Swan88

Michael O'Brien is Chicago Sun-Times Prep Sports Editor. This is from a report he published yesterday: "Nebraska-bound senior Nana Akenten is a Player of the Year contender, his presence alone made the Raiders one of the area’s top teams. . . . Akenten, a 6-6 wing, scored 21 points. He shot 4-for-7 from three-point range. With his size and leaping ability he’s able to get off a three-point shot over nearly any high school guard. 'Offensively he can do just about whatever he wants,' Brost said. . . . 'He’s well over 50 percent from three on the year. That’s pretty good, I’m glad he’s on my team.'”

Nebraska hasn't signed an academic liability in the Tim Miles era. Other teams do.

Iowa St. is ahead of UNO by 63-28 early in the second half. its now 80-34.

Last night's loss has to rank as one of the biggest Nebrasketball disappointments in a while. That's because the kids played well against a good team of experienced players--and it took some incredibly bad luck along the way and at the end to assure the loss. On the other hand, with a break-or-two we'd all be typing here today about how incredibly well these kids are developing and what a great job the coaches are doing at bringing them along just-right. The difference here between great discouragement and extreme optimism is very slight. The encouraging thing from last night and recent games is that the Huskers are performing well much of the time against high quality-competition . . . and are doing it with sophomores and freshmen playing major roles. Many of these youngster roles will be increasing as the season moves along. Jordy is looking impressive at times (imagine saying that four games ago). Isaiah is getting more comfortable. Morrow is coming into his own. Glynn has ice in his veins. Etc. And who would've ever thunk, over the past two years, that our lone-senior Tai could play this well . . . and do it consistently!

Kansas is five games away--it's not within the next four games. But Creighton is--let's do that one.

Gotta be proud of the Huskers for hanging in there on this one. They are learning as they go . . . and this game is a significant step.For example, our half-time deficit last night is 13-or-so. A reporter grabs the UCLA coach on his way to the half-time locker. The coach says they want to speed the game up and says, if UCLA can push the lead to 17, the Huskers will have to speed up -- which will help UCLA. Right after half-time the lead moves to 15, at which time the Huskers start attacking in the paint. Then the Huskers start dominating--on both ends of the court. Next thing we know, it's a two-point game, and UCLA goes to a zone. The zone slows us up enough for UCLA to survive.After the game, Coach Molinari says we'll be seeing more of Jeriah and Isaiah because of their scoring abilities.

Michael Jacobson seems to have added a hook shot, this season, that looks pretty sweet. Miles's post-game last night bemoaned the multiple failures to enter the ball to him.

Ha! Thanks, Col, for the reference. Disclaimer: The Race Thompson picture above isn't mine: I didn't even make it to the Minnesota game, unfortunately. And I'm never, actually, "on the field." My game-day activities are much less interesting than that.

This will be a fun year. And it will be a growth year. And it will be a good year. I'm not ready to start talking, or even thinking, about "next year" any time soon.

Minutes for the new guys last night (Evan, Jeriah, Isaiah and Jordy) were 9, 11, 10 and 10, with the experienced guys playing the bulk of the game. Hopefully, we'll see the reverse tomorrow night against the U. of Mary.

Instead of crying over spilled milk, why nothing on this board about this new offer:

Yeah. Agreed. His maturity will be missed. I doubt that he'll accomplish his goals at Syracuse any better than he would have at Nebraska.

From both Omaha and the Sudan?! Hmmmm . . . I thought those bridges went up in flames earlier this year.

Ha! Good point. Isaiah Roby's play last night is definitely a surprise. He's the new-kid-on-the-block, the shiny-new-toy, the I-found-a-stash-of-cash-in-the-attic, the didn't-know-we-had-such-a-thing, kind of player. Early parts of the game brought some, "Whaaaat?!," reactions to Roby's play. Miles has been telling us Roby is really good, even talking about NBA-type quality--but that's just coach-speak. And the recruiting rating services didn't seem to think he's quite this good--he kept moving up a little but never approached an elite status. And he played in the Chicago area (though in a small school), where he had exposure to lots of basketball-type people. His high-level play last night is a surprise to most of us fans . . . and a most-pleasant one at that!

And Roby makes a big difference when he is in the game!

The best (and most exciting) part of Nebrasketball, these days, is the quality of the last two recruiting classes. Every one of this year's scholarship freshmen and sophomores is a high-quality difference-maker. Can't wait to see their progress through the season!

The three freshmen all look good!

Nice fast break by Roby. At the line now. He drains a mid-range jumper too. Roby beats Jake on the jump ball. Glynn has a quick drive to the bucket. Jordy can clear the glass!. A nice inside move for a bucket. Tai looks very quick. No Morrow tonight!? --He is sick, I'm told. Palmer looks good--big and athletic.

Nothing but the bottom of the net -- McVeigh from three. Did it multiple times.

Jeriah looks good from three. And he's not bashful about taking that shot. And a nice floater too.

Tai has a no-look pass to Jordy underneath for a bucket at the end of the shot clock. Sweet!

95 - 86 is an interesting slow-it-down score.

Ok. So let me get this straight: 1. A tweet says "Nebraska" visited this guy. 2. There have been a couple erroneous reports that, (i) he visited the football game (my error), and (ii) he might have been going to commit on the visit he didn't make (someone else's error); and 3. We can find no other connection anywhere, so far, between this player and Nebrasketball. Hmmmm. That's got to be worth at least two full pages of discussion. Something might turn up with him down the road.