throwback

Yeah I could see that. I prefer the way 13-14 and 17-18 finished though. ? All 3 of those seasons had multiple key (non-freshman) newcomers, so I can see the similarities. I think the 13-14 and 17-18 newcomers had a bigger role collectively than 11-12 newcomers, as there were a lot of returning seniors on that team and some key juniors (I mean Talley only started 1 game on that 11-12 team), but still a lot of similarities Of course the 19-20 newcomers are a whole different level versus any of those other seasons.

I could see things in 19-20 starting about like they did in 13-14 and 17-18 - some really good performances, but some real clunkers too up through New Year's Day. Once the guys have their roles down and the coaches have figured out the rotation, they could surge nicely in league play. How many wins that equals will depend in part on the strength of the league, but I think we'll see some tangible progress once the calendar flips. That makes this Italy trip so key - we get a nice head start on figuring out those things. The 10 (?) practices we get before we leave will be just as big as the games we play overseas. As far as long term, i.e., when Coach Hoiberg feels like the program has his full stamp on it, I could see that midway through the 20-21 season or start of the 21-22 season. I think the 20 recruiting class, and when exactly those guys can play at a B1G level, will be the determining factor as to how fast it happens.. There are some nice players coming in for 19-20 - we did far better than I could've imagined we would in this 2-month stretch - but I think the coaches will show off their recruiting chops in that 20 class ... and that's when things really take off.

Wow - I didn't think there was any way we'd take both Yvan & Cross - once again showing off my complete ignorance on most things. Our hit rate on guys we've brought in for officials this spring has been unreal. Good sign going forward.

Tacko as a guard kinda makes Ed Morrow's desire to play the 3 look like child's play.

This is huge news - B1G ready type size and, at only 17, still plenty of room to grow and improve. I love this young man's game - not a shooter, but he'll do the dirty work underneath and have a smile on his face about it. Call it a hunch, but this staff doesn't appear to be messing around. Have to think we're now out on Cross. I imagine we're now looking for 1 sit-out transfer, 1 grad transfer inside player and then either a sit-out or grad transfer to take Roby's spot once he makes his decision. I don't see us taking another high school player this late in the process, not with who we're in on for '20.

9 (8 without Roby) and 8 (7 without Roby) that are eligible next season. Sr - Roby, Cheatham, Kavas Jr - Burke, Thor, Green So - Mack, Banton (not eligible '19-'20) Fr - Arop

Well, if the NCAA was ever going to do anything, this is the perfect opportunity, as the FBI will have done all the investigative work. And coaches/schools have to speak to the FBI, so they can do a more thorough investigation than the NCAA could ever do. But I imagine this will drag out for a while. And the NCAA isn't going to do anything till the FBI is finished. So I can't imagine we'd see any ramifications for a couple of years at least. Maybe by that time the team to the east will figure out that placing a coach on administrative leave isn't a permanent solution.

Kind of interesting that New Mexico State had 3 of JucoRecruiting.com's top 10 Juco players from 2018 on its roster this past year, and we now have 2 of the top 10 Juco players from 2019. I'd imagine those top-flight players have run into each other during juco games a time or two. Could be quite the reunion when we meet the Aggies in the Cayman championship game. And if you believe in the idea that most juco players take a big step forward in that 2nd year in D-1 ball, NMSU could be pretty strong in 2019-20.

Glad to have Mack aboard! Crazy few weeks of recruiting, and there's still more to come. With so many new pieces, having the Italy trip is especially timely ... and probably isn't hurting recruiting, along with the Caymen Islands trip. But on a serious note, the World Herald needs to find a new photo for its recruiting tweets and online stories - that thing does not crop in a flattering manner. Looks like they're playing smell my finger.

If his whole plan was not to come back, wouldn't he have just hired an agent? Rather than neglecting classes, making himself academically ineligible? Makes way more sense to just hire an agent and cut the cord. I'm sure his current plan is to be drafted. With that plan in mind, if he's not fully committed to excelling in workouts to help his draft stock, then he's doing a disservice to himself. But I'd also guess, because he hasn't hired an agent, that if he's spending extra time in Chicago, he's still keeping up with his academic work, whether it's online or however he's doing it. He's probably taking a lighter load now, and if he chooses to come back, he could just ramp things up in the summer to make up for a lighter load this semester. Don't get me wrong, I love conspiracy theories as much as the next guy, but it seems like we're overthinking this one.

https://www.omaha.com/huskers/plus/nebraska-recruit-cam-mack-resembles-a-transformative-player-fred-hoiberg/article_5e230d3e-2c82-5b5d-a1d1-3668cda57c00.html Behind the pay wall, but the main idea - Mack reminds his current coach of former Cyclone and current Nugget Monte Morris - Mack is a great scorer, but he's even better when he can be more of a distributor. Just my own humble opinion, but I think we'd take that.

Then there have been a lot of years we haven't had an impact player. It's semantics, but we have two vastly different definitions of impact player.

Jacobson started every game this year for the Big 12 tourney champs that was a #6 NCAA seed - averaged 11+ ppg and almost 6 rebounds. That's a significant impact in my book.

https://www.omaha.com/huskers/mens-basketball/graduate-transfer-haanif-cheatham-commits-to-nebraska-basketball/article_638e9534-2e23-55cd-aba7-0148786f025b.html

https://www.omaha.com/neprepzone/recruiting/plus/meeting-fred-hoiberg-made-things-easier-for-husker-commit-donovan/article_db7ed544-d626-54a4-ac6f-f706623d921a.html Behind the pay wall, but the entire staff visited Williams yesterday. That's a huge thing for a young man after an injury, showing they're still confident in him. Sounds like he'll try to get back for the high school season opener, but says he "won't rush it." Hasn't had surgery yet, but it's scheduled for end of the month.

That was fast - great news! As long as the shoulder is healthy, we're getting a really solid all-around player - averaged 10+ ppg at Marquette for 2+ seasons and shot nearly 37% from 3. Exactly what we need from a grad transfer.

I agree to a point - if the player is doing everything he's asked to do on and off the court, I would prefer we aren't running them off. However, coaches also need to be honest with players about how they do or don't fit into the system, especially after a coaching change. So maybe it's less about running players off and more about just being honest with them. If they want to play, it's best to move on. I would imagine this is more of what's going on, because Coach Hoiberg has a specific system/emphasis, which is quite a bit different than what Coach Miles had, so naturally, some skill sets aren't going to translate well. Now as I recall, Coach Miles, maybe after his 1st year, did exactly that with Benny Parker, telling him he didn't see Benny earning any playing time. And Benny basically said, I'm going to prove you wrong and earn playing time, which he did. So these things don't always work out as expected during coaching changes.

Not trying to mean, but why must we keep Thor? Admittedly, he played very hard when given the chance late. He sees the floor well offensively and can be a facilitator for others from the wing. However, his 3-pt shot doesn't seem to be consistent enough, and he's not a finisher at the rim. Huge liability on defense. He wasn't really a factor the past two years on teams that were NIT level. So if the coaches can recruit over him in the '20 class or in the next few weeks with a transfer who must sit out a year, they should have the ability to do that. If they want to keep him and hope he develops into a player who's better than who they can recruit in the next 12 months, they can. But I'm betting on the former happening. Honestly, it's that way for anyone on the current roster. The coaches have to be allowed to bring in the players they want at the speed that they want to bring them in. Fans expecting them to keep players X, Y and Z is short-sighted thinking ... especially if those players have 2 or more years of eligibility remaining, tying up a scholarship for multiple years. It's admittedly harsh, but it's the way things work with coaching changes. Ideally, the ability to recruit over the current players happens that much faster with the type of high quality coaching staff we've assembled.

Couldn't agree more - I appreciate the effort those guys gave late in the year when the bench was depleted, but there's a reason they weren't playing earlier in the year. We are going to recruit at a level we've never seen here. Free scholarships for 2020 are gold for this staff now. These coaches have to be given the opportunity to sign their guys and suggest that current guys move along if that's what the coaches want to do. Anything else is short-sighted to the long term goal.

Quick - someone send him the Dana Altman Pig Sooey video. He'll cancel that trip before he gets to the video's 4th Pig Sooey.

Brilliant! Because Hoiberg should base his decision more on what Doc did as a head coach at NU instead of relying on what Hoiberg actually saw him do while sitting next to him on the bench at ISU. Rather than thinking about how Doc's strengths would contribute to the staff as a whole, Hoiberg should focus far more on Doc's head coaching record from nearly a decade ago. I don't think Hoiberg has hired the Special Assistant in Charge of Focusing on Things That Don't Really Matter position for his support staff at NU yet. Throw your hat in the ring!

I don't believe schools can put any restrictions on transfers anymore.

Well, we dominated the Big East on the court this season. We might as well break one or two of their teams during the off-season too.

I really don't like seeing pictures like that around here. I thought this was a family friendly site. Now I'm going to have nightmares.

CAA wins the $100K over the WCC. Creighton players watching: "They have to split the $100K between 4 of them? Tough deal. That's a serious pay cut from the regular season."