uneblinstu's postgame chatter: vol 13; ed 2 - Nevada

The encouraging thing to me is that we were definitely off on offense, but played good enough to be tied in the final seconds.

My takeaways

Mcgowens clearly the best defender, and the energy/attitude bringer on this team.

They were daring Banton to shoot 3s, needs to shoot far less pull ups. Seems much better on catch & shoot than pull ups.

Yvan quicker and bouncier than last year, but still has stone hands

10 hours ago, NUtball said:

 

Pretty much when he touches the ball, I'd say.  He forces some horrible shots and the offense does not flow well when he's in the lineup.

Teddy needs to let the game come to him and stop hunting shots. If he plays within the structure of the offense he should be ok, otherwise he will become a liability.

I wouldn’t rip too much on Teddy.  He was the only one scoring during our comeback, and they were gritty points.  He had no help outside of Banton.  He didn’t shoot well, but he was aggressive getting to the line.  

17 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

I don't know if Walker or Andre give us an inside offensive presence or not, but neither Lat nor Yvan do.

I don't know if they would either, but until they return I would give Stephenson more minutes. He has the body and seems to be crafty around the hoop.

So we have a lot of “scorers” this year.  One of the most important things to our success will be individuals not getting the too selfish AND individuals finding and knowing the hot hand any given night.

8 minutes ago, LK1 said:

I wouldn’t rip too much on Teddy.  He was the only one scoring during our comeback, and they were gritty points.  He had no help outside of Banton.  He didn’t shoot well, but he was aggressive getting to the line.  

It's super early in the season and the team is still learning how to play with one another, so yes, let's give guys a chance to show us what they can do. Having said this, the transition to Fred's offense is probably going to be the hardest for Teddy as he is a ball dominant player.

It will help to get more players into the offense that shoot a high% from 3pt land.  Next year we add Keisei,McGowens and Lakes plus another big that can stretch the floor.   That should help.   Banton and Teddy will be more effective when the opponent is stretched.   We couldn't hit anything yesterday from 3 land and they were able to protect the paint as a result.    

12 minutes ago, hugh42 said:

 

It's super early in the season and the team is still learning how to play with one another, so yes, let's give guys a chance to show us what they can do. Having said this, the transition to Fred's offense is probably going to be the hardest for Teddy as he is a ball dominant player.

Agree.  

1 minute ago, REDitus said:

It will help to get more players into the offense that shoot a high% from 3pt land.  Next year we add Keisei,McGowens and Lakes plus another big that can stretch the floor.   That should help.   Banton and Teddy will be more effective when the opponent is stretched.   We couldn't hit anything yesterday from 3 land and they were able to protect the paint as a result.    

Yep.  That was pretty evident yesterday.  I actually think the most important piece for offensive flow is going to be Wilhelm.  His ability/instincts passing from the post will work wonders, and he’ll have enough of an inside game to be a threat in the lane.  
 

Having Bryce will help immensely in games like yesterday.  No one is going to be able to guard him straight up.  

- Was surprised to see our guys so hesitant to shoot after missing a few. Nevada also shot terribly from the perimeter, but their demeanor was different. They stepped up and seemed to take every shot with confidence and no hesitation. 

 - Dalano played 38 minutes. Clearly, he's the guy Fred trusts the most. He felt like he needed to take shots I don't think he'll normally take, due to our offense being so stagnant. Credit Nevada - they executed their defensive gameplan, which was to completely take away the paint and just hope Nebraska missed enough threes. It worked for them, but I think we beat this Nevada team 7 or 8 times out of 10. 

- Losing 20 lbs. might've actually hurt Yvan. He still struggles getting a shot up through minimal contact, is always off balance and doesn't have great hands. He just has a pretty low ceiling. If Eduardo and Wilhelm develop at all over the next year or two, Yvan might end up in the transfer portal. 

 - Shamiel is a solid two way player. He's passed up some open threes that I'd like to see him take. Kobe is a good scorer. I generally don't care who's in the starting lineup, and I like Kobe's scoring punch off the bench. But, Shamiel's defensive versatility and rebounding would be useful in our first 5. 

- Loved Trey's enthusiasm on the bench in the second half. He scored zero points and didn't play much in the second half, but he was the happiest guy on the team, jumping up and down, every time we scored a bucket. Complete culture shift from last year. I like this team. Hopefully Husker fans are patient. We probably aren't a tournament team yet, but the future is bright. 

After rewatching the game— I’m actually pleasantly surprised with the fact that we were in it at the end or even at all.  It took some grit just to get it tied up and get a lead.  I think we can still do some damage and be better than most predictions this year. Reminds me of the year we made the dance with Petteway.  That team had to learn to gel early and we lost some in, I believe the Charleston classic, that we probably would have dominated later in the year.

*EDIT* this doesn’t mean I think this team can go dancing.  Just that they should be wildly improved in games 20+.

Takeaways after the first two: Well, we won the first Big Ten game of the year and lost the first one of the year too, so, there's that. Then, when you live by the 3, you also die by it. The surprising thing was that Mayen seemed to lose his confidence yesterday after missing his first few 3s which is unusual for a good three point shooter who always thinks he will start on a streak of makes with his next shot. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how they respond tomorrow. Also, I will not simply press the record button and plan to watch the game at my leisure since my recording stopped with a minute left yesterday (and saved me a bit of un-needed Thanksgiving stress). 

Disappointed-- YES.  

Do we miss our two bigs that are out -- YES

I will call it a sub-par HUSKER coaching performance -- YES

Good game planning and adjusting by Nevada -- YES

Piss poor shooting by HUSKERS -- YES

A bit of panic from the HUSKERS when our shots didn't fall --YES

Did the Huskers play decent defense -- YES

Did the HUSKERS oftentimes settle for poor shots --  YES

Should HUSKER fans start to panic   -- NO. 

5 minutes ago, jimmykc said:

Takeaways after the first two: Well, we won the first Big Ten game of the year and lost the first one of the year too, so, there's that. Then, when you live by the 3, you also die by it. The surprising thing was that Mayen seemed to lose his confidence yesterday after missing his first few 3s which is unusual for a good three point shooter who always thinks he will start on a streak of makes with his next shot. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how they respond tomorrow. Also, I will not simply press the record button and plan to watch the game at my leisure since my recording stopped with a minute left yesterday (and saved me a bit of un-needed Thanksgiving stress). 

I noticed this about Lat as well and posted in the game thread.  Lost all confidence in the 2nd.  Passed up at least 2-3 good and open looks.

Had a chance to digest (the hoops and the food):

I’m not going to be too critical - it is way too early. Understandably after coming down off what had to be a real high from game 1,  Nebraska looked to have tired legs in game 2 and I think that led to the lack of movement, forced/errant shots and consistently active hands on defense throughout the game.

I am disappointed in the result after fighting like crazy to get up 10 in the 2nd half and then let it slip away. I’m hopeful this will be a learning experience and they can get better from it.

So far, there are new members who I am thrilled with and a couple that I am lukewarm about. But again, 2 games in and I’m open to those opinions changing.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving - I know I am truly thankful for Husker Hoops being back! 

1 hour ago, LK1 said:

Yep.  That was pretty evident yesterday.  I actually think the most important piece for offensive flow is going to be Wilhelm.  His ability/instincts passing from the post will work wonders, and he’ll have enough of an inside game to be a threat in the lane.  
 

Having Bryce will help immensely in games like yesterday.  No one is going to be able to guard him straight up.  

Who is Wilhelm gonna guard?

43 minutes ago, HB said:

 

Who is Wilhelm gonna guard?

Compare his high school film to Yvan’s. He has instincts on that end that can’t be taught. He’ll add weight and strength as the years go on, but he’s no smaller than Lat is right now. 
 

He guarded Chet Holmgren (#1 recruit in the nation) a few weeks ago and held him to 10 points. Here’s a snippet:

Breidenbach has a very fundamental game, and it works to his advantage. The 6-foot-9 center was great on the glass for Big Red, both on the defensive and offensive side. His long frame helped him block shots and get easy put backs.  He moves very well for his size and is a vocal leader on the floor. The Nebraska-commit is great in the pick and roll. He set great screens all weekend and always would get great position on his defenders to put himself in scoring positions. His communication on defense was second-to-none, and his ability to defend the pick-and-roll was on full display.

A couple of observations: 

Stevenson should be playing more minutes. Weeks ago I thought he should be a starter. Also, Yvan has no place in the Big Ten- football perhaps, but not here, especially when Hoiberg favors skill. Good grief.... I think the temp. loss of Andre and Walker is significant. Perhaps they will be decent when the two big men return.

Naturally, Nebraska had to absorb some annual bad news sent by the Basketball Archons to make the season less promising. (Perhaps a pre-season exorcism of the arena might help?)

It's tragi-comic how NU starts every season with hope only to be cut down within hours of the first game, and no, it doesn't mean they might not escape the conference cellar (as predicted). They might, but as long as Yvan is a starter we cannot be taken seriously in a league this brutal. Keep in mind, Nevada was picked sixth in the Mountain West! Not an auspicious start, yet again.... 

9 minutes ago, Husker Hoops Penitent said:

A couple of observations: 

 

Stevenson should be playing more minutes. Weeks ago I thought he should be a starter. Also, Yvan has no place in the Big Ten- football perhaps, but not here, especially when Hoiberg favors skill. Good grief.... I think the temp. loss of Andre and Walker is significant. Perhaps they will be decent when the two big men return.

 

Naturally, Nebraska had to absorb some annual bad news sent by the Basketball Archons to make the season less promising. (Perhaps a pre-season exorcism of the arena might help?)

It's tragi-comic how NU starts every season with hope only to be cut down within hours of the first game, and no, it doesn't mean they might not escape the conference cellar (as predicted). They might, but as long as Yvan is a starter we cannot be taken seriously in a league this brutal. Keep in mind, Nevada was picked sixth in the Mountain West! Not an auspicious start, yet again.... 

 

 

One thing... Yuv isn’t a starter and hasn’t started either game this year.  So we can be taken seriously when our 6-8 man is Yuv.  That’s better depth than any year we’ve had in the past.

1 hour ago, HB said:

 

Who is Wilhelm gonna guard?

Maybe they could use zone when Wilhelm is in?    It's a good question.   He'll need to get bigger/stronger. 

I noticed Mayen pass up a couple of looks as well. Might be one of these guys that is streaky and knows when he does or does not have it.

Banton making those couple of 3s early in the 2nd half gave seemed to give him the green light to just keep shooting them. Maybe he proves it down the line but I don't think of him as a guy who should be shooting that many 3s.  I thought the look for him to end the game was a good enough play because with a 6'9" guard you at the very least get the shot off...an attempt gives you a better chance to tie than a turnover or blocked shot.

I would have liked to have seen Kobe or Teddy take over the same way at the end of the game like Sheffield did for Wichita St.  I know that Webster can take and make tough shots and am pretty confident that Allen can as well.

To me the problem wasn't the number of 3s....that is what we want to do and what Nevada will give you.  It's that we let them dictate the type of 3s that we would take which weren't really in any sort of rhythm or without any attempt to penetrate into the lane. 

We are very fortunate that Trey McGowens was eligible this season. Lock down defender.  He just needs to maintain more control on the offensive end so he can stay on the court.

I guess the encouraging thing with this team is that when we got down a couple of times we did bounce back.  Seems to be a team that possesses more resiliency than last year's squad.

Notes from UNL

*-Dalano Banton’s 18 points marked the second straight game he broke a career high in points, as he had 14 against McNeese State on Wednesday.  He also had five assists and has an 11-to-3 assist-to-turnover ratio in NU’s first two games.

*-Teddy Allen finished with a career high five steals, the second straight game he has eclipsed his career high. Allen has eight steals this season after recording just 13 in 35 games at West Virginia in 2017-18.
*-Nebraska finished with nine turnovers, the second straight game committing 10 or fewer turnovers.
*-Nebraska’s 41 3-point attempts was a single-game record, breaking the mark of 37 set against Kansas on Feb. 24, 2002.

6 hours ago, HB said:

 

Who is Wilhelm gonna guard?

I watched his entire game that he played on ESPN.  I really, really, really hope I am wrong, but I think he is going to struggle in the B1G.  He is super, super skinny, and he doesn't have the frame to put on weight.  No way he can guard centers in the B1G.  This means he will probably have to play PF (as opposed to center), which, to me, takes away all the potential advantage he might offer as a "stretch 5".  He will struggle at PF IMO because he is alarmingly unathletic.  I don't understand all the talk by Fred about him being good at playing fast tempo because he is S-L-O-W and, frankly, looks gangly and and uncoordinated.  He is not a leaper at all.  He will get banged around like a rag doll against physical teams.  I think the hope would be that he could be a player like the Wagner brothers at Michigan, but he is not even close to the athlete or ball-handler of either of those guys (or the shooter IMO).  So I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see him being much of contributor until at least his junior or senior years, and maybe never.  

6 hours ago, HB said:

 

Who is Wilhelm gonna guard?

Sir, this is the Fred Hoiberg era. The question is who will guard Wilhelm.