All About the Corn

As fans we are disappointed or maybe frustrated with the performance on the court. I just think we could do so much more. It is like we just can get timing down. Almost like we are a step or second slow on a drive or a pass and instead of a open look we have a contested shot or the pass gets stolen. For me it is like the coaches has no answers to get this turned around.

So with Helms playing last night does she miss out on a redshirt? So what do you say when it has been said here repeatedly?

Kate is on a tear right now on the defensive end.

So if this is open to D1 players would it not be smart of this staff to send Haiby, and or Helms to such a camp?

OK so I have a question, maybe someone on this board may know the answer. In football they have quarterback camps for D1 players. They work with them on their throwing motion, footwork, etc. In volleyball they have a setters camp for D1 players. I know at time time Kayla Banwarth went as they was not sure if Sydney Anderson was going to be able to play so they sent her. So my question is do they have point guard camps for D1 players?

I would not get to hung up on WNBA talent. Yes Kelsey Jordan, and Lindsey all made it to the WNBA. With Kelsey, they tried to make her a 3 forward and she really is a 4 forward. Her game is closer to the basket. When injuries forced Conn. to play her in her natural position she did well. She has found great success down under. Jordan has had moments in the WNBA but has had better success overseas. Lindsey spent really only one year in the WNBA and was lucky enough to be part of a championship team. Yes it is nice to have talent that gets considered for the WNBA but I think you really have to fit into the way they play the game to be successful in that league. I do think we have maybe one or two currently that could be successful in the WNBA. I do think we have enough talent here to be successful. Yes we are missing some pieces namely a PG but I do think we could be doing more with what we have.

Romeo wanted to take those shots or a game winner if you will. When all the stuff was coming down about Connie, Romeo was there taking a leadership role in the papers. Granted she ended up leaving but she was not afraid to speak up. Leaders are those players that may call a players only meeting when things are not going the right direction. Or when a player(s) step outside what is expected of them. It can be more meaningful coming from a peer than a coach sometimes. Maybe if we had that a couple of years ago a player would not had been rumored to be making midnight runs for Big Mac meals.

So being able to only listen to the last bit of this game, and reading the comments here it sounds like a broken record. I think a lot of it can go back to player leadership, and what is coming from our coaches. We just do not have great leadership on the floor. It has been talked about Hannah, or Nicea wanting the ball in their hands when the game is on the line and I just do not see that. I think we have had it here before. Kelsey, Hopper, Lindsey, Rachel all wanted it in their hands when the game was on the line. Whether is was to take the shot or pass it to an open player. Most times they were right in the middle of it. I do not know how or when our team captains are chosen but if I was Amy I would choose them during the off season and let them take ownership at that time. With only one senior next year in Kate who by the way I love seeing her show some attitude on the court maybe Taylor and Leigha could join her as captains. Spend time with them in the off season talking about how they have finished games that last two seasons. Really embrace the mental side of the game. Have them set the tone in the off season. It was asked earlier if the seats on Amy and the staff maybe heating up? I think they should be. If Moos are another assoc. AD will say anything I am not sure but it should be an internal thing for Amy. I think this is a critical point for her at NE. You need to start making the big dance if you want to get the type of kids here that you need. Then start to make it into the top 25 most years. I really am expecting a flat finish for the group. Maybe another win before we enter the B1G tourney. Maybe a win there and then a quick exit for the WNIT which I think we will get an invite to. I hope I am wrong about the finish to this year but it really is trending south.

This is just what can be seen. I remember back in my high school days (early 80's) that some of the girls were not above dirty play. It most likely hasn't changed much today.

OK so Helms has seen court time in 7 games so she could play in two more. I say get her the time out on the court until she can no longer play.

First let me say it was nice to see the energy from Q2 on and especially in the second half. That last couple of plays where Hannah threw the ball away appears Kate was thinking she was going to shoot and ready how often does she drive and look to pass? If Kate had stopped and the pass was on it could have well been the go ahead score. Nicea getting the charge was one of those 50/50 calls and with the refs we had that was going to go with Indiana. Part of me thinks this staff should take notice of what and who are getting it done. I think we tend to get stagnant on the offensive end which leads to us standing on the 3 point line and then shot watching instead of blocking out. We us being down by 25 in the second and Amy looking for anything to spark our morbid play it was our three freshman on the court at the same time providing that. We also stopped standing so much. More motion to our offense and it made Indiana work harder on that end. We kept that going after the half as well. I think that also led to us having better play on the defensive end as well. Part of Indiana's bad half of play was due to what we started doing. We hit 40% or better after Q1 all IMHO going back to how we started playing. So this staff should look to this game and adjust what we are doing on offensive end. Watching some of the top teams in the B1G and they have a lot of motion to their offense. Granted some of them have a true point guard and we currently do not but it does not just need to just come from the point. I think most of us are wondering what has happened to Veerbeek. We have all talked about a change in the lineup. I think Bourne and Brown have both earned the right to start. Maybe having both Veerbook and Haiby coming off that bench can take some pressure off of them. Plus Amy in the post game with Matt said Helms is really starting to come along in practice so she should be getting court time as well. Really at this point they should just cut them loose.

Listening to Matt and Jeff last night. One of their comments was if NE was to finish 5-2 that 10 wins in the B1G would be enough to get a strong look for the NCAA tourney. They then when on the talk about 5 games against teams in the top 25 rpi. OK two of them are against Indiana so four teams but my first thought was at this point we will have a hard time coming up with two to three wins to finish conference play. Looking back to the MSU game and the poor second half was an indicator of things to come. Hoping this staff shakes things up for Sunday.

Sorry if as a newbie I got ahead and wanted to talk about Iowa. I do not have BTN+ so last night it was listening to Matt and Jeff and watching with no sound the Indiana and Maryland game. Indiana played a great first half. Third quarter they did not shoot as well and Maryland made their run. Plus the pressure from Maryland started to get to them. I think we have a very small chance to beat Indiana. They do so many things well on the offensive end. In fact it would not surprise me to see a double digit loss on Sunday. Listening to Matt and Amy on the post game when Amy made the "brain fart" comment my first thought was are you talking about the players or you and your staff? It almost seems like she feels they have put the players in a position to win but they are not following the game plan or just not getting the shots to fall. It's going to be a rough finish.

So after a couple of games where Veerbeek has been a non factor lets hope she brings her "A" game tonight.

With all that was going on in Yori's personal life which ultimately led to her divorce, I feel for her trying to deal with that plus manage our WBB team. It was in her best interest to step down and put her family first regardless of what the AD, or staff, or players said about her. It was great to see the response she received earlier this year. As this is Amy Williams fourth year she should have her Culture in place. With no changes to her staff it should be a smoothly run program with progress being made. That said this program could be at a turning point. How does she and her staff get this pointed in the right direction. As we have talked about here on the board, it is like a broken record. The same things said over and over. If this team sputters to finish the year then I think she needs to make changes and that starts with her staff.