Fullbacksympathy

My guess: Watson (30+ min) Gill (25 min) / Webster (25 min) White (25 min) / Roby (15 min) / McVeigh (10 min) Morrow (20 min) / Horne (5 min) Tshimanga (20 min) / Jacobson (20 min) --- That's how I see it. I think Webster and Jacobson will rotate positions and inject strength as utility guys where we need them on any given night, and they'll earn plenty of minutes that way. I could also see Jacobson locking down the starting PF position and Morrow rotating similar between the 4-5.

He's a grad transfer. Prior to UH, LJ started his college career at Baylor. I know. He's already had 4 years of college but must've gotten a waiver due to his senior season injury.

I'd love to see us go after LJ Rose out of Houston. He's a 6'4" 4**** true PG. He had a foot injury that kept him out of most of last season, and he's visiting BYU this weekend. He must have gotten a medical waiver. Kid averaged about 10pts and 5 assists as a junior.

Most teams don't have more than one true center. I think we have plenty of big bodies. What's crazy is how suddenly enormous we are as a team. We have the potential to have a legitimate lineup of: PG - 6'4" SG - 6'7" SF - 6'8" PF - 6'8" C - 6'11" though most of the time the 6'4" will be Glynn at 6'0". I think if you take a big, you have to take a true C (6'10" or taller or a PF who weighs a muscular 240-250). We don't need any more PF. We're loaded there. But I also feel great about Jacobson giving good, energetic minutes at the 5. I'd love to see a solid, contributing, backup PG who takes care of the ball and provide senior leadership.

that Miles is the guy. This one is probably the most obvious example that TM has set a standard for the caliber of player he's willing to recruit to Nebraska. Despite all of the crap he's received, Miles stuck to his guns and decided he'd rather have no scholarship than waste it on players who can't improve the program. The addition of Jordy makes our team look completely different. I'll say it: from a talent aspect, the culture of Nebraska basketball has just changed entirely since Miles arrived. We now have a roster of: PG - 4**** SG - 4**** SF - 4**** PF - 4**** C - 3*** (some list JT as a 4****) We have other players (and probably more to come): SG - 3*** SF - 3*** 2PF - 3*** ---- What's the point in keeping expectations low? Coach em up, TM and co. That's the only question mark remaining, in my mind. GBR. p.s. -- I'm excited to see what Molinari can do with an actual defensive anchor. We're going to be a huge pain in the ass if we don't have to double the post.

Also, based on the film I've seen, Jordy can hit midrange jumpers. The kid has good touch.

Just curious why you think that? Morrow is more of a low post player only whereas Jacobson has more outside range to go along with his low post presence. I don't know that offensively we can play Morrow and Jordy at the same time. To me, that makes Morrow a 5. Why? If Jordy is on the floor he is going to be the 5. I understand that MJ has more of an outside game than Morrow, but you certainly don't need the 4 to have one. I thought a lot of the talk was about getting MJ and Morrow to their more natural spots on the floor. In my eyes, Morrow would be better as the guy feeding off the 5. If you've got a Jordy out there shadowing the other teams big, then Morrow can eat his smaller man alive on the offensive glass as cleanup man. I don't know why you couldn't play both Jordy and Morrow together. Agreed. There is power forward, and there is stretch 4, and they are rarely the same type of player. Rodman and Chris Bosh both play/ed the 4. Nowitzki and Charles Oakley both play/ed the 4. I dream of the day we have a true center and Morrow can run around wreaking havoc on both ends around the basket. When he has the freedom to leave his man and block shots across the lane on opposing 5s as a help defender as opposed to being anchored down by them on every possession, he's going to be a monster. Additionally, on offense, if we have a center who draws double teams it's going to be dunk city on followups and finishes. I see Jacobson more as a 4 able to play the 5. I've never thought of Morrow even remotely as a 5. I think our two true 4s are going to be Morrow and Horne moving forward.

Another phenomenal get from TM and co. Great pickup. Very talented player.

I hope you are pointing out that wanting exposure over winning is a problem, because all those parents with misconceptions who think their babies should be the star will kill a team. AAU is not good for the development of individual players or team ball. I don't care if you are the best player on the team, as a coach I didn't care what was best for you to advance your college "career. " I did what was best for the team I was supposed to be leading at that time. I know a coach who I respected very much who played his 6'6 player at point because he thought that would help his college recruitment as opposed to what would have been best for his team, and that would be keeping him in the post most of the time. I didn't and still don't agree with that. I felt that it was my responsibility to do what was best for US as a whole as opposed to what was best for me or any one player. I had a sports reporter tell me it was my job to get my kids in the paper. I told him that was his job. Personally I didn't care if the game were in the paper at all or even if anyone was in the stands. I wanted my kids to play for themselves and mostly for each other. And I do realize that goals and reality don't always match up. I don't think AAU makes a "development" claim nearly as much as it provides exposure for elite players to go head to head in front of D1 coaches. I agree with you 100% that a hs coach's job is to win games. My point is that elite athletes' parents have every right to do what's best for their child to get his college education paid for, especially if that child's life depends on it. I think some of the parents are very misguided as to the differences in the purpose of AAU (individual showcase of talents) vs HS (learning to play within a system as a team player and winner), and that's unfortunate. I don't want to diminish the importance of AAU though just because it doesn't develop players the same way a HS system does. The speed of the games alone in AAU are tremendous college prep, but you need both athletic competition and discipline. I do find AAU slightly more important for elite athletes to showcase their skills though, especially the ones at lower levels schools who are beating up on awful competition every game (Winnebego kid comes to mind).

I think it's important to keep in mind that great athletes make difficult plays look easy. When you get a whole court of them, they can sometimes look lazy. The NBA is definitely this way, but the players aren't actually lazy at all. They're just good. Was Larry Bird unathletic? That's his wrap. The truth is he was a 6'9" freakshow with guard skills and an unblockable shot. In the NBA, he looked like he was overcoming being slow and other athletic deficiencies. In college, he was the quick, fluid, athletic freak in almost every game. There's no way AAU is easier. Less structured? Sure. But most of those players get better numbers in the hs games. Coaching is 1/5 as important as players, IMO.

You're saying that AAU is an easier game to play than regular A/B high school basketball?

This kid could have a legitimate shot give us minutes in the offseason. He'll have a B1G PF body.

It is what it is with AAU, but to demand structure from a bunch of private, invite-only tournaments isn't necessarily legitimate. I mean, I highly doubt that players in NBA camps and summer leagues are really concerned about winning and losing as their first priority. Like many of these AAU kids, they are playing for a personal opportunity at a better life and a tremendous amount of money (cash or scholarship). AAU is much more similar to an NBA camp than a high school basketball league. Kids on the same team are often competing for the same scholarships. Hell, even at the highest levels of the NBA, players are also playing to get a fat check for a negotiated contract or pending free agency despite how important winning is to them. My point is, if you are an elite athlete, you need to legitimately be concerned about how to monetize your gifts, and that requires being seen and filling up the stat sheet. If you are going to be a walk-on, winning should be the only thing that matters. If you are a parent of a talented young athlete, you need to do whatever you can to get your baby to college. As a parent, I think winning high school basketball games (a lower level of competition than AAU, by the way) should be lower on the totem pole than exposure for your kid. Unfortunately, there are a lot of parents who have grand misconceptions about how good their kid actually is.

I highly doubt he would skip his senior year to play in the D-League. I think he's going to make the actual league after his senior year. I love that he knows he's a specialist. He has the tools to a be the Bruce Bowen model.

I like our chances with both. Not only could Jordy start as a freshman, but the roster around him is loaded. It's a no-brainer to me if we can just show him the recruits he'll be playing with. I wonder where the class of Roby-Horne-Tshimanga would rank if we land him. That's a mean 3-4-5.

Kid reminds me entirely of a miniature Jared Sullinger. I think the way Sullinger looks in the NBA will be how Horne looks in college. Horne has phenomenal footwork and offensive ability. He'll always be big boned, but if we can chisel up his body to the point where he's a threat to dunk, he might be the most talented of any of our most recent recruits. I think Horne will end up being a solid 10pt, 6 reb sort of player at the college level, which would be fantastic.

With the versatility of all the 6'7" - 6'8" players, we have several players that can play more than one position. Watson: 1 Webster: 1-3 White: 2-4 Gill: 1-2 McVeigh: 3-4 Roby: 3-4 (I'm positive he can play the 3) Morrow: 4 Horne: 4 Jacobson: 4-5 Yep... we need a 5.

I totally agree. Doc is the perfect example of why recruiting is infinitely more important than in-game coaching and prep. Doc is an excellent in-game coach, and his ability to coach transition defense is inspiring. He also regularly got the absolute best effort out of his players... And approximately none of that mattered when we played anyone with mostly 3-4* athletes. The best college coach is the best recruiter, period. Xs and Os are completely overrated at the college level. Calipari is basically a GM.

Interesting. Some wheels must be in motion big time right now (as they should be). I'm not too thrilled about losing BE and JH, but I'm guessing there's something more enticing in the works.

Recruiting is 500% more important than in-game coaching. I'd love to see us get a big man mentor who played in the league.

Give Molinari a chance to run the defense with an actual post defender. I've seen enough defensive improvements with individual players to think he's knows what he's doing, plus our players are mostly from the Chicago area now, which might have something to do with Mo.

6'9" is fine with me if he weighs close to a muscular 250lbs. Otherwise, you at least need a 6'10" body to defend the post. I agree, we have great size if we have the option to defend the post one-on-one. I'm surprised we didn't go after Michigan's Ricky Doyle (6'9" 250lbs) considering we almost landed Max Bielfeldt last year. I'm still not worried though. I think TM will get this thing done, and I think next year will be really fun to watch defensively when we don't have to double the post.

It's important to remember that Jacobson is a 4. He's pretty strong and athletic for a true freshman 4. He's not an impressive specimen when he is guarding 7'ers.

I watched Gill own NCST to send UL to the Elite Eight. He was on a team with ridiculous guard play and was still contributing important minutes as an underclassman. His situation is very comparable to AWIII. He's a starter virtually anywhere else in the country. I'd be shocked if he isn't one of the best SGs in the B1G.

Man... I'd throw Doyle an offer immediately. I was always pretty impressed with him, but he didn't fit UM that well. He's 6'9" 250, and he carries it well (strong not fat). Obviously, best case would be that we already have a couple of 5s, but I've seen that kid log quality minutes. Also, I agree that this is a great statement from Beilein who is an excellent coach and person.