millerhusker

‘23 was the senior year of one of the greatest players in Big Ten history in TJD. Really don’t think Ballo moves the needle much for that roster despite his ranking. You could argue Ware was just as good a center, if not better. And a better fit next to Reneau, as he could step out and hit an occasional three. Much more versatile defensively too. The backcourt is definitely more talented with Rice. Not impressed with Carlyle. They still have no pure shooters and will likely have the same spacing issues. They will probably be ranked pretty high in the preseason though.

Indiana got Kanaan Carlyle. So now they’ve added two combo guards who each average about 1 made three per game on low percentage. Next to Galloway who does the same. Their McDonald’s AA three point sniper decommitted. They swapped out their 7 footer for another who is also an elite rebounder (not their issue) but is less versatile and less athletic than Ware. Which should effectively clog things up even more next to Reneau and all their guards who can’t shoot but also don’t have any amount of room to penetrate. Their fans are super pumped about their #1 rated portal class though.

Almost brought us Roburt Sallie and Toni Soda in the recruiting class with Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson

Yep. He’s the best basketball player of all the shooting guard Tominaga types we’ve been after in the portal imo. Given the opportunity (and assuming he’s healthy) there’s no reason he can’t have an improved version of his freshman season next year. All the tools are there. His true freshman year was equal to that of the second half of Keisei’s 4th year junior season.

He seems purely catch and shoot. Doesn’t have much wiggle with the ball in his hands. Think he plays more like CJ and Essegian plays more like Tominaga. If Essegian and Keisei had solely catch and shoot roles, their percentages would look more like Hausen/Wilcher.

My Wisconsin friends say Storr was the weak link of their defense this year. They had a top 20ish defense last year and a top 60ish defense this year, and really the only difference in personnel was Storr taking Essegian's spot. Storr did obviously bring an element of three level scoring that Wisconsin hasn't had since probably Sam Dekker.

If that's what his role would be here, like CJ, then he would be an upgrade. Just watch some film before you get too upset. I love CJ, but there's not one aspect of the game that he's better than Essegian at. Don't trust Greg Gard and his offense that doesn't generate open looks. You'll see Essegian, Chucky and Storr's efficiency metrics all magically go up next year.

I'd take Essegian for sure. He's a good player who will be unlocked wherever he goes. His freshmen year was super impressive. Against Kansas he looked like one of the best players on the court throughout that whole game. I just went back and watched some of that game and he and Kevin McCullar were matched up on each other in the second half and overtime. Not just a shooter. Good athlete, good size, he can put the ball on the floor and finish at the rim. Griffiths has more next level potential but I'd be more confident in Essegian being a significant contributor next year. Unpopular opinion but Essegian>Hickman at the Big Ten level imo.

Per Washut: William Kyle canceled his visit to Iowa State. Still visiting Wake Forest Sunday-Monday, then back in Lincoln for spring game weekend. Nebraska staff visited him again earlier this week. Milicic decision coming as soon as this weekend.

I want to know who this mystery visitor is. The big post player. Is he tall? Or big like this is a big deal? Should we start throwing out guesses?

Nick Kern and Zach Hicks are both similar in stature to Eli but they are tenacious defenders and they play exactly the way Mike Rhoades wants to play. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Eli in the portal again next year.

Fred absolutely loved Jameel McKay, who I think William Kyle is a carbon copy of. He can do a lot with a real lob threat who can run the floor like a deer.

Agreed. We could take another portal guard, but seems like Hoiberg is being very honest about what players' roles will be to avoid any locker room issues so I'm not sure one will want to come at this point. It appears that we're recruiting as if we'll have two bigs on the floor the majority of the time, like with Allick and Mast this year. That means Gary would be slotted to play ~20 mpg at the "3" (and likely still some at the 4). So, you'd have 80 mpg at the 1 and 2 and roughly 20 mpg at the 3 (100 minutes total) to divvy up between Williams, Griffith, Ulis, Worster, Hoiberg, Janowski and possibly another guard. At least two of those players wouldn't be in the rotation. We're not going to play 11 guys.

I thought Washut had said it was a possibility on Ulis but I/he could be wrong

It's possible Mast and Ulis could be "juniors" eligibility wise next season.

After the A&M game, everyone wanted us to go get more athleticism, length and perimeter defense in the portal. Seems like we're achieving that while still trying to get players who fit what we do offensively. Just comparing the current roster to last year's rotation from a physical perspective: G - Keisei Tominaga - Rollie Worster. Massive upgrade in size, athleticism and defense. G - Jamarques Lawrence - Ahron Ulis. Similar size and athleticism. Both good defenders. G - Sam Hoiberg = Sam Hoiberg W - Brice Williams = Brice Williams W - CJ Wilcher - Gavin Griffiths. Massive upgrade in length and athleticism. Should eventually be a defensive upgrade. F - Juwan Gary = Juwan Gary F/C - Josiah Allick - We'll see. William Kyle is longer and more athletic than 99% of college basketball players. C - Rienk Mast - Andrew Morgan. If Mast does sit out next year. Seems to be a slight upgrade in length. Definite upgrade in athleticism and defense compared to an injured Mast.

And can we all agree to not get too overexcited about the token 6’11” high ceiling 17 year old we bring in this summer to be on the scout team next season

Good luck to Jamarques. I’ll be rooting for him.

Ulis isn’t leaving. And the staff loves him

You might be disappointed

We’d absolutely take both of those guys if they want to come here. I’d imagine they are 1A and 1B on the board

Love this addition

Definitely could’ve used that perimeter defense in our tournament game

If you're talking Worster, I think he's more similar to Griesel than anyone else we've had. If you're talking Griffiths, his play style is more similar to Jamarques Lawrence than anyone else, as far as how fast he plays and how quick he makes decisions.

The free surgery, recovery and rehab at UNMC would be reason to stay. I'd be more worried about him leaving after all that is done, but maybe that'll be part of the NIL contract.