Any Chance of Going Dancing? > No Postseason this year

[GIFRRO]

So no winning record or postseason basketball in the last four years. We lose virtually all of our production from a .500 season. Let’s run it back, Trev! Can’t wait for another sub-.500 season!

Look
Theres no disputing that freds first 3 yrs was a fail. Trev made the choice at end if yr 3 to give fh a chance over the next few yrs to start over in a new direction instead of starting over with a new coah. So step one we saw great improvement. Not to where we want to be but to a place where it looks like we are impeoving. That has fans hopeful that we can build on this. If the next 2 seasons end up right where we are now he gets fired cuz nobody is ok with that. But he started over this yr, so beating your chest about previous yrs 8s irrelevant. Its over. He blew it. Now watch to see if changes made works or not. As of now there is hope

 

[HuSkaBob]

I don't really care that we got snubbed for NIT. The quality of basketball, effort and teamwork we saw over the last month or so was as good as I've seen from the Huskers in a while. They were fun to watch and should feel pretty good about what they have going into next season. Minnesota game was one of those nights they just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

I don't think I've seen them play this well since the '90's. They have had better records and made the Dance, but I don't think those teams would beat this one (more times than not).

Ramel Lloyd, Jr was a point guard at Sierra Canyon HS. He's 6'6", so he's already almost a replacement for Griesel. He doesn't have Sam's shoulders however, and won't be able to post up the same way.

Derrick Walker will be the toughest to replace. I don't know if Breidenbach can learn to use his size the same way, but he might be able to start the offense eventually. If Wilcher and Breidenbach can start shooting around 35% on open 3's, that would relieve a lot of pressure on the "center".

 

[wcbsas]

Look
Theres no disputing that freds first 3 yrs was a fail. Trev made the choice at end if yr 3 to give fh a chance over the next few yrs to start over in a new direction instead of starting over with a new coah. So step one we saw great improvement. Not to where we want to be but to a place where it looks like we are impeoving. That has fans hopeful that we can build on this. If the next 2 seasons end up right where we are now he gets fired cuz nobody is ok with that. But he started over this yr, so beating your chest about previous yrs 8s irrelevant. Its over. He blew it. Now watch to see if changes made works or not. As of now there is hope

I don't think I've seen them play this well since the '90's. They have had better records and made the Dance, but I don't think those teams would beat this one (more times than not).

Ramel Lloyd, Jr was a point guard at Sierra Canyon HS. He's 6'6", so he's already almost a replacement for Griesel. He doesn't have Sam's shoulders however, and won't be able to post up the same way.

Derrick Walker will be the toughest to replace. I don't know if Breidenbach can learn to use his size the same way, but he might be able to start the offense eventually. If Wilcher and Breidenbach can start shooting around 35% on open 3's, that would relieve a lot of pressure on the "center".

The thing that concerns me going forward is the Husker season turned around at the end of season after the team suffered horrific injuries. When they had a full compliment they were 10-13 overall and 3-9 in conference. Additionally they had 3 kids contributing that were not really counted upon at the beginning of the season, at least to the extent they did.

Each year, especially in CBB, is new and different … the energy, confidence and positivity they were playing with in 2022-2023 is not guaranteed to return next season.

 

[BGRed]

The thing that concerns me going forward is the Husker season turned around at the end of season after the team suffered horrific injuries. When they had a full compliment they were 10-13 overall and 3-9 in conference. Additionally they had 3 kids contributing that were not really counted upon at the beginning of the season, at least to the extent they did.

Each year, especially in CBB, is new and different … the energy, confidence and positivity they were playing with in 2022-2023 is not guaranteed to return next season.

Having 3 guys contribute unexpectedly should be a positive, not a negative. Lawrence played with a lot of confidence and skill down the stretch. If Keita can stay healthy, there is an inside presence and rebounder that we've been missing. Plenty of good shooters still on the roster. Need to bring in someone that has scoring skills around the basket.

 

[wcbsas]

Having 3 guys contribute unexpectedly should be a positive, not a negative. Lawrence played with a lot of confidence and skill down the stretch. If Keita can stay healthy, there is an inside presence and rebounder that we've been missing. Plenty of good shooters still on the roster. Need to bring in someone that has scoring skills around the basket.

The point is each season is new unto itself. NU had a lot of late season success and some momentum off of that but … theres still the transfer portal, NIL … no one could’ve predicted the contributions some of the kids provided down the stretch. NU still finished 11th in the conference, had a losing conference record, stand to have significant roster churn and they still play in arguably the toughest conference in the nation.

 

[WhataboutBob99]

I tried watching a Creighton game with the idea of at least not actively rooting against them. Couldn't do it. I won't even bother to try that with Texas. I'll be pulling for toothpaste (Colgate) in the first round.

The only way I can root for Texas is to bet on them And then they always lose.

 

[HuSkaBob]

The point is each season is new unto itself. NU had a lot of late season success and some momentum off of that but … theres still the transfer portal, NIL … no one could’ve predicted the contributions some of the kids provided down the stretch. NU still finished 11th in the conference, had a losing conference record, stand to have significant roster churn and they still play in arguably the toughest conference in the nation.

This has been the season-to-season concern that I had as well. This year feels a little different, and while the vocal leaders will be gone, I think Nebraska brings back enough of what made the end-of-the-season run go well to build on next year.

If Lawrence can figure out free throws, if Keita can stay healthy, if Lloyd can be part of the team... there's enough there to continue on as a mid-league team. The big thing will be that the "light" stays on for Keisei and Lawrence. Since Sam Hoiberg was able to run some of the plays for Keisei when he had that run of cramps (3-4 games in a row) I think that other players might be able to contribute in that role, not just the unicorn Tominaga.

If nothing else, they have players that were able to step up -- character guys instead of untapped talent guys. That's why I felt the end of this season was a positive instead of like Miles' last season where he ran out of players and it was obvious that the moment was too big for them.

 

[wcbsas]

This has been the season-to-season concern that I had as well. This year feels a little different, and while the vocal leaders will be gone, I think Nebraska brings back enough of what made the end-of-the-season run go well to build on next year.

If Lawrence can figure out free throws, if Keita can stay healthy, if Lloyd can be part of the team... there's enough there to continue on as a mid-league team. The big thing will be that the "light" stays on for Keisei and Lawrence. Since Sam Hoiberg was able to run some of the plays for Keisei when he had that run of cramps (3-4 games in a row) I think that other players might be able to contribute in that role, not just the unicorn Tominaga.

If nothing else, they have players that were able to step up -- character guys instead of untapped talent guys. That's why I felt the end of this season was a positive instead of like Miles' last season where he ran out of players and it was obvious that the moment was too big for them.

Agree, the thing though is this is the B1G … 13th place tOSU just made a run to the conference tourney semis, 12th Wisconsin won the B1G twice in the last five years, 10th place PSU darn near won the whole tournament, 11 of the B1G teams are playing in a post season tournament (13 if you count USC and UCLA).

Greg Gard in 8 seasons has qualified for the NCAA’s in 6 year, has a 0.600 conference winning percentage, and found himself on the hot seat after a season not so up to his standards.

Football in this conference is brutal … basketball is even worse.

 

[HuSkaBob]

Agree, the thing though is this is the B1G … 13th place tOSU just made a run to the conference tourney semis, 12th Wisconsin won the B1G twice in the last five years, 10th place PSU darn near won the whole tournament, 11 of the B1G teams are playing in a post season tournament (13 if you count USC and UCLA).

Greg Gard in 8 seasons has qualified for the NCAA’s in 6 year, has a 0.600 conference winning percentage, and found himself on the hot seat after a season not so up to his standards.

Football in this conference is brutal … basketball is even worse.

True, but Greg Gard took over a program that made it to the NCAA tournament 14 years in a row... starting in a different place. He's missed the NCAA tournament 2 of 8 seasons (one season was cancelled but they would have made it) which is a big change from what went before. The Big Ten is a really difficult basketball league to compete in.

There are a lot of programs that have had success quickly -- the difference being that those teams have had success before (except for Northwestern, good job Chris Collins). You know how good Nebraska has been over the years -- arguably the weakest program in the power conferences, and weaker than many outside.

Collier, Sadler and Miles have all had success before (and now after) Nebraska, but not really at Nebraska. If it just takes the right coach, we'll keep spinning for a while because Nebraska can offer up-and-coming coaches like Bill Self, but they won't take the job if there's something better. Nebraska needs to grow the program somehow to make it more attractive.

I feel like switching coaches now is just another shot in the dark, maybe we'd get lucky and hit something. More likely we'd have about the same thing as this year in year two and maybe a little better in year 4 without much momentum going forward.

 

[GIFRRO]

Theres a nice nucleus to start with for next year, but if we dont get at least 2 difference makers from the portal we wont be any good next year IMO. And Im not talking about some guys to fill spots, Im mean real diff makers who can score and play smart and hard ball

 

[Huskerfan69]

NU had 1 good month of basketball, that is why they are not in the ncaa, that is why they didn’t even make the nit. That said, this year, well, towards the end, games that was surely a loss ended up a win or almost a win. I give Fred another year, that is all. Progress from this and get more time!

 

[djlhuskerfan]

I dunno!! Two years in a row Fred's team starts winning a few games at end of year. Always a little too late. Sloppy ballhandling, passing, and just catching the ball when receiving a pass. Scoring droughts, poor free throw shooting have been staples of Fred's tenure here. I think he stays at least another year as there is no appetite for buying out another head coach. Next year will be brutal!

 

[HUSKER HOT SAUCE]

I honestly can't believe that we didn't make any tournament at all. Hell, not even the prestigious CBI. OUCH!

 

[Burning Bright]

The thing that concerns me going forward is the Husker season turned around at the end of season after the team suffered horrific injuries. When they had a full compliment they were 10-13 overall and 3-9 in conference. Additionally they had 3 kids contributing that were not really counted upon at the beginning of the season, at least to the extent they did.

Each year, especially in CBB, is new and different … the energy, confidence and positivity they were playing with in 2022-2023 is not guaranteed to return next season.

The injuries definitely changed them as a team. Tominaga and Lawrence helped them find a more offensive identity.

 

[Burning Bright]

Look
Theres no disputing that freds first 3 yrs was a fail. Trev made the choice at end if yr 3 to give fh a chance over the next few yrs to start over in a new direction instead of starting over with a new coah. So step one we saw great improvement. Not to where we want to be but to a place where it looks like we are impeoving. That has fans hopeful that we can build on this. If the next 2 seasons end up right where we are now he gets fired cuz nobody is ok with that. But he started over this yr, so beating your chest about previous yrs 8s irrelevant. Its over. He blew it. Now watch to see if changes made works or not. As of now there is hope

In Power 5 conferences, you don’t get to put up the three worst years in the history of your program and not get it held against you. Those three years still happened. If that would have happened anywhere else that takes basketball seriously, he would have been let go after year 3. It’s Nebraska though, I get it. We clearly don’t care enough.

The way college basketball is trending, you almost have to manage your roster like a GM. I’m hoping Fred’s GM experience can help him get this right. I will also say that Fred hired an absolute rock star on his staff. Nate Loenser is lights out. Guy has a bright future and I think he played a pretty large part in Nebraska being more competitive this year.