talk.  First story was Beckner's fender bender with Miles riding shotgun. Just abused Beckner.  Then the Gabrielle Union story in the airport.  Told a good story about Dwayne Wade asking the team how many rings he had.  Many of them knew he had 3.  Then he asked if he ever led the league in scoring.  No one knew for sure.  Point being, nothing matters other than winning, and team is more important than any individual honors.

 

Team goal is to find a way to scratch and claw to the NCAA tournament.  We owe that to the seniors every year.  He wouldn't like to play for a guy who said "Let's go guys, let's get to .500".  The approach is to schedule enough to get a resume, and develop the tough-mindedness that it takes, and play defense and rebound and play the way we want to get there.

 

Said that rebounding and interior defense were his biggest concerns with this team.  Likes his perimeter defense with Benny, Tai, Shavon and White (Said some days White play good enough D, some days he doesn't).   Said Tai is strong and defends well and will see lots of minutes (glad we didn't run him off like some wanted).

 

Didn't say much about Morrow (called him "Murrow", like Edward R., Murrow) and nothing about Watson.  

 

Really was glowing about Shavon.  Said some scouts have been in to watch  him practice.  Said he has lost 10-15 pounds and is more mobile.   Expects him to have a great year.  I mean, he really pumped up Shavon.  You would have thought 49r took over the mike.

 

Said Benny was shooting it well in practice, made it sound like he is more of a true point guard than in the past, playing the best ball of his career.  

 

Said McVeigh is not the quickest guy (usually translated as "he is slow"), but is a smart player and he buys into everything about being a Husker.  Expects him to be a good player with improvements in strength and agility over  time.  Could tell Miles likes him and thinks he's a coach-able guy.

 

Didn't say anything about Jacobson's injury  other than the obvious "he has been dealing with a foot problem".  Only thing about Hammond was "he's going to have to make some plays"; I think he was talking about interior defense.

 

Said we would be small all year, and recited his year where they finished 4th at CSU with the tallest guy being 6'6".  New Mexico, UNLV and San Diego State were no slouches to finish behind.  But said the difference was in that league you could recover against the lower division teams.  Not in this league' no easy wins.   Mentioned the Top 15 classes from Penn State Minny, and someone else.  Said they would go down some as teams get late signings and move ahead of them, but the recruiters are beasts in this league. Said the star system is getting better and more reliable in evaluation recruits, as there is more opportunity to evaluate the talent against better competition.   

 

Greg asked him if coaching in the league has been even more fun than he expected, and Coach turned it straight to coaching at Nebraska has been better than he could have ever expected. Loves the fan support and resources he has.  Only regret is not having an abundance of playmakers residing here.  Said a coach can develop guys, but when times are tough in a game you need studs who can make plays.

 

Finally, he talked about Terran getting signed by the Pacers and then released, so he could sign with Ft. Wayne of the developmental league.  Thought that was clearly the best move for Terran.  Says the general managers he has talked to like Terran and think he will eventually make a roster.  Thinks he could get a couple of 10 day call ups this year. 

 

Probably missed some things but this will have to do.

[hhcmatt]

Link to the radio archive

[HB]

Link to the radio archive

 

Damn Dimes, I just made most of that up.  Didn't know there was a way to get busted!

[NUdiehard]

 

Really was glowing about Shavon.  Said some scouts have been in to watch  him practice.  Said he has lost 10-15 pounds and is more mobile.   Expects him to have a great year.  I mean, he really pumped up Shavon.  You would have thought 49r took over the mike.

 

 

Last year's roster lists Shavon at 221 lbs.  This years at 225 lbs  Things that make you go hmmmm.

[NUdiehard]

Listened to the entire show and about the only thing I got from it was that we are going to be seeing a lot of Benny and Tai this year #themorethingschangethemoretheystaythesame

[HB]

 

 

Really was glowing about Shavon.  Said some scouts have been in to watch  him practice.  Said he has lost 10-15 pounds and is more mobile.   Expects him to have a great year.  I mean, he really pumped up Shavon.  You would have thought 49r took over the mike.

 

 

Last year's roster lists Shavon at 221 lbs.  This years at 225 lbs  Things that make you go hmmmm.

 

 

Classic Miles

[NUdiehard]

Pretty sure he referred to McVeigh as being 6'9" (can anyone confirm?).  Just checked the roster and he has increased his stature to 6'8" (from his previous 6'7") on the official roster. 

 

I am assuming the roster on Huskers.com is now listing their official heights and weights for the season, especially since the returning players weights have all changed since last year.  If so, a little disappointed that Morrow is officially listed at 6'7", clearly showing he is shorter than McVeigh and Jacobson and probably more in the range of 6'5" to 6'6" in reality.  He is going to have his work cut out for him in the post in the B1G.  To give a comparison, Morrow is listed at 6'7" 225lbs, the exact same height and weight as Shavon.  Of course, Morrow is a better athlete, but the sheer mass of some of the centers in the league (ala Purdue) is going to be a real challenge if he ends up playing a lot at the 5.   Jacobson is listed at 6'8", but only 222 lbs, so he will also have his work cut out.

 

Interestingly, Tai and Fuller shed 3 lbs, and White lost 4 lbs

[AuroranHusker]

Pretty sure he referred to McVeigh as being 6'9" (can anyone confirm?).  Just checked the roster and he has increased his stature to 6'8" (from his previous 6'7") on the official roster. 

 

I am assuming the roster on Huskers.com is now listing their official heights and weights for the season, especially since the returning players weights have all changed since last year.  If so, a little disappointed that Morrow is officially listed at 6'7", clearly showing he is shorter than McVeigh and Jacobson and probably more in the range of 6'5" to 6'6" in reality.  He is going to have his work cut out for him in the post in the B1G.  To give a comparison, Morrow is listed at 6'7" 225lbs, the exact same height and weight as Shavon.  Of course, Morrow is a better athlete, but the sheer mass of some of the centers in the league (ala Purdue) is going to be a real challenge if he ends up playing a lot at the 5.   Jacobson is listed at 6'8", but only 222 lbs, so he will also have his work cut out.

 

Interestingly, Tai and Fuller shed 3 lbs, and White lost 4 lbs

 

 

Maybe Shavon ate too much of that authentic cuisine in Espana to balloon up to 236#.

[Dead Dog Alley]

Listened to the entire show and about the only thing I got from it was that we are going to be seeing a lot of Benny and Tai this year #themorethingschangethemoretheystaythesame

 

If we see lots of Tai this year, and he doesn't end the season with a new career high for field goals in a game vs. a Big Ten opponent, it will be a very long season.  Because his current career high for field goals in a game against a conference opponent is 2.

 

I hope it's a case that offensively last year Terran Petteway more or less crowded out the fourth and fifth options on the floor, and that Benny and Tai will show a lot of offensive improvement this year - they are both very good defensively, appear to be good guys and good teammates but they are going to have to do something so that other teams at least have to guard them.

[hhcmatt]

 

Listened to the entire show and about the only thing I got from it was that we are going to be seeing a lot of Benny and Tai this year #themorethingschangethemoretheystaythesame

 

If we see lots of Tai this year, and he doesn't end the season with a new career high for field goals in a game vs. a Big Ten opponent, it will be a very long season.  Because his current career high for field goals in a game against a conference opponent is 2.

 

I hope it's a case that offensively last year Terran Petteway more or less crowded out the fourth and fifth options on the floor, and that Benny and Tai will show a lot of offensive improvement this year - they are both very good defensively, appear to be good guys and good teammates but they are going to have to do something so that other teams at least have to guard them.

 

 

No matter how much we hear about their shooting ability during the offseason I don't know that all of a sudden they're going from mediocre shooters to great shooters...I'd sure settle for average. I do hope they're aggressive about attacking the rim though as it's a strength for both.

 

We know Shields can score. We need White to also score and 1-2 of the freshmen to step up and become a threat. Having Parker/Webster as more of the 4th/5th scoring punches with them providing superior defense seems like it would win more games than having to rely on them for offense.

[bball23]

I still have high hopes for Tai.  Tai has been asked the past few years to basically get the ball to Shavon and TP.  Will be interesting to see his role this year.  Tai has shown flashes of being able to get to the rim.  With us going smaller this year, maybe more driving lanes will be open for Tai and he can get to the rim and finish.  Benny is Benny.  We kind of know what to expect of Benny.  We just have to hope that when we do drive and kick, he can maybe knock down some open shots. 

 

Last year our team seemed to stand around more and kind of wait for TP to make a play.  Numerous times in the paper it has been brought up that the ball movement is better this year (in practices).  This group is going to have to play as a TEAM in order to win.  I'm very curious to see how this season goes.  I think it will be very tough at times, but on some nights I bet we look pretty solid.  Shavon and White will be very important in our success this year. 

[Huskerpapa]

I am still voting that Tai will be the most improved player by years end.  I am only hoping that Jake will be.

[AuroranHusker]

I am still voting that Tai will be the most improved player by years end.  I am only hoping that Jake will be.

 

If it's Jake, then Nebraska might actually have a chance to "rebound" from last year's lack thereof in the boards dep't.

[NUdiehard]

I still have high hopes for Tai.  Tai has been asked the past few years to basically get the ball to Shavon and TP.  Will be interesting to see his role this year.  Tai has shown flashes of being able to get to the rim.  With us going smaller this year, maybe more driving lanes will be open for Tai and he can get to the rim and finish.  Benny is Benny.  We kind of know what to expect of Benny.  We just have to hope that when we do drive and kick, he can maybe knock down some open shots. 

 

Last year our team seemed to stand around more and kind of wait for TP to make a play.  Numerous times in the paper it has been brought up that the ball movement is better this year (in practices).  This group is going to have to play as a TEAM in order to win.  I'm very curious to see how this season goes.  I think it will be very tough at times, but on some nights I bet we look pretty solid.  Shavon and White will be very important in our success this year. 

Tai can get to the rim, he has always been able to get to the rim.  Finishing at the rim has always been his problem.  I have always been a big, big Tai supporter and I still am a big fan of his.  He has worked his butt off and stayed the course when many other players left for greener pastures (or so they thought).  He is in incredible physical condition and has very good athletic ability for his size.  With all that said, as much as I want to see Tai breakthrough this year, I won't believe it until I see it.  I just have never seen a guy find so many ways to miss shots, especially right at the rim.  I watched all 4 games in Spain and other than game 1, I continued to see this pattern with Tai on drive after drive.  I would bet my bottom dollar that he closes his eyes almost every time he drives to the basket and encounters any form of opposition or contact. There are some people who simply are averse to contact, causing them to flinch, to retract, to even close their eyes in anticipation.   It is genetic IMO, I don't know if it can be overcome.  If Tai could teach himself to thrive on contact rather than fear it, he could possibly take a major step forward.  I just haven't seen any indication of that yet.

 

As for Benny, we heard the same reports about his shooting last year.  And he actually did come out and started the year decently shooting the ball.  At one point I believe he was our leading 3 point shooter.  But then conference started.  Everything changes in conference.  Opponents are bigger, stronger and faster, but even more important, the scouting is 1000X better.  Conference teams know opponents weaknesses better than the players themselves.  Once conference hit, BP reverted right back to what where he always has been.   Hard to imagine things will change significantly this year, but who knows.  He has worked hard on his game and his shot, I guess we will have to wait and see.  But even if he improves his shot, he will never be the passer and facilitator that Watson already is.  We really need Watson to get his defense up to snuff so he can get extended minutes this year.

[hhcmatt]

First show of the year from Buffalo Wings and Rings.  I was driving and couldn't take notes, and my memory isn't what it used to be, so I will miss a bunch.

 

Miles is such a story teller.  Stories are good, but they do limit the actual basketball talk.  First story was Beckner's fender bender with Miles riding shotgun. Just abused Beckner.  Then the Gabrielle Union story in the airport.  Told a good story about Dwayne Wade asking the team how many rings he had.  Many of them knew he had 3.  Then he asked if he ever led the league in scoring.  No one knew for sure.  Point being, nothing matters other than winning, and team is more important than any individual honors.

 

Team goal is to find a way to scratch and claw to the NCAA tournament.  We owe that to the seniors every year.  He wouldn't like to play for a guy who said "Let's go guys, let's get to .500".  The approach is to schedule enough to get a resume, and develop the tough-mindedness that it takes, and play defense and rebound and play the way we want to get there.

 

Said that rebounding and interior defense were his biggest concerns with this team.  Likes his perimeter defense with Benny, Tai, Shavon and White (Said some days White play good enough D, some days he doesn't).   Said Tai is strong and defends well and will see lots of minutes (glad we didn't run him off like some wanted).

 

Didn't say much about Morrow (called him "Murrow", like Edward R., Murrow) and nothing about Watson.  

 

Really was glowing about Shavon.  Said some scouts have been in to watch  him practice.  Said he has lost 10-15 pounds and is more mobile.   Expects him to have a great year.  I mean, he really pumped up Shavon.  You would have thought 49r took over the mike.

 

Said Benny was shooting it well in practice, made it sound like he is more of a true point guard than in the past, playing the best ball of his career.  

 

Said McVeigh is not the quickest guy (usually translated as "he is slow"), but is a smart player and he buys into everything about being a Husker.  Expects him to be a good player with improvements in strength and agility over  time.  Could tell Miles likes him and thinks he's a coach-able guy.

 

Didn't say anything about Jacobson's injury  other than the obvious "he has been dealing with a foot problem".  Only thing about Hammond was "he's going to have to make some plays"; I think he was talking about interior defense.

 

Said we would be small all year, and recited his year where they finished 4th at CSU with the tallest guy being 6'6".  New Mexico, UNLV and San Diego State were no slouches to finish behind.  But said the difference was in that league you could recover against the lower division teams.  Not in this league' no easy wins.   Mentioned the Top 15 classes from Penn State Minny, and someone else.  Said they would go down some as teams get late signings and move ahead of them, but the recruiters are beasts in this league. Said the star system is getting better and more reliable in evaluation recruits, as there is more opportunity to evaluate the talent against better competition.   

 

Greg asked him if coaching in the league has been even more fun than he expected, and Coach turned it straight to coaching at Nebraska has been better than he could have ever expected. Loves the fan support and resources he has.  Only regret is not having an abundance of playmakers residing here.  Said a coach can develop guys, but when times are tough in a game you need studs who can make plays.

 

Finally, he talked about Terran getting signed by the Pacers and then released, so he could sign with Ft. Wayne of the developmental league.  Thought that was clearly the best move for Terran.  Says the general managers he has talked to like Terran and think he will eventually make a roster.  Thinks he could get a couple of 10 day call ups this year. 

 

Probably missed some things but this will have to do.

 

Some other additions but overall your memory seems to be in tip-top shape

 

- Benefited from the games in Spain....players with experience and coaches seeing what works.

- Greg brings up Harriman leaving and Beckner joining the staff...Miles says you missed our interim guy Burno. Talked about Beckner being a Type A guy and detailed oriented...contrasted that with him going completely off-topic as a Type B guy before Greg put him back on task. And yes...Miles gave Beckner the business on the radio 

- Made Shamus look up who the Shaq/Wade Heat beat for the championship. SPOILER ALERT: Dallas in 2006.

- Want to attack the basket more but need better 3 pt shooting to do it. Looking to get to the mid-high 30 percentages

[AuroranHusker]

 

First show of the year from Buffalo Wings and Rings.  I was driving and couldn't take notes, and my memory isn't what it used to be, so I will miss a bunch.

 

Miles is such a story teller.  Stories are good, but they do limit the actual basketball talk.  First story was Beckner's fender bender with Miles riding shotgun. Just abused Beckner.  Then the Gabrielle Union story in the airport.  Told a good story about Dwayne Wade asking the team how many rings he had.  Many of them knew he had 3.  Then he asked if he ever led the league in scoring.  No one knew for sure.  Point being, nothing matters other than winning, and team is more important than any individual honors.

 

Team goal is to find a way to scratch and claw to the NCAA tournament.  We owe that to the seniors every year.  He wouldn't like to play for a guy who said "Let's go guys, let's get to .500".  The approach is to schedule enough to get a resume, and develop the tough-mindedness that it takes, and play defense and rebound and play the way we want to get there.

 

Said that rebounding and interior defense were his biggest concerns with this team.  Likes his perimeter defense with Benny, Tai, Shavon and White (Said some days White play good enough D, some days he doesn't).   Said Tai is strong and defends well and will see lots of minutes (glad we didn't run him off like some wanted).

 

Didn't say much about Morrow (called him "Murrow", like Edward R., Murrow) and nothing about Watson.  

 

Really was glowing about Shavon.  Said some scouts have been in to watch  him practice.  Said he has lost 10-15 pounds and is more mobile.   Expects him to have a great year.  I mean, he really pumped up Shavon.  You would have thought 49r took over the mike.

 

Said Benny was shooting it well in practice, made it sound like he is more of a true point guard than in the past, playing the best ball of his career.  

 

Said McVeigh is not the quickest guy (usually translated as "he is slow"), but is a smart player and he buys into everything about being a Husker.  Expects him to be a good player with improvements in strength and agility over  time.  Could tell Miles likes him and thinks he's a coach-able guy.

 

Didn't say anything about Jacobson's injury  other than the obvious "he has been dealing with a foot problem".  Only thing about Hammond was "he's going to have to make some plays"; I think he was talking about interior defense.

 

Said we would be small all year, and recited his year where they finished 4th at CSU with the tallest guy being 6'6".  New Mexico, UNLV and San Diego State were no slouches to finish behind.  But said the difference was in that league you could recover against the lower division teams.  Not in this league' no easy wins.   Mentioned the Top 15 classes from Penn State Minny, and someone else.  Said they would go down some as teams get late signings and move ahead of them, but the recruiters are beasts in this league. Said the star system is getting better and more reliable in evaluation recruits, as there is more opportunity to evaluate the talent against better competition.   

 

Greg asked him if coaching in the league has been even more fun than he expected, and Coach turned it straight to coaching at Nebraska has been better than he could have ever expected. Loves the fan support and resources he has.  Only regret is not having an abundance of playmakers residing here.  Said a coach can develop guys, but when times are tough in a game you need studs who can make plays.

 

Finally, he talked about Terran getting signed by the Pacers and then released, so he could sign with Ft. Wayne of the developmental league.  Thought that was clearly the best move for Terran.  Says the general managers he has talked to like Terran and think he will eventually make a roster.  Thinks he could get a couple of 10 day call ups this year. 

 

Probably missed some things but this will have to do.

 

Some other additions but overall your memory seems to be in tip-top shape

 

- Benefited from the games in Spain....players with experience and coaches seeing what works.

- Greg brings up Harriman leaving and Beckner joining the staff...Miles says you missed our interim guy Burno. Talked about Beckner being a Type A guy and detailed oriented...contrasted that with him going completely off-topic as a Type B guy before Greg put him back on task. And yes...Miles gave Beckner the business on the radio 

- Made Shamus look up who the Shaq/Wade Heat beat for the championship. SPOILER ALERT: Dallas in 2006.

- Want to attack the basket more but need better 3 pt shooting to do it. Looking to get to the mid-high 30 percentages

 

 

When the team was 28% on threes last season, any improvement will seem dramatic, particularly if it's from Shavon and his 19.4% from 2014-15 (prior #'s had been around 32% in two seasons). So, yeah, let's get to 30's and go up from there!

[49r]

 

Really was glowing about Shavon.  Said some scouts have been in to watch  him practice.  Said he has lost 10-15 pounds and is more mobile.   Expects him to have a great year.  I mean, he really pumped up Shavon.  You would have thought 49r took over the mike.

 

 

 

[bball23]

 

I still have high hopes for Tai.  Tai has been asked the past few years to basically get the ball to Shavon and TP.  Will be interesting to see his role this year.  Tai has shown flashes of being able to get to the rim.  With us going smaller this year, maybe more driving lanes will be open for Tai and he can get to the rim and finish.  Benny is Benny.  We kind of know what to expect of Benny.  We just have to hope that when we do drive and kick, he can maybe knock down some open shots. 

 

Last year our team seemed to stand around more and kind of wait for TP to make a play.  Numerous times in the paper it has been brought up that the ball movement is better this year (in practices).  This group is going to have to play as a TEAM in order to win.  I'm very curious to see how this season goes.  I think it will be very tough at times, but on some nights I bet we look pretty solid.  Shavon and White will be very important in our success this year. 

Tai can get to the rim, he has always been able to get to the rim.  Finishing at the rim has always been his problem.  I have always been a big, big Tai supporter and I still am a big fan of his.  He has worked his butt off and stayed the course when many other players left for greener pastures (or so they thought).  He is in incredible physical condition and has very good athletic ability for his size.  With all that said, as much as I want to see Tai breakthrough this year, I won't believe it until I see it.  I just have never seen a guy find so many ways to miss shots, especially right at the rim.  I watched all 4 games in Spain and other than game 1, I continued to see this pattern with Tai on drive after drive.  I would bet my bottom dollar that he closes his eyes almost every time he drives to the basket and encounters any form of opposition or contact. There are some people who simply are averse to contact, causing them to flinch, to retract, to even close their eyes in anticipation.   It is genetic IMO, I don't know if it can be overcome.  If Tai could teach himself to thrive on contact rather than fear it, he could possibly take a major step forward.  I just haven't seen any indication of that yet.

 

As for Benny, we heard the same reports about his shooting last year.  And he actually did come out and started the year decently shooting the ball.  At one point I believe he was our leading 3 point shooter.  But then conference started.  Everything changes in conference.  Opponents are bigger, stronger and faster, but even more important, the scouting is 1000X better.  Conference teams know opponents weaknesses better than the players themselves.  Once conference hit, BP reverted right back to what where he always has been.   Hard to imagine things will change significantly this year, but who knows.  He has worked hard on his game and his shot, I guess we will have to wait and see.  But even if he improves his shot, he will never be the passer and facilitator that Watson already is.  We really need Watson to get his defense up to snuff so he can get extended minutes this year.

 

All very valid points.  My hope is this.  When you are a role player for your team, you take on that role and go with it.  Now that TP and Pitch have moved on, this team will need more guys to "step up"  When you are all of a sudden looked upon to score more, do more, you sometimes are less hesitant.  When you become a senior that has been around for awhile as Benny and Tai have, you naturally become more experienced, more confident, etc.  All of a sudden you feel like you are "da man"  This sometimes can make a guy naturally feel more confident and less hesitant to just get the ball to the "scorers"  Who knows what Benny and Tai will do this year, but in order for us to be successful they are going to have to be solid for us this year.

[hhcmatt]

When you are all of a sudden looked upon to score more, do more, you sometimes are less hesitant.  When you become a senior that has been around for awhile as Benny and Tai have, you naturally become more experienced, more confident, etc.

 

I just just thinking to myself that Tai seems like one of those guys who is a senior but who actually isn't.

[Norm Peterson]

Pretty sure he referred to McVeigh as being 6'9" (can anyone confirm?).  Just checked the roster and he has increased his stature to 6'8" (from his previous 6'7") on the official roster. 

 

I am assuming the roster on Huskers.com is now listing their official heights and weights for the season, especially since the returning players weights have all changed since last year.  If so, a little disappointed that Morrow is officially listed at 6'7", clearly showing he is shorter than McVeigh and Jacobson and probably more in the range of 6'5" to 6'6" in reality.  He is going to have his work cut out for him in the post in the B1G.  To give a comparison, Morrow is listed at 6'7" 225lbs, the exact same height and weight as Shavon.  Of course, Morrow is a better athlete, but the sheer mass of some of the centers in the league (ala Purdue) is going to be a real challenge if he ends up playing a lot at the 5.   Jacobson is listed at 6'8", but only 222 lbs, so he will also have his work cut out.

 

Interestingly, Tai and Fuller shed 3 lbs, and White lost 4 lbs

I might be misremembering, but I think you're wrong on this.

 

I think Morrow tweeted last year that he was for sure 6'7" without shoes and still growing.

 

I, for one, am not worried about Morrow's height.  I think his arm length and motor more than make up for any neck shortness he might have.  And Miles has sounded very confident in Morrow's ability to hold down the fort as a B1G power forward.