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  1. They look like a tournament team. Crazy depth, and diverse enough to create matchup problems with just about anyone. Diop would be wise to learn how to play like Gary. If he learns to be a versatile defender and energy guy, yikes. Mikki Moore was the last big who could jump like that, but I’ve literally never seen a big at Nebraska RUN like that. I’m far and out most excited for Eli. Honestly, if I hadn’t been familiar with the roster, I’d think he was the guy we were building around. I didn’t realize how explosive he was athletically. Josiah, Eli, and Diop are all newcomers, and they are also the three most athletic players on the roster. And remember Gary is a freak of nature in his own right. Holy crap.
    5 points
  2. Norm Peterson

    I am so geeked.

    Two things can be true at the same time. He can be an athletic freak (which I think he is) AND he can have a long way to go to operate in our offense (which I think is probably also true.) Having said that, he is not only explosively athletic, but he's also agile. He does NOT have hands of stone. He might be a long ways behind Rienk Mast or Josiah Allick, but he's way ahead of Yvan Ouedraogo at the same point in their careers, and I would also give him the edge over Eduardo Andre.
    5 points
  3. I hadn't noticed anyone else point this out yet, sorry if I missed it, but Rivals gave Nick his 4th star and moved him into the top 100. Nick Janowski, 2024 Shooting Guard, Nebraska (rivals.com)
    4 points
  4. I don't have the time, or level of interest, to research and gauge what the other teams in the league did in all these respects. While your thoughts on who we lost, who we replaced them with, and who else we have make sense and seem pretty spot on, ultimately it will get sorted out not by how this roster compares to the last one, but how it compares to the other teams in the league. What are their additions and subtractions? Are our returning guys and FNGs (new guys) better compared to the portal transfers and recruits of the other guys? We could be a lot better and still not move up enough spots if the other teams still have better dudes than our dudes. Hopefully that isn't the case but hard to know at this point.
    4 points
  5. Well, geesh - let's hang his damn jersey already then.
    3 points
  6. hhcmatt

    I am so geeked.

    To me it was watching Diop in person and noticing his speed and hops relative to everyone else on the court. No idea if he can actually play but can see him outrunning opposing centers and even some guards on the break and protecting the rim on defense. I think we have fairly good depth at the post where redshirting him seems like a good possibility and in terms of him replacing Oleg as a center project I think we've upgraded. Tremendous end roster pickup.
    3 points
  7. Matar Diop probably stood out the most because of his freakish athleticism. Skills still a work in progress, but allow your imagination to run wild on his physical tools and you probably won't overshoot things by much. I mean, he is a freak of nature. You're just going to have to see him. Words fail. But all that athleticism will be meaningless if he cannot corral it and put it to good use. I think he will be able to do that. I don't know if he'll be able to do that this year, though. He has a ways to go with learning the game and developing a feel for the action. But his physical tools will at least get him on the floor. Eli Rice, on the other hand, is both athletic and skilled. How we managed to land him is beyond me. How other schools missed on him is beyond me. He's high-major talent, for sure. I am shocked -- SHOCKED -- that he wasn't more highly rated. But thankful, because that means he fell into our laps. You might miss some things about Derrick Walker. Primarily his intuitive relationship with Keisei and the feel he had for hitting Keisei on back cuts. But Rienk is no slouch. Let me emphasize that point. Derrick Walker was a very good player with lots to commend himself for. But Rienk Mast is a solid player in his own right and I don't think we're going to skip as much of a beat at that spot on the floor as some might have feared. I think Rienk is the real goods. And Matar will be a quality backup. Every single one of our newcomers is a player. Every single one of our newcomers has game. Brice appears to be as advertised. He'll probably drop off a bit on the 3-point percentage as he goes up a level in competition, but I figure he's good for a solid 35 or 36% from deep. He's long, smooth and athletic. He would have clearly started on any of Hoiberg's first four teams here. Boogie is a long point guard. It's hard to say too much about him because the drills they ran weren't really conducive to letting you see his passing ability, for instance. But these guys are all fast in the open floor. Athletically, they all belong at the high major level. Ulis, also, although I hesitate to say too much about him because I'm just not sure if he'll be eligible. There are some things we're not going to know for awhile. But there are some other things I feel pretty confident about: 1. We're more athletic than we were a year ago; 2. We found a suitable replacement for Derrick Walker; 3. We'll be a better perimeter shooting team than we were a year ago. What I saw tonight did not leave me feeling worried. I'm really anticipating what the season holds in store and I really want to see how these guys stack up. I really don't think we'll have a weak spot on the floor. That doesn't mean we'll win the Big Ten. I'm not that much of a Pollyanna. But I'm really looking forward to seeing what these kids can do. THIS IS NOT THE SMOKE AND MIRRORS "MOST TALENTED TEAM" FROM TWO YEARS AGO. THESE GUYS ARE REAL. The only question for me is whether they'll mesh and whether we have someone who can initiate the offense. And then how far can they go. But I think this is, for sure, a post-season roster.
    3 points
  8. That's it. That's the message. Geeked, I say.
    2 points
  9. 2 points
  10. Husker fans also thought Matthew Atewe was the next Dwight Howard and Elbert Robinson was the second coming of Shaq when they were presumed to be coming here (they were non-contributors at the Power 5 level and finished their careers at Pepperdine and Old Dominion, respectively). Matar needs to develop a feel for the game. It will take time. Yes, we haven't had a long athlete like him since the Nee days, but just about every other team has. Mid-major conferences around the country are filled with long athletic players who don't have much of a feel for the game. I hope Matar doesn't have to play much at all this year. If he does, he'll turn the ball over a lot on offense and foul a lot on defense. And get discouraged. Then the transfer portal will be looming. That is what I see when I watch him move right now. I don't think this is a pessimistic view. I do think Matar has a ton of potential. What's pessimistic is Husker fans attitude towards players like this when they don't meet or exceed the hype and expectations. Is this the year we have fun Nov-Mar? I think so.
    2 points
  11. hskr4life

    I am so geeked.

    It's an endless circle of "welp, it's basketball season soon" to "at least baseball should be good this year" to "it's summer soon and then we've got Husker football baby!" Who is going to be the team to break the streak?
    2 points
  12. I respectfully disagree on one point. Allison had a definitive limp, both before and after the session. During the introduction, she came out with a sleeve on her leg. She then sat on the bench and placed a bulky brace on her recovering knee. I do not bring this up to be a Debbie-downer or argumentative. I simply want fans to be realistic and to understand the difficulty and hard work to rehabilitate and fully recover from this sort of injury. Allison is putting in the time and work. She is back; but it will take some additional time and hard work for her to get back to her old form.
    2 points
  13. Well, OK, allow me to elaborate. I watched carefully as Rienk Mast jogged onto the floor when he was introduced. I was wanting to see if he moved ploddingly, like a plow horse. Or if he moved around like a guy with 50-year-old knees. Nope, he moves well. He cantered onto the floor like a smooth athlete. No hitch in his giddyup at all. In 3-point drills, he has a quick catch-and-shoot action with a compact, repeatable stroke. He elevates with power. He has a variety of moves down low. He threw a nice little lefty hook and nailed a nifty fadeaway. OK, not bad. Nice start. Then comes Matar. HOLY SMOKES!!!! OMG. Superlatives are not enough to describe this kid's incredible athleticism. I do not recall a big man in a Nebraska jersey as explosive as he is. Not ever. He effortlessly snagged lob passes and threw them down like child's play. He covers ground from one end of the floor to the other like a greyhound or a cheetah or some other animal that's really fast. Oh, and on the 3-point shooting drills, he was nailing 3, 4, 5 in a row. His inside post moves appear to be a work in progress, but it's clear there's work going on. And talk about effortless leapers throwing down dunks and then stroking it from deep, allow me to introduce you to another fresh face in Eli Rice. The kid is gonna play. This year. He's really going to put pressure on some of the upper classmen to elevate their games if they want to stay in front of him. You can clearly see how he managed to be one of our leading scorers on the Spain trip. Rice and Diop might have the greatest inverse relationship between recruiting rankings and basketball ability of anyone we've had since Shavon Shields. Steals. Absolute steals. Both of them. Rice was ripping the nets on his 3-pointers. And effortlessly athletic. Very happy with what I saw there. Very happy. I should mention we have some shooters. Brice Williams looked about like what you'd expect. He's fast in the open floor. And he's an oustanding shooter. CJ finally looks confident. Finally. Confident, but not cocky. And it showed with him winning the 3-point competition. And, of course Keisei, who had quite a large cheering section on hand. And damn near couldn't miss until the 3-point competition started. And then we have some athletes. In addition to the aforementioned freshmen, I have to say Josiah Allick was surprisingly bouncy. I mean, I didn't expect him to be a stiff. But he was bouncier than I had anticipated. And his shot seems like it's coming around. He has some basketball skills. And I don't think he's going to frustrate you to watch like the guy whose roster spot he took. All in all, this looks like a generally longer and more athletic group than we've had while also being better shooters. I don't know how that translates into wins, but if these guys care more about team success than individual glory, the sky is the limit.
    2 points
  14. Now that you've had a chance to kick the tires a bit, and check out the new guys, what do you think? We lost a starting PG and big man to graduation. We lost a starting SG to injury AND graduation. We lost a reserve forward to the portal. And we lost two projects, a PG and a post, to the portal. But I'd argue we managed to keep everyone we'd have wanted to have back who still had eligibility. This was for a team that was either the best of the worst in the league or the worst team in the middle of the pack. Our crucial needs were to replace Walker and Griesel. Less urgently but still important, we had to find some front court depth. Then, we needed to generally find some talent upgrades. And now we've added a big man off the portal who was the best player from the best team in the Mo Valley. We added another big who played 32 min/game and put up 8 and 7 on a roughly top 60 New Mexico team. We added a long wing who shot 40% from three at Charlotte. We got two PGs, one who started at Ball St and Missouri and another who started at Iowa (but might not be eligible.) And the two true freshmen are long, athletic, and both appear to have pretty high upside.
    1 point
  15. I went 8. But I really had to talk myself out of 9. I'm feeling magic in the air boys!
    1 point
  16. Don't sleep on Eli Rice is all I'm saying.
    1 point
  17. All About the Corn

    WBB Blog

    Don't forget next year we add the PAC4 so it gets even tougher.
    1 point
  18. cornfed24-7

    Debbie Downer

    I mean you would think it would be damn near impossible to place 4th in the BIG and get snubbed by the NCAA Tournament a second time.
    1 point
  19. Maybe the most important sports analogy I learned over the years was that it's not how good you are, but how good your competition is. I'm with HB that "I gotta watch them play" first but I do like the effort our coaches put in this off season to find certain pieces to the puzzle.
    1 point
  20. This year's version of Michigan State could be as good as any Izzo has had. Purdue and Illinois will be just as good as they were last year. Four through fourteen are up for grabs. Top to bottom, the Big Ten will likely be weaker this year than in the past several years.
    1 point
  21. wrestling between #5 and #6. this is the least attention i''ve paid to the offseason in years for personal reasons, so I already know I don't know squat. I wound up going with 5 because I believe firmly that you gotta prove it to get a shift in presumption. I'll stop thinking of them as being bad when they stop being bad.
    1 point
  22. I voted an 8, and that's not hyperbole. That's no joke, and guess what, ( whispering now) ... we could win our first NCAA tourney game this year!
    1 point
  23. At least we have hope for Allison this year versus last after the injury. Her shooting should improve as during her rehab she probably took thousands of shots. I have high hopes for her.
    1 point
  24. Watched the youtube post this weekend. Allison I think shows quite a bit rust. Granted I really kind of expected it. She will get limited minutes to start the season and I see more of a slow ramp up from Amy for her. Her shooting will take time. If we could get Stewart to have a nice low post game (improved?) and get in form for hitting the three she could be a real plus. Still a lot of work for them to put in before they open the season.
    1 point
  25. Huskerpapa

    I am so geeked.

    Yeah, I sorta agree. I spent the offseason skeptical, at best, regarding both our talent and our chances of success this coming season. I sat down at the practice session and simply tried to evaluate what we had, talent wise and tried to compare our talent to what we see around our league. It was almost shocking to see what we assembled...and that was a positive shock, not a negative. We have a season to traverse, and a lot can, and usually does go wrong through the middle of March. That said, we seem to be a mature team. The team seems to get along. The team seems to have quality depth. The team seems to look strong. The team seems to look athletic. The team as a whole, seems to shoot well. The team seems to have a plethora of quick hoppers. The team seems to be basketball savvy. Now, we all know the history of Nebraska. What seems to be possible and what then becomes reality always sucks. So we shall see. I for one am geeked, at least for now.
    1 point
  26. Dube looked great until he attempted a hook shot against Copeland in the opening scrimmage.
    1 point
  27. I don't know if this is our "best" roster... But it certainly seems to be, on paper anyways, our most "complete" roster. Everyone should probably cool their jets a bit on Diop. Long ways to go if he's going to operate in our offense like how we seem to want to use our bigs. Right now, if he's in the game, you've gotta be in a different offense (i.e., like a 4 around opposite post).
    1 point
  28. hhcmatt

    I am so geeked.

    It's safe to say that Allick has recovered from his off-season surgery
    1 point
  29. 1 point
  30. jayschool

    I am so geeked.

    Definitely a disability.
    1 point
  31. Okay. Watched the ladies tonight. Really hard to judge. Returners all seemed to have upgraded their games a bit. Annika more than a bit. She looked comfortable in the post. Logan plays the game at a good pace and appears to be ready to go. I liked how Natalie Potts fits as well. Darian is going to be helpful. Hard to replace Sam's role; but Darian should help. Yeah, Allison is back on the floor; but no way, no how, is she close to 100%. She has another month before first tip, so hopefully she continues to get healthy. I hate to use the word disappointed, so I won't...but...Jessica Petrie did not meet my expectation tonight. She simply looked misplaced at times. I will opine that she will find herself, and will continue to improve throughout the year.
    1 point
  32. We have strength, talent and depth throughout. I don't know if I can honestly pick five starters. An interesting conundrum.
    1 point
  33. Blaise is out...but that three headed monster (Rienk, Josiah and Matar) looked terrific. Geeked.
    1 point
  34. You would NEVER have pointed out that Dube Okeke nailed 5 straight 3-pointers in drills like you could say about Matar, though.
    1 point
  35. Diop is a freak. 7-3 wingspan, jumping out of the gym, and ran like a gazelle down the court on drills. I probably could have said a lot of the same things about Dube Okeke so we'll see how he looks in our first exhibition game.
    1 point
  36. To nearly quote the nearly famous Navin Johnson: I'm actually a little excited about the roster for this year's team. That is my problem. Every year I think we got something going. So these are the reasons why we have a chance at a good season. Hope these happen, but I need to temper my excitement. Damn near everyone you would have wanted to keep off of last year's roster decided to stay. The only guys we lost to the portal were guys who would not likely have made the rotation this year. In addition ... Rienk Mast. We had to hit a homer in the transfer market to replace Derrick Walker because we didn't really have anyone in-house who could fill those shoes. We got the best player from the best team in the Missouri Valley. Word is we got the kid Iowa really wanted. He's strong. He's long. And he's efficient. Even from beyond the arc. Keisei decided to stay. He could have a Cary Cochran kind of season. He's that good of a shooter. And he's just so damn crafty. Plays with joy and a joy to watch play. Brice Williams. Frickin A. Call him pennies from heaven because, on paper, he was maybe one of the best shooters in the portal. Really wasn't expecting a wing. Not a great position of need. But nice to add an efficient scorer regardless. He could have AWIII kind of impact. With him and Keisei, opposing Ds could have to pick their poison. Matar Diop. Very late add. Usually not a good sign. But, in this case, he might have just snuck under the radar. He's REALLY long with a 7'3 wingspan. He's really bouncy. He's probably really raw, but he has some tools. But the thing I LOVE about him is his mindset. I love big men who have a little bit of that dawg in them. Before he was a known recruit and only had offers from places like Sam Houston State, I became high on Bruno Fernando for just that reason. He just had that dawg in him. Matar is like that. High motor competitor. And the biggest thing is it looked like we were going to be really iffy around the rim and lacking in depth down low. Blaise still having ankle problems and who knows if he'll contribute. I think Matar just took that spot. Jamarques Lawrence. Freshman stud who took advantage of our injury situation to get some serious, real minutes. And he rose to the occasion. Could he have a sophomore slump? Sure. But that doesn't seem likely from a guy who rose to the challenge of stepping into the starting rotation as a true freshman when we got hit with injuries. Josiah Allick. Another Lincoln kid who wants to do the home crowd proud. And he's merely a 32 min/game starter from a top roughly 60 team out of New Mex. Stop and think about that for a sec. He STARTED and played 32 min/game for a roughly top 60 team last year. We POACHED a starter from a team that was sniffing the bubble a year ago and it's possible he won't even start on this year's Husker squad. Mind blown. If you don't think THAT is a positive sign, I don't know what to tell you. Jarron Coleman. Let me set the scene: Our starting PG graduates. We recruit the starting PG from one of last year's conference rivals. He has some ... trouble. Trouble that could affect his eligibility. And, right about that time, a 6'5 PG with roughly 4 years of starting experience, including 1 at a P5 school, materializes in the portal. And he picks us. Color me crazy, but it seems like the stars are maybe kind of starting to align. I mean, I don't want to get too carried away, but I feel like we really did OK in the portal, y'know? We got what we had to get at every position. We kept the guys we needed to keep and landed at the very least serviceable players at every position we needed to find someone. We bolstered our bench. You'd have to think we're in pretty good shape going into the season. Now talk me down off the ledge.
    1 point
  37. Reminds me of the feeling I had starting the season in 1990 before we won 26 games and were rated 11th in the nation prior to the fateful game with Xavier. Danny's team had lost 18 games in 1989-90, but you could feel all of the pieces were in place to begin the 1990-91 season.
    1 point
  38. My dad could sense my optimism for this team and wanted to know what our roster looked like this year. I typed up a little Athlon style roster summary for him. CG – Jarron Coleman 6-5 Sr. 14 ppg 5 rpg 4 apg (at Ball State). Low efficiency. Good ball handler, passer. Big guard. 2nd team all-conference last year. CG – Jamarques Lawrence 6-3 Soph. 5 ppg(38% 3FG) 9 ppg over last 1/3 of season as true freshman. Great perimeter defender. Could end up being best two-way player on team 2G – Keisei Tominaga 6-2 Sr. 13 ppg (50/40/87). 20 ppg over last 1/3 of season. One of best shooters in the country. HM all-big ten last year. W – Brice Williams 6-7 Jr. 14 ppg 5 rpg (at Charlotte) (48/40/85). Career 40% 3FG. Was willing to come off bench at Charlotte, still 2nd team all-conference. WF – Juwan Gary 6-6 Jr. 10 ppg 7 rpg 1.5 spg Elite athleticism and high motor, can defend all 5 positions. Limited skill offensively. F/Post – Josiah Allick 6-8 Sr. 9 ppg 7 rpg 2 apg (at New Mexico). 56% FG. Leader, brings good energy, will accept his role. 2nd in Mountain West in rebounding last year. Post – Rienk Mast 6-10 Jr. 14 ppg 8 rpg 3 apg (at Bradley). (52/36/74). Skilled big man, passing will remind of Derrick Walker. Better shooter. 1st team all-conference last year. CG – Ramel Lloyd 6-6 RFr. Redshirted last year. Versatile guard w/ potential. Struggles shooting. Needs to get stronger, more physical. Highly recruited. CG – Cale Jacobson 6-4 RFr. Walk-on who could’ve taken a scholarship at lower level schools, could get minutes as ball handler off bench. 2G – Sam Hoiberg 6-0 Soph. 4 ppg 2 rpg. (55/41/82). Coach’s kid, clutch shooter last year W – CJ Wilcher 6-5 Jr. 8 ppg 3 rpg 2 apg. 41% 3FG two years ago. Will have to compete to keep spot in rotation. WF – Eli Rice 6-8 Fr. Shooter, athlete. Led team in scoring in Spain trip this summer F/Post – Matar Diop 6-10 Fr. High level athlete. Very raw offensively. May redshirt. Post – Blaise Keita 6-11 Jr. 2 ppg 4 rpg. 52% FG. Great post defender. Injury issues 16-16 record last year. 9-11 in conference (was maybe the toughest conference schedule in several years). Went 6-2 in last 8 regular season games – 7 of those games were against postseason teams. 5 wins against NCAA tourney teams, 2 against NIT teams. Won at Creighton. Beat two ACC teams. Last 1/3 of season, played like a borderline top 25 team. Tominaga was playing at an all-conference level. True freshman Jamarques Lawrence often looked like the best defender on the court, also very skilled offensively. This will be by far the deepest, most balanced and mature roster Hoiberg has had. All comes down to how they mesh. Prediction: 10-1 non-conference. 10-10 in conference. NCAA tournament and will win some games when they get there.
    1 point
  39. Glynn Watson just signed onto the same team as Sam Griesel
    1 point
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