ESPN: Can Nebrasketball get back on track?

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per ESPN:

What if Nebraska is just … Nebraska?

Three seasons later, the heady, exciting days of 2013-14 feel like a distant memory. In 2014-15, the three players most instrumental in Nebraska's breakthrough season -- Terran Petteway, Shavon Shields and Walter Pitchford -- all returned, and expectations were duly raised. Nebraska was ranked No. 21 in the preseason Associated Press poll; an NCAA tournament bid seemed like a given. Nonconference losses to Creighton, Hawaii and (true story) Incarnate Word (at home!) almost immediately made those expectations look laughable. By March, NU looked completely checked out. The season finished with nine straight defeats, a 13-19 overall record, and -- just one year after a stifling conference run -- the Big Ten's ninth-ranked per-possession defense.

The 2015-16 season was a bit better: The Cornhuskers finished 16-18, stole yet another road win against a high-powered Michigan State team, knocked off red-hot Wisconsin in the conference tournament, and got an impressively efficient scoring season from former top-50 prospect/Kansas transfer Andrew White. Even so, they still allowed 1.08 points per trip to Big Ten opponents, 10th-worst in the league, and managed just 1.06 on the other end.

Then came the summer of 2016, and perhaps the loudest rebuke to Nebraska's recent hoops momentum yet.

In the last week of June, late in the transfer-process calendar, White's family asked the athletic program for his release. The parting was ... well, less than amicable, let's say. Setting aside the specifics of who informed whom of what when (and White has a side to the story), and the usual overwrought rhetoric about transfers, there's no question White's decision left Miles in a tough spot. But why? Why would a player who had already uprooted his life, sat out a season, thrived in his first year back and already returned from testing the NBA draft waters suddenly decide to leave?

http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebas...id/116164/can-nebrasketball-get-back-on-track

Go Gophers!!
 

This picture sums up my feelings on the question posed:

CRImhvCVEAAIZtg.jpg:large
 

Is Tim Miles overrated? He's had a few good seasons but overall it has been pretty underwhelming. Combined 55-95 conference record at Colorado St and Nebraska.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Is Tim Miles overrated? He's had a few good seasons but overall it has been pretty underwhelming. Combined 55-95 conference record at Colorado St and Nebraska.
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absolutely he is. but for some reason so many fawned over him. interesting how kfan doesn't have him on any more now that he's not doing well.
 

Go4 said:
absolutely he is. but for some reason so many fawned over him. interesting how kfan doesn't have him on any more now that he's not doing well.
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But he tweets at halftime!!
 



Go4 said:
absolutely he is. but for some reason so many fawned over him. interesting how kfan doesn't have him on any more now that he's not doing well.
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I wouldnt say so. He is a very good coach and has done well at all previous levels. I think he is not as well established at this level and if given enough time at this level will prove he can succeed at this level as well. He is going up against some pretty seasoned/established coaches in the big 10.
 





Can the Gophers get back on track? It seems to me that Minnesota and Nebraska are nearly identical twins when it comes to basketball, except that Nebraska has a better facility for its players.
 

MennoSota said:
Can the Gophers get back on track? It seems to me that Minnesota and Nebraska are nearly identical twins when it comes to basketball, except that Nebraska has a better facility for its players.
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I think historically we're a better program, and there aren't many in this conference we can say that about. Plus our local high school talent is probably waaaaay better. Nebraska seems to be one of two Big Ten teams that national pundits think are going to be worse than Minnesota this year.
 

In what world are Nebraska and Minnesota similar in basketball? Nebraska has never won an NCAA tournament game and their last conference title was in 1950. Minnesota is a bigger state and consistently produces more talent and is the only D1 school in the state while Nebraska is now probably behind Creighton in state in terms of both interest and attractiveness to in state recruits.
 

EG#9 said:
In what world are Nebraska and Minnesota similar in basketball? Nebraska has never won an NCAA tournament game and their last conference title was in 1950. Minnesota is a bigger state and consistently produces more talent and is the only D1 school in the state while Nebraska is now probably behind Creighton in state in terms of both interest and attractiveness to in state recruits.
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Ancient history. Look at the 21st century and see how we fair.
I love the Gophers, but we are not a very good program.
 



MennoSota said:
Ancient history. Look at the 21st century and see how we fair.
I love the Gophers, but we are not a very good program.
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Well for starters, in the 21st century, the Gophers have 4 tournament appearances and 1 win to Nebraska's 1 appearance and 0 wins. I also think I counted 8 sub-.500 seasons for Nebraska since and including the 1999-00 season, compared to 4 for Minnesota. We haven't had a great 15 years, but Nebraska is definitely worse.
 


Winasota Gopher said:
Then historically Nebraska is a terrible B1G program.
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It's a young B1G program that struggles in basketball. Minnesota is an old B1G program that constantly shoots itself in the foot to maintain its mediocrity. In neither case does one pat themselves on the back and claim superiority.
 

MennoSota said:
It's a young B1G program that struggles in basketball. Minnesota is an old B1G program that constantly shoots itself in the foot to maintain its mediocrity. In neither case does one pat themselves on the back and claim superiority.
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You're really gonna keep going with this stupid comparison even after being refuted by actual facts and numbers?
 

NE pumped a lot of $ into facilities for the BB program.
They were a one trick pony with one very good player whose name I cannot recall who in his last year did what he wanted on the court to the detriment of the team.
Miles lost control of his team.
As mentioned above NE has a very small population and recruiting getting big city kids to the middle of nowhere is an uphill struggle.
 

I like Miles but he has a tough situation there, much harder than here. He took a chance on a bit of a high risk player in Pettiway and had a few decent players around him that surprised people in their one good year. The other end of the risk played out when he went selfish on the court the following year. He hasn't brought the talent up to speed since. The analogy isn't perfect but their situation is a little like Vincent Grier here. Great junior year that propelled them in the tournament, but was figured out the following year and not much else good happened in the Monson regime.

The grim reality is that so far the facilities have not made an impact on the program. Something for us to remember, although we have a lot more access to local talent than Nebraska ever will, which is a bigger deal than facilities.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
You're really gonna keep going with this stupid comparison even after being refuted by actual facts and numbers?
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I know we're all homers. We want to imagine we're better than others. You may keep doing what you do. I will keep it real and accept that the Gophers program is about on the level of Nebraska. Last year's record is all I need to look at for confirmation.
 

olddoc said:
NE pumped a lot of $ into facilities for the BB program.
They were a one trick pony with one very good player whose name I cannot recall who in his last year did what he wanted on the court to the detriment of the team.
Miles lost control of his team.
As mentioned above NE has a very small population and recruiting getting big city kids to the middle of nowhere is an uphill struggle.
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Gonzaga...
 

MennoSota said:
I know we're all homers. We want to imagine we're better than others. You may keep doing what you do. I will keep it real and accept that the Gophers program is about on the level of Nebraska. Last year's record is all I need to look at for confirmation.
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OK, you can take your one season sample size as confirmation. Since that clearly holds more weight than the past 50 seasons.
 


Zeppelin Gopher said:
You're really gonna keep going with this stupid comparison even after being refuted by actual facts and numbers?
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It really does depend upon how far back one goes for comparison. Clearly, on a historical level, Minnesota is the better program, but that does none of us any good right now. The whole argument is stupid and pointless. Minnesota (and Pitino) have as much to prove right now as Nebraska (and Miles). At least Nebraska fans can say that they won more than 8 games last year.
 

Many of the Big 12 campuses are in the middle of nowhere should face worse challenges than Nebraska, since Omaha is better than people think and is a short drive away. The new BB arena and the facilities are as good as it gets, so yes Miles deserves some heat.

I think there is a lot of Monson in Miles. I doubt that he gets enough time to finish the job, although he may be capable of it.
 

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