Fullbacksympathy

Pitch with a couple of really nice plays. Glad to see it. Someone needs to get him angry or something. Kid is so talented at that size.

75 66 good guys

68-62 good guys

Really like the lineup of Smith, Shields, Parker, Rivers, Pitchford.. pretty balanced bunch, good execution. That's a very coachable lineup, and really solid defensively.

80-58 good guys

Wonderful news. Keep fighting kiddo.

80-58 Good Guys

I think he's a tweener due to his lack of perimeter quickness. I'm hoping he can bulk up some more and become a stretch 4. He's a good rebounder, but probably not quick enough to guard the perimeter at this point, and Miles wants versatile defenders who can guard 1-3 if need be. I think Fuller could help us if we play zone or need a zone buster. Not sure beyond that at this point. The kid has a great looking shot though.

I expect us to have one of the best home court advantages in the country again. We'll get a lot (like, a ridiculously high percentage) of wins at home and steal a few on the road. That'll keep us in good position to succeed every year really.

He won't help us at all this year. http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/09/nebraska-loses-freshman-forward-to-season-ending-knee-injury/ That's not referring to Hammond.

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.