Coaches kid

Can you imagine what a team with several Thor-like basketball IQ's would do in Fred's system?

He even battled on defense a few times

Like this start to the second half. Seriously, with Fred's offensive schemes, this team is gonna be way better with a few guys who can finish at the rim or shoot - Allen, Banton, Stevenson et. al, hopefully. Glad we haven't laid down.

You are dead on. We are limited as to what we can do defensively this year. When we have more size/athleticism on the floor (next year, hopefully), Doc will be able to develop more sophisticated defensive game plans. It did appear to me that we competed and played hard. Had Wisconsin merely shot 40% from 3, we would have given them a real scare. We were able to break them down pretty consistently, which is not something you see teams doing against Wisconsin very often.

Have looked at that clip multiple times, and, not knowing for certain what our game plan was, this opinion may be misguided. My apologies if my assumptions are incorrect, because I don't like to call out our guys because I root for all of them and I know that to err is human. It appears Cross was also a culprit of Cam's lapse here, as he is sagging in the lane waiting for Cam to catch up to the cutter. Had Cross been able to slide out towards #15, he could have switched out on to Kopp and at least have challenged that shot. Just shows the systemic nature of playing defense and what happens when one guy doesn't do his job. Mental lapses are one thing and everybody that has played has had them. Loafing and not busting your butt to correct the error is another thing. With our razor-thin margin for error, this cannot happen if we want to be competitive. When we don't lock in on defense, we simply don't have a chance to win. Once again, it could be that Cross was not to leave the lane and wouldn't have been switching, and maybe Cheatham was not supposed to be sagging so much, given that Kopp was one guy we did not want to leave open.

Think you hit the nail on the head. Jervay is having to deal with not being "the man." My observation is that Jervay sometimes predetermines that he is going to "get his" when he hasn't touched the ball for a few possessions. Forcing it, rather than reacting to the situation before you, leads to bad shots, turnovers and wasted possessions. As the season progresses, we'll need him to step up at some point in time. With his athletic ability, he could be a good defender, but there have been a number of times when he plays D for 20 seconds and then goes matador. Thing is, if he changes his mindset and commits to playing tough defense and rebounding, he could see some extended playing time and his offensive struggles might work themselves out. Hope he resolves to committing to giving 100% to what the coaches are asking of him and that he becomes a productive member of the rotation.

It will be very interesting to see which pieces from this roster are part of our plans next year. Still have a feeling that some guys who are major contributors in the current rotation won't be here next year. We need not only scorers/shooters, but competitive guys who are gonna sell out on both ends of the floor. This would be akin to Frost's desire to have football players who love the game and are winners. It's really about dudes with the right mentality who won't sulk or need to have their egos constantly stroked. We have too many guys right now who will defend for 15/20 seconds, but end up playing matador defense later in the shot clock. Also need guys who are athletically able to bang on the boards with Big 10 players. Allen can get buckets, but I'd like another shooter who will knock down open looks when Mack or Banton can get in the paint. When I watched Allen play, he was more of a scorer than a shooter, but I see his 3 point percentage In JUCO is very good. Walker and Stevenson (Allen as well) will hopefully be upgrades in the rebounding area. Hoping Mayen is a diamond in the rough. I'd still like another off guard or wing who can flat out hit 40% from 3 and not be a liability on the defensive end.

I have a gut feeling there will be some roster attrition with guys who are now in the rotation. Donovan Williams' comments about his de-commitment strengthen my suspicions. Says the staff is looking at transfers/JUCOS who can play right away. It's a tough deal, but if there is somebody out there that Fred/Matt A. believes will be better than somebody on the current roster, it will definitely not surprise me to see somebody get nudged to the curb (even if they've done some productive things this year). These guys aren't playing around. As for Norm's question about star power, it's quite possible that some of our star power for next year isn't even on the roster right now, i.e. Allen or a grad transfer. I do think Mack has star power, especially with another year of experience. Perhaps Banton or Stevenson develop to that point eventually. I will say I really do like Cross' skill set, and while raw, Ouedrago has some significant upside.

It was just so fun watching that game on Sunday. The most fun I've had at a game since the Iowa comeback last year, but even better than that because we played such a complete game against Purdue. The improvement offensively is obvious, but what I have noticed is a commitment to expending energy on the defensive end. That was something which most definitely was NOT present earlier in the year. They are paying more attention to detail and have stepped it up leaps and bounds from where we were a week earlier. While we gave up over 90 to Indiana, I felt that we played a very good game on D. We got enough stops - we simply didn't end enough of those possessions with a defensive rebound. Had we done that on 6-8 more possessions, we likely win the game. And while Purdue isn't an offensive juggernaut, they are a good Big Ten ball club which will win some games against the top half of the conference. While I know we'll still struggle at times, it will be enjoyable watching this team if they sell out and play hard. These games have gotten me more emotionally invested.

Only saw the first half. I thought we got some quality looks at the basket. I didn't think we looked outclassed by Georgia Tech. Perhaps I'm too much of a glass half full guy, but I believe we are gonna get some surprise wins. This won't be a throw away year. Wins may be hard to come by, but the experience our guys will get paying in the Big Ten will pay dividends in the years to come.

I'll take the W. Couple of thoughts: Ouedrago's defense and physical presence was huge in OT. For everything Cross gives us on offense, he gave it up on defense tonight. We've got to be better on-ball defenders. Cam was pretty porous tonight. Burke would play a few seconds of tough D, but he'd break down if he had to move too much. They killed us with dribble penetration and second chance points. Jervay has grown a bunch since game 1. He stepped up and played solid D on Bradford at the end of the game. His confidence is growing. Defense is, in large part, mentality. Many of our guys lack that toughness and persistence on D, and obviously, on hitting the glass. Hoping that Doc can get a bit of that ingrained as the season progresses. Ouedrago, I think, possesses that mindset. It was tough to see the beef sitting on the bench that won't be able to help us this year. Walker and Stevenson are big guys, and Banton is at least as tall as Walker and very long. I'm torn as to whether I want Stevenson for two full years, but just looking at him, he would help us immensely. Hoiberg is one composed dude. He is intense but never loses his cool. Glad we pulled this one out.

I hate losing, but I saw some encouraging things today. I thought S. Utah was better than UC Riverside. The Martin kid was a legit player who could help many power 6 teams. They returned four starters and they had some nice pieces. The biggest positives were Cam and Cross. Cam showed the ability to take over a game during a stretch of the second half where we needed someone to step up. When he gets more game experience and improves his shot, he will be tough to handle. With better offensive options on the court in his supporting cast, he'll be even more dangerous. Cross was also solid. He battled and showed some real talents on the offensive end. He can put it on the floor and he showed he can score in the post. Again, with experience and work in the weight room, he's gonna be a steal. Most of our production came from guys who have now played only 2 division 1 games. We will take our lumps this year, but I saw objective improvement from game 1 to game 2. I haven't seen Stevenson play, but I gotta think he is going to be a major contributor and will help out in guarding guys like Martin and giving us another viable offensive option. He will no doubt be better than what we're playing at the 4 right now. Poor Kavas has a terrible time guarding people, and I don't see him getting major minutes down the road unless he starts lighting it up from 3. With Banton and Walker next year, we will take a step forward. And I'm sure Matt A. has a transfer or two in his sights, so more help will likely be on the way. i will embrace the suck for now and will trust that Fred will take us to another level in the not so distant future.

It was short-lived, but it did happen. Ouedrago checked back in a minute or two later.

That was ugly, but just like football, I will trust the process. It appeared UCR recognized that we had an advantage with guys who could take defenders off the dribble and decided to place their 5 man in the lane to challenge dribble penetration. We never made that guy leave the lane. They opted not to guard our 5 man out on the floor (hence the open looks for Cross). Hoiberg countered with putting Kavas at the 5, but even when we did get in the lane, we'd miss chippies or throw it away. It will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments Hoiberg will make, but hitting open shots would cure many of those ills. We also need to do a better job of stopping dribble penetration. Interested to see how we respond on Saturday.

Very good point. We're all worried about interior defense and rebounding, legitimately so. However, good perimeter and wing defenders can neutralize some of those concerns by disrupting teams from getting into their offensive sets and creating turnovers. Hopefully, Doc can devise some schemes which make guys like Burke, Cheatham and Green defensive menaces.

Moves well. Finishes with both hands. Looks like he could put the ball on the floor. Drained a three. Obviously lacks a Big Ten frame at this time, but put about 25 pounds on him and he looks like he may be a great fit for Coach Hoiberg's system. Intrigued.

Very interesting to think abut lineups and combinations. I agree with Uneblinstu that a big factor is when Stevenson becomes eligible. If Stevenson is eligible, I'd see either him or Ouedrago starting as the big, with Mack, Burke, Green and Cheatham filling out the starting lineup. The non-starter between Stevenson or Ouedrago, Kavas, Curtis and Cross would round out the 9 man rotation. Perhaps Arop will surprise, but from what I saw of him in high school (admittedly only a few games), a redshirt year would probably help him. Thor will provide some depth. I'd guess it's likely the starting 5 will be fluid prior to conference play. More important than the starting 5 will be who we'll see on the court at crunch time. I'm hoping we have a core of 3-4 guys who will stand out, with match-ups determining the other 1-2 guys on the floor. The concern I have is our ability to defend true post players. Can we handle guys like Teske and Wesson by guarding them with guys like Stevenson and Kavas? Ouedrago looks like he's got the body to hang, but can he hold his own against experienced D1 players? On the other hand, if we go small, we create match-up problems for our opponents with traditional 4/5's. It seems like Coach Hoiberg is the type of guy who likes to dictate, rather than react, to the match-ups on the floor. It would be nice to see a Nebraska team that doesn't have to fight through 5 minute scoring droughts. It should be fun to watch.

Agreed that we can't count on Kavas to guard true 5's. Even if we get Stevenson, gotta think we need a true 6'8" or 6'9" 4-5 guy to bang against the likes of Teske and Wesson in the Big 10.

As a freshman at UNL, I took a science course where we studied the GI tornadoes. I learned that the tornado that destroyed my home was anti-cyclonic. As ominous as it looked in Lincoln the other day, I have never seen cloud banks as high and black (with a weird green and yellow haze) as I saw in GI that evening. In fact, I still have tornado dreams every now and then. And yes, it does sound like a train when it's ripping off your roof.

I have a feeling that if we land Johnson, we'll go 1 big and 4 small - Mack, Green, Burke, Cheatham and Johnson (assuming Roby won't return). I see Harris and Kavas coming off the bench, but I guess I wouldn't put too much importance into who's starting and who's not. I think match-ups and who has the hot hand will dictate the lineup at any particular moment. Of the remaining question marks, I would love to see us land Ntambwe, Cross and Figueroa, but I get the feeling Ntambwe will opt to play pro if he gets favorable feedback during the pre-draft workouts. If we do land him and Figueroa, who plays for us next year will depend on NCAA waivers. I think landing Johnson would be huge because there are going to be games, especially in the Big 10, when we need a legit post defender and rim protector. Hoping that if we get Cross, he could be that type of player down the road. Very encouraged by what has transpired so far.

Hope that Dachon will stay and not seek a transfer waiver. He looked very good in the preseason scrimmage. If it is Hoiberg, his prior success in the college ranks, his NBA coaching pedigree, and his fun style of play, would hopefully be helpful in getting him to stay. It could be that once the new coach gets on board, he communicates to some of the recruits/current roster guys that it would be in their best interests to look for another school.

Had the same thought. Tim might be a great color commentator should he choose to pursue that vocation.

After a period of mourning our disappointing season, it's fun to return to HHC to see the passion that exists for Husker hoops. Several weeks ago, I heard what I considered to be credible information that an "agreement in principle" had been reached with Dana Altman. The reason I found it at least plausible is because it was consistent with something I heard from another person who had "first hand" knowledge of an alleged meeting somewhere "outside of Lincoln." Perhaps pieces of those stories were true and Altman used this as leverage for his contract extension at Oregon. Who knows. I've learned over time that until the announcement is made and a new coach is introduced to the public, it's all merely speculation. I am not even close to being an insider. Nonetheless, part of the reason it's enjoyable to discuss these scenarios is because we have such a passion for our team. The bottom line for me is that I will root for the success of whoever happens to be the coach next year, be it Miles or someone else. My hope would be that we could lure a proven coach who has won at a power 5 school. The exception would be for a guy who comes from a distinguished coaching tree where he has learned how to create an identity for a program and is a proven recruiter. I will say that unless we have been in discussions with such a person and it's essentially a done deal, I'd almost rather keep Miles than take another chance with a mid-major guy. I didn't feel that way until we made our run in the tournament. My other hope is that "something" happens which will convince our fan base that being a legitimately competitive basketball program is important to the UNL administration. Pure speculation here, but I am wondering whether Moos' trip West included a stop somewhere, say Las Vegas or LA, to meet with representatives for a prospective coach? GBR and let's beat Butler!!

Congratulations!! It's always nice to get re-directed to the things which are of transcendent importance.

Last time Ayala attacked Allen off the dribble with some success. Ayala is 6'5 and sturdy. We will have enough to worry about with Bruno and Cowan. Would hate to have a third guy go off. I'm thinking the odds are that we finally start making some shots. A guy has to hope, right?