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Barfnecht takes some shots at SE and Boehm

Boehm deserves scrutiny. There has been a lot of ineptitude in our basketball programs under his watch. I think he would be better off focusing on his other roles in the department and bringing in someone more innovative to oversee the basketball programs.

I am very curious as to what Eichorst is thinking. He did not give Miles the standard extension last year and has been pretty quiet this year. But Miles seems like the type of "energy bus" personality that Eichorst likes. And given that his 2 hires (Riley and Williams) have produced mediocre results so far, I can't see him firing a fairly popular coach like Miles who is still bringing in big crowds despite having a losing record.

With that said, Lee B. is very well-connected, so him writing this article signals to me that he believes that the administration is considering firing Miles. Lee doesn't usually write an article like this out of the blue for no reason.
 
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And then read Boehm's response here.

I admit, he gave some credit to Miles, but seemed overly anxious to give credit to Eichorst and "the administration" - I think Miles is safe for another season, but the bulk of the statement crediting the facilities, administration, support, etc. felt like he wanted a little more credit than the coach.
 
Never thought much of Marc Boehm... All started with one of our first B1G games at home against Michigan State and he was in Orlando with his family with the Football team at the bowl site..

I've stated before I'm a little nervous about Eichorst next hire after his last 2 hiring and I'm not saying Riley not going to work out,we will find out the next couple of years, but he was a surprise hire that shocked vastly all of us after firing Pelini.
 
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Good article. I've said it before, Miles deserves some criticism, but I'm not ready to see him run out of town yet.
 
Others here would know better than I, but Boehm seems anxious to claim a lot of credit when it comes to Pinnacle Bank Arena. I'm more inclined to think that Lincoln really, really, really needed an anchor tenant for the arena it wanted to build, and NU basketball happened to be the only serious candidate. At that point, of course the city is going to accommodate NU's needs in order to secure an agreement to play there.

Some Lincoln residents probably did vote for the arena because they saw it as a way for NU basketball to finally break free from its history of mediocrity. So in that respect, maybe Boehm did help put it over the top.
 
I enjoyed the article and I agree with Lee. Miles needs a 6th year. Miles missed on a few recruits early on but I believe the energy bus is headed in the right direction. I am a glass half-full guy.
 
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I wonder who the coaches with "powerhouse credentials" were who didn't get a opportunity to interview for the women's job.

+1

Speculation of Chris Dailey at UCONN was one of the candidates that reached out to someone affiliated with Nebraska. I have no idea if it's accurate or not but personally believe it was just that, speculation.

If there's two things I've learned over the years about Lee, (1) it's he doesn't just write articles to write them and (2) he's dialed in nationally with basketball.
 
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+1

Speculation of Chris Dailey at UCONN was one of the candidates that reached out to someone affiliated with Nebraska. I have no idea if it's accurate or not but personally believe it was just that, speculation.

If there's two thinsg I learned over the years about Lee, (1) it's he doesn't just write articles to write them and (2) he's dialed in nationally with basketball.

If that is ever found out to be true, the fact that it didn't happen had better be because she decided against it and not that SE didn't go after her. Jmho.
 
I've said Miles should get year six....but, he's given Eichorst enough to think about going in a different direction. I guess we will find out in a few weeks.
 
Others here would know better than I, but Boehm seems anxious to claim a lot of credit when it comes to Pinnacle Bank Arena. I'm more inclined to think that Lincoln really, really, really needed an anchor tenant for the arena it wanted to build, and NU basketball happened to be the only serious candidate. At that point, of course the city is going to accommodate NU's needs in order to secure an agreement to play there.

Some Lincoln residents probably did vote for the arena because they saw it as a way for NU basketball to finally break free from its history of mediocrity. So in that respect, maybe Boehm did help put it over the top.
Pinnacle Bank Arena was never sold primarily as a new home for Nebraska basketball. It was sold as Lincoln needing a new arena to replace aging, outdated and small Pershing Auditorium. Nebraska basketball being the primary tenant at the Arena was pretty much an obvious deal that would benefit both the university and the city.
 
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I've said Miles should get year six....but, he's given Eichorst enough to think about going in a different direction. I guess we will find out in a few weeks.

I've been on record saying 7 years. Doc Sadler was the absolute worst recruiter in the Big 12/10. Had Shavon Shields not been a legacy in Tim's first year, that team would've been the absolute least talented Big Ten team in league history.

I believe Tim sold his soul a bit to win in year 2. He needed all those transfers, who hated each other btw, to somehow show HS recruits the Huskers were truly committed to winning. HS basketball recruiting is a crazy business. Elite talents are identified as 9th graders. Bill Self has relationships with those kids at age 15. They can sign at age 16.

It was a 5 year process just to build a Big Ten roster. Now he can actually mesh transfers with legit top 150 HS players all over the roster. Fans who want to run that coach off right now are nuts.
 
I've been on record saying 7 years. Doc Sadler was the absolute worst recruiter in the Big 12/10. Had Shavon Shields not been a legacy in Tim's first year, that team would've been the absolute least talented Big Ten team in league history.

I believe Tim sold his soul a bit to win in year 2. He needed all those transfers, who hated each other btw, to somehow show HS recruits the Huskers were truly committed to winning. HS basketball recruiting is a crazy business. Elite talents are identified as 9th graders. Bill Self has relationships with those kids at age 15. They can sign at age 16.

It was a 5 year process just to build a Big Ten roster. Now he can actually mesh transfers with legit top 150 HS players all over the roster. Fans who want to run that coach off right now are nuts.

If year two did not happen we would likely be much worse off. I've heard Miles on the radio say multiple times we would not have landed a guy like Watson had we not made the NCAA tournament. The general consensus seems to be we have a pretty talented roster. Next year, youth will not be a viable excuse. If Miles is not fired this year and does not have a solid season next year I don't see him getting year 7. It's not going to be easy as I suspect the Big Ten will rebound next year. I'd be curious to see what the league is returning in terms of scoring compared to Nebraska.
 
I don't think that this is a horrible article by Lee. I am going to dissect a few things with my own opinions:

Eichorst No Comment
I can see both sides here. Eichorst saying "no comment" screams of him not wanting Miles around anymore. Trying to see in the mind of Eichorst, maybe he doesn't want a gigantic backlash if he comes out and says Miles is safe and then the team melts down(loses out, player boycott(which I don't see happening), gets in trouble, etc) and he fires him. This is one of the most talented teams we have had in a long time with a ton of talent coming back. Is Eichorst using that to possibly recruit a big name coach? And if he doesn't get that, Miles comes back? Time will tell.

Talent
Like I said above, this is one of the most talented teams we have had in a long time. Is that good or bad for Miles? He has a losing record(so far) in a conference that is down from where it is historically. They are young. Can youth be an excuse? If you aren't recruiting Kansas and Kentucky type of talent, it can be. I think the first couple of years were kind of a throw away for Miles as he realized what it took to recruit at this level and started doing it. He is a victim of his own success in year 2.

Mark Boehm
I don't know how this guy still has a job. This guy is linked to Pederson forever and frankly, has really done nothing, in my view to keep his job. The basketball program has gone basically nowhere while he has been here. Only 3 NIT appearances with no victories in his 13 years. No winning league record in a 10 year stretch. I have never heard one good thing about the guy other than he is a hard worker.

Eichorst Shouldn't Be Allowed To Make a High Profile Hire, Yet

Everyone brings Jim Larranaga(sp?) into the discussion. If it was truly Eichorst's hire, then it was a good hire, but there is some dispute out there if Eichorst actually hired him or if Shalala hired him. I am still at a wait and see with his hires here. Riley is still out for discussion. Amy Williams? Not sure you can fault here for the mess she was left here. She has proven to be a good coach at the lower levels and will have to be given time. Now, if you want to talk about the way the Yori situation was handled, then I am all ears. I'm not really in the loop, but something smelled funny about the whole deal and it seems like maybe 1 or 2 players were at the center of her ousting and it pissed some of the other team off and they left too. This roster is a mess with an out of shape, lazy looking young "star" and other players who play hard, but may not be too talented. Does Boehm oversee womens basketball too? If so, this is just as much on him too.

Nebraska Is Going Cheap In Basketball
Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. According to the article, NU sits at 11 out of 14 in spending in the Big Ten. According to Boehm, they are disputing that and are now spending in the top half of the league. Miles salary is 7th or 8th in the Big Ten. According to Miles salary, he is getting paid about where he has been finishing. Am I right? Do you get what you pay for? Not necessarily. Nebraska Basketball is a strange animal. They have never won an NCAA tourney game. One of only a couple power 5 type teams to have never done so. Does throwing a ton of money out there get a proven coach? That is not guaranteed. I'm sure a lot of proven coaches don't want anything to do with NU because of lack of history and bad recruiting area. I think the recruiting thing can be overcome in Basketball more so than football and Miles is starting to prove you can get top 50-100 type talent here. One could probably argue that basketball has recruited better than football the last few years. As far as the Hendricks Center and going cheap on that. That is on Osborne just as much as anyone. Thank goodness the Hawks family stepped up and added some money and made it a first class facility.

I am kind of in purgatory on Miles personally. If they fired him after this year, I probably wouldn't be too mad, especially if they had somebody proven lined up to replace him. I won't be mad if he was brought back either. I do think he has deserved one more year. This team, although the record doesn't completely show it, is better than years past by quite a bit, IMO. Strength of schedule is #1 or #2 depending on where you look. RPI is higher than it has been in a while. Most of all, my eye test tells me that this team has some players with a lot of potential and is one of the most athletic we have seen since the Nee days. Nee's problem is, he had trouble coaching them at times. Sometimes their talent overcame bad coaching. Can Tim Miles do that? Can he become a good in game coach? That is to be seen and I agree that he deserves a chance to try and prove it with the guys he recruited. Will he be given that chance? I am not sure and not the one that makes that decision. Like I said early, I could see Eichorst using the young talent as a nice carrot to dangle in front of a good, proven coach.

ADDED: A couple things. Was Craig Smith the brains behind the operation when he was here? It seemed like it because it seemed like the offense took a step back when he left. Also, is Jim Molinari going to be Tim Miles downfall? Is he going to be to Miles what Cosgrove was to Callahan? I know Miles values Molinari's opinion quite a bit, but he is supposed to be a defensive coach and some aspects of their defense has been bad, like 3 point defense. Doc Sadler was said to be a defensive wizard, but I am not sure that was true more than the fact that NU let the shot clock run down on offense before they shot to help limit the touches the other team got making the defensive stats look better? I am just not a fan of Molinari.
 
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If next year is a dud, how do you justify year 7? The roster will be basically the same.

Don't bother with the "they will be young next year" excuse. They won't be, and it's a stupid excuse in basketball.
 
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Pinnacle Bank Arena was never sold primarily as a new home for Nebraska basketball. It was sold as Lincoln needing a new arena to replace aging, outdated and small Pershing Auditorium. Nebraska basketball being the primary tenant at the Arena was pretty much an obvious deal that would benefit both the university and the city.
Yeah I don't disagree with any of this, I'm just struggling to figure out the ostensibly major role that Marc Boehm played in making sure PBA was a "basketball-first" arena. I'm fairly certain it was never going to be a hockey-first or rodeo-first or monster truck rally-first arena, so it seems like a good story he's spinning.
 
I'm guessing he will stay at least one more year. But as we know, if you fire a coach, you better have your plan together for a replacement. We don't want Doc Sadler II
 
I'm guessing he will stay at least one more year. But as we know, if you fire a coach, you better have your plan together for a replacement. We don't want Doc Sadler II
The way it is, we already have him.
 
Good article.
The only way you fire miles now is if you know you have a proven major conference winner waiting to sign up. And we dont.
 
Honestly, other than a few message board posters here and there, is there really that many people calling for Miles to be fired? Or is it just journalists stirring crap up?
Not that it's scientific or anything, but the World Herald had a poll up and over 90% of the responses supported Miles getting another year.
 
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