2017 Aguek Arop parting ways with Nebraska

[Rainbow Dash]

Also, I tend to think basketball fans around Omaha tend to overestimate the talent we do have. Absolutely, plenty of those metro players were good enough to play for Collier or Doc. Some of their recruits were very poor. If you're trying to build a competitive power conference roster, here's the amount of time you should spend in the state of Nebraska recruiting - 5%.

In high school, Terrance Badgett was easily better than any player on that Omaha South team...guy had a career average of 7.5 ppg in the Big 8. Andre Woolridge and Erick Strickland would have completely overshadowed any player on on Omaha Central's dynasty run. Wake me up when we have in-state talent like that again. Until then, we need to spend most of our time in other states.

 

[Big Red Shrine]

Also, I tend to think basketball fans around Omaha tend to overestimate the talent we do have.

On this there is no question. Good point.

 

[bilsker]

I don't think there's anyone here that is "overstating" metro talent. It's no lie that there hasn't been a parade of Omaha players to power conference programs. That's not really the point. The fact that the players that DO garner those offers 100% of the time choose not to go to Nebraska. Are guys like Antoine Young great? No but he was better than anyone that was playing at Nebraska at the time. Agau? We'll never know...maybe it was his dream to be a big fish in a big pond like Louisville. But maybe at NU he would have had more opportunity...maybe he doesn't get injured. Maybe NU never had a chance.

Other names have been mentioned. Let's not act like Miles' recruiting has been lights out. It hasn't. Bakari Evelyn anyone? The center from Oklahoma that obviously never had a chance...OU offer be damned...that kid was never going to make it in the Big 10. Despite recruiting being better on paper who can you really say has lived up to any of that hype beyond Watson? And NU has gotten worse as the roster has become more Tim's.

that's going down another road though. The point is you can't ignore in-state recruiting. Miles hasn't really...he missed on Patton (and it remains to be seen what he's got but a local guy with that size you really shouldn't miss)...he just hasn't had any success at the few that were options. The question is...why is that?

 

[ShortSideOption]

Agree - no one is saying metro talent is outstanding. But the guys like Antoine Young, Josh Jones, Tradeon Hollins, probably need to get a look. Khiri Thomas was the best freshman on the floor when Nebraska played Creighton and that included Watson and Morrow. I would rather give two years to Patton and see where he goes than Jacob Hammond who was at 3 schools in 4 years in high school and will be at 5 schools in 7 years. Akoy at least could play the post a bit for you and bring some size (I get he's injured). Treshawn Thurman averaged 14 points a game for UNO.

But let's save metro talent... there's not a single kid from Nebraska on the basketball team for 2016-17. That's just not a good look.

 

[Rainbow Dash]

I would have taken Justin Patton over Bakari Evelyn in our 2015 class in a heartbeat. Same with Khyri Thomas.

Khyri was the best freshman on the court that game, he was also a year older than every other freshman on the floor. That matters. He should have a good career at Creighton. The way his recruitment went down, I wouldn't have offered if I were Miles. Patton thiugh, absolutely would have offered.

There is some good basketball played in the area, I just don't see a lot of high-level talent. If we want a competitive provram, we can't be a charity. There will always be decently ranked players who don't turn out. If we are reaching though, I'd rather have a solid local player. Also agree that Miles should have honored Arop's scholarship, I'm dissapointed.

Miles last two classes have been talented on paper. I think we will begin to see how talented that '15 class is in a few months. This is his first roster with a combonation of talent and depth. We will begin to get answers on if Miles is the guy or not.

 

[LarstheRed]

https://n.rivals.com/search#?formValues=%7B%22sport%22:%22Basketball%22,%22position_group.abbreviation%22:%22%22,%22position.abbreviation%22:%22%22,%22limit%22:null,%22state.abbr%22:%5B%22NE%22%5D,%22highschool.classification%22:%5B%22high_school%22%5D%7D

This shows high school players back to at least 2002. Looks to me about 10-12 over the course of 15 years. Of that number, 2 played for UNL - Dourisseau and Biggs.

To your point above, I don't think recruiting Nebraska basketball players was ever going to change what Miles did at Nebraska...

Keep in mind what happened with Dourisseau. He was first a Creighton guy. When the Jays said he needed to redshirt and work on his outside shooting, he got butt hurt and switched to Nebraska...had an OK career, but lacked an outside shot for all of it.

I get that some are all worked up about it, and Chubick isn't the only who is making some less than flattering comments about how this was handled. The simple fact is the kid was told he needed to go to a prep school like IMG for a year and didn't like the idea. Miles took him under the assumption he was going to continue to develop his game and hopefully grow a little more. He's about 6'4", maybe 6'5". He's a good athlete and long. He could be one of those really good defenders a team loves to have, but he has zero offensive game to play a 2 or 3. He's been playing a game that amounts to barreling right, and rising above a bunch of marginal high school kids in Nebraska. He could get away with that, but that's not what Miles wanted him to do, and Chubick knows it as well as anyone. If someone owes Arop an apology it's his high school and club coaches who didn't do more to flesh out his game. Could we use a good defender? Probably, but we just picked up the kid from JUCO who is bigger and stronger and a very good defender, and we have a couple of current guys who also could fit the bill. I'm sorry he's really disappointed, but getting an offer doesn't mean the work stops and you've arrived.

Nothing pisses me off more than when some of these high school coaches get some kid with talent, but fail to do THEIR job and continue to hold them accountable and develop them. It's a boatload easier to blame Miles for pulling the offer than look yourself in the eye and admit you didn't help your player achieve what many thought they could. If we lose Chang because of it, that's life. Chang has the offense we need, is even longer than Arop, but is far from a good defender. If there is a positive for Chang it's that he won't be the guy beating his buddy out and keeping him on the bench.

 

[Nebugeater]

Keep in mind that because of recruiting rules Miles and staff cannot say anything. With that we are only hearing one side of the story. Everything we are heinring might not be 100% accurate.

 

[South Omaha Husker]

In context it's not a big deal in the scope of Miles being over his head. I don't like pulling scholarships or changing the rules on a kid, but long term this may be necessary. If Miles starts winning, he'll win a lot of metro coaches and kids back. If he doesn't, it wont be his concern anyway.

Doing the wrong thing is never necessary, so we'll agree to disagree. Do I think Arop was a player worth offering when he was 15? No, not after watching him play in person. I think you have to have integrity and principals and that goes above and beyond winning, this is the very reason our country is in the shape it is in, because the politicians on both sides do what is necessary to get elected and re-elected, not what is the right thing to do. I was raised to do what you said you were going to do, the fact that Miles is on the hot seat shouldn't matter. And let's get real, if Miles get's fired, he is not going to starve. The last time I checked Doc Sadler hasn't starved yet. Yes he is making less money, but still well above most people's income. What is more important? Miles winning at all costs and keeping his job or honoring a commitment to a young man. Quite frankly, I think most people would understand. He made a mistake and offered too early, now he is compounding the mistake and has burnt bridges with Omaha Metro coaches and probably all of Nebraska coaches. The other thing is that Nebraska basketball has never done anything, but it usually had integrity. It's the same reason that I support Riley even though he only went 6-7. I can see the integrity and concern for the players, recruits and their families. I love winning just like everyone else, but honoring one player's offer isn't going to tank the program and it's not the right thing to do. That is my point. I think there is more at play with Miles than meets the eye based upon the turnover you've seen with his assistants and with White leaving at the 11th hour. His actions are pointing to either stupidity or someone who is not very ethical.

 

[South Omaha Husker]

Also, I tend to think basketball fans around Omaha tend to overestimate the talent we do have. Absolutely, plenty of those metro players were good enough to play for Collier or Doc. Some of their recruits were very poor. If you're trying to build a competitive power conference roster, here's the amount of time you should spend in the state of Nebraska recruiting - 5%.

In high school, Terrance Badgett was easily better than any player on that Omaha South team...guy had a career average of 7.5 ppg in the Big 8. Andre Woolridge and Erick Strickland would have completely overshadowed any player on on Omaha Central's dynasty run. Wake me up when we have in-state talent like that again. Until then, we need to spend most of our time in other states.

Antwione Young was pretty good

 

[South Omaha Husker]

Keep in mind what happened with Dourisseau. He was first a Creighton guy. When the Jays said he needed to redshirt and work on his outside shooting, he got butt hurt and switched to Nebraska...had an OK career, but lacked an outside shot for all of it.

I get that some are all worked up about it, and Chubick isn't the only who is making some less than flattering comments about how this was handled. The simple fact is the kid was told he needed to go to a prep school like IMG for a year and didn't like the idea. Miles took him under the assumption he was going to continue to develop his game and hopefully grow a little more. He's about 6'4", maybe 6'5". He's a good athlete and long. He could be one of those really good defenders a team loves to have, but he has zero offensive game to play a 2 or 3. He's been playing a game that amounts to barreling right, and rising above a bunch of marginal high school kids in Nebraska. He could get away with that, but that's not what Miles wanted him to do, and Chubick knows it as well as anyone. If someone owes Arop an apology it's his high school and club coaches who didn't do more to flesh out his game. Could we use a good defender? Probably, but we just picked up the kid from JUCO who is bigger and stronger and a very good defender, and we have a couple of current guys who also could fit the bill. I'm sorry he's really disappointed, but getting an offer doesn't mean the work stops and you've arrived.

Nothing pisses me off more than when some of these high school coaches get some kid with talent, but fail to do THEIR job and continue to hold them accountable and develop them. It's a boatload easier to blame Miles for pulling the offer than look yourself in the eye and admit you didn't help your player achieve what many thought they could. If we lose Chang because of it, that's life. Chang has the offense we need, is even longer than Arop, but is far from a good defender. If there is a positive for Chang it's that he won't be the guy beating his buddy out and keeping him on the bench.

Wow, you must be a successful retired HS or college coach? I think Chubick is a pretty good coach and has won wherever he's been: Atkison/West Holt, Abraham Lincoln and now at South. South wasn't winning in basketball before he got there, now they've won a state title and played a highly rate national team tooth and nail. I think the finger needs to be pointed at Miles who has made two mistakes: 1. Offering this kid too early 2. Not honoring the commitment. Read your post, you said hopefully grow a little more? The kid can't control that, although I would say he is at least 6'5" and has an extremely long wing span. I don't disagree that he doesn't appear to be a program changer or maybe even a Big Ten worthy player, but he was promised a scholarship and now Miles isn't honoring his promise. How anyone can say this is right is beyond me. How do you know that both he and Chubick aren't doing everything they can to maximize his talent?

 

[Big Red Shrine]

But let's save metro talent... there's not a single kid from Nebraska on the basketball team for 2016-17. That's just not a good look.

We've had this discussion before regarding football. Does Miles spend enough time on the HS coaches in this state? I guess I don't know if he has the staff to do it, but it's not like NU has ever been a dream school for in state Bball talent like it is for football. Maybe we don't have anyone in state other than Chang right now, I don't know. But I darn sure want a cordial relationship with the coach who produces the next Richard King.

 

[HuSkaBob]

It just doesn't look good, and the future relationships matter. I would rather have Arop than Fuller as the guy you put in to hustle, because Arop is from Nebraska. And I love Fuller's hustle. Fails the sniff test, and that matters for local recruits.

 

[LarstheRed]

Wow, you must be a successful retired HS or college coach? I think Chubick is a pretty good coach and has won wherever he's been: Atkison/West Holt, Abraham Lincoln and now at South. South wasn't winning in basketball before he got there, now they've won a state title and played a highly rate national team tooth and nail. I think the finger needs to be pointed at Miles who has made two mistakes: 1. Offering this kid too early 2. Not honoring the commitment. Read your post, you said hopefully grow a little more? The kid can't control that, although I would say he is at least 6'5" and has an extremely long wing span. I don't disagree that he doesn't appear to be a program changer or maybe even a Big Ten worthy player, but he was promised a scholarship and now Miles isn't honoring his promise. How anyone can say this is right is beyond me. How do you know that both he and Chubick aren't doing everything they can to maximize his talent?

Nope, I never coached, but I played long enough and spent enough time around some pretty good coaches to know when a guy is trying to point fingers at someone when he should be man enough to take a long look at himself. And if you don't realize that an offer isn't a chiseled in stone guarantee then you obviously don't think the kids have any responsibility once the offer is made. Hopefully means just that, hopefully, not he has to or else, but hopefully. If he'd grown more then perhaps his not improving his outside game would have been more tolerable, but the key in all of this is the kid didn't change his game much since his freshman year. You might be able to play inside and just try to out athlete guys as a 6'4" freshman (no, I don't think he's 6'5") , but that isn't going to be as dominating as a senior and sure isn't going to fly in the B1G. If this kid goes to a P5 conference and has a successful career, then you can say Miles is a bad guy for not staying true, but I think he's probably Mid Major or DII bound unless someone really needs a defender and has a scholarship to burn. And if you want to continue to think that Chubick is some all world coach, then you need to explain why a kid hasn't expanded his offensive game, or improved his shooting range since he was a soph. Someone needed to push him, and they didn't. Miles gave him the best advice if he wanted to play in the B1G: go and get some experience at a place like IMG. If he could improve offensively, a place like that would push him to. If his only hope was to be a stopper, then they would push to make him stronger, because he's not strong enough to deal with even a strong 2.

I know this is primarily because it's a local kid, but if you change how you build a team and burn roster spots, you end up with guys like Kurkowski, Martz, Meints, nice local kids who got some acclaim in high school playing against some OK, but not big time competition, and they end up being predominantly practice fodder for 4 years. You can get away with this a little more on a football team because you have scholarships to hide mistakes, but in basketball it just doesn't work that way. Would it have been better if they brought the kid in and ran him off after a year when it was obvious he wasn't going to be a contributor?

 

[LarstheRed]

But let's save metro talent... there's not a single kid from Nebraska on the basketball team for 2016-17. That's just not a good look.

Look back on several of those rosters of Sadler's and you may see some walk-on now and then from instate, but he had several years you didn't see locals playing on his teams.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Look back on several of those rosters of Sadler's and you may see some walk-on now and then from instate, but he had several years you didn't see locals playing on his teams.

Every year Sadler was here he had someone from Nebraska on the roster. This is the first time I can remember that there is no Nebraska player represented on its states basketball team.