swmckewon

Oh, I think Burno was vetted fine. Tim's bosses needed to draw up the kind of contract that made it very costly for any school to pluck Burno away. As for Beckner...when he was hired I saw the guy's Twitter feed full of platitunidious Ben Franklinesque quotes and then, some time into his tenure, some ludicrous whine on Twitter about what he deemed to be inappropriate behavior at McDonald's and, yeah, that's about all I needed to know.

I'll be curious to see how explosive and quick Roby is, how good of a dribbler he is and how well he shoots the 3. I like Roby. I think he's a guy who needs to be encouraged and given many opportunities to make mistakes and grow from them.

2012 ESPN recruiting rankings:No. 1 recruit in America: Breanna Stewart No. 2: Moriah Jefferson No. 6: Morgan Tuck Why would you exclude them? Excluding them renders any point moot.

UConn will not win the national title next year. You'll hear calls of "parity" They're mostly not true. There is not a lot of parity in women's college hoops. A handful of teams dominate their conferences. Baylor is 118-6 in the Big 12 over a six-year period. ND is 56-1 in the ACC over the last 3 years. During one stretch, Stanford was 134-6. Maryland is 40-2 in the Big Ten, with both losses to the same Ohio State team that had to woo a 5-star guard by offering her dad a job and her benchwarming sister a scholarship before the 5-star even committed.

2012 ESPN recruiting rankings: No. 1 recruit in America: Breanna Stewart No. 2: Moriah Jefferson No. 6: Morgan Tuck

People quit jobs all the time and take other ones. It's not more or less moral because it's a sports team.

Not quite accurate. It's possible that, at all other schools - Including Nebraska five years ago - Jess comes back. The lab looks at the issue deeper than most schools would.

Not all 14 seeds are created equally. Weber State and Stephen F Austin and Xavier are on the high end. That UAB team last year sucked. That 1991 Xavier team had 3 returning starters from a Sweet 16 team and a freshman named Brian Grant. Xavier had been to six straight NCAA Tournaments before that game against Nebraska. It was a trap all the way. And, quite honestly, Nebraska got a lot of junk pairings. Penn was a laugh. A 24-2 11 seed that outscored teams by 12 per game and hadn't lost in 2 months? A 11 seed? UConn was a tough one, because it really had lost a ton of games toward the end of the season and probably earned a No. 8 seed. The best shot Nebraska had was in 1998, against Arkansas, because Arkansas pressed and Nebraska had Lue, who could break presses. Arkansas went zone late, as I recall, and Nebraska couldn't hit a thing.

Hunter Thompson is headed to Creighton. wE are always a step behind on big men.. Just so i know how grizzled to be going forward will the states of Wyoming and South Dakota also be used in the hindsight bias game? I think I have my answer. Not on my account, since I don't like the hindsight bias game anyway. But, in fairness to the kid, he's no stiff. There are things he does in that video I posted, both inside and outside, that I've never seen Jake Hammond do. over-focusing on our state. Hasn't been the case yet.

Well, he can and he is.

UNO is in the CBI.

Possible. Michigan brings all its dudes back other than LaVert. The team Michigan had this year is the team I think Nebraska can have next year, because I think Gill is a 40% 3-point shooter. If Gill can do that, that'll make it easier for Watson and Webster to "love the rim." But Nebraska has to foul less, too.

One would hope not, considering they must be replaced and Nebraska must do better as a team than it did with them on it. I'd think White, Webster and Watson get better and Gill/Roby bring some juice.

There will always be "some" of anything. In general -- well, in the vast majority -- it's not close. A mere NCAA Tournament bid is enough for most fans. "A mere NCAA Tournament bid is enough for most fans." Ok, well he did that...in year 2. I honestly don't understand the fans that want Tim's seat hot right now. Don't understand it at all in fact. The guy has been here 4 years. Made the tourney in year 2. Call it a "hot streak" but in a power conference, isn't that how you get in? (see Wisconsin this year). I've said this before so I am repeating myself here. We have lost a lot of close games. We aren't just going out there and getting our butts kicked night in and night out. I understand at the end of the day its about W's and L's. But we have an EXTREMELY young team this year and I truly believe that young talent is pretty darn good. IF, and its a big IF we can get a decent big man, I think we have nice pieces around our roster. The other thing (and others have mentioned this too). Miles had NO clue TP and WP would leave like that. He also lost Tarin Smith who was playing big minutes. Then Craig Smith leaves, we hire another assistant and he leaves before even really taking the job. I'm not trying to make excuses, this is just the reality of the situation. I firmly believe Miles will get us that 1st NCAA win. And all the "haters" and so called "fans" will say "I always knew he would do it!" Which will be total BS. With social media the way it is, fans think they know everything and can now voice their opinions. One game we win (MSU) and Miles is the greatest! We lose the next game, and we suck! Its no different than sitting at Memorial Stadium and listening to our fans bitch one moment that we pass too much. We then run, that doesn't work and that play sucks too. On 3rd down we pass a bomb for 25 yards and all is good again. Its an emotional roller coaster with so many fans. That's human nature. People complain about their jobs, and they show up day after day for them, and they often do a good in those jobs. People, similarly don't always get along with their siblings. It doesn't make them bad siblings. Fans tend to ride roller coasters. Do they show up? Yes, at Nebraska, they do. Secure coaches understand this and embrace the "suggestion box" as a sign that fans care enough to share their thoughts. At any rate, Nebraska fans are unusually supportive even by that standard.

There will always be "some" of anything. In general -- well, in the vast majority -- it's not close. A mere NCAA Tournament bid is enough for most fans.

No they don't. No, really, they don't. Sure Sam that's why after 4yrs and 1 NCAA tourney appearance, the first in over 20yrs Tim is being talked about as being on the seat. Nebraska basketball fans do not hold the basketball program to the same standard of the football program. They don't. Sorry.

No they don't. No, really, they don't.

Nebraska basketball fans are unbelievably loyal. Nebraska won 19 games two years ago and it was like a religious revival. Nebraska is 11-22 in the Big Ten the last two years. That there is 9,000 fans in that arena, much less 14,000 fans, is a testament to the arena and the fans who fill it. Not the product on the court. This is true. Any other comparable university and the attendance is probably somewhere around 4,000-7,000 fans. How do we compare with other D1 schools, in large population cities, where there are no other P5 schools or professional sports teams? Creighton joined the Big East in 2013. I went back starting with the year 2000 and took a look at the data and here is what I found. The combined population of Ames and Iowa City is 100K+ less than Lincoln, with Omaha being the largest. All 3 arenas are relatively the same size now, with CU being the largest, although they moved into the Qwest/Link from the Civic in 2003. While Nebraska had 3 different coaches during that time period so did Iowa; and Iowa State had 4 different coaches, while CU had 2. Regular season attendance average had Nebraska in last place by almost 25%. CU had the largest attendance average including the Civic attendance. Regular season record saw Nebraska 1 game above 50%, with Iowa at 55% and ISU at 58%. CU has a nearly won 70% of their games including their time in the Mo Valley. What does all this have to do with Nebraska fans? Well it shows that there is nothing special about our fan base when compared to our most comparable competitors. Nebraska had the worst product on the court (by far), and, until recently, played in an arena so epically bland that it almost had a bizarre power all its own. It was like visiting an arena from 1983 Soviet-era Europe or something. Hey, you think Nebraska fans aren't all that, OK. There's massive evidence to the contrary, but, hey, to each their own.

Nebraska basketball fans are unbelievably loyal. Nebraska won 19 games two years ago and it was like a religious revival. Nebraska is 11-22 in the Big Ten the last two years. That there is 9,000 fans in that arena, much less 14,000 fans, is a testament to the arena and the fans who fill it. Not the product on the court. I'll disagree slightly that it's not about the product on the floor. Everything is relative. If you look at the quality of basketball, the product on the court this year is light years ahead of the last couple years under Doc. I loved Doc but the basketball was nearly unwatchable. Slow, grind it out games and no real athleticism on the court. This year the quality of basketball was fairly good, the offensive flow was better than the last few years (including the NCAA team two years ago). The W/L results aren't what we want them to be and if that's the only way you judge the quality of the product on the court, then the quality isn't good. However, most of the games we have played have been fun to watch and the level of play and athleticism is significantly higher than the past few years (except for two years ago). I find it funny to hear all the gnashing of teeth going on about a team that essentially lived up to the preseason expectations. Nobody expected us to be in the NCAA's this year and everyone predicted us to be about a .500 team. I don't remember anyone saying the freshmen were "Fab 5" types and going to be the saviors of the program. They were definitely the most heralded class we have had in years but I don't think any of them were Top 50 players in their class (except if you include Andrew). It's comical seeing the writers comment about how the class didn't live up to the hype and how the season has been a disappointment. At the end of the day, we brought in a solid group of freshmen, played to expectations and appear to have a solid nucleus of players coming back. We clearly need more and better big men and to continue to improve but the foundation appears to have been laid for the future. Are we exactly where we want to be at this very moment - NO! Should we settle for what the results are today? ABSOLUTELY NOT! But I don't see why people are so upset/surprised by where we are right now. Maybe I'm just missing something. I wasn't surprised by the season, although I expected 16-17 wins. The point is that a nearly sold-out building -- 14,000-15,000 fans -- is not related to a team's sterling product, because the product isn't sterling. It's mediocre. That's what the record says. That's what the RPI and KenPom says. Nebraska's fans, on the other hand, are not mediocre. They're sterling. Are there reasons why Nebraska fans show up so well? Sure. The building helps. The location of the building helps. Tim Miles, a guy who most people get a kick out of and like watching on the sidelines, helps. But, generally, it's just Nebraskans being excellent, consistent fans.

Nebraska basketball fans are unbelievably loyal. Nebraska won 19 games two years ago and it was like a religious revival. Nebraska is 11-22 in the Big Ten the last two years. That there is 9,000 fans in that arena, much less 14,000 fans, is a testament to the arena and the fans who fill it. Not the product on the court.

Certainly Jess is better with Theriot -- who isn't -- but Shepard was also above the free throw line a lot tonight setting screens. Jess has a whole offseason to work on FT shooting and that mid-range jumper. She will, it'll get better, and she'll become more of a triple threat. She may even score a little less and have 3/4 assists per game. Jess can set every useful record Nebraska has, but I'm not sure what the point would be if Nebraska doesn't win big while she's here. Maximizing all she can do -- vs. just sticking her two feet from the hoop -- is the next step for her and the team.

The 2016 class, I suspect, will be pretty good.

Those newbies include some very good players. And they'll have to be. The 2016 class is crucial to the next 5 years of the program.

When Smallwood (sp) left ...seemly so did our defense. Not sure who on staff is supposed to be the defensive guru ...but.... Nebraska led the Big Ten in scoring D last year with Sample, T, Jeffrey and Cady. It's the players. Nebraska doesn't have enough experienced, athletic perimeter defenders. You add in that Havers isn't really a "plus" defender -- although she's improved a lot -- and Shepard being a freshman and the defensive rebounding not being great, it's just a down year. It might be a little ragged at times next year, too, integrating five freshmen. But I think, over time, those freshmen will be pretty good. And so will Simon and Cincore. Back half of next year, this is a salty D, I'd bet. When 2 top 100 recruits leave the program after one year, that's a costly gap for a top 25 program like Nebraska. Top 10 teams can sustain those losses a little more easily.

She'd better hope she has a coach to whom she can commit. Bollant isn't going to keep the job in perpetuity with losing Big Ten records.