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Thunder came first. Thanks to @jimmykc for bringing this to the Board's attention! Though I am in Lincoln, I probably won't be able to get to every UNL game. But at the games that I do attend, you bet I'll still be in the hard hat and dancing if possible!

Interesting overview: Do stars matter? Predicting order of finish in the B1G based solely on recruiting rankings Just goes to show that talent matters, but it’s not the only thing that matters. By Connor Lemons@lemons_connor Sep 6, 2021, 12:01pm EDT Share this story Share this on Facebook (opens in new window) Share this on Twitter (opens in new window) SHAREAll sharing options Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images What if recruiting rankings always translated to success on the court? What if the team who pulled in the top recruiting class each season always won the conference without fail? What if nobody ever improved after getting to school, and what if no top recruits ever fell apart/busted? That would be pretty boring, I think. Part of what makes college athletics so fun is the fact that more often than not, recruits do veer away from what the “experts” predicted for them at some point. Two or three-star prospects end up being taken as first-round NBA Draft picks. Five-star recruits who were supposed to take the world by storm crash and burn, and wind up transferring elsewhere, or stop playing altogether. Teams jacked with talent underperform, while the plucky underdogs make a run to the Sweet Sixteen. It happens all the time, and it’s fantastic. But what if everything went according to plan? What if recruiting rankings and “stars” were the only thing that mattered? The age-old question of “do stars mater?” is dumb. Yes, they absolutely matter. Why do Duke and Kentucky continue to perform at the highest level, while Elon and William & Mary do not? The big programs pull in the best recruits... the four and five-star kids. The smaller schools, like Elon and William & Mary, rarely lock up any recruits that are awarded stars at all. So yes, they matter.But how much do they matter? To answer that question and have a bit of fun, I looked up the recruiting rankings/”stars” awarded to every single player in the Big Ten conference. Every. Single. One. I then averaged the number of “stars” each team in the B1G has per player, and ranked the teams from first to last. A few notes on this: Walk-on’s were not included, as they were likely never given stars. Walk-on’s did not pull any team’s average down. If you find a walk-on listed here, let me know so I can remove them. I did my best to research and find out if they walked-on or not. Transfer players count, and their original stars from their first team are included. If a player started at a small school like Elon, for example, they probably had zero stars. Even if they are a great player now at a Big Ten program (following a transfer, assumedly), their original number of stars is used here. If it was not clear if a player was a walk-on or not, I did not include them. All recruiting rankings are taken from 247Sports.com. I prefer them over Rivals and ESPN. Rosters are for the 2021-2022 season Players improve over time, we know this. Part of the reason this list is so fun/surprising is because there are a ton of players listed below who have completely out-played what the “experts” predicted for them in high school. I do not believe this is how the B1G will shake out this season, but if we’re only looking at stars, here’s your final standings! Michigan State Spartans (1) Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports 5-: Max Christie4-: Pierre Brooks, Jaden Akins, Malik Hall, Mady Sissoko, AJ Hoggard, Joey Hauser, Marcus Bingham Jr, Gabe brown3-: Tyson Walker, Julius MarbleAVG: 3.9 ’s Indiana Hoosiers (2) Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports 5-: Khristian Lander4-: Rob Phinisee, Miller Kopp, Jordan Geronimo, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Logan Duncomb, Tamar Bates3-: Xavier Johnson, Michael Durr, Anthony Leal, Trey Galloway, Parker StewartAVG: 3.69 ’s Michigan Wolverines (3) Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports 5-: Moussa Diabate, Caleb Houstan4-: Hunter Dickinson, Kobe Bufkin, Zeb Jackson, Terrance Williams, Frankie Collins, Isaiah Barnes, Brandon Johns3-: Adrien Nunez, Jace Howard, Will Tschetter, Jaron Faulds, Eli Brooks0-: Devante JonesAVG: 3.53 ’s Nebraska Cornhuskers (4) Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports 5-: Bryce McGowens4-: CJ Wilcher, Trey McGowens, Keon Edwards, Wilhelm Breidenbach3-: Alonzo Verge Jr, Quaran McPherson, Lat Mayen, Keisei Tominaga, Oleg Kojenets, Eduardo Andre2-: Kobe Webster0-: Trevor LakesAVG: 3.46 ’s Purdue Boilermakers (5) Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports 4-: Caleb Furst, Trey Kaufman, Jaden Ivey, Ethan Morton3-: Mason Gillis, Eric Hunter Jr., Brandon Newman, Isaiah Thompson, Zach Edey, Trevion Williams, Sasha StefanovichAVG: 3.3 ’s Maryland Terrapins (6) Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports 4-: James Graham, Eric Ayala, Julian Reese, Pavlo Dziuba, Ike cornish, Ian Martinez3-: Marcus Dockery, Fatts Russell, Hakim Hart, Donta Scott, Qudus Wahab2-: Xavier green0-: Simon WrightAVG: 3.15 ’s Ohio State Buckeyes (7) Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports 4-: Meechie Johnson, Malaki Branham, Kyle Young, EJ Liddell, Joey Brunk3-: Cedric Russell, Eugene Brown, Justin Ahrens, Justice Sueing, Kalen Etzler, Zed Key, Seth Towns, Jamari Wheeler0-: Jimmy SotosAVG: 3.14 ’s Wisconsin Badgers (8) IndyStar-USA TODAY Sports 4-: Ben Carlson, Brad Davison3-: Jahcobi Neath, Jonathan Davis, Tyler Wahl, Isaac Lindsey, Lorne Bowman, Chris Hodges, Steven Crowl, Chucky Hepburn, Jordan Davis, Matthew Mors, Chris Vogt, Markus lverAVG: 3.14 ’s Northwestern Wildcats (9) Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports 4-: Casey Simmons, Pete Nance, Robbie Beran3-: Boo Buie, Ryan Greer, Ty Berry, Julian Roper, Brooks Barnhizer, Ryan Young, Matthew Nicholson0-: Chase AudigeAVG: 3 ’s Iowa Hawkeyes (10) IndyStar-USA TODAY Sports 4-: Pat Mccaffery3-: Joe Toussaint, Jordan Bohannon, Ahron Ulis, Tony Perkins, Keegan Murray, Payton Sandfort, Josh Ogundele, Kris Murray, Connor Mccaffery, Riley Mulvey0-: Filip RebracaAVG: 2.83 ’s Illinois Fighting Illini (11) Alton Strupp/IndyStar 4-: Brandin Podziemski, Trent Frazier, Omar Payne, Curbelo, Luke Goode, RJ Melendez, Kofi Cockburn3-: Brandon Lieb, Damonte Williams, Coleman Hawkins0-: Jacob Grandison, Alfonso Plummer, Ben Bosmans-Verdonk, Austin HutchersonAVG: 2.64 ’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights (12) David Berding-USA TODAY Sports 4-: Cliff Omoruyi3-: Geo Baker, Oscar Palmquist, Jalen Miller, Mawot Mag, Paul Mulcahy, Aundre Hyatt, Dean Reiber, Caleb McConnell, Ron Harper Jr., Jaden Jones0-: Logan Stephens, Luke NathanAVG: 2.61 ’s Penn State Nittany Lions (13) Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports 3-: Seth Lundy, Myles Dread, Caleb Dorsey, Dallion Johnson2-: John Harrar0-: Sam Sessoms, Greg Lee, Jaheam Cornwall, Jevonnie Scott, Jalanni White, Jalen PickettAVG: 1.27 ’s Minnesota Golden Gophers (14) Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports 4-: Isaiah Ihnen3-: Payton Willis, Eric Curry, Treyton Thompson0-: Abdoulaye Thiam, Jamison Battle, Luke Loewe, Charlie Daniels, Eylijah Stephens, Danny Ogele, Parker Fox, Sean SutherlinAVG: 1.08 ’s

About talent, I recall having a brief argument on Twitter a couple of years ago with a guy who was unimpressed with the job Hoiberg had done putting together a roster in his first few months on the job. I challenged the guy about that statement and pointed out that Hoiberg had basically filled an entire roster in roughly 30 days. His response was there was no star power. No impact players. And so I took another look at the roster and, by gum, he was right. Oh, but c'mon, we have a couple of the best juco transfers in the nation along with a guy who was a double-figure scorer at Marquette. Yeah, OK, good luck with that was kind of the reply. Two years ago we started a 17-year-old French kid at center because we had no alternatives other than Kevin Cross. Our 3-point sniper didn't pan out. The juco kids were underwhelming at best. And the Marquette transfer (by way of some Florida school) was really pretty good but didn't have a lot of help. Last year, we upgraded the talent in some areas, but still had some huge, gaping deficiencies in skillsets. This year, we've upgraded talent again. And we've closed some of those gaping deficiencies. I don't, for example, see a guard on the roster this year who is likely inept at shooting. Last year, we hardly had any guards who were *ept* at shooting. We haven't lost ground in any area compared to a year ago. Both of our best bigs, for instance, have returned. I expect both will have improved over their Covid-year selves. And we've added some depth. I'm not yet prepared to say how much progress this will mean in W/L record, but I am prepared to think we should be headed in the right direction.

I think that star ranking only tells a small part of the story. Experience, especially in college hoops, is absolutely critical to success. So it's important to have talent, sure. But it's just as important to be old. Combine the two, and that's a recipe for success.

We've got the Jimmys & Joes. Now lets take care of the x's & o's.

He’ll be All-B1G by the time he’s out of here...

according to a post on volley talk, MM was in Lincoln for her official visit.

Scott is doing a great job of buying Hoiberg time to get his program up and running.