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Let me be the first to welcome you to the board, Matt A!!

What he says can be proven with analytics, using Abdelsmath,

Man I remember the days where... if Walt P hit a 3 on the first possession, it was like "welp, we got this one" went thought everyone's heads.

I will go on record to say that despite the utter chaos and the abomination of this team, Fred should get another year. FRED should then decide on whether or not an assistant makeover is necessary. Frost thought it was necessary and the jury is out. Bo thought the world was against him, did not make the changes and he was gonzo. Frank made the changes and was gonzo. Sooo, we shall see. Another year like this one would be unthinkable. But as an aside, the head coach is ultimately responsible for everything. He may assign responsibilities and expectations, but if there is a failure in any aspect of the process, it is on that head coach.

It really isn’t that hard to look up how names are spelled. Edit: and all of that is insanely wrong.

Those who listen to Sipple on the radio will understand that even though I disagree with Sipple (and most on this board apparently) my title is made in good fun. I reference Sipple because he has been critical of Fred and many believe Sipple is the mouthpiece of the AD. I hope that is not the case this time, but if it is, then I disagree with Trev and most of this board regarding what should be Hoiberg's future status with this program. Fred took over this moribund program and should have at least 5 years to try and turn it around. Period. Have the past 3 years been pathetic. Absolutely. Has this season been almost unbearable/unwatchable Yes. Is it 100% guaranteed next year and the year after will be significantly improved? No. But Fred has proven himself. He has won big time in a big time conference. Something no other coach in Nebraska history has done. So he deserves the chance to prove he can do it here as well, and that means he must have at least 5 years. The reason I say 5 years is because it is only in the 5th year of a coaches career that the coach has all his players including 4 and 5 year seniors on the roster. I would say the same for most any coach, and definitely for a proven commodity like Hoiberg. It is clear this board and most fans have completely soured on Fred. For those who have been on this board for many, many years, you will know that I can be quite critical of coaches and I made it clear when I thought Collier should go and when Doc should go, and I was sometimes in the minority in those positions because many wanted to retain them longer and see if they could turn it around. I was ambivalent about Miles. I did not think Miles would ever get it done here, but this program is so pathetic I questioned whether Moos could get anyone better so I was ambivalent (although leaning towards firing him and taking a shot with someone else). Had I known they could get Fred as a replacement it would have not been a question at all. I believe the fundamental difference between my thinking most on this board is that I think the main issue facing the Huskers is talent. More correctly, it is experience (in the Husker program) and talent, as opposed to coaching. Are there coaching issues I take umbrage with? Yes, and I have voiced some on this board. But the MUCH, MUCH bigger issue is experienced talent. And if talent is the issue, then I believe in Fred more than any other two-bit mid-major coach we might hire to bring in that talent over the next few years. In fact, I think we are already seeing that with the recruits coming in next year. Look at who Fred beat out to land Ramel Lloyd-Neither Collier, nor Doc nor Miles ever beat out a who's who for a high school recruit like that. This doesn't even count McGowens (which I know is another issue, but I will address later). Tack on Keita (who appears to be a legit big man), and the others, and it is a very solid class (I believe ranked in the top 25). Will they all pan out? Probably not. Will it actually be a top 25 class in talent on the court? I don't know. But it has as much chance as any IMO. As for Bryce, I know Norm is so fed up he says he never wants any more 5 stars and just wants gutsy, hard working 3 stars who stay in the program and develop. Fine. Isn't that exactly what Fred it doing? How many 5 stars has he recruited in his 3 years here? Oh ya, just one. Unless I am mistaken, the Husker roster currently has SEVEN freshman (all 3 or 4 star players) on the roster. This includes Dawson, (who is already on campus) but does not include the other 3 players in next years class (2 will be freshman and one will be a sophomore). One silver lining is Wilhelm should get a medical redshirt this year and he is a perfect type of 5 year player who can develop into an impact player but is not good enough to go pro early. If everyone stays (and yes, I know that will not happen). next year's roster could have 6 freshman (Wilhelm, McPherson, Dawson, Lloyd, Lawrence and Oleg) and potentially 4 sophomores (Andre, Wilhelm, Edwards and Keita). Some may not return, but there spots may be filled with more freshman or sophomores. Based on how things are going, it is possible (admittedly not likely) that Bryce and /orTrey return. Has Bryce been perfect this year? Clearly not. Does he need to get bigger, tougher and more focused on defense? Absolutely? Would it be good to get another year of development from him? I certainly think so. But even if he doesn't return, as shown above, Fred has a lot of youth on this roster. Andre has his warts. He is very raw and makes mistakes. But he didn't start playing basketball until he was 15 years old. And because of the Covid year, he is still just a freshman. He is the perfect type of 5 year development big man along with Wilhelm, and then throw in Keita as just a sophomore next year. Wilcher is athletically limited, but he can be a very good 3 point shooter which his important in today's game. Again, another development guy. Now, on the pressing question. Why do I think most of this year's issues are players/talent and not coaching. Well, first, it just is apparent to me every game that we are outclassed in size and athleticism. Would anyone argue with that? The other deficiencies are toughness, focus and discipline. Now, you say these are all coaching issues right? Well, maybe. But let's dig deeper. I argue that toughness and grit/dog are as much a skill that some have more difficulty learning than others. For instance, Wilhelm played with grit and hustle every second he was on the floor. Yet he was just a freshman. Then there are guys like Bryce who don't even think about diving on the floor or getting physical on defense. Both freshman, both in the program the same amount of time, but different outcomes (and I have even made the comparison of Bryce to his own brother who plays with grit by nature). Same nurture, different nature. Not all humans have that "dog" in them, and sometimes all the coaching in the world has trouble bringing this out. Another example--Fred said that Dawson in just his first few days of practice dove on the floor more than other players all year. Fred was obviously applauding this effort, so clearly he encourages it in his players. But here we have a true freshman who didn't need any coaching, he just does it because it is his nature. We heard similar things about McPherson. And I'm guessing Keita has plenty of "dog" in him. Last year Nebraska had a top 40 defense when adjusted for tempo. This year's defense is horrendous. Is Fred different? Or have the players changed (including the loss of Trey who is the by far the best defender on the team). To use this year as justification for an argument that Fred can never have a good defense is ludicrous when he did just last year. The Big Ten has been absolutely brutal from top to bottom for each year Fred has been here. Is it the reality he must overcome? Absolutely. But is it fair to compare Fred's record to Doc's when he coached in the Big 12? Or even each of Miles seasons. Please show me a season in Doc's, Collier's or MIles career where every other team in the conference was ranked in top 100-EVERY SINGLE ONE. Those coaches always had a couple teams that were terrible to clip a few easy wins. I posted on this board in February of last year that I did not think Nebraska would be good this year because Fred did not have sufficient talent to win this year. Many argued with this, but it was apparent to me. Not a coaching issue. A talent issue. Now, I did acknowledge that guys like Andre and Wilhelm and Keisei could maybe develop into solid players, but not THIS YEAR. Fred later added a few more recruits like Wilcher and Verge, but once again Wilcher is a freshman (who needs more development) and Verge is, well, Verge. I also posted last February that because of this, Fred needed to evaluate his staff and not be so reliant on Matt A. Again, I took crap for this at the time, but it seemed pretty apparent at the time. Regarding Matt A., he is taking a lot of crap on this board lately. Some justified. But some are saying he must go. Not sure I understand. Can he be, should he be, the sole recruiter? Absolutely not (again, I said this last February). But this doesn't mean he has to be fired. First, Fred has to be more involved in evaluating, recruiting, etc. And then I believe he needs to get one or two more recruiting assistants to compliment Matt A, not necessarily replace Matt A. With that said, this assumes there are not other issues that justify firing Matt A. If he has blatantly gone out of bounds on other issues, then that is a different matter, I am just addressing the recruiting issue. I'm guessing those who pull out the "NBA" quotes/issues probably never watch the NBA. Those who follow the NBA closely know that there are soooo many issues beyond coaching. Roster issues, team construction, rebuilding, etc. far outweigh coaching acument. Heck, many NBA coaches today are instructed to lose so they get good draft picks. And quoting Jimmy Butler, please? That guy was a malcontent on Minnesota and Sixers and pretty much every team he has been on except maybe the Heat. Last, if you fire Fred, who are you going to get? Please spare me the latest hot and up-and-coming coach. Whoever that is, he ain't coming here. It was a miracle we got Fred. Fire him after 3 or 4 years and the already small pool shrinks even further. So shut up Sipple! You have been kissing Frost's *ss for 4 years now. Give Fred time. Give him his 5 years and let's see where we are then.

Don't for get Men at Work for your listening pleasure. Might Paul Hogan show up?

btw....Wiscy game is 'Australia Night' isn't it? they gonna serve vegemite snacks at the concessions?!?

a stretch here to get some of that swagger back...before going to Maryland Wisconsin, Purdue, Rutgers, and Penn St all at PBA. hope to see good crowds!

2nd to last leg of USMNT WC qualifying starts this week as well in the frozen tundra of Ohio and Minnesota.

Sporting must have been reading our thread, because in the past two weeks they've signed a handful of young international players. Seems like the one with the biggest transfer tag and highest expectations is Marinos Tzionis, whose skillset sounds like a carbon copy of Daniel Saloi's. With Shelton expected to play primarily at the #9 this season thanks to Pulido's injury, it does make sense that SKC would look to add a third winger to rotate with Johnny and Daniel. I'm still pretty concerned about our defensive backs, and also not sure we can rely on an offense based entirely on scoring goals from the wings. But as a Nebrasketball fan I am used to generating my own optimism around a team with glaring weaknesses, so in a sad way this 2022 SKC roster feels like a perfect fit.

Every time I see the thread is updated I expect to read about Kevin Cross. Okay, I HOPE to read about Kevin Cross.

I've been around for a bit and he's still one of my favorites.

Markowski was class a, Meyer was class c. With the age difference and class difference it was doubtful. Meyer really needs to give up VB and and work on becoming an Olympic thrower. With Cook recruiting over her and the returnees it will be tough to see much floor time.

That Kennesaw St. win is looking better by the day!

I don’t think we really have a choice but to run it back. Tell Fred to figure it out and he’s stuck with what he’s got for a year. I wouldn’t spend money on a staff overhaul. Hopefully they can construct a competitive roster although I don’t have a lot of faith at this point. They need to find some toughness and some competitors. Our basketball and football programs have way too many kids who don’t mind losing. Sure, they’d rather win, but they are way too okay with losing. It takes highly competitive people to win. You need players who get sick to their stomach after a loss. You need players who hate losing more than they like winning.

??? UNO had three top 3 finishes in the last 6 years and he was conference coach of the year in 2019? This is UNO who recently moved up to D1, those results ain't bad at all.

And after the Nebraska stint ruined that guy's career, the next little known guy will definitely think twice before taking the job.

This is where I stopped reading. And the reason is because Fred can't keep guys around long enough to get to year 3 let alone 4 or 5.

Yes, Kobe said as much. If Kobe comes at a teammate and says you are slacking on the defensive end, and the teammate says "Worry about yourself", and the coaches continue to play the teammate 30 minutes a night without consequence.....then what the F is Kobe suppose to do. Other than maybe go on a radio show and let the world know of his frustration haha.

Maybe it was needed to be said. Sent from my SM-A515U using Tapatalk

This coming from Kobe of all people gives it more value in my eyes. A guy that took a lesser role to be here, and decided to come back when he didn’t have to. If he says it’s broken, it’s probably broken. He’s not just a guy disappointed he’s not getting his shots and wants to leave.

@throwback Go listen to the whole hour if you have time, because there's other stuff, too. Lot's of stuff they're not doing. First question was basically do they even care how bad things are going? And Webster basically said, well, yeah, it might not look like it, but as soon as they get over their own personal agendas, things might turn around. Like WTF? But I'm particularly troubled by that last 10 minutes or so. Vershan Jackson gives an illustration of how a conversation between teammates holding each other accountable might go. "I need you to do a better job of boxing out." "Yeah, OK, gotcha." "Because I'm tired of losing." "I got you." And Webster's like, um, that kind of nice back and forth? Yeah, that's not happening with us. And Vershan Jackson mimics players saying like "You're not the boss of me!" And Webster responds, yep, that's pretty much what it is. The culture in this program is deep in the shit. And the head guy, who's getting $3.5 million this year to BE the head guy, needs to pull his head out of his butt and quit tolerating what he's getting. I'm just beside myself here. I ain't that damn old yet, but I ain't getting any younger, and I want to be around when the monkey comes off this program's back. So I'd appreciate a little sense of urgency by the guys who are in charge. I'm just so disgusted RN I don't even know what to say.

just searching for some big ten news. came across this about Maggie Czinano---minny's recruit and sister of iowa's Czinano. really rough start for her... "Early on, she sprained an ankle. And then she developed an eye infection that threatened the sight in her left eye. Nobody is sure how it happened. But a scratch in the eye allowed bacteria in. At first it felt like there was an eyelash in her eye, bothersome, painful."One day I woke up and there was no vision in it,'' she said. "Very scary. Doctors said I was 12 hours away from losing the vision [permanently]. Several doctors visits later I have it back. To this day I have to wear protective eye gear.''And then Maggie had to deal with a long-term, flu-like illness that was never really diagnosed. There were multiple negative COVID-19 tests, negative flu tests.Still not 100%, she only recently returned to practice"

I will say that anyone who thinks keeping Fred and getting rid of Abdelsmath is the correct move - you are dead wrong. Abdelsmath is a great recruiter. He proved it not only at iowa state with Hoiberg but at st John's. He was the only recruiter at St. Johns.. He built their entire roster between and it's no accident that Mullin who had taken the Red Storm to their first tournament in 5 years went from being safe to bring fired within days after Abdelsmath took the Nebraska job.. Abdelsmath is one of the best recruiters in the country. He brings in the guys Hoiberg wants just like he did at isu and st john's. If anything you do whatever you have to to get Abdelsmath to stay and recruit for whoever replaces Hoiberg. Abdelsmath is the only one who actually does his job. Hoiberg runs his program like a CEO. With each assistant having a specific job. Abdelsmath is there to recruit Gates is there to run the backcourt Loesner is there to run the frontcourt Doc is there to run the defense There have been criticizm of Doc but the big question Noone has asked (that I have seen) is what are Gates and Loesner doing? Those are the guys that are supposed to be doing the accountability and effort stuff. On paper this should be one of the best assistant coaching staffs in the country. Why are they all performing significantly under what they are capable of doing? This isn't all on Hoiberg. He's the head coach and makes the big salary so in the end it does but the things we are most critical of? Those are things Gates and Loesner and Sadler should be doing.