throwback

Notes from Fred's Thursday press conference: Gary will not play Monday - no timetable on when he will be allowed to return Everyone battling injuries is day to day Mast practiced a little bit yesterday, non-contact drill, responded well, today is off day Allick the same Lloyd the same Tominaga out of the boot and walking well – was sore the next day after Doane, but responded well – will have him move around tomorrow Keita – no running or jumping, in the next week or so we’ll test the ankle 4 guys sick with strep throat – most are doing well, expect 3 of them to practice tomorrow Hope we get all of these injuries out of the way early Next man up mentality Rice & Jacobson got chances to take advantage of their minutes v Doane, Sam played great in first chance to start Hopefully we’ll continue to get guys back on the floor by Monday Sam – I saw nerves last year when he first realized he was going to be needed, but he then responded and continued to gain confidence, shot 40+% from 3-pt, great defensive plays – always know what he’s going to give us – he impacts winning with the way he plays defense – has worked hard in offseason on offensive end, hunting shots and finishing Lindenwood shoots it very well – added some athletic players – we have film from one of their scrimmages – they play hard, good size – good test for us – as we get healthy we need to make sure we do a great job on the glass vs them – must limit catch and shoot 3s – we’ll play with great effort & preparation We just have to trust the medical staff regarding when it’s the right time to bring guys back to avoid lingering injuries into the season – our medical staff is on top of it – but sometimes you have to push the guys through some things to see where they’re at health wise – just have to trust the process and ramp things up at the right time Still had a competitive hard practice yesterday without having a lot of bodies available – we’ll practice hard tomorrow and then back off slowly going into Monday Tominaga is still sore with a bit of swelling, but was walking without a limp – we will protect him & be smart with him – he actually does have a history with some ankle sprains I found out later, so that may help him recover faster and know what he can do Really want to get off to a fast start in the season and show our toughness – set the tone – even when the ball doesn’t go in the hoop, playing hard and tough can generate offense with deflections – we’ll show great fight every time we play and the fans will appreciate it We’ve been practicing so long already – going since June with the foreign trip – far different than how long you could practice in the past in the preseason – our guys are sick of going vs each other – games vs Utah & Doane are very helpful for finding things to work on – I think we’ll continue to grow as more guys return to health Trying to find combinations might be easier this year because of everything we dealt with last year with injuries and vastly different combos last year – guys had to be ready to go and realize that their roles may change from the start of the season to the end We are really focusing on culture & chemistry – they saw how it worked last year and they want to build on it – that will help us play hard for all 40 minutes and have a consistent year and hopefully make the postseason – need to sustain the better parts of last season for the entire year Can’t say enough how much I enjoy going to work with this group every day – the care for each other genuinely – so important in building chemistry when games are under stressful times Excited about 19 home games – excited about the experience of this team, because it’s easier to get through tough times – appreciate their approach Right now we’re not planning on redshirting anyone but we’ll see There’s no common denominator to these injuries, Mast was an attack off the floor, Allick just landed awkwardly contesting a shot, Lloyd got hurt diving on the floor for a ball, Keisei just twisted an ankle – they’ve all been a little different

I remember the first time he brought Tech to the Devaney Center, sometime in the early 00s - so much local buzz around him and that game as it had to be the first time he coached against NU in Lincoln. He was such a huge deal at that time. A lot of folks sitting around me were watching him more than the game, hoping for some sort of blowup As I recall, Tech was pretty good but we kicked the crap out of them. Students might have even rushed the floor? He couldn't have been on better behavior, though, which I'm sure disappointed some people.

NU 88 L 56 9 19

It was an interesting fall - looks like we have lots of depth to spread around in the batting order - can really match up well vs the starting pitcher - lots of lefties vs a RHP and vice versa. We'll see if they all produce when the lights come on for real, but sounds like the bats came around faster than expected this fall and from a bigger variety of players. Spreading the load among more players is a good way to try to replace the loss of Matthews & Anderson. Pitching was up and down in the fall, but NU held out a few top arms to keep them fresh after big workloads in the spring and summer. Tough to replace your #1, #2, setup guy, and closer, but they like a lot of different arms they have available. We'll see who steps up between now and mid-February, as I'm not sure we have a clear-cut trio of weekend starters yet. Sometimes that's good - it means there's lots of competition and you have plenty of depth out of the pen. I think more often it's a struggle, though - you really want that shutdown Friday guy to be pretty obvious from the jump, and you then can define roles for everyone else from there. You don't want to be auditioning Friday night guys through the non-con weekends. Childress may need to work a bit of magic between now and the opener to help someone take a jump.

Sit down with Fred, Mast, and CJ: TEAM THAT NO ONE WANTED TO PLAY AT THE END OF THE YEAR - HOW? Fred - players deserve that credit for building a chemistry and culture that we could fight through the injury adversity - built a mindset of defense and toughness - after we lost 2 primary guys who were the heart and soul of that defensive team, we needed other guys to step up - Lawrence, Sam, CJ, all had big games - just the culture and chemistry that these guys built allowed us to fight through adversity and to build momentum for finding impactful transfers and freshmen - really helped attract guys who will help us in a big way. CJ - Testament to our coaches for setting the standard to meet every day - Griesel and Walker were guys who led by example, they played hard so we followed suit - testament to consistency. WHAT MADE NU ATTRACTIVE? Mast - How they showed in Feb their promise for the future - the way they played fit in well with my style of play, how coach likes to run offense, and how they play hard defense - I like to pass and play smart, but also play physical - try to bring a lot of versatility. TEAM PLAYED ONE WAY AT BEGINING OF YEAR, PLAYED DIFFERENTLY LATER IN THE YEAR, YOU'VE HISTORICALLY PLAYED FAST, WHAT'S THE IDENTITY THIS YEAR? Fred - Still figuring it out - we're playing fast right now in practice - I think we have the personnel with Mast & Allick, guys that can really shoot - bigs that can stretch the floor in the trail position - opens driving lanes - when we've had that element in my offense at Iowa St & Chicago, it works - Walker led us in assists - but Mast is a shooter too - we had a potent offense last year with Keisei out there, but we had to play more zone, and we were able to flip the way we played middle of the year. KEISEI, GREAT SUMMER, BUT DESCRIBE HIS LEVEL OF CELEBRITY IN LINCOLN? CJ - Not just on campus, it's everywhere in the country I go - Keisei is a household name - our fans are the best fans in the country, so every one is on a celebrity status, but he's on another level - we came in together, so i'm happy to see him receive his due SUDDENLY HE FLIPPED A SWITCH, IT WAS CRAZY Fred: It really was remarkable - he's not just a great shooter - 2nd in B1G in 2-pt FG % - that just shows how well he cuts and moves without the ball - he was the focal point for defenses, but he still found a way to get his points - what he did this summer on national team is carrying over now with us - he's so level headed - not very many guys get a tweet from Curry, but he just stays level headed - lot of fun to see him have success. - We go into opposing arenas and they are in awe of this guy, great to see.

Yeah, with things like this, you never know if coaches are sending a message or if they're just speaking without notes and forgot someone. Fred doesn't seem like the type to forget things, though.

Here's what Fred had to say - apologies for typos : Minneapolis is always one of my favorite places - great to be back Enjoyable group to coach We compete every day Were able to take a lot of new faces to Spain and was great for them Job is easier for us coaches when the team is ready to work every day and loves to compete 9 players on team with 4+ years of experience playing college basketball Like the way we finished the year last year - gave us great momentum That momentum allowed us to get impactful transfers over the offseason Impressive physicality and toughness with this group Gary is important to have back - worked on his shooting a lot - has been great thus far in training camp Allick saw success Griesel had last year & we were fortunate to get him - tenacious player, great rebounder - has worked on his shot a lot and will be able to stretch the floor Mast has a physicality and toughness - works so hard we almost have to slow him down - great rebounder Williams is going to be able to work as a point because of ball handling - can score at all three levels - great rebounder who can heat it up offensively Keisei was a huge benefit to our team having him come back - such a unique player - guys follow him because of the way that he plays CJ is having a great preseason - in best shape he's been in Sam had a great last half of the season - developing more and more confidence Lawrence is shifting positions & playing almost exclusively at the point - want him to continue to be aggressive there while also balancing running the entire show - he's still learning that and it'll probably continue into the first part of the season Diop - incredible athlete with tons of upside - may play meaningful minutes as a true frosh Rice - led us in scoring in Spain Questions HOW HAVE NEW PIECES BLENDED WITH OLDER PLAYERS? Last year's team set the culture - flipped it - we have a very mature group of guys. Can't say we have any one particular leader, but we have a committee of leaders. Blending players in the portal is just part of the deal in college basketball now. We have a lot of guys who've started a lot of games, and with the culture we have set up, the new guys are taking it to another level. We fought through injury adversity last year and thrived, and I think this team will do the same in fighting through any adversity. HOW TO GET GUYS TO ACCEPT ROLES ON A DEEP TEAM? Good challenge and good problem to have - need to figure out the rotation. Scrimmaged last week & again this Thursday, that's where we figure out the rotation. Mixing up the teams regularly to see who fits well together. We can put a lot of combinations on the floor - small skilled lineups or large physical lineups. We haven't had this ability to mix things up like this since I've been here, especially the physicality and big lineups. We talk a lot about role acceptance, I'm confident our guys will do that. WHAT GOES INTO THE IDEA OF SEEKING EXPERIENCED PLAYERS? We seek out players who the fan base can get behind. I talked last year about how enjoyable that team would be to watch because of the way they played so hard. I think if we had stayed injury free, we'd have made the tournament - diving after balls, taking charges, played with a great toughness. I talk to our staff about finding those types of players & they've done a great job. This is an important year to take the next step. This group that will continue to fight, no matter what happens on the floor. Excited about this group & I think our fans will enjoy watching this team.

General feelings listening to the first few coaches: I missed Gard, but zzzzzzzzz Pikiell - I'm always impressed with him - feels they're going to be a solid team yet again - what he's done with that RU program is amazing Willard - He thinks they're making a big jump talent wise and with their physicality - not shy about raising the expectations Rhoades - Has no idea what he's in for - at least he's well aware of PSU's pecking order in the league - they're heading back to the bottom with a thud Holtmann - Quietly confident - for a dude who went 5-15 a year ago at a school that doesn't tolerate 5-15, you'd never know it

I missed the start on BTN, but that's probably just as well because I would've slept through the 8:30-8:39 a.m. CT portion. You think they'd put someone with a personality -- any personality -- up there first to get everyone started on the right note. Swing and a miss on that one. Juwan Howard not in attendance? (EDIT: Apparently he had a heart procedure in September so didn't make the trip.)

10:10 and 1:20 on BTN for NU today

My understanding is that if it's streaming on Peacock, that's the only place it'll be available live. BIG+ is only for the 'leftover' basketball games that none of the other TV partners select. Peacock is considered a TV partner - they're just at the bottom of the stack. I imagine the replay would be on BIG+ 24 hours after the game? I think that's usually how it works.

Any word on who our closed scrimmage will be against and where and when? I'm not trying to sneak in or anything, just curious. Also if anyone has info about how security will be stationed and where the security cameras are located, it'd be appreciated. TIA.

I, too, am a reformed Debbie Downer for this team. I think we could be pretty solid, and I haven't felt that way in a long, long time. I like the way the schedule sets up as well. Replacing Walker is going to be extremely difficult, but it wouldn't shock me to see NU have a regular season close to what Penn St had a year ago. And if we could come close to duplicating what they did in the postseason, too, sign me up.

So we won at Wisky in Davison's freshman year? Nice.

Judging from this video, we should shoot about 92% from the floor this season. I don't think it matters who starts at that point.

It usually happens in early September, so maybe by late next week - it may get pushed back toward mid-Sept this year with all the new TV partners, though. Gotta let the TV networks pick which games they want on which nights before they can release it.

There's just no decent TV money for the leftovers anywhere. I can't imagine the ACC will take them either, unless ESPN forces them to. When the big boys in the ACC are already unhappy with the revenue, splitting the pie more ways seems like a bad idea. My guess is Stanford and Cal are floating the ACC idea in hopes that the Big 12 or Big 10 will try to grab them first. They may be overplaying their hand here. However, I could see the Big 10 considering it, if they'd come in at an even more reduced share than Wash & Ore did. Maybe the Big 10 would hope that adding USC & Stanford would entice Notre Dame to jump to keep those rivalries going. Getting to 6 west coast schools would make it far easier to do the non-revenue sports in pods. Football and men's hoops won't do pods, but everyone else could - 6 in the west pod, 6-8 in the central pod, 6-8 in the east pod. Absent a Big 10 offer, at this point Cal and Stanford might as well go independent for football and see if they can join the WCC for everything else. WSU & OSU are better fits for the MWC, but there's no TV money there, either. All 4 of their athletic dept budgets are in huge trouble. This is exactly why NU had to jump at the Big 10 when they did. Even though the Big 12 survived, it could've just as easily gone the other way.