uneblinstu's Post Game Chatter: Vol 8, Issue 11 - Rhode Island

Back home from the game.  Dang, it is wet outside.  This was a tough fought game.  For most of the game I was lamenting our numerous turnovers.  The RI team is long, quick and they are good.  I didn't know we had enough stones to climb back into the game, so winning it brought great relief.  In the first half our defense smelled.  Much better in the second half.  A few random thoughts:

- I am proud of the student body...most of them stayed home and studied.  Good for their parents

- Tai played hurt.  Heard it was his oblique muscle.  Hope the week off will get him ready.

- Big shot for Benny to put us over the top...before that I was more than a little miffed with his offensive game. 

- AWIII struggled just a bit today.  They defended him well.  He played good defense in the second half.

- Morrow looked lost today.  He needs to progress in the second semester.

- Jake looked lost for the most part as well.  Both Jake and Ed need to get their mojo back.

- Proud of Fuller.  The dude can sit for two games but then come in and provide energy and a dunk.

- Glynn is a flat out stud when he is on his game...flat out stud.  The dude can ball.  He is going to be fun to watch.

- Shavon = Stud.  Much more aggressive today + he is defending their best player.  Nicely done.

- Special shout out to Mr. Jacobson.  I have been high on him from the beginning.  He had to recover from a significant injury, but he provides energy, an inside/outside presence and I love how he can tip a ball to another player when he cannot get both hands on the ball.  Yes, Shavon was likely the player of the game BUT, Michael played exceptionally well.

Post game notes

Nebraska Notes

*-Nebraska overcame an 11-point deficit, the largest deficit the Huskers have overcome in 2015-16.
*-Nebraska’s 61.1 percent shooting in the second half was NU’s best of the season. The Huskers shot 60.7 percent in the second half in the season opener against Mississippi Valley State.
*-Nebraska’s shot 6-of-8 from 3-point range, the highest NU shot from 3-point range since going a school-record 9-of-12 vs. UT-Pan American in 2009-10. (10 att. to qualify for the school record).
*-Freshman Glynn Watson finished with a career high 17 points, topping his previous best of 14 against Southeastern Louisiana. Watson hit 7-of-9 shots from the field and added two assists.

*-Freshman Michael Jacobson tied a career high with 11 points (also vs. SE Louisiana) and four rebounds in a career-high 26 minutes. Sunday marked his second career start.

Head Coach Tim Miles 
On Benny Parker’s and Glynn Watson Jr.’s performance down the stretch…

“The defensive pressure. I thought Glynn was doing a good job, and he was scoring, which is, for a young guy, that’s kind of his M.O. I think it gives him confidence which it would a lot of people, but I think their defensive pressure was more important than anything. They really helped us. We were in a tough way and we had guys like Nick Fuller in, which really helped stop the bleeding. Once again, Nick, you know, didn’t play in a couple of games, comes in and plays really well. Important minutes for us. We just kept stubbing our toe over and over with turnovers. They bank in two or three three-pointers and you’re going, ‘Holy cow!’ We’re trying to foul at the end of the first half and they bank in a three. It was just one of those nights where you felt like, ‘Uh oh!’ But then you also kept looking and I’m like, ‘But they’re not getting away from us, you know.’ I thought that last six… I think the under eight timeout was 6:43 or whatever, I thought we played really well after that. I think we limited our turnovers. Maybe we just had one right away by Andrew (White III) right away on the other side. Glynn kept breaking off the offense and scoring. I wanted to get more touches for Shavon (Shields) and the other guys, so I’d say, ‘Well let’s run our offense.’ and then we play kickball on the other side with it, twice in a row. Forget the offense… score.”

On if he thought about fouling on the last play of the game…
“Yeah, you know, we talked about it a great deal, but he missed the front end and we were up two. So now you enter into a situation where you could be tied and we could be up three. I’ve got some young and inexperienced guys and I wanted (them to have) a clear mind. So I thought it would just be better to formulate a good defensive game plan, to chase them off the three point line, to make sure anything they took would be a two. I wanted to save my timeout because I think I had one left, in case we couldn’t get it in. So that’s what we did because, in that huddle, it was a two point game with him shooting one free throw, so I just decided not to foul, but we could foul in that situation.”

On Glynn answering the call every time it looked like Rhode Island was starting to pull away…

“Well, you know, he’s a state champion in the state of Illinois and that’s not easily done by anybody. But when you’re a lead guard and you’re a state champion, you likely had a whole bunch to do with it and I think he played like that guy tonight. A little bit of a rite of passage game, maybe, for this team. We’ve been by the chalk the whole time. If we’re the dog, we get beat. If we’re expected to win, we win. I thought tonight was a tossup game and the guys came out and did a heck of a job finding a way to win even though it wasn’t easy for a long, long, long time.”

Rhode Island Head Coach Dan Hurley

Opening statement

“This is obviously a tough pill to swallow. I felt like a couple things really hurt us. Obviously second-half turnovers, especially when they made their run. You know they’re going to make a run here at home with the crowd so that was a big factor. We lost our composure, turned it over and lost our minds in terms of execution, which we have been better at this year. We didn’t get many free throw opportunities but up one late in the game, you can’t miss the front end of a one and one on the road and expect to win.”

On the teams response to being one of their first true road games

“I helped that we played well. We played well for a while, especially offensively. We were able to keep it quiet. Then our turnovers led to some easy baskets and dunks and the crowd got into it. Tim (Miles) does a great job with those guys. He’s an excellent coach. He kept his guys in there until they made a run, but we certainly did some things that fueled their run. You just can’t win on the road against a Big Ten team turning the ball over like that.”

On takeaways

“It was the first road game of the year. I thought we played well for a large portion of the game. We were in major foul trouble early with two of our better players not being available to us. I thought we handled things very well in the first half. We played well up until the last couple minutes of the game. They made a huge run and some big shots. They did things to win and we obviously did things to contribute to losing.”

Nebraska Shavon Shields, Glynn Watson Jr. and Michael Jacobson

On how good it was to see Benny hit the shot at the end

Shields: “That’s what senior leaders do. Step up, make big plays and I know everyone believes in him. He just stepped up and made a big play for us.”

On how the freshmen stepped up

Shields: “They were big time. Mike gave us good post presence and gave us a threat on the offensive end from the post, which helps a lot. Glynn stepped up and made big plays, hit big shots and that’s what we need from them going forward.”

On how confident he was playing offense.

Watson Jr.: Credit to my teammates. They told me keep playing with confidence, so that’s what I did. I tried to make a play and made a big shot.”

On how the team hung around in the end

Jacobson: “I think it’s because we’re so close as a team. I would say this year’s team is definitely together. We all really like each other, and we knew if we stayed the course, stayed together, had each other’s backs, good things were going to happen.”

On if Jacobson settling in

Jacobson: “Yeah, I would say I am definitely getting my confidence back. I am definitely getting more and more comfortable on the offense end and defensive end, not thinking so much, just kind of starting to become a little bit natural and ready to play.”

On if it matters to Watson Jr. if he starts or not

Watson Jr.: “I just come in and try to do my role. I believe in my coach and believe in my teammates so I just come in and try to play my role and do what I need to do to help the team win.”

Shields: “He finished the game, that’s what matters.”

I am a huge Benny guy, but I will now say that Glynn has to have more playing time if we are going to win games this year. Liked the last 6 min. group of guys on the court.

At times today, I thought that Tim looked like a coach who is feeling some heat. Weird rotation, pulling guys after playing well, yelling at refs for a bit too long. He is best when he is teaching and caoching.

Big win that shows we can win some games in the B1G.

WHAT A FUN GAME (WITH THE DUB, FOR SURE). GO BIG RED!

Big win today! We absolutely had to win this game, and I don't think many fans knew how big of a game it was. I was impressed with RI, they have some quality talent, they are well coached, and should be a bubble team at the end of the year. 

Glynn Watson is a baller, and he has ice in his veins late in the game which is very encouraging to see in a true freshman PG. He won't always shoot as good as he did today, but at least he's confident in his shot and he hardly ever turns the ball over unless he's trying to make a play, which we can live with.

I still get pissed off watching Benny half the time. He really gave us nothing today most of the game until he hit the big three at the end (happy for him that he made it though!). For a senior PG, he turns the ball over way to much, and is really not a good ball handler.

Looks like our best option at center is Jacobsen. Hopefully Tai can get healthy before Big Ten play. 

GBR!

Lucky outcome for a coach who can't scout or gameplan and a team that can't execute.  /snark

box score

I was going to post before the game today about Michael Jacobson and my belief that he could become a special player for us.

I was actually going to start the thread with something like "If he works hard ..."

I think his shooting ability could be a huge weapon.  I've said this before, but he has a good looking shot.  If he really works at it, there's no reason he couldn't be a solid weapon from deep, and I'm thinking high 30s at least.

He needs to add some post moves to his arsenal.  Also hit the weights and gain some added strength, quickness and explosiveness.  We might not try as a matter of course to enter the ball to him in the low post, but when opportunities are there, he needs to be able to convert.

And then his FT shooting is exceptional. 

I think he could be a future star.  Especially if he grew another inch or two.

I believe Michael's Dad (who is an orthopedic surgeon) is 6'10".  So there is a chance we may find an inch or two more of growth. 

Glynn Watson Jr would be my MVP for his efforts in leading the big comeback in the final 14 minutes (no subbing out) as GW-II had 13 points and go out on the fast-break as well, which quite literally & figuratively helped drive the Big Red back into contention tonight. HUGE effort by Glynn, Shavon & Jacobson. Great win that the men in RED can build on in the upcoming games vs Samford, PVA&M, NW & Indiana. GBR

I was going to post before the game today about Michael Jacobson and my belief that he could become a special player for us.

 

I was actually going to start the thread with something like "If he works hard ..."

 

I think his shooting ability could be a huge weapon.  I've said this before, but he has a good looking shot.  If he really works at it, there's no reason he couldn't be a solid weapon from deep, and I'm thinking high 30s at least.

 

He needs to add some post moves to his arsenal.  Also hit the weights and gain some added strength, quickness and explosiveness.  We might not try as a matter of course to enter the ball to him in the low post, but when opportunities are there, he needs to be able to convert.

 

And then his FT shooting is exceptional. 

 

I think he could be a future star.  Especially if he grew another inch or two.

Ubel-ish?

 

I was going to post before the game today about Michael Jacobson and my belief that he could become a special player for us.

 

I was actually going to start the thread with something like "If he works hard ..."

 

I think his shooting ability could be a huge weapon.  I've said this before, but he has a good looking shot.  If he really works at it, there's no reason he couldn't be a solid weapon from deep, and I'm thinking high 30s at least.

 

He needs to add some post moves to his arsenal.  Also hit the weights and gain some added strength, quickness and explosiveness.  We might not try as a matter of course to enter the ball to him in the low post, but when opportunities are there, he needs to be able to convert.

 

And then his FT shooting is exceptional. 

 

I think he could be a future star.  Especially if he grew another inch or two.

Ubel-ish?

 

If he can make threes I'm thinking more mentally focused Walt Pitchford

I personally believe Jacobson reminds me of Bruce Chubick

Michael Jacobson

I personally believe Jacobson reminds me of Bruce Chubick

 

Michael Jacobson

 

Same hair.

Big win today! We absolutely had to win this game, and I don't think many fans knew how big of a game it was. I was impressed with RI, they have some quality talent, they are well coached, and should be a bubble team at the end of the year.

Glynn Watson is a baller, and he has ice in his veins late in the game which is very encouraging to see in a true freshman PG. He won't always shoot as good as he did today, but at least he's confident in his shot and he hardly ever turns the ball over unless he's trying to make a play, which we can live with.

I still get pissed off watching Benny half the time. He really gave us nothing today most of the game until he hit the big three at the end (happy for him that he made it though!). For a senior PG, he turns the ball over way to much, and is really not a good ball handler.

Looks like our best option at center is Jacobsen. Hopefully Tai can get healthy before Big Ten play.

GBR!

Big win today! We absolutely had to win this game, and I don't think many fans knew how big of a game it was. I was impressed with RI, they have some quality talent, they are well coached, and should be a bubble team at the end of the year.

Glynn Watson is a baller, and he has ice in his veins late in the game which is very encouraging to see in a true freshman PG. He won't always shoot as good as he did today, but at least he's confident in his shot and he hardly ever turns the ball over unless he's trying to make a play, which we can live with.

I still get pissed off watching Benny half the time. He really gave us nothing today most of the game until he hit the big three at the end (happy for him that he made it though!). For a senior PG, he turns the ball over way to much, and is really not a good ball handler.

Looks like our best option at center is Jacobsen. Hopefully Tai can get healthy before Big Ten play.

GBR!

Post game notes

 

 

On how the team hung around in the end

Jacobson: “I think it’s because we’re so close as a team. I would say this year’s team is definitely together. We all really like each other, and we knew if we stayed the course, stayed together, had each other’s backs, good things were going to happen.”

 

On if it matters to Watson Jr. if he starts or not

Watson Jr.: “I just come in and try to do my role. I believe in my coach and believe in my teammates so I just come in and try to play my role and do what I need to do to help the team win.”

 

Shields: “He finished the game, that’s what matters.”

I think one can gain a lot of optimism on what this team can achieve this year from these two quotes.  This is a team and they're really starting to gel, which is a great sign.  I hate to play the ifs and buts game, especially this early in the season, but man if they could have just somehow found a way to get the win against Miami, we'd be talking bubble right now at 8-3.

Still, I'll take it.  These guys are way ahead of my expectations so far.  I think there's a bright future ahead for this group.

Also, if this is what we can expect to see from Watson moving forward, and I have no reason to believe we can't, I don't think he sticks around for four years.  He's going to get to the league.

Which is a decent problem to have.  

The reason Parker turns the ball over is that in traffic he has two choices:

1. look at the ball as he dribbles it while missing passing opportunities or not being able to see traps coming his way or

2. Not looking at the ball and mishandling it because is a poor ball handler.

I root for him and he hit a clutch shot but he absolutely kills us on offense!

The reason Parker turns the ball over is that in traffic he has two choices:

1. look at the ball as he dribbles it while missing passing opportunities or not being able to see traps coming his way or

2. Not looking at the ball and mishandling it because is a poor ball handler.

I root for him and he hit a clutch shot but he absolutely kills us on offense!

When Benny penetrates and kicks the ball out, it generally does not lead to an open shot because 90% of Benny's drives initiate on the wing, not at the top of the key. 80% of the time he does not drive to the basket, but rather dribbles to the middle of the free throw lane about 10 feet from the rim. The weak side defender does not sag off his man with the drive starting on the other side of the court, and since he doesn't go to the rim he doesn't draw any help off any post defenders.

I also want to add that good things happened when we threw the ball into the post today.

And I was watching warm ups to see what Ed does, he dunks a lot, but he has a nice little jump shot when he takes it.

So maybe next year or even this year he can play some 4 for us.

I was going to post before the game today about Michael Jacobson and my belief that he could become a special player for us.

 

I was actually going to start the thread with something like "If he works hard ..."

 

I think his shooting ability could be a huge weapon.  I've said this before, but he has a good looking shot.  If he really works at it, there's no reason he couldn't be a solid weapon from deep, and I'm thinking high 30s at least.

 

He needs to add some post moves to his arsenal.  Also hit the weights and gain some added strength, quickness and explosiveness.  We might not try as a matter of course to enter the ball to him in the low post, but when opportunities are there, he needs to be able to convert.

 

And then his FT shooting is exceptional. 

 

I think he could be a future star.  Especially if he grew another inch or two.

How about a comparison to the OU center, Ryan Spangler.  Also 6'8", he's listed at 234 but he does look bigger, also a top high school football player except he was a QB. With the caveat that Spangler appears to be at a higher level athletically than Jacobson, but that's a fifth year senior compared to a true freshman.

Hopefully he's not a 5 full time his whole career, but with Morrow and Horne also at the 4 the next three years there is hopefully some decent depth at that spot.