Fullbacksympathy

Thor. Allen.

Start Thor.

A coach can know a 3-2 defense can be attached with a 2-1-2 offense. I watched us match up with 5 guys around the perimeter two straight possessions and shoot a 40 footer at the buzzer. Any decently coached offensive team has the ability to recognize zone defense and run a go-to set against it. Well coached offensive teams can’t generally be defended with a zone at all. We get murdered by zone every time.

Outscored 17-2 by their bench in the 1st. Mind blowing.

Credit Palmer for drawing a lot of fouls this half. Also credit Palmer for going from automatic at the line to a complete liability. It’s like if Shaq was a talented SG. We are forcing them to Hack-A-Palmer against their will and it’s working... for them.

It’s hard for me to tell what we work on offensively in practice.

We played hard. Roby completely outplayed Happ. I thought he showed great leadership last night and I was really proud of him stepping up. Tom was good in the first half. Watson was MIA and JPJ continued his inefficient hero ball offensively. Nana continued his streak of worthless shooting. We don’t have a chance when those things happen now that Cope is out. I didn’t understand the wholesale subs. There’s absolutely no reason to have 2-3 reserves in at the same time. Having said this, until Nana can make a shot, Thor should get his minutes. I thought TB was decent and BH had some decent defensive moments (and a couple of understandable lapses). I’m not sure what the solution is at this point. Making a friggin shot is the difference. I’d like to see Tom do what JPJ is doing because a lot more of his shots would go in.

His role is pretty operational based on the description. It would be super tedious to replace him given what he oversees. The home games I’ve been to were very smooth and entertaining experiences, and I’m pretty sure he’s overseeing that experience. I don’t think his job has anything to do with the basketball product on the court.

One small measure of optimism: I’m interested to see how we fare as a team with traditional looking lineups. TB - Heiman Roby - Nana JPJ - Harris, maybe Thor Allen - Harris Glynn - Harris ^^ Speaking specifically to the front court, it does resemble a B1G team size wise, and considering we’ve been getting our asses handed to us on the glass, maybe this will shake out differently than expected. Roby should be especially interesting. I’m intrigued.

Agree. If Nana comes in and doesn't hit shots, I would much rather have Amir getting those minutes for his defense and ability in transition. I also wouldn't be opposed to Thor getting spot minutes here and there instead of Nana. If Nana is hitting shots, he's really, really effective for us because he such a willing rebounder to boot, but he isn't a great lateral defender and shouldn't be handling the ball.

Lue had to install a different philosophy on both ends of the court and get the players in good enough shape to run the system in the middle of the season. Rather than look at the overall record, look at how they finished: 16-5 in the playoffs, 3 of which were losses to what was at the time arguably the best team ever. Blatt's system was never going to beat Golden State.

I think he'd use his acumen as Nebraska's best point guard ever--all conference and a first round draft pick, his two NBA championships as a player under Phil Jackson, his decade plus playing career, his time as a lauded assistant under another NBA championship coach (Doc Rivers), and his championship level coaching at Cleveland which got him the mid-season recommendation from the smartest player ever because of how well he relates to players. When Lue took over and coached Cleveland to an impossible championship in 2016, he completely changed the offense from what Blatt was doing midseason to his preferred up-tempo offense against LBJ's wishes, got the team in better shape, and had them playing great defense by the time Game 7 rolled around. With that system, they would've won two more had KD not joined the Warriors. Of course it takes great players to win championships, but it takes great coaching as well. They aren't mutually exclusive, as you seem to be indicating. Hopefully that helps.

I would take Lue immediately if he was interested. He wasn’t hand picked by Lebron because he was a minion. He was already a well respected assistant in the league. We’d be crazy to pass on a championship coach with that many connections to the league. There is also a built in respect that incoming recruits have for coaches who were elite players.

And, again, he’s a great coach better person—humble and authentic. Also, he spent 12 years st OSU with zero qualms about being second fiddle to football. OSU was maybe the quietest dominant basketball program I can ever remember under his watch.

Understood. I don’t think hiring coaches is nearly as complicated as some might make it out to be. Either they have a track record of skills and a reputation for being a decent human being, or they don’t. We could only possibly lure a currently fired, formerly winning coach or take a risk on a mid major that has had like one great season. No one is coming here as a lateral move. Matta’s situation is entirely different from either of those two scenarios. There are probably a handful of Craig Smiths though, but none with Nebraska ties.

I don’t know. Georgia got a meeting with him a year ago. He at least heard them out. There’s a lot to like about the facilities + low expectations here, and he has a ton of Midwest connections.

To his credit, it was a GREAT catch.

Matta is a top 10 coach when healthy, and that’s not even remotely a hot take.

If Matta’s back issues are healed up, Nebraska in general would be a good fit for his understated personality. He almost seems Nebraskan. He was incredible at OSU, and a phenomenal recruiter. I also like the Craig Smith idea. He’s a players’ coach if there ever was one and has proven he can run a program. Beyond those two, yikes. I’d rather a miracle happens down the home stretch.

That also tends to correct itself with more PT and speed adjustment.

Sort of that, but I honestly think BH is a better fit on both ends of the court for what TM wants. With enough time on the court, he could be giving us decent production this season in a few games.

Agree. He's a major liability on both ends if he's not hitting threes.

Brady at the 5. I think he can adjust to the speed and be able to switch on screens. He can block shots too which would help our transition game from D to O. TM will never do it, but...

Quiet, professional, model of consistency with zero off the court issues. Thanks for some great memories, Cope.

34% at home with decent execution is an anomaly. If we keep moving the ball and being aggressive, they’ll fall and we’ll get to the line. I have absolutely no problem w TM’s subs in the first half, unlike the commentators. Hopefully it’ll pay off with 2nd half energy.