aghusker

Agreed, for all who can make it to the game tonight, be loud and make all us Huskers outside of the state proud! Can't wait to see the sold-out arena on national TV tonight, and can't wait to see it in person for a game or two later this season!

Nebraska 67 FGCU 64

Regular Season Record (16-14) Non-Conference (8-4) FGCU - W W. Illinois - W SCST - W vs.UMass - W vs.New Mexico - L vs.Temple - W N. Illinois - W Miami - L @Creighton - L Arkansas St. - W The Citadel - W @Cincinnati - L Conference (8-10) @Iowa - L @Ohio St. - L Michigan - L @Purdue - W Ohio St. - L @Penn St. - W Minnesota - W Indiana - L @Michigan - L @NW - W Illinois - W @Michigan St. - L Penn St. - W Purdue - W @Illinois - L NW - W @Indiana - L Wisconsin - L Conference Tournament (1-1) 8 Nebraska vs. 9 Illinois - W 1 Michigan State - L NIT (1-1) 6 Nebraska vs. 3 Alabama - W vs. 2 Maryland - L Overall Record with Postseason Play (18-16)

With all this talk about our new freshman and transfers (very deserving by the way). I figured we needed a thread to talk about how much more improved our star Shavon Shields is going to be this year. One of the first posts I made in the dungeon was how when Shavon can stay on the court and off the bench due to foul trouble his points per game and other metrics go up tremendously. Even though he is only gaining around 5 minutes more per game when not in foul trouble, he was able to be aggressive on both sides of the court versus than being tentative, which lead to more points and rebounds. This shows Shavon's stats from the Big Ten slate last year (sorry it's not formatted the best). I highlighted the games he was able to stay out of foul trouble for the majority of the game in green, and those he had to sit on the bench for a period due to foul trouble in red. OPP RESULT MIN FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS @ #8 OHIO ST L 70-44 30 2-5 .400 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 9 0 1 1 4 2 4 vs WISCONSIN L 47-41 31 1-6 .167 0-1 .000 1-1 1.000 8 0 0 0 4 1 3 @ #2 MICHIGAN L 62-47 33 3-8 .375 0-1 .000 0-3 .000 6 2 0 0 3 1 6 @ #22 MICH ST L 66-56 26 4-8 .500 1-2 .500 0-0 .000 6 2 0 0 5 3 9 vs PURDUE L 65-56 37 6-11 .545 2-2 1.000 4-6 .667 8 1 1 1 4 1 18 @ PENN STATE W 68-64 38 10-11 .909 1-1 1.000 8-8 1.000 6 0 0 3 5 6 29 vs ILLINOIS L 71-51 21 0-2 .000 0-0 .000 2-6 .333 4 0 0 1 5 2 2 vs N'WESTERN W 64-49 25 2-5 .400 0-1 .000 2-4 .500 8 1 0 0 4 2 6 @ #23 MINNESOTA L 84-65 33 3-8 .375 1-2 .500 3-4 .750 3 3 0 0 1 1 10 vs #11 OHIO ST L 63-56 29 3-9 .333 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 3 0 1 2 3 1 6 vs PENN STATE W 67-53 26 1-2 .500 0-1 .000 5-6 .833 3 0 0 0 4 1 7 @ #1 INDIANA L 76-47 23 1-6 .167 0-0 .000 3-4 .750 3 1 1 1 4 3 5 vs #8 MICH ST L 73-64 40 7-13 .538 3-3 1.000 2-2 1.000 13 1 0 2 1 0 19 vs IOWA W 64-60 37 5-9 .556 1-2 .500 6-9 .667 7 0 0 0 2 1 17 @ #17 WISCONSIN L 77-46 30 1-7 .143 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 7 0 0 0 4 1 2 @ ILLINOIS L 72-65 34 4-5 .800 1-1 1.000 0-1 .000 5 2 0 1 4 1 9 vs MINNESOTA W 53-51 34 3-7 .429 0-2 .000 2-4 .500 6 1 0 2 5 2 8 @ IOWA L 74-60 33 2-7 .286 1-4 .250 1-1 1.000 3 0 0 3 2 1 6 vs PURDUE W 57-55 37 8-12 .667 1-1 1.000 2-2 1.000 6 1 0 2 1 2 19 vs #10 OHIO ST L 71-50 36 6-11 .545 1-3 .333 1-1 1.000 5 1 1 0 3 4 14 Remember Shavon was an undersized and somewhat underdeveloped Freshman in a very physical Big Ten, having to guard down in the post when Ubel and Andre were in foul trouble (which lead to his own personal foul trouble). Given an off-season with this staff on skill development, a summer in the weight room, and the addition of more size on the team, to help Shavon stay guarding a 3 or 4, instead of a 4 or 5, I'm very excited to see how Shavon will be able to stay on the court and really breakout as a star this year. All the incoming players, the new arena, and the buzz has me excited. But, what really has me excited and have a lot of hope for this upcoming season is a big off-season of training with Coach Miles and this staff with Shavon Shields. Ready for a fun year! GBR!

Great question, if there is one area where I don't we'll be better than last year is defense. We will be more athletic at every position, but while highly correlated it doesn't always translate into being a great defender, or into great team defense. Talley and Ubel were great defenders, and our defense kept us in a lot of games where we should have been ran off the court. While I do think we be will improved on that end of the court, it is the one area I'm not 100% sure on when compared to last years squad.

My two suggestions that haven't been posted: The Haymarket Exchange The Salt Creek Saloon

This has been mentioned in other threads throughout this off season, but I wanted to merge all those thoughts into one area... How many wins would it take for this team to keep this positive momentum that Tim Miles and Staff have generated over the past year? How many wins will it take for you personally to feel like the arrow is going up not stalling or falling down? How many wins do expect to get out of this years squad? Look forward to hearing your individual thoughts and collective feel

From a short term perspective I think it's a good draw, solid opponent who should win their league and not be an RPI killer (may actually be a boost). But twenty years from now when we look back on who we beat to open "the bank" with and see that our opponent was FGCU. I can already see a lot of us saying why on earth did we ever do that??

http://m.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile3/56287580-219/gallegos-season-game-state.html.csp I know there has been a lot of talk about how much Gallegos may or may not contribute next season. Thought this read on what Coach Miles called "the heart of our team" could add some insight on that topic. Enjoy!

I think that's the definition of lack of motor. I see exactly where you're coming from, I was trying to get across that the motor is there just needs to come with a bigger tank (hopefully this will be developed in the offseason)

Losing Johnson will be a blow, but I have to think a young and upcoming assistant coach would be interested in joining this staff and being apart of a success that's never been seen at Nebraska, so maybe this will turn out to be a blessing in disguise with the right hire

He has a great motor, just dosen't last very long, which is why I think he could provide a tremounds spark off the bench, but don't see him playing a lot of minutes. However, like everyone I'm hopefull as well that one more year off the injury, Coach Miles's GATA style, and our strength and conditioning support/staff (which is 100 times better than Seward CC) that his stamina improves. But until I see that I fear you'll see a guy enter the game make two eye opening plays, and then get lost in the game until taken out, like I saw everytime I saw him play.

Great discussion, really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on who may start and how much better we could be from a talent perspective. My additions to what hasn't been stated: 1) Gallegos was inconsistent in his shooting, but it's easy to forget the level of defending and coaching in the big ten, ray was asked to carry the shooting load, Coach Miles admitted to this multiple times and every good coach had a plan to take ray out of the game, when you only have to scout for 7 players at the most, trust me there was plenty of practice time devoted to stop ray, do we remember how many screens he had to run around just to get a semi-contested shot off, and how he had to defend one of the others teams better players for a season team record length of time, now why this is not the entire answer to ray's shooting consistency, it needs to be added to the equation, therefore as an experienced player, solid defender, and a known scoring quantity (while sometimes inconsistent), he easily starts for Coach Miles next year! 2) For those of who you have Smith starting next year, I love the optimism, he very well may improve with another year removed from his injury, and with this staff adding further development. But having personally see him play multiple times, I just don't see how a player who while in the KJCAA averaged only twenty minutes per game, was gassed after three minutes of play and was very inconsistent within and between games starts next year. I do think he will be a big spark off the bench though and can contribute, but won't have a majority of minutes next year. 3) Let's not forget this will be the first true offseason this staff has had with our program to develop our current roster, Coach Miles spent most of the spring and summer just evaluating the current roster, hiring the rest of his staff, moving his family, making new recruiting connections, and scouting the upcoming season opponents for the first time. I was amazed how much we improved from November to March. I can only imagine what this staff can accomplish in a full offseason Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts!

Big fan of the moderate state outline and the block N fitting inside the center circle, to many courts have the overblown logo taking up half the court, and if the colored stain inside the three point area isn't too dark, I think it's a great court design!

Having seen him play during the regular season in KJCAA play he showed a quick burst when the game started and when was re-inserted off the bench, but did seem to fatigue and blend into the game after 3 or 4 minutes, which is the main reason in my opinion why his average minutes per game was around 20 this season. But when he plays at full steam you are impressed, just seemed to be for only four possessions at a time. Which is why I stated in the recruiting board, is here's a prospect who if he reaches his potential (gets his knee stronger and his stamina built up) can really provide a big spark off the bench by getting some big rebounds, provide some second chance scoring, and the ability to throw a couple dunks down. He does have some range to his shot, but needs to work on his interior passing.

Agree on nearly all points. However, what is the basis for this statement: "Leslee Smith was not this staff's first choice"? Does that mean Atewe visited first? Or does it mean the staff wanted Atewe over Smith? Any inside information on this? No inside information, but based on when the offer was extended, the official visit took place and when the staff became seriously interested, you can assume he was on the B-list of prospects compared to the other 4s on the board Agau, Brown, and even Atewe

Now that the commitment has been made, Leslee Smith was not this staff's first choice, but having personally seen him play in the KJCAA this kid is a good addition to the roster and here's my best case and worse case scenario opinions on why. Worse Case: Dosen't develop into a key contributor, and fills a scholarship that we can't use for the 2014 class, but he provides a B1G type body and athleticism on our scout team, and gives our main rotation a better look everyday in practice (don't underestimate the impact our red-shirts had on our development this past season, and the success the top programs have due to going against high level talent every day) Best Case: Develops into a 4 for this team providing some inside rebounding, and becomes a second shot specialist providing a spark off the bench, filling a big hole in our current roster for 2013 and 2014. Knowing what Miles has stated about not reaching on talent, this staff thinks that he can contribute, I mean why would they have him fill a scholarship, when you can leave it open for the next recruiting class. Miles has my benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

Brian Rosenthal ‏@HuskerExtraBR2m #Nebrasketball had just gained a commitment from Leslee Smith, junior college forward.

Thanks, I thought that might be the case since we haven't heard any news about it. And once again as soon as a topic is posted on this board it gets reported on by Robin (in this case) or Brian. Props to them!

As we wait on the news of Atewe's announcement, I haven't heard any rumors about prospects for the 2014 class and beyond visiting during the football red-white game on April 6th. Just curious if anyone has heard of any potential prospects visiting? It would be really cool if Miles could make an annual event of hosting 5-star and 4-star recruits during this weekend.

I don't mind the east/west split, strength between divisions is cyclical, when the Big 12 was formed everyone was worried that the south division was weaker than the north, and we all know how dominate the south turned out to be before the conference degraded. Same can be said about the SEC the east in the 1990s/early 2000s was tougher, now it's the West who has all the elite teams. The split will allow for rivalries to form, and as a fan the next best thing to winning a national championship is having bragging rights over another fan base. It will also allow for our big red army to invade any football away game which is a understated advantage (we probably don't win the Northwestern game if half the stadium isn't red). It will be interesting to see if they use the split for olympic sports as well. I know Coach Cook has mentioned that the volleyball scheduling needs to be done on geography and not strength of schedule balance, to allow the conference to be fresher for post-season, and let the student-athletes, actually be students for once. For basketball, it will allow everyone in the conference to know which team plays which teams, knowing they play and home and home with opposing teams in their division, and once with teams in the opposite division. It will be interesting to see how it plays out this summer, and if it is indeed football only. I'd rather have everything based on competitive balance, but I do see the reasoning to do the east/west divisions, and won't have any complaints once it's completed.

I think what is does show is that there is enough talent within the old big 8 footprint or enough draw to the footprint to put a team in the NCAA on a regular basis. Hopefully our facilities and our staff's recruiting will allow us to get the cream of this talent.

A couple reasons for hope that the Huskers can get win number two in the B1G tourney here in a couple hours: 1) We made SEVEN more field goals than they did in our last game against each other, let me repeat that SEVEN. Ohio State was given 28 free throw attempts compared to our 5 (at home none the less). Now credit to them they did make them, but this stat alone gives me hope that we can beat these guys if we don't allow them to get to the foul line! (See box score below) 2) Tough to beat a good team 3 times in a row (I realize we may not be a good team, but you have to imagine the Ohio State staff spent around 75% of there prep time scouting Purdue and not us) 3) Already have the tournament jitters out of the way (Which means we must play well early and take advantage of that) 4) Tim Miles and his staff, they have shown that they can scout and prepare our team to play great defense, Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics Ohio State vs Nebraska 02/02/13 6:06 p.m. at Devaney Center (Lincoln, Neb.) Ohio State 63 • 17-4, 7-2 FG % 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd half: 8-17 47.1% Game: 18-46 39.1% 3FG % 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 4-12 33.3% FT % 1st Half: 10-10 100.0 2nd half: 13-18 72.2% Game: 23-28 82.1% Nebraska 56 • 11-12, 2-8 FG % 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd half: 13-33 39.4% Game: 23-62 37.1% 3FG % 1st Half: 3-13 23.1% 2nd half: 3-13 23.1% Game: 6-26 23.1% FT % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd half: 4-5 80.0% Game: 4-5 80.0% The deck is stacked against us, but the numbers don't lie if we play well we can do this!

Since the video worked yesterday, here's another one to get win number 2 today! Go B1G Red!!!

Great post, and the best part is the majority of the hawks (even though they may never admit to it) see this too. Living in Iowa and going to the game last week in Iowa City, you could tell they were scared of what Tim Miles had already done, what buzz he has created nationally, the fact that we beat them with rock bottom talent and they are supposedly on the rise, and that he has a team that was picked to finish dead last in the league in the quarterfinals in the deepest field the big ten tourney has seen. Just think about this comparison... We have state-of-the art facilities, they don't. We have football program that can provide whatever out basketball team could ever need or want, they don't. We have a coach who uses every means he can to create positive energy and buzz on a national level, they don't. We win close games (7-0 in games decided by 5 points or less), they don't (2-5) (this comes from coaching, and instilling a will to win, survive, and defend). They maybe improving, but I know our ceiling for success is higher with Tim Miles and the Nebraska Athletic Department Resources, and they know it too