Husker Women's Basketball: Offseason Summary (and next year's prospects)

[Red Don]

A Good Recap the the past season events and prospects!

I had high expectations for this Husker team last season, given the amount of young talent meshed with the veteran Theriot. As the season wore on, I grew somewhat frustrated with the apparent underachievement and lack of "want-to" displayed by the team.

What This Season Could Look Like
The post rotation seems fairly well set with Shepard, Blackburn, and Havers getting most of the minutes down low. Havers began to show a little offensive firepower toward the end of last season while Blackburn is a stalwart defender. Blackburn also has some attitude and fire in her style of play.

The guard spots are wide open, mostly due to roster losses but also because of the coaching change......Incoming freshman Hannah Whitish is a true point guard......She may not be a scorer, but she seems to have the "it" needed to run Amy Williams' offense.

The Huskers seem to be flush with "wing" players, albeit young talent......In addition to the 6'2" Simon, Nebraska also has collected a couple more tall wing players. Six-foot freshman Eliely's recruiting profile indicates she can drive, score in traffic, and has off-the-charts potential. The 6'2" Mitchell is noted as a deep threat who is an excellent ball-handler in uptempo games.

The enthusiastic Williams and influx of young talent on the Husker team does lead one to imagine that 2016-17 will likely be a rebuilding year. I still think an NCAA tourney bid is possible, but most of my expectations will lie with the following two seasons, especially if ace-recruiter-Amy-Williams is able to draw in some post talent to complement the guard/wing-rich recruiting of late.

http://www.cornnation.com/2016/7/19/12232410/husker-womens-basketball-offseason-summary

 

[joncarl]

I am excited about the season. Usually don't get to excited about basketball at all, but their seems to be some excitement growing. I will need to get down to lincoln this year.

 

[Red Don]

It is going to be fun to watch this team develop. I'm (way) out-of-state and having BTN was a boon; all the games were televised, or live streamed (of course nothing like Being @ Pinnacle).

There is a lot of talent in last years class (and they'll all be more experienced), as well as the returning upperclassmen. This year's class is equally loaded with talent; we'll be very competitive; and fun to watch.

 

[Sandhills Husker]

With all due respect to the previous posters, the season has rebuilding written all over it. We lost 2 of our 3 best players. We lost 2 top 100 recruits (by far the most touted of our recruits) due to the coaching change. Since the beginning of time, people have overrated freshmen based on recruiting hype. Bottom line is we play in a very tough league and we don't have a point guard. We'll have to play that by committee and hope for the best. This isn't a deep and talented team by Big 10 standards.

Perhaps our superstar will return in shape this year, which should help, and a healthy Blackburn would help. I also expect improvement from Simon. But's given the loss of personnel, its going to take some time to replenish the talent. I'm all for hope and optimism, but sometimes I hear "expectation" instead, and I hold up the caution flag.

 

[Red Don]

I'm always the optimist, ya know!

 

[joncarl]

With all due respect to the previous posters, the season has rebuilding written all over it. We lost 2 of our 3 best players. We lost 2 top 100 recruits (by far the most touted of our recruits) due to the coaching change. Since the beginning of time, people have overrated freshmen based on recruiting hype. Bottom line is we play in a very tough league and we don't have a point guard. We'll have to play that by committee and hope for the best. This isn't a deep and talented team by Big 10 standards.

Perhaps our superstar will return in shape this year, which should help, and a healthy Blackburn would help. I also expect improvement from Simon. But's given the loss of personnel, its going to take some time to replenish the talent. I'm all for hope and optimism, but sometimes I hear "expectation" instead, and I hold up the caution flag.

What do think about chemistry? Don't know what but something was not right last year.

 

[Sandhills Husker]

What do think about chemistry? Don't know what but something was not right last year.

My guess is it will be much better than last year. But that can only go so far; talent is still the biggest factor toward a successful season. Experience is another, especially at the guards. Chemistry would come after that, IMO. Chemistry and leadership are slightly different concepts. Our best leader is 5/3" and probably won't play much. If Shepherd had a good offseason conditioning wise, and brings an improved mental/team approach, would help offset some of the loss of talent and experience. Still, if in Vegas, I never bet on a team without a veteran point guard.

 

[joncarl]

My guess is it will be much better than last year. But that can only go so far; talent is still the biggest factor toward a successful season. Experience is another, especially at the guards. Chemistry would come after that, IMO. Chemistry and leadership are slightly different concepts. Our best leader is 5/3" and probably won't play much. If Shepherd had a good offseason conditioning wise, and brings an improved mental/team approach, would help offset some of the loss of talent and experience. Still, if in Vegas, I never bet on a team without a veteran point guard.

Good points, it will be fun to watch. With 2 Fremont girls on there I will watch more than I probably ever have.

 

[Sandhills Husker]

Coach Williams understands the need for experienced, athletic guards (to complement a couple of 2016 freshmen who can fill it up from outside). In addition to signing Bria Stallworth, the transfer from UMass, who will be eligible in 2017, I expect there to be an announcement in the near future as to another transfer guard, who will also be eligible in 2017. For 2016, we'll just have to piece it together the best we can.

 

[Red Don]

Too bad we can't find a Graduate transfer guard eligible in 2016 (but they don't grow on trees

)

 

[Red Don]

.... I expect there to be an announcement in the near future as to another transfer guard, who will also be eligible in 2017. For 2016, we'll just have to piece it together the best we can.

Sandhills 'sker must be Prescient!


Janay Morton, 5' 10" transfer Guard fm Eastern Michigan. Sit 1 yr to play 1 (must sit-out 2016/17).