NUdiehard

Based on what I have seen in warmups, Oleg is nothing close to be a stretch 4, at least not at this point. He will have to significantly improve his speed, lateral quickness and his outside shot to have any chance at playing the 4 under Hoiberg's system. I don't see that ever happening TBH. Which does mean that if Robin's predictions come true, NU will have four centers on the roster next year. It is a dilemma, because having both Walker and Andre return is very important, but I'm not sure having four centers (who are completely unable to play the 4) is the best allocation of scholarships/roster spots at this point. There is a grave need for a quality PG (or 2) as well as a solid stretch 4 (and a backup?). With only 3 spots available (and maybe 2 if Trey returns), Hoiberg and staff are going to have to nail the recruits who fill those spots, there isn't any room to miss.

Other than Trey, this is probably about as good a result as one could hope for.

Just curious, did his brother Trey get the same underwhelming defensive coaching? Or was it just Bryce? Did they separate Bryce and Trey when coaching defense? I am really curious to know, since you seem to have this inside information.

Weber had 184 wins in 10 years at KSU Hoiberg had 115 wins in just 5 years at ISU Weber had 5 NCAA tourneys in 10 years at KSU Hoiberg had 4 NCAA tourneys in 5 years at ISU Imagine wanting to fire the coach with the much better resume.

Lat passes the ball to Trey when Verge is calling for it.

Ugh

Bryce playing like someone who was told by his agent “just don’t get hurt”

Cowboys website lists him as a sophomore, but shouldn't he be a freshman in light of the covid non-year last year?

Don't even know where to start with this. Even the coaches themselves will tell you it all starts with recruiting. You can't make a great meal if you don't start with the right ingredients. If coaching is "way more important" than recruiting, and if development and improvement was all that matters, then hard-working walk-ons should be able to come in and dominate by their 2nd or 3rd year. Just coach 'em up. No problem. Sure, he's only 5'10" with a 15" vertical, but that doesn't matter, just develop them. How about Ivan, sure, he shoots like a shot put off the palm of his hand and can't catch a ball cleanly to save his life, but hey, just coach him up, develop him. We have been doing this for 50 years now. I have seen hundreds of student=athletes come through the program and bust their tail and do everything possible and still not win. Why? Because they weren't talented enough. Doc's six year tenure is proof of that. Or do we need John Wooden reincarnated to make a savory meal out of mediocre ingredients? Coaching is absolutely important. Development is absolutely important. But even the best coach in the world can't win consistently without talent. Here is the record for the Golden State Warriors the past 5 seasons, who have a great coach in Steve Kerr: 2016–17 82 67 15 .817 1st, Pacific NBA champions, 4–1 (Cavaliers) 2017–18 82 58 24 .707 1st, Pacific NBA champions, 4–0 (Cavaliers) 2018–19 82 57 25 .695 1st, Pacific Lost in NBA Finals, 2–4 (Raptors) 2019–20 65 15 50 .231 5th, Pacific Did not qualify 2020–21 72 39 33 .542 4th, Pacific Did not qualify Why did the only win 23% of their games in 2019-20 (finishing with the worst record in the entire league)? Oh ya, it was because Curry and Thompson were hurt. Talent.

Due to the vagaries of the schedule, NU only got to play the other bottom three teams (Minnesota, PSU and Maryland) once. What are the odds? Needless to say NU would probably have a couple more wins on their record had they played at least two of these teams twice.

Walker only played 13 minutes and NU still won. Wouldn’t have predicted that

Could Wilcher become what we hoped Joe McCray would be?

Should Fred put Walker back in?

Fred is riding with small ball even though enough time elapsed he could put Walker back in

Those dunks by Bryce are a product I of the 5 out lineup Nebraska is playing due to foul trouble.

Could Wilcher become what we always hoped Joe (Hambuger) McCray would be

Verge already has 8 assists. Wow

Why does Bryce insist on taking NBA 3s while still in college ?

Honest question. Do you watch the opposing team warm up? I haven't paid real close attention, but from what I see most games the opposing team's are just as loose and carefree as what I see from Nebraska. Maybe not the constant "alley-oop" tosses, but pretty close. I'm curious if you have seen differently.

There is no doubt losing Trey completely set this team back. Not only did he miss all those games, but even after he came back he clearly was not the same until maybe last game. This means we have essentially played this entire season without peak performance from our team leader, best defender and instrumental offensive player. Not to mention Wilhelm who would probably be getting a lot of Lat's minutes by this point (and maybe some of Andre's).

Starters played almost all 20 minutes of first half. Fatigue will be an issue 2nd half. Will they have enough to hang on?

Many of you have suggested that you do not think Hoiberg's "Scheme" can work in the B1G. Honest question. What do you mean by this? In order to answer this, I think you first need to describe what you think Hoiberg's scheme is, and then explain why you think it could maybe work in a different conference (such as the Big 12), but not in the B1G. And does your definition of "scheme" include the type of players Hoiberg recruits?

As currently constructed, the roster is not good enough to be successful in the B1G next year. Part of that is talent, but much is youth. If Walker returns, but Trey, Lat and Bryce no not, next year's team (as currently constructed) will have: 1 Senior - Walker 1 Junior - Tominaga 4 Sophomores - Andre, Wilcher, Edwards and Keita 6 Freshmen - McPherson, Oleg, Lloyd, Dawson, Lawrence and Breidenbach (assuming he gets medical RS) Even if this group is "talented", there is little chance such a young team can win regularly in the B1G. FWIW, this is why I feel Fred should get 5 years, but that is a different argument for a different thread. The dilemma will be if there are concrete signs of legit "talent" and quality/sound play from these younger players, but they are coming up short due to so much youth and inexperience. Most likely everyone will still want Fred gone, but it is important to look at what might lie ahead rather than what is past. In contrast, if the group of young players don't give much/any indication of real potential, then the decision will be very easy. Fred will have to pull in some quality and experienced transfers to have a shot next year, including a PG. It is possible (likely) that a couple of the player listed above will transfer. Will Edwards stick around? Andre? So there should be room for at least 2 or maybe 3 portal transfers. Let's hope they hit better than they did last year.

Bryce is such a liability on defense he is a net negative overall.

Went on that run with Bryce on the bench.