throwback

Watching his highlights, he understands floor spacing so well. He moves well without the ball, but it isn't a situation where he's moving just to move. It has a purpose, as he's looking to put himself on a spot on the floor to be ready to freely catch and shoot. Also love the shooting stroke, as he never seems to be in a rush, yet he's able to get the shot off pretty easily, regardless of how close the defender is to him. Granted, it's not Big Ten level defenders, but with his ability to understand passing angles and spacing, I'd imagine he'll be in a good spot to shoot it off the catch more often than not. Not to mention he won't be bothered backing a few feet off the 3-pt line if needed. Appreciate that some of his highlights show misses, as you can see his soft touch on those misses. The rebounds on his misses aren't careening wildly 15 feet from the basket. They look more like rebounds you'd have off a missed free throw. Can he play defense at the Big Ten level? Unclear. But he doesn't seem to have much fear in his offensive game, so I'd imagine he'll stick his nose in there and mix it up and play hard on the defensive end. Plus he won't be able to understand a word of Doc's drawl, so he'll have no idea if he's in trouble or not, which should aid in the confidence. (Burning question: How bad will Doc butcher his name?)

Fred said last night that they may move the start time vs McNeese to earlier in the day than usual to allow for TV. Wednesday could be an all-day hoops day on TV on a few networks.

Penn St non-con schedule: 11/25 - Drexel 11/28 - VMI 12/2 - Va Commonwealth 12/6 - Seton Hall 12/8 - at Va Tech *no mention of adding 2 more games Mich St non-con schedule 11/25 E Michigan 11/28 Notre Dame 12/1 Duke 12/4 Detroit 12/6 W Michigan 12/9 Virginia 12/13 Oakland (MI) Indiana non-con schedule 11/25 Tenn Tech 11/30 Providence* 12/1 Texas/Davidson* 12/2 TBA* 12/9 at Florida St 12/13 N Alabama 12/19 Butler (at Indianapolis) *Asheville NC / Maui Invite Maryland non-con schedule 11/25 Old Dominion 11/27 Navy 11/29 Mount St Mary's 12/1 Monmouth 12/4 George Mason 12/9 Clemson 12/22 LaSalle Michigan non-con schedule (so far) 11/25 Bowling Green 11/29 Oakland (MI) 12/9 NC State Minnesota non-con schedule (so far) 11/25 UWGB 11/28 E Washington 11/30 Loyola-Marymount

Apparently Moos said tonight on the radio that the B1G schedule (20 games) will be released tonight or tomorrow. No word on whether he knew the mic was hot. (Preparing for B1G to delay the release until at least Thursday as punishment for spilling the beans in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...)

DP & Stephens on 93.7 will have Erick Strickland on Thursday - sounds like he may become a regular on 93.7, either on DP & Stephens throughout the season or as part of the post game show they're doing.

Caught Robin Washut on Gary Sharp Show today - he says NU's early non-con schedule includes McNeese Nevada (in MTE) San Francisco (in MTE) Then Ga Tech and Creighton, which leaves 2 more games. He says those 2 games are basically set, but NU doesn't want to release them until the B1G schedule is out.

Well, nothing still from the B1G, but Illinois has announced multiple games in its non-con: Illinois MTE Nov. 25 - Illinois vs. North Carolina A&T Nov. 26 - Illinois vs. Wright State Nov. 27 - Illinois vs. Ohio Dec. 2 - Jimmy V Classic vs Baylor Dec. 8 - ACC Challenge at Duke Dec. 12 - at Missouri Article says Illinois will add one more non-con game, so that would indicate B1G is planning a 20-game conference schedule as expected. https://herald-review.com/sports/college/basketball/no-8-illinois-makes-multi-team-event-game-vs-no-2-baylor-official/article_d13fb6dc-e035-56e5-97ff-b818a7b250dc.html

Clearly, "some schedule clarity" is code for "a 5-star recruit signed."

Hmmmmm..... https://omaha.com/sports/huskers/mens-basketball/nebraska-basketball-signs-pair-now-awaits-for-word-on-five-star-bryce-mcgowens/article_af9eaf89-55b0-5391-8dce-7e8645d549de.html

From World Herald: https://omaha.com/sports/huskers/mens-basketball/nebraska-basketball-signs-pair-now-awaits-for-word-on-five-star-bryce-mcgowens/article_af9eaf89-55b0-5391-8dce-7e8645d549de.html

It's not truly a mess till his wife shows up with her flask and starts shouting outside the AD's office.

Just decided to stop being lazy and answer my own question. Looks like it's all over the map - some teams have announced a handful of games, some have announced none, other than ACC Challenge game. Most places that have recent articles regarding schedules are mentioning a 20-game league schedule with a few of those occurring before Jan. 1, but even that has not yet been finalized. The only coach I can find who has spoken in the past few days is Howard at Michigan yesterday. “We have some teams in place but we haven’t had any set dates that have been committed to at this moment,” Howard said. As far as NU-bluejays, here's what Shatel said this morning: https://omaha.com/sports/huskers/shatel/shatel-whether-or-not-fans-are-allowed-some-consistency-would-be-nice/article_e77cf53a-ad26-544c-97b5-a538128e4eaa.html BIG TEN NON-CON GAMES: Indiana 11/25 – Tennessee Tech 11/30-12/2 – at Maui Invitational in Asheville, NC (vs Providence) 12/9 – at Florida St ?? – Crossroads Classic ?? – (one more non-con game) https://www.insidethehall.com/2020/11/08/6-banner-sunday-non-conference-schedule-nearly-complete-as-regular-season-nears/ Illinois ?? 11/25-11/27 – MTE at Illinois (Ohio, NC A&T, Wright St) 12/8 – at Duke https://www.news-gazette.com/sports/plenty-of-issues-in-piecing-basketball-schedule-together/article_edc86b85-5471-5f65-8e55-c4a2594158e3.html Iowa 12/8 – North Carolina 12/19 - Gonzaga ?? - Iowa St (https://247sports.com/college/iowa-state/Article/Iowa-State-basketball-2020-21-home-non-conference-schedule-released-154503857/) Maryland ?? 11/25 – Old Dominion ?? – Monmouth ?? – George Mason 12/9 – at Clemson https://247sports.com/college/maryland/Article/Maryland-basketball-schedule-Terps-non-conference-game-revealed-153229237/ Michigan 12/9 – NC State https://www.mlive.com/wolverines/2020/11/michigan-basketball-has-some-opponents-in-mind-but-schedule-still-not-finalized.html Michigan St ?? 12/1 – vs Duke 12/9 – at Virginia https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2020/10/26/michigan-state-basketball-schedule-orlando-tournaments-canceled/6043503002/ Minnesota 12/8 – Boston College https://mndaily.com/263456/sports/uncertainty-hangs-over-gophers-basketball-schedule/ Nebraska 11/25-11/29 – MTE in Lincoln 12/9 – Georgia Tech ?? - Creighton Northwestern ?? 11/28 – at South Carolina 12/9 - Pitt Ohio St 12/2 – Morehead St 12/5 – Alabama A&M 12/8 – at Notre Dame 12/19 – North Carolina in Cleveland Penn St 12/8 – at Virginia Tech Purdue 11/25-11/26 – MTE at Melbourne, FL (Liberty / Clemson or Missi St) 12/4 – Valparaiso 12/8 – at Miami FL 12/12 – Indiana St ?? – Crossroads Classic https://www.hammerandrails.com/2020/11/9/21556546/purdue-basketball-schedule-space-coast-challenge Rutgers 12/8 – Syracuse https://www.nj.com/rutgers/2020/10/rutgers-announces-1st-basketball-game-of-2020-21-schedule-and-its-a-big-one.html Wisconsin 11/25 – E Illinois 12/4 – at Marquette 12/9 – Louisville ?? – MTE in Fort Myers, FL https://madison.com/wsj/sports/college/basketball/men/badgers-mens-basketball-putting-together-the-2020-21-schedule-a-complicated-endeavor/article_b97dc52b-5c81-5324-90f6-7d1a9046a07c.html EDIT: By the way, Big Ten hockey has half a schedule released and actually starts playing Friday at campus sites, so I guess they've worked out those protocols. Big Ten released the hockey schedule Nov. 5 and starts play Nov. 13, so that was an 8-day heads-up. They are playing conference only for the first half of the schedule, other than adding Arizona St to get to 8 teams. ASU agreed to follow all of the Big Ten protocols. (It has been rumored since Notre Dame joined Big Ten for hockey to make 7 teams that ASU eventually would also join to get to 8, so this may be the first step.) Back half of the schedule and hockey tournament info will be released at a later date. Playing conference-only in hockey seems to be the norm - UNO just announced its full hockey schedule, and it will be conference only, starting Dec. 1 with a bubble in Omaha with all 8 NCHC conference teams that lasts through Dec. 20. Then they'll play at campus sites over the back half of the schedule with travel limited as much as possible. https://omavs.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/schedule https://bigten.org/news/2020/11/5/mens-ice-hockey-big-ten-announces-first-half-of-2020-21-hockey-schedule.aspx

Have any other Big Ten teams announced non-con games, or did we go first with our MTE?

Clearly this means that Final 2 lists are waaaaay better than Final 12 lists.

Looks like Washut published an article behind the paywall on rivals on this - headline says the tournament is still on, but waiting on B1G approval. I mean this has been on the desk of the B1G for only roughly 6 weeks, so they are certainly being thorough. Anyway, not sure why B1G would be in a hurry. I mean we're still 20 days from the start date. They can take another 19 days to decide what to do ... and they just might.

This - our problems didn't start until recently with B1G leadership. Our problems with us not winning were self-inflicted and certainly can cloud the judgment. If we improve on the fields/courts, we will feel better about the B1G in those areas. The leadership area, though... I feel like NU fans - unfortunately - have significant experience with seeing weak/ineffective leadership the last 15 years - Beebe, Pederson, Eichorst. (Now I need to wash my mouth out with soap.) Warren is moving toward the 4th spot on that Mount Rushmore of Shame. He walked into an impossible first year, but great leadership rises to the top during times of crisis, develops workable plans, makes bold moves after studying the facts, and convinces everyone to be on board. We're pretty much the direct opposite of that right now. I loved the move to the B1G and have until this summer. Again, we've seen this first hand far too often, but it always amazes me how quickly an ineffective leader can take an organization down. Throw in a crisis, and it spirals out of control at warp speed. I don't think we should leave the B1G. But I'll just say this: The current version of the B1G is not the same B1G that we joined.

Hope you're right, but I believe Sipple mentioned a few weeks ago that the B1G was looking at a 24-game conference slate. Add in an ACC-B1G challenge, and that's the 25 max for this season. Pac 12 & Big 12 have released schedules. We are hearing crickets from the B1G., re: Izzo's comments from the other day. Until proven otherwise, I expect the B1G to take the opposite of the move that the other leagues would take.

There is nothing wrong with triple-sugar Kool-Aid.

Yeah, I can imagine how cool we were trying to play this one. "Bryce, we normally don't prioritize 5-star recruits, but we're making an exception in your case."

Maryland hoops announcer Johnny Holliday was on 93.7 last week & said he is under the impression from the MD point of view that the B1G is still unsure whether it will allow non-con games, other than, it appears, the ACC challenge, so everyone is in limbo regarding non-con games until something is decided at a league level. Hope we don't miss our window to host something because of continued indecisiveness.

Sautter has a piece on Traudt in the OWH this morning - I'll save everyone the trouble of reading it. He's hearing from a ton of top schools, but still waiting for more offers He'd be a great fit for the bluebird system (never heard that one before) NU is not mentioned among the schools actively recruiting him - was only mentioned as having offered him https://omaha.com/sports/high-school/recruiting/grand-islands-isaac-traudt-is-starting-to-get-attention-from-college-basketballs-elite-programs/article_4a442f42-2dbf-5772-a917-8c73c81e2f1a.html Sautter was on the radio last week and said the same thing - he'd be great fit for bluebird system. And then Sautter basically ridiculed Hoiberg for only going to watch Traudt in GI last year because they happened to be playing Pius. Not sure how much faith to put in the opinion of someone who clearly wants to see Traudt as a bluebird, but, reading between the lines in Traudt's direct quotes, it'd be a huge long shot if he ends up in Lincoln. Based on this, we probably won't even make his final 12 list. (Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll put out a Top 24 list, so we can see an N on it.)

He's just going to announce? Without a Top 20 or more list released? Is that legal?

Figures they'd duck us.

Not sure how this affects things, but NU's 2020 fall semester ends Nov. 25 this season. Typically it ends in mid-December, and typically, mid-season transfers have been eligible on the day after fall semester ends. I'm guessing with quite a few schools moving up the end of 1st semester, the NCAA may have to issue something regarding mid-semester guys. If they don't, with the delay in the start of the season, basketball is basically a one-semester sport in 2020-21 for a lot of schools. ----- EDIT: Looks like the council recommended yesterday that no mid-year transfers are eligible for the fall sports that are moving to spring. It wasn't clear if that applies to basketball and other winter sports that span two semesters.

Gary Sharp mentioned on his show today he expects the B1G to carry over its more extensive covid testing protocols over from football to basketball, which I'm sure will be more than what the NCAA is going to require. Not sure how that'll affect non-con games for B1G teams. I know the coaches think they're playing some non-con games, but will the B1G allow that if the opponents are not testing or holding players out at the same level as the B1G? Of course when you have a significantly smaller team to track with hoops than football, should be easier to keep basketball players testing negative.