Norm Peterson

On the subject of 3-point shooting and Thor, I suspect Thor will get hot one of these days. And when that happens, I hope they feed him the ball like a momma feeding a hungry baby.

Twitter, for example, is a great forum for sharing political views. And while you offer some nice sentiments and platitudes about following the golden rule and so forth, we had reached, I thought, an understanding years ago not to delve into politics on this particular forum. Back then, it was I who overstepped the line and arguably delved into politics and I have steadfastly avoided political topics on this forum ever since. I've kept up my end of the deal. Unfortunately, some of the people who chastised me back then have participated in discussions since then that overstep the line as well. Including some people on this thread, which is why I asked upthread what the rules are. You can argue that it's topical if it's the basketball team doing it. But a blatant political act is still a political act even if performed by someone outside the political arena. So, Steve Kerr's comments about the US and China, for example, aren't really germane to a discussion about Golden State Warriors basketball. And you can say, I suppose, that this topic isn't really political. I would disagree and others would as well as explained more eloquently in the video linked below: BLM & 'white privilege' banned from schools as minister blasts Labour - YouTube

While I like Yalden, I question his athleticism. He has very soft hands, which is great, and he seems to have good handles for a big man. But I haven't seen video of him matched up against anyone who looks like a comparable player, and given the excess weight he's carrying, I'm going to guess he's maybe a bit more of a half-court guy who could really do some damage in the post as a back-to-the-basket scorer. But I get the sense we don't look for guys that are built like that. That's more of a Wisconsin style of player. And while I love Traudt's game, there've been enough hints that he has aspirations of going to more of a blueblood program, so I'm not pinning hopes on Traudt being a Husker. Would HAPPILY welcome it, but just don't see it happening. Grady Dick, though, seems at least open to the idea of playing for Coach Hoiberg notwithstanding that there might be some work to do to sell him on the Nebraska name. Winning would help in that regard, and he would sure help with the winning. Landing Dick would be a great start to our 2022 recruiting class.

I've thought about that. It's like Miles' assessment of his 2nd season: were we that good or did we just get hot at the right time? Thor shot a respectable 37.5% from beyond the arc last season, but the last month or so (last 10-15 games) he was not good and getting worse each set of 5 games. But Coach Hoiberg seems to have a lot of confidence in him. He shoots well in practice, apparently. It shows he can do it. There are probably guys who don't shoot well in games who also don't shoot well in practice, and so you don't expect much improvement from them. But when you have a kid who you know is able because he can make it consistently in practice, it's just a matter of getting him to stop thinking when he shoots in games and start feeling.

OK, that chart didn't paste the way I'd hoped. I'm curious what people think, though. I'm going to posit a theory, and welcome anyone to comment on it however you wish. So, we have some guys who are under-performing hopes/expectations from 3-point range, which is a shot this offense very much relies upon. In some ways, it's a small sample size, 4 games, but in other respects, we have some historical data to look back on. Kobe Webster is probably the biggest enigma. His sophomore year was his high-water mark for 3-point attempts but it was also his high-water mark for accuracy, in which season he nailed 41.3% of 184 trey attempts. But right now he's at 26.3%, which is nearly 10 percentage points worse than his freshman season accuracy, and 7% worse than his previous worst season last year. Thor is probably the next biggest surprise. As a freshman, he hit 2-5 from three. As a sophomore, he doubled his makes but nearly quintupled his attempts for a paltry 17.4% rate from 3-point range. But that was on a small sample size of only 23 attempts. Last year, it's like he really hit stride. And, until the last 10 games of the season, was proficient weapon from deep, hovering at or over 40% for most of the year. This year, he's fallen back to nearly his sophomore year level of futility. Next is Dalano Banton. Not much of a mystery there: he's historically a poor 3-point shooter. This year, he's actually hitting a higher percentage than he did his freshman year at Western KY. But not by much. He's currently 3-15 for exactly 20%. Which isn't very good, but, in fairness, he's not gone out of his way to try launching a bunch of treys either. Finally, there's Shamiel Steveson. As a freshman at Pitt, he hit 15 of his 40 3-point attempts for a respectable 37.5%. This year, he's 0-3, which means he's taking (and missing) just under 1 per game. As a team, we're sitting at just under 29% from 3. That's due in large part to the fact that no one on this team right now is shooting lights out from beyond the arc. But also because we have 4 of the 7 guys in the regular rotation who have attempted threes just not shooting them very well at all. If we're going to move the needle from under 30% to, let's say, mid-30s, where is that going to come from? I'm going to suggest that when you're closer to your potential, incremental improvements will be smaller. So, Lat Mayen going from his current 38.5 to over 40% would happen by making 1 more shot. But for our team to get to just 35%, for example, they'd have to hit 35 of their next 79 3-point attempts. That's only 44%, so it's doable. But I think it's going to have to involve Kobe, Thor, Dalano and Shamiel stepping up and making more from downtown. So, of those players, which do you think is most likely to have a breakout and why?

Per Game Stats NAME Teddy Allen G Dalano Banton G Trey McGowens G Kobe Webster G Lat Mayen F Shamiel Stevenson G Yvan Ouedraogo F Thorir Thorbjarnarson G Jace Piatkowski G Bret Porter F Elijah Wood G Total GP MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FG% FT% 3P% 4 26.3 19.0 5.8 1.5 3.5 0.0 1.8 47.2 60.0 33.3 4 29.3 13.5 6.8 5.8 2.0 1.5 1.5 44.7 77.3 20.0 4 26.5 11.5 4.0 1.5 1.3 0.3 2.3 40.5 78.6 35.7 4 20.8 10.3 2.5 1.3 1.3 0.0 0.8 43.8 80.0 26.3 4 26.0 9.5 6.8 1.8 0.5 0.3 1.8 37.1 40.0 38.5 4 20.5 9.3 3.5 0.8 1.0 0.0 1.3 63.2 72.2 0.0 4 19.0 4.3 5.5 0.3 0.8 0.8 0.5 31.6 50.0 0.0 4 26.3 2.8 3.0 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.8 20.0 0.0 21.4 2 3.0 1.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 2 2.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2 5.5 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 4 80.8 41.0 14.3 12.0 3.0 11.0 41.6 67.9 28.9

I'm impressed with the kid's ups. He is an effortless dunker. That carries over into other skills and attributes on the floor, so seeing a 6'7 guy who never dunks would worry me a bit. This kid throws it down quite easily. And he has nearly textbook shooting form and backs it up by hitting shots. He has deep range on his 3-point shot, way past the college line. I think he's a Hoiberg kind of player, that Georges Niang and skillset who would play a version of stretch 4 in college but would project as an NBA wing. All this is meant to say ... Nebraska is clearly the best fit for him, and I say this without the slightest hint of self-interest involved.

I think we need a touch better outside shooting. Like we're currently near historically bad even for us. So, if you had a guy like Eduardo Andre put on a few pounds so that he can body up against Big Ten bigs and still be able to swat the occasional slasher who gets by our first line of defense, and then just get to mediocre shooting levels from outside, say 35% or so, then we may be in business. But a team that averages under 29% from 3-point range while relying heavily on 3-pt shooting isn't going to be a tourney team by just playing better defense. We have to get better on the offensive end. Full stop.

He's probably busy putting product in the aisles of your local supermarket. Picked up some of his Nebraska Star Beef signature seasoning at Hy-Vee yesterday. Love the inscription on the front of the container label: "Lucky you."

It was 61-60, NDSU up with about a minute to play and KU went on a 5 zip run to end the game.

Agreed on "real deal." I would take him over the Kors kid from South Dakota if they were in the same class and we had our pick. I think Dick is really good.

Yeah. Like Hunter Sallis saying the Huskers are definitely still in it 2 days before releasing a Husker-less top 12. Not saying this will go the same way, but it sure makes me a little more cautious about putting any stock in statements like that. Having said that, Grady Dick would be an absolutely phenomenal pickup and I would love to see him wearing a Husker uniform in 2 years.

Not surprising to me.

It's nice to see the plaudits and praise that a couple of our recruits are getting. I certainly think it's deserved for those two. But it's a whole group of kids that will be coming in next year and the others are too good to be ignored. I'm just really excited to see what the future holds in store with some of the shooters we'll have on our team next year.

I don't think Sallis will be one-and-done regardless of where he goes. But sharing the rock with 10 other 5-stars at Kentucky isn't exactly the best way to get noticed.

Oregon is willing to play and they'll be (nearly) in town. Apparently on the day that the Fla A&M game would have been. We have a spot we need to fill. They would apparently be willing and available to fill it. Why would this NOT happen? What possible reason would there be to not make this happen? Because it just makes too much sense and we can't start a precedent of doing sensible things? What?

My guess -- and it's only a guess -- is that Thor will start shooting better as soon as he gets in touch with his feelings. Generally, I tend to appreciate thinking over feeling. Except when it comes to things like hitting a golf shot or shooting a basketball. In those instances, the less you think about it, the better. You gotta rely on feel, on muscle memory, and just let it fly without stopping to think about it. That's why guys often miss when they hesitate on an open shot and then take it. It's given them time to think rather than just react. As soon as he stops thinking and starts shooting, his percentages will return to normal. So, stop thinking, Thor!

It wasn't a grievance. I just remember making the same kind of statement about some player in the past and someone responded (with some justification, I might add) that "you are what your stats say you are." It's probably too early to say we've had enough of a data set to say what any of these players is, but it's still a point worth pondering. At what point do they become what their stats say they are?

I remember making a claim like that in the past and someone on here telling me "you are what your numbers say you are."

Making our 3s is a big issue for this team right now. We have an offense that is oriented around making 3s and, as a team, we're shooting it abysmally right now. Twenty-eight point nine percent. As a team. From three. That. Sucks. That would have been bad for a Miles team that loved the rim and only kinda liked the three "as friends" after a nasty breakup. But for a team that loves the three, that shooting percentage is loving something that isn't really loving you back.

This is probably the thread to throw this into rather than starting a new one. One of the things that maybe offers the best reason for optimism for this season (and, by "optimism" I don't mean "Sweet 16" so don't anyone get too excited) could be expressed by the following stats: 56.3 23.9 What are those numbers, you ask? The first is the number of points per game our starters have put up in 4 games so far. The second number is our average bench points per game so far. Do not underestimate the value of a guy like Webster who can come in and score off the bench at either guard position if Teddy or (especially) Dalano get in first-half foul trouble. And Shamiel. Don't forget that we have a strong defensive presence who has put up almost 9 points per game coming in off the bench who can realistically, in a pinch, defend any position on the floor if he has to. That's Shamiel, for you. And Yvan. In limited minutes, Yvan is contributing 5.5 rebounds (many of them on the offensive end) per contest. That's our *bench.* That's a real luxury. When was the last time we had a bench that could do that?

Replacing Thor?

Sellout crowd.

Umude is in a weird spot this year. He's historically about a 34% 3-point shooter who is struggling mightily from beyond the arc this year. That could be a team-wide funk problem. They're all struggling. Looks like last 10 minutes last night they began to snap out of it, but we have absolutely no place on our roster for a shooting guard who's hitting less than 12% of this three-point attempts. And that's where Umude is right now.

If they Big Ten chooses to update their protocol, let's hope they do it before the point that Eduardo would already be able to return to the team. In other words, let's hope they do it in a timely manner so that it accelerates his availability.