Fullbacksympathy

Looks like a ranked team to me. Pitchford looked the most NBA ready of the bunch to me (and he's not ready). He's doing things at his size that only a couple of players in college can do offensively. Petteway is fine. He's still doing jaw dropping things with the ball and playing fantastic defense. Shields looks great on both ends. Benny looks majorly improved offensively, both as a facilitator and shooter. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out because his defense is still remarkable. Fuller has nearly flawless form on his jumper, and it goes in. I hope he can figure out how to get open when game time comes though. He was getting eaten alive on the perimeter. I like his willingness to rebound. Could be a great zone buster. Moses is a good defender. He'll help us. He got worked a couple of times by WP but those shots were contested. He's a lot calmer defensively than I anticipated, and that's a good thing. I like what he brings to the table, though it'll be entirely on the defensive end. Tarin is a hell of an addition. You can see his IQ all over the court. He's going to be a great facilitator and help balance our scoring. He's a good enough shooter too. He's not the defender Benny is (who is?), but it's obvious he's been coached well (duh) and will be effective at both ends. Very athletic. Tai should be lauded for his conditioning. He looks a full step faster and stronger than last year. I still don't know what to do with him though. He doesn't look like a 1 or a 2 to me. He looks like a 1.5. That can be good and bad. Defensively though, I think he can guard 1-3 now (he couldn't really guard the 1 last year), which is fantastic. I'm just not sure where he fits in offensively. I'm excited to see how the coaches use him. He kind of reminds me of Cookie Belcher right now. Rivers looked like Rivers, which is a compliment. I still think he starts. I really wish I could see Hammond. I think he'll play this year. So much depth. So many options with lineups. Very exciting times.

If I had to roll out a starting lineup now (based on speculation for a couple players), I'd say: Starters/Bench T. Smith/Parker Petteway/Webster Shields/Fuller Rivers/Hammond Pitchford/Abraham Nice looking squad, regardless of how it shakes out.

Interesting post with regard to Miles involvement with Rivers' improved productivity. There was a lot of criticism on here of Miles at the time he cut Rivers' minutes, particularly from one certain poster. This is certainly a different perspective. I was definitely one of those critics. That said, he went from 1rpg to 7rpg in the same minutes once he cracked the starting lineup again. I really believe he was the difference and, in hindsight, I think Miles did an amazing job motivating him. It was perfect timing.

Rivers should start, or at least get a 25+ min a game. Benching him as a wakeup call before starting him @ MSU was the best personnel move TM made all season. DR is a very underrated player. Good rebounder, great defender, nice midrange jumper, and our toughest player.

^^^That jumped out to me as well. Super developed post game with both hands. He actually seems pretty athletic from a coordination standpoint. Let the S&C get a hold of him and a lot of those layups will be dunks. Tons of upside here from an already skilled player. He's been coached well.

So there are exceptions, but teams like Iowa are generally the rule.

SMU beat UConn twice, Memphis, and Cincinnati. 16-1 record at home. 27-10 overall. They should've gotten in.

Iowa was ranked going into March 8 and lost 6 of their last 7. They were .500 in conference with a 1-5 record against ranked teams. No way should they have gotten in. Their "potential" got them in.

We started off with some tough losses last year: Umass, UAB, Creighton, Cinci. I think at least split those sort of games this year. That should give us more momentum heading into conference play. Additionally, I think we'll be much likelier to be ranked or almost ranked throughout the season. It makes a big difference when you're hovering around the Top 25 come Selection Sunday. Remember how bad everyone seemed to want Iowa in last year? They had absolutely no reason to be in consideration based on performance. I think we'll be better than last year, regardless.

LJS article said Miles sees him as a stretch 4 per Morrow. I think that's where he'll play for sure.

Shawn Marion.

I don't see how we wouldn't have a shot at winning it all with such few roster deficiencies. UConn was third in conference last year and won on the back of a late NBA first rounder and a D-League big. They didn't have overwhelming talent, but they had enough to contend. I think we'd have something similar. We're looking at the very real possibility of a Top 10 recruiting class for '15 with one more commit. We're not getting overachievers or projects anymore, though we're conditioned to such a thing.

Given the squad we have currently and the influx of young talent (possibly super-talent), if Petteway stays, would we be a national title contender? Did I just write that?

Unreal. TO was the best AD ever for that hire. Glad to get this kid. He certainly looks special. I particularly love his demeaner. Quiet, smart, non-pretentious, no twitter, and lets his play do the talking.

Well piss.. I read the wrong thing. My mistake.

Dinger can ball though. Averaged more PPG than Petteway. I hope Walt's up to the challenge against him this year when we play them. Damn he would've been good with this bunch.

I just love how mean he is. He plays the game the right way. He has a very high around-the-basket IQ. Freak athlete, yes, but also looks like he has super intelligent instincts. He's a step ahead, mentally, when he finishes. Also, no Twitter, etc. He doesn't seem to care about superficial attention like a lot of recruits. The Nebraska fan base would absolutely love him.

Andrew Drevo: 6'8" 250lbs Led the team in rebounding and three point shooting He'd be our Kevin Love Still playing pro ball overseas. Dude was solid.

Petteway -- TTU Pitchford -- UF AWIII -- KU Moses -- Gtown I'm liking what I'm seeing regarding the future of Nebraska basketball free agency aquisitions. I can't imagine ISU is getting guys much better than this caliber at this point. I'm going to go out on a whim and say that the transfer (assuming academically eligible) is a lower risk than a high school kid only because a transfer has proven his worth at at the D1 level. Plus, a 2-3 year veteran is usually better and more physically ready than a 4-star fr recruit. I'm seeing ISU as a Top 5 team next year. It's a pretty amazing system they have. As far as being excited about what schools we are acquiring these guys from, I'd say that Pitchford has actually been the biggest get. TM got him from UF (which I would call arguably the best program out of the ones listed) after a losing season. That's pretty incredible. AWIII is an awesome get too, but we're a tournament team now. It's time to get used to winning and being considered. Soon, we'll be used to getting commits. So, I wonder what the plan is going forward regarding transfers, because it certainly appears TM has gone down the ISU path. Are they the solution or the band aid until we're recruiting 3-4 stars consistently? Or will it continue to be a combination. Either way, it's working.

We'll be a basketball school soon. The writing is on the wall. I couldn't be happier.

Fantastic get.

Rivers, like Parker, is proof that defensive specialists are almost as valuable as great offensive players. You need both. He's a very versatile defender and a good rebounder. Glad we have him.

Based solely on the film, sign him up. Freak athlete. I think he could definitely contribute and give us a really interesting look at the 4-5. Looks like he could outrun most bigs easily.

Nothing wrong with a stretch 4 option. Infinitely different skill set than Morrow. Also, he's a coach's kid, book smart, and already weighs 220. He'll be fine. Not a star, but a good role player.

Shields is the only stretch?? Walt isn't? Frye was a top 100 recruit that started as a freshman for a major program and - I believe - received all conference recognition every year before becoming a lottery pick. That's not a stretch? I certainly think Walt will continue to develop, but thinking he has the potential to be a top 10 NBA selection (or ANY selection at this point) is a major stretch. Also, did we get a backup KU guard?? I didn't say Pitchford would be as good as Frye, but play the same style. I'm not sure how anyone who sees his shooting ability and skill/athleticism at his size wouldn't assume an NBA prospect after 2 more years at the college level. I believe it's up to him. I didn't say top 10. Petteway isn't even top 10. We don't have a backup KU guard yet, but I agree with the philosophy to try and land one over most HS projects. It seemed to work last season, and definitely has been working for Hoiberg. I think the hysteria some proclaim for Miles' recruiting is nuts based on the evidence he's already put forth--that's my main point.