Swan88

Well said! I heard Lee Roy Selmon (Oklahoma football player and Univ. of South Florida Athletic Director) speak about college athletics. He said that (i) scholarship athletes who graduate from college almost always view their college experiences positively, but (ii) those who don’t graduate almost always feel that they were used and abused by the system.

Cale is the type of player who could have been one of those guys: the guy Nebraska doesn't pursue, who then develops into an all-everything player at some mid- to low-major school, and then everyone condemns the coaching staff for missing such an obvious possibility. So . . . here's hoping Cale is that guy!

This take is way too pessimistic. Here's why: 1. Hoiberg sent a point guard last year into a $2.5 million contract at the NBA--he played a lot and well this year, with a bunch of highlights on social media. 2. Hoiberg is sending a one-and-done guard into the NBA draft this year, following a freshman season, who is likely to be picked in a solid slot--well beyond his pre-season projections. 3. Hoiberg has two upper-class guards doing well in pre-draft workouts. 4. Hoiberg stayed in solid competition this off-season, to the end, with Kentucky for a scorer--the only school beside Kentucky who managed to get an on-campus visit from that player. 5. Hoiberg landed two high-quality guards from the transfer portal--players who were in high demand.

Here is one good thing about NIL: it puts everything out in the open. The prior system brought us $100 handshakes, FBI bribery stings, inconsistent (or non-existent) NCAA enforcement, and cheaters who get caught insisting that "everyone does it." NIL puts it all in the open, makes payments legal, and puts everyone on the same page (instead of rewarding the least scrupulous among us). Right now, everyone is playing the NIL hand they are dealt--and it's the same NIL hand for everyone. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.

Here's a post, from a Kentucky message board, on an NIL reason why Scheierman will probably not end up at Kentucky (question: does Nebraska allow NIL deals like Miami's): “I went to Duke's 247 board. The reason Duke is moving on would actually be a reason UK might not be able to work as well. His agent is the same guy as Nigel Pack, who just signed with Miami with a very specific kind of NIL deal that UK is not doing and Barnhart is not yet allowing (using a "collective" of rich guys basically endorsing and giving money like a contract). Duke, according to Rowe, is more giving guys a platform as a Duke player to go get paid by securing advertising opportunities. UK is doing similar.”

It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Getting interest from Kentucky (via his agent, who's a huge Kentucky fan) is a nice plumb. But actually jumping from the Summit League into the 5-stars Kentucky pool of players is a big jump--and a risky one. Imagine this hypothetical: if a battle for playing time arises (in the next couple seasons) between Baylor and a 5-star freshman who's supposed to be a sure-fire one-and-done, who gets priority? Probably not the Summit League transfer. And Summit Player of the Year honors don't always guaranty success at higher levels. A former three-time Summit Player of the Year from rural Nebraska, for example, is now toiling away on some god-awful professional team in Italy. In retrospect, he probably would have helped his future pro prospects by transferring to play against higher competition.

According to Robin Washut, as of noon today, Antonio Reeves "has no other visits scheduled." At least there's that for some hope.

Ha! A “great personality” has always been underrated. Those who live with a jerk can testify.

I think we will take “non-shooter” guards/forwards who hit more than 60% from two point land over a two-years career in the SEC.

Here's an interesting take on Juwan Gary: an article titled, "Crimson Key to Victory, Keep Juwan Gary on the Court." And here are quotes from his coach in the article: "We need to keep [Juwan Gary] in there, . . . when he plays 25 plus minutes we're undefeated, he's a big part to what we're doing, . . . he brings us energy. He almost shot 100% from the field against Baylor, I think he was seven of eight, missed a wide open alley-oop that he never usually misses," said head coach Nate Oats. "You know, he gets the offensive boards, we need his presence on defense." Another article says Juwan Gary has a career shooting percentage on two-pointers of .613, which is pretty darn good. And here's a stat that is presented as really good--but I have no idea what it means: a "career offensive rebound rate of 12.7 percent."

Then there’s this:

This is from a Kentucky message board: Chin Coleman’s connection to Chicago is one to keep an eye on, as the UK assistant was the head coach for the Mac Irvin Fire (Nike EYBL) from 2005-11. Reeves played at Chicago’s Simeon High School as a three-star recruit before spending his first three college seasons with the Redbirds. He put his name in the transfer portal on March 21.

So . . . it’s all the sweeter when he picks NU over Kentucky?

Hopefully, the low portal activity means Trey McGowens is coming back.

2020-21 Stats for Jake Stevens at VMI include: .467 from floor (122 of 261) .315 from three (34 of 108) .812 from line (95 of 117) 7.8 rebounds per game 85 assists to 61 turnovers 41 blocks and 17 steals 14.9 points per game 31.6 minutes per game 51 fouls in 25 games--did not foul out His 2021-22 stats include: .595 on 2 point shots (125 of 210) .490 from three (74 of 151) .804 from line (115 of 143) 9.0 rebounds per game 98 assists to 74 turnovers 59 blocks and 16 steals 19.6 points per game 33.2 minutes per game 63 fouls in 30 games

According to Washut, Howard is the connection.

Expecting big things from a JUCO in his first season of B1G play is probably too much. Expecting big things from Walker, on the other hand, is well-founded in past B1G performance.

Whitt’s stats from this past season include: .288 from the floor; .220 from three; .429 from the line.

The changes Hoiberg and Alberts agreed upon appear to include better roster stability. Looks like that's happening--with both incoming recruits staying on board (all of them) and current players returning (Walker is the latest). Alberts also said that (i) other changes were implemented toward the end of last year, and ((ii) those changes produced positive results immediately. Looked to me like those positive results began with the second Iowa game. The changes also appear to include a sharper focus on recruiting players from the State of Nebraska--seems like that's working too (e.g., Griesel and Jacobsen). So . . . the ride has been fun, of late. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Even more official: