75unlgrad

I have to hope that we have a legitimate shot at landing both Freidrichsen and Betts. I donl't want to give up hope and be a football fan only.

We have a good start for the 2023 recruiting cycle with Chase Clemmons at point guard. We have an excellent chance at Parker Freidrichsen as an off-guard. And I would love to add Kadyn Betts from Colorado as a power forward to this class. All three would be solid building blocks for our program. All three would give me hope for the future.

When do the new players report? When do summer practices start? We have six new players coming into the program. Are all of them going to be here in early June or will we have to wait for some? In particular, when does the JUCO center Blaise Keita arrive?

I am surprised that no one mentioned Blaise Keita as a potential 'break-out' player. He is an older, mature player at 6'10" and 240 lbs. In the Big 10, we need a player that can defend the rim and grab a rebound without getting pushed out of the paint. He has the size and maturity -- what if he is the real deal? There's our break-out player.

How is Blaise Keita's injured knee? I know he missed the first part of the season but played in the second half of the season. I didn't see any write-ups. At the end of last season many experts considered Blaise the best center playing JUCE ball. Did he make a 100% recovery? Does he run the floor well? Was he agile in the paint? Did he block shots? Did he rebound? Did he show any offensive moves in the paint? -- OR -- Did he 'lumber' down the floor to the offensive end and just 'stand in the paint' and block up the lane for the other teammates? I WANT TO KNOW IF WE ARE GETTING THE BEST JUCO CENTER IN THE COUNTRY -- OR -- ARE WE GETTING A DAMAGED PLAYER THAT IS NOT AS GOOD AS HE WAS BEFORE THE INJURY? Blaise Keita needs to be a STUD IN THE MIDDLE for us to be competitive this season. His health is more important than landing Gray.

It is OK to have hope -- you are not alone.

I do not believe that C.J. Wilcher or Keon Edwards will transfer because it would be their second transfer. I think they would have to sit out a year if they transferred again.

I am terribly disappointed in this year's season like everyone else. I attended the exhibition game with Colorado and had my expectations for the season go sky-high. Again, I am so disappointed in our lack of team play. We did not solve our problems with 'point guard play' and we did not solve our 'lack of rebounding' problems. However, I am a die-hard Nebraska basketball fan and I REFUSE to give up. All of you on this board that have given up, I understand. But please do not respond to his thread with hate, despair, anger, hopelessness, etc. I know everything you are going to say. I have been to all the games. I've already heard it. Please go to another thread if all you want is to 'bad mouth' me for trying to see some positives that we can build on. I want to see if there are any other 'hopeful' fans left that want to talk about our future in a positive way. (It is a 300 mile round trip for me to see games -- please don't question my loyalty -- my mental competence maybe -- but not my loyalty.) So, on the positive side -- I see our rebounding problems starting to improve. We will have better size with Eduardo Andre (6'10" sophomore), Blaise Keita (6'10" soph), and Oleg Kojenets (7'0" redshirt freshman) than we did this year. We also have Wilhelm Breidenbach (6'10" sophomore) that can play post or power forward. I like the recruiting class that we are bringing in -- one juco and three freshmen) Blaise Keita -- 6'10" and 240 lbs. -- top juco post -- 4-Star rating (Sophomore in eligibility) Denim Dawson -- 6'6" forward -- rated #185 in his class Jamarques Lawrence -- 6'3" guard -- rated #146 in his class Ramel Lloyd -- 6'5" guard -- rated #135 in his class I believe that you build a team by recruiting strong freshmen classes and have them develop over 4 years. This season, we had seven freshmen players on the roster (Eduardo Andre, Keon Edwards, and C.J. Wilcher were considered freshmen in eligibility due to covid). The true freshmen were Breidenbach, Byrce McGowen, Kojenets, and Quaran McPherson (6'3" redshirt guard). If Byrce McGowen leaves after his freshman year, we will have six sophomores and three freshmen on the roster next season. That is a good nucleus to develop and build on. I don't know if Keisei Tominaga, Lat Mayan, Trey McGowen, and Derrick Walker will return. I would like to see Bryce McGowen return for one more year but I doubt that will happen. If all players came back, we would be one over the scholarship limit at 14. Some will have to leave because WE MUST RECRUIT A POINT GUARD for next season and maybe one more perimeter shooter. (portal -- be good to us) So, starting next season, we will be playing a lot of young players that have a chance to develop and be competitive in the BIG 10. I like the size and depth of our post players (when was the last time we ever said that). I like C.J. Wilcher -- I thought he improved and gained confidence these last five or six games. I like Keon Edwards -- I expect him to be one of our better players when he is a junior and senior (I know, he hasn't shown much yet, but I believe that he has a great amount of potential. He didn't play his senior year in high school due to covid and it shows. He didn't have the confidence to assert himself on the court this year and seemed to defer to the older players. I think he has as much talent as anyone on the team and will show it with time.) I plan to purchase my tickets again next year and drive 300 miles to watch them play. I want to stay positive about Husker basketball. I want to be hopeful. I want these 9 sophomores and freshmen to be the building blocks for long successful runs to the NCAA tournament. Am I all alone out here or are there a few other 'die-hards' that have hope for the future?? Go Big Red!!

Remember when it was projected that Adama Sanogo and Carter Whitt were going to sign with the Huskers Adama Sanogo is a 6'9" (240 lbs) center that chose Connecticut over Nebraska at the last minute. He was ranked as the #70 player (Rivals) in the 2020 class. Last year as a freshman at Connecticut, he earned Big East All Freshman Team and is considered one of the top big men returning to the Big East. Carter Whitt is a 6'3" point guard. He too was projected to sign with Nebraska and chose Wake Forrest over Nebraska at the last minute. He was ranked the #63 player (Rivals) in the 2020 class and the #10 point guard nationally. How different would our team have been the last two years IF these two players would have chosen Nebraska? We desperately need a true post player and a true point guard. I can't help thinking how exciting our future would look with these two building blocks in their sophomore season. Instead, we have a lot of 'doom and gloom' and not much hope. I didn't realize at the time how impactful those two defections were.

NU 78 NCS 71

We need to keep playing Edwards. He has great natural ability. We need to remember that he did not have a senior season because of covid. He is making the jump to D1 after being 'forced' to miss his last year of high school. He is one of the players that we need to develop. In two years, we have Tominaga (sr), Wilcher (jr), Breidenbach (jr), Edwards (jr), Andre (jr), Blaise Keita (jr), and Ramel Lloyd (soph), This is a nucleus that can compete in the BIG. We need to keep bringing in two or three freshmen recruits each year. We build our team with freshmen recruits that stay 3 to 4 years. We can bring in one transfer to meet a specific need -- if he has the mental discipline to play within the system. We would also take a 'one-and-done' player occasionally if the opportunity came. But main point is we build our team with freshmen recruits.

NU 72 SD 62

NU 92 Tenn 62

I forgot to add 5 players in double figures

NU 85 SU 61

NU 85 ID 64

Verge needs to go to the bench. He wants to be our primary scorer (and dribbler). Bring him and Tominaga off the bench and give our second unit some 'instant offense.' We need to start developing our freshmen class more. Our upperclassmen aren't passing and cutting and playing 'Hoiberg Ball.' None of them have shown the ability to be 'THE MAN' and consistently lead the team when needed. I would start Kobe Webster at point, C.J. Wilcher at guard, Bryce McGowens at forward, Wilhelm Breidenbach at forward, and Walker at the post. My first subs would be Lat Mayan and Eduardo Andre for Breidenbach and Walker -- help protect the big guys from foul trouble. My next sub would be Keon Edwards for Kobe Webster -- I would move Bryce McGowens to 'point forward' and Edwards to the forward position (I want the ball in Bryce's hands more than what we saw in the last game). Tominaga would be my next player off the bench followed by Verge. If the upperclassmen don't start producing at a higher rate, I think we will see these freshmen (in eligibility) get more and more playing time: Bryce McGowens -- forward and 'point forward' C.J. Wilcher -- guard Keon Edwards -- forward Wilhelm Breidenbach -- forward Eduardo Andre -- post I don't know what other Husker basketball fans think. I, for one, have no problem restricting the upperclassmen to less and less playing time -- especially if they continue to play like they did the last three games. The future is with the freshmen class. I would rather lose games with a young team that shows improvement over a veteran team that doesn't seem to learn from its mistakes. As a season ticket holder, I would much rather attend games watching a talented group of young players learning to play in our system over veterans that don't want to pass the ball and play team ball.

Nebraska 78 Creighton 69

Nu 88 SH 62

With our current line-up, we have an obvious rebounding problem. Opponents are getting too many extra possessions on offensive rebounds. I know that Lat didn't play last night and he would have helped, but our problem still exists. I hope Fred considers playing two 'bigs' at the same time. When we only have Walker or Breidenbach on the floor, we get killed on the boards. I don't know why Andre isn't playing. I would like to see him and Walker share the 'post' position and Mayan and Breidenbach share the power forward position. When Walker and Mayan come out of the game and Andre and Breidenbach go in for them, we become taller (with longer arms) and should continue to hold our own on the boards. When we aren't making our 3-point shots at a high percentage, we can't afford to give up this many rebounds. Fred may have to adjust his style until Breidenbach grows into his post player and we recruit a true power forward that can help on the boards.

Looking forward to Tuesday night. We have a huge talent upgrade from the previous two seasons. A lot of young talent. Fred and Matt doing their job.

NU 94 WI 58 10 non-conference wins 21 total wins

If one of the McGowens was sick the day of the picture, would the staff take the picture anyway or would they re-schedule the picture? My guess -- they would re-schedule the picture. That is why it bothers me that they left Andre out. Something isn't right.

Maybe Robin could provide more information concerning Andre's lack of playing time. Are the coaches telling him that he is the 3rd option at the post position behind Walker and Breidenbach? My thoughts coming into the season were that Walker and Andre would share the duties in the post and Mayen and Breidenbach would share the power forward position. This would give us two rim protectors/rebounders on the floor at the same time. Rebounding has been a major problem for us and we didn't rebound very well against Peru State. I know that we are a 'positionless' offense but we can't keep getting killed on the boards. We give up way toooo many second opportunities. I think we will need two 'bigs' on the floor for major minutes in the conference games. And when Keon Edwards is at the small forward position, we will have three legitimate rebounders in the game.

I don't know why Andre is so far down the list. I thought he was really coming on last season and hoped for an even bigger jump in improvement this fall. It bothered my that he was left out of the team picture. That isn't right. The picture should have been rescheduled. Are they sending a message to Andre that we don't want him? I don't get it. To me, the most explosive offensive starting five would be: 1. Verge 2. B. McGowens 3. Edwards 4. Breidenbach/Mayen 5. Andre (Four of these potential starters are freshmen in eligibility -- the future looks good.)