Fullbacksympathy

Great. It worked. Let's just keep this thread going about how Petteway is doing from now on.

And still a stud:

I'm shifting to a more optimistic view of Palmer now that I've seen more film. He's quicker than I gave him credit for, and long. Man. We're going to field a way better team next year. I have zero doubt. If we land Brase or Agau, watch tf out.

Go after him hard. He's as good as Jacobson, and a very good FT shooter.

I think Allen will make 1-3 3s a game on 4-6 attempts. The thing that's different about him is that he has a jumper and is a good finisher around the rim, so I think he'll contribute inside the arc as well. That's where my double figures predictions come from. The kid has a true jump shot and a scorer's mentality.

Allen is a lot better player than Bohannon, so I absolutely expect at least that level of production. Given his scoring ability, I would be disappointed with anything below double figures.

WOW.

If you look at likely starters/bench vs. last year: Starters: Watson (Jr) > Watson (So) Allen < Tai (although this may be closer to a wash than some might think based on Allen's shooting/scoring ability) Copeland > Taylor Roby > Jacobson (hell, I thought Roby deserved Jacobson's starting spot last year, but this is close to a wash, I guess) Jordy (So) > Morrow/Jordy (Fr) Pretty big improvement here. Morrow is sort of the outlier, as I still think he was misused at the 5 and would've been a better 4 than Roby or Jacobson. I still maintain that Copeland is a 3, or at the very least a 3-4 swing player interchangeable with Roby. Bench McVeigh (Jr) > McVeigh (So) Taylor > Horne Nana > Gill Palmer > any walkon Okeke < Jordy/Morrow ----- A sidenote: I don't really like grouping "Ed and MJ" when referring to our transfer losses. They aren't even close to the same caliber of player. MJ just isn't that good, as much as he may deserve to be. Morrow, on the other hand, is the real deal (though flawed), and losing him sucks.

I think Allen will average low double figures. I don't think he's going to be a typical freshman at all. Being a seriously elite shooter can offset a whole lot of things. This is kid is a scorer first, and he can do it from three, he can pull up, and he has a soft floater. Playing alongside Glynn means they're both going to have a lot of open shots in transition, kickouts, etc. They remind a lot of KU's backcourt this past season.

I think this is a really smart get. This kid is a freak athlete and does nothing but make spark plays (eye opening dunks and blocks). There are going to be games where he makes one or two of those and it starts a run for us. Talk about a spark plug, and a GREAT look in practice against Jordy.

Roby is such a wild card for next year. It really depends on his shooting. I thought there were plenty of games last year when McVeigh was a more valuable player for us, and vice versa. Here's my revised lineup with a couple of assumptions: Watson/Taylor/Gill Allen/Nana/Gill Copeland/McVeigh/Palmer Roby/Blase Jordy/Okeke If you watch the film, Copeland has an SF game offensively and defensively. Don't let 6'9" fool you--dude is a wing, which actually makes him a scary good 3 prospect. I think this makes Roby our starting PF (point forward) because McVeigh can't guard the 4 in the post and Roby will abuse opposing 4s with the ball in his hands. I still see Nana as a 2 moreso than Palmer and McVeigh, though it would be as a 3 and D guy. I think he can definitely guard the 2 with his length and athleticism.

Lol.

Blase > Jacobson Morrow > Akeke Blase > Morrow It's about a wash, but if I'm looking at what Miles wants to do offensively, Blase/Akeke is an overall better fit than Morrow/Jacobson. Blase would be excellent for us if healthy. I like Akeke as a high energy sub for Jordy. Blase is a steal though, and he's capable of playing a stretch 5. So, suddenly: Watson Nana McVeigh Copeland Blase is a possibility. I don't ever recall seeing a Nebraska roster that could put 5 three point threats on the court at the same time. Wow.

I just think an extension would've been premature, pretentious, and dishonest at this point in Miles' tenure. Miles hasn't earned it, so Eichorst didn't give him one. I don't think it's about belief. I think there is a very basic agreement in place that will eventually have to come down to wins. I don't particularly want an AD in place who throws money around based on beliefs. Having said this, Miles has completely transformed the recruiting culture of Nebraska and the level of athlete we're expecting to step out onto the court. I think that's where the leniency has been to this point. Now those players are upperclassmen. Time to show he can coach. I'm pulling for him, and I think Eichorst is, too, or else TM would've been canned after this past season. Field at least a bubble team next year and I'd be shocked if the extension doesn't happen.

I think a responsible AD should wait until the recruiting process is complete before commenting on the state of the program beyond his most recent tweet regarding Miles' job next season. It is a very strong possibility that we are going to be fielding a more talented roster next year (if we aren't already) despite the recent departures. It's clearly not a part of Eichorst's leadership philosophy to do a ton of micromanaging regarding his coaches. I don't have a problem with this, and I don't know very many experts of any fields who enjoy a boss lording over their work and providing distractions. He's letting Miles be the captain of his own ship, and I have no problem with this whatsoever. In doing so, Eichorst has truly left the responsibility of job performance almost entirely on Miles. What Eichorst has done is open up the checkbook for assistants and provided TM with every recruiting luxury imaginable. That's what a good AD does. Now, I believe the job Eichorst is doing with his actual hires is VERY much up in the air at this point. The women's basketball situation is a colossal failure. I think football's fate will be decided in the next two years one way or another. But the state of men's BB is not Eichorst's fault or credit, in my opinion. If TM turns it around next season, that's still an Osborne hire, but SE will look wise for not pulling the trigger early. If TM is gone after next season, Eichorst will have a good opportunity to redeem himself with a good basketball hire. Either way, I think his decision to not give an extension to TM while also keeping him on for next year was a very good, well-thought-out decision.

Still my #1 want for 2018.

Kid is super talented... he looks like a bluechip on that film. Super mobile and great footwork at 6'10".

I think both Akenten and Palmer will be able to take it to the rack, but neither one will be reliable to bring the ball up the court or run the offense. I would've trusted Roby to bring it up this past season based on what I saw. As for Roby > McVeigh, I could definitely see that happening. Based on the film I've seen, I think it could be very plausible that Copeland and Roby play completely interchangeably on the court at the same time, position-wise. In fact, I think Roby is more of a 4 than Copeland defensively. Copeland is quicker. Roby is stronger/longer. I like the idea of Roby taking on a Shields role to some extent, but Roby is so much more talented as a passer, I just have trouble seeing that skill not being utilized. Thinking more about pick and roll, I'm thinking the best possibility is going to be Watson/Copeland. Both can shoot, both have a midrange game, and Copeland is extremely agile at 6'9". Basically, you either need 3 other 3p threats on the court or a 5 who wreaks havoc on the glass and bloodies up the baseline. I think Watson will improve as a passer, but he has a lot of Stockton in his game. Copeland lives for that midrange jumper. God I'd love to see Roby get that shot and a serviceable 3pt shot in his holster. We'd be terrifying. I actually think Jordy has potential to eventually knock down a 15 footer as well. He has a soft touch as a free throw shooter.

Thanks. Yup. I'm encouraged as well. He's not far behind Glynn. Watching the Duke/GTown game on youtube from 15-16, it's pretty clear Copeland has a stretch-4 game. He doesn't like to bang, but he is tall enough/quick enough create big matchup problems, even for Duke. He also has a hell of a midrange game with no hesitation at various spots inside the arc, and he runs the court extremely well. Defensively he's nothing special, but I think he's the kind of player that's almost always going to outscore his matchup. He's just an infinite difference from MJ/Ed at the 4. He's a face-the-basket wing first, post player second. I also think he'll be serviceable from 3.

Thanks for this. Curious if you have Georgetown's 15-16 kenpom stats.. I'd like to see how Copeland shakes out.

Good post. Offensively, I'm looking mostly at spacing as the biggest indicator of improvement. Last year, our starting lineup was usually: Glynn Tai Evan MJ Morrow Of that lineup, there is literally one player who I'm comfortable kicking the ball out to as a very good 3pt shooter, and that is Glynn (Tai was serviceable though). Well, that doesn't work, because Glynn is the PG. He can't kick it out to himself. Tai was a very good one on one scorer, but he had to get to the rim to do so, and Evan was a liability from 3. Neither Morrow nor MJ could shoot from anywhere on the court, nor had any one on one scoring ability, so all a defense had to do to stop us was either 1) play zone or 2) pack in m2m. We couldn't drive, kick out, or throw it into the post. There were no options except really difficult shots. Compare that to next year's starting lineup (with a couple of big assumptions): Watson Akenten McVeigh Copeland Jordy The first glaring difference is that if Watson, Akenten, McVeigh, and Copeland stand outside of the 3pt line, all four of them HAVE to be guarded. This leaves the possibility of a two-man game or one on one matchups with Watson (hello 18-20ppg) or Jordy (hello 10 free throws a game). If we swap Roby for McVeigh or Copeland, we can run the same 2 man game through Roby and have Watson camp out from 3. If they help, we kick to whoever for a 3, if not, we score at the rim. Suddenly, we're Wisconsin.

I keep thinking about Akenten and AWIII... I'm really struggling to see how, if Akenten can shoot at a similar 40% clip, he doesn't end up putting up double figures for us. He has all the athleticism in the world to guard at the D1 level. And, like White, he doesn't like to handle the ball, and is a good rebounder for his size. I just don't see a skill White has that Akenten doesn't already have in his arsenal. I think there are guys like Roby who have to develop an all around game in order to end up a great one, but Akenten and White have very specific skillsets that don't require a ton of development.

This would be marvelous.

In games where Jordy got 18+ minutes, he averaged double figures. He'll get 25min a game next year.

Don't forget McVeigh. He's on pace to average 11. I'm not convinced with Isaiah as a pure scorer. I think he's more of a stat filler, but if we're going to utilize him offensively, I'd love to see some 2 man pick and roll sets for him with the ball in his hands. He is a great passer, and at 6'8" and leaping ability, he can pass the ball over bigs either as a kick out or dumpoff. This is my dream for Roby/Jordy or Roby/Copeland. I agree that he was passive last year, and I think that's because he didn't have the ball in his hands enough as a distributor. I'd like to see sets where Glynn is more of an Iverson roll and Roby runs the show. A point forward totally screws with opponents defensive strategy: