Monthly Archives: November 2008

Husker Future Takes The Court

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No more Alecs Maric.  No more slow pace.  Quicker players.  More pure shooters.  MORE EXCITEMENT!  NU opened the 2008-09 season with an exhibition win over Chadron State, 85-54.  What a difference a year makes, as this team will run and score much more quickly, and may feature up to five guards in it’s lineup at any time.

Toney McCray sat out last year, shaped his game and confidence, all of which was on display for the roughly 4500 fans who came to see this years team.  He did not disappoint, but showed all why he was regarded as a sleeper out of high school.  He showed great range in hitting a three, but looked very smooth in the post as well.  He finished with game highs in points (18) and rebounds (7) in only 18 minutes of work.  Another surprise was true Freshman Eshuante “Bear” Jones, who might end up redshirting because of a lingering foot injury.  Jones came into the game not really looking comfortable on offense.  According to Jones, Paul Velander told him to shoot it.  In a span of just over two minutes,  Jones scored nine straight  points to help NU break open the offense.  Jones finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.  Not bad for a guy with a bad foot!  He really looked like he can become very streaky when he’s in a rhythm, as did McCray.  You add that to Anderson, Dagunduro, Harley, Henry, and Cookie and this team will be very fun to watch.

One thing that did look alot like last year was NU’s intense pressure they put on defense.  NU was famous for holding teams to long scoring droughts last year and, granted this is a division II team, the Huskers clamped down after falling behind 10-3 early in the first.  NU outscored Chadron State 48-16 the rest of the way leading 51-26 at half.  The Huskers forced 27 turnovers and had 17 steals, but the D seemed a little relaxed in the second half as NU barely outscored the Eagles, 34-28.

Doc Sadler was his usual self when assessing the play of his team:

As far as our players are concerned, I thought all of them contributed somewhat. I was disappointed in our ball movement offensively. I was really thinking that our ball movement would be much better than what it was. Until the last six or seven minutes, I thought our half-court defense was good enough. I thought some of the young guys played pretty well offensively. At least they shot it well. I don’t know how good they played. Defensively, I don’t think they played as well as they shot it. That’s obviously something we’ve got to continue to work on.

Overall, this was an exciting game to watch as the future of Husker Basketball was on display.  I was not disappointed in the least bit.  Buy in a little bit to Coach Sadler’s defensive pressure, and this team could meet or exceed last year’s record.  Next up is the regular season for the Huskers as they host San Jose St.  on Sunday, November 19.  Tip-off will be at 2 P.M. and their are plenty of single game, as well as, season tickets still available.

[Box Score courtesy of Huskers.com]

Let Him Run…

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Nebraska secondary coach Marvin Sanders was this morning’s speaker at the Big Red Breakfast in Omaha.

Sanders said KU QB Todd Reesing will make plays on the run. The key is to not allow Reesing to throw outside of the pocket. If he runs, let him run, Sanders said, but not throw. And then get a hit on Reesing.

[via Nebraska State Paper]

An Earful of Pelini

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According to Lincoln Journal Star, after the game in Norman family members told Bo Pelini he needs to get his emotions under control.

During last week’s game against Oklahoma, ESPN television cameras several times showed the Nebraska coach in an unfavorable way.

“I regret that,” Pelini said Tuesday during the weekly news conference.

Personally, I’m not too bothered by it. We need a passionate leader. I just hope he shows respect to those around him. Yellers typically do not.

p.s. The Tampa newspaper names the head coach’s job at Nebraska one the nation’s 10 toughest.

Coaches Body Language Says It All

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After the game, Bo Pelini spoke to the press. He said, “It’s disappointing, I mean, I can’t tell you. I’m embarrassed. I’m just not used to this. I take responsibility.”

He’s right, he’s not used to it. Sadly, Husker fans are not in the same position as the coach. It’s become a reoccurring nightmare for us.

The Atrocity In Norman

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I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again this morning, Samuel McKeown is the best reporter on the Huskers beat.

Here’s some of his copy from last night:

Another primetime game. Another top-five opponent. Another stunning meltdown. A tentative offense. A confused, sloppy, undisciplined defense. More personal foul flags. More burned timeouts because the defense doesn’t know how to line up. Another fumble by Quentin Castille. Shot after shot after shot of Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini cursing a blue streak, yelling at his assistants, or berating the referees.

Except the trip to Norman was even worse than that.

NU was supposed to have grown up in games against Texas Tech, Iowa State and Baylor. Instead, Nebraska’s kickoff and kickoff return teams were blasted by OU’s units – and Oklahoma’s kick coverage was awful prior to this game. The Sooners gutted Nebraska’s rush defense and quarterback Sam Bradford pretty much did as he pleased through the air.

I read a post at Big Red Network that said, “For some reason, I was not that mad last night. Disappointed, but not mad.” I don’t share that sentiment in the least. I was furious at what I saw last night. The beating we took from Mizzou was disappointing to me. What I saw last night was worse than a bad joke. It was disgusting.

Nebraska fans have held it together for a long time now, through the underperforming Solich teams, the nightmare that was Loserhan and now two embarrassing beat downs on national TV this fall. It may be right and good for Pelini to help the team forget and move on, in order to focus on the KU game, but for me, what I saw last night was as scarring as it gets and I’m not likely to soon forget it.

Oklahoma 62 – Nebraska 28

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After spotting Oklahoma 28 points in the first 6 minutes of the first quarter, the feelings of optimism were squashed quicker than a bug against the windshield at 75 mph.

The first interception of Ganz by Franks was a telegraph read and set the tone for the next 3 minutes – and two more touchdowns.

I don’t know what positives and negatives one can take away from this game since the early mistakes made a good review difficult to gauge. I do like the fact that they didn’t quit. I don’t like the fact that tackling and creating turnovers aren’t something this team knows how to do. I think this more indicative of the lack of attention the previous regime paid to defensive talent in recruiting than coaching.

Helu, granted against the Sooner second and third teams, continues to look impressive on game day. Although I don’t really understand what Watson is trying to do with the rushing game and the decisions on who gets what carries – because it just doesn’t make sense.

But like I said, as quickly as the game became lopsided, it is tough for me to give an adequate review of this game. What say you guys?