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Husker Extra live chat: Chris Basnett, 2/15/17
Talk all things Husker hoops with Chris Basnett during his weekly chat, this Wednesday.
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Haven't heard anything yet. Nothing has been released by the University, which to me says its not too terribly serious, but obviously I don't know any more than anyone else right now. I imagine they'll want the swelling to go down a bit before they do an MRI or anything like that.
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CB...Hopefully the season goals are once again rearranged. Some say NIT, but I prefer shorter term at the moment. First up, goal one should be to NOT finish in the bottom 4 and avoid the potential "5 game in 5 day scenario" in the conference tourney. If you wanted to get real bold, shoot for 5th-6th and face a team that has already played the day before (7th-10th play their first games Thurs). Considering the 6th place team is MN at 6-6, it's probably reachable. And when healthy, I don't think anyone wants much to do with NU. 4 games max for the "magic slipper". Your thoughts?
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Totally agree. Goal No. 1 has to be to stay out of that play-in round. After that, I think this conference is so wide open that just about anyone could get hot and make a run. If Nebraska is fully healthy, there aren't going to be a lot of teams that want to face them in a tournament scenario.
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Watched Syracuse play Saturday. AW III played all 40 minutes. Also watched them again Saturday. AW III played all 45 minutes including overtime. When was the last time you ever saw Miles play his best player the whole game. Didn't think so. Miles and Boeheim from a coaching standpoint are Miles and miles apart. Pun intended.
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Well, Tai Webster played 49 of a possible 50 minutes against Iowa in the the double overtime game, and leads the Big Ten in minutes played at 35.4 per game, which is about a minute less per game than AWIII, and Tai was up over 38 minutes for a long time before playing 31 last night. So it's not like Webster is riding the bench in crunch time.
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Is it safe to say we can put the questioning of "Miles developing players" to rest? There's lots of examples on the team. But Jordy's progress is nothing short of amazing IMO. He went from "hoping for 10-12 minutes of play" with a couple points and rebounds to gathering regular double teams? Good stuff.
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Definitely. Tshimanga went from struggling to even catch the ball to becoming a guy that is going to demand double teams. It totally changes how Nebraska looks offensively. You have to give credit to Miles as well for identifying a player with that kind of potential in the first place. The fact that Tshimanga has become a viable piece of the puzzle so quickly is a credit to Miles and his staff.
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The starting lineup dynamic is definitely something to watch over these next few weeks. If the Huskers continue to have success, I could see things staying as they are with Morrow coming off the bench. You look at the stats from last night, and Tshimanga, Jacobson and Morrow played 17, 18 and 16 minutes, respectively. If you can continue to do that and keep your guys fresh down the stretch, that's only going to help you. And, it keeps Morrow off that foot that much more.
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It does appear to me that Miles has perhaps "loosened" some of his strategies of foul management and minutes from previous years. Definitely to the good IMO. And I'm always confused when I hear people talking about "wearing out Tai or Glynn". They're kids. Sure they tire, but grabbing the minutes before/during tv timeouts is plenty. I thought it was smart when he pulled out Ed when he did. Would you agree that Miles in-game management has improved this season?
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I would agree with that. He's adapted what he wants to do to the strengths of his players, which is what good coaches do. I think a lot of that too is Miles trusting his younger guys more and more as the season has gone on.As for the playing time thing, I don't know that it's as big a deal as some folks want to make it. I've always been in the camp that, with all the TV timeouts, regular timeouts, etc. There are plenty of opportunities for guys to get rest. Obviously you want to avoid guys getting hurt, but these are Division I athletes in tremendous shape who are playing a game they love. The fact that Nebraska has played so many close games this season is a big part of why guys are playing so many minutes. If Nebraska was playing some more lopsided games, then obviously guys would be sitting more. But it is what it is. Miles trusts his guys to take care of themselves, and they've held up pretty well so far from a stamina standpoint.
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It's been crazy, and I think after the year is over we'll look back and agonize over just how close Nebraska was to a really good conference record. Every single league game other than Michigan State and Penn State has come down to the last four minutes. When you're a team trying to figure out how to win, that's really all you can ask for. It then becomes a matter of guys making winning plays. The Huskers made those plays against Indiana, Maryland, Iowa, Purdue, etc. Couldn't make them in other games. The margin is razor-thin.
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For NCAA, I think 18 is the bare minimum to get in, but NU probably gets on the bubble with 17. With Nebraska's RPI and strength of schedule, the committee would have to take a pretty serious look at a team that is playing its best basketball at the end of the season, which is what the Huskers will have to do to get to that win total. If they fall a game or two short of that mark, that's where three one-point losses in the league and the loss to Gardner-Webb could really come back to haunt Nebraska.
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This is a remarkable team. Certainly its not because of their win/loss record. There's something else going on. They seem to be demonstrating a real team effort and really feel good about themselves as a unit. Case in point was when the subs came in with less than two minutes to play. One of them drove in and made a two pointer. The first string on the bench went crazy, just as though the player made the winning shot. I'm backing these kids a 100%.
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It's a really, really likeable team if you're an observer. These guys genuinely enjoy being around each other, which is maybe a component that was missing a little bit in the past. That kind of comradery is so important when you're going through a tough stretch like the Huskers went through with the close losses and the 8 defeats in 9 games. It would have been easy for this team to fold the tent. But they've stuck with it, and stuck with each other, and still have a chance to make something special out of this season.
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Oooh, great question Sam. We're obviously projecting a long way down the road, but I have to think a couple of those freshmen, if they continue to develop, could be guys that get a pretty good look from NBA scouts. You obviously never know. I don't think Tai will be drafted, but he'll certainly get a chance as a free agent. So then it comes down to some of those younger players and how they grow. Even a guy like Glynn Watson, if his game continues to evolve, could be someone teams look at.
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Good point, Trashman, and I agree with you.I think so many of us look at the games in terms of absolutes: the team lost, so everything stinks. The team wins, and everything is fine again. there are a million things that go into every game, and the coaching staff and players are doing their best to make sure those things go in their favor. While it does happen, it's rare that one decision affects the outcome of a game. Playing time, starting roles, all those things are only part of the equation.
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You have to be excited, for sure. If this team stays together -- and with the climate in college basketball in recent years, who knows if anyone will look to transfer -- the possibilities are really tantalizing. Health, and how the schedule breaks and other variables will play a role, of course, but the pieces sure seem to be in place for something special to happen in the next season or two.
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I think the odds are pretty decent. Let's say the win the two home games. Now, Ohio State is a team that you know you can play with and beat. It will be a matter of which Buckeyes squad shows up Saturday. Michigan State will be tough. Huskers have won their before, but Sparty is starting to play a little better. That leaves the last road game, at Minnesota. That's a team NU can beat, but I'd be willing to bet that it's another game that comes down to the final four minutes.If NU stays healthy, they can compete with anyone. They've shown that. It becomes a matter, as we've said so many times, of if the Huskers can make winning plays when they need to.
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You also have to look at NU's "quality" wins. Indiana is a tire fire right now, but that was a quality, ranked team when NU won in Bloomington. Maryland has had a great year. Purdue is having a great year. And Dayton is having an excellent season: 20-5 right now and tied for first in the Atlantic 10. That's a NCAA Tournament team that NU beat on a neutral court.
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The only thing that really perturbed me with Miles was the "2 fouls and sit" rule he seemed to employ. Like it was an absolute foregone conclusion. That type of tactic could promote a difference in more timid play by guys. Gets them out of the flow. Was it a junior or senior or freshman? What was their reaction? What's their personality likely to lead them to do? What types of fouls were they? What's the trajectory of the game doing? Are we playing someone better or worse than us? So many variables to sit guys in that nature IMO. It seems he's revised that thinking a bit (I hope lol).
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I think you're right. We talk about player development, but Miles has shown the willingness to change as a coach this season as well. That can be just as important as players improving their skills. He deserves some credit for changing his approach and figuring out a way to get the most out of this team.
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Boy oh boy. So many different ways you can go. I'll preface this by saying I haven't seen Isaac Copeland play, so I don't know how he will fit into things. But we'll try this on for size: Watson and Taylor at the guards, Tshimanga at the 5, Morrow at the 4, Roby at the 3. Then you're bringing Palmer, Jacobson, McVeigh, Horne, Gill, Copeland and Akenten off the bench. That's at least 11 dudes who could be starters for you, and with the way Akenten has played this season as a senior in high school, who knows what his ceiling will be.
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I think the lineups could be really fluid at the start of the season. I think the one constant is Watson, but NU will be able to go really big if it needs too, or go smaller with more speed. The really fun thing to see, no matter who starts, is the length the Huskers will be able to put out there. That's a team that could be a nightmare defensively for a lot of opponents.
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I thought he could have played a little more too, but Penn State went to a smaller lineup for a lot of the second half, and Miles said in his postgame interview that he didn't love that matchup. That's understandable. Jordy still turns it over a bunch (he had four in 17 minutes last night) and the last thing you want to do is give the other team more opportunities to try and mount a comeback. It helped too that NU played pretty well with Jordy on the bench. I think if the Huskers had gotten into a dry spell on offense, we would have seen him more.
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