Nebrasketballer

I liked reading this: "Tshimanga left a French-speaking school in Canada to play at MacDuffie. This season, he averaged 18 points and 14 rebounds a game. But it was in January at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, where Tshimanga opened eyes nationwide." "Going against Kentucky five-star recruit Wenyen Gabriel, a 6-10 forward, Tshimanga led MacDuffie to an overtime win with 13 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks to Gabriel’s 18, 13 and eight." But reading this makes me just a little nervous: "Graduation at MacDuffie isn’t until June 11. Nebraska’s first session of summer school starts June 6, so Tshimanga’s arrival date in Lincoln is unclear." "Also, as with any international recruit, the gathering of transcripts and the path through the NCAA Clearinghouse can take time. Rivera said Tshimanga is earning straight A’s this semester. His classwork from his French-speaking school will draw scrutiny."

In my opinion, there isn't much comparison between Hammond and Tshimanga. And in terms of body-type, even though Hammond has spent years in a college weight program, I would say that Tshimanga already has a more college-ready frame and will already be able to hold his own down low vs Big Ten competition better than Hammond can/did/could. ESPN ranks Tshimanga as the #25 Center in the 2016 class. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/199879/jordy-tshimanga Scout recently upgraded Tshimanga to 4-Star and ranks him the #20 Center in the class. http://www.scout.com/player/192771-jordy-tshimanga?s=75 247 ranks him the #163 overall player in the 2016 class and the #22 Center in the class. http://247sports.com/Player/Jordy-Tshimanga-69227 So he is ranked a 4-star by scout and on the verge of being a 4-Star by both ESPN and 247. He is a consensus top-25 ranked Center and ranked as high as the #20 Center in the 2016 class by Scout. And he isn't the string-bean Center that Nebraska has typically signed over the last decade that needs to gain 50 lbs before being capable of making any sort of meaningful contribution vs Big Ten opponents (The obvious exception being Andre Almeida, but his weight was an issue to the other extreme). He is listed anywhere from 6'10" - 6'11" and 250+ lbs. I would say that he is about as ready made a Center as Nebraska can legitimately expect to land...at least for now, until sustaining some legitimate success (including NCAA Tourney success) and until they can have some success stories (maybe Tshimanga in a couple of years) to point to as examples of developing post players. (The obvious exception would be if there happens to be an instate 4-star Center that comes along in the next 1-2 years...)

Makindé London Height: 6'10" Weight: 210 HometownNashville, Tenn. High SchoolMontverde Previous SchoolFla. Academy MACK ON LONDON: "Makindé London has so much potential and playing against the best high school players in the country every day in practice at Montverde began to turn that potential into production. Makinde is a hybrid forward capable of changing the game at both ends of the floor. He is 6-10, can handle, pass and shoot the ball and can impact the game above the rim." AT MONTVERDE ACADEMY: A skilled forward who grew from a 6-1 guard as a freshman in Nashville to his current height this past season at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. ... Averaged 5.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks per game as a senior for a team that won the National Championship ... Shot 44.1 percent from the field, including 38 percent from 3-point territory, and 74.1 percent from the free-throw line ... Team finished with a 28-0 record, including winning the Dick's Sporting Goods National Invitational, beating Oak Hill in the final on ESPN at Madison Square Garden ... Team also won the titles of four other tournaments this past season: City of Palms, Bass Pro Tournament, Wild Wing Cafe Hoops Classic and the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament ... Then-No. 2 Montverde Academy made its case for the national championship by beating No. 10 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 71-62 in the final of Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament at MSG ... Montverde strengthened its resume in New York by also beating then-No. 4 Sagemont (Weston, Fla.) 81-63 and then-No. 12 Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.) 56-51 ... Basketball coach: Kevin Boyle. BOYLE ON LONDON: "Makindé is as good a shooter as there is out there at 6-8 or taller. He can really stretch the defense with his ability to shoot the three. He can catch and finish and on defense he has begun to use his long arms and athletic ability to create deflections. He's a great kid who brings energy to the team and the entire campus. He has a chance with his size and ability to develop into a great player at Xavier and professionally. He played with eight other guys who are going to play Division I basketball. " HIGHLY RANKED: Ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 83 prospect in his class by Rivals.com ... Ranked as a four-star recruit by 247sports.com and the No. 76 prospect, including the 17th-ranked power forward ... A four-star recruit on Scout.com who is listed at No. 22 at power forward ... No. 30 power forward on ESPN.com. AT SUMMIT HIGH SCHOOL: Averaged 10.8 points and 1.5 assists per game as a junior at Summit High School in Nashville, Tenn., in the 2012-13 season ... Transferred to Montverde Academy after his junior year. http://goxavier.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2107

https://twitter.com/therecruitscoop/status/720004179499040768

No doubt. If that final sentence were to happen, that would be the best-case scenario (provided they are ballers, of course). Yeah, I do think Osetkowski is a good player and could be successful at Nebraska, so I hope that it doesn't come off like I think he wouldn't be good. My concern is that Nebraska has a chance to be better next year than they have ever been in my lifetime. With a core group of Watson, Gill, White, Morrow, Jacobson, and Webster, they are very talented at every position except Center/Rim Protector. Doesn't even have to be an offensive powerhouse, just someone that will keep Nebraska from being seriously outmatched down low if their opponent has 1-2 legit post players. Someone that can consistently grab rebounds and challenge the shots of opposing team's guards if they try to take it to the rim off the dribble. I have a feeling that White is going to have a special senior year next season, so I don't want to see that wasted because Nebraska is outmatched in the post.

Not that Nebraska is really in any position to turn post players down, but at this point I think they need 1-2 post players that can come in an contribute immediately. I think Nebraska should only go after a traditional transfer that has to sit out 1 season, if someone else transfers, which would give Nebraska 3 open scholarships. I think the 2 open scholarships should go to 1 grad transfer post player and 1 high school post player.

https://twitter.com/billlandis25/status/714579391842488320 Coming out of high school: 6'10", 240 lbs, Center, Oak Hill Academy ESPN: 4-Star, ESPN100, #59 overall player in the 2015 class, #10 Center in the 2015 Class. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/142891/daniel-giddens Rivals: 4-Star, Rivals150, #51 overall player in the 2015 class https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/7269

https://twitter.com/huskerextrabr/status/598548912723615744

US News and World Report ranks UNMC #4 graduate school for Primary Care. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/primary-care-rankings?int=85a732

https://twitter.com/therecruitscoop/status/586322372988379136

http://sports.yahoo.com/duquesne/basketball/recruiting/player-Jaron-Hopkins-119291

https://twitter.com/therecruitscoop/status/585827937909399552

I agree with you that someone will leave, but I do not think Fuller or Hammond are part of the list. Petteway is the obvious possibility, but honestly I don't think he has been impressive enough to go to the NBA. I think he would get drafted, but not in the 1st round, so I would imagine he will stay for another season, in order to try to make it into the 1st round. If Petteway comes back, then I think either Webster or Parker will end up leaving. Especially considering the addition of both Glynn Watson and Andrew White to the rotation next season.

In my opinion, Nebraska still needs to take Agau and push someone else out the door. Nebraska can't afford to miss out on an Top-100 instate player that plays the position that is literally Nebraska's biggest weakness...(again) Plus, Agau has been practicing vs the studs at Louisville for the last few years, and he has been in their strength and conditioning program, so he will be more ready made than any other post player that Nebraska will have a realistic shot of landing. In my opinion, it would be a very poor choice to pass up a second chance opportunity to sign Agau...

Does this mean that Nebraska doesn't have room for Agau?

Is Akoy offensively challenged? I watched him a couple of years ago in GI, I don't remember much other than he could jump well. Honestly, I would be satisfied with Agau simply being able to grab some defensive rebounds...

I don't know if I have ever posted right after a game (especially a loss) because I tend to get a little emotional and would probably say something that I would regret once I have a chance to cool down, so take this with a grain of salt... But... I don't know that I have ever seen a college basketball team be so incapable of making layups, handling full court pressure, and getting a defensive rebound... Im starting to worry that last season was an anomaly and this season they are reverting back to the mean... I'm not feeling very good about this team's chances of making the NCAA Tournament this season. Nebraska can't afford to be losing conference games at home...because they aren't good enough right now to be stealing very many road wins...I think losing both Abraham and Smith has just been too much for this team to overcome... It looks like they will both still be out for a few more weeks...and while I think this team will improve once they make it back into the lineup, I feel like it may be too little too late. I think the loss of Smith from the coaching staff might have been a bigger loss than most of us (including myself) thought it would be. I think, at least myself, underestimated how important he was to this team. I think we may have to wait until next season for this program to take that next major step...when Nebraska adds Andrew White and (hopefully) Akoy Agau to the lineup. But who knows... Maybe when Smith and Abraham make it back, they will be the spark this team needs, so they can go on a big run like they did at the end of last season...but I think that could be a lot to ask of a team to make that sort of run at the end of 2 consecutive seasons... I hope I'm wrong, but as of right now this team has the look of an "NIT" team.