nustudent

Was it me or did Colgate, Harvard and/or Bowling Green seemingly play in it every year?

The staff feels very confident on both those two guys

This is....eye opening.

This year for all 3 selections

It’s a given since it’s likely no NU fan will even be there to see it

It’ll be tough. Seems it’s like the football schedule where it’s very front loaded. If we can manage the first 8 games and not be completely demoralized, our last 12 seem to be more friendly. I do like our home and away games. I don’t think Penn St, Purdue, Minnesota or Maryland will be anything more than average and we get 8 games there.

18-2, maybe 17-3

I certainly didn't expect us to win 7. I thought we'd be in the 11 or 12 range last year....so in that sense, it was a let down. But I also was expecting Shamiel to be eligible, Jervay to pan out, Kavas to not get hurt and miss half the year and Mack not be a flake. I'm not going to talk myself into thinking we are a top 4 conference team. But I do think we will finish alot higher than 13th or 14th. Padilla pointed out some of the teams above us earlier in this thread. Northwestern is bad. I think Penn St is going to fall off a lot, losing Watkins and Stevens and the drama with their coach. I've been waiting several years for Purdue to fall apart again and think they lost quite a bit plus Hunter is out for 2 months. Turgeon has never impressed me much, and I don't know if they have enough talent to overcome him this year. Michigan will have talent, but not sold on Howard yet either and think they fall off a bit. Minnesota was just okay and they lost their player. So that right there is 6 teams that I'm not overly high on, on the surface. Not saying we will be better than all of them. But I can easily see us getting up to the 8th-10th spot in the conference this year before a breakout year in 2021-2022.

The thing that strikes me about the rotation and we've really never been able to say....is that I don't see anyone that is eligible that I think is incapable. Now there are guys that may not end up being very good or don't pan out. But to me, there's no one on the surface right now that stands out in a bad way. And we've always traditionally had at least one if not 2, 3 or 4 of those guys. If that continues to hold true, that is a pretty valuable x-factor in terms of depth.

If everyone is as advertised....there are no glaring holes. But we're going to be losing someone....just a matter of who. So that could change things.

Yep. Think he could've carved out a role as a utility guy. But he's going to be hard pressed now to ever find that role with what we have coming in. He had a chance being ahead by a year or two on some guys. Not now.

This will easily be the best roster since the early 90s. A few of Miles last teams has a pretty good starting 5 but not much else. This roster is going to have 10 or 11 (at least) legit players and or prospects. If we add McGowens, that will put us at 16 going into next year (with the added year of eligibility). Have to think Thor is going to move on with his degree and head back overseas. Arop is probably the next one to assume. I know we just brought Lakes and Wood in, but I wonder what their role will be. But we also have some older guys like McGowens, Allen and Banton who if they have a big year....could turn pro too.

Pry the same amount that we’re above it last year

Agree with this. I think we're going to have a much better year, but I dont really put a lot of stock in comments like this.

I think Cross could've been someone who was a decent contributor here. But to me, he seemed to already be at his physical peak. Not sure how much better he would've got. I think the team around him could have got a lot better which would've made his role interesting, but that's about it. Cross is probably a safer bet than Andre. But Andre's upside is way higher.

Thor shot below 25% his first two years here. He shot 38% last year. Things can change with different systems. Not saying I think he’s gonna hit at a 40% rate but things as simple as getting good looks can make a huge difference.

I’m not optimistic But if we’re coached well, we have more than enough talent to go 4-4 or 5-3. If we win 3 or less, there’s some very big concerns.

I think there is still a question on pure shooters on this roster, but I'm not really all that worried about it. Lat supposedly can hit. Teddy is a scorer. I think guys like McGowans, Webster and Banton are at worst decent shooters. Stevenson was known as a guy who can hit from the outside. Thor proved to be a very good shooter last year. The added length and ability is going to create more space for a lot of these guys.

We technically had NFL talent in our front 7 last year and it didn't matter. Bottom line is...with Frost's system, we're going to win with offense. We have the pieces in place to improve dramatically there. There other aspect is attention to detail in other phases. Simply being competent in special teams, which is as much coaching and focus as anything, can pay huge dividends

I think you're looking at a rotation of G- McGowans/Webster G-Banton SF-Allen/Thor PF-Lat/Stevenson C-Ouedraogo/Walker The top 5 seems to be Trey, Delano, Allen, Lat and Yvan. I think we have 4 pretty solid reserves that will see quite a bit of time in Webster, Thor, Stevenson and Walker. There's alot of versatility and flexibility in the lineup with some of those guys. I think Arop can carve out a role too as the 10th guy in certain minutes. Andre, to me, will play as well, but more match-up specific and foul trouble related. I don't see Wood playing much at all this year and of course Lakes is sitting out. Think it was mentioned that we went from easily being the shortest team in the league last year to the second tallest (in terms of average height) this year. And it's not just at the 4 or 5. We got bigger all over. It's a new roster and we're coming off the worst season in program history and the Big 10 is a monster.....but there's some very valid reasons for hope.

Is he even going to be playing the 5. Washut seems to think he'll be playing a lot at the 4 with Yvan at 5.

No issue with being 14th after last year id also be surprised if we finish there

The time to complain about the schedule was 6 years ago when it was formed. Not now.

1. Even though the roster was turned over again the guys that were added this year were more handpicked as opposed to a last-minute fire sale type situation last spring. You have multiple guys that redshirted together so there will be more cohesion. You also have multiple guys coming in with plenty of division one power five level experience. Those things weren’t evident last year. On top of that you have a much more complete and well rounded roster. you’re longer, you’re taller, you’re more skilled, you’re more experienced. 2. How much better is up in the air. I think a lot of that depends on what type of season you have. Obviously with the virus that puts the non-con schedule in jeopardy. We need that to build cohesiveness amongst the new players. Jumping right in to conference play is not a good thing for a brand new team even if it is significantly more talented. With that being said assuming a full schedule is played, I fully expect an NIT type team. I’m not gonna come out and say we’re gonna win 25 games and go to the NCAA tournament. But I do think we will be significantly better. That means 2 to 3 more wins in the nonconference as well as the fact we will have more confidence heading into the difficult parts off conference play,to the extent that we won’t give up and quit when things start trending the wrong direction. That is assuming of course that Mcgowans is eligible. 3. As far as filling a Hoiberg roster I think we’re seeing it. You’re seeing a mix of high school, transfers and jucos. I think inevitably high school players will become more prevailant, but in the meantime while he’s building his roster transfers will have a heavier impact early on to achieve success and build a culture. 4. The biggest question I have Right now is our ability to shoot from the outside consistently. I think we will be significantly better in the paint through experience and added bodies. I think we have natural scores in Benton and Allen. But I don’t see a pure shooter from the outside yet. I think we have good shooters and guys who can make shots but not sure we have a pure shooter on the roster currently. Or at least one that is eligible.

McGowens/Webster Allen/King Banton/Thor Stevenson/Mayang Sanogo/Walker/Ouedraogo With Lakes and Arop redshirting sounds pretty good to me.