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Because we NEED another basketball thread...

spartanhusker

College Football Hall of Fame
May 29, 2001
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...and because this team is SO baffling, I guess it's fair to ask...what causes coaches to have off years?

I'm not saying Miles is bad...I LOVE THE GUY! But I don't agree with the premise that says"Well, he prepared them, it's THEIR job to play the game"...at some point, if they are NOT playing the game, it IS how they are being 'prepared.

I've coached 40 years(obviously not at THAT level) and I'd LIKE to say that every year, my coaching is brilliant, but the truth is, it isn't.I HOPE whatever Tim was able to get through to the kids reconnects soon...this season may be over, advancing-wise, but not in terms of setting the direction again.
 
This is the 2nd time in his entire career a team of his has not improved from last year. That is a staggering number. Nebraska is very lucky to have Tim Miles on the bench, remember Doc Sadler? 12 total wins our first year in the B1G, nobody really complained, we all just thought that was the ceiling here at Nebraska, that we would always be cellar dwellars in college basketball's best league. Then Timmy comes in and in his first two years finishes 9th and 4th in the conference when everyone picked them to finish dead last. Then everyone picks Nebraska, the new darling of B1G basketball 4th, when most of the reason Nebraska finished 4th is the B1G had a down year, and they got super hot at the end, even then had they not beaten Wisky then probably would have made the NIT and expectations would have been much more realistic heading into this year. I think some of the problem has been recruiting, He still has 5 of Doc's recruits, and imo Shavon is probably the only one of them that is good enough to be a contributor on a B1G roster. Dave and Benny contribute some but they are one dimensional players and non threats with the ball in their hands. In addition to that Miles took a lot of high risk/high reward reaches in his first couple of recruiting cycles last year it worked really well, this year it bit him in the ass. Petteway, Pitchford, and Leslie Smith (before he got hurt) all turned out to be great gets, while Webster and Abraham have turned out to be major duds. Nathan Hawkins, who was supposed to be the outside presence this year left, Then Leslie Smith got hurt and is not the same player he was last year. Couple that with the fact that your best 3 point threat in Gallegos is gone with no replacement and Petteway, Pitchford, and Shields all have regressed this year, your going to have some problems. However, it looks like Miles isn't reaching nearly as much in these last couple of recruiting cycles. Tarin Smith, Andrew White III, Ed Morrow Jr., Glynn Watson, and McVeigh are all going to be major contributors one day. Hammond, Jacobsen, and Fuller might take a little longer to develop but they are all better than what Doc gave Miles. Bottom line I think these last two seasons come down to Miles taking a lot of risks in his first 3 years, with last year's risks paying off big time, and this year's risks flopping big time.
 
I tend to agree with your comment that coaches can have bad years too -- and this year hasn't been Miles' best. If this was his first year with this core group of players, I could understand losing the team and taking some extreme measures to get their attention and/or push them out the door. But this is year three with the core players. I realize losing can bring out the worst in anyone and unfortunately I think it is bringing out the worst in a lot of people in the locker room, perhaps including Miles. Locking the locker room? How odd and and how unlikely to make a difference. Benching the starting five for a game or two would make more sense. As a longtime coach I wonder if you agree with me that the only real way to get a player's attention is to take away playing time. Anything short of that just makes a good news story.

This post was edited on 2/23 8:45 PM by hddude55
 
Well, I coached hoops for years....


...not making anybody's HOF there, but 60% wins, so some success...and I once benched my starters to 'get their attention'...never did it again...at least at the START of a game. Wasn't productive for me.
 
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