Fullbacksympathy

I usually like Dirk's writing. I think he's completely wrong about this take. Among the accolades arriving: Essegian - All Big 10 Freshman Morgan - All Summit Second Team Meah - All Pac 12 Defensive Team Worster - Stat stuffer at 9/5/5 in the Pac 12 Griffiths - Freak specimen and Top 50 out of HS who showed major flashes as a TFr Janowski - Top 25 SG out of HS Frager - Top in-state prospect That's a ridiculous haul already to go along with Brice and Juwan. To me it's obvious we're gaining a lot more than we lost. I really don't get the cynicism at this point.

This is the case.

SMART pickup. Think Yvan with at least a threat of an open three. Good athlete. Huge luxury as a PWO. He definitely has the athleticism to contribute down the road and give us spot minutes if we get into deep depth problems next season. Quickly developing kid who is really starting to understand his gifts.

So much this.

Exactly. One stretch 4 maybe? Another banger in the post? I'm not certain Griffiths can't be a stretch 4. I'd guess he'll roll out at about 210 next year, so two inches taller and 10lbs lighter than Gary with the same athleticism. But... Worster/Ulis Essegian/Janowski Williams/ Gary/Griffiths Meah/Morgan That's 9 deep already and probably another tourney team. The recruiting has been amazing.

Mikki Moore came to mind immediately when I watched his clips. Numbers when healthy are almost identical.

Huge get if true. He and GG will both make the league IMO. We have an elite passer at PG to throw lobs. And a defense that runs off threes and forces help. This dude is a different world of help in the paint than we’re used to. Reminds me a ton of Mikki Moore.

A lot of yall are forgetting what 7’1” with hops looks like, I promise. It’s not 6’9”.

Mesh had a healthy junior season. Like 8pts, 7rbs, 1.5blks per game. He’s no slouch. Good athlete at that height too. Altered shots don’t show up on the stat sheet but they matter big time.

Just noticing this. Interesting if Igor hasn’t committed to Tenn yet. Maybe there’s an angle here.

Rhule absolutely nails it—you recruit kids that want to be there, period. This philosophy doesn’t really matter when you get the kid, but it certainly helps for continuity. Keisei wasn’t a freshman, but he wanted to be here and stay here. Gary, BW, Mast, Griesel, etc. all wanted to be here and it showed in how hard they play.

See what I quoted for context. Not the OP. I was talking about boosters eventually being tired of ponying up for NIL and Nebraska will probably have the most loyal ones.

Essegian isn’t a specialist. He’s an all around player. Tough to do anything well with an injured back. Assuming he’s 100% to begin next season we just got an absolute steal and a definite contender to start at the 2. Either way, if healthy, I expect a huge contribution, and we’ll have him for a couple years.

Monster recruiter.

There’s gotta be some truth to this speculation. The thing is, if it’s a race to the bottom, Nebraska would be my pick of last ones to lose their support. No one is obsessed more than our fans. We’ll probably start winning chips in multiple sports because other programs can’t keep up with our insatiable fandom/NIL. We don’t have the #1 NIL, but compared to our reach and performance of late, it’s wildly disproportionate in our favor. I don’t think college athletics will go away, but it will likely die down a little compared to now.

His freshman tape might be a better indicator of his upside. He had a hell of a season when healthy. I'm guessing Fred is pulling out all the stops here. I'm not sure he's a bench player when healthy. Pretty natural 2 guard.

Worster is crafty and physical, particularly in P&R. Gets in the paint and sprays it around at will. Just not a great outside shooter. He is a true primary ballhandler and creator. A lot of his 10ppg are at the rim/line. I think the incoming shooters really help Brice/Worster with space. Morgan is very good off the dribble for a 5. I expect another big jump from Gary with his ballhandling in 1v1. GG is a good leaper and willing finisher if he puts on some weight. The kid that might fit your description best could very well be Janowski. He is a problem 1v1 - great shooter, physical, and extremely crafty in drawing contact. Might not be textbook quickness drives from the wing, but his midrange post iso game is very impressive. Three level scorer.

Agree. I don't understand his reduction in minutes this season at all. He made the B1G All-Freshman team. Gard is dumb.

Hyper athletic guys aren't always that skilled, but I think we do have two dudes who can guard a quick PG now. We didn't have that last season, and when we finally went against a true NBA pg against A&M it showed. From what I can tell, Worster is a very good perimeter defender and a big body who has no problem punishing smaller players on the other end. Ulis seems to have the capability to guard the perimeter as well. We don't currently have a great defender at the 2 but I think Brice is serviceable. He's just long and, again, will outscore about 95% of his matchups this season at 6'7". As for the transfers from other programs, it really depends on what the team needs are going to be and what their situation was. The kid from Nova got recruited there by an all time great in Jay Wright and then had to play for someone mediocre when he arrived. The kid from Wiscy was getting spot minutes for all star prick Greg Gard, but it looks like he has a higher ceiling to me, and he blew up Nebraska when we played there this season. I think he also can be serviceable as a perimeter defender. In both instances, as specialists, they are almost certain to be able to get a decent paycheck to go somewhere else. The all conference caliber mid-majors are trying to put their play on film at the high major level and also get a paycheck likely higher than any Euro team would ever offer them.

100% accurate. He is a hustle guy who can heat up and plays very fast in the half court coming off of screens. Another court-stretcher that has to be accounted for. Not a starter most likely, but he should fit right in.

A better one. We're adding a big PG with elite passing and solid defense in addition to Ulis who is a good PG. We're adding a 6'8" guard who has an NBA future and will undoubtedly find his shot with Fred. We're adding a skilled, athletic 6'10" center who was all conference and can stretch the court. We're likely adding another solid 6'4" guard from Wisconsin who is a 3pt specialist. We're likely going to get Kyle to help with our front court athleticism. We have a chance to land Milicic as another versatile weapon at 6'10" who can play the 4-5. In all seriousness, I think the most important thing Fred is looking for is skill. All of these guys outside of maybe Kyle (who is tremendously skilled defensively) can handle the ball and shoot. Typically skilled players have learned a lot and worked on their game on their own a lot, which probably means they have a high IQ and work ethic to match their skills. Coach's dream. Defensively, our system requires smart players but it's so help heavy it's basically a zone which typically makes up for some lack of athleticism. I think Fred is looking for long players who can fill it up on offense with the hope that their length creates problems in our hybrid defense. Brice is like this. Mast is like this. Gary is probably the only player left that doesn't quite fit this mold exactly but he has really worked on his offense, and he was already an elite defender, so he still fits in very well. I'm intrigued.

Here’s him going for 25/12/12/6 Stl playing point center this season. I’ll never be ok.

I think we need a big and a wing and to be a little better than last season. Sam Hoiberg is an awfully good insurance plan at guard though. I really don't mind him being in the rotation at all. I wish he was a point guard offensively, because defensively he can guard the hell out of the perimter.

Very apt comparison, and also an NBA player.

Hausen is a straight up 3pt specialist. He’d be a great threat off the bench with enough size at 6’4”. He made 61 threes last year at 17min a game at 38%. KT made 76 threes at 26min a game at 37%. So to say Hausen is a gunner is an understatement. He’s gotta love the green light/system KT put on film (not nearly the bag but H is probably as good of a shooter at high volume, which is to say elite).