Norm Peterson

OK, I'll say it right now: I effing LOVE this kid.

Reminds me of Henry Ellenson.

You must have more luck than me. The couple times I went to a casino, I limited myself to a certain amount of losses, played slots and hit my loss limit within about 20 minutes. Hung out in the bar and watched TV from there until my group was ready to go. Decided that was no fun and wasn't ever going back to a casino. To this day, I'm just astonished at all the cars/semis pulled into casino parking lots at like 11 a.m. whenever I pass places on the highway that have them.

I didn't realize Lat wasn't here. I thought it was just Thor and Yvan that we were waiting on. But if the U goes totally on-line and the foreign dudes have to leave, that probably includes the Cannucks from up north, of which we have two. I have to think if foreign players get stuck overseas, the NCAA will offset it by clearing some guys like McGowens. But, then again, it's the NCAA, so one never knows.

I'm debating between a full-on carbon steel Japanese knife with HRC of 63-64 for about $285 vs. a blade with a carbon steel core and clad with stainless in a Kurouchi finish at an HRC of 60-61 for about $215. The cheaper blade would be easier to maintain, for sure, and less subject to chipping. But the more expensive one would be an absolute laser and fly through onions like they were pre-cut. If anyone on here has experience with these kinds of blades and can make recommendations/suggestions/just offer thoughts, feel free to PM me. Thanks

So, kinda the back-story on this: I'd seen bottles of 18-year-old MacAllen behind locked glass at liquor store displays in the past. A year ago, that stuff was probably bringing $250/bottle. Now, it's more like $300. And I always thought that was a hell of a lot of money to spend on hooch. Really good hooch, to be sure, but hooch nevertheless. As I was sitting on my patio on 4th of July, watching neighbors all around me light off half my net worth in fireworks, I recalled a time a few years back when I decided to splurge on fireworks and bought a couple of these and a few of those and, what the hell, that $50 thing would make a grand finale, etc., and my eventual tab rung up to probably around three hundred bucks. But, somehow, lighting it all off was strangely dissatisfying. Three hundred bucks didn't generate as long of a show as you might expect. Each $20-$30 item was maybe not quite as spectacular as I'd imagined it might be. And I decided I wasn't going to do that again. So, as I sat on my patio watching my neighbors almost literally burning through money, I started thinking about other similar-cost purchases and what kind of utility you might get out of them. And I ended up deciding that I could make the "fireworks" from a $300 bottle of top-shelf single malt scotch last a bit longer and be a bit more satisfying than a bunch of gunpowder that would go up in smoke in one evening. I didn't buy the scotch, though, either. I'm actually thinking about buying a carbon steel Japanese chef knife for roughly the same price. Because that bitch should last for-frickin-ever and help me produce some fine eating for a lot of friends and family to enjoy over the course of a lifetime -- and then be worthy of inheriting once I pass from this life. If you'd have been willing to consider blowing up $300 worth of fireworks on 4th of July, are there any other roughly $300 things you'd now think differently about buying, having read this thread? That compound miter saw you've had your eye on, perhaps? Some new fishing tackle? Upgrading your basketball seats? It's the off-season, guys. Talk to me.

Sure. As long as it costs about $300.

After I get some more replies, I'll provide some context for my question. In the meantime, I'm on my way over to The Still to purchase a bottle of 18-year-old MacAllen single malt scotch.

Congrats, Bugs, not only on the retirement, but also on making it to retirement. Well-deserved and earned, I'm sure. Enjoy it. And don't get Covid in the process, m'kay?

Choose one. All options are roughly the same price/cost.

Great news, guys! I still have all my fingers and all my toes! And the hearing in both ears! #Post4thBlessings

Ask him if they send each other Christmas cards.

From what I observed, I suspect Lance Jeter was an acquired taste. He talked a lot of trash to his teammates during practices. And not in a good-natured, fun kind of way, but more of a try-to-get-in-their-heads kind of way. He was an alpha alpha dog and wanted to make clear his dominance in the hierarchy, so I could see why some might not have taken well to him as a teammate.

What else? A girl.

Shang Ping played professionally after college. He wasn't as bad as some might have thought. With all due respect to Doc Sadler, I don't think Doc's style was particularly a good fit for Shang. It was all Shang could do to understand Doc's southern twang English. He no doubt wasn't used to getting abused in practices. Doc didn't have a lot of patience for Shang's learning curve. And then when he tried to knee Chris Balham in the nads ... that was kinda it.

At times like this, I recall the words of Jimmy V: "Don't give up; don't EVER give up." Until that dude signs on the dotted line, it ain't over. Plenty of kids end up signing with schools that didn't make the final 10.

He is mature beyond his years, that's for sure. Great kid. I hope he has the Husker career he dreams of.

I did not know this before I went out on my limb.

Good point. Shamiel has enough heft to hold his ground in the post on defense, and the other guys listed would make us long enough to double and recover if we had to double the post. I'm not trying to tear anyone down. I think it's possible that Walker and Ouedraogo have both made significant strides since they last logged official minutes. But just going by what I think I can reasonably rely on, I'm picking Lat to start. It's just a wild-ass guess, really. Anyway, that would certainly be an intriguing combo.

But that's like when a really bad team returns all of its starters. The known part about Walker is that he is a career 15-44 from the FT line and had diminished productivity from his freshman to sophomore year, where he averaged 0.8 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game. Lat averaged 2.1 points, 1.2 rebounds in 7.9 minutes while averaging 77.8% from the freethrow line as a freshman. I agree he's skinny. I agree guarding Big Ten bigs is a big ask for a skinny guy like that, which is why it's a reluctant endorsement from me. But he still gets the nod from me because he's 30-50% better from the line than the other two options and, if the shooting numbers hold, he'll give us another offensive threat on the floor. Plus he's a quality rebounder at the juco level who I think gets you some of those 50/50 balls.

You may be right. And I considered that. Maybe if I'd seen more of Walker, I'd think differently. But I look at his numbers from Tennessee (very small sample size) and, unless he's really REALLY improved, he probably isn't going to see a lot of time on the floor. (I get that he was buried on the depth chart on a very good Tennessee team, but while it's true there were a lot of good players in front of him, it's also true that his numbers would have kept him off the floor even on a bad team -- 29% from the foul line? Yikes.) Yvan has a lot to offer in terms of strength and heft and holding his position defensively on the inside. But he also has a lot of work to do on skill development. And I'd like to see him look a little more explosive. He was tentative taking it to the basket when he was in scoring position and, as a result, wasn't very effective scoring inside. I think the game was still going a little too fast for him at the end of the season. He could make huge strides this off-season. But it'd be helpful if he was here. Meanwhile, we have this kid who is as long as anyone on the roster, put up good rebounding numbers in juco, and is a solid shooter, including over 80% from the stripe. And I think it's more likely that Lat can put on weight and build strength between now and November than it is that Yvan suddenly develops soft hands. And Derrick Walker is still too much of an unknown commodity for me to assume that he's transformed his game since his days in Tennessee. Maybe he has. But he'd have to in order to get the starting nod here. I'm fairly comfortable that starters will include Banton, Allen, and Webster. I took Thor over Shamiel. But that could be a foot race, honestly. And then I looked at all the possibilities to fill the big man role. And I decided they all have their strengths and they all have some glaring weaknesses (absent updated info on Walker). So, whose balance of strengths and weaknesses will benefit the team the most? I went with the springy, long kid who shoots the ball well and rebounds.

6th man if he's not a starter.

Banton seems like a lock to start. That's not much of a limb. Let me climb out a bit further. I like Yvan but I don't like his hands yet. I don't think he's a lock to start. I'm surprising myself to say this, but I'm leaning in the direction of Lat Mayen. His 3-point shooting ability on the pick-and-pop is a tool the other guys who could potentially fill that stretch-4 big role don't have as much of. And, though slight of build, he's a good rebounder. Trey McGowens could be cleared to play, but that's a big "if." And IF he is cleared to play, I think he starts. But if he doesn't get cleared, we're thin at guard. And I think Kobe Webster is a guy who shoots the ball well enough to open driving lanes for Teddy Allen. I have both of those guys penciled into the starting lineup, with Teddy's name in a slightly-more-permanent #2 graphite, given that, last I heard, Trey McGowens wasn't cleared yet. My last starter (drumroll please -- and I'll white it out and let some people guess before I do the big reveal): Thorir G. Thorbjarnarson. Damn straight. Shock the world. He's a crafty sonofabitch who just seems to know how to make the right play at the right time. Role player. He's not a star. He won't be all-conference. Though he could potentially be 6th man of the year. And I'd bet dollars to donuts he's been working his ass off shooting 23 footers. It's not the prettiest shot, but damn, it's effective and there ain't a lot of moving parts to it. It's just catch and flick, catch and flick.

One thing I'll say about Akol Arop: He reminds me of Devine Ozigbo. No, really. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Devine was buried on the depth chart early in his career with few people thinking he had any real chance of ever seeing meaningful snaps. No, what reminds me of Devine when I see Akol is something Devine said about himself. Before the NFL draft in 2019, Devine was making his pitch to NFL teams as to why they should draft a guy like him. I don't remember his exact words, but here are the themes: 1. No one is going to out-work me; 2. You will never be embarrassed about anything I do off the field; 3. I'm the opposite of a locker room cancer. I don't know anything about Akol's work ethic, but I am absolutely confident that he fits the description for #2 and #3. And if his work ethic matches the other things I think I know about him, I would be surprised if #1 doesn't fit him as well. His handles need a ton of work; his feel for the game needs a ton of work; he tends to get lost on defense. But he oozes athleticism and he has solid mechanics on his jumper. If he's been shooting non-stop this off-season, with his athleticism, he could easily be a 3-and-D guy who doesn't need to dribble much. And there's clearly room in the Hoiberg offense for such a player.