Norm Peterson

GUYS I EXPECT TO BE HERE AND BE ELIGIBLE: BACKCOURT Haanif Cheatham 6'6 G Sr Dachon Burke 6'4 G Jr Jervay Green 6'3 G Jr Cam Mack 6'2 G So Samari Curtis 6'4 G Fr MIDCOURT Matej Kavas 6'8 G/F Sr Thorir Thorbjarnarson 6'6 G Jr Shamiel Stevenson 6'6 F So Akol Arop 6'6 F Fr FRONTCOURT Kevin Cross 6'8 F Fr Yvan Ouedraogo 6'9 F Fr Glaring hole in all of this is both front court players are true freshmen. We have some of what I'm calling midcourt players who could swing big. But those guys are either young (Stevenson, Arop) or not built to bang (Thor and Matej.) I think we needed one more grad transfer, and I think he needed to be a rim-running, shot-blocking big man. Maybe that guy will still materialize.

TTech just added a 6-8 grad transfer PF and are still after a 2019 4-star HS PF.

Not sure we have any room any longer. Why is he decommitting?

Fortunately, Memphis can only have 13 players on scholarship at any given time, which means there will be plenty of sloppy seconds for us. But we're not without some recruiting drawing cards ourselves. While people might not recognize his name as much as Penny's, Hoiberg's name carries some cred. He not only played in the league, but he coached there, too. And when he coached in college, they won. And, in five seasons of college coaching, he can point to the names of half a dozen or so players that he coached to the league. Nebraska might not have the history and tradition of Memphis, but we're in a stronger conference and the Nebraska brand still carries some cachet. Plus, we have a lot better fan support with top 10-15 annual attendance. And our facilities and player amenities are among the best in the nation. So, in the things that would matter to potential recruits, we do have some things to sell them on. It'll be interesting to see if Penny can blend all that infusion of talent into a cohesive group this coming season. He's not lacking for talent so one could argue the results better be there, no excuses. But Penny has very little track record as a coach. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

Memphis did roughly as well in year 1 of Penny as they did in year 2 of Tubby, after which Tubby was fired and replaced within a week by Penny.

OK, let's get some common parlance straight. If I ask you to make me a drink, I'm not asking you to make me INTO a drink.

I didn't even notice, to be honest. I was just trying to make a joke.

Yep. That's the one I was agreeing with.

I was making fun of the fact that there were so many new names in such a short span of time that it was like "now who?" I shoulda used an emoji.

That's what she said?

I agree. We won't know what the finished product looks like until we see it on the floor, and it's certainly possible Jervay, for example, doesn't live up to the hype right away. After all, it generally takes jucos at least a semester to acclimate. But if you just look at things prospectively and ask yourself has the staff done a good job of putting the program in a position to be successful the first year, you'd have to say they have. At least I would.

Here's an observation from John Rothstein I found interesting:

Here's how John Rothstein sees things:

Here's the official AD response. Probably worth a listen:

Look how quickly these guys get this play down and all the counters and variations.