Jacob Padilla

Where did you see those numbers? What I see on Sports-Reference is Nebraska has had 30 out of 627 shots blocked this season (4.4%). Still needs to get better, but it's not nearly as bad as last year (8.3%). Nebraska has blocked 35 of its opponents' 619 shot attempts this season (5.7%).

Actually, I believe they're middle of the pack. They're getting their shots blocked about half as often as last year. Nebraska has blocked more shots than it's had blocked this year (including in the Big Ten games).

The point is nothing is going to change until they can start making shots. It's not as simple as "pass the ball more." Until guys can actual make layups and hit open 3s at a reasonable rate, I don't really know what Hoiberg can do. Great ball movement didn't lead to any different results than guys going ISO last night. They can't generate any interior offense because there are three guys in the paint any time a Husker steps inside the arc with the ball. No matter what the coaches are saying or what the guys think going in, it's hard to trust in the system and your teammates when it doesn't work and they don't come through. This team is just in a bad place right now and the Ohio State game was the culmination of all their issues showing up early and often after a lot of competitive efforts, and it seemed to break them. They've got a day to figure it out and find a way to prevent that game from starting a trend.

But even when the ball does move they can't make the shot. They missed a lot of good looks against Ohio State.

He's just not very quick. Having other poor defenders around him doesn't help, but he'd have a problem moving his feet and defending in space no matter what team he was on.

Since we're a third of the way through the season, I figured now was a good time to take a deeper look to compare how this year's team compares to last year's. I used shot location and percentage numbers from Hoop-Math.com. Figured some here might find it interesting.

Nebraska only took 20 3s, and a few of Teddy's were desperation shots late in the clock after they failed to create anything else. Nebraska shot 18-44 (40.9%) inside the arc including 10-24 on layups and 1-2 on dunks per the live stats. The Huskers missed their first 10 2-point shots of the second half. And a lot of the time when Dalano tried to create off the bounce he ended up taking really hard in-between shots, most of which he missed (6-14 inside the arc). It's not as simple as "stop shooting 3s and take more 2s." They're not good at 2s either right now, and they're obviously not good at the free-throw line either.

May I ask why you call him that?

Nebraska sets a lot of "ghost screens" where the screener moves as if he's going to set the screen but then slips it instead. It's supposed to create confusion for the defense - should they switch/hedge/etc. or not? - to either create a driving lane for the ball-handler or get the screener free on the pop. Hoiberg did say somewhat recently that they need to start setting more solid screens instead of going for the slip every time, though. I'm not sure what the call or read is to determine a ghost versus a solid screen.

I definitely think some people are too down on Teddy in this thread. If the floor-spacers like Thorbjarnarson and Mayen were hitting shots, then maybe more ball movement and set plays would be a better option. But they're throwing up bricks. McGowens creating offense isn't going very well at all, Nebraska obviously doesn't have an interior option and Webster has been incredibly hot and cold. Dalano and Teddy are the two guys that can create offense with any sort of consistent efficiency, and Teddy's better at it in the halfcourt when it doesn't really look like there's much there than anyone else. How many times when Teddy forces up something do you think Nebraska would actually create a better shot from someone else? Tough to say. Nebraska just doesn't have enough guys playing well right now, and the overall offense is suffering because of it. Disregarding Andre and Lakes because of the small sample size, Webster and Banton are the only ones ahead of Allen in terms of eFG%, and Webster's is on a much smaller sample size; it seems like Kobe's been mostly an all-or-nothing player recently (20 on 9 shots against GT, 5 on 9 possessions against CU, 12 on 7 shots against Doane, 0 on 3 shots against Wisconsin). The free-throw shooting is absolutely a problem and he needs to find a way to get it fixed; if he was even shooting 76% (which would equal six more makes so far) he'd be right with Banton in terms of TS% at around 56-57%. Basically, I think some of the way Teddy is playing is more a result than a cause. If guys start hitting shots around him or another playmaker emerges, then I think we can focus in more on Teddy's issues.

Chucky said Oregon and Creighton were two of his dream schools growing up. Wisconsin recruited him harder than either of the local schools, selling him on becoming the next Jordan Taylor and playing alongside Matthew Mors (who both local schools cooled on as well). I think Chucky would have been just fine staying home if things had played out differently.

Lat is definitely more of a wing than a post, though he might just be a stretch-four and not much more versatile than that based on what he's shown so far. The ball-handling and ability to attack closeouts and shot diversity has probably been a little disappointing based on what we heard about him, and I'm not sold on his mobility on the perimeter defensively against guards and wings. I think the "out of position" thing has more to do with him defensively and the toll that takes on him; theoretically, Lat at the five should give him an advantage on offense if the other team is guarding him with a center because it should make it easier for him to get open since big guys often aren't as comfortable on the perimeter. They don't use Lat like a center on offense even when he's at the five.

I know several attempts to revolutionize the way we talk about players by role more so than traditional position have been made in writing, but "guards, forwards and centers" is so ingrained in our basketball lexicon and is more straight-forward than "primary initiator," "rim-runner" or other more descriptive terms that it will be difficult to change the overall discourse.

See, I think of the "wing" terminology pretty much refers to everyone who isn't a primary ball-handler or a post player. More specifically, I see 3s/perimeter 4s/non-handling 2s (as in more spot-up-type guys than combo-guards) as wings. I think size fits into it a bit as well; 6'5" to 6'8" is probably typical "wing" height in my mind. Guards, forwards, centers is a the traditional breakdown. Point guards, wings and bigs I think is a bit more descriptive and fits the current game a little better, but even that is too generic.

At this point, one of the biggest problem is Thorir isn't hitting shots and teams are latched onto Lat. Trey's shooting a good percentage but it's low-volume, and he 5-5 in two games and 3-15 in the other four. I don't really think teams are worried about him as a shooter at this point. Teddy and Dalano are your two best players and neither one is giving you spacing, and when you play them together along with Trey, there's just not going to be a ton of spacing. I'll be curious to see if they maybe try to run a bit more pick-and-roll once Walker is eligible. If he can be more reliable as a roll man than Yvan has been and free up Lat to play the four, then that could generate some good offense. As for Jefferson (missed that comment before), a small forward = wing, no? He's 6'5", he handles the ball on the perimeter and he shoots the 3. He's just athletic enough to hold his own at the 4 with Creighton playing small-ball, so they list him as a forward. He's not any different than Shamiel who Nebraska lists as a guard.

That is really good company and I appreciate the compliment.

I mean, everyone on the team calls Banton their point guard, he plays point guard on offense and he's defended basically every position on the court. Zegarowski plays off the ball too when Mitchell is in the game with him, so would that qualify him to be considered a wing? We're just arguing semantics here, I suppose. FWIW, Hoiberg actually has had a pretty clear traditional-esque point guard every season of his career except for year two with Royce White. I'll hear the argument for those guys having more potentialconsidering the experience gap, but they still have a ways to go to polish their games. Ballock, Jefferson and Mahoney have all pretty clearly been better than McGowens throughout his career to this point; he's just not been a very efficient offensive player and while he's capable defensively, I don't think he's been a game-changer on that end. Teddy's capable of putting the team on his back, but there's a lot of negative that comes with what he's giving you right now as well, just like with McGowens. Teddy and McGowens have the edge in drawing fouls, but Mahoney and Jefferson are just much more efficient (better shooters, better passers, typically more sound on defense) and the total production is about the same. Ballock vs. Thorbjarnarson leans heavily in Creighton's favor. FWIW, Creighton's three starting wings combined for 64 points on 20-35 FG against Marquette; the overall team defense just wasn't good enough to overcome an outlier-good shooting performance by Marquette. Creighton's roster certainly has its flaws, and I never said any of their wings were All-Americans, but I also don't think Nebraska's wings are playing at an incredibly high level and are just being held down by the poor post play either.

Mahoney won Big East Sixth man of the Year last season and is averaging 16.2 PPG as a starter this year while shooting 42.1% from 3 with 12 assists and 4 turnovers in 5 games. Physical defender. In addition to being one of the best 3-point shooters in the country, Ballock is also a good passer and an elite decision-maker (114 assists to 32 turnovers as a junior and senior). He's a super-charged version of what Nebraska needs Thorir to be. Jefferson is averaging 11.8 points on 62.2% shooting including 43.8% from 3, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Athletic, aggressive defender. Antwann Jones is chipping in 7.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists off the bench. Who are you considering the wings for Nebraska? If Banton is the point, does that make McGowens a wing in this discussion? If so, we're looking at Allen (18.7 PPG on 43.8% FG and 31.4% 3FG, 5.8 RPG), Thorbjarnarson (3.5 PPG on 27.6% FG, 4.5 RPG), McGowens (11.2 PPG on 41.5% FG and 40% 3FG, 4.5 RPG) and Stevenson (6.8 PPG and 3.3 RPG) as the wings? Nebraska actually plays more five-out right now than Creighton does with Mayen at the 5; Bishop and Kalkbrenner aren't really shooting threats at this point. And those wings being able to shoot would certainly help create driving lanes for the other wings too, no? Isn't shooting ability part of being good at basketball? Call me a Creighton homer all you want, and I've been a Teddy believer for a long time, but I don't really see an argument for Nebraska's wings being better. That being said, Creighton's wings are all seniors and have been in that system for at least 3 years apiece; they should be further along than Nebraska's wings right now. Creighton is good because it has serious offensive threats at all five positions, and they play so well together. Zegarowski is definitely their best player, but you caught his best game of the season so far; he's been mostly off as he's working back from a knee surgery he had back in March. Right now, they're mostly rolling with balance over individual stardom; Zegarowski, Ballock, Mahoney, Bishop and Kalkbrenner have all led them in scoring already.

*Bellevue East, which is a massive difference.

Ron Harper Jr. is their best player. Baker is just the guy that gets the most attention.

That's the problem. You have four guys in the starting lineup that would ideally guard 3s and 4s. Teddy isn't terribly quick either, but I think Banton and Teddy both are probably a bit better at defending on the perimeter than Thorir is. Basically everybody in that lineup except for Trey is more effective as an off-ball defender than guarding at the point of attack. I think that's where some of the foul issues popped up against Nevada - lot of hand checks. That's probably why Doc was calling for them to be even more aggressive digging in on drivers and going for steals on Sports Nightly last night. They're going to have to defend as a team. The tradeoff is more open 3s, but teams aren't hitting them very well against Nebraska so far.

11 of Banton's 3s (and all 3 of his makes) came in that Nevada game. So beyond the outlier, he's taking 1-2 a game which is what you're asking of him. Thorir just needs to keep shooting. Either he starts hitting or he starts to lose his minutes. He's 1-6 inside the arc too, so not like he's any better there. I think McGowens is right on that sweet spot where you want him of 2-5 attempts per game. He definitely looks to be improved as a shooter, but not sure he's a volume guy. You want him attacking more.

I don't agree at all with Thorir defending quick guards. He's a smart off-ball defender but he has slow feet. You don't want him trying to slow down quick guards on the perimeter. McGowens is really the only guy they have that moves his feet really well in those kinds of matchups.

So far, Nebraska's nonconference games have been closed off to all fans, even family, for either team (I know few dads who were not thrilled by that). The Golden Window Classic allowed a small number of family/friends for the other teams in the field. It's unclear to me if that was a Big Ten, Nebraska, Lincoln or PBA decision, but the NDSU supporters imply it had more to do with the first two.