Leaderboard

.407 FG%, .373 3pt%, .387 FT%. We finally find a guy who's consistent, and people still complain.

If you need to compare Ulis to Sallis, sorry but Sallis is the better player. Now, if you're talking playing a guy at the point, Ulis is a point whereas Sallis would be a guy you're trying to turn into a point. Ullis is a solid veteran get and a guy who's played in the B1G for 3 years on a team like Iowa where he was used to moving the ball around. Not sure if there is a very high ceiling but their is a high floor in being a plug-in 20+ minute a game guy at point, a position of need.

Counter argument to the bold: We might have won more than 16 if it weren’t for injuries, and thank god we had the depth to avoid being a 10 win team. We got the bottom half of our rotation some great experience, they showed a lot more than expected and should come back even better this year.

In last year's pre-season, NU is projected at the bottom of the B1G. After the exhibition games, I'm thinking: "We're in trouble." Then, we have some success in the pre-B1G season, and I'm thinking: "Huh. Maybe we're better than projected." Then, we lose two starters, and the season is going in the tank. Then, Keisei and Derrick emerge as an incredible tandem, with Blaise coming along--and we beat some teams that end up dancing, and we aren't in the B1G cellar. Then, we are on the NIT bubble--but Blaise is out, Keisei is cramping, and things go south (as always with NU, it seems). The point: Hoiberg and Co. are fighting hard. They showed last season a perseverance and resilience through adversity--with some success. Can't wait to see what roster they are able to compile for next year. And can't wait to see what another season of perseverance and resilience (hopefully, with less adversity) will produce.

OK, so he's a MUCH better perimeter shooter than Sallis. He's not a volume guy, so that's good. Won't mess with our chemistry in terms of guys being uptight about who's going to get the shots. He's not quite as good at the stripe as Sallis, but he's certainly respectable. His assist:turnover ratio is much better. He started on an Iowa team that danced. He knows the Big Ten. Him vs. Sallis is a coinflip if you ask me. I'm comfortable with this.

I beg to differ. Sixteen wins is a hell of a lot more than 10. And that goes beyond just math. The feel of being a break-even team with a shot at a post-season bid was soooooo much more satisfying than only winning 10 games the year before.

I don't think this is true. I made comments during the season about how he was the one guy opposing teams were orienting their defenses toward stopping. And they still didn't shut him down. And this year, he's going to have more guys around him who can shoot the ball. So defenses aren't going to be able to key on him next season the way they did this past season. Keisei is very unselfish. He moves very well without the ball. He sets good screens. He's patient, waiting for his opportunities. And I felt like as the season went along, he got a lot better sense of what a good shot opportunity looked like. His two worst shooting nights were back-to-back games against Iowa and Michigan State just before and after New Years, when he went 0-3 from deep in each game. That was AFTER he torched Purdue in early December, so the league knew what we had. And despite Big Ten teams orienting their defenses to try to stop him, he still went 4-8 from deep against Izzo's Spartans at the end of Feb. He's creative as a scorer. He's opportunistic. He's developed a sense for when a lane to the basket is there and he can exploit it. He has all these nifty little floaters and bank shots. And he's deceptively quick. Which is probably a product of being decisive and processing information very quickly than from, say, having a lot of fast-twitch muscle fibers. And now we're going to surround him with guys like Brice Williams, who's a dead-eye shooter in his own right, and Reink Mast, who is capable of launching 3-bombs as a post player. And that's in addition to Lawrence and CJ and Ramel. So, pick your poison. You're an opposing assistant and you drew the Nebraska scout. Who ya gonna try to stop? You think shutting down Keisei is the move? You put your best defender on Keisei and I'll tell you what's going to happen: He's going to just set screens while your best defender hangs out watching our other players launch bombs. Until he catches you sleeping.

If they played at the pace of the first 3 seasons, they would have been lucky to win 10. The change in our style of play on both sides of the ball had as much to do with the improvement in win total as our roster did.

This is an interesting statement considering NU is currently hosting Ahron Ulis, who was a starter on an NCAA tourney Iowa team (that finished in the top half of the league), and yet I wouldn't trade a single player in our current top 7 rotation for him (Keisie, Lawrence, Mast, Williams, Gary, Lloyd, Keita). Most on this board are very ho-hum about the possible addition of Ulis, with one calling him a plan D or E type recruit. One could argue that Ulis is a better prospect than Wilcher, WB or maybe even Keita, but considering our roster construction, and our need for size and post presence, I would not trade either Keita or WB for Ulis. We definitely need a talent upgrade The talent on the roster last year was not quite enough. But I would choose Lawrence six days a week and twice on Sunday over Ulis. Lawrence, as a true freshman, put up comparable numbers to Ulis (who was a junior), and Lawrence is a very solid defender and much better 3 point shooter. I understand your reticence to declare the current roster a sure-fire NCAA tourney team. But to absolutely dismiss its potential seems a bit premature. With that said, like everyone here, I am definitely hoping to add some more quality transfers. We have 3 open scholarships, and they will be filled. The most important need IMO is a PG.

Think Juwan Gary at guard. Extremely fast, elite defender, unpolished but pretty effective at times offensively. Serviceable shooter. Impacts the game in many ways. For our newly found identity, great fit if we can get him. Definitely could play PG.

Let’s NOT overlook the Forest for the Trees here, he’s leaving an Iowa team we SWEPT last year to come & play in Lincoln! Salut young man & Welcome to the Star ️ City…!!!

The biggest benefit of having Sam doesn't show up in shooting stats. His positional size was a matchup problem that led to a lot of open shots for other guys. Not to mention he was an excellent rebounder. I'm not saying Ulis is trash, rather he just doesn't do anything that jumps off the page. He's solid, but not a difference maker.

This was already a homerun off-season of recruiting. We're reaching walk-off HR territory.

Not a bad pick-up. Obviously the staff, with agreement from the players, felt there was definitely a need from more of a "point guard" type position. I don't feel we would have done this if they didn't believe KT and JL would be happy with it, at least. No idea on Lloyd Jr., but I also don't know exactly what his position/role is. I mean... starting experience for solid teams in the B1G, NBA level athlete (not an NBA guy, I believe, but athletically gifted), and a dawg defensively.

N Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

That's where I am: the roster is not complete. I'm not saying we can't pick up 2 high-quality guys, I'm saying we NEED to, and have every hope that Fred can make it happen. My original post was not a prediction of doom, it was a pushback against the notion that the rotation that was posted was a good one. I'm saying that rotation is not good enough.

Big Ten-caliber PG, check

The only player on our roster going into his last year of eligibility next season is Keisei

This isn't necessarily a starting lineup or rotation prediction. Just wanted to kind of compare the roles/rotation of our last 8 regular season games to what it could look like next year. During that stretch, we went 6-2 with three wins over NCAA tournament teams and 2 over NIT teams. Lead guard – Sam Griesel > Ahron Ulis Sam is going down as an all-time fan favorite and for good reason. He did have his flaws at the position. If he were Iowa’s starting pg last year, his numbers wouldn’t have been as impressive. Ulis fits better with Nebraska than he did with Iowa. He might actually be the only likeable player in Iowa basketball history. Guard – Keisei Tominaga < himself next year I don’t expect him to average 20 ppg like he did the last however many games. But I do think he can average 15-17 over the course of a season. And he will definitely have the same gravity and demand the same attention he did from defenses during his hot streak. Guard – Jamarques Lawrence < himself next year Huge fan of Lawrence. I think very highly of his game. He will again benefit from having a point guard who is pass first. I don’t think he would’ve fit well with Wrightsell. Wing – CJ Wilcher << Brice Williams Post – Derrick Walker > Rienk Mast Mast is solid, though. Bench: Backup guard – Sam Hoiberg < Ramel Lloyd I think. And if Ramel is good enough to earn a starting spot, that’d be great. He's undoubtedly a better player than Sam. Sam just kind of did everything correct on both ends of the court. That's important. The good news is, if there are talented guards in the rotation who aren't doing things the right way... we still have Sam. Wing forward – Denim Dawson << Juwan Gary Same exact player archetype. Juwan is just better in every aspect. Backup 5/occasional 4 – Wilhelm Breidenbach << Josiah Allick This would really be a big deal. Post depth – Blaise Keita/Oleg Kojenets < Blaise Keita/Wilhelm Breidenbach - More guard and wing depth with Hoiberg, CJ, Rice, Jacobson

Welcome aboard Ahron!

My first thought was kidney was back. I could be right...

So now the thread title is accurate again?

PG with starting experience in the Big 10. I'll take it

Yeah, I would say 12-31, .387 is something to keep an eye on.

Nice to see Allison back on the court. Also Cook talked about her some with JB on Saturday post match. She was in the weight room and they bonded over horses.

But we still got "lucky" to do it. KT, SH, JL weren't even going to see the floor if it weren't for injuries. I have not hidden the fact that I was absolutely geeked up by last year, but to come on this board and be like "bet you didn't expect us to win much more than 10 games!" is pretty asine all things considered.

I'm hoping that was freshman jitters for Lawrence. It's just gotta be. Everything else about him suggests he should be 70% plus from the line. Something to keep an eye on.

So if him and Gary are on the floor at the same time the plan is neither teams scores? I kid I kid

If you viewed other teams with the same watchful eye as we do Nebraska, I don't think you'd be so down on our roster. I mean, we could potentially snag the starting point guard for one of those top half teams (and an 8 seed in the tourney) and Husker fans are disappointed about it. Do you think this roster is better, worse or about the same as it was last year? We weren't that far off last year. Won 5 or 6 games against tourney teams. And another couple wins against bubble teams. Handled Creighton in Omaha, who was a few seconds away from a final four. Beat two ACC teams. Had zero bad losses. Took a #1 seed to overtime. Went 9-11 facing one of the tougher conference schedules since joining the league. None of this was a fluke. We were every bit as good as many teams in the tournament. If we had Northwestern's or Penn St's non-con schedule, we would've been dancing like they did. Looking around the league, the conference won't be as tough next year, top to bottom. We'll also have an easier non-con schedule. Losing Griesel and Walker obviously hurts. But I see some upgrades on the roster. And I see some continuity and guys who should be better versions of themselves next year. Getting Allick would be a big upgrade from what we got out of that spot last year.

Lest we become too serious about our preseason predictions, it may be instructive to consider last year's Kansas State Wildcats, who were a Great Eight team who could well have won it all. Preseason, they had two returning players, one of whom was a 5'8,160 lb. point guard who was 25 years old, played at Ark Little Rock for three years and was suspended for disciplinary reasons there, and backed up a point guard who transferred to Miami for NIL money. Their other key player was one who wanted to come to Nebraska but was not allowed. Plus, they had a first year coach in the nation's toughest conference. I'm betting there was not much enthusiasm about a successful season. Just a reminder that anything is possible in college basketball at this time of year.

During the NU exhibition VB game yesterday against Wichita St. John Cook wore a mike during the second set and talked to the announcers about a variety of things. One of the questions one announcer asked him was how was Maggie readjusting to VB after playing WBB. He said she is doing great and that playing basketball has really helped her in volleyball. He says many of his great players in the past like Jordan Larson played both sports in High School. He said the transition from BB to VB is easier then vice versa. He said she came in great condition from all the running in BB so he is having his volleyball players do more running. By the way the VB game was fun to watch. He is building a great team. All five new freshmen play at a high level. They will be taking a 2 week trip to Brazil and play some top teams there. This all happens before the fall practice season starts. WVB portal reopens tomorrow for two weeks.

And ppl still aren't going to have any idea what he does. But at least they won't blame him if the basketball team loses. Or maybe they will.

This is going to sound sacrilegious, BUT ... Our final Kenpom ranking last year was #94; Bradley's was #90. So, two roughly equal teams in terms of quality. We lost Derrick to graduation, who was certainly ONE of our THREE best players last year. In his place, we got Bradley's BEST guy. He'll be different than Derrick. Some of the things he'll do won't be as good; some of them will be better. For instance, the new guy is a legit 3-point threat. Which might open the door for more Juwan Gary at the 4. Or maybe a fully healthy, rehabbed Wilhelm. Maybe he won't be quite as good as Derrick. But I'm not sure it's more than just a marginal backslide.

The unexpected upside of a global pandemic

Robin just tweeted that Ulis has two seasons of eligibility (as does Mast and Williams) - so that's interesting. Guess I thought they all were going into their last season of eligibility.

Now would like to get the kid from Cally because it would be nice to get a high level freshman.

BUT IF HE MISSES A GAME WINNING SHOT AGAINST IOWA…

That is my hope as well, love a big PG. If Ramel is legit and can be our PG of the future I really like this roster. Probably a dream but maybe we are due.

Not excited about this pickup...seems like a downgrade from Sammy G. He seems like a solid player, but isn't a great 3 point shooter and doesn't offset that by being great in another area. "Meh" is all that comes to mind. In a perfect world Ramel would rise to the challenge and beat him out for the PG job. Ulis *would* be a nice backup PG.

And we were? 16 wins isn't exactly something to write home about. Plus, the "best" version of this team was riding the bench and wouldn't have existed if it weren't for injuries, specifically your handle namesake.

When Coach was talking, as Hud mentioned, Cook said it is easier to go from basketball to volleyball. Being a part time basketball player, will not be easy. Not sure she will ever reach her full bball potential as a part time player. But, volleyball is her favorite sport, and she looked very good Saturday. Happy to have her as a Husker. Regarding the volleyball frosh, they were amazing. Add in the fact Maggie M. is the same age, and what a crop of 17/18 year olds we have. Cook must pinch himself at times.

Yup added bonus has B1G experience

On one blocking jump in the middle, Jackson leaped so high that the top of the net, was about even with her arm pits as has been said else where...but she was that high. The whole freshmen class of 5 is absolutely outstanding. They looked like 2nd+ year college players. They all left HS early to enroll in Jan. (like Maggie did) Maggie has improved over last year...volleyball. It's not new to her now. She's up to speed...not kind of timid. Harper Murray may be the next super star. Reminds one of Jordon Larson. Good for volleyball in the state. The outdoor match will be unreal.

I did listen to that interview. Interesting comments, for sure. And dang, did you see middle blocker Andi Jackson?! 6’3” and can leap like nobody’s business! I don’t know if she could dunk a basketball or not, but I bet she could come closer than anyone else on the VB or WBB teams.

I'll disagree with a bit of what you said, but I understand where you're coming from. The roster isn't complete yet, so there's still time. First, Mast will definitely play the 5. Part of the reason Cincy backed off him is because they didn't see him as a 4. He's the best option to play the 5, and forcing him to play the 4 takes away one of the better individual and team defenders on the team in Gary, and likely pushes him to the 3, which he doesn't have the on the ball skills to play. PG is on the way, and I think everyone else feels the same way. They need a PG in a bad way. Lloyd and Lawrence can run it, but need someone with experience there who has actually ran that spot. Keisei will get teams first look in scouting reports, as he should, but he did over the last stretch of the season also. Didn't stop him then. Fred also found great ways to get him open with how often he was on the move. Also, over last off-season he added more variety to his game with getting better at finishing around the rim. Let's see what he adds to his game this off-season, as he's going to be pushing for a 2 way contract/g league at the NBA level after next season. He'll be determined. I don't think there's an "exact" way to play and win. Forming your offense to fit the personnel needs to be the move, not the other way around. Last year was a contrast in Fred's typical play style based on personnel they had, mainly Walker and Sam griesel. I think it'll be a bit faster tempo this year, PG dependant. Probably not as fast as the first few years though. Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

Or you could look at it another way. I think we have a starting 5 that can play anywhere. PG - Lloyd (just for argument sake) excellent size and was ahead of Lawrence before redshirting. Top 100 type talent who looks to have added strength in the RS year. Keisei - Every team would love a shooter like him Willams - an athletic 6’7” shooter from all three levels could play on most any other team Gary - part time starter on a sweet 16 top 4 SEC team so safe to say he can play on high level team Mast - Perfect post for what Fred likes to do. Many P5 team options Reserves - J Lawrence, recently listed as a break out candidate in the BIG and ave double digits down the stretch. Would have lots of P5 options That is 5 very good players and 6 if Lloyd is legit, that can play on a tourney team. Add the unknowns, Blaise stays healthy, WB takes a leap, We sign another guard (Ulis who I’m not big on but still was a starting BIG player on a tourney team), Allick who is being recruited by a final four team. Rice, athletic 6’7” shooter could be a contributor. Add another transfer who is high level. If 2-3 of those happen I like our chances. I get it we’ve been beat down but it’s not like we were that far off last year and we’ve added 2 real nice pieces and bring back a nice foundation.

Someone tell Ron that Lincoln is a really cool place to be.

Got that album in 8 th grade from my friend as a birthday gift.