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Noah, are you completely finished with school now, or are you still at Northwestern?

I never thought about the fact that the votes are not anonymous, because I never before tried clicking the number.

it is a little funny that people are slightly bashing an 18 year old after having 10 points and 6 rebounds in his first game. I guess it was UNK though and of course i didn't see the game. Being there and watching was more telling then a box score. The comments on here are pretty consistent from those at the game; so there must be something to it. He has excellent length and may develop nicely. Should board it well. He will shoot it better, and soon. While he wasn't touted for athleticism, he appeared a little more challenged in that area than one would have thought. Only one night, but appears to have a ways to go to be ready for prime time. Hard to judge how ready someone is off of recuriitng film and hype; I prefer to watch them play before saying a whole lot. Shavon surprised us on the upside a year ago. I think all folks are saying is Fuller didn't have that look (Shavon as a freshman) last night. But of course it's early.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsTIeM4oGiE

Due to popular demand at the end of last season, I will be doing report cards for the ninth season again this year. Can you believe that, this site is going on NINE YEARS in existence?!??! How amazing and nuts is that? I will NOT be doing one for the exhibition game tomorrow, but will begin them on Friday with FCGU. There will be 4-6 games this year that I won't be able to do them for - hopefully, HHCScott can pick them up as he has in the past. If not, I will be looking to a couple longstanding board members whom I trust to do 'em! Welcome to the 2013-2014 season! Dave

The 'up' green arrow is +1 The 'down' red arrow is -1 Every post by others will have those two options attached at the right-hand side.

http://board.huskerhoopscentral.com/pavelkatron This is what is known as a "Soundboard" Essentially it's a way to cue up various short sound clips. This is the beta version and I'd like to know if you have any issues with it, especially on mobile phones or tablets. Given the way the refs will be cracking down this year...I'm thinking we might be hitting the "And One" button quite a bit.

There's really not much we can learn from today's game. I've been burned by reading into these game too much before...that said, I'm still going to make some observations. - Yeah, the Arena's sweet. Still would have liked it to have been a little more intimate, but overall, I can't complain. Hard to believe Nebrasketball's got a building like this. - The competition wasn't much, but I thought Webster, Pitchford and Petteway were as advertised. We'll get a better idea on Friday how they'll fit in down the road. - Fuller looked like he was fighting through some nerves. Didn't look very good. I think he'll be fine, but he didn't play that well, especially in the first half. - I though Webster looked very comfortable. Like the court is his happy place. - Smith has a B1G body, will need to learn how to use it a bit, but I think he's going to be pretty solid. - Pitchford sure likes to shoot, doesn't he? https://twitter.com/CoachMiles/status/397546165538795520 - I don't think they did that. Looked a little complacent coming out of the break. - Shields looked great. Thought he looked quick and decisive. He was the best player on the court. Thought I saw him getting some work done on his ankle, hope it's not too serious. Anybody heard anything? - Parker, I thought looked fine. Not spectacular, had one slopppy turnover he almost globe-trottered out of. - I know Rivers played, but I hardly noticed him... - Miles has mentioned before that they'd struggled to hold onto the ball. Thought they did a pretty good job of that, I think they only had seven or eight. Again, we'll know more about that when they get against a team that can match up athletically. - Good to see Peltz back out there. Not sure how much he'll play when things get going, but good to see him back. - Wouldn't read too much into the student section. Monday night, exhibition game. They'll be out in full force on Friday, I'm sure. All-in-all, no complaints here. Just need to get Gallegos and Hawking healthy and we should be all set. See ya on Friday!

HHC and the Rivals Red Sea Scrolls are my two sources for info on Huskers men's and women's basketball. There were several interesting threads in RSS last night about the game and Robin had a nice write up on both the game and Tai Webster. By and large, though, HHC is the best source for general Husker talk and Rivals is best for Husker MBB recruiting.

I am still at Northwestern. I probably have about one more year to go. So, Noah, happy or sad after the Hail Mary pass? Before you answer, remember the reputation button....

If there aren't any other Husker BB boards of note out there I'm more than happy to tweet about our dominance.

With a sister in Lincoln and the younger kids wanting to move back it bodes well. It sounds like they all enjoy Lincoln and seems like "home" for them.

I am still at Northwestern. I probably have about one more year to go.

I was talking more on the defensive side of the ball; I love what Pitchford brings offensively. UNK's 6'8" guys were having some success down in the post against us. And yeah, I didn't articulate that incredibly well in my OP.

I think the family ties to Chicago with a sick mom and it being "home" plays more of a role than they let on.

if we can get a spurs or even Georgetown type of offensive game, we may not need a true down on the block five man to pound it inside. If we can utilize proper spacing with Pitchford outside, and smith on the high block, we can constantly pound the middle with pick and roll, dribble drive penetration, draw fouls, and kick outs, without that true 5 in the middle. i feel with this team its possible. we may lose offensive rebounds, but if the officiating stays the same throughout the year, we may make up for it in plenty of free throws, or and 1's. We will need Pitch, Smith, Rivers, Shields and Fuller to crash the boards hard, and start the break.

Imagine that a Nebrasketball parking thread!! (I'm just jealous I don't live in town for the games any more.)

I parked in lot 19 ($5) and got in and out with no problems at all. I guess the lot right next to the softball field was very empty. A tad bit more of a walk, but that doesn't bother me at all. For those that don't want to walk as far you may not want that spot. But lots 19, 20 and 21 were very easy to get in and out of last night. Friday will be interesting. I don't think it will be terrible as I think people will go early and some will stay late going to the bars/restaurants since its a Friday night game. Those Wednesday night type games where everybody goes home after the game for the most part will be interesting to see.

Some thoughts: -Webster - flashes of brilliance, I like his ability to get into the lane, especially with the tight officiating, which should get him to the FT line a lot - didn't see enough outside shooting to get a good feel on him there - I liked how Miles pulled him aside during the time out after the ill-fated behind the back pass, but didn't pull him from the game. You want him to play aggressively and take some chances now and then, just probably not go behind the back on the break to a trailing Menke. -Parker - improved, still has that great ability to go coast to coast in a flash, just not sure he'll play over Biggs - will be an interesting battle -Peltz - Looks like his old Basketbro self - not sure how much he plays, but he'll probably be the only walk-on to play when the game is still competitive -Fuller - like others said, just looked nervous/tentative - he has a very natural looking shot - does a lot of nice things off the ball - I'm confident he will improve a lot with more experience, whether he redshirts or plays this season - there is a spot for a good spot-up shooter in Miles' offense & Fuller has the physical tools to fill that role - I wouldn't give up on him contributing this season just yet -Petteway - Hasn't looked sharp shooting the ball in the scrimmage or vs UNK, but he's very good at getting in the paint - NU didn't get low on the shot clock often last night, but the one time they did in the first half, he wanted the ball to go one on one and then banked in the 3, so maybe he fills Talley's role there - very athletic, hopefully the outside shot comes - one worry, he plays a very emotional game and picked up a frustration foul after missing a shot - with the games being more tightly called, perimeter players are going to pick up a cheap foul or two during the game, so he can't have frustration fouls like that on top of it or he'll be sitting a lot -Shields - Very impressed with his improved overall game and strength - he had back to back layups last night that were very impressive - went down the lane and had the ball poked loose, but had enough strength to fight through the contact & muscle the ball in for the layup - then made the nice reverse off the great pass from Tai, showed good athleticism - only shot one 3, but it still looked smooth - good to see him re-enter the game after the tweaked ankle -Rivers - Very solid night - I don't know that he's ever going to wow anyone, but he's a key cog off the bench for this team and just does a lot of things well - NU needs him to battle inside despite being undersized, like he did last year - still hard to believe he's the same player who was so over-matched as a true freshman -Smith - Very powerful player - struggled guarding smaller UNK players off the dribble on the perimeter, but still made a couple of nice steals out there - will be interesting to see how he battles against Big Ten size down low - may have trouble scoring down there vs bigger players until he learns to use his body better to shield defenders - NU needs his muscle on the glass for sure -Pitchford - He's going to win a lot of opening tips this year - shot the 3 very well, although maybe a bit early in the shot clock a couple of times - worrisome that he didn't take shots inside, but he will force the opposing big man to guard him out on the floor, which should open up driving lanes - may struggle with interior post defense vs Big Ten size - as with Smith, tough to get a good read defensively because it was tough to guard smaller UNK players off the dribble -I liked the way we shot free throws, especially after hearing NU struggled in that area vs S Dakota St -NU came out of the locker room a bit sluggish after halftime, but picked it up quickly after the first media timeout & re-established dominance. -Looking forward to Friday, which should give us a better read on the team, but NU is also going to make steady improvement throughout the year, so it will be up and down all year - I fully understand Miles' "EKG" comment at Big Ten media days now. Should be a fun ride!

Yep. Did you make it? Nope. Since I'm coming from KC I'll have to be a little strategic about the games I go to and those that I skip. You can rest assured I'll be there for FGCU though! Looking forward to it, it'll be my first opportunity to see the place in person. Has there been any discussion of trying to get a HHC gathering set up for this game?

It reminds me of the original board and the "Karma" for each poster, where each person's board moniker had an "Exalt/Smite" below and allowed you to +1/-1 their Karma score. Some posters had very negative Karma scores like nustudent, or very high like jimmykc. Mine was always in the -3 to +3 range, often dropping after a pun-filled post. But I like the post-based karma scores.

it was an exhibition game that got out of hand in a hurry. That's what it felt like to me from my 200 level perch. The entire arena was dead. I think LeeBO nailed why Hope it was only because of the sight-seeing, but I think that's just how Nebraskans watch basketball--unless it's a big moment in a big game. Hopefully there will be enough folks who sample the wares at the establishments in the Railyard before the game to get a little more boisterous.

Game was a blowout from the beginning which makes it even harder to learn much from tonight. I liked what our starters did for the most part. Remains to be seen how well we can defend against bigger and quicker opponents. I am sure we will play with more intensity in close games that mean something. As others have said Fuller really struggled tonight. Maybe just first college game jitters. I expected more of a crowd tonight. Wasn't bad for a normal exhibition game - but thought the first game in the new arena would bring more people. Students numbers were the most disappointing - but particularly because the ones who were there all sat on the side. If they want to have an impact on the game they need to get in the seats on the end. Hopefully those end seats will be full on Friday. I am not a fan at all of the arena concession arrangement. A long way to get to them from my seats - but the real issue is not having a standard selection. Apparently can only get Val's from the Val's stand - and I don't even know where that one is - and NO RUNZA's!!! How can you go to a Nebraka sporting event and not be able to get a Runza???. In the open area on the north side they have some meat cutting station where I can get a "Cuban Panini" for $10??? I don't think so - give me a Runza anyday. Seriously they just need to let kids walk up and down the aisles with Runza's and Val's pizza during the games or even just at timeouts. That would kick the crap out of the other concesson options.

Starters: Webster, Petteway, Shields, Smith, Pitchford. Shields is too smart and mature of a kid to have a sophomore slump. He didn't try to force things. He wasn't getting shots early and wasn't trying to find them. He let the game come to him and got his stats playing his game. Great dunk driving along the baseline. Showed some explosiveness off the dribble we didn't see last year. Kid will probably be our best player this year. Petteway was solid. Not great from the FT line, but solid all the way around. He can get to the paint and can score in a variety of ways when he gets there. Not a terrific outside shooter but he made at least one of his threes. More of a driver, though. Webster has good ups. He anticipates real well. Had two nice steals by stepping into the passing lanes like Cookie Belcher used to do. Reminds me a lot of Cookie, actually. Love the way he pushes the ball up the floor. Both of the PGs push the ball really well. Pitchford is a surprisingly accurate long-range bomber. It would be nice to see him post up and try to get some points in the paint, though. With his length, quickness and leaping ability, not to mention his shooting touch, he ought to be able to score inside. I don't think he even attempted an inside shot tonight. Am I wrong on that? Got beat inside on defense a couple times though. That wasn't good to see. But he won the tip! Smith plays with his back to the basket pretty well. He's also strong on the boards. And he goes after it. I like his game. He's an upgrade, IMO, over the last juco big we had. I think we'll miss Ubel's interior defense more than we might have thought. Can Pitchford and Smith offset that on the other end? Perhaps. We'll have to see. But interior D has to get much better. When they settle into a rotation, it'll be interesting to see who gets the short end of the stick. We had some very effective lineups when we went small and had athletic 6'7" guys all over the floor. Granted, this was UNK. But there's a place on this roster for the 6'7" athlete. Right now, when Gallegos is healthy, he's obviously on the floor a lot. Does Biggs get minutes over Benny? I'm comfortable with the Benny Parker I saw tonight. Right now, if I had to pick a top 8-9, I'd say Webster, Gallegos, Petteway, Shields, Smith, Pitchford, Parker, Rivers and maybe Biggs, depending. For the most part, this was not Fuller's night. I still think he's a good player, a better player than what we saw tonight. Rosenthal's cryptic tweet about him redshirting might have been based on more than just supposition. The game hasn't quite slowed down for him. I think Tai is ahead of him on the learning curve. And we didn't get to see Hawkins at all tonight, so who knows where he is. The athleticism has taken an amazing leap forward from last year to this one. I think we have more talented players. Can we put it all together? I think Miles is known for getting his guys on the same page. I'm looking forward to seeing this season develop.

Hey Norm...I yelled at you as you walked in to the game tonight...you ignored me. To bad, so sad! - I expected more from Kearney...we can't be that much better - can we? - I liked what I saw tonight...we have a long, long way to go, but I liked what I saw tonight. - The PBA is a special place...but what the heck was the smoke all about? - I was kind of surprised by Walter. He really is a perimeter player. I did not see one shot from him in the paint. - Mr. Webster met my expectations. I assume he was nervous...yet you can see that he is going to be a good one. - Shavon...I really like that kid. - Fuller looks a bit slow and overmatched at this level. Gotta be patient with him. - Smith...man, I was impressed by him. If his legs can stay healthy, we got a good one. - Petteway showed spurts of excellence, he is going to really help, if he can stay on the floor. - Rivers is bigger. - Benny will help us this year if he stays healthy. - Serj is well, Serj. I am sure there is much more that I will think of, but that is a starting glance.

I think that's accurate considering the season has not technically started yet.

We can rebuild him. We have the technology!

Well, this was unexpected...

I'm going to guess Rivers starts in place of Rey, with an outside chance of Smith starting.

Just an FYI...be prepared for a nightmare today with parking. My parents went to the women's game yesterday and said that all the garages are one lane to get in and that there is only one person taking tickets at the garages. Said it took half an hr to get out of the parking garage after the game. Other frustrating thing is...for the men's game, my dad and I park in the lot right next to the post office. It's about 35 feet from one of the other entrances to the Arena...HOWEVER....there is a chain link fence clear around the lot so we have to walk 3 blocks to get to around the post office and to the arena. While the Arena is first class...I can't even begin to count the ways this city dropped the ball on parking for this place.

Another day, another destiny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IddP8AAIGTQ Tomorrow we'll discover what our coming season has in store. One more dawn. One more day. One day more.

Post count and reputation points are some things that occasionally get brought up when you have a new poster with very few posts making points that are controversial, inflammatory or that attack a long-time poster. That's the only time I think most people pay them much attention. The down arrow is used from time to time as a means of negative reinforcement. It's a way for Leonidas to tell me that I rub him the wrong way without him actually have to confront me and say that I rub him the wrong way. I use up arrows to try to encourage posters to contribute more. I enjoy the conversation even when someone disagrees with me. Perhaps especially when people disagree with me, as long as they can be decent about it. As the guy with the highest number of posts (which someone recently had to point out to me because I honestly hadn't noticed) I will tell you that my reason for being here is that, where I work, there aren't a lot of sports fans. And the people who are sports fans are not into basketball at all. So, I don't get the benefit of water cooler discussions about how the team is faring. Or anything hoops related. You guys are my outlet. And I appreciate every single one of you. Even Leonidas. (Although he doesn't need to hit the down arrow on my posts quite so often.)

Wait, what? You mean the guy with the most points doesn't win?

I have to laugh. When I read the topic col, I thought you were referencing players who get breaks from officials or those that, if they blink improperly, they get called for something...my bad.

The 'up' green arrow is +1 The 'down' red arrow is -1 Every post by others will have those two options attached at the right-hand side. Thank you. Guess if that is the reputation I have I will take the pack of smokes I rolled up in my white tee shirt sleeve out and put the black leather jacket back in the closet.

How does one get them or give them?