Swan88

So much for that birthday commit thing. He said he was pushing it out last month to get in all 5 visits before he commits. I'd rather a kid wait an extra couple weeks to know he made the correct decision other than make one and wonder if it was the right call. Matthew Atewe visited Nebraska on January 6, 2013. It's taken him two full months to come up with visits to Charlotte and Nevada, despite the birthday non-deadline and despite supposedly flirting with some of the big-name schools. Go figure.

Can't see premium Red Sea Scrolls stuff? Seriously?

Nice to see that he led both teams in points (25) and assists (4). Not too shabby.

Agreed, CWG. However, watch the highlights video appearing on the linked Egbunu four-star page and ask this question: "What does Egbunu do on this video that Matthew Atewe can't do (except for the one play Egbunu actually takes a dribble on his way to the basket and perhaps demonstrating more-refined basketball instincts)?" We can all stipulate that Matthew is no four-star, but if we were to put "PREP" on Egbunu's white jersey and change his number to 12, he could be mistaken for Atewe Matthew.

"Handler" / "mentor" . . . Say what!!?? No one has ever mentioned a "handler" or "mentor" for Atewe before, that I've seen. He came to Lincoln without anyone accompanying him. A handler / mentor is often bad news--often looking out for his/her own interests as much as for the recruits. Is this the same guy who got him to transfer to the current prep school, that apparently isn't working out so well? A handler/mentor changes the entire equation and can certainly account for unpredictable and incomprehensible behavior.

Still not buying that we are getting the full story of what's actually going on behind the scenes. It seems more probable every day that Matthew is a back-up plan for Nebrasketball and that Charlotte is the back-up plan for Matthew.

Don't disagree on Rivers at the 4, especially against players that outweigh him substantially. Nevertheless, David seems to be doing quite well in his current role. An observation: at the beginning of the Iowa game, Shavon guarded White, picked up an immediate foul and had to sit for awhile. Along the way, David Rivers started defending White and held White in check quite well. It seems that Rivers may be a bit quicker than Shavon defensively. Did anyone see this differently?

Tim Miles isn't a novice on transfers. The following players on the current Colorado St. roster were brought in as transfers by Tim Miles: Bejarano from Arizona, Eikmeier from Iowa St., Iverson from Minnesota, and Morgan from Hawaii Hilo. We all know, of course, about Pitchford from Florida and Petteway from Texas Tech. Granted, Tim Miles does not, historically, sign the graduate student with one year left. But neither is he deterred by a transfer's redshirt year. It would certainly be nice to get a big who could contribute next season, but we already have Pitchford to replace Ubel. So, the real question is, "Who will replace Andre?"

The importance of Matthew depends on what the coaches are thinking (and they aren't telling). If Matthew is their top priority and is holding out, then he is extremely important. If, on the other hand, the coaches have him as a back-up plan to someone else, then here's hoping for the someone else. Every day that passes without a verbal commitment from Matthew increases speculation that he is a back-up plan. Here are some reasons why: 1. None of the big-name schools (e.g., Duke, Georgetown & UConn) have produced an offer. 2. The lower tier schools (e.g., California) did not come through with either an offer or a visit. 3. Charlotte is on the final list. 4. The Thomas visit cancellation did not pair with a public commitment from anyone. 5. There is nothing from recent games about huge progress from Matthew that would warrant new interst from major schools. Granted, these reasons are consistent with an I-want-to-commit-on-my-birthday position. However, remaining adamant on such a position seems odd. Heres giving better than 50/50 odds that a potential transfer or two explains all this.

Norm said: "I have to say that Shatel's comment about turning up the music when Iowa fans got loud is accurate. That is what happened. And I FULLY support it." Agree 100%. Loved it!!

Speaking of Iowa coaches, did anyone notice that, during a first half time out, the Iowa players were seated around the elbow area but the Iowa coaches were huddling around the top of the key--the Iowa coaches were talking amongst themselves instead of with their players. Hadn't seen that before.

"Enough Iowa fans here to make it hard to tell who the home team is," Shatel said. Which game did Shatel attend? This statement is a looonnnggg way from reality. Good Husker crowd in attendance today, especially for a rescheduled game. A smattering of Hawkey fans throughout, with a bunch up high in one of the corners.

Dimes said: "- Mike Gesell: Winless for his college career at THE BOB" Also, he lost his last High School game at THE BOB to Scottsbluff in the Class B State Championships--so, 0-fer the last 2. Mike looked pretty good in the first half. In the second, he (i) tried to guard Dylan but simply wasn't up to the challenge, and (ii) didn't do much on the other end of the court either.

Wow. That's good stuff -- Tim Miles on a roll.

Here is a link to a Lee Barfknecht article in today's Omaha World Herald on Shavon Shields. Here is a blurb from the article: "The ultimate compliment is that Big Ten foes have begun to game-plan for Shields. . . . Michigan State used three defenders at various times on Shields, holding him scoreless in the first half but allowing 19 points in the second. 'When you see them strategize for him,’' Miles said, 'that’s a good sign for him and a good sign for our future.'"

Very funny, Norm.

I can confirm that Nyquil does the trick. Thanks.

Okay.

With all due respect . . . don't like the don't-listen recommendation. Head-in-the-sand is rarely a good posture. We all listen to disagreeable folks (heck, many of us read this message board regularly), and many of us respond to many things we find disagreeable. So . . . sorry to disappoint, but--like most everyone else on this board--I'll keep reading this message board and listening to sports reports on Channel 6 and reading opinion pages in contrary newspapers and talking to friends who have differing opinions and . . . of course . . . expressing my contrary views in return. And the blood pressure is just fine--thanks for asking.

With the wonders of the remote, you can usually catch Husker highlights on all the Omaha news channels after any game. So, this suggestion doesn't solve the problem.

The Channel 6 (Omaha) sportscaster is about as anti-Husker basketball as anyone can get away with in a Nebraska television station. He simply can't help doing the little digs against Nebrasketball. So . . . he opens with the play that looks as if it will be a Husker over-and-back but ends up with a lay-up at the other end. Then he goes to the Talley three-pointer where Talley is trying to draw a foul, but it went in anyway (I believe the announcer said it was "ugly"). Then the on-line Chanel 6 webpage says that Michigan St. "Swats" the Huskers. Don't like it . . . at all !!!

At one point in the second half, I watched David Rivers on defense getting pushed all over the paint for about four seconds, wondering how the refs let the guys in green get away with that. Then, not even two seconds later, David Rivers had slight contact with the dribbler, and the zebra called David for a foul. My reaction, other than yelling at the ref (he clearly couldn't hear me) in truly juvenile fashion, was amazement at what appeared to be the utter injustice of that little series.

On the moral victory thing . . . if this were a senior-laden team with a down-tick expected in the future, a close-but-yet-so-far-away game like this would be devasting. But that's not where Nebrasketball is right now: we are at the nadir on talent with some excellent players on the bench in red shirts and others on their way. So . . . what a game like this shows is that Miles and Co. can coach-em-up against a top-ten team and that the future is bright. Close games against the 8th ranked team are important at this stage of development, whether we call it a "moral victory" or a "close game against a top team."

Tim Miles recently went on the road recruiting and said something to the effect that all recruiting options are on the table. For all you gamblers out there, what are the odds that the primary result of all this is a Nebrasketball recruit not named Thomas or Atewe? I'm going right now with 50/50.

There must be some nagging injuries. And the loss of Josh Jones' athleticism had to leave a mark--I remember watching him play in the Omaha summer league and being impressed with everything he could do, including winning the opening tip against much taller players!