NUdiehard

I am fully aware of Tai's talent level. But even a third-grader can play without traveling every time he touches the ball. Doesn't take all-league talent to not travel. Johnny Trueblood doesn't travel every time he touches the ball.

Tai takes two steps before he dribbles every single time he touches the ball. Every time. He's been doing it for 3 years now and every time he gets called for traveling he looks stunned as if he can't fathom why they would make that call. This is simply unbelievable in two respects. First, it is unfathomable that a div 1 college player still doesn't know what traveling is. But second, it is unacceptable that this hasn't been corrected by now. This is a coaching issue. There is simply no way that he isn't doing the exact same thing in practice every single day. There is no way he just "starts" unexpectedly traveling every time he touches the ball only on game days. He is in his third year in this program. What are they coaching? From day 1 it was apparent this is a huge issue for Tai, and not only has it not been corrected, it is now even worse. This means he must be allowed to do it in practice over and over without repercussion. From day 1 as a freshman, he should have been running gassers every time he travels until he stops. Have to address these things in practice or they will not suddenly correct themselves in games. When Doc was here I used to go to a lot of his open practices. I was stunned at how much he allowed fundamental errors and violations go completely uncorrected. The players who constantly shuffled their feet in games constantly shuffled their feet in practice and nothing was said, nothing was done. Players who would catch the ball standing on the line in games would catch the ball standing on the line in practice, over and over, and nothing was said or done about it. And so on and so on. It was like it didn't even happen. They were too busy focusing on the set play or whatnot. Miles said they have been using refs in practice this year. Well, they must not call traveling because Tai has not learned a thing in 3 years. Blows my mind really.

Bump

It will be interesting to see McVeigh's role tonight. This is a game where his outside shooting and length will be very valuable, but his lack of quickness and athleticism could become a problem on defense. Can he guard one of their athletic wings? it will be a tough match up for him tonight? Curious whether and how much Miles will double in the post. Nova's center sounds like a quite a load and will be a significant challenge for Hammond, Morrow or anyone else to guard 1 on 1. Yet, if we help, susceptible to 3 ball which is their specialty. Will Nebraska try to play uptempo or slow it down in the half court? If we play fast, it may allow us to get some quick and easy buckets. But it may also play right into Nova's hands and we could be down 20 before we know it.

Hearing that Villanova uses a 3/4 press and half court trap. Curious to see how Miles and NU handle this. Last year Benny really struggled against press and traps and got so bad that Terran started bringing ball up the floor against pressure. Who will handle this role this year? BP cannot allow himself to get trapped against sideline, with his limited height he cannot pass over the trap and is susceptible to turnovers.

One thing to watch in the early season games is how well the offense runs with Watson in as PG vs. BP as PG. Last year I felt that when Tarin Smith was running the point, the whole offense just seemed to run much smoother. It was never a well-oiled machine, but it was definitely more refined with Tarin than with BP at the helm. Tarin was no Tyronne Lue, but he was much closer to being a true PG than anything I have ever seen from BP. Simply because Benny is 5'6" doesn't automatically make him a natural PG, there is so much more involved. This year we have Watson. Watson is a far better PG than Tarin Smith will ever be. I have already seen enough from him to feel confident in that assessment. So the question begs, who should be running our offense from day 1? IMO, there is no question it should be Watson. This is not a bash BP thread. Not at all. I love BP's grit, defense, intensity and activity level as much as everyone. There is no doubt he has a role and plays an important part on this team. But it should not be as the starting PG. And I'm not really even talking about just making shots. I just have never seen any indication that BP has a natural feel and ability and skill for playing the PG position. Truly gifted point guards can change the whole "feel" for the offense. They can make things run smoother and their playmaking ability can create easy shots for their teammates. Easy shots creates easy buckets, which creates confidence, which creates energy, etc. I fully realize that Watson's defensive ability is no where near Benny's. But this is one instance where Miles should put offense before defense, and IMO, do it from day 1 to get this machine up and running smoothly from the very start.

Relatively slow, can't dribble, can't play guard, can't play power forward. Sounds like we should bring him in off the bench in garbage time. He can take the place of Trevor Menke, maybe. Or we could play him at shooting forward since he is, well. . . . a really good shooter With that said, the more I think about it, maybe PF is a good spot for Drew this year. Someone has to play PF, and if Hammond is not going to play much, then that means Morrow and Jacobson at center, which pretty much leaves PF to either Shavon or Drew. Take your pick. Shavon is 9 lbs heavier on the roster, but White certainly has upper body strength and I agree he appears to be a good rebounder for his size. Seems to be a good leaper off of 2 feet. His lack of lateral quickness also might make him more conducive to guarding the opponents PF rather than chasing a wing around. It certainly would work on offense, that is not a concern at all as he could stretch the floor and force the opposing 4 to guard him at the 3 point line. The concern is when the opposing 4 backs him down in the paint, can he hold up or will it require an immediately double team. But, Rivers played the 4 last year and weighed only 200#, so White is considerably bigger than him and probably a better leaper, so why not. Let's go for it. My starting lineup: Watson Tai Shields White Morrow

I am one who hopes Miles just goes with Watson as starting PG from the get go. Live through the ups and downs of having a freshman point guard and get Benny back to his come off the bench spark plug/stabilizer role. We know what Benny's ceiling is. Watson's is obviously much higher. We've heard that Watson's defense may be lacking some but that's when you bring in Energizer Benny to crank up the defense or to stabilize things if Watson starts turning the ball over. We don't gain anything by starting Benny. Not a knock on Benny, he's earned his, but he's just better off the bench. I agree 100%, but I won't believe it until I see it. Miles has almost always chosen defense over offense in these types of situations in his past 3 years here.

I've never understood why White is listed as a guard. He's 6'7", relatively slow and can't dribble. Almost nothing about him says guard to me. Not sure about PF either though. Sure it can work on offense, but defense is always the issue in these small ball arrangements. Pace of play is also a huge question this year. Small ball is usually predicated on a fast pace, but there has been no indication that Miles wants to play with pace, and we all know Molinari's philosophy (he had the slowest pace of play in all of basketball before he came here). My guess would be that Miles will come out early in the season experimenting with a faster pace but after a few transition defense breakdowns and high scoring games (losses?), we will see things slow down as the year progresses.

Another interesting article on the officiating and points of emphasis in the game and why they are being implemented. http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2015-10-30/college-basketball-why-game-could-be-faster-season

I still think Morrow is our version of Tristan Thompson.

Could someone who is more tech savvy than me post a link for the periscope viewing in this thread when it becomes available. Also, does anyone know if you have to watch it live or can it be viewed later this evening if we have a conflict.

Tai can get to the rim, he has always been able to get to the rim. Finishing at the rim has always been his problem. I have always been a big, big Tai supporter and I still am a big fan of his. He has worked his butt off and stayed the course when many other players left for greener pastures (or so they thought). He is in incredible physical condition and has very good athletic ability for his size. With all that said, as much as I want to see Tai breakthrough this year, I won't believe it until I see it. I just have never seen a guy find so many ways to miss shots, especially right at the rim. I watched all 4 games in Spain and other than game 1, I continued to see this pattern with Tai on drive after drive. I would bet my bottom dollar that he closes his eyes almost every time he drives to the basket and encounters any form of opposition or contact. There are some people who simply are averse to contact, causing them to flinch, to retract, to even close their eyes in anticipation. It is genetic IMO, I don't know if it can be overcome. If Tai could teach himself to thrive on contact rather than fear it, he could possibly take a major step forward. I just haven't seen any indication of that yet. As for Benny, we heard the same reports about his shooting last year. And he actually did come out and started the year decently shooting the ball. At one point I believe he was our leading 3 point shooter. But then conference started. Everything changes in conference. Opponents are bigger, stronger and faster, but even more important, the scouting is 1000X better. Conference teams know opponents weaknesses better than the players themselves. Once conference hit, BP reverted right back to what where he always has been. Hard to imagine things will change significantly this year, but who knows. He has worked hard on his game and his shot, I guess we will have to wait and see. But even if he improves his shot, he will never be the passer and facilitator that Watson already is. We really need Watson to get his defense up to snuff so he can get extended minutes this year.

Pretty sure he referred to McVeigh as being 6'9" (can anyone confirm?). Just checked the roster and he has increased his stature to 6'8" (from his previous 6'7") on the official roster. I am assuming the roster on Huskers.com is now listing their official heights and weights for the season, especially since the returning players weights have all changed since last year. If so, a little disappointed that Morrow is officially listed at 6'7", clearly showing he is shorter than McVeigh and Jacobson and probably more in the range of 6'5" to 6'6" in reality. He is going to have his work cut out for him in the post in the B1G. To give a comparison, Morrow is listed at 6'7" 225lbs, the exact same height and weight as Shavon. Of course, Morrow is a better athlete, but the sheer mass of some of the centers in the league (ala Purdue) is going to be a real challenge if he ends up playing a lot at the 5. Jacobson is listed at 6'8", but only 222 lbs, so he will also have his work cut out. Interestingly, Tai and Fuller shed 3 lbs, and White lost 4 lbs

Listened to the entire show and about the only thing I got from it was that we are going to be seeing a lot of Benny and Tai this year #themorethingschangethemoretheystaythesame

Last year's roster lists Shavon at 221 lbs. This years at 225 lbs Things that make you go hmmmm.

In the article, there is a link to another SI article about the offensive decline in college basketball: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/02/26/hoop-thoughts-college-basketball-scoring-pace

Interesting article in SI regarding new college basketball officiating coordinator and "Points of Emphasis" for this season: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/10/05/jd-collins-mens-basketball-officiating-rules-changes

I know many will disagree, but if Watson is not starting or ready to play the bulk of the minutes at PG, then I would rather see Tai at PG than BP. I know that Miles has made the switch on Tai from PG to SG, but I just don't see what value BP brings over Tai at the PG, but I see a lot of value Tai could bring over BP. Tai has drastically improved on the defensive end and towards the end of last year was one of our best defenders. At 6'4", I actually think he is a better overall defender than BP. I felt teams last year began to expose BP and learned how to take advantage of his height. Tai is at least a as good of a shooter (and hopefully better by now) and Tai certainly is better at driving the lane. Neither is a particularly good ball-handler or passer, so that is a wash IMO. Just not sure what BP brings that Tai can't, yet Tai is taller and has other abilities that BP simply does not and will not ever have. With that said, maybe the problem is that if you put Tai at the 1, then there simply is nobody that Miles has confidence in to play the 2. I would hope that White, or even Shields could handle that, but maybe not. If so, that certainly limits the options and that would definitely require Tai to get a LOT of minutes because he is the only legit 2 on the team.

Miles said on the record very recently that McVeigh is a 4. At least for this year. He may play a few minutes at the 3, but he if he is going to play this year, Miles made it sound like it will be 90%+ at the 4 (maybe some 5?) http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/life-in-the-red/mcveigh-s-length-to-help-nu-s-frontcourt/article_ccd1686e-4211-11e5-a049-d702d144cc4d.html

I'd say even more recently than that. The recruits we're bringing in now are head and shoulders above guys like Vucetic, Hawkins and Fuller, and even Webster. The staff has stepped it up big-time starting with the last class, and Roby is a continuation of that same caliber of player. Obviously, we know we've been unsuccessful in landing quality big men thus far, but the overall quality of the players entering the program now is pretty remarkable. I still see 2015-2016 as a rebuilding/developmental year with very little chance at an NCAA bid at season's end, but I look at the 2016-2017 team as a group that could do a lot of damage, especially if we can solidify the front court through recruiting between now and next year. It's an exciting time to be a Husker hoops fan for sure. Yes, there will be some teeth-gnashing and hand wringing this year from those who don't get the patience part of your scenario ("but we're in year 4 and blah blah/whine whine"). I can hear it now. Prepare for it. But we need to stay the course; I agree with your take. One caveat is in how many kids transfer out of the program next spring...spring after that...etc. We do need to stop the bleeding there some. Well, I'm not sure how much bleeding you'd really say we've had. Petteway went pro; Walt was a beotch and quit; Tarin Smith saw the writing on the wall with Glynn Watson and took a step down in competition level. That was last year. Year before that, Deverell Biggs got waxed because he needed to go and Nathan Hawkins took a step down in competition level to "get closer to home." Vooch was, well, not going to make it here. Miles didn't run off Benny. He didn't run off Nick Fuller. He didn't run off Jacob Hammond. Guys have left, but sometimes guys do that. I don't get the sense that Miles has pushed people out the way Collier did, or even Doc for that matter. In the end, I am note sure it really matter whether Miles ran them off or not or whether they turned pro or turned in into a disco diva. The fact is that attrition is at an all-time high at many schools, including Nebraska (for all different kinds of reasons). This is Miles' fourth year, and there is no indication that Miles has been immune from this extreme attrition rate OR that he will become immune in the future. Thus, IMO it is an issue that must be considered in rating the state of the program in any particular year. If 40% of D1 players transfer on average today, odds almost demand that not every one of our 5 freshman will stay here all 5 years. In fact, odds would indicate at least 2 of them will transfer. If one of those 2 is either Watson or Morrow, then that sets things back once again and the cycle starts all over. I am not trying to be debbie downer or indict Miles on this. However, i just feel the alarming transfer rates of young players almost require a new perspective, a new paradigm, on how we evaluate a team and a program. 20 years ago, if a team had 5 solid freshman or sophomores (barring 5 NBA players like the Michigan fab 5), you could certainly find the reason for optimism knowing that even if the team struggled in its first year or 2, they would continue to develop and mature and in years 3 and 4 things would likely come together and produce very good results. I am not sure we can still think like that in today's collegiate athletics environment. Not only are there no guarantees, there actually is a very strong likelihood (based on national statistics) that 40% of the current players will not play in years 3 and 4, and if Miles scores and signs an elite recruit, that player will probably only be here 1 or 2 years and go pro. I hope upon hope that all our situation will be different. That all these guys will stay. But it isn't realistic. And I am not sure we have soooo much talent that we can lose 40% and still become a top 4 team in the B1G next year, or the year after, etc. And of course, this doesn't even factor in injuries to the guys that do stay. In summary, I am thrilled with the increased talent level Miles has brought in this year and I really like Roby for next year. If all these guys stay and don't get injured, I fully agree that they could potentially be that team we have all been waiting for all these years. But if one-third to 40% of them leave, and then another player or two gets injured (even if just for 10 games in a season, etc), it makes things much less certain. I guess all that to say is that unfortunately, I have almost come to the point of evaluating each team on a year by year basis. I want to look down the road and say "wow, in 3 years this team is going to be special". But in the back of my mind I keeping that in 3 years we are going to be talking about what we could have been if so-and-so had just stayed for all 4 years. This is why if I have one major disappointment, it is that Miles has failed to land even a serviceable big for this year. If this team even had a Brandon Ubel type player, it could at least compete. I fear we are going to get dominated inside, which is going to make us play junk defense, force us to overcompensate on the boards, etc, basically adapt our entire style of play to try and mitigate our weakness inside. Call me what you want, I would love to have Vucetic on our roster right now. First, there is no way he could make us worse because we have an open scholarship so even if he never played a minute nothing is lost. But think his height alone could have been enough to put under the hoop and disrupt the opponent for 10-20 minutes a game. At least give us some presence (and I'm sorry, but I have not seen anything from Hammond (who is closer to 6'8 than 6'10) to make me think he is that guy. Ok, with all that said, if Miles can land a decent big for next year, then things could really, really turn up for this program. The transfer situation can, and should, work both ways. Players transfer out, but there are also exponentially more players available to transfer in. Miles needs to capitalize on this and get that big we so desperately need.

Northwesterns 2016 recruiting class is ranked #7 in the country now

x 1000 All these rules are good, but they are just band aids. Reducing the relentless and excessive physicality of the game is the only thing that will clean up the game, increase scoring, increase freedom of movement and allow fans to truly appreciate the skill and beauty of elite basketball as it was meant to be

Do you want to watch a game where 100 fouls are committed but only 20 are called? Do you want to watch a game where the team that fouls more will have a better chance of winning because the refs are only supposed to blow the whistle 20 times to appease fans who think foul calls disrupt the flow of the game? Because that is the current state of college basketball.

Pretty sure we only had 12 scholarship players last year unless you are counting Menke. We didn't use them all last year I thought for sure we gave it to Menke again but apparently not. Menke was on a schollie the past couple of seasons, and he helped boost the team APR in the process. Kye Kurkowski didn't have a schollie, though. Thats what I thought. Menke would've made it 13 last year then in that case. The scholarship was open for the fall semester of the 2014/15 season. Miles held on the open scholarship until the very end of the semester in hopes of landing a spring semester transfer. When that didn't pan out, Menke was given the scholarship for the spring semester because it was clear it would go unused otherwise. With that said, this all seems moot. We all know that the scholarship was not originally "saved" for him, it just happened to be "open" once again and therefore was given to a walk-on rather than simply being wasted.