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When anything written about the coach says he personally worked with a player for 4 years and his specialty was defense and that player is known for being one of the worst defensive players it should give you some concern about what did he coach him on that was beyond his abilities he already possessed. He was a coach at a school that dominated their league in terms of talent for the majority of the time before, during, and after he was there so that doesnt tell me much about his coaching acumen. Im not saying hes not a good coach but would he be a guy you'd personally want if this were a few months ago when Miles was searching or would you have gone for Burno? We all would have chose Burno and have to think Miles can get someone else thats very qualified. Some of this could just be resume fluff, but FWIW: During his time with the Wildcats, Beckner was primarily responsible for the defensive side of the ball. During the 2013-14 season, Weber State led the Big Sky in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin. During the 2012-13 season, Weber State ranked second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense. "Phil is a rising star in this profession and his future is incredibly bright.” -- Weber State HC Randy Rahe I found the link below interesting, where Beckner lists the 100 coaching points he's learned. He seems to be a pretty sharp guy from everything I've read. He doesn't have much high-level recruiting experience, but he seems to relate well to players and has NBA connections, which doesn't hurt. I'm intrigued by him, and the fact that he no longer appears on the OKC Blue D-League website seems like a clear indicator that he's probably the guy. Also, Ali Farokhmanesh just started following him on Twitter. http://collegecoachnow.blogspot.com/2013/01/phil-beckners-100-things-ive-learned.html

When anything written about the coach says he personally worked with a player for 4 years and his specialty was defense and that player is known for being one of the worst defensive players it should give you some concern about what did he coach him on that was beyond his abilities he already possessed. He was a coach at a school that dominated their league in terms of talent for the majority of the time before, during, and after he was there so that doesnt tell me much about his coaching acumen. Im not saying hes not a good coach but would he be a guy you'd personally want if this were a few months ago when Miles was searching or would you have gone for Burno? We all would have chose Burno and have to think Miles can get someone else thats very qualified.

I'll confirm "During his time with the Wildcats, Beckner was primarily responsible for the defensive side of the ball." Defense was not our issue. We need someone that can recruit shooting. FYP. I don't think it boils down to a coaching issue...rather a recruiting issue. Miles does not have very many recruiting classes under his belt here at NU so it's still tough to judge...but thus far we have not brought in very many shooters. Hawkins and Fuller were going to be those guys but Hawkins transferred after a year and Fuller saw limited time in his first year playing. Mind you, I think Fuller will be just fine in the shooting department if he receives minutes. Andrew White is billed as a guy who can shoot the rock...but it hasn't been proven on the court yet.

Ok. Good for the Jays. But . . . optimism always abounds in the summertime when every team is still undefeated. That's true for the Jays. It's true for the Huskers. And it's true for everyone else. Yet, I can't imagine the grief Huskers would be receiving if a 2.5 star Composit Rating freshman is our "best defender" and a juco "no one has ever heard of" is probably "the most athletic guy on the team." What about that nearly-five-star seven footer; and what about those sat-out transfer world-beaters? But, hey, that's why they play the game. And that's what keeps us all coming back. And that's what keeps message boards like this humming. I don't think you can put a lot into rankings when it comes to Khyri Thomas. The fact of the matter is that everyone knew he wasn't going to be eligible coming out of high school, which kept several evaluators, not to mention potential suitors, away. Add to that very big strike one, the fact that he is from low population Nebraska (strike two) and his chance to get evaluated goes down even more. Look at the difficulty TreShawn Thurman had getting any exposure for further evidence of this. Having seen Thurman a great deal last year, I feel comfortable saying that he could easily be a rotation player with either the Jays or Nebraska. I think Khyri Thomas is the same situation - the kid is high major talent, with an incredible work ethic and a strong desire to get better. I've known Thomas for a long time and he is a natural leader and really, really good kid.

Strong showing by a couple of Nebraska teams in the Kansas City Hardwood tournament. Omaha Elite (Arop' s team) won the 60 team 16U division. Norfolk went 3-1 and was in the final 16. Nebraska coaches were watching some of the games.