NUdiehard

Well if we have a legitimate shot with Robinson, and the coaches would know, then we can't just give up because we have to wait. Miles doesn't have to "wait" for Robinson at all if he is signing in the spring. Miles can easily sign 2 players in November and still sign Robinson in April. Miles could sign 3 players in Nov and still sign Robinson in April. Heck, Miles could even sign 3 players in Nov and another 2 or even 3 players in April if he wants. My point is that if Robinson truly is waiting until April, then Miles does not need to save a scholarship for him because if Robinson wants to sign with NU in April, then Miles will simply "create" room for him. It is that simple. There is no way Miles is going to turn down Robinson if he wants to commit in April no matter what his scholarship situation is. There will just have to be a current player (or 2 or 3) who "decide to transfer closer to home" or whatever they decide to call it. Doesn't B1G rules limit basketball oversigning to 1 player over the scholarship limit? If that is the case, the most we could sign would be 3. Miles could only sign 2 in November and make room for Robinson in April correct? Miles can make room after the season but before the April signing period. Its just a matter of whether/how many players "choose to leave" after the end of the season. As long as the current player announces that he is leaving before the April signing period (most likely within a week or two after the season ends in March), Miles can fill the recently vacated spots with new LOIs in April.

Who will win?

Yes, I will probably be totally pumped until I see Petteway throw up a brick from 3 using form that would make Norm cringe, or Biggs play phantom defense, or Smith get stuffed by Vooch b/c he is really on 6'6", or Fuller get blown by when playing defense b/c he has lead feet, or Tai dribble the ball of his leg 5 times in a row . . . WAIT! SORRY! I MUST NOT GO THERE! I am just so conditioned after 12 years of Collier and Doc to expect the worst b/c the new "recruits" never lived up to the hype. It is a hard habit to break when it has been ingrained in your head year after year after year. Will this be the year to break the curse?

I thought I'd get a head start and get to writing mine now. Mind you, this is just a rough draft. I still have to add in stuff about the concessions. And Coach Miles. But it's a start. Wow. What an experience at the open scrimmage Friday night. The Bank was rocking. I couldn't believe how many people showed up for a glorified basketball practice. We must have had at least ______ people in the stands. Did anyone see an official attendance figure? I know it was a lot. If that's any indication of the fan support once the games start counting, we should have that home court advantage thing brewing. And almost no one left early. That was awesome. I just wish they wouldn't have brought in the shim-shams at halftime. That was disappointing. And a little disturbing, especially when that one lady lost her top. Now, to the players. Well, it could be interesting. Petteway and Pitchford seem to be all that they were advertised to be. Granted, this was just an intra-squad scrimmage and it's not like they were going up against Ohio State out there, but they looked the part, didn't they? As athletic as everyone had been saying these two guys are, they sure lived up to the billing. I was honestly impressed by their athleticism. We're clearly going to be a more athletic squad than we were a year ago. And, honestly, Smith looked a little more athletic than I'd expected. Having a guy with that kind of strength down low is going to be nice. The freshmen in a way looked like freshmen but you can see the talent is there. Once they get their "sea legs" so to speak, they should be very good players for us and I mean yet this season. Fuller looks like he can just flat out score. Webster I thought looked pretty good also. I think Hawkins is going to be a very fine player for us when all is said and done. He reminds me a lot of a Ryan Anderson-type kid. Very high hoops IQ and a very solid outside shooter. The returning guys look like they are pretty much picking back up where they left off. If this scrimmage was any indication, I don't think we'll be looking at the sophomore slump for Shields that some had feared. And I really do think he looks bigger and stronger out there. After seeing this scrimmage, I might have to adjust my expectations a bit. A first-round exit from the NIT would probably be a big disappointment with this group. I'd say this looks like a group that has a lot of the pieces and could --- maybe even should --- be in the bubble discussion by the end of the year. This means that Smith can only be just as athletic as you expect or less athletic than you expect because you have already determined that he is more athletic than you expect

Well if we have a legitimate shot with Robinson, and the coaches would know, then we can't just give up because we have to wait. Miles doesn't have to "wait" for Robinson at all if he is signing in the spring. Miles can easily sign 2 players in November and still sign Robinson in April. Miles could sign 3 players in Nov and still sign Robinson in April. Heck, Miles could even sign 3 players in Nov and another 2 or even 3 players in April if he wants. My point is that if Robinson truly is waiting until April, then Miles does not need to save a scholarship for him because if Robinson wants to sign with NU in April, then Miles will simply "create" room for him. It is that simple. There is no way Miles is going to turn down Robinson if he wants to commit in April no matter what his scholarship situation is. There will just have to be a current player (or 2 or 3) who "decide to transfer closer to home" or whatever they decide to call it.

Norm, three years ago we were giddy about David Rivers... I can definitively say I was not giddy about David Rivers 3 years ago and I am not particularly excited about Wacker today. Looks like another Doc/Collier type recruite to me, but hey, that is just my opinion based on limited info and I could be completely wrong. But there is no doubt in my mind that Wacker is the backup plan. As Kamdy said, absolutely no way Miles encourages Wacker to take other visits if he is a Plan A guy. Miles certainly did NOT tell Hammond to take other visits and IIRC Hammond cancelled his other visits after visiting here and committing on the spot. Reading the tea leaves further, that fact that Wacker did not commit on the in-home visit yesterday tells me that this staff still thinks it has a chance to land Robinson. As Kamdy said, if Miles felt he had no chance with Robinson after his visit, then he opens up the sholly to Wacker. Since he didn't do that, I think it means they are holding on to it until Robinson makes his final decison Oh, and one more thing. I absolutely do not understand this notion of a "noncommittable offer". Isn't that an oxymoron? If the player can't accept it, then its not really an offer. Sure there are noncommittable offers. Like you buy a house and you buy the house on condition that you can sell your own and obtain suitable financing. That's a conditional offer just like an offer to a recruit that you'll have a spot for him or her if a certain other player chooses to go somewhere else. I can imagine a conversation with a recruit going something like this: Hey, we are looking for players. And you certainly are one we're looking at and you're near the top of our list. However, there are recruits who are higher on that list. Practical necessity forces us to stand in line with some elite recruits while they go through their process of deciding on a college and we can't really put everything on hold while that happens. Right now, we are waiting on a couple of elite guys to make their decisions and either pick us or eliminate us. David, I want you to know we are very interested in you. We love a lot of what you can do and think you would develop into a very fine player for us. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that you are 3rd in line right now. It's very possible the two guys we're looking at in front of you could choose other options and, if that happens, we have a spot for you. We hate to put you in a bad position relative to making commitments to other programs but we would like you to wait to make a commit until everything shakes out. As soon as we know whether the spot will be available, we'll let you know. We understand you have timetables of your own and it's not fair of us to say don't look any further because right now we can't make any guarantees. But we still would like you to keep that option open. You could easily move up to first in line and we'll have a spot for you if that happens. In the meantime, just understand we're waiting on the decisions of others and that forces us to ask you to wait on us. I get that. But how is what you described any different than a school that has "interest" in a player but doesn't make a meaningless noncommittable offer? That school simply says we have serious "interest" in you, but we are not prepred to make an offer yet. If a couple other recruits fall through, then we will offer. There is no difference. I understand the notion of a "contingent" offer, but usually those offers are contingent upon an outside event that is not solely within the control of the offeror. For instance, in RE purchase agreement, the Buyer is to use all reasonable efforts to secure financing. The final decision upon financing is up to the bank, not the offeror. If the Buyer never makes reasonable efforts to secure financing, then the Buyer could be sued for breach of contract. Thus, the "offer" at least has some substance to it. In Wacker's situation, the validation of the offer is totally and completely at the whim and control of the offeror (Miles). It would be like me saying "I offer to sell you my brand new Mercedez for $500, but you can't accept the offer now and I reserve the right to never let you accept the offer at any time in the future based solely on my whim and desire." Take that to a lawyer and have him tell you what it is worth.

Norm, three years ago we were giddy about David Rivers... I can definitively say I was not giddy about David Rivers 3 years ago and I am not particularly excited about Wacker today. Looks like another Doc/Collier type recruite to me, but hey, that is just my opinion based on limited info and I could be completely wrong. But there is no doubt in my mind that Wacker is the backup plan. As Kamdy said, absolutely no way Miles encourages Wacker to take other visits if he is a Plan A guy. Miles certainly did NOT tell Hammond to take other visits and IIRC Hammond cancelled his other visits after visiting here and committing on the spot. Reading the tea leaves further, that fact that Wacker did not commit on the in-home visit yesterday tells me that this staff still thinks it has a chance to land Robinson. As Kamdy said, if Miles felt he had no chance with Robinson after his visit, then he opens up the sholly to Wacker. Since he didn't do that, I think it means they are holding on to it until Robinson makes his final decison Oh, and one more thing. I absolutely do not understand this notion of a "noncommittable offer". Isn't that an oxymoron? If the player can't accept it, then its not really an offer.

Exactly. Kamdy nailed it. Sorry Swan and Creighton Fan.

I am probably in the minority, but I like Bolden more than Robinson. Bolden is the type of all around player that is taylor made for Miles system, and he just seems to have the "it" factor from what i could see from his tape (albeit very limited). Robinson could be a boom, but he could also be a bust. Guys that large are always a risk. Yes, reports are that he lost 30 lbs. But he could very easily put those 30 lbs back on and more. We saw this with Almeida who could never get his weight under control. It could be an injury that sparks his setback, or girl problems or who knows what. Also, it was clear from the start that AA was never really in Miles' plans for his system. AA was not able to run the offense or defense that Miles wants to run. He was too slow on defending the screen, and on offense he wasn't versatile enough. Miles wants 5 players who essentially are all interchangeable on both offense and defense. AA clogged up the middle and thus muddled up his system. Obviously, Miles can change his system to better fit a player like Robinson. And again, Robinson could turn out to be great. But considering the risk, I like the bolden kid a little more at this point. DISCLAIMER - I like both of them A LOT and would be more than happy with either of them--just want to make that clear.

Jadler, I am no techy so I am not sure how this might work, but could you video the chants and use the "UNL facebook" or twitter or the Vine or something to send it to all the students, or at least all the student ticket holders. I don't know how you get all their account information, or whether UNL would give you their email addresses, etc. But my point is that if they could watch a video of the cheer/chant ahead of time, it would allow them to know what is going on and how it should go ahead of time. You could also give instruction as to when to use what cheer (ie, "Got it" after a 3 pointer, UGLY during a freethrow, a certain chant during the first media timeout, that type of thing.) Just a thought.

A few thoughts: 1. Jadler - I would strongly encourage you NOT to get rid of the "OOOOOOOOOO" chant. Although I might agree that it may not be the most distracting chant for the opponent to handle, I can tell you unequivocally that as a NU fan in the crowd, it gets me pumped up every time. It makes me want to chant as well, and it brings energy to the entire arena IMO. I think that energy then rubs off on our players. It is the extra jolt that OUR players need when they are tired and feeling weary. I always lament the home games when students are on break. There is no energy and no noise. The "OOOOOOOOO" chant is a huge part of bringing that energy every game. That energy that it brings to all the other fans in the building, as well as our own players, is MUCH more valuable than maybe distracting the opponent on occasion. 2. Last year for the first few games, just before introducing the NU starting lineup, some of the band members would come out onto the floor playing their drums (that were lit up in red lights BTW) along with the intro music. I thought this was one of the coolest ideas I had seen in awhile at the NU games. I know it got me pumped up. I cannot tell you how frustrating it was as a fan to see it disappear by about the 5th game of the season. Just like the NU administration to not know a good thing when they finally find one. Bring that back, or at least some variation. 3. We had a thread on ways to improve the gameday environment about 2 or 3 years ago (maybe even more, time flies). Maybe somebody can find it. There were a lot of different ideas in that thread, some better than others, but it seems we might be trying to regurgitate a lot of what has already been said and discussed. 4. The sound board person must be aware of time and circumstance when making selections. No more "school announcements" or "statements from the AD or any other player or administrator" when the game is tight and the crowd is jacked. Keep the momentum going, don't kill it. If the NU Admin. absolutely must promote something, then do it early or during timeouts when the energy is down a bit. Again, time and circumstance.

you could technically sign 3 in the fall with the oversigning rule. If you do that it basically tells someone one week into the season (first game Nov 8, signing day Nov 13) that they will taking someones spot. you could technically sign 3 in the fall with the oversigning rule. If you do that it basically tells someone one week into the season (first game Nov 8, signing day Nov 13) that they will taking someones spot. So could they sign 3 this fall and then another one in the spring (for a total of 4) if 2 players leave after this season?

Oh my!

The words "parking garages" and "better" should never be used in the same sentence. Parking garages are fine for daily transient traffic that comes and goes at different times. But for events, like concerts and sporting events, they are a deathtrap. One could easily get stuck in a parking garage for a solid 30-45 minutes before getting out. That is not my idea of "better" in any way, shape or form. I am thrilled about the new arena and look forward to this new era of NU BB at Pinnable Bank Arena. But I have never bought into the notion that this arena, which is essentially landlocked in the Haymarket, will improve the parking situation. Fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena will either have to walk a decent distance (most of them directly into a bitter north wind across the pedestrian bridge and then, once they get to their cars, battle all the traffic to get out on to west O street using the one and only exit road available) or park in a garage and wait out the long, slow lines to get out.

Thats more than double than the majority of asst's make at schools like Arizona, KU, etc. Nebraska cant do that for basketball I dont care what youre trying to accomplish you cant afford to do it. NU can afford it and it would barely even be noticed. Dollars are dollars. Moving him up to $400,000 would increase his salary approximatley $150,000. That is nothing. The AD wouldn't even know there was a change. Heck, Miles earns $1.7 million and will proably get a $200,000 to $300,000 raise after this season no matter what the record. A HC ultimately is only as good as his players. Doc Sadler learned that the hard way. Having ace recruiters to bring in their players is essential. Paying your ace assistants very well is a very wise investment, even if some of it has to come out of the HC's pocket through reduced salary. K State used to pay their ace recruiter $500,000+ and our ath budget absolutely dwarfs theirs. To say we can't do it is simply inaccurate. Would it be unconventional. Absolutely. But who gives a crap about convention. NU must do whatever it can to gain an advantage. We don't have tradition, or banners or any of that. But we do have a lot of $$$$$$. That is our advantage and if we have the card, we should play it.

Harriman said on the radio today that he measured "close to 6'4". Based on these two statements, I would guess that they are going to "list" him as 6'4" on the official roster. Of course, we all know he isn't really 6'4". I have no idea why they measure them in shoes, and Tai himself said he measured 6'3 1/4 in shoes, but on a relative scale, it says a lot. The fact is that ALL teams fib regarding their players height. So, it is all relative at this point. Even though we know a listed height of 6'4" isn't actually accurate, it is accurate in the sense of how he relates to other players on the court with him and against him. In this sense, he is a very good sized PG to have. And I think that is why Miles and the staff are so high on him. Miles has shown that he likes height in all his players, including his PG. This is why he put Talley in at PG last year. If another team has a wing listed at 6'5", Tai should be able to guard him on a switch (stength aside) because most likely that wing listed at 6'5" is actually only 6'3". Again, it is all relative to the scale that all NCAA BB teams have set. Plus, based on the picture of Tai "smiling", he looks quite long and his hands are huge. This extended reach should allow him to play a legit 6'4" even if he is not. (As a side note, I watched a documentary on Dr. J a few weeks ago and everyone that played with him or agaisnt him constantly referred to his huge hands and how lethal this made him on the court. I don't think Tai has Dr. J hands, but his extra grip will certainly help him when he is driving to the basket and making plays.) Harriman also said that they plan to have him play primarily PG. I think we all suspected this, but it seems to be confirmed by the coaches--at least as of now. If Tai can truly handle the ball and make plays, having a 6'4" PG for 3 or 4 years could be a huge advantage. I hope he can knock down that outside shot, b/c that is what will make him be the complete player we need (that, and playing good defense, which will definitely be a challenge for him initially until he adapts to the speed and strength of the American players.)

I said many months ago that Miles should give Harriman a significant pay raise to make it very difficult for him to leave. Excellent recruiting assistant coaches are very difficult to find and are worth every penny they make. Harriman is among the best and it will be hard to keep him. Paying him $400,000+ would be a very wise investment IMO. I don't really care if this would offend some of the other assistants. None of them, other than maybe Hunter (who I don't believe is as quality a recruiter as Harriman) is worth what Harriman is. They are not being courted by other teams like Harriman is. Harriman is wanted because he has proven himself an excellent recruiter. We are Nebraska and we need to pay well above market rate to keep the best and if I were Miles I would pay Harriman $400,000+ to show him NU's commitment to him and his family.

Is that Jean Claude Van Damme doing a nasty jig in spandex in Breakin

Someone should start a thread specifically designed to keep track of all the current recruits considering NU that are linked to Barnes. Norm???

Some of you are reading too much into my post. To give you an example of my thinking, use Ricky Thenarse as an example. He came from an extremely difficult background. Gangs, drugs, killings, surrounded him his entire childhood. I believe his brother was shot and killed in his neighborhood. Thenarse barely qualified. But what if he hadn't qualified? What if he missed out on qualifying because he was a few points short on his ACT score? Where would he be now? No degree? On the streets? Dealing drugs? Dead? How is denying someone like him the opportunity to come to the university, live in a structured environment where he had to practice hard, study hard, and live a disciplined life for 4 to 5 years, a good thing? How does denying someone like that that opportunity make our society a better place? Or make our university more credible? The university should be applauded for helping him with his studies so that he could get an education and a degree. That is something to be celebrated, not scoffed at or frowned upon. I see no difference between Ricky Thenarse, who was given that opportunity, and another young man who happened to have 1 or 2 points less on his ACT. So why should that other young man be denied that same opportunity? Are there some "athletes" who would abuse the opportunity? Sure. But as I said above, once they get here, they must achieve both on the court/field and in the classroom. And they must act like respectable citizens. If not, then they should lose that opportunity. Plus, it is up to the coaches to find the ones who may not have the grades, but have the desire and commitment to succeed both on the court and in the classroom. Those types of kids deserve that chance.

Not doubting you, but I've heard this so many times with football recruits and 99% of the time they end up making it. We'll see what happens, too early to say he for sure won't make it IMO And they should NOT budge on entrance requirement; not for any student, athlete or not. I have never understood this rule or this position. Frankly, I don't understand why they have these "academic" requirements in the first place. If a young man who has a particular skill or talent wants to come to college and get an education, why should they be denied simply b/c they don't meet some arbitrary and capricious standard set by a bunch of academics sitting on their soap box and looking down on others. I am not saying this is the case for Tai, but often times these athletes come from broken homes with single parents, no parents, parents who are drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, or worse. They live in conditions most of these so-called academics couldn't imagine, with drug dealing on the corner, brothers and sisters getting beat up or possibly murdered, and attending schools that simply try to keep everyone safe and alive as opposed to creating a stimulating learning environment. Many have learning disabilities on top of that. Yet, the very few who manage to keep themselves on the straight and narrow enough to succeed in athletics (while most of their friends have already joined a gang, been kicked out of school, put on probation or in jail) are then denied the opportunity to possibly change their life forever, get and education and become a productive member of society. Why???? Can anyone give me a rationale basis for denying this opportunity? Of course, once they are here, they must meet all academic, social and legal standards. If they don't, then they should not be allowed to stay. But the great part about a place like NU is that they can get assistance, tutors, study halls, etc., to help them succeed. Why is this a bad thing? I don't get it. As for Tai, he certainly does not come from conditions like this. Appears he is from an upper middle class family. But we don't know what his circumstances are either. Maybe it is a cultural issue. Maybe he has a slight learning disability. Or maybe he made a few mistakes a few years ago and wasn't the most responsible kid when it came to hitting the books. So what? What does that have to do with today? If he now wants to get his life in order. commit to his education while pursuing his craft, what does that harm you or me? If he is denied, he may never go to college. Is this better for him in the long run? I was blessed to grow up in a good home, with a good and supportive family, attend good schools, have a home environment that was conducive to learning, and got good grades. Does this somehow make me more deserving to get a post high school education than someone else who manage to develop a craft, stay out of legal trouble, and graduate high school, but simply not have a certain GPA that I did manage to obtain? Gimme a break. Even those SATs and ACTs are biased tests. What if that kid came from an urban high school that lacked good teachers and sound teaching? Should I now sit on my high horse and judge those have come up in very different circumstances and say they should not have a second chance now that they want to come to college, get an education and possibly change their life forever?

Norm, how can you bear to even read about this kid? He credits Barnes with much of his impovement and he even calles Barnes "Coach"!!!!

When does the first session of summer school start? I am curious when the new recruits will show up on campus. Are some of them already here now?

I understand what you are saying, but I don't really agree with it. If NU ever wants to reach the top half of the conference and become a regular NCAA contender, then it is going to have to start landing some major prospects (and I'm not even certain I would call Sai a major prospect). I hate to break to you, but major prospects will ALWAYS have other quality options. Unless that prospect was born and raised in Nebraska--which is highly unlikely--then there is ALWAYS going to be a "home state" school and most likely, if that player is a major prospect, then that home state is also going to offer him. Or, as in this case, there may be multiple schools in the home state (ie, Arizone, ASU, etc), and maybe 1 or 2 of those home state schools will offer. Of, if it is not the home state, there are still going to almost ALWAYS be other more "prominent" schools with more tradition and NCAA wins, etc. At some point, this program must overcome those obstacles. That really is the only way to get this program where we want it to be. Losing Sai is not going to make or break this program or Coach Miles and I am not going to lose any sleep over it. But I will never understand that attitude of so many who seem to be happy (some almost giddy) simply because we are "competing" with other average BCS programs for a recruit. ASU is no UNC or KU. Yes, it was his home state, but as stated above, every player has a home state. If we succumb to that excuse every time, then we will never get a major recuit. At some point, what needs to be done must be done. It certainly won't be easy, but it is the only way. I'm not exactly sure what you're expecting people to say. I didn't see anything in his comment that I interpreted as being happy that we lost out on Tummala. Are we all supposed to go find a private place a punch a hole in the dry wall? That's going to accomplish a lot. Maybe Hooper's post wasn't the best one to reply to. I also had in mind posts like this: