The Best Players in Nebraska Since Miles Was Hired

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

 

One other thing with the In-State kids.  I get so sick and tired of every damn year people bringing this up when they see a good game or 2 from 1 or 2 In-State kids.  I follow Nebraska HS hoops pretty closely and there just aren't a ton of great players in the State.  When Collier went the "In-State" route it really back fired on him.  Yes they are a feel good story when they pan out.  But overeall the talent in the State just isn't all that good.  I do like Chang from PLV and getting Arop from South is a good start as well.  

 

So it's a fluke that Miles went the NCAA Tournament with four Nebraska kids? It's a fluke that South Dakota State has a redshirt freshman averaging 11.5 and 6 ppg for an 8-1 team that won at Minnesota? It's a fluke that Omaha has a kid in the top-10 in the nation in steals and another who is as athletic as any 6-7 kid Nebraska has? The Thomas kid from Benson is a fluke? How about that point guard from Iowa (I know this is not Miles fault). Is he a fluke as well? Sheesh. Lot of talent playing in a ton of places; none of them Lincoln.

 

 

The first thing he did was go out and land Deverell Biggs. His first guy was an Omaha guy and still haven't had you acknowledge his existence in this thread.

 

If you want to look down the road at Creighton, (unless I'm missing someintg) the first two scholarship Omaha kids of the McDermott era started this year.

 

UNO? They're fun to watch and they have some nice pieces. I think there grade and roster issues with Thurman in addition to the bad taste of Biggs and Agau that kept us from really considering a guy who would play minutes here.

Hollins has a bunch of steals for a team that is geared around stealing the ball. He's also 1-21 from downtown. We're trying to play pack defense here so I'm not sure he would have like it and/or thrived here.

 

He's got one of the best kids out of the 2017 class locked down and we're in play for one of the best players in 2018. I hope we're building those inroads at the right time in terms of available talent because talent being equal, i'd rather have local kids than rolling the dice with guys from the Southern Hemisphere.

 

 

I believe therein lies the angst that many Nebrasketball fans have with the Husker Hoops regime of the past 15 years. When the state of Nebraska does have a STUD (and, yes, that's up for debate on what that entails), it's up to the Head Husker to do what he can to make sure that player is given an opportunity. Now, I didn't say schollie. The point is, make sure that the Nebraska kid is fully vetted before traveling to the far reaches of the USA and the world for a 'prospect' that may or may be able to acclimate to Lincoln. Just my thoughts....

[bball23]

auroran...that's kind of my point.  A lot of the guys names being thrown around have decent #'s vs lower tier competition.  Are you winning games with those guys on a B10 roster?  An honest question.  When was the last time the State of Nebraska had a REALLY good basketball player?  Strickland?  Agau is even up for debate and he was a top 75 kid.  Patton was a 5* kid and is red shirting on a CU team that is average this year. 

 

Johnny Trueblood could go to the Summit league and may have good #'s.  Doesn't mean he can do it night in and night out in the B10.  I would love to see Johnny eventually contribute, but kind of shows you that one of (if not the best) Class B player in the State can't crack the top 10 at NU. 

 

The key is to try and keep the top tier kids that do come along in this State.  And so far for the class of 2017 we have done so.  We also have Tanner Borchardt on the roster this year as well from the State. 

[AuroranHusker]

auroran...that's kind of my point.  A lot of the guys names being thrown around have decent #'s vs lower tier competition.  Are you winning games with those guys on a B10 roster?  An honest question.  When was the last time the State of Nebraska had a REALLY good basketball player?  Strickland?  Agau is even up for debate and he was a top 75 kid.  Patton was a 5* kid and is red shirting on a CU team that is average this year. 

 

Johnny Trueblood could go to the Summit league and may have good #'s.  Doesn't mean he can do it night in and night out in the B10.  I would love to see Johnny eventually contribute, but kind of shows you that one of (if not the best) Class B player in the State can't crack the top 10 at NU. 

 

The key is to try and keep the top tier kids that do come along in this State.  And so far for the class of 2017 we have done so.  We also have Tanner Borchardt on the roster this year as well from the State. 

 

I think most agree that when there are NE kids that appear "able," just make sure as NU coaches that they're given an opportunity locally to 'prove it' before taking a big risk elsewhere (when a lot of those seem to transfer, anyways). I don't think most people are looking for a super-star caliber player from NE, more like a B1G contributor doing lots of the little things that win ballgames and Khyri Thomas and/or Tre'Shawn Thurman could fit that bill in Lincoln, IMHO.

[hhctony]

Lot of great points in this thread and I didn't mean to start a crap storm (and I don't think I did, which is why I love this place).

 

hhcdimes: Yep. Landing Biggs was a big deal. Wish it would have worked out a bit better.

 

bball23: I think Miles probably doesn't miss on a guy like Eikmeier if he's at Nebraska. My guess is he lands them. I think when I started this thread, I was more fired up about losing when an Omaha freshman locked down our senior leader and it irked me off. And, while I'm not sure he goes to the NCAA in the Big Ten with the four mentioned, they'd be decent pieces for this team. Would we need more? Sure. Could they help? I think so.

 

auroran: Hamilton County guys think alike. :-)

[busticket]

I do kind of wonder what the hold up is with offering Chang. Miles offered Arop early; is he perhaps not 100% sold at this point on Chang?

[Dead Dog Alley]

 

 

bball23, I believe tony's talking about the NCAA tourney team Miles had at CSU.  He had some Nebraska kids on that roster.

 

Wes Eikmeier

Jesse Carr

Dwight Smith

Greg Smith

 

and he also had Colton Iverson from Yankton, which is practically Nebraska anyway.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011–12_Colorado_State_Rams_men%27s_basketball_team

Gotcha!  Again, I'm trying not to come off as a jerk (which I know is hard to read behind a screen), but do those guys get NU to the tourney in the B10?  I just can't see it personally.  Now, I would like a guy like Eikmeier or Carr from the shooters standpoint.  Maybe NU will go after the stud from Scottsbluff that dropped 52 yesterday including 10 3's? 

 

 

Too bad he's only 5'10".

[jimmykc]

What about the leg hair?

[Chuck Taylor]

I do kind of wonder what the hold up is with offering Chang. Miles offered Arop early; is he perhaps not 100% sold at this point on Chang?

I think everyone's in the evaluation process with Chang, but he's on the radar of bigtime programs. Here's something else to consider from Miles' view: Creighton gets Thomas and Patton, Miles feels pressured to show he's not overlooking local kids. He likes Arop a lot and goes ahead and offers. Arop tears an ACL and misses his sophomore season. Now, do you offer a guy that early again?

 

Not sure all of that scenario is true, but it's worth considering the possibility.

[cozrulz]

 

 

 

One other thing with the In-State kids.  I get so sick and tired of every damn year people bringing this up when they see a good game or 2 from 1 or 2 In-State kids.  I follow Nebraska HS hoops pretty closely and there just aren't a ton of great players in the State.  When Collier went the "In-State" route it really back fired on him.  Yes they are a feel good story when they pan out.  But overeall the talent in the State just isn't all that good.  I do like Chang from PLV and getting Arop from South is a good start as well.  

 

So it's a fluke that Miles went the NCAA Tournament with four Nebraska kids? It's a fluke that South Dakota State has a redshirt freshman averaging 11.5 and 6 ppg for an 8-1 team that won at Minnesota? It's a fluke that Omaha has a kid in the top-10 in the nation in steals and another who is as athletic as any 6-7 kid Nebraska has? The Thomas kid from Benson is a fluke? How about that point guard from Iowa (I know this is not Miles fault). Is he a fluke as well? Sheesh. Lot of talent playing in a ton of places; none of them Lincoln.

 

Just curious, when Collier went the "Nebraska" route with Muhleinsen, Dourrisseau, Enright, Wilkinson, did they take us where we wanted to go?  I mean after all, he did get some of the better players in the State to come play for NU. 

 

 

I'd guess Miles would have offered those guys too.

[King James]

 

 

 

One other thing with the In-State kids.  I get so sick and tired of every damn year people bringing this up when they see a good game or 2 from 1 or 2 In-State kids.  I follow Nebraska HS hoops pretty closely and there just aren't a ton of great players in the State.  When Collier went the "In-State" route it really back fired on him.  Yes they are a feel good story when they pan out.  But overeall the talent in the State just isn't all that good.  I do like Chang from PLV and getting Arop from South is a good start as well.  

 

So it's a fluke that Miles went the NCAA Tournament with four Nebraska kids? It's a fluke that South Dakota State has a redshirt freshman averaging 11.5 and 6 ppg for an 8-1 team that won at Minnesota? It's a fluke that Omaha has a kid in the top-10 in the nation in steals and another who is as athletic as any 6-7 kid Nebraska has? The Thomas kid from Benson is a fluke? How about that point guard from Iowa (I know this is not Miles fault). Is he a fluke as well? Sheesh. Lot of talent playing in a ton of places; none of them Lincoln.

 

Just curious, when Collier went the "Nebraska" route with Muhleinsen, Dourrisseau, Enright, Wilkinson, did they take us where we wanted to go?  I mean after all, he did get some of the better players in the State to come play for NU. 

 

I think that was more of a coaching problem than a recruiting problem.

[Dean Smith]

 

 

One other thing with the In-State kids.  I get so sick and tired of every damn year people bringing this up when they see a good game or 2 from 1 or 2 In-State kids.  I follow Nebraska HS hoops pretty closely and there just aren't a ton of great players in the State.  When Collier went the "In-State" route it really back fired on him.  Yes they are a feel good story when they pan out.  But overeall the talent in the State just isn't all that good.  I do like Chang from PLV and getting Arop from South is a good start as well.  

 

So it's a fluke that Miles went the NCAA Tournament with four Nebraska kids? It's a fluke that South Dakota State has a redshirt freshman averaging 11.5 and 6 ppg for an 8-1 team that won at Minnesota? It's a fluke that Omaha has a kid in the top-10 in the nation in steals and another who is as athletic as any 6-7 kid Nebraska has? The Thomas kid from Benson is a fluke? How about that point guard from Iowa (I know this is not Miles fault). Is he a fluke as well? Sheesh. Lot of talent playing in a ton of places; none of them Lincoln.

 

 

 

 

 

One other thing with the In-State kids.  I get so sick and tired of every damn year people bringing this up when they see a good game or 2 from 1 or 2 In-State kids.  I follow Nebraska HS hoops pretty closely and there just aren't a ton of great players in the State.  When Collier went the "In-State" route it really back fired on him.  Yes they are a feel good story when they pan out.  But overeall the talent in the State just isn't all that good.  I do like Chang from PLV and getting Arop from South is a good start as well.  

 

So it's a fluke that Miles went the NCAA Tournament with four Nebraska kids? It's a fluke that South Dakota State has a redshirt freshman averaging 11.5 and 6 ppg for an 8-1 team that won at Minnesota? It's a fluke that Omaha has a kid in the top-10 in the nation in steals and another who is as athletic as any 6-7 kid Nebraska has? The Thomas kid from Benson is a fluke? How about that point guard from Iowa (I know this is not Miles fault). Is he a fluke as well? Sheesh. Lot of talent playing in a ton of places; none of them Lincoln.

 

Just curious, when Collier went the "Nebraska" route with Muhleinsen, Dourrisseau, Enright, Wilkinson, did they take us where we wanted to go?  I mean after all, he did get some of the better players in the State to come play for NU. 

 

I think that was more of a coaching problem than a recruiting problem.

 

Hmm....I don't think any coach could have gotten that group to be successful in the tournament. 

[Norm Peterson]

 

 

Creighton offered Thomas in July 2014 - after Thomas had already graduated from Benson and had chosen to go to Fork Union. Creighton cultivated a strong relationship that Nebraska didn't. Thomas would have had some high-major offers if he hadn't chosen to commit to Creighton in February 2015. They were coming. 

 

Nebraska perhaps didn't know it'd have a guard spot open since Tarin Smith was still in the program when Thomas committed to CU. 

 

The T. Smith recruitment, in hindsight, was an impediment on a couple fronts. It'll be resolved next season with Gill, who functionally becomes a junior when Smith would have been. 

And where were we sitting scholarship-wise in July 2014.  Were we looking for guards or were we looking for bigs?

 

We got a commit from Andrew White in August 2014.  That was followed, in short succession, by commits from Glynn Watson and Ed Morrow.  Michael Jacobson was in there somewhere.

 

Tell me which of these recruits we took in the 2015 class (to include White) don't belong on a D1 roster.

 

Which ones?  NUdiehard, answer that question. 

 

It's not like Miles passed up Thomas and took a bunch of stiffs instead.

 

And it's not like he hasn't invested effort in trying to open up bridges with Omaha kids.

 

I think most people are bent because Thomas is playing so well that people think the coaches MUST have known.  But I'm telling you no one saw this coming, not even Khyri himself.

 

That's not quite accurate - Creighton knew. Creighton offered Thomas after he left Benson, but not requiring additional proof at Fork Union. 

 

At any rate, Nebraska's recruiting in 2012, 2013 and 2014 is what it is. I believe, starting with this current freshman class + White, it has improved, and it will inform the crucial years of Miles tenure, the 5th and 6th years. 

 

Well, if Jacob Padilla, the Creighton fan who writes for Hail Varsity, is to be believed, your assertion, Sam, is false.

 

Padilla did an article about Thomas recently that covered his recruitment.  He quoted a Creighton coach basically saying they were reluctant to pull the trigger on an offer.  When they finally did offer, they did so because they thought he was worthy of a scholarship to play at a middle-of-the-pack Big East team, NOT because they thought he'd come in and start from day 1.

 

If you think they saw this coming and felt he'd be a can't-miss prospect who'd be pencilled into the starting lineup the moment they made the offer, you're  FOS.  In that same article, even Thomas was quoted as saying he didn't expect this.  He had no expectation whatsoever that he'd come in and have such an impact on their team.

 

I just shake my head at all the people criticizing Miles for not having a sufficiently precient crystal ball to see what kind of player Thomas would be when he started college.  And if anyone thinks the Creighton coaches saw this coming (and are therefore better at evaluating talent), you're nuts.

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

 

Creighton offered Thomas in July 2014 - after Thomas had already graduated from Benson and had chosen to go to Fork Union. Creighton cultivated a strong relationship that Nebraska didn't. Thomas would have had some high-major offers if he hadn't chosen to commit to Creighton in February 2015. They were coming. 

 

Nebraska perhaps didn't know it'd have a guard spot open since Tarin Smith was still in the program when Thomas committed to CU. 

 

The T. Smith recruitment, in hindsight, was an impediment on a couple fronts. It'll be resolved next season with Gill, who functionally becomes a junior when Smith would have been. 

And where were we sitting scholarship-wise in July 2014.  Were we looking for guards or were we looking for bigs?

 

We got a commit from Andrew White in August 2014.  That was followed, in short succession, by commits from Glynn Watson and Ed Morrow.  Michael Jacobson was in there somewhere.

 

Tell me which of these recruits we took in the 2015 class (to include White) don't belong on a D1 roster.

 

Which ones?  NUdiehard, answer that question. 

 

It's not like Miles passed up Thomas and took a bunch of stiffs instead.

 

And it's not like he hasn't invested effort in trying to open up bridges with Omaha kids.

 

I think most people are bent because Thomas is playing so well that people think the coaches MUST have known.  But I'm telling you no one saw this coming, not even Khyri himself.

 

That's not quite accurate - Creighton knew. Creighton offered Thomas after he left Benson, but not requiring additional proof at Fork Union. 

 

At any rate, Nebraska's recruiting in 2012, 2013 and 2014 is what it is. I believe, starting with this current freshman class + White, it has improved, and it will inform the crucial years of Miles tenure, the 5th and 6th years. 

 

Well, if Jacob Padilla, the Creighton fan who writes for Hail Varsity, is to be believed, your assertion, Sam, is false.

 

Padilla did an article about Thomas recently that covered his recruitment.  He quoted a Creighton coach basically saying they were reluctant to pull the trigger on an offer.  When they finally did offer, they did so because they thought he was worthy of a scholarship to play at a middle-of-the-pack Big East team, NOT because they thought he'd come in and start from day 1.

 

If you think they saw this coming and felt he'd be a can't-miss prospect who'd be pencilled into the starting lineup the moment they made the offer, you're  FOS.  In that same article, even Thomas was quoted as saying he didn't expect this.  He had no expectation whatsoever that he'd come in and have such an impact on their team.

 

I just shake my head at all the people criticizing Miles for not having a sufficiently precient crystal ball to see what kind of player Thomas would be when he started college.  And if anyone thinks the Creighton coaches saw this coming (and are therefore better at evaluating talent), you're nuts.

 

 

Personally I think Chris Harriman leaving the program isn't a big loss (**on the recruiting front**) as the foreign well isn't the best solution & appeared to dry up (no truly well-rounded 'bigs' since NU had Maric; and, yes, that was a shot at Almeida) when NU hasn't been getting the best guys within 50 miles of campus. And, this post isn't to bag on Tai or Jack. More about the empty schollie that has been there to use for several years & quite a few contributors have been 'missed.' It's always a two-way street, Normy, always. I like where Nebraska seems to be heading with the talent already there and the prospects signed & delivered. It would have been great to fill in the past couple of recruiting seasons with at least 1 player from either last year or the year prior (Khyri or Tre'Shawn, namely). Oh well, no point in crying over spilled milk. Perhaps the next wave of talent will be wearing scarlet & cream, guess we'll have to wait & see: cautiously optimistic would fit the mood.