Nebraska

[WAITE HOYT 2]

1) Put increased focus on the offensive side of the ball, not only in game planning & style of play, but in recruiting, to become a more balanced program capable of winning with either offense or defense....instead of having to rely on a top shelf defensive effort to squeak out victories. Maintain our identity of out-working everyone else and playing tough defense, but lose the identity of being a program that ignores offense.

2) The increased attention to offense should lead over time to being able to lure more offensively skilled players to sign on the dotted line. This, in turn, will lead to the advancement of more of our players into the NBA, which in turn provides immediate exposure and increased awareness of the program, thereby leading to greater expectations to offer recruits, which in the end will hopefully lead to better and better recruits choosing to come here.

3) As coach, I'm among the top 30 best paid coaches in America, so I should be expected to recruit at that level as well. In 2015 recruiting, the following programs, who are at or below our level of excellence, have landed TOP 20 recruiting classes.....Texas A&M, Fla. St., Maryland, Memphis, Illinois, Washington, Auburn, Oregon St, Wake Forest, Virginia tech, Villinova. For 2014, the list includes Xavier, UNLV, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Missouri, Stanford, San Diego St., S. California. From 2009 to 2013, the following teams made at least one appearance in the Top 20 recruiting classes....Xavier, Villinova, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Illinois, Marquette, Clemson, Memphis, N.C. St. Missouri, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Stanford, St. Johns, Alabama, Arkansas, Miss. St., Virg. Tech, Okla. St., Washington, Pitt., Baylor, Providence, Maryland, Houston, Virginia, Purdue, LSU, and SMU. Notice, I've left out the 10-15 or so programs that are there every year. During this whole period, we haven't cracked the top 20 once. In 2014, we got to #21 based largely on landing a 5-star Jermaine lawrence, but then we couldn't keep him here. With a Top 30 coaching salary, and a Top 20 all-time program, recruiting classes consistently ranked below 30 should be unacceptable. Therefore, the obvious solution to all problems is to do whatever it takes to recruit better...bottom line.

4) Become a program that attracts fans and builds loyalty by competing for the best recruits annually, and playing the game with excellence on both sides of the court.

Mick can Coach.

He recruits players that can shoot they just opt to go elsewhere. Walker of UCONN was one off the top of my head. He plays to the style that fits his players and gives him the best chance to win.His teams can and have competed with all the teams you mentioned.

Look your a donor and you want a team that is on par with Duke,KY and a few others. Without significant changes to how we run our program it ain't happening.Right now I'm happy with our program. Would I like to see it continue to climb. Absolutely!! We have a very good Coach,Who wants to be here longterm which is very important to me.

LT with this budget,these facilities and the fact we aren't the only game in town, who do you think you could get to come in here under your expectation?
Names please. I've seen the Depauls and other very good programs fall by the wayside. We have a guy who is building his brand and I'm fine with that. I'm not willing to risk all the progress we made after our last coaching change unless I know we have a proven Coach who would take the job and stay longterm.

 

[waterhead]

That particular post is pessimistic. And for good reason. But in general, I don't just wait for a bad game to point the bad stuff out. I don't have an agenda like that. I just think it is compmetely unacceptable for these guys to be so bad on free shots. Whether it is the last 6 games for Ellis, this season for Sanders, the whole career for Sanders, this season for Shaq, etc...it is all bad and needs to be brought up imo since it has already come back to bite us in the a$$. Why are you so confident that this will get better? We have already shot 167 as a team. That's a pretty big sample size.

I don't know...I guess I just don't think they are in rhythm yet. No chemistry or team confidence or identity. As they get that together I think they will be more comfortable on the floor as individuals and as a team. They aren't playing with the flow they are thinking too much right now. When you shoot the ball and you feel like you need to make it because nobody else is...you have thoughts in your head that shouldn't be there. When you just fire away without thought because you have confidence your team can pick you up it's a different mentality.

I agree it is bad right now. I don't think we are going to be great at FT's or on offense but I think it will get better as will all teams we play. But I think this team will get exponentially better because our best players are so inexperienced and so many new faces it's hard to gel quickly. I don't know what that means for our tourney chances...I'm not predicting we make the dance let alone a tourney run this year nor was I expecting it coming into the season THIS year. I hope we do! next year and the year after I fully expect to have better chemistry, identity, confidence and growth from our new players and very good results to follow.

 

[waterhead]

Also, if you factor in exhibition games, Shaq had a 1-6 game from the line and we were 36-56 for 64%. We are 65% through 8 games on the regular season. How much is that realistically going to increase? Why isn't that the norm? Just bc that number doesn't suit you? After 223 attempts, sadly I think 65% is right in our zone. You can call me optimistic, pessimistic or realistic...but these are the numbers. They aren't good and they don't lie

Because I don't think KJ, JS, ST, GC, or OE will shoot worse than they are right now. I think they are near their floor (hopefully). I think their confidence is low. I hope there is only one way to go...I could be wrong.

Call it a hunch. You could very well be right...we shall see

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Because I don't think KJ, JS, ST, GC, or OE will shoot worse than they are right now. I think they are near their floor (hopefully). I think their confidence is low. I hope there is only one way to go...I could be wrong.

Call it a hunch. You could very well be right...we shall see

Fair enough. I hope you're right. I might just be having too hard of a time getting the sour taste out of my mouth from that game.

I also don't understand what exactly Jermaine Sanders works on. He hasn't developed one single offensive move his whole career and his release isn't any quicker. Seems like if he wants to be "the sharpshooter" he should be automatic at the line by now. Rubles shot 76% last year and he couldn't shoot a lick. A true veteran leader should know that there are going to be a lot of new parts and some inconsistency, so control the one shot that is always the exact same. And make an impact that way. I honestly am starting to question his work ethic. He needs to be in the gym a lot more on his own time. KJ has also missed more FT this year in 1/3 the attempts than he did his entire freshman year. I think it is more of a confidence thing with him though. He needs to figure out how to get us 8 ppg.

 

[L-T]

Mick can Coach.

He recruits players that can shoot they just opt to go elsewhere. Walker of UCONN was one off the top of my head. He plays to the style that fits his players and gives him the best chance to win.His teams can and have competed with all the teams you mentioned.

Look your a donor and you want a team that is on par with Duke,KY and a few others. Without significant changes to how we run our program it ain't happening.Right now I'm happy with our program. Would I like to see it continue to climb. Absolutely!! We have a very good Coach,Who wants to be here longterm which is very important to me.

LT with this budget,these facilities and the fact we aren't the only game in town, who do you think you could get to come in here under your expectation?
Names please. I've seen the Depauls and other very good programs fall by the wayside. We have a guy who is building his brand and I'm fine with that. I'm not willing to risk all the progress we made after our last coaching change unless I know we have a proven Coach who would take the job and stay longterm.

Lol. Waite, our coach is one of the top 30 highest paid coaches in Division 1. There are 351 Division 1 programs. You don't think out of the 320 coaches below the top 30, there are plenty of very good ones that would jump at the chance to coach a program with our tradition and our coaching pay scale? You guys who throw out the "Give me names" argument are funny. Who the hell was Bob Huggins before he got here? Who was Buzz Williams? Who was Mick Cronin? Who was Sean Miller? Who was Thad Matta? Who was Chris Mack? These kind of coaches are everywhere....even in Division 2 and NAIA. But, if you want names, I guess I'll entertain you with some.

Chaka Smart, Archie Miller, Gregg Marshall, Nick Van Exel, Tommy Ammaker, Andre Tate, Scott Davenport, Michael White, Mitch Henderson, Andy Toole, Steve Prohm, Sydney Johnson, Bryce Drew, Erik Martin.

 

[ME80]

I would be willing to bet if we could go back and review 9 years of posting on here, or other similar sites, that the "we are a young team" excuse has been used every single year. It's an annual phenomenon. The whole world wants to find the fountain of youth. Who knew it was located in the bowels of 5/3 arena?

Yes in the last few years I bet there have been many that after some early season loses have said this team is terrible and Cronin can't coach. Then they end up doing well for the year and getting into the tournament. If anyone wants to write off the team now that is their choice. I will wait till we get farther into the year before I decide. If you want to debate the lack of success in the tournament that is another discussion but I refuse to believe this team will not develop and improve as the year goes on

 

[L-T]

Yes in the last few years I bet there have been many that after some early season loses have said this team is terrible and Cronin can't coach. Then they end up doing well for the year and getting into the tournament. If anyone wants to write off the team now that is their choice. I will wait till we get farther into the year before I decide. If you want to debate the lack of success in the tournament that is another discussion but I refuse to believe this team will not develop and improve as the year goes on

I don't think anyone is giving up on this team, certainly not I. The team practices 3 hours every day. They better continue to improve. If you're happy with just making the tournament, you have plenty of company on this forum, but not much anywhere else. The program is better than that. Expecting a high level of play in all phases of the game is not too much to ask. It's pretty much proven that a lack of offense does not get you very far in March. The program has a nine year run of anemic offense, with this perhaps being the worst of the worst that we've seen. We know that our good defense can squeak us into the top 68 in March in most years. Continual improvement so we can be bounced from the tournament after one game again is not enough. Are you confident we're headed for March Madness again this year with what you've seen thus far? I'm on record as declaring that I like this roster of players. But, they are really testing my faith with some of these recent performances.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Lol. Waite, our coach is one of the top 30 highest paid coaches in Division 1. There are 351 Division 1 programs. You don't think out of the 320 coaches below the top 30, there are plenty of very good ones that would jump at the chance to coach a program with our tradition and our coaching pay scale? You guys who throw out the "Give me names" argument are funny. Who the hell was Bob Huggins before he got here? Who was Buzz Williams? Who was Mick Cronin? Who was Sean Miller? Who was Thad Matta? Who was Chris Mack? These kind of coaches are everywhere....even in Division 2 and NAIA. But, if you want names, I guess I'll entertain you with some.

Chaka Smart, Archie Miller, Gregg Marshall, Nick Van Exel, Tommy Ammaker, Andre Tate, Scott Davenport, Michael White, Mitch Henderson, Andy Toole, Steve Prohm, Sydney Johnson, Bryce Drew, Erik Martin.

Certainly you could find a Coach to fill his job but I'm not sure you could get one to deliver what he has. So I understand, you would Fire Mick right now if one of these guy would take the job?

 

[Doogle]

32% FG, 18% 3PT, 50% FT with a single game sample size is not a concern. A pattern of missing easy open shots and free throws in clutch situations will be, should it continue.

Speaking of patterns...when it comes to Shaq Thomas my problem with him has always been a lack of will. He doesn't stick with the plan. The other night, Mick runs a play for him early and he gets a dunk. Then, he makes a great aggressive move from the top of the key and either misses the easy in-close shot or gets rejected, I can't remember. At any rate, it was essentially the last time we saw Shaq make a strong move. It's as if the kid folds up shop at the slightest sign of adversity. This is what drives Bearcat fans BS-crazy about a guy that seems to have an abundance of skills and athletic ability.

Inner drive and a strong will are things that can't really be coached. Kenyon had the will to get better. Erik Martin didn't have half of Shaq's natural ability but mentally, a guy like Erik would've played hackey-sack with Shaq's fragile psyche. At some point, this guy needs to decide he's going to impose his will on the game or he'll never reach his potential. Has the moment passed? I hope not for his and the team's sake.

 

[bearcat jeff]

32% FG, 18% 3PT, 50% FT with a single game sample size is not a concern. A pattern of missing easy open shots and free throws in clutch situations will be, should it continue.

Speaking of patterns...when it comes to Shaq Thomas my problem with him has always been a lack of will. He doesn't stick with the plan. The other night, Mick runs a play for him early and he gets a dunk. Then, he makes a great aggressive move from the top of the key and either misses the easy in-close shot or gets rejected, I can't remember. At any rate, it was essentially the last time we saw Shaq make a strong move. It's as if the kid folds up shop at the slightest sign of adversity. This is what drives Bearcat fans BS-crazy about a guy that seems to have an abundance of skills and athletic ability.

Inner drive and a strong will are things that can't really be coached. Kenyon had the will to get better. Erik Martin didn't have half of Shaq's natural ability but mentally, a guy like Erik would've played hackey-sack with Shaq's fragile psyche. At some point, this guy needs to decide he's going to impose his will on the game or he'll never reach his potential. Has the moment passed? I hope not for his and the team's sake.

Erik Martin...I loved that guy. One of my favorite Bearcats.

 

[L-T]

Certainly you could find a Coach to fill his job but I'm not sure you could get one to deliver what he has. So I understand, you would Fire Mick right now if one of these guy would take the job?

I don't know Waite. It depends on the name. You tell me. How many names on this list would you take right now over Mick? What is the advantage of him wanting to stay here forever if the recruiting remains underwhelming and the offense remains stagnant and we continue to suck in the postseason?

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I don't know Waite. It depends on the name. You tell me. How many names on this list would you take right now over Mick? What is the advantage of him wanting to stay here forever if the recruiting remains underwhelming and the offense remains stagnant and we continue to suck in the postseason?

L-T, what's wrong with the 2015 class? At least Jenifer and Evans are actual basketball players who attend camps for top players and are not diamond in the rough/athletic projects. If Mick has those guys get through their careers with no tournament success, then it would be time to throw out names (I know Waite was the one who asked for names). But we are years and years of terrible teams away from having any conversations about a new coach. Not even worth going there imo. Unless we get Izzo, Self, Donovan, Calipari, Coach K, or Sean Miller. But that obviously isn't happening.

 

[L-T]

L-T, what's wrong with the 2015 class? At least Jenifer and Evans are actual basketball players who attend camps for top players and are not diamond in the rough/athletic projects. If Mick has those guys get through their careers with no tournament success, then it would be time to throw out names (I know Waite was the one who asked for names). But we are years and years of terrible teams away from having any conversations about a new coach. Not even worth going there imo. Unless we get Izzo, Self, Donovan, Calipari, Coach K, or Sean Miller. But that obviously isn't happening.

No 3-pt .threat in the 2015 class. Personally tired of watching pathetic jump shooters.

 

[AZ BEARCAT]

No 3-pt .threat in the 2015 class. Personally tired of watching pathetic jump shooters.

Lets give Evans a chance.

 

[L-T]

Lets give Evans a chance.

We always do give them a chance....actually many chances over 4 years. Still waiting for Mick's first legit and consistant 3-point threat. I doubt that Evans will be that guy.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

No 3-pt .threat in the 2015 class. Personally tired of watching pathetic jump shooters.

This is a quote from a poster on BCN

Jacob Evans is a pure shooter. Won't fix things this year but Mick saying that he's the best guard he's recruited since Francisco Garcia should tell you something.

 

[bearcat jeff]

We always do give them a chance....actually many chances over 4 years. Still waiting for Mick's first legit and consistant 3-point threat. I doubt that Evans will be that guy.

L-T wasn't long ago you were talking about Mike's ability to produce guys that are big surprises later in their career. Don't start doubting now.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Because I don't think KJ, JS, ST, GC, or OE will shoot worse than they are right now. I think they are near their floor (hopefully). I think their confidence is low. I hope there is only one way to go...I could be wrong.

Call it a hunch. You could very well be right...we shall see

I think we will see an improvement too. I'm not profesing that they will be a great shooting team but I think they will shoot good enough with the defense they play to win.

Clark will become more efficient. I also believe TC will be more consistent as the season goes on. KJ and Cobb are better shooters than they've shown in games and I expect as they become more comfortable that will show. Lastly, the ft shooting we saw the other night will be the exception not the rule.,

They're not going to be a an offensive machine but I think they will start scoring in the 60-65 point range consistently at some point.

 

[L-T]

L-T wasn't long ago you were talking about Mike's ability to produce guys that are big surprises later in their career. Don't start doubting now.

Don't remember that statement. I do remember saying his guys tend to take a full 4 years before they become a good player. Many of his players make the big jump as a senior. Rarely do we see them contribute big early in their careers. Clark might be one of the exceptions. SK and JJ were two who took big leaps as seniors.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Don't remember that statement. I do remember saying his guys tend to take a full 4 years before they become a good player. Many of his players make the big jump as a senior. Rarely do we see them contribute big early in their careers. Clark might be one of the exceptions. SK and JJ were two who took big leaps as seniors.

Clark may be the team's leading scorer by seasons end. He'll only get better.