Tom Jones

three things: 1) the end of the 3rd quarter - failure to rebound a missed FT led to 3 pointer on a possession that never should have happened; 2) that was not a charge!; 3) Krull's giveaway at just under two minute point with a really lazy past cost loss of a possession and two points - coulda well been the game. Oh ... and the much of the game total absence of an offensive plan - just brought the ball down and threw up a three w/o even trying for a quality shot.

I hope that AM will attack the hoop forwardly only - no fade aways and converts 60%+ of under the hoop possessions to points; that NP keeps it up with the put backs; that Jazz keeps shooting; and that Jazz, Nissley, and Hake can hit a combined 35%+ of threes; and that NP does not come out of the game at the first 4 minute point or that, if she does, the Kendalls prove me wrong. Sounds trite and obvious to say this, but i will anyway - this game probly comes down to 3 pt shooting. I loved the way AM fought for rebounds against the Illini.

How Good Is the Big 10 - the title of this thread .... Well, one team makes all the others look like weaklings in comparison. What a decisive take down that was last night! Indiana - the team that shot 14 for 23 on three pt tries agains the Huskers, managed only 5 for 20 at Iowa. Sydney Parish who shot 6 for 7 at PBA shot 1 for 4 at Iowa. Sarah Scalia, 5 for 10 here in Lincoln was even worse at ZERO for 4 in Iowa City. All in all, a 27 point rout. Open looks for Indiana were about as rare as spectators in beach wear. And although Clark did get her 30, it was not her 3 point shooting (6 for 16) that did it. Wonder what would happen in a special "cap off the season" contest .... Iowa vs the Big Ten All Stars.

rebounding (45 to 29) saved us from poor shooting and too many turnovers.

2009-10 was indeed a magical season. It was Yori's eighth year at NU, and it all came together. She had two elite players, two other consistent and reliable seniors with a lot of experience, a talented junior, and a full bench. But, in perspective, the record in the previous season was 15-16 and in the following season was 13-18. Successful seasons did follow with 6th, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 7th place finishes in the (then smaller) conference. She was, IMO, an excellent coach. One observation from her record is how difficult it is to get past the sweet sixteen.

i too am glad you brought this up. I have absolutely NO problems with ANYone stating disagreement with ANYthing I say. I might SMH, but get hurt feelings ???? Never! I almost always appreciate hearing other points of view and never take it personally.

I am happy! and optimistic! Looking forward to good times ahead!

I don't know that getting a markedly better coach is doable at Nebraska And I doubt it. Where was this better coach when Williams was hired, and who would this better coach be now? Finding an alumnus ala Kim Mulkey or someone with a Husker connection like Fred Hoiberg or tempting away a rising star from far away is a huge long shot. Take that leap of faith and we risk having to start all over - quite possibly with an exodus of the existing talent and loss of the incoming recruits. Let's think back to Steve Pederson's forty days of nothingness after having fired a 9-3 Frank Solich, the national disdain that followed for having fired a successful coach, the desperate Callahan gambit at the end of those 40 days, and the parade of failed coaches that followed. No thanks to a re-play of that.

I find myself being Mr. Buzz Kill with what follows .... but I am convinced that this is the way it is. "Big time post players who can score and defend" ... Those are hard to find and demand for them far exceeds supply. AM is a fantastic asset to this program not only in ability and production, but in character, work ethic, and leadership. Her ability to convert under the basket possessions into points is getting better and better. But she lacks the length, the quickness and the hops to be considered big time. Players who have all that don't have programs like ours on their short list. They want to play for national championships and get on the pathway to WNBA. If there were a daughter of the corn - a native Nebraskan with those abilities (like an A'ja Wilson version of Britt Prince), she might stay here, but otherwise those players are out of UNL's reach. "players who can get to the rim and finish" .... Potts can and will get better with practice, physical maturity, and experience. AW can. BP, while not physically intimidating, has the speed to get there thru traffic, and I have hope for Hargrove in that department. "to take it to the next level" .... If the "next level" means consistently winning the winnable games, pulling the occasional upset of teams rated above us, regularly putting a quality product on the floor, finishing in the top fourth of the conference, and regularly getting to the tournament ... and doing all that with pride, sportsmanship, and character ..... we are on our way! It has taken some years, but that is the path that Williams and her staff have put us on. but (and here is the buzz kill) "to move up to the top level" .... If "the top level" means being a perennial top ten team, getting to the elite eight, being competitive with the UConn's, Stanfords, and SoCars, and consistently having players advance to WNBA .... it's just not going to happen here. UNL just lacks the foundational base to bring that off. I'd love to be wrong on that last point.

and we will have more. Having watched her video I am similarly impressed with Amiah Hargrove. And we will have Weidner back. The Huskers do need a C/F for the post Markowski years

IU made 64% of their 3 pt attempts. that is comparable to shooting 96% on 2s. Unless an opponent has a huge advantage in rebounds and turnovers, there is no beating that.

Rachel Theriot, no doubt and hands down. In addition to passing and court vision, she had length for a pg, she was a shooter, and she played defense. Actually, Britt Prince (who was at the game today, with her mom and just four rows ahead of me) is quite comparable to Theriot but with an even better 3 pt shot. So if I am right about that, those of us who "voted" for RT in reply to NebNet's question ..... we will next year get our wish .... plus a little bit.

Other than her participation in practice, the only way she would be missed in VB is if one of the starters were to get injured. And experience in the past few years with Stivrins, Knuckles, and Krause shows that this could happen. In that case, Cook would have to convert one of the little used hitters to middle blocker. That might be more difficult than it sounds. Because of the months and years of repetition necessary to achieve elite status, there are few examples (of which i am aware) of VB players being elite at more than one position. As for WBB being left holding the bag .... absolutely. It was a wasted scholarship - maybe less important than that sounds at first, because HCAW doesn't use them all anyway. It's possible though that the presence of MM - knowing that she had three years left - has discouraged other "bigs" from being interested in NU. Relative to D-1 college athletes excelling in two different sports ... it is an extreme rarity. There was a WBB player from Utah who played BB and VB and of course Charlie Ward at FSU and Bo Jackson. But there are very few among the tens of thousands who specialize in one sport. In HS and lower college divisions, in which natural athleticism will let players shine in half a dozen sports, it's common. But in D-1 where natural ability isn't enough and reps, technique and experience are required, very few. Michael Jackson, one of basketball's all time greats, hit .202 in minor league baseball. I am happy for MM that she will concentrate one sport and have time for a "real life" in an off season.

the result is exactly what I see when watching her play. I have been a big Hake fan from the start.

I think there is a huge difference between playing her a few more minutes vs subjecting her to use and abuse. She shows absolutely no signs (visible to us) of being worn down or experiencing any loss of energy or enthusiasm. If those were to develop, I am sure that the coaching staff would dial it back. But it's an interesting question - interesting enough that I looked at the minutes played by past freshmen who showed early signs of being key contributors. Jordan Hooper 29 minutes per game Lindsay Moore 28 Kelsey Griffi 25 Jess Shepard 29 Rachel Theriot 26 Alexis Markowski 22 Pott's at 23 is on the low side right now but the comparison would be misleading if the others increased their minutes per game as the seasons rolled on. And Potts might do the same. One more thought .... I have been a fan for 25+ years and don't really recall any cases of freshman burnout. Same for VB where several freshmen have been full time players as freshmen and have gone on to four full years of great production. As elsewhere on this forum, I am not suggesting that anyone is "wrong" - it's just interesting to consider points of view and see where they lead.

As always, I don't mean to imply that I think I know more than the coaching staff - but the substitution pattern that has confused me for a long time seemed to have given way to one that I think is far more effective. I liked the distribution of minutes yesterday with the exception that I would like to see more of #2 and #21. Both Potts and Hake had their best games yet as Huskers. Perhaps we should defer any more doubts about Hake's ability on defense. With few exceptions, she was solid all day and had a couple of defensive gems - like taking the charge from Summers. Potts - WOW! - she seems to know how to be around the ball and has the hops, quickness, and dexterity to get boards that at first look beyond her reach. Wisconsin is yet to be played but right now it looks like she has put herself in position for another freshman of the week award. Hake - tough, focused, and determined. She was effective at getting the ball up the court against pressure and future opponent coaches are going to have to take note of her ability to shoot the three. The lob passes into AM ..... they worked! She was much better at converting under the hoop possessions into points. I feel bad about bagging on players but still I will say that I don't see what the Kendalls are contributing other than giving the regulars a rest as the scheduled time outs are approaching. That's a mean thing to say. Overall, the Huskers best game of the season!

when is the actual game time? The morning LJS lists the game time as 1:00. It also lists the game time as 1:30. Huskers.com doesn't help. The various references there also contradict each other. BTN says 1:30. I am going with that one - but if it's wrong, I will miss at the least the first quarter.

Thanks, Bugs. The amount of detail is almost as amazing as the fact that it is available in almost real time. It requires that recorders never look away.

if it all continues down this path, it might end up like the Spring Game .... where the players can transfer at half time.

pulling Potts so soon - sometimes after she has barely touched the ball - really puzzles me. Only reason i can think of is to keep Coley happy.

Kennedi is coming in on a softball scholarship so that leaves another one open for BB. I wonder if there is any chance that MM will not transfer out until summer and will therefore be able to play bb the rest of this season. And even if so, if she would be less enthusiastic. After the kick in the pants that was WL's defection to TX, this adds a little more pain. Wonder if Cook will be looking for a back up middle in the portal for use in case of injury to BA or AJ.

I was there, one third of the way up and near center court, to witness this melt down in person. Well, maybe not quite a "melt down", but certainly a failure to launch anything close to execution of a succeedable game plan. Observations: by far the most noticeable factor was inability to match the speed, quickness, and mobility of KU. The guards of course, but really at all positions. offensively we need to develop ability to use the pull up jumper and the drive to the basket instead of just choosing between working the ball to the post or casting up threes. Shelly and White have shown ability to do this, but I didn't see it Wednesday night. the unfortunate and questionable 3rd foul against AM seemed more important at the time it was called than when viewed in the context of the rest of the game. IoW, when the game was over, I doubted that not having called it would have made any difference, the performances of the Kendalls were, once again, disappointing and it's surprising to me that at this point their size and apparent athleticism has not resulted in greater effectiveness. Therefore, I hope for more minutes for #2. She is a constant offensive threat and reasonably sound on defense. She may benefit from more sustained periods on the floor allowing her to really get into the flow. AM works harder than any other Husker player I can remember.

We are traveling tomorrow to Texas for a family Christmas - Lawrence is a convenient on-the-way stopover tonight to shorten drive time tomorrow so we will be seeing this game in person. I will be looking for any pods of the red clads at the Phog

yeah, and Michigan State, at 11, is still well ahead of the Huskers. Figure that out!

Lots of insightful comments here. I will try to add a few. Just re-watched the entire game - with several instances of rewind and watch it again. Main story of the game: three point shooting. Coming into this game (and disregarding quality of competition on defense) MSU was the better 3 pt shooting team. But yesterday the reverse was true. We hit 'em, they missed 'em. Everything else exists in the shadow of that. Markowski: hardest worker on the court. What a beast. Perhaps her most dominant half (against quality competition) yet. Hake: She won't make anyone's all defensive team, but it's not a glaring weakness. She is not asked to do what she can't do very well (pressure the ball handler), but she manages her court space ok once the ball gets in the half court. She has to be in the lineup to keep the ball pressure guards rested and bc of her offense. 3 pt shot - sets up quickly, smooth release, goes in often enough. Petrie: Getting better all the time. She is improving faster than the quality of competition increases. AS is not missed as much as I thought she would be and her minutes may be more limited after her return from injury. Officiating: Again, I will defend it. I re-watched carefully. There were only five calls that I would question, and two of those went in the Huskers favor. Coley: Yeah, the shots went in. Wish we could count on that. Potts: What a freshman! She has all the skills to go with her determination and enthusiasm. Roll on! Two items that won't make the stat sheet: 1) Robyn Fralick dominated the "coach onscreen cameo time" outscoring Amy Williams about 5 to 1! 2) Natalie Potts, Lindsay Krause, and Britt Prince can go together to any restaurant or event in America and convince all onlookers that they are sisters.