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Yeah, another great segment. The other two segments were good too - didn't know Kaminsky & the NW point guard whose name I can't spell grew up together. I know we see it plenty, but it's good for others in the B1G footprint and around the country to see that although Miles comes across as a prankster, and seems like he doesn't take anything seriously, that he's actually an intense competitor who isn't shy about getting after people when it's needed ... as Crean has found out. Finding that balance of being a fun players' coach while also having enough respect from them that when you get after them, that they listen & respond - it's a tough juggling act and to me is one of the least recognized keys to being a great coach. But it really seems like Coach Miles excels in that area, as these segments show. Love the inside look at the huddles during timeouts too for the same reasons. As an example, I didn't notice it live, but watching the Illinois TV replay after Petteway threw that long pass away late in the game, then NU got it back & got fouled. Coach called Petteway over and Terran looked like he didn't really want to go over there, knew what was coming. I couldn't tell what Coach said, but after a few seconds, Petteway had a small smile on his face before they cut the shot away. A lot of coaches would've come unglued on him there, but Coach knew the play didn't cost us anything in the big picture, he knew Terran knew better, and he knows Terran plays on the edge, so you have to take some bad with good with him. So he appeared to say something sarcastic/funny to Terran as a way of helping Terran shake it off and let it go. Now in film session today Coach may have a different take, but at that time in the game, I think that was the way to handle Terran - he seems like he beats himself up a lot, so he doesn't need Coach doing that for him at that moment in the game. Had that been a different player making that mistake or had it occurred at a different spot in the game, I'm sure Coach handles it differently. He just seems like he knows which buttons to push with most of the players & reads their moods/personalities well in the moment. A very under-appreciated skill in all walks of life, but especially in coaching.

Tarin's jumper in the lane with 5 min left was huge, really gave NU some breathing room after both teams had gone several possessions empty and the game was stagnating. We were looking a bit gassed & everyone kind of stood around the entire possession, and they just left Tarin on his own, but he stepped up. Huge shot that gave our guys a shot of adrenaline. He also had that big driving layup late in the first half when we really needed it. To hold Illinois to 43 is very impressive, and even several of the shots they hit were challenged well by us. Illinois easily could've ended up in the mid-30s. And that's what happens when neither team gets to the FT line much. I think those refs had someplace to be, so they weren't going to slow down the game by calling a bunch of fouls. Had to be the shortest game time wise we've played this season. They let both teams play for sure. I wasn't as surprised that we didn't see Fuller - I think coach is going to have to pick & choose his spots where he can use Fuller, and Illinois was probably too quick on the perimeter for Fuller to have success defensively.

Just saw Avery up there with Rivers & Shields at the post game press conference on the local TV news - really cool!

Thanks - Seward is very solid this season. I'm hoping to see Trueblood in person in the next few weeks. Just from your description, he almost sounds like Gesell when he was at SSC. Gesell was so much quicker with his first step than anyone else in B that he was a devastating driver, but shooting was the question mark. Gesell also had terrific strength that allowed him to finish through contact near the rim relatively easily at the B level in high school. Not that I'm saying Trueblood's a similar player to Gesell talent wise just that it sounds like they have similar offensive skills/styles at a similar HS level of competition.

So.... is Illinois here yet? Maybe they haven't won a true road game yet because they keep having plane trouble and walk in 30 min before tip. Didn't Mizzou football do that one time a decade or so ago? They tried to fly into Lincoln morning of the game after plane trouble, had more plane trouble that morning, and showed up a few hours before kickoff? Something like that. As I remember it didn't go well for Mizzou that day.

Why? Does Dana have a 6-foot-9 son with 3-point range that we don't know about?

Anyone seen Trueblood play this season yet? Looks like from box scores he's been leading Elkhorn South in scoring most games, and South is one of the top teams in Class B this season. Obviously hopefully NU won't be in the spot where we need walk-ons to play key minutes again any time soon, but with the kind of luck we've had with new walk-ons and injuries lately, it'd be nice if Trueblood can at least get some practice time in next season.

Pinder update: 7th in minutes played 0 starts in 16 games Averaging about 15 min per game 54.4% FG 3-11 3 pt FG 56.3% FT 5.19 pts per game (6th on team) 4.50 reb per game (4th on team) 17 assists 18 turnovers 21 blocks (2nd on team) 44 personal fouls (tied for most) Had 3 pts & 8 reb & 3 blks in 24 min in Hutch's most recent game, a 72-62 loss to #4 Butler. Hutchinson was ranked #6 entering the game and now is 14-2. Looks like Pinder's playing time is steadily increasing ... when he can stay out of foul trouble anyway. Had only 8 min and 4 PF in Hutch's win prior to the Butler game. Hutch's leading scorer & rebounder is a sophomore, DeShawn Freeman, who's a similar sized player to Pinder, so it appears PInder is playing behind Freeman now & would be in line for a starting spot next season. Of course with jucos, you never know who's coming in the following year, so nothing much is guaranteed going into 2015-16.

Cincy went on the road & gave UConn a good run this morning, tight the whole way till late, but they've suffered their first AAC loss, 62-56 And after a slow start Indiana looking good at home vs Oh St on ESPN, leading 32-26 at half. Plus Crean managed to not get caught on camera telling anyone from Oh St to shut up, so that's improvement. I'm not saying he didn't tell a Buckeye to shut up, but he did manage not to get caught.

I loved Smith's reaction - no big deal. Very mature true freshman.

NU 64 Illinois 51

As cwg said, it's almost certainly mental. FTs usually are. Petteway has always shot FTs quickly, taking very little set up time, but it almost seems to me like he's going even faster the past couple of weeks. Maybe slowing down just a touch would help. With all of the video options the coaches & players have, if he is speeding up a bit, it won't take them long to compare this season to last season & get it fixed.

I believe he slapped the ball out of the guy's hand. Honestly Walt has seemed like Pedro Cerrano from Major League II this year at points so him being feisty every once and a while works for me. Yeah, watching the TV replay when I got home (or at least the final 30 minutes of the replay, so glad Gardner-Webb & Radford decided to play 2 OTs ), Walt slapped the ball out of the RU player's hands after the tie up was called & had something to say as he went to retrieve the ball. It didn't seem like a major infraction, kind of ticky-tacky. It did seem like there was some jawing a few minutes before that after an RU foul, so maybe the refs were on alert. Seemed like one of the RU players was kind of trying to calm a teammate down before Petteway shot some FTs, so maybe the refs were really looking for the next issue.

This is a good observation, and I think really explains why Smith & Fuller have taken Webster's minutes. Watching Tai closely the past several games, it just seems like doesn't have a good feel for the game on the offensive end, whereas Fuller & Smith do. It's little things with Tai, like how when he dribbles he just doesn't seem to use the dribble effectively - he doesn't create space for himself, instead seems to dribble into a spot where he makes it easier for the defense. And when Tai makes a pass, it's rarely on the money where the receiver can make an immediate move. It's often at the knees or lower or wide of the mark. Not necessarily a turnover, but it stagnates the offense. And his shot still looks as if he's trying to guide it, rather than just letting it fly. To me, those are just signs that he still doesn't have a good feel for the offensive end, or he's playing so nervously that he's almost paralyzed by fear rather than allowing muscle memory to take hold. Hard to know whether he can fix these items at this point in his career, but he's going to have to do it in practice primarily. I can't see Webster getting many minutes going forward with the 2 big guys back and with Fuller & Smith playing well. Hopefully he takes this as a challenge to work on those little things. I liked that Pitchford took as many 2s as 3s last night. Benny's offense really allowed us to take control - the back to back 3s and then the driving 3-pt play that got reversed from a charge to a block sparked the run that sealed it Maybe it's just my imagination and/or wishful thinking but it sure seemed like NU's offensive spacing was so much better with the big guys back out there last night. Petteway's driving lanes seemed more open, which allowed him to get into the lane & make cleaner passes after driving - good to see his 5 assists. Perhaps the better spacing gave him better sight lines to make those passes. And the 3 that he hit off the drive from Parker late in the shot clock was pure - he's such a better shooter when he can step into it, like most guys, rather than trying to create the jump shot off the dribble or off a sideways pass. With better spacing, perhaps NU can get more of that inside-to-outside passing going, which should help the outside shooting percentages overall. I agree with the good observation that as Rivers and Parker's minutes drop slightly, their production should increase NU again did a really nice job taking the opponent's best guard out of the game - mostly Benny, but a few different guys checked Mack throughout the night NU's defensive rebounding was a disaster again, especially early, but I honestly think part of it was the fact that RU's shots were so bad, that they clanked awkwardly off the rim and backboard (or missed everything) often enough that the normal rebounding angles didn't apply, catching NU's defenders off guard. That certainly doesn't explain all of the rebounding problems, but it was an issue. Overall, a much needed win with some good signs - even if Rutgers is horrible.

I know we didn't end up playing DePaul out in Hawaii, but after watching them, that team was a complete disaster out there. Hard to believe they're alone in first in the Big lEast at 3-0. Not sure if that says more about the quality of the Big lEast, the quality of the conference teams DePaul has played so far, or maybe it's both equally.

Nah, this topic will never die. After all, he could still transfer to NU as a graduated 5th-year senior

NU 73 Rutgers 59

Time to break this odd opening trend to the B1G schedule - 3 of 4 road teams won yesterday. Wisky won at home as expected today, but Purdue's down 12 late first half at home to the Gophers. Time for the PBA to put an end to this trend of B1G road success! (Then the trend can start up again next week.)

Well that's kind of the risk/reward - if we get Agau as a transfer then it was probably smart to hold that scholarship. If we strike out with all of the mid-year transfers, then maybe you can second guess. Sometimes it's worth having an open one for mid-year options - I don't mind that strategy on occasion. Whichever walk-on got the extra scholarship only has it guaranteed 1st semester, so it can be taken back if needed for a mid-year player. And I don't think anyone, even UNO coaches, thought Thurman would be doing what he's doing so quickly, so it's tough to fault NU's coaches on this one. If he keeps developing & improving though, I have to think Miles & Co will definitely feel like they missed one.

Had a chance to watch Thurman/UNO recently a couple times - I think he's going to be a very good player for UNO/Summit League. Athletically reminds me of Rivers, but has more range on his jump shot & is better off the dribble already. Similar explosion around the rim, although Thurman had a very impressive dunk in traffic off a drive from the FT line vs UTPA. Rivers can dunk on rebounds, but doesn't show that explosion off the dribble. Thurman does some nice things defensively too, shows a good feel for the game. Not sure he'd be ready to play the 4 defensively at this point in a P5 conference like Rivers is doing though. He should be fine playing the 4 in the Summit, even as a true frosh. Overall he's playing very well, especially considering UNO didn't expect him to have to play as many minutes as he's playing, but injuries have given Thurman a chance & he's taking advantage of it. Moot point as NU wasn't going to wait to see if he would qualify and had other recruiting options, but it would've been interesting to see him at NU & whether he could have developed into a starter at B1G level eventually. I'll be hoping he does well at UNO, always nice to see in-state kids excel at the D-1 level.

Probably because he hasnt been to the US to visit any schools. He is visiting LSU this upcoming weekend so hes killing two birds with this trip since they are his final 2. Makes sense

So do McVeigh & Agau play 1-on-1 at halftime of NU-IU to see who gets the last scholarship? Anyone know why McVeigh didn't sign anywhere in the early period?

NU 67 IU 64

In the "revised" season predictions in the OWH today, NU moved from a 4th-place prediction in November to 8th place today. So I guess the good news is that means we're the "hunters" again. And we didn't fall the farthest - Michigan went from 5th to 10th. Indiana is up from 9th to 4th. http://www.omaha.com/huskers/with-carryover-missing-husker-hoops-sometimes-seem-stuck-between-seasons/article_d2ff8222-bad3-5343-b6db-3342955602f1.html

G-town wins 91-87. G-town jumped in front by 7 early in OT, but IU fought back again and had the ball twice down 3, but rushed a long 3-pt shot the first time and turned it over the second time, and IU never got the ball back down one possession again. I thought IU did a lot of good things, but it seemed like when Yogi tried to dominate the ball, they struggled a bit (not withstanding the pair of 3s he threw in at the end of regulation, although both of those were desperation type shots). And it seemed like Yogi tried to take over in the middle of when G-town started to make its runs, which lengthened the runs a bit. IU was really clicking when they shared the ball and spread the floor. Should be a really good test Wednesday!