Swan88

No stars Rivals. No stars ESPN. No stars 247. No reference to Nebraska (or any other suitors) on any of those sources. Nothing pops up from googling his name and "Nebraska." And Tim Miles apparently STILL couldn't land him. Oh . . . but, according to him, he had offers from "Kansas State, Texas Tech, Houston, Nebraska and Oklahoma State, among others." Yep. This player clearly shows that Nebrasketball recruiting is heading down the toilet after all. And, yep, now it all has something to do with him not being good enough, Nebrasketball cooled on him (apparently before we ever warmed in the first place--perhaps it had something to do with global warming), and Creighton was clearly trying to tag along when were begging him to come visit here.

For some reason I'm the exact opposite from Cookie--this thread and discussion are incredibly frustrating and disappointing: it's like listening to a guy who just won a multi-million $ lottery complain about finances. For Pete's sake, whatever happened to "long, lean and under-rated"? By definition, Tim Miles' recruits will apparently be a disappointment to most. Heck, look at what Tim Miles did at Colorado State with few-to-none stars behind his recruit's names.And for the record, NU is not a tough place to recruit--just ask Tim Miles and, as he says, Connie Yori, John Cook, etc. And for the further record, the world of college basketball is filled with highly-rated recruits whose college performance falls somewhere between "disappointing" and "crashed and burned." Just look at the list of multi-star transfers this year and every other recent year. And then compare them with the over-achieving-from-expectations performance of most players on Tim Miles teams, such as the likes of Benny Parker, Shavon Shields, Walter Pitchford, Terran Petteway, Leslee Smith, and all the scholarship seniors on the prior year's team.

The title of this thread raises the opportunity for a brief celebration of where Nebrasketball actually stands today. Thanks to all above who have so capably highlighted the amazing progress of Nebrasketball in a very short time under the leadership of Coach Miles. What is "right" about Nebrasketball today is exceptionally and amazingly and incredibly "right" and would have been, very literally, unbelievable and unpredictable even five months ago.

What I find funny is that a year ago he was 6'4 180 and was a 4 star top 150 recruit. Now he's 6'6 210 and dropped to a 3 star. This would be a great kid to get this late in the game. The change in his ranking is interesting. According to articles dated a year ago when he committed to Tennessee, 247 Sports ranked him #128 overall and 32 at his shooting guard position, Rivals ranked him 131 overall, and ESPN ranked him 32 at his position. Those rankings appear to be gone now.

These comments from the linked thread about Terran are, in retrospect, of high-entertainment and pure internet-genius quality: Not sure this is the kind of player we want to take. I'd rather pass on him. i think we can do better Yeah. Less than 50% from the stripe? Less than 40% from the field? I probably would have taken the kid from Northern Iowa, but this kid? I think I'd save the 'ship for the 2014 class (when he'd be eligible.) And, not to exclude myself from this genius category, here's my brilliant remark: The biggest disappointment about Terran is that he doesn't appear to be an outside shooter (.462 from the line and .300 for threes--yikes!).

Nebraska visit : May 12-13 UNLV visit: May 16-18 Two days in Lincoln; three in Vegas? And Vegas gets the weekend too?! Hmmmmm . . .

Tough break for Iowa. Huff was their back-up plan to Willie Atwood.

The fifth year one-and-done focus this recruiting season (Ayegba for a big and now potentially Kreklow for a shooting guard) may well suggest that recruiting efforts for the 2015 class are looking strong at such positions. Similarly, it seems an interesting development that Tim Miles did not appear to focus for 2014 on two- or three-year transfer players who must sit out a season, particularly in light of his heavy and effective use of such transfers in the past. Recruiting highest quality four-year players seems to be the highest priority.

I'm going out on a limb and calling the Deng sweepstakes for NU. No inside information here. I get 50/50 odds on this prediction, since Baylor and Indiana appear to be also-rans. Not exactly long-odds. Here are some reasons: 1. Doc beat LSU head-to-head for Dylan Talley back in 2011--so there should be no inferiority complex on this particular battle. 2. The LSU coaching staff seems to have difficulty winning the locker room. How else do you explain this, for example: a. This past year's results of finishing 7th in the SEC and a one NIT win (over San Francisco) with four Rivals four-stars and one Rivals five-star on the roster? Granted, two four stars and the five-star were freshmen--but those freshmen should have been performing at a higher level by NIT time. b. One of the freshmen four-stars is considering a transfer due, apparently, to underperformance issues this season. c. A four-star LSU junior guard did declare early for the NBA--how can a coach have three nearly-NBA-ready players on his team and achieve last season's middling results? That has got the be a dictionary definition of "underperformance." Tim Miles' achievements last year came with only one nearly-NBA-ready player. 3. Deng's 3/4 positions are packed: two four-star forwards (6-8 & 6-9) decided to forego the NBA draft and return for next year alongside 7-0 and four-star Elbert Robinson, and LSU has a commitment from a five-star 6-8 forward in the 2015 class. 4. LSU already has a one-over-signing problem, even without Deng. Nebrasketball it is for Mr. Deng.

Basis for this? A hunch? Or something more?

18 pages in this thread. This is getting serious . . . 18 pages is approaching a level signifying, historically, the recruit-isn't-coming. Here are a few observations (without any conclusions) on Deng's recruitment to Nebraska that, collectively, seem odd: 1. He was clearly on the Husker's radar during the November signing period but did not sign then; 2. His official visit to Huskerland suffered multiple postponements; 3. When Deng finally made it to Lincoln, he sandwiched that visit between Baylor and LSU and is now maybe/possibly/still-thinking-on visiting Indiana but has difficulty knowing for sure; 4. His visits to Baylor and to LSU seem to be something of a surprise to posters on message boards for those teams--which would appear to be true for Indiana fans too; 5. Waiting for grades wouldn't appear to be the issue now because Lee College finals are next week and Deng doesn't appear to be worried about attending class or cramming for finals; and 6. Nebraska coaches appear to be focused on future year recruits and don't appear to be scrambling for additional 2014 players. Hard to figure.

Final exams at Lee College start this coming Monday, May 5, and Commencement is on Saturday, May 10.

Move over peppermint schnapps: "We like our players like we like our zucchini: long, lean and underrated." So said Tim Miles, according to Billy Wampler, as quoted by Robin Washut.

Here is what Tim Miles says about how Moses Ayegba fits into Nebrasketball's system and plans: “Moses Ayegba . . . provides us a veteran physical presence on the interior, and he can affect the game on the defensive end with his rebounding and shot blocking. When building a defense from the inside out, you are looking for a player who can protect the rim and be an anchor, and we think Moses can do that for us. We also think he has the tools to improve on the offensive end and believe he has a chance to flourish in our system next year.”

Here is a comment I made elsewhere on this subject. Foul trouble propensity is, obviously, an issue for Ayegba. However, Jim Molinari might be able to help a little here--after all, the Leathenecks led the nation last year in fewest fouls committed while ranking second in scoring defense. Progress for Ayegba on his foul propensity issue will, in and of itself, increase the value of his contributions dramatically.

Robin mentioned the other day the hold up was more due to making sure he will for sure graduate. So . . . Ayegba must have received confirmation of good news on the Aca-frickin-demic front.

Tom Shatel has an interesting article in today's Omaha World-Herald titled, "Miles in rumor mill is hint of Huskers' relevance." Here are a few blurbs: "The Nebraska men's basketball program grew up last week. Did you see it? A college hoops guru wrote a note online that said to expect Missouri to go after Nebraska coach Tim Miles for its basketball opening. There's a sentence I didn't think I'd ever read in my lifetime. Or any lifetime. . . . Now, Kentucky or Kansas haven't called. But the fact is, a job like Missouri or Tennessee can't lure away the Nebraska basketball coach. There's another one of those weird sentences. . . . Perception is everything in college sports. And the perception of Husker Hoops changed last season, and then again last week. The common denominator is the guy flying to Minneapolis. Don't worry, he promises to return. » Darn. I forgot to ask Miles if he has heard from Phil Jackson yet."

There are only three spots available with some very specific needs and some very specific targets, it seems. Making contacts and building relationships with more than three players and their coaches and families will have many collateral benefits. Not making a final, or even preliminary, list on ten different players that have been contacted is inconsequential.

Will be recruited by the world. Hard to imagine Nebraska having much of a shot. Au contrair, mon ami [that's all the French I know, and had to look it up on the internet to boot]. Anyway, what we are seeing on the potential transfer front, I suggest, is the fruit of an incredible season that produced not only Coach of the year accolades but also an explosion into prominence of former no-body transfers. Players who want to be the next Petteway and the next Pitchford are taking notice and are giving Nebrasketball a hard look like never before (literally). A four-star like Ugbunu is a perfect example [he hails from Nigeria, by the way!]. All of this is for real.

An article in The Oregonian newspaper on Hallice Cooke's impending transfer makes this work ethic observation about him: "Cooke, a three-star product of New Jersey's famed St. Anthony High School, regularly earned praise from teammates and coaches for his tireless work ethic." Sounds like the kind of person Tim Miles would try to recruit.

He signed with Arizona, according to this article: http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2014/4/16/5621778/arizona-basketball-dusan-ristic-2014-recruiting-class

How about this theory on the Ayegba and Deng commitment delays? The Huskers are awaiting confirmation of the graduation status for each before Nebrasketball makes a commitment to or receives a commitment from them.

Stephen Domingo is hard to figure. Coming out of High School he held consensus four-star status by Rivals, ESPN and Scout, and he held top 30 status in the 2013 class as a shooting guard. He also played on the USA's U17 team. He left high school before the last semester of his senior year. At Georgetown he struggled mightily over two years (e.g., something like 11% from three) in limited playing time. He is still only 18 years old. Could he turn it around at Nebraska? Perhaps Tim Miles and Co. think so. Might be a good Hawkins replacement. Here is a link to a Verbal Commits page that has a pre-Georgetown video of him: http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/stephen-domingo . Perhaps Norm and others could weigh in on his shooting form. In addition to Georgetown, he had offers from Harvard and Stanford, so his academics should be strong.

Not that waters for the Arizona roster numbers need to be muddier (for us outsiders looking in), but check this out: Ryan Anderson ‏@_AndersonBC122h I would be happy at any of these schools!! Order doesn't matter but here are my visits...May 2- Iowa state May 5- Indiana May 8- Arizona Ryan Anderson is a 6'9" forward transferring out of Boston College. He will have shoulder surgery during his sit-out year.

"This class could hurt"? Seriously?! Sheesh. Consider it this way: Tim Miles and Co. appear to have both Ayegba and Deng in the fold, if and when the coaches are ready to pull the trigger on them. Meanwhile, the coaches are swinging for the fence behind the scenes, under the radar, and without consulting us internet geniuses.