millerhusker

Coffeyville just won the national championship. Keita dominated the championship game. 27 points (13/16 FG) 9 rebounds 4 blocks Signing day can’t get here soon enough.

Things I think I know..... - I think I know Trey, Bryce and Derrick will be in the starting lineup. - Eduardo and Derrick will split minutes at the 5. - I have a hunch we will see a version of a death lineup at times. We have 3 guys who are 6'9" and versatile (Dalano, Lat, Wilhelm). They can even all be on the court at the same time. - I think I know CJ will be a valuable component to this team, whether he's in the starting lineup or coming off the bench. He fits the mold of a Hoiberg shooting guard. Kind of a mirror image of Abdel Nader, Naz Long, Matt Thomas, Chris Babb. Good size, strong, smart off-ball guards who you hate to play against because they always seem to get open and knock down shots. None of these guys put up crazy numbers or were all-conference under Hoiberg, but they've all seen time in the NBA. - I think I know Lat, Dalano and Kobe will all have a role in the rotation (at least to start the year). The teams that have guys who have played together for multiple years are now the teams that are winning in college basketball. Hoiberg wanted these guys to come back for a reason. Things I don't know..... - Just how good are Wilhelm Breidenbach and Keon Edwards? Their highlights are intriguing, to say the least. We needed talent upgrades and it appears we got them. We haven't had many guys in the history of Husker basketball as highly recruited/rated as these two. That's crazy. Are they ready to contribute immediately? - I know Keisei can shoot it. But Trevor Lakes shot it just as well at the Division II level. Can he hold up physically in the Big Ten? He looks quick enough relative to JUCO guards. But Jervay looked like an absolute man amongst boys athletically relative to JUCO guards. So, I don't know... - Will Dalano and Trey cut down on turnovers and improve decision making? No matter how much talent we have, this will be crucial to our team success, as it appears these two will be doing much of the ball handling and decision making again next year. - Will Lat and Kobe shoot the ball more consistently throughout the year? If not, unlike like last year, there are other guys who can steal their minutes.

I'm hopeful for Banton to make a jump also. The first half of the season, we were much better with him on the floor. I wanted Hoiberg to play him nearly all 40 minutes. The second half of the season, we were better when he was on the bench. But, if the coaches didn't think he would be valuable for us next year, I'm sure he would've been asked to move on. The funny thing is, no matter what combination of players I choose to put in the lineup in a situation like this, I think, "Well maybe I'm sleeping on *insert one of literally 5 different players* ." I suppose that's a good problem to have.

Trey Kobe Bryce (circled) Dalano Derrick Wisconsin is going to harass us and they don’t need to foul. I want ball handlers, toughness, and rebounding in this situation.

Ranger just lost their game. Tominaga finished with 26, 4 and 4.

His game and body type reminds me of Perry Ellis.

I've talked hoops with a few former KU players over the years. The ones who played around that time really respected those Nebraska teams. They thought Jake Muhleisen was a stud (and he really was for about 1.5 years, until his injury in Lawrence).

Ranger plays at 5 PM and Coffeville's game will follow that. Neither of their teams had a first round bye, and they've each beat two opponents who did have first round byes. Championship game is tomorrow night. Coffeyville blew out their first two opponents, so they were able to limit Keita's minutes. He played a lot of minutes in their OT win last night though. Has to be hard for a big man to play every night (potentially 5 days in a row). Hopefully he has enough gas left in the tank. Interesting... Keita's birthdate is 06/29/1999. Which means he'll be a 23 year old sophomore when he gets to Nebraska.

Ranger won in overtime today and is Final Four bound! Keisei had 25 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Blaise Keita and Coffeyville also got an OT win and going to the Final Four. Keita had 19 points (9/10 FTs!), 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. They’re on opposite sides of the bracket, so they could meet in the championship game. That’d be pretty awesome .

He wanted to come to Nebraska because his girlfriend (now wife I think?) was coming here. Initially, we didn’t have a scholarship for him so he committed to Oklahoma State. A scholarship opened up eventually and he switched his commitment to Nebraska.

Yep, about 3 years in is when Barry hired Scott Spinelli. It's too bad so many of Spinelli's recruits either didn't make it to campus or just didn't pan out because of eligibility and injury issues. I really liked Barry's offensive style. It was crisp, purposeful basketball. And he had some really solid teams. Finished middle of the pack in the Big 12 more times than not. Just never had the talent to take that next step.

Collier and Doc were great with x's and o's and in-game coaching. Miles is a great program manager, promoter and recruiter.

The 7 footer that was going to take us to the Sweet 16 with Robert Sallie, Rishawn Norwood and Will Harris on the perimeter!

Was this Kyle Marks? There was a good amount of hype around him and the rest of that recruiting class. We beat out Florida for Marks, if I remember correctly. I thought he had knee issues while he was here.

Nope. I wish I would've. Loved hearing stories from people who did.

Traudt has official visits set up with Nebraska, Michigan State and Virginia in June and will probably take an official to North Carolina this summer also. Wants to take an official to Ohio State in the fall. So there’s your five official visits already. His recruitment might move pretty quickly. Also will take unofficial visits to Creighton and Oklahoma this summer.

I also remember Doc telling the media if there was anyone on the roster who had NBA potential, it was Toney McCray.

Dalano has the option of playing 4 years here, although we didn’t know that when he transferred.

Agree on Wilhelm. Mater Dei has him listed at 210 lbs (Lat was 190 out of high school). I actually think he'll be closer to 220 next fall. He's tough as nails and has good foot speed. He's also used to playing against elite level bigs on his high school and AAU teams. Not sure Lat will get up to 215. He was listed at 210 for TCU, then 205 in juco and on our roster last year.

This. I actually think the coaches will continue to do this long after Thor is gone, by showing players his film. Jay Wright constantly tells his guards and wings to "Be Josh Hart" and makes them watch his film. Imagine if we can get a super-talented kid like Bryce to play as smart and selfless and relentlessly move without the ball like Thor.

Sort of by default. To be fair, I don't remember ever seeing film of Aleks Maric or Jorge Brian Diaz before they came to Nebraska. But, Jordy, Jacob Hammond, Chris Balham, Andre Almeida... there aren't too many other true bigs that we've signed. None of their film stands out in my mind. I remember thinking Jordy lacked footwork and coordination and played well below the rim. I was very excited about Vander Joaquim and Toni Soda, but neither of them made it to campus. Keita is 6'11" and looks to have a soft touch. His footwork is advanced and he has great balance for his size (I believe this was Yvan's biggest issue). He finishes with both hands around the basket and has a pretty sweet stroke stepping out to 17 feet. I probably need to pump the breaks on him, but I really don't think we've had a big man recruit like this since Kimani Ffriend or Venson Hamilton. Not saying he will be conference player of the year like Venson, or even close to it, but he does look like a very quality post player.

But that was, in part, the point of my post. All of this could be said about Lat also. Take away 3 games where he shot it really well behind the arc, and he shot less than 29% from three and about 35% from the field. Do we get the Lat who shot 5-7 from three against Rutgers, or the one who shot 1-6 or worse numerous times over the course of the season? I also think Lat’s rebounding is very replaceable, even with a 4 guard lineup. I think Lat will be in the starting lineup to begin the season but he will have to be more sound on both ends to keep that spot. And that’s a testament to the recruiting we’ve done.

Ranger won their first round game 86-68 and advances to the Sweet 16. Keisei had 14 points. An interesting note - Noticed a 6’4” combo guard for Ranger who I thought can really play, so I looked him up. Jorell Saterfield. He was originally committed to Doc at Southern Miss, but never played there. Conference defensive player of the year and has a good feel for the game. Season averages: 18.1 ppg (leading scorer) 5.6 rpg 3.0 apg FG% - 52.3% 3FG% - 49.5% (48/97) FT% - 82%

Cofeyville won their first round game and advances to the Sweet 16 in Hutch (game is tonight). Keita had 7 points and 9 rebounds (19 minutes) in a blowout.

I feel the same way about Kobe. Have seen a lot of comments implying Kobe should be getting mop up minutes next year if we want to be competitive. Zoom out for a minute and pretend these highlights were of an incoming transfer for next year. A guy coming from a Power 5 conference. He’s small, but has a lightning quick, repeatable release so he has no trouble getting his shot off. Great handles, lateral quickness and knows how to create separation. Shoots it equally well off the catch and the dribble. NBA range, 38% from three and can put it on the floor and make tough, contested mid-range jumpers and floaters. Seems to be a perfect fit in our offensive system. Shoot, this guy’s highlights are just as good, if not better, than any other transfer we’ve gotten under Hoiberg. He also brings a TON of experience. I’ve got to believe a 5th year senior with his production and skillset could see some solid PT next year.