NUdiehard

The NET rankings are a joke. Check out Iona (#69) and Yale (#70). Iona: Quad 1 (0-2) Quad 2 (0-2) Quad 3 (9-2) Quad 4 (9-2) Yale: Quad 1 (0-2) Quad 2 (1-2) Quad 3 (5-0) Quad 4 (9-2) Nebraska (#94): Quad 1 (2-11) Quad 2 (3-3) Quad 3 (1-0) Quad 4 (7-0)

Eat that Ken and your lame-a$$ algo!

What the heck does "functioning well" mean? This could simply mean its exists and pays out "some" money to some players, doesn't say anything to the comparative level of the amounts it is paying out. Have no idea what it means to "work with the 1890 Group" either.

Actually this season, even with all the devastating injuries, is not too far off from an "average" Miles' season. Miles' average end-of-year KenPom is #87. NU is currently #98 and was in the low-to-mid 80s before the injuries. This is why things like strength of schedule matter. Simply looking at wins/losses is not telling the full picture. This year's team is better than 3 of Miles' teams: 2013 KenPom #136 2015 KemPom #121 2017 KenPom #107. And believe it or not, based on these rankings, Fred's 2021 team (KenPom #109) was better than 2 of Miles' teams. Of course, Miles had 2014 (#56) and 2018 (#55), which are significantly better than any of Fred's rankings. But if there was to be improvement next year, it would likely put Nebraska with at least an equal if not better KenPom ranking than the "average" Miles team.

The three seniors will be a big loss. But it seems most teams in the B1G are starting A LOT of seniors. If anyone wants to take the time, I would be interested in the number of seniors in each teams starting 5. Seems like the portal has a lot to do with this, as a lot of teams are bringing in junior/senior transfers and then putting them in the starting lineup. If so, then most teams are in the same boat in losing their starters. It also seems like the super seniors (who received the extra covid years) are finally starting to graduate out of the system. This should help level the playing field a little bit. But yes, Fred (if he returns) still has to bring in the dudes from the portal. It will all come down to who he can get to transfer here next year.

Walker is a human turnover.

I have no idea how the NET is calculated, but seems that that the loss to St. Johns is the big drag on our NET. Our losses this season are to NET ranked teams as follows: 4 4 21 22 26 26 28 45 47 53 57 61 - Oklahoma 98 - St. Johns Our wins include: 16 - Creighton (on the road) 33 - Iowa 36 - OSU Every B1G opponent other than Minnesota has been ranked #57 (Northwestern) or higher.

https://omaha.com/sports/huskers/shatel/shatel-as-calendar-shifts-to-february-eyes-arent-on-hoiberg-theyre-on-nebraskas-ceo/article_d5f28759-0654-5320-a7e8-4736074bce40.html I am not not usually one to refer to Shatel and Husker Hoops in the same sentence. This is the same guy who said Creighton would have to go 10 deep before reaching the level of Nebraska's best player. But, in this case, and in this article, I feel he has some decent points. The gist is that the remainder this season isn't about whether NU can squeak out a few wins against B1G bottom dwellers, or even whether or not to retain Hoiberg. Rather, the bigger issue is for Trev to step up and show his administration truly supports the hoops program and not just the football program. He has two suggestions: 1. Hire an associate AD to focus solely on hoops 2. Make sure the NIL support is top notch Hiring a hoops Assoc. AD makes sense. Trev is naturally going to lean towards the football program, so bring in a guy who really understands hoops and can devote all his/her attention to hoops. Sounds good. Let's do it. But IMO, of more importance, is suggestion #2. NIL is critical. I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts when discussing whether to bring back Fred. If NIL isn't active, prominent and nationally competitive for hoops, then it doesn't matter who the coach is. And if it isn't prominent and available right now, then Trev is leaving Fred out to dry. There is no way Hoiberg is going to be able to recruit the caliber of recruit/transfers we need if NIL isn't a huge factor. Has everyone noticed how many of the new football recruits are signing contracts with the 1890 Collective, along with many of the returning players. 1890 has openly stated that it is only signing football and volleyball. I believe there was another collective to handle basketball last year, but I have no idea whether it is still active, or how well funded it is. Of course Trev can't arrange for the players to be paid directly from the athletic department, but he can--and if he truly wants hoops to succeed he MUST--use his position and clout to meet with large donors and the hoops collective to make sure it is well funded and active and thriving. Yet, all we hear is crickets. . . . Is this the plan-- to just starve out Fred and let him die on the vine? Or is there true backing and support to help him try to get the big time recruits he needs to turn this program around. Again, I don't have any inside info, I don't know for sure, but Shatel (who I imagine is somewhat connected) says that Nebraska falls well behind Creighton in the hoops NIL support. If true, then this is inexcusable. Many on here say that the AD left Miles to out to dry by not extending his contract. Well, in today's era of NIL, if a coach doesn't have considerable NIL support, then this is more deadly than a lack of a contract extension. It's the nail in the coffin. How could Nebraska possibly expect to out-recruit other blue blood programs who have much more history and success and who also have consider more money to throw at those recruits? Once again, it is time for this athletic department and AD to step up and show/prove how it is supporting husker hoops . For some of us, football isn't the only game in town. Hopefully the AD feels the same way.

Blocking out is now officially a foul—only on Nebraska of course.

If this team could just figure out who should be shooting the ball and who shouldn’t it could have a chance and quit turning it over.

Walker now has five turnovers already

Walker is a human turnover

Tang is such an ironic example. Is he an elite coach, or is he the benefactor of an administration that allowed him to sign Keontae Johnson? And even if he proves over time he is 100% the real deal, for every Tang there are 20 Doc Sadlers (good but not elite). Coaching at Nebraska is really, really, really hard. We have no tradition, so recruits don't want to come here. The only way to overcome that stigma is to win a lot of games. But it is very hard to win a lot of games without first getting the good recruits. It is a death spiral. With that said, obviously the right coach can overcome the death spiral. As tcp points out, the elite coaches of the past have brought programs out of the ashes. It certainly can be done, but there are a LOT of coaches in college basketball history, but very, very few Coach Ks or Coach Orrs. Fred at least took a P5 program that had been struggling for years (even though it had some past history of success) and massively turned it around. It is interesting to note that Fred's successor, Steve Prohm, managed to continue the success for his first 2 years (how much of this was carry-over from Fred's players and Fred's coaching of those players?), but in Prohm's 3rd -6th years, his conference records were: 4-14; 9-9; 5-13; 0-18 (combined 18-54). Many on this board think Fred's calm demeanor on the sideline means he doesn't care. I strongly disagree. Fred is an ordinary athlete who was a star in college and had a long NBA career. He didn't reach his levels of success by being disinterested. He is a fierce competitor, and I think he has been humbled over these first 3 years at NU, and I am counting on his competitive spirit to drive him to do whatever is necessary to improve this program. There is one other factor that is huge in all of this, but none of us are talking about--NIL. I don't know the status of NIL for the basketball team right now. Obviously there is some NIL going on, because we have heard stories of Walker and other players. But how strong is the NIL program for Husker Hoops athletes and recruits? I do know that the 1890 Collective (which is signing a lot of the football recruits) only serves football and volleyball. I believe there is a different collective for the basketball team, but I never hear about it and have no idea if it is still going or how strong it is. If the hoops NIL collective is not active and strong, then all of this coach talk is meaningless. Nebraska has too many obstacles to overcome already. It must have an NIL program that at least meets, if not exceeds, it peers. If it does not, then it doesn't matter who the coach is, this program will not succeed.

I go to every single home game. I watch every away game live on TV. Like everyone on this board, I certainly enjoy winning a whole lot more than losing. I was standing at center court for no-sit Sunday. The last 3 years were bad, you will get no argument from me on that. This year was much, much more enjoyable until derailed by injuries. It was not at no-sit Sunday enjoyable levels, but it was a solid and significant step in the right direction. To answer your question, no, there is not any amount of losing "this year" that could change my mind. This team is now decimated by injuries and it will be a miracle if they win 1 or 2 more games. I would like to see more production from the younger players, but that is still not going to be a determinative factor for me. But the remainder of this year is not "forever" IMO. Next season the team will definitely have to show progress, including in the W-L column. I am not sure exactly what win/loss record that might be, but definitely better than these first 4 years. I want to keep Fred because I believe he gives us the best chance to win more games in the future than the next random mid-major coach. I acknowledge I could be completely wrong about that, and I acknowledge that his record here has been so bad that others like you are justified in thinking differently, but for me personally, I would like to give him at least one more year and then see where we are at the end of next season.

Collier and Sadler combined to coach 12 years at NU and neither of them ever had a winning record in the conference, and I would argue that the Big 12 conference they coached in was not nearly as deep and difficult as the B1G has been during Hoiberg's tenure. I am just sharing my opinion and trying to add what I believe is relevant context. But I can completely understand why you and others feel differently and want Hoiberg gone. And I will acknowledge that the lack of production by players like Wilcher, Breidenbach and Keita this year make it more difficult to see a bright future absent a massive influx of transfer talent (and it also underscores the severe lack of recruiting the first 2 years). You have been on this board for years and know that I have been critical of Hoiberg in the past. Over two years ago, before the start of the 2021/22 season, I was critical of the recruiting and said it needed to drastically pick up. I took a lot of heat for saying that I did not think Breidenbach would be an impact player for at least his first couple years here (and that has proven correct). Last year I was very critical of the defense as well as the lack of effort and discipline. And yes, I am giving Fred a MUCH longer leash than I would almost any other coach. But that is because he has proven he can win at a P5, and because I believe his name still has cache among recruits because he was a legendary college player, and NBA player and an NBA coach, and he carries himself well and is a good representative of our program. And because I believe he has tried to rectify his mistakes of the first 3 years. He has changed his coaches, changed his philosophy, and I believe he now is finally putting in the effort and actively recruiting himself and not just relying on his assistants. Do I wish he would have done all this the last 3 years? Absolutely! But in the end, you can take solace in knowing that my personal opinion will not have any influence whatsoever on whether Trev decides to bring Hoiberg back next year. I am just a random dude on a message board.

Fair enough. But you did specifically isolate Hoiberg’s record in comparison to the average and the title of the thread is “Hoiberg Amongst His Peers”.

Wow. I applaud the research but you just wasted a whole lot of time and effort to say “Hoiberg has a historically bad win/loss record while coaching at Nebraska.” Ummm, I think we are all painfully aware of that fact. Some of us fully recognize that his win/loss record in his 4 years at NU has been deplorable but still feel he has as good of chance or better than any other random mid-major coach that would be brought in to replace him. Your dissertation left out a few pertinent facts. For instance, it completely ignores Hoiberg’s record at ISU. Shoudn’t that be at least averaged in? If Hoiberg was wildly successful at a previous school that had some history of basketball success, but has had no success at a school that has no history of basketball success, would logic dictate it is the coach or the school/program that is the problem? You are comparing Houberg’s record to other schools that have a long history of basketball success, hardly apples to apples. Does the fact that Hoiberg has the toughest schedule in all of college basketball factor into your stats? If Hoiberg scheduled 16 cupcakes every year like Doc always did, he would have a lot more Ws in his record. Would that make him any different a coach ? Plus, the B1G is brutal. I believe there are 9 teams in the top 40 of the NET. This year, NU easily disposed of FSU and Boston College. There are multiple bad teams in most other p5 conference, while the B1G only has one in Minnesota. Again, not apples to apples. But even with all that said, no one is going to disagree that Hoiberg’s poor record in his 4 years is historically bad, even for Nebraska. If the discussion is solely about his record his first 4 years, then there’s nothing more to discuss. But some of us don’t feel that the failures of the past means it is impossible to change and have success in the future. Why? Because he already had massive success at a P5 school before. That is more than can be said for ANY previous coach at Nebraska and most likely would be more than any mid-major coach that might be hired next year if Fed is fired. Pretty simple really. Plus, before this year was derailed by injuries, it showed Hoiberg is learning and adapting. He turned over his staff and changed his style of play. Let’s look at it another way. Are you 100% sure a new coach would have more success next year than Hoiberg would be if he returns? How about 75%? 50%? The reality is whether it is Hoiberg or some new coach, either is going to have to hope to get some quality players in the portal. The only difference we can probably know is that if Hoiberg leaves, it is more likely that we lose some or maybe even all of the more promising young players we currently have on the roster. Sonic we are taking about the future, not the past, then there still is an argument to be made for Hoiberg being retained. But by all means, those who want him fired can continue to recite his past record in creative yet duplicative ways over and over and over again. You will have plenty of chances as losses continue to mount

Refs in the league will never give us a fair shake. With that said, Sam went up way too soft. Needs to blast straight at the hoop and try to dunk on his head.

And turnovers. This team will be outmanned every game. The turnovers are killers. And Walker, for all the good he does, is a turnover machine. And most are just careless and unforced.

Why did Wilcher shoot the technical foul shot when Sam H was on the floor?

Once again Fred takes out the player with 2 fouls (Keisei) and puts CJ back in

Derrick Walker: 7 pts 4 RBs 5 TOs (29 min) Sam Griesel: 8 pts 5 RBs 4 TOs (33 min) Sam Hoiberg: 6 pts 6 RBs 0 TOs (17 min)

Wilhelm predetermines that he is going to shoot EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Griesel and Walker have combined for 4 points and 7 turnovers.

Nothing against Sam H, but I think Keisei could fill in at PG for a pinch if necessary.