Some thoughts on why we lost

big red22 · December 10, 2015

Okay, first I want to say I gotta give Coach McDermott a little credit. The guy knows how to shut Miles down, and it is "almost" fact not opinion. From what I have seen so far, I think every B1G coach should be giving McDermott a ring. Now I just vomited a little bit after typing that! :wacko:

Do I think the season is over? Not yet, but it is damn close. If we win the next 3, I will still have a little hope left on the year. That way I know these guys will be able to overcome that loss. If they lay an egg against Rhode Island we better look out it could be a loooooooooooooog season.

I was Listening to Sipple and Benning this morning and they were arguing about players and coaching. They both made legit points, and were both right to some extent

Benning Said: Nebraska has the better players, but Miles just got out coached. His argument was who had the best players on the court? Sure enough Sipple said White/Shields were the two best players on the court. He also argued that is Hegner really "better" then McVeigh? Which I would argue absolutely not. So basically Benning said Miles got out coached and that is the end of it. I agreed completely

Sipple counters with: Creighton is just more balance and better all around. I also could see where he was coming from, but it falls right back to Benning saying it is the coaching.

I think if the teams swapped players, the score would have been awfully similar to what we saw because it comes down to McDermott having the game plan to shut down our product.

I would not say Miles is not a bad coach, he is actually the best coach we have had in a long time. I will say he is stubborn and selfish though. He needs to change his approach when playing Creighton. He plays right into McDermotts pocket. Hell I might even go as far as saying let Kenya H. call in the plays so McDermott can't counter so easily.

Overall the game came down to our 3 pt shots that didn't fall, and Creightons ability to shoot lights out at the beginning of the game, and the start of the 2nd half. The Refs had their moments, but can't say they are the reason we lost. Edit: Also post play on our team was terrible!

Last and final thoughts...

We are down 52-35 with damn near 13 minutes left to play in the game. What is the thought process Miles has to keep Benny Parker in the game? He didn't come out until 2:38 left, and the game was already in hand. Watson may have went 0-5, but the kid gives us a chance at some offense. You know something Tai(His points came in the final 2-3 minutes of the game) and Benny(see Tai) couldn't do until it didn't matter.

Also why not start to press earlier in the damn game coach? We needed a spark a lot earlier that 2:38 left in the game.

The Freshman had bad games, but nobody other than White had a good game. Watson need to be on the court 25 minutes a game. Parker is a great defender, but has no business being on the damn court during that stretch. We are down 17 points, we need our scorers(McVeigh, Watson, White and Shields) in there at that time. They may be freshman, but use some damn common sense coach!

TourneyBound · December 10, 2015

Okay, first I want to say I gotta give Coach McDermott a little credit. The guy knows how to shut Miles down, and it is "almost" fact not opinion. From what I have seen so far, I think every B1G coach should be giving McDermott a ring. Now I just vomited a little bit after typing that!

Do I think the season is over? Not yet, but it is damn close. If we win the next 3, I will still have a little hope left on the year. That way I know these guys will be able to overcome that loss. If they lay an egg against Rhode Island we better look out it could be a loooooooooooooog season.

I was Listening to Sipple and Benning this morning and they were arguing about players and coaching. They both made legit points, and were both right to some extent

Benning Said: Nebraska has the better players, but Miles just got out coached. His argument was who had the best players on the court? Sure enough Sipple said White/Shields were the two best players on the court. He also argued that is Hegner really "better" then McVeigh. Which I would argue absolutely not. So basically Benning said Miles got out coached and that is the end of it. I agreed completely

Sipple counters with: Creighton is just more balance and better all around. I also could see where he was coming from, but it falls right back to Benning saying it is the coaching.

I think if the teams swapped players, the score would have been awfully similar to what we saw because it comes down to McDermott having the game plan to shut down our product.

I would not say Miles is not a bad coach, he is actually the best coach we have had in a long time. I will say he is stubborn and selfish though. He needs to change his approach when playing Creighton. He plays right into McDermotts pocket. Hell I might even go as far as saying let Kenya H. call in the plays so McDermott can't counter so easily.

Overall the game came down to our 3 pt shots that didn't fall, and Creightons ability to shoot lights out at the beginning of the game, and the start of the 2nd half. The Refs had their moments, but can't say they are the reason we lost. Edit: Also post play on our team was terrible!

Last and final thoughts...

We are down 52-35 with damn near 13 minutes left to play in the game. What is the thought process Miles has to keep Benny Parker in the game? He didn't come out until 2:38 left, and the game was already in hand. Watson may have went 0-5, but the kid gives us a chance at some offense. You know something Tai(His points came in the final 2-3 minutes of the game) and Benny(see Tai) couldn't do until it didn't matter.

Also why not start to press earlier in the damn game coach? We needed a spark a lot earlier that 2:38 left in the game.

The Freshman had bad games, but nobody other than White had a good game. Watson need to be on the court 25 minutes a game. Parker is a great defender, but has no business being on the damn court during that stretch. We are down 17 points, we need our scorers(McVeigh, Watson, White and Shields) in there at that time. They may be freshman, but use some damn common sense coach!

Totally agree and they need experience also!!

FredsSlacks · December 10, 2015

if we don't beat rhode island, i'd like to see benny come off the bench for the rest of the year. he kills our offense and hasn't been all that great on defense. 0.8 steals per game is bad for a defensive point guard playing 26 min.

Hooper · December 10, 2015

This game didn't surprise me, largely because I've become so conditioned to expect this type of thing against the Jays, especially in their building. I hate Creighton more than I can put into words, but I also respect and admire their program immensely. They're certainly a better-coached team than we are, and that's hard to accept.

I don't believe it's fair, however, to say that Nebraska had better players and that the score would have been similar if McD had our players. I find that premise highly questionable to begin with, and, even if it's true, much of our talent is very young and very far from achieving their potential. Creighton is a more veteran squad with some very crafty players. Functionally, those players are better right now, even if we have some players whose ceilings are higher.

This team has only looked uncompetitive in two games thus far, and both teams had similar profiles -- skilled bigs inside who had a legitimate post game and abused our young front court, and outstanding long-range shooters on the perimeter who knocked down threes consistently. Both teams had outstanding court spacing and ball movement, and played outstanding team basketball.

Nebraska is a team that will fare better against certain programs which, while perhaps even more skilled than Creighton (Miami and Cincinnati), are built differently. We were highly competitive against those two programs, and those are very good basketball teams.

Creighton has mastered the art of team basketball. It's really a beautiful thing to watch. Their court spacing, ball movement, pick-and-roll game, outside shooting, etc. are masterful when everything is clicking. When you're on the wrong end of it, it's a nightmare, as it was last night.

Creighton did, in fact, look like they wanted it more than the Huskers. How could you watch Zierden and the way he sold out and not come to the conclusion that the Jays just wanted it more than we did? It was disheartening to say the least. That's what real effort looks like.

It's simply night and day when you compare the two programs. Nebraska looks disjointed and chaotic offensively. Though our ball movement and insistence on good looks has improved this season, it's still light years away from a team like Nova or Creighton. We still have too many guys hunting for shots and trying to play isolation basketball, and not enough player or ball movement on the court. There's still too much standing around at times.

Additionally, I know it's a topic that many here have tired of discussing, but the lack of a legitimate front court player almost means that we've lost some of these games before they even tip off. Not only were our young bigs powerless against simple post moves from Groselle, but we also made Zach Hanson look like Dirk Nowitski. There's a player who really could have helped us. That's proved to be a very unfortunate recruiting loss.

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

When it comes down to it, Nebraska still lacks a legitimate big man. We still lack quality shooters overall and have a "shooting guard" on the court who really can't shoot. We've also fallen into the trap of having players on the court for their defensive prowess who bring very little offensively. I know defense is our "identity," but at what cost? I continue to see Benny Parker largely as a liability because he's more or less an offensive black hole when he's on the court. That's a high price to pay for good defense.

Nebraska brought 15 players to Omaha, but only one of them actually showed up. We're talking about the biggest rivalry game of the year as far as I'm concerned, and yet, only one player on the entire roster showed up to play. That's not going to get it done. And, I hate to say it, but if this team wants things to change next year, they'd better find a legitimate center in the grad transfer pool because they can't count on Hammond being ready next year. He's just not there yet, and any talk about Ed Morrow ever being a legitimate option at the five is laughable. I heard Robin Washut say earlier that Miles is pretty happy with his bigs and may look to fill the remaining scholarship with another position. If so, then I don't even know what to say about that.

Finally, Nick Fuller needs to find his way onto someone else's roster next year. If a guy's in his third year in the program and can't even give you a single quality minute, it's time to move on.

basketballjones · December 10, 2015

Hooper, wow. Nailed it. Great post.

Timforthewin · December 10, 2015

Not gonna lie, I think Nick Fuller would flourish in Creighton's system

huskerbaseball13 · December 10, 2015

This game didn't surprise me, largely because I've become so conditioned to expect this type of thing against the Jays, especially in their building. I hate Creighton more than I can put into words, but I also respect and admire their program immensely. They're certainly a better-coached team than we are, and that's hard to accept.

I don't believe it's fair, however, to say that Nebraska had better players and that the score would have been similar if McD had our players. I find that premise highly questionable to begin with, and, even if it's true, much of our talent is very young and very far from achieving their potential. Creighton is a more veteran squad with some very crafty players. Functionally, those players are better right now, even if we have some players whose ceilings are higher.

This team has only looked uncompetitive in two games thus far, and both teams had similar profiles -- skilled bigs inside who had a legitimate post game and abused our young front court, and outstanding long-range shooters on the perimeter who knocked down threes consistently. Both teams had outstanding court spacing and ball movement, and played outstanding team basketball.

Nebraska is a team that will fare better against certain programs which, while perhaps even more skilled than Creighton (Miami and Cincinnati), are built differently. We were highly competitive against those two programs, and those are very good basketball teams.

Creighton has mastered the art of team basketball. It's really a beautiful thing to watch. Their court spacing, ball movement, pick-and-roll game, outside shooting, etc. are masterful when everything is clicking. When you're on the wrong end of it, it's a nightmare, as it was last night.

Creighton did, in fact, look like they wanted it more than the Huskers. How could you watch Zierden and the way he sold out and not come to the conclusion that the Jays just wanted it more than we did? It was disheartening to say the least. That's what real effort looks like.

It's simply night and day when you compare the two programs. Nebraska looks disjointed and chaotic offensively. Though our ball movement and insistence on good looks has improved this season, it's still light years away from a team like Nova or Creighton. We still have too many guys hunting for shots and trying to play isolation basketball, and not enough player or ball movement on the court. There's still too much standing around at times.

Additionally, I know it's a topic that many here have tired of discussing, but the lack of a legitimate front court player almost means that we've lost some of these games before they even tip off. Not only were our young bigs powerless against simple post moves from Groselle, but we also made Zach Hanson look like Dirk Nowitski. There's a player who really could have helped us. That's proved to be a very unfortunate recruiting loss.

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

When it comes down to it, Nebraska still lacks a legitimate big man. We still lack quality shooters overall and have a "shooting guard" on the court who really can't shoot. We've also fallen into the trap of having players on the court for their defensive prowess who bring very little offensively. I know defense is our "identity," but at what cost? I continue to see Benny Parker largely as a liability because he's more or less an offensive black hole when he's on the court. That's a high price to pay for good defense.

Nebraska brought 15 players to Omaha, but only one of them actually showed up. We're talking about the biggest rivalry game of the year as far as I'm concerned, and yet, only one player on the entire roster showed up to play. That's not going to get it done. And, I hate to say it, but if this team wants things to change next year, they'd better find a legitimate center in the grad transfer pool because they can't count on Hammond being ready next year. He's just not there yet, and any talk about Ed Morrow ever being a legitimate option at the five is laughable. I heard Robin Washut say earlier that Miles is pretty happy with his bigs and may look to fill the remaining scholarship with another position. If so, then I don't even know what to say about that.

Finally, Nick Fuller needs to find his way onto someone else's roster next year. If a guy's in his third year in the program and can't even give you a single quality minute, it's time to move on.

+1. And the scary thing is Creighton is really not all that great....they will likely finish 7-9th in the Big East again this year. The most noticiable difference on the court last night...and for the past two years for that matter was Creighton acted like it was an important game. NU looked dead with no energy.

The only thing I may disagree with is Hanson. That guy is not very good outside maybe 1 game a year...the Nebraska game. He is a foul machine and has butter fingers.

hhcmatt · December 10, 2015

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

I think our big man problem is inexperience in addition to size.

Groselle? 5th year senior

Porter? Senior

I hope that we have finally started a bigs pipeline with Hammond, Jacobson and Morrow and then we add another in 2016, 17, etc. On some levels I understand why we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point but on more levels I can't understand why the hell we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point.

burgundy95 · December 10, 2015

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

I think our big man problem is inexperience in addition to size.

Groselle? 5th year senior

Porter? Senior

I hope that we have finally started a bigs pipeline with Hammond, Jacobson and Morrow and then we add another in 2016, 17, etc. On some levels I understand why we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point but on more levels I can't understand why the hell we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point.

Same story, different sport....football - we can't ever get a quarterback to lead the team. Basketball - we can't get the big man to anchor our team

Hooper · December 10, 2015

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

I think our big man problem is inexperience in addition to size.

Groselle? 5th year senior

Porter? Senior

I hope that we have finally started a bigs pipeline with Hammond, Jacobson and Morrow and then we add another in 2016, 17, etc. On some levels I understand why we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point but on more levels I can't understand why the hell we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point.

Sure, Groselle is a fifth-year senior, but the point is that the Jays always have a quality big man on the court, whether it's Groselle, Artino, Echenique, etc. They're always developing bigs for the future as well. While Echenique and Artino were out there, Groselle was being developed.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you would have told me three years ago that Brandon Ubel would be the best big man we'd see in Lincoln for at least the next three years, I'd have laughed in your face. No one's laughing now.

Miles ahead of the rest · December 10, 2015

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

I think our big man problem is inexperience in addition to size.

Groselle? 5th year senior

Porter? Senior

I hope that we have finally started a bigs pipeline with Hammond, Jacobson and Morrow and then we add another in 2016, 17, etc. On some levels I understand why we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point but on more levels I can't understand why the hell we haven't signed a JUCO big man up to this point.

Does Shang Ping have any eligibility left?

Norm Peterson · December 10, 2015

Jacob Padilla, the Creighton fan who writes for a Husker mag, tweeted last night that Coach McDermott said they needed this win "more than any regular season game he's coached at Creighton." That's a big statement.

I think the two-game losing streak they were on certainly influenced the intensity of their play. They had a wake-up call losing to Loyola of Chicago and needed to bounce back and did.

Rhode Island is our bounce-back game.

golfer3 · December 10, 2015

We lost because:

Miles couldn't give a ship to a big man wishing to transfer. Guaranteed to start and get minutes. Country's best practice facility. New arena to play in. Couldnt find a taker. Why? My best guess is many big men are too alpha for Miles act. We got killed on the inside.

Reluctant shooters. Outside of White our guys to dont look to shoot enough. Simply not aggressive.

Miles is a poor recruiter. No excuse for not being all over Patton. What did McDermott see that Miles didnt? Same applies to K Thomas.

This season is a long way from over. We got some freshmen who are going to be better than average. But they will never be better than Patton or Thomas.

49r · December 10, 2015

golfer3, don't you hold the current record for down votes for a single post?

Wayne Pesek · December 11, 2015

Groselle was recruited to play in the Missouri Valley Conference against MVC talent. He kicked the Huskers ass. And the Huskers acted lilke they didn't know the pick-and-roll was a thing. Inexcusable.

basketballjones · December 11, 2015

This game didn't surprise me, largely because I've become so conditioned to expect this type of thing against the Jays, especially in their building. I hate Creighton more than I can put into words, but I also respect and admire their program immensely. They're certainly a better-coached team than we are, and that's hard to accept.

I don't believe it's fair, however, to say that Nebraska had better players and that the score would have been similar if McD had our players. I find that premise highly questionable to begin with, and, even if it's true, much of our talent is very young and very far from achieving their potential. Creighton is a more veteran squad with some very crafty players. Functionally, those players are better right now, even if we have some players whose ceilings are higher.

This team has only looked uncompetitive in two games thus far, and both teams had similar profiles -- skilled bigs inside who had a legitimate post game and abused our young front court, and outstanding long-range shooters on the perimeter who knocked down threes consistently. Both teams had outstanding court spacing and ball movement, and played outstanding team basketball.

Nebraska is a team that will fare better against certain programs which, while perhaps even more skilled than Creighton (Miami and Cincinnati), are built differently. We were highly competitive against those two programs, and those are very good basketball teams.

Creighton has mastered the art of team basketball. It's really a beautiful thing to watch. Their court spacing, ball movement, pick-and-roll game, outside shooting, etc. are masterful when everything is clicking. When you're on the wrong end of it, it's a nightmare, as it was last night.

Creighton did, in fact, look like they wanted it more than the Huskers. How could you watch Zierden and the way he sold out and not come to the conclusion that the Jays just wanted it more than we did? It was disheartening to say the least. That's what real effort looks like.

It's simply night and day when you compare the two programs. Nebraska looks disjointed and chaotic offensively. Though our ball movement and insistence on good looks has improved this season, it's still light years away from a team like Nova or Creighton. We still have too many guys hunting for shots and trying to play isolation basketball, and not enough player or ball movement on the court. There's still too much standing around at times.

Additionally, I know it's a topic that many here have tired of discussing, but the lack of a legitimate front court player almost means that we've lost some of these games before they even tip off. Not only were our young bigs powerless against simple post moves from Groselle, but we also made Zach Hanson look like Dirk Nowitski. There's a player who really could have helped us. That's proved to be a very unfortunate recruiting loss.

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

When it comes down to it, Nebraska still lacks a legitimate big man. We still lack quality shooters overall and have a "shooting guard" on the court who really can't shoot. We've also fallen into the trap of having players on the court for their defensive prowess who bring very little offensively. I know defense is our "identity," but at what cost? I continue to see Benny Parker largely as a liability because he's more or less an offensive black hole when he's on the court. That's a high price to pay for good defense.

Nebraska brought 15 players to Omaha, but only one of them actually showed up. We're talking about the biggest rivalry game of the year as far as I'm concerned, and yet, only one player on the entire roster showed up to play. That's not going to get it done. And, I hate to say it, but if this team wants things to change next year, they'd better find a legitimate center in the grad transfer pool because they can't count on Hammond being ready next year. He's just not there yet, and any talk about Ed Morrow ever being a legitimate option at the five is laughable. I heard Robin Washut say earlier that Miles is pretty happy with his bigs and may look to fill the remaining scholarship with another position. If so, then I don't even know what to say about that.

Finally, Nick Fuller needs to find his way onto someone else's roster next year. If a guy's in his third year in the program and can't even give you a single quality minute, it's time to move on.

The only thing I may disagree with is Hanson. That guy is not very good outside maybe 1 game a year...the Nebraska game. He is a foul machine and has butter fingers.

Nothing you said about Hanson's skills is wrong, and he is still better than any post player we have on our roster.

basketballjones · December 11, 2015

My best guess is many big men are too alpha for Miles act. We got killed on the inside.

Miles is a poor recruiter.

Yeah im not letting you get away without having to defend these comments. First one, I have no idea what you're talking about - gonna have to expand on that.

Second...... Take a look at our roster. Outside of bigs we have recruited very well. Developed? That's a different question.

bball23 · December 11, 2015

This game didn't surprise me, largely because I've become so conditioned to expect this type of thing against the Jays, especially in their building. I hate Creighton more than I can put into words, but I also respect and admire their program immensely. They're certainly a better-coached team than we are, and that's hard to accept.

I don't believe it's fair, however, to say that Nebraska had better players and that the score would have been similar if McD had our players. I find that premise highly questionable to begin with, and, even if it's true, much of our talent is very young and very far from achieving their potential. Creighton is a more veteran squad with some very crafty players. Functionally, those players are better right now, even if we have some players whose ceilings are higher.

This team has only looked uncompetitive in two games thus far, and both teams had similar profiles -- skilled bigs inside who had a legitimate post game and abused our young front court, and outstanding long-range shooters on the perimeter who knocked down threes consistently. Both teams had outstanding court spacing and ball movement, and played outstanding team basketball.

Nebraska is a team that will fare better against certain programs which, while perhaps even more skilled than Creighton (Miami and Cincinnati), are built differently. We were highly competitive against those two programs, and those are very good basketball teams.

Creighton has mastered the art of team basketball. It's really a beautiful thing to watch. Their court spacing, ball movement, pick-and-roll game, outside shooting, etc. are masterful when everything is clicking. When you're on the wrong end of it, it's a nightmare, as it was last night.

Creighton did, in fact, look like they wanted it more than the Huskers. How could you watch Zierden and the way he sold out and not come to the conclusion that the Jays just wanted it more than we did? It was disheartening to say the least. That's what real effort looks like.

It's simply night and day when you compare the two programs. Nebraska looks disjointed and chaotic offensively. Though our ball movement and insistence on good looks has improved this season, it's still light years away from a team like Nova or Creighton. We still have too many guys hunting for shots and trying to play isolation basketball, and not enough player or ball movement on the court. There's still too much standing around at times.

Additionally, I know it's a topic that many here have tired of discussing, but the lack of a legitimate front court player almost means that we've lost some of these games before they even tip off. Not only were our young bigs powerless against simple post moves from Groselle, but we also made Zach Hanson look like Dirk Nowitski. There's a player who really could have helped us. That's proved to be a very unfortunate recruiting loss.

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

When it comes down to it, Nebraska still lacks a legitimate big man. We still lack quality shooters overall and have a "shooting guard" on the court who really can't shoot. We've also fallen into the trap of having players on the court for their defensive prowess who bring very little offensively. I know defense is our "identity," but at what cost? I continue to see Benny Parker largely as a liability because he's more or less an offensive black hole when he's on the court. That's a high price to pay for good defense.

Nebraska brought 15 players to Omaha, but only one of them actually showed up. We're talking about the biggest rivalry game of the year as far as I'm concerned, and yet, only one player on the entire roster showed up to play. That's not going to get it done. And, I hate to say it, but if this team wants things to change next year, they'd better find a legitimate center in the grad transfer pool because they can't count on Hammond being ready next year. He's just not there yet, and any talk about Ed Morrow ever being a legitimate option at the five is laughable. I heard Robin Washut say earlier that Miles is pretty happy with his bigs and may look to fill the remaining scholarship with another position. If so, then I don't even know what to say about that.

Finally, Nick Fuller needs to find his way onto someone else's roster next year. If a guy's in his third year in the program and can't even give you a single quality minute, it's time to move on.

The only thing I may disagree with is Hanson. That guy is not very good outside maybe 1 game a year...the Nebraska game. He is a foul machine and has butter fingers.

Nothing you said about Hanson's skills is wrong, and he is still better than any post player we have on our roster.

Have you watched Hanson all year, or just basing this on one game? He's not very good.

huskerbaseball13 · December 11, 2015

This game didn't surprise me, largely because I've become so conditioned to expect this type of thing against the Jays, especially in their building. I hate Creighton more than I can put into words, but I also respect and admire their program immensely. They're certainly a better-coached team than we are, and that's hard to accept.

I don't believe it's fair, however, to say that Nebraska had better players and that the score would have been similar if McD had our players. I find that premise highly questionable to begin with, and, even if it's true, much of our talent is very young and very far from achieving their potential. Creighton is a more veteran squad with some very crafty players. Functionally, those players are better right now, even if we have some players whose ceilings are higher.

This team has only looked uncompetitive in two games thus far, and both teams had similar profiles -- skilled bigs inside who had a legitimate post game and abused our young front court, and outstanding long-range shooters on the perimeter who knocked down threes consistently. Both teams had outstanding court spacing and ball movement, and played outstanding team basketball.

Nebraska is a team that will fare better against certain programs which, while perhaps even more skilled than Creighton (Miami and Cincinnati), are built differently. We were highly competitive against those two programs, and those are very good basketball teams.

Creighton has mastered the art of team basketball. It's really a beautiful thing to watch. Their court spacing, ball movement, pick-and-roll game, outside shooting, etc. are masterful when everything is clicking. When you're on the wrong end of it, it's a nightmare, as it was last night.

Creighton did, in fact, look like they wanted it more than the Huskers. How could you watch Zierden and the way he sold out and not come to the conclusion that the Jays just wanted it more than we did? It was disheartening to say the least. That's what real effort looks like.

It's simply night and day when you compare the two programs. Nebraska looks disjointed and chaotic offensively. Though our ball movement and insistence on good looks has improved this season, it's still light years away from a team like Nova or Creighton. We still have too many guys hunting for shots and trying to play isolation basketball, and not enough player or ball movement on the court. There's still too much standing around at times.

Additionally, I know it's a topic that many here have tired of discussing, but the lack of a legitimate front court player almost means that we've lost some of these games before they even tip off. Not only were our young bigs powerless against simple post moves from Groselle, but we also made Zach Hanson look like Dirk Nowitski. There's a player who really could have helped us. That's proved to be a very unfortunate recruiting loss.

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

When it comes down to it, Nebraska still lacks a legitimate big man. We still lack quality shooters overall and have a "shooting guard" on the court who really can't shoot. We've also fallen into the trap of having players on the court for their defensive prowess who bring very little offensively. I know defense is our "identity," but at what cost? I continue to see Benny Parker largely as a liability because he's more or less an offensive black hole when he's on the court. That's a high price to pay for good defense.

Nebraska brought 15 players to Omaha, but only one of them actually showed up. We're talking about the biggest rivalry game of the year as far as I'm concerned, and yet, only one player on the entire roster showed up to play. That's not going to get it done. And, I hate to say it, but if this team wants things to change next year, they'd better find a legitimate center in the grad transfer pool because they can't count on Hammond being ready next year. He's just not there yet, and any talk about Ed Morrow ever being a legitimate option at the five is laughable. I heard Robin Washut say earlier that Miles is pretty happy with his bigs and may look to fill the remaining scholarship with another position. If so, then I don't even know what to say about that.

Finally, Nick Fuller needs to find his way onto someone else's roster next year. If a guy's in his third year in the program and can't even give you a single quality minute, it's time to move on.

The only thing I may disagree with is Hanson. That guy is not very good outside maybe 1 game a year...the Nebraska game. He is a foul machine and has butter fingers.

Nothing you said about Hanson's skills is wrong, and he is still better than any post player we have on our roster.

Have you watched Hanson all year, or just basing this on one game? He's not very good.

I think we all agree hes not very good....but, he's probably right in that at this time hes probably better than any post player on our roster. I don't even include Morrow in this discussion because he should not have to be playing or defending the 5. Perhaps Jacobsen will make a big leap here in the next month after getting over his injury. And maybe Hammond will do the same as his minutes increase. We can only hope.

basketballjones · December 11, 2015

This game didn't surprise me, largely because I've become so conditioned to expect this type of thing against the Jays, especially in their building. I hate Creighton more than I can put into words, but I also respect and admire their program immensely. They're certainly a better-coached team than we are, and that's hard to accept.

I don't believe it's fair, however, to say that Nebraska had better players and that the score would have been similar if McD had our players. I find that premise highly questionable to begin with, and, even if it's true, much of our talent is very young and very far from achieving their potential. Creighton is a more veteran squad with some very crafty players. Functionally, those players are better right now, even if we have some players whose ceilings are higher.

This team has only looked uncompetitive in two games thus far, and both teams had similar profiles -- skilled bigs inside who had a legitimate post game and abused our young front court, and outstanding long-range shooters on the perimeter who knocked down threes consistently. Both teams had outstanding court spacing and ball movement, and played outstanding team basketball.

Nebraska is a team that will fare better against certain programs which, while perhaps even more skilled than Creighton (Miami and Cincinnati), are built differently. We were highly competitive against those two programs, and those are very good basketball teams.

Creighton has mastered the art of team basketball. It's really a beautiful thing to watch. Their court spacing, ball movement, pick-and-roll game, outside shooting, etc. are masterful when everything is clicking. When you're on the wrong end of it, it's a nightmare, as it was last night.

Creighton did, in fact, look like they wanted it more than the Huskers. How could you watch Zierden and the way he sold out and not come to the conclusion that the Jays just wanted it more than we did? It was disheartening to say the least. That's what real effort looks like.

It's simply night and day when you compare the two programs. Nebraska looks disjointed and chaotic offensively. Though our ball movement and insistence on good looks has improved this season, it's still light years away from a team like Nova or Creighton. We still have too many guys hunting for shots and trying to play isolation basketball, and not enough player or ball movement on the court. There's still too much standing around at times.

Additionally, I know it's a topic that many here have tired of discussing, but the lack of a legitimate front court player almost means that we've lost some of these games before they even tip off. Not only were our young bigs powerless against simple post moves from Groselle, but we also made Zach Hanson look like Dirk Nowitski. There's a player who really could have helped us. That's proved to be a very unfortunate recruiting loss.

When I see guys like Groselle, or, even worse, legit bigs on loser programs like Abilene Christian, it makes me extremely frustrated. Seeing a guy like Duran Porter take us to school last week certainly begs the question (once again) of why so many of the lower-tier teams in Division I seem to have no problem finding quality bigs when we can't even get a sniff. It boggles the mind, to be honest.

When it comes down to it, Nebraska still lacks a legitimate big man. We still lack quality shooters overall and have a "shooting guard" on the court who really can't shoot. We've also fallen into the trap of having players on the court for their defensive prowess who bring very little offensively. I know defense is our "identity," but at what cost? I continue to see Benny Parker largely as a liability because he's more or less an offensive black hole when he's on the court. That's a high price to pay for good defense.

Nebraska brought 15 players to Omaha, but only one of them actually showed up. We're talking about the biggest rivalry game of the year as far as I'm concerned, and yet, only one player on the entire roster showed up to play. That's not going to get it done. And, I hate to say it, but if this team wants things to change next year, they'd better find a legitimate center in the grad transfer pool because they can't count on Hammond being ready next year. He's just not there yet, and any talk about Ed Morrow ever being a legitimate option at the five is laughable. I heard Robin Washut say earlier that Miles is pretty happy with his bigs and may look to fill the remaining scholarship with another position. If so, then I don't even know what to say about that.

Finally, Nick Fuller needs to find his way onto someone else's roster next year. If a guy's in his third year in the program and can't even give you a single quality minute, it's time to move on.

The only thing I may disagree with is Hanson. That guy is not very good outside maybe 1 game a year...the Nebraska game. He is a foul machine and has butter fingers.
Nothing you said about Hanson's skills is wrong, and he is still better than any post player we have on our roster.

Have you watched Hanson all year, or just basing this on one game? He's not very good.

Which post player on our roster is better?

Handy Johnson · December 11, 2015

Watson should be starting instead of Benny, I'm REALLY tired of watching him throw up bricks. God bless him, but the kid can't shoot.

hhcmatt · December 11, 2015

Nothing you said about Hanson's skills is wrong, and he is still better than any post player we have on our roster.

Have you watched Hanson all year, or just basing this on one game? He's not very good.

I think we all agree hes not very good....but, he's probably right in that at this time hes probably better than any post player on our roster. I don't even include Morrow in this discussion because he should not have to be playing or defending the 5. Perhaps Jacobsen will make a big leap here in the next month after getting over his injury. And maybe Hammond will do the same as his minutes increase. We can only hope.

Groselle didn't do anything until last year.

Before that Artino sucked for most of his career here.

It's quite possible by this time next year Hansen will be competent.

It takes time to develop big men

brfrad · December 12, 2015

Hammond is really starting to show some signs to be optimistic for his future. I know he is our best defensive post player, and it isn't even close.

He needs to get 20 + minutes a game. If Jacobson can start to play defense and gain some minutes that would be huge.

There is still improvement for his future.

He needs to develop some offensive post moves.

He needs to gain some muscle where the bigger players can't move him.

He needs to shoot free throws better.

Minutes distribution I would like to see

Center- Hammond 25 Jacobson 10 Morrow 5

Power Forward- Shields 15 McVeigh 15 Morrow 10

Small Forward- White 25 Shields 15

Shooting Guard-Webster 30 White 5 Watson 5

Point Guard- Watson 20 Parker 20

Total Minutes (games dictate these)

Shields 30

White 30

Webster 30

Watson 25

Parker 20

McVeigh 15

Morrow 15

Jacobson 10

That gives us the chance to play Hammond/Morrow at the same time. That combination is avg. 4.0 offensive rebounds a game.

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