I dont want to jynx anything but I dont care if you are a miles hater or not this team has the looks and feels of a different team. Looking at the schedule, we could honestly win the last 7 home games. I think if they play like they did in the 2nd half tonight they could get a first round bye in the big 10 tournament.
Might be a fun winter for NU Hoops
- Thread starter bearcats667
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Don't disagree, but everyone but the four bottom-feeders gets a bye in the first round of the conference tournament. This team should aspire to something higher than a #10 seed.
Unless you mean a top 4 seed, where you get to skip two rounds? I don't see that happening, but it's not impossible.
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Would be great to win @Purdue but that’s probably going to be a tough task. A ways away to be thinking about it but the Mich game at home could be huge. We need another “good” win to put on the resume and with the Big Ten being down this year we won’t have many chances.
Team just looks different from what I have watched this year. Didn't think they could upgrade so drastically after having so many transfers last season, but they look more talented than a lot of the big teams they have faced. Hope to see more Thomas Allen as the season progresses.
Last year's team would have found a way to lose that game. This team found a way to turn a tight game in to a double digit win. I hope the momentum carries over and they start to hate losing more than they enjoy winning.
I have held off getting too hype as they were in a similar situation last year, but this team does have some depth. They can get scoring from 3 - 5 guys if they need. They have length and are athletic, hopefully they are starting to gel. They do have a nice spot in the schedule after Saturday where they could pick up 4 or 5 wins before the end of January.
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anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi
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If we can somehow win Saturday, it will be the biggest win in the program since no sit Sunday
I think the guys that left knew it was going to be tough to remain in the rotation. Heck guys that stayed and played significant minutes last year are no longer getting PT. Miles knew that he had to upgrade talent and he did just that with transfers. Just wish he could get a servicable be guy.
We would be much better off with Jacobson or Morrow at the five right now IMO. I don't think those two transferred because they were worried about PT. They simply just didn't want to play the five.
That KU loss was a bummer for our tournament hopes. It wasn't a killer but a win in that one would have been big.
I politely disagree. They both stated that they wanted to play outside. Neither wanted to play the 5. They both got eaten alive by Pardon the past 2 years too. I think Okeke brings something we really needed in the paint and he did a pretty good job of banging with Pardon and protecting the rim. We would be a better team roster wise IF we still had Morrow and Jake, but make no mistake they weren't going to play the 4 ahead of the guys playing it now. They would have played, but not as much as they've been playing and it probably would have had to have been at the 5 almost exclusively and they knew it. Morrow is a good guy with a great work ethic but his skills limit his ability to play anything but the 5.
I’m not going to knock Miles just because I dislike him, we have a solid team this year. Watson is one of the best PG in the BIG10, Copeland has shook off all the rust and is showing why he got his 5 star ranking back as a high schooler, Gill is getting on top of his shots, Palmer is a great player, Robey is becoming a beast and will continue to get better and better and the mosthen important part, the teams starting to gel nicely. If we can fix those scoring droughts, we could be very good.
In the absence of an effective post player, I thought the strategy Miles employed last night was a good one - just keep running big bodies out there to get in the way, use their fouls, and block a few shots. I know some people are in love with the Roby-at-the-five lineup, but Roby will foul out in 10 minutes if he's inserted there for extended periods in Big Ten play.
I think Morrow would still be getting a lot of playing time if he was here, because he was far and away the team's best rebounder and that has not changed. But Morrow's gone, so Miles needs to make use of the big bodies he still has. Last night's rotation was pretty effective for the most part, even though NW still killed them on the offensive glass.
If Miles could land us a true 6’11-7’2 center that’s very good or solid. We could be a great team and hard to beat. We have the rest of the line up, just missing that true center.
Sorry, just seen this. Yes we sucked on the rebounds but we KILLED it on the blocked shots. We had 14 total blocked shots. Copeland has 3 and there was another player or two that had 3 block shots as well. Being shot blocking team will help a lot when it comes to close/big games.
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anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi
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I'll try to keep this brief, but I'm a pretty big Husker hoops fan, so here goes.
1. I had supported Miles consistently because I hadn't seen this type of talent since Danny Nee. But when Jacobson and Morrow left, I thought I was done. Then lo and behold, the new players this year, Copeland, Palmer, a healthy Gill and Thomas Allen.... all is forgotten.
2. Palmer is hands down the best player on this team. Followed by Copeland then Watson. That is impressive since I thought Watson had to be the number one coming into the year.
3. Jordy and Duby are the same person. They foul more than they score. I have been disappointed by the lack of development by Jordy since he had blossomed over the course of last year. Right now, he looks like he did when he first started a year ago. Maybe we will see a second half jump again.
4. Which leads me to the lineup that closed the game out last night. Watson, Gill, Palmer, Copeland and Roby (at the 5) is really intriguing. In a way, they change the game for the opposing teams similar to how Golden State did to the NBA. They simply said we're not going to put a big slog inside and forced other teams to shift for them vs. the other way around. Before you skewer me, I'm in no way comparing Nebraska's players or system to Golden State, but I will say the offense was more wide open with any player capable of slashing and scoring with that group. Keep your eyes open to see if Miles continues to put this group on the court together.
5. Lastly, while there is a lot of excitement, fans should be prepared for a tough outcome @ Purdue. After watching Purdue play in a number of games, I think they are a legit championship contender. They average 87 points while giving up 64. They've got serious size inside with great touch.They shoot 50% collectively from the field. They are led by a bunch of seniors and are seriously a team to look out for. If Nebraska loses by 20 to this Purdue team, please don't step off the ledge. Understand it's a long season ahead.
1. I had supported Miles consistently because I hadn't seen this type of talent since Danny Nee. But when Jacobson and Morrow left, I thought I was done. Then lo and behold, the new players this year, Copeland, Palmer, a healthy Gill and Thomas Allen.... all is forgotten.
2. Palmer is hands down the best player on this team. Followed by Copeland then Watson. That is impressive since I thought Watson had to be the number one coming into the year.
3. Jordy and Duby are the same person. They foul more than they score. I have been disappointed by the lack of development by Jordy since he had blossomed over the course of last year. Right now, he looks like he did when he first started a year ago. Maybe we will see a second half jump again.
4. Which leads me to the lineup that closed the game out last night. Watson, Gill, Palmer, Copeland and Roby (at the 5) is really intriguing. In a way, they change the game for the opposing teams similar to how Golden State did to the NBA. They simply said we're not going to put a big slog inside and forced other teams to shift for them vs. the other way around. Before you skewer me, I'm in no way comparing Nebraska's players or system to Golden State, but I will say the offense was more wide open with any player capable of slashing and scoring with that group. Keep your eyes open to see if Miles continues to put this group on the court together.
5. Lastly, while there is a lot of excitement, fans should be prepared for a tough outcome @ Purdue. After watching Purdue play in a number of games, I think they are a legit championship contender. They average 87 points while giving up 64. They've got serious size inside with great touch.They shoot 50% collectively from the field. They are led by a bunch of seniors and are seriously a team to look out for. If Nebraska loses by 20 to this Purdue team, please don't step off the ledge. Understand it's a long season ahead.
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anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi
Guest
Roby gets called for so many unnecessary, careless fouls. He has so much skill, but also struggles to catch/hang onto the ball
NW killed us on the offensive glass in the first half mainly because they were jacking a BUNCH of threes, missing them and then getting long rebounds off those shots from what I saw. Morrow wouldn't have changed that. Ed's size was a liability on both ends of the floor at the 5. I don't think he would help us all that much other than giving us 5 more fouls. IF Ed had stayed we likely wouldn't have Okeke and for my money with the scorers we have now at the 3 and 4, we may be better off with Okeke than we would have been with Ed. Okeke just gives us something we didn't have with Ed. Borchardt in the mean time is giving us a nice energy boost with some rebounding off the bench and it appears that Palmer, Copeland etc all like that kid. They actually appear to try to make a conscious effort to feed him the ball if he gets low. IMO, we're playing pretty good team ball and the chemistry looks really good right now. I can see now why the kid from KC left. How quickly I forgot his name. He wasn't going to play much this year.
In short stints, especially against an undersized opponent, that's a very effective lineup. I just don't think it's sustainable in Big Ten play for more than a few minutes at a time. That's why I liked the way Miles used several big bodies throughout most of the game last night - so that at the end, Roby, Copeland and Palmer were on the floor, instead of on the bench with 4 or 5 fouls.
For example, do you want excellent-post-player-but-horrible-FT-shooter Ethan Happ eating Roby's lunch until Roby fouls out, or would you rather pound on him with three guys you don't really need at the end of the game anyway?
NW Coach Collins really helped us out last night by playing that pressure D against our most athletic lineup, and letting us drive repeatedly for dunk shots. Had he watched the Stetson game he should have known a zone would have been much more effective. However, as we all know coaches can be very stubborn sometimes and can't get out of their own way. It happens at all levels and in all sports.
Brady Heiman is pretty skilled for a 6'10 kid. Really skinny now but once he puts on some muscle, he could be very effective at the center position.
Roby will need to feel more confident when he's in the game. I think he has a lot of Tai Webster nerves, in that he knows he's got skill, but he's anxious/excited/nervous and he bobbles the ball a bit. I think you'll see him blossom as a junior or senior.
Regard your point #4 I found it interesting last night when the announce said in speaking with Collins that the line up with Roby at the 5 really concerned him.
If you take the assumption that we have to foul their big guys, then I guess you'd rather have this line-up later instead of earlier. But if the size advantage for the opponent is there for them on the offensive side, it should be a liability for them on the defensive side.
I'm not sure this isn't our best lineup for as much as we can make it. Put in Duby Tshimanga for relief or if their bigs are having their way, but I'd rather go with the more athletic bunch and keep the true centers on the bench - at least the way they are playing so far this year.
I'm not saying you HAVE to foul the opponents' big guys, but how long do you think Roby's going to stay in the game playing defense against a 6'10" or 6'11" post player? There aren't a ton of them in the Big Ten, but there are more in the Big Ten than in the Atlantic Sun and the MEAC.
we had a lot of trouble handling pressure D earlier in the year so I don't think it necessarily helped it out as much as we have learned to play against it and we hit some shots.
