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Sunk costs fallacy. The problem is systemic. Lack of effort, lack of cohesion, lack of buy-in, lack of attention to detail, lack of setting standards, lack of enforcing standards. Like a total failure of leadership. Bringing him back an extra year won't change his leadership style or suddenly make him a better manager of the players on the roster; it will simply give him a different group of players with which to fail. I think you're just delaying the inevitable. Admittedly, I would support delaying the inevitable failure in order to avoid paying the full buyout. If Fred won't accept a big cut, then make him come back and do it again. We have a decent recruiting class coming in but I don't see a bunch of impact players coming in here. But I really doubt Fred has his heart in this. I suspect he'd be willing to look for an out that pays him a bit to leave but doesn't require him to come back and suffer through another historically disastrous season. But here's my question back to you: If it's probable that we'll have to do this anyway, if not this year then next, and if all of the negative consequences will occur whether we do it now or next year, why not get started on the next chapter a year sooner? If the next coach can turn things around, we'll have a year head start on that process if we pull the trigger at the end of this season.

i am reluctant to criticize coaching in general and I am a Williams fan in particular, but I make a few exceptions. Top of the list - I have long failed to understand this staff's under usage of time outs. A 13 point lead disintegrated as PSU needed less than two minutes to score 15 points. The one time out used came late in the that run and another IIRC, was available. To me, players looked stunned as the storm formed around them. An earlier TO and maybe another one with a "settle down" talk and a designated play and a break in PSU momentum - that seems to me to the recipe and what nearly any other coach would do.

Moriarty played one minute, Coley none. We gave up 83 points and a couple of our better defenders watched. Also short a player (Scoggin). We seemed to be running on vapors towards the end. I agree with Redhac. Coaches should look in the mirror regarding this "L". Once again, it becomes apparent why we aren't rated higher. That doesn't mean we aren't a good team. Just shows, not much room for error at this level.

That has been the topic du jour for the past 2 months. You have a very strange definition of "no one."

I keep seeing this perspective, which seems to be making one MAJOR assumption: roster retention. I'm not sure why you believe we'll have so many bigs on the roster next year. Nor why you believe there will be more ball handlers. Fred's rosters have been a revolving door, and there is no reason to see that changing. It seems like a very statistically unlikely assumption that we will have a core group of guys returning in addition to the new recruits.

You have to call a timeout before a 13 point lead disappears. We had numerous opportunities to stretch the lead throughout the game and then made silly and in some cases, unforced, errors that PSU capitalized upon. I guess you chalk up as a learning experience.

The last 7 1/2 minutes was like Ali hitting with constant blows in the corner of the ropes. Life on the road in the B1G (or anywhere really) is tough. They hit a good share of 3s and got and 1 on breaks. We do need to handle the press and inbounds passes with more composure and more discipline (and better strategy?). Hard to sum up in words how disappointing this is considering where we were in the start of the 4th. Going to have to come back and play one of our best games again against Minn. The old adage: you're only as good as your last game. Glaringly clear right now. GO BIG RED!

Amy Williams is largely responsible for this loss in not calling time out before we get down to a slim lead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also she needs to coach the fundamentals of passing and press breaking! This was a horrible loss that we should not have lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Geez!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have learned my lesson to never publicly admit when I'm wrong.

their passing at times just makes you want to throw up. even look near the end of the Indiana game. what the heck went on there for about a minute and a half? lucky they had a big lead. just caught coach talking to matt about how tough it is to win on the road. i'd like to hear her say this is a game we p****d right down our leg. we should have won this game. hold the team more accountable. you can praise PSU for their fight, but, a game huskers should have won. didn't catch the whole interview, maybe coach stated something along that line early in the interview.

very, very disappointing. what a big thud!!!

This team’s player development is an enigma. The team is better than last year because of impressive team culture and additions to the roster, especially Markowski, Shelley and Weidner. But none of the returning players has gotten significantly better, and several have seemingly regressed. And Jaz’s performance trajectory during the year has also pretty clearly been uneven at best after showing elite promise early (yes I know the competition has increased). This seems to be a pattern with Williams-coached teams, e.g., Cain, Whitish. Kudos to the coaching staff for some solid recruiting and team culture development, but Xs and Os, in-game coaching and player development are still suspect. The obvious exception is Markowski, who has ascended this year from a key sub to the clear choice for B1G Frosh of the Year and probable All-B1G recognition. She may be the only player who has played consistently well since the start of the new year. But has she really been coached up, or was she always this good and just needed playing time and confidence?

Basketball, always. I think we get this one to move one step closer to falling short of 10 wins.

It's wild to see roster continuity brought up as a reason to keep Fred as we've been recruiting the entire year like we're going to flip it.

Okay let's go down the roster from most usage to least (according to KenPom) Verge - this is his last year won't be back no matter what Bryce - this is his last year won't be back no matter what Derrick - already used his transfer, can come back, Robin says it's possible Kobe - senior, won't be back, used his transfer already anyway Keisei - could technically transfer, I don't see it personally Eduardo - could transfer, one of the big ones we would really like to see stick around Trey - already used his transfer, can come back, Robin says it's possible Wilhelm - could transfer, one of the big ones we would really like to see stick around CJ - already used his transfer Lat - could technically transfer, I don't see it personally unless he is asked to not come back Keon - already used his transfer Trevor - this is his last year won't be back no matter what So, of the players with remaining eligibility after this year that we would like to see come back, the ones with a free transfer left are Eduardo and Wilhelm. I honestly don't see the same kind of roster turnover this year that we've seen after year 1 or 2.

It isn't necessarily an appealing option. But for many it is more appealing than watching more of this hideous basketball we play in year 3, together with a poor team culture and extremely low basketball IQ. this is virtually unwatchable. If the roster is going to turn over anyway, which it has done every year under Fred, we might as well turn it over with some hope for the future. This is about way more than getting excited about recruiting starts and raw "talent". And most people watching the games and the way we play and act see it.

First, to address the original topic, I’m tired of Sipple going in the radio and saying “wins matter” with regards to Fred when he spent football season on his knees for a coach that won 3 games (1 power 5 team in there). I’m fine with Fred getting next year. He’s going to finally have a legitimate amount of bigs to complete instead of managing time between Walker and Andre. He should also have ball handlers on the team. If things don’t improve next year, it’s time for him to go but with the incoming core, another year is needed.

They average 71 pts. per game. The goal when you travel is to hold opponents 10 pts. below their season average. The goal is not to give them 12pts. above their season average and hope to outscore them. Poorer shooting on the road is a reality. Make no mistake this is on the defense. If you have a 13 pt. lead on the road in Q4, you put out the the best 5 defenders and shut them down. The W might not look pretty, but at the end of the day a bad loss is worse and yes this is on the coaching. The good news is that they are also learning and getting better.

For 2 months now, I've been saying "is it baseball season yet" Finally.... that answer is yes.

I hear what you're saying, but I don't know who I'd want to sub out? I don't think it was the defense (seems like everything was going in for them in the 4th). I think it was more on our offense; i.e. poor passing, giving up steals (5-13) and mental errors near the end that gave them 3-point chances on made baskets. Really a lack of poise at the end (inexplicable lapse at the end of the Indiana game is another example mentioned by Whoop). I agree with Cazzie & Karl, something you chalk up to experience and learn to play smarter.

This team is so much fun. This loss sucks but we know what they can do... I think this will do them good going into the end of the year to help them out with needing to play smarter ball. They can easily still win big ten tournament that is how good they can be...

Tough, Tough Loss, Just too many mistakes made in the last 5 minutes to blow a 13 point lead. Shots were going in for them; not for us, then our mistakes , poor passing, and fouling at the basket giving them 3-pt plays. Final:

Issie is so so so so so bad at defense. Not sure why she plays when defense is needed in the game

man...................unfortunately, the huskers still play some stoopid ball. wow.

IDK what happens, but there's something that I appreciate about them recruiting like they still plan to be here for a while.

I've always liked Jon. I really thought he was the heir apparent to Lee B. I was sad when he took the CU beat.

Completely agree with what you're saying about hard work and discipline. I'm thinking more of why not a top-notch assistant at a major program who is hungry for success on his own as head coach? We've never tried that in Husker Hoops. Norm was on to something in his thread when he asked why not start with a low base salary and incentivize the crap out of the contract? I love Will Bolt and knew he was the man for the baseball job. Big Ten basketball is a different animal than baseball. It will take a special coach to take the Husker basketball program to the level Bolt has in baseball.

Just to follow through on your post @12dozen (and not trying to be a contrarian) We are having a GREAT Year!!! Far exceeding my expectations at the beginning of the season (I think just a solid finish in the top half of the B1G would be showing improvement), but maybe falling a little short of my revised expectations caused by 'irrational exuberance' from our 12-0 start. Regardless, we still have expectations of both a good showing in the B1G tournament and making the Dance. Work to be done, Yes. Passing, Protecting the ball, Breaking Presses, Inbounding and Handling Pressure, i.e. Poise down the stretch. It seems to me we have the tools. Opposing teams all too often seem to be successful in making us Uncomfortable, which, come to think about it is what 'Defense' is all about. There is precious little known about recruiting, but almost without our realizing it Coach Williams has assembled a talented team, one that meshes well together, from various sources; Transfers, Returning Players, and Incoming Freshmen. And there are talented players on the roster that are red-shirting (Popa) , or injured (Dillard), I am looking forward to seeing on the floor at some point. While recruiting information is scant, we do know that highly-regarded recruits Maggie Mendelson (2-sport player) and Callin Hake have signed and we should see next season. I can't help but think future prospects are excellent; Who wouldn't want to come play on a team that has such regard for each other and obvious joy in playing together. With the success of in-state recruits Whitney Brown (walk-on, played a lot last year, starting some games), Alexis Markowski and Allison Weidner, things should be looking good for in-state recruiting.

I will be attending many more baseball games this year; but tonight is basketball.

I was able to get a suite for game tonight! If only they served booze to get me thru the game!

It seems to me that we play considerably worse on the road than at home this year compared to other years. The competition has been pretty much balanced between home and away. On the road we are 2-6 being outscored by a total of 23 points. At home we are 6-1 outscoring the opposition by a total of 94 points. We can say we are a young team but looking at the years of playing basketball versus the revised eligibility due to covid we have 6 players that are juniors or above. Last night we had 5 (with Scoggins out) of the 8 that played most of the minutes. This group of upper classmen need to set the standard in their play to win away games. I didn't see that last night. Too often especially on defense they looked like spectators. Another thing is taking care of the ball. Way too many of our pass attempts are low % ones that often result in turnovers. This is a big key especially on away games where each possession is of vital importance.

That's not at all what's going on there; it's a series of firings to boost Lee Enterprise's stock.

Big changes? Is he even willing to make in-game changes? That's been the most upsetting point in all of this for me so far.

I'm going to the basketball game. But I have a new rule for myself this year. If we get down by 20, I'm outta here. I'm not going to stay and watch a pathetic product on the floor. And my donor thing just showed up in the mail yesterday. Time to write another check to the university for the privilege of watching this awful crap on the basketball floor.

Not really. We have two guys that aren't able to immediately use remaining eligibility at another D1 school, and neither seem like D1 transfer candidates. The guys that used the new one-time transfer exception are CJ and Keon. CJ is one of the few guys that seems like a lock to return regardless, as he actually is settling into his role and playing much better as the year progresses. Keon has been buried on two bad P6 rosters, so he has to be wondering if he can hack it at this level of competition. I wouldn't be surprised to see him transfer out of D1 altogether.

*College baseball We'll see if/when MLB reports back to work...

Idk why teams just don't press us from the tip. Game would be over quickly lol

Beating us up the floor. Behind and our sloppy play has come back to bite us.

Weidner just made a wonderful pass to Cravens who finished!

Haiby Scores At the Buzzer!!!! WAY TO GO!!! Halftime Stats:

Nice finish by Haiby but our under the basket inbounds plays are not very effective when it results in a layup for Penn St. I like this team but the sloppy play needs to be reduced.

Issie is getting Deadly on those short range jumpers!

Man, I don't know. I won't pass judgement; but are we in a position to take on additional projects? We may or may not have a new staff. This kid has already turned down Maryland, at least in part because of a coaching change. Soooo.

Jon Nyatawa is leaving the World Herald. I know he didn't do much with Nebraska Basketball, but I enjoyed the brief podcast series he and Chris Heady did.

while the huskers are a pretty darn good team.....there are no "gimmies" in front of them. gonna have to fight for every win. one at a time.

Wait a second. Are you really calling Louisville a "football school?"

This team doesn't need a best player. This team needs a leader, and it looks like maybe CJ wants to step up into that role. Good to see.

Wilcher isn't going to be a guy who is likely to be our best player but he's proving to be a really solid rotation piece who on paper is only a freshman.

Even if we are "flush with cash" I still believe Fred returns next year for one more chance to right the ship. Most folks on here have already made up their mind on this so I won't belabor the point. But until Football is on more stable footing, whatever Alberts deems that to be, Fred I believe will be our Basketball Coach...

Who TF voted for Tom Crean?!?!?!?