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This is really a no lose situation for NU. If the penalty is significant no one would care if we cut him, but while he is here he provides a quality scout team player for the regular rotation to go against. If he's around next year he would have a head start learning the culture and will provide quality depth at PG. Plus, it's impossible to keep everyone happy with playing time and he one guy you won't have to worry about that with.

The Kids gonna make Nebraska the “Media Darlings” of the B1G this year. Especially when the On-Court Reality matches the Hype.

Keisei mentioned as a 2nd teamer and Mast and Williams mentioned as top level transfers. Hopefully that list is a bit better at years end.

I think that change in want-to is what happens when you bring in assistants who actually care about winning instead of glad-handing and schmoozing. I still acutely remember how I used to complain about the players goofing around during pre-game and halftime warmups. Just maddening. And then they'd go lay an egg. That doesn't happen anymore.

And don't forget, we get back a healthy Gary. His offensive rebounding helped us squeak by a victory against Minnesota. We seemed to have more a want to last year in regards to rebounding. I think that will carry over, also.

This is a really good point. A REALLY GOOD POINT. In practically all the years of Hoiberg, we've gotten hammered on the boards. You look over on the ribbon boards around the arena halfway through most conference games and we'd be routinely down 10 rebounds to the opposing team. At home. Those 10 boards equate to 10 extra possessions where they have a chance to score. Figure every extra possession from every extra rebound is about an extra point give or take. So, of the guys we picked up in the portal ... Rienk Mast was the #2 overall leading rebounder in the Missouri Valley Conference last year at 8.0 per game. Josiah Allick was the #2 overall leading rebounder in the Mountain West Conference last year at 7.3 per game. Brice Williams was the #15 overall leading rebounder in Conference USA last year at 5.3 per game. Jarron Coleman, even as a PG, was the #20 overall leading rebounder in the MAC last year at 4.9 per game. So, the transfers we've brought in are decent to very good rebounders for their positions. And winning the rebounding battle will probably move the needle as much as anything in our win/loss record year over year. In conference games last year, we won the game EVERY TIME we won the boards. And 12 out of the 16 games where we lost the battle of the boards, we also lost the game. And in the 4 games we won despite being outrebounded, we were only outrebounded by 1, 2, 3 and 5 boards each. So, it seems safe to say this year, if we're holding our own on the boards, the dividends should be obvious.

Yeah, it's clear they're moving Purdue, MSU to Peacock to draw subscriptions. I feel bad for their fans, who have to fork over extra money to watch when they're expecting big seasons. Well, I actually don't feel that bad for them.

The highest rated incoming class in school history is the main character in the novel "Talent Doesn't Equal Team Buliding: The Matt Abdelmassih Story'

https://www.on3.com/news/preseason-all-big-ten-first-and-second-team-predictions-zach-edey-terrence-shannon/

I'm 65 years old. I've been a fan my entire life. My expectations for the program have always been, play hard and play together. Simple goals but under our control. Last year we met those goals. I'm really confident we will do that again this year. Add in more depth, and that's a recipe for a good year. Fingers crossed.

Hasn't practice already started? EDIT: Oh I see ... you are talking HS BB practice - I was thinking UNL. So ... Nevermind

It also allows us to get out and run, which we typically are good at doing under Hoiberg if we can get a rebound.

You may be right Norm - in fact I am sure that is at least part of it. That said, I also think Emmanuel Bandoumel and Juwan Gary came here with a way better work ethic than other players we have had recently - especially than the players we had the season or two before.

Had not seen those numbers. This post makes me more optimistic about this season than anything I have read on here.

There's no issue with occupying a roster spot in 2023-24 for Ahron Ulis, unless he's really dropping the ball this fall. If he provides great effort, he will help strengthen the team. And I bet he's walking the talk for Hoiberg & Co. There is no way he's taking the under when it comes to Nebraska, he's all 'N' I would imagine. He burned bridges with Iowa, so maybe he is willing to provide intell on their program that's helpful to NU winning. I can not see a negative this season... perhaps only to the proverbial pocketbook.

“According to national analysts” appears to mean according to a kid named Joey Loose who writes for a website that looks like it was built in a high school computer class 25 years ago and never updated.

Markowski and Jazz named to preseason team. https://bigten.org/news/2023/9/30/general-iowa-and-caitlin-clark-lead-big-ten-preseason-womens-basketball-honors.aspx (Nebraska and Ohio state only team to have 2 players on teams.)

True; but it is also good to know what others think of our team and our program. Nobody will see us as a threat in the conference. We can maybe win a few games solely because teams will look past us. Bottom line, as mentioned we have the opportunity to earn respect, can we do it?

Got 'em right where we want 'em.

Experienced talent is good. Mature talent is even better... Give me freshman Jamarques Lawrence, mature beyond his years, over almost all of the upperclassmen 4 star transfers we had in the last 4 years. Mental toughness is essential.

It's interesting after watching a year with a very talented Bryce McGowens (or Oho St last year) that talent and results are being used interchangeably here.

Another factor to consider is this coaching staff is in year 2. They don't have to get to know each other. I look for improvement over last year and I have few complaints from last year. The return of the staff nudged me into voting 8.

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.

Thanks for the report. Wanted to be there but had other commitments. Sounds like a real positive night for keeping one's hopes up. GBR!

Yeah, what he said. And oh by the way, all our bigs have good hands...and are athletic...and look strong...oh my. Repeat after me...it was only one practice; but still.

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.