Swan88

These two dunks are awesome!

Names and discussion in this thread are, collectively, the strongest argument, yet, for keeping Fred Hoiberg!

Beginning with the Illinois game (Jan. 11) and through the Northwestern game (Feb. 5), Lat is 10 for 21 from three: 2 for 2 Illinois 1 for 3 Purdue 2 for 4 Indiana 2 for 4 Wisconsin 2 for 5 Rutgers 1 for 2 Michigan 0 for 1 Northwestern

I'm doubling down on my vote above from a couple days ago ("vote early, vote often" is the operative motto). Here's why: 1. Nebrasketball has reached the status of Husker Football--we can now play close games against quality teams (e.g., at the beginning of the fourth quarter against Iowa in Memorial Stadium, with a 22-3 lead, I said, "They have us right where they want us!"--thought I was joking; said the same thing last night but wasn't joking); 2. BTN declared last night that Bryce McGowens is now the favorite for Big Ten Freshman of the Year--that helps with recruiting, no matter what the context might be; 3. It looks like both Derrick Walker and Trey McGowens are likely to return for next year--if that happens, we could finally have a solid group of seasoned players who have played with each other; 4. JUCO players (e.g., Tominago) usually take a year to develop and then turn things up in their second year; 5. Husker Football shows the value of giving a coach under pressure a chance to make progress (this is a variation on, "You can't fire your way to success"); and 6. Zack Taylor went, during the prior two years, (i) 2 wins/14 losses, and (ii) 4 wins/11 losses--firing him at the end of those two seasons would have been, in retrospect, a mistake.

According to Washut, Derrick Walker has no interest in playing ball professionally. He is starting a trucking business and figures another year of scholarship and NIL will help.

According to Robin Washut, within the past week, "momentum is building" toward both Trey McGowens and Derrick Walker returning.

And as long as we are comparing, get this on starting points: “Hunter Sallis, a standout 6-foot-5 guard at Millard North High in Omaha, Nebraska, celebrated his 18th birthday Friday by announcing his commitment to Gonzaga. Sallis becomes the highest-rated recruit in program history in 247sports’ composite rankings. He’s No. 6 in the 2021 class.”

Let’s see . . . how to weigh these two things? 1. A run as bit player deep into March Madness, with potential for a better role next season; or 2. A prime role on a struggling team with ever-improving potential for multiple millions of dollars in-pocket next season. Hmmmm . . . that’s a tough one.

From a January 8 report: "In his second game back from injury, Red Raven center Blaise Keita announced his return with authority leading Coffeyville with 24 points and 8 rebounds."

Again . . . Hunter Sallis should be so lucky.

My vote: another year. Here's why: 1. Bryce McGowens is developing well toward the NBA draft, according to NBA experts (Hunter Sallis should be so lucky); 2. Team progress between Rutgers 1 and Rutgers 2 is obvious; 3. One part of that progress is the return of Trey McGowens; 4. Rutgers 2 happened without our second leading scorer--and # 3 scorer is a long ways behind (here's hoping/expecting Verge's return will be a net positive for the team); 5. Quality recruits are committed for next year; 6. Hoiberg and staff are good people with a history of success at Iowa St.; 7. The secret extension in mid-January (a month after Michigan and Auburn debacles) speaks volumes; 8. Etc.

Here's a part of Kevin Cross's stat line (spoiler alert--he isn't shooting many 3s any more): 79-148 .534 3-13 .231 44-60 .733

Who knows whether Hoiberg can pull this out. But consider: 1. When Tim Miles came to Nebraska, he had the following returning players from Doc's teams: David Rivers, Brandon Ubel, Ray Gallegos, Dylan Talley, Andre Almeida (and Shavon Shields--committed to Doc). 2. In the two years before firing Tim Miles, Moos undermined him at every turn, torpedoing Miles's recruiting efforts. 3. So, when Hoiberg arrives, he has the following returning players from Miles's teams: Thor Thorbjarnarson and Dachon Burke. I've always begrudged what Moos did to undermine Miles for a couple years. If he wanted Miles gone, he should have fired him upon making that decision. Here's guessing that Trev Alberts has no intention, with Frost or Hoiberg, of "Moosing" either of them.

According to Sipple: Phillips was Nebraska's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2013. He might've ended up a Husker had Bo Pelini's staff offered him a scholarship earlier in the process. With an earlier offer, he might not have attended a summer camp at Stanford. There's a lot of "what ifs" in that discussion, too. But Phillips' current "what if" — What would his life be like now had he starred at NU instead of Stanford? — is indeed provocative, especially in the wake of Johnson and Dickerson's decisions.

Danny Woodhead, Harrison Phillips, Joe Burrow . . . oh, wait. In a reverse deal: Tom Osborne turned Barry Sanders down in favor of Johnny Rodgers's son.

Here's a theory: The cratering in Michigan, Auburn and Kansas St. games is the direct result of false rumors that distracted coaches and players--all of them. The false rumors told of multiple rules violations, a terrible influence by a coach (who took a leave of absence), and the impending termination of the entire coaching staff. Those rumors ultimately resulted in nothing on the publicity front: no expose', a return to the bench of the maligned coach, and a partial return to normalcy. But the immediate effect of those rumors on the coaches and players and the performance of both was, undoubtedly, massive. Imagine, each one of us, if we faced such malignity in our own workplace and home lives--we'd be devastated. To expect less from public figures like these coaches and players is unrealistic. Who knows what the rest of this season holds. Hopefully, their expected potential (without Banton, without Trey for a while, without Wilhelm) can be reached. But the failure of fans to acknowledge the reality and validity and effect on performance of malignant, malicious and vicious rumors perpetrated by foes and friends, alike, is disappointing.

If Bryce can improve on last night's 6 of 19 shooting (2 of 6 from three), we'll win some games.

Since this is bag-on-Bryce (well-deserved, of course), it’s also worthwhile to note that, when he fouled out, we were up by 22.

So . . . for a break from gloom, let’s try this: 1. Played pretty good defense a lot of the game; 2. Am impressed with Tominaga—if any of his many rim-out threes had gone in, the game would have a better complexion—surely those will start falling? 3. How did K State beat Illinois?

How long has this been going on? A knee issue, apparently:

Washut is saying he doesn't know anything beyond rumors--which are all over the place. The most he says is this: "More information should come out today, whether by USA Today or another national media outlet with an exposé, or from Hoiberg himself during this morning’s media session." Question: Why would a USA Today or other national news outlet be interested in an expose' on Nebrasketball? That's newsworthy on a national scene? On football . . . maybe. On volleyball . . . maybe. On bowling or rifle . . . a long shot. But men's basketball? A bunch of dirt may well come out . . . but until it does, here's guessing that most of this is speculation or fabrication around the "health issues" departure.

Ha! Good one.

And your sources are? And your reasons for divulging private medical information (assuming your sources are good) are?

Care to explain the insinuations?