Swan88

Will they win the next three ? make it so a0t0w0. The next few games will tell the tale on whether Tim Miles has moved Nebrasketball into a new realm of success and out of the enjoy-it-for-a-short-while-before-all-hopes-are-dashed mode.

Georgia is now in sole possession of third place in the SEC.

Hoping for a respectable performance by the Huskers . . . none of this first half blowout problem again!

Gotta love what's happening with Nebrasketball these days! How a team finishes a season is always more important than what happens early-on. That's a good thing for Nebrasketball because of the youthful nature of our team--improvements as the season goes along are almost always greater for a young team than for a senior-laden team. It could still happen, as Tim Miles said, on prospects for getting to the bottom of league standings, especially if some crucial injuries were to occur. But you've gotta like our chances for performing well over the remainder of the season and for good results of some sort in the post–season--and for some excellent recruiting results to follow! In years past (even during the late Nee days), any optimism around this time of year is always dashed by realities that follow. Dare we say/hope/think/expect/believe/wish that this year might be different? My money is on an affirmative answer to that question!

Illinois: top 25 at beginning of season; alone at bottom of the league right now; Rivals-stars galore on the team; a young coach that nearly everyone wanted to hire; next door to one of the largest population centers in North America; etc.

Sounds like we are in pretty good company on Lyrik Shreiner: Shreiner, 6-4 and 180 pounds, visited Louisville on Jan. 25. His other offers are from Oregon, UTEP (visit Feb. 27) and Washington, with Nebraska and Pittsburgh pursuing and Kansas, Connecticut and Kentucky watching.

Any sightings of Mr. Williams tonight?

Benny's 4 for 4 at the free throw line was also helpful!

The development of Leon Gilmore's recruiting situation seemed a bit odd at the time. While being a highly-ranked player, he narrowed down his options, that included the likes of Texas A&M, Okie St., Baylor, Arkansas & UNLV, to a "final three" of Houston, Texas Tech and Creighton, according to a Bluejay source. Word on the street at the time was that Huskers and others had cooled on him and weren't pursuing him further, for unexplained reasons. Perhaps the recent "stay out of trouble" tweet provides that explanation--perhaps not.

Wow. So little faith around here! Pretend you are a high level athlete (a big stretch for most of us, I know), and a 2nd-year B1G coach is calling on you and tells the following verifiable stories about two transfers in their first year playing for him right now: 1. The first is a player recruited by B1G, SEC & PAC 12 schools who signed with an elite SEC school. The elite school had no clue on how to utilize and maximize his strengths, so he rode the bench his entire Freshman year. He transferred to Nebraska, where we found he had a total lack of training from the prior year. We coached him up, and he is now an important cog in the success of our team--as a Sophomore, he's become a prolific scorer and effective rebounder, we are helping him to develop in every phase of the game, and he is continuing to make huge and continuous progress--even as we speak. 2. The second is a three-star who signed with a Big 12 school, where he was lightly and improperly utilized--resulting in middling-to-poor results his first year. He transferred to Nebraska, where we coached him up and turned him loose. He is now ranked # 3 in the B1G Player of Year sweepstakes, he is now one of the top scores in the B1G, he is now identified as a potential first round draft pick--as a Sophomore, and he is improving and excelling at every phase of the game! So . . . you are going to dismiss this coach and those results out-of-hand because of a lack of name-power and tradition? Seriously?!

Once again, Tim Miles leads the way in identifying and pursuing and offering a talented player. It seems that, once Tim Miles shows interest in a player, others jump on board. Here is a recruiting strategy for a competing coach: wait for Tim Miles to identify a talent and then go after him. Or, if I'm a player and Coach Miles comes calling, I'd say, "Hallelujah!," and then sit back and await the interest from other coaches to come rolling in. Or, Coach Miles might consider showing interest in a less-than-talented player for the sole purpose of throwing other recruiters onto a dead-end recruiting trail.

This morning's Omaha World-Herald has an excellent article on Terran Petteway by Lee Barfknecht. Here is a blurb from the early part of the article: "At Nebraska, Terran Petteway's first season is on track to rank among the school's best since the 1970s, even after Wednesday night's clunker at Michigan. The 6-foot-6 sophomore, who sat out last season after transferring from Texas Tech, entered the week second overall in Big Ten scoring at 18.2 points a game and first in league games at 19.5. How significant is that? In the past 40 years, according to World-Herald research, only three Huskers have ever finished first, second or third in league scoring."

Gross inherited a roster last season with four Rivals four-star players on his team. This season, Gross has three freshman on his roster that were Rivals four-star players (Nunn, Colbert & Hill). Would love to see what Tim Miles could do with a handful of Rivals four-star payers on his roster! Illinois is, currently, hovering around the bottom of the league standings.

The pep band is great! Love it! This is a college team. The pep band is a part of the college scene. It plays the school's fight song, it plays the school's traditional songs, it provides a rallying force, and it brings energy to the arena! It provides a high level of live and great-quality sound volume that fills the room over-and-above the crowd noise, instead of recorded sound over the loud speaker. The pep band is particularly enjoyable at the conclusion of a game when we are all basking in the glow of a victory. On coordination with related activity, the pep band actually comes in and out of performance exceptionally well, from my observation, with the game and loud speaker activity--it appears that they work very hard on this. Actually, I find it hard to believe that a substantial group of people perceives the pep band as anything but a great asset for Nebrasketball games!!!

Here is a news article on the subject from a few hours ago: Greg Whittington, whose decision last month to transfer from Georgetown to Rutgers was hailed as a key addition for the Scarlet Knights’ inaugural Big Ten campaign, is not joining the men’s basketball program this semester as planned — and his future prospects with the team are in doubt. Grades are the issue for the 6-foot-8 forward. Georgetown placed Whittington on academic suspension midway through his sophomore season before dismissing him from the team this past November. Asked by phone Friday afternoon whether he would make another attempt to enroll at Rutgers in the fall, Whittington said, “I don’t know yet.” Asked when he would decide, Whittington said, “I don’t know that either.” Whittington averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in 13 games as a Hoyas sophomore last season and projected as a starter for Rutgers. The Maryland native, who was the Washington Post’s All-Met Player of the Year in 2011, underwent surgery for a torn ACL in July. He has either one-and-a-half or two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Sounds like a grades issue for Whittington.

Here is a report on Aleer Leek from July 2013: Another promising power forward from Impact Academy, the 6-foot-8 Leek is only a junior as a 2014 prospect. Leek is much more skilled than Tut, showing nice footwork and post moves on the offensive end, while still being a well-above-average athlete for his size. Leek will need to work on playing with physicality, but he has a unique skill in his shooting ability, which makes him a threat to stretch defensive big men away from the basket with his touch to 17 feet or so. And: Aleer Leek 6’9 F @aleer_leeky long high motor big. Goes after everything. Once adds strength will be a force @teamloadedaau #bigshots — Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) July 13, 2013

Thanks for posting!

Based on recent history, 30+ pages = he goes somewhere else.

Cops on horses with snarling dogs can stop it. At the Orange bowl in 1994 when the Huskers won their first national championship in forever, not a single unauthorized person stepped foot on that field after the game. Thousands of us wanted to storm the field, but cops atop horses and with German Shepherds in tow did the trick!

Still want to see the slow-motion rush-the-court that Tim Miles suggested late last season.

Agree that it was an ankle issue, not the knee. When he initially sat at the end of the bench with trainers inquiring about the problem, he pointed to his ankle, not the knee.

When that happened, I also cheered--thought that was a brilliant move and effort by Peltz!

I'd be interested to know what little things (no pun intended) that you think Parker does that doesn't show up on the stat sheet? He's not a great shooter, he can't be used to double team, he constantly gets beat off the dribble by the guy he is guarding, etc.... I'm not saying he doesn't put forth any effort as I know he's paying as hard as can but just curious what things you think he does that don't show up on the stat sheet? Benny is one of the better defenders on ball that we have IMO. In the first half, when Benny came into the game, the first thing he did was to apply strong defensive pressure on his man that resulted in a turnover and a break-away bucket for the Huskers. That was all Benny's effort and pressure.

The students were awesome!!! Loved it.