Coach Hoiberg

[Uncle Buck]

This year was the best product we have seen on the court in Hoiberg’s tenure. Watching March Madness every year with no Husker teams playing, is getting old quite frankly.

He will lose 6-8 players potentially and starting over again with a new roster.

I hope he gets it right, and finally get us our first tournament win.

 

[Burning Bright]

He’s one of the highest paid coaches in the conference but has no winning seasons, no Big Ten tournament wins losing four games in a row against bottom four teams, no higher finish than 11th in the conference, and no post season tournaments. Despite all of that his job is not in jeopardy. Could expectations for Nebraska basketball be any lower?

The expectations for our basketball program are as low as I’ve seen them in my lifetime…and that’s saying something. The Barry Collier and Doc Sadler years were bad, but nothing like this. Not even close. What makes it sting even worse is that we are no longer playing in a dump built from cigarette taxes. We have the PBA and a really nice practice facility. That’s a lot of money to invest to not really care about winning.

 

[Huskerfan69]

The expectations for our basketball program are as low as I’ve seen them in my lifetime…and that’s saying something. The Barry Collier and Doc Sadler years were bad, but nothing like this. Not even close. What makes it sting even worse is that we are no longer playing in a dump built from cigarette taxes. We have the PBA and a really nice practice facility. That’s a lot of money to invest to not really care about winning.

A former poster used to tell us that was all that was needed, he would say "build it and they will come", well that didn't work out so well!

I agree, this program has sunk to levels I didn't even know we had, until the Big was exposed in the big dance. That changed my perspective!

 

[Burning Bright]

A former poster used to tell us that was all that was needed, he would say "build it and they will come", well that didn't work out so well!

I agree, this program has sunk to levels I didn't even know we had, until the Big was exposed in the big dance. That changed my perspective!

As luck would have it, you only need a few guys to flip a basketball program. If we were a consistent winner, I think we could consistently get some pretty good players here.

As it sits now, Fred needs to find 4 players in the portal who can flip us. It’s hard to know what Ramel is yet. I was floored when I found out he was redshirting, he was easily the most talented kid in our 2022 class. The coaching carousel will begin to turn and there are plenty of talented kids out there to pluck. But assuming Ramel is the player that I think he is, you have Lawrence and Ramel as high-level wings. You should have Juwan Gary back to 100% by summer workouts, which gives you an experienced and athletic forward. Keita and Wilhelm are bench bigs who could be solid role players on a good team. Then you have Eli Rice coming in that is probably good enough to provide some wing depth. I’m counting Tominaga out for now.

I’d take the best point guard you can find, the best center you can find, and the best wing you can find. I would also look at another forward if there is more attrition (and there will be).

 

[BGRed]

Constructing a roster is right! He loses Walker, Griesel, Bandoumel and maybe tOMinaGa. That's a HUGE problem. Hoiberg is a solid coach IMO, but as every other HC except maybe Danny Knee, consistently solid recruiting hasn't been achieved. NU needs a solid base in recruits IMO and then supplement with the portal pickups. Maybe Trev can come up with some new ideas.

I saw in an article last night that the K State coach took the job with only 2 players on the rosters last July. He'll be coaching in the Sweet Sixteen later this week. Now, finding the right mix of players is a bit of a crapshoot and K State probably got a little lucky in how it all came together. There are good players out there, just need to convince them to play in Lincoln!

 

[HuSkaBob]

As luck would have it, you only need a few guys to flip a basketball program. If we were a consistent winner, I think we could consistently get some pretty good players here.

As it sits now, Fred needs to find 4 players in the portal who can flip us. It’s hard to know what Ramel is yet. I was floored when I found out he was redshirting, he was easily the most talented kid in our 2022 class. The coaching carousel will begin to turn and there are plenty of talented kids out there to pluck. But assuming Ramel is the player that I think he is, you have Lawrence and Ramel as high-level wings. You should have Juwan Gary back to 100% by summer workouts, which gives you an experienced and athletic forward. Keita and Wilhelm are bench bigs who could be solid role players on a good team. Then you have Eli Rice coming in that is probably good enough to provide some wing depth. I’m counting Tominaga out for now.

I’d take the best point guard you can find, the best center you can find, and the best wing you can find. I would also look at another forward if there is more attrition (and there will be).

Ramel Lloyd Jr was recruited as a PG, so that helps if he can play that position. I think Fred was blindsided by the redshirt, it was a family decision. I'm hoping that one of the Nebraska kids transfers back to UNL as well, but can't count on that. Getting a big that play will be huge. I hope that Blaise Keita plays at a B1G starter level, but they need to get someone else as well.

 

[Burning Bright]

Ramel Lloyd Jr was recruited as a PG, so that helps if he can play that position. I think Fred was blindsided by the redshirt, it was a family decision. I'm hoping that one of the Nebraska kids transfers back to UNL as well, but can't count on that. Getting a big that play will be huge. I hope that Blaise Keita plays at a B1G starter level, but they need to get someone else as well.

Thanks for clarifying about the reasoning, I did not know that. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to redshirt, first year of being a student athlete at 18 years old is no joke. Far more kids struggle a bit than not. I remember kids a lot smarter than me flunking their freshman year of college, it’s a big adjustment. Maybe he just needed more acclimation, maybe something going on back home. Whatever the reason, hopefully he is fully adjusted and good to go. His dad was a pro basketball player, so I think he’s got a really good mentor giving giving him advice. Plus I think he can add a lot of muscle to his frame still and played with high level competition in high school and AAU. Really high on him.

If Keita wasn’t consistently hobbled and got more consistent, I think he could be a serviceable starter. At times this year he was quite effective with plus minutes. I think at this point you have to plan around being a bench role player until he proves otherwise. If we are banking on him to be a starter next season, I think we are in trouble. I’m with you on hoping for it though.