Norm Peterson

Did Creighton lose again?

You might very well be right. He's tall and skilled for sure. Not everyone he played against was at that level but he showed against a 4-star Memphis commit.

Since we're updating on teams not on our schedule, let me just add that North Texas is 10-3, kenpom #57, and they beat UNO by 30.

Top 80, bitches.

Couple nights before New Years when all through the Vault No one could tell me some of the bad stuff wasn't Matt A's fault. The children were nestled all snug in their seats While stuffing their faces with PBA's meager eats And momma in her hoodie and I in my cap Were giving a mouthy Iowa fan crap When out on the floor there arose such a clatter I sprang from my seat to see what was the matter. The moon on the ... the below those objects the ... what the HOLYCRAPWE'REUP18!!! OMG OMG PLEASE GOD DON'T LET THEM F**K IT UP NOW. OMG OMG Go Walker and Bandoumel, Gary and Griesel! Sure be nice if we'd get a 3-pointer from Keisel. Foul on Wilhelm? Aw c'mon, CJ, get out and guard whosit. Another Husker run and I swear Fran will lose it. As dry leaves before the wild hurricane ... OMG ARE YOU GUYS TRYING TO LOSE THIS GAME? Quit forcing those stupid passes and WAIT THAT WAS NOT A BLOCK! TAKE CARE OF THE BALL, GUYS, AND RUN SOME DAMN CLOCK!!! OH GOD THAT IS NOT THE SHOT I WANT TO SEE GARY ... Oh it went in? Still a stupid shot. Hey Ref! Either they were BOTH charges, or neither of them were, for f**k's sakes. Nice rebounding. See what a difference good rebounding makes? By the end of this game, I'll be 20 years older. We've gone cold but somehow Iowa's colder. It'll be next year before we do this again But it feels like we snuck away with a 16-point win. And as I get to my car and turn on the ignition Freddy Claus was on with Kent for the post-game submission. And I heard him exclaim before I drove out of sight Happy New Years to all and F**k Iowa. Fellas, I'm beginning to think Freddy Claus might be real. Anyone else?

The most Nebraska Basketball thing ever would be in a couple of years, after Ben Johnson proceeds to fail at Minnesota (he's headed that direction despite how things started last season), the Gophers finally hire Tim Miles who goes onto propel Minnesota regularly into the top half of the league and stomp our asses with regularity. And all the people on this board who rejoiced when Miles was fired and pretended that lack of AD support had nothing to do with our lack of success (in recruiting especially) will be out here saying, well, he just wasn't ready yet as a coach when he was at Nebraska, that he needed to go cut his teeth at a place like San Jose before heading to a P5 program. I mean, I can just see this happening. Two years. Maybe three.

Jyes

Hat tip to the home team, 3 Big Ten schools, and somewhere sunny.

That was actually not part of my assessment. I wasn't looking at who I thought would leave. I just subdivided between newcomers and key returning vets (next year's likely starters and rotation players) and didn't include potentially returning players who haven't yet been impactful. Since the conference would still consider Lloyd a newcomer next year, I placed him in that group. I made a judgment call not including McPherson with the newcomer group that would include RS Fr Lloyd because he's been here two seasons. Also, I figured if you were to count as a key vet, you needed to be averaging at least double-figure minutes AND have some sort of statistical contribution on top of that. Which is why Keita and Breidenbach made the list, but Denim Dawson did not. I just decided I wanted to drown out some of the side noise (not interested in how good our non-key returners are at this point) to concentrate on the issue at hand: Look at these (statistically) key returning players and try to imagine what we need to add to that group in order to field a competitive roster. And PG is just screaming at me.

Exactamundo.

Our first big recruiting battle in the post-Matt A era. Let's see how well we do. I'm encouraged we made his top 5. I think this kid is pretty good.

I like Gary a lot. I would love to see him return for 2 more seasons. I don't think he's an NBA talent, but I think he could improve his 3-point shooting by quite a bit and become somewhat more of an offensive weapon for us in addition to his solid defense. He's really strong and a quick leaper with long arms and can go after rebounds that other guys could only dream of snagging. But his offensive efficiency is not nearly as good as you'd like it to be.

Speaking of eligibility, Juwan Gary and CJ Wilcher have played the same number of seasons of college ball, yet CJ is listed as a sophomore and Juwan as a junior. That can't be right, can it? Surely, Juwan is a sophomore eligibility-wise and doesn't have to count the Covid year, just like the same freebie everyone else got, correct?

My view is that this most recent class of Griesel, Bandoumel and Gary was our best portal class yet in terms of addressing immediate needs. And what we immediately needed was players at their positions, as well as guys who were unselfish, team-first, glue guys. Sure, it'd be nice if they were better perimeter shooters. But we got what we needed most, which was players who would play tough defense, and run the offense with discipline without worrying about making sure they got theirs. This time around, it'd be nice to get guys with a similar mindset. Maybe a bit more skill. But, on top of that, in order of priority, we need ... 1. The best pass-first PG we can find who can hopefully also score; 2. A guy to replace Walker (or come as close as we can find -- doubtful we'll find someone who can score as well, but Keita needs competition); and 3. With a likely 3rd available ship (there's always someone), the best scoring option we can find. Need a guy who can drain 'em from deep. True 3-and-D guy. This person could be Ramel Lloyd but the coaches know better what they have in him. Probably need to be at least juniors-to-be in order to provide that level of experience they'll need to replace.

Saw the latest visitor we had for Purdue, Ndongo. I think he'd be a good get but he doesn't necessarily constitute immediate help. I guess I feel like if Fred survives this year (and I think the odds look pretty good for that to happen) he's going to have to continue to progress or it's just delaying the inevitable. So, a reminder of what we lose and what we have coming back as of this writing: For Sure Gone: Walker (6'9 PF) Griesel (6'7 PG) Bandoumel (6'4 SG) Likely Key Returners: Keita (6'11 Jr C) Breidenbach (6'10 Jr PF) Gary (6'6 Jr PF) Wilcher (6'5 Jr SG) Tominaga (6'2 Sr SG) Adds: Lloyd (6'6 RS Fr SG) Rice (6'7 Fr PFish?) Current Space Available: Two spots for sure. Other spots could open up and usually do. Let's assume up to 5. Gotta Haves: This is what I'm curious about. What does everyone think we need to do with those 2-5 spots, and rank by priority. I mean, look at the likely key returners and what does that make you think we need to go get in the off-season. And HS or portal?

I'm pissed about Purdue too, but hopefully the team is following the advice of not losing the same game twice and putting it behind them. In spite of the screw job by the refs, though, that Purdue game gave me a lot of optimism. This is a tough team and we're close. Just need CJ to start making some shots and Sam to get healthy. We're not as far away as many might think. That doesn't mean I think we're an NCAA tourney team, but we don't need a hell of a lot of breaks to get in the running. Starting with beating KSU. And I think we match up with them decently well. Our best defensive player is a great fit against their best offensive player. So, when they're on offense, it's strength against strength. And the only guy on the floor likely to be able to stop Derrick Walker is Derrick Walker. If he plays his kind of game, he could go off for 20.

It's going to be you and like 500 of your closest friends if people don't get out there and start buying tickets.

We'll get another boost when we thump Kansas State.

Do people realize this isn't part of your season ticket package? Game is Tuesday the 20th. I'm hearing sales are LAGGING badly and I'm wondering if most fans THINK they have the game as part of their package. Anyone want to weigh in?

Aneurism of the descending aorta? That had to be a quick way to go. I was relieved that the rumors of foul play were proved to be unfounded.

Especially if one of them is Yale.

Big Ten has really been strong lately. But kenpom #81 would have been good enough for 10th place in the conference last season.

Top ~80 kenpom is a decent Big Ten team most years.

Yeah, probably the prudent thing to do. But I couldn't help rubbing someone's nose in things after what was said when he committed. But that's probably not entirely fair because I said myself at the time that I would have probably made the same decision he did if I was looking at the same decision at that time. Who knew the worm would turn like this? I sure as hell wasn't expecting it.

Leach news is a gut punch. He's honestly one of my all-time favorite coaches in any sport.