Here's our look at the struggles of Pete Nance, a talented sophomore who has lost his way.
What's happened to Pete Nance?
What's happened to Pete Nance?
My look at the struggles of Pete Nance
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
I so wanted Pete to be great. I grew up a Larry Nance fan as a Cavs fan going to the old Richfield Coliseum. Pete went to my old high school so I pull for him. But I just don't see the "physical skills". He is slow-footed, doesn't have great hops, has a line drive shooting style and can't put the ball on the floor. I hope he can up his game in the next two seasons but have my doubts.
He has these sequences like the one Lou described in his column where you think, wow, if only he could do that four or five times a game. He has to improve his dribbling and shooting. But I agree with the column's overall take that the battle is mostly psychological.
Great article.
Nance is indeed, like the opposite of Kawhi Leonard. He is the opposite of leveled. That's why I'm sure Collins had a really hard time putting him on the bench. He seems like the type of kid that is not great at fighting through adversity.
Personally, getting away from all the considerations of his talent and potential, I feel like, now that he has seen more of the bench, he would benefit more from coming back into the starting 5. And that the team would also benefit. You see, the thing with Pete is that he is still pretty handy to have floating around behind Young. His long arms bother other teams. And, despite all his offensive struggles, and problems on defense with fouls, lateral movement, etc, he still shows up in the box score as our top rebounder. And guess what was horrendous the last couple of games?
Nance is indeed, like the opposite of Kawhi Leonard. He is the opposite of leveled. That's why I'm sure Collins had a really hard time putting him on the bench. He seems like the type of kid that is not great at fighting through adversity.
Personally, getting away from all the considerations of his talent and potential, I feel like, now that he has seen more of the bench, he would benefit more from coming back into the starting 5. And that the team would also benefit. You see, the thing with Pete is that he is still pretty handy to have floating around behind Young. His long arms bother other teams. And, despite all his offensive struggles, and problems on defense with fouls, lateral movement, etc, he still shows up in the box score as our top rebounder. And guess what was horrendous the last couple of games?
"He chose Northwestern over Ohio State and Michigan in what was seen as a big recruiting coup for the Wildcats."
Well, kinda. Michigan chose Brandon Johns over him (I think we're starting to see why at this point). I don't even remember Ohio State being part of the recruitment towards the end. Not saying they never were.
Well, kinda. Michigan chose Brandon Johns over him (I think we're starting to see why at this point). I don't even remember Ohio State being part of the recruitment towards the end. Not saying they never were.
He simply looks tentative on offense, like he hasn’t played a lot of basketball, and like he’s not sure what his role is supposed to be. Of course, he hasn’t played a lot of basketball, and he’s been shoehorned into multiple roles.
I also agree that his tremendous athleticism — a foregone conclusion given bloodlines — is closer to average.
I do think his length is valuable and he uses it well on defense. But he doesn’t add anything when NU has the ball.
Nance makes one wonder whether he played any serious street ball growing up. Over thinking instead of being aggressive. With his bloodlines and physical makeup maybe he didn't get challenged as a youngster. Nice ball played on prep school teams?
I don't know and not intending the above to be critical of Nance. Easy for the mental to get in the way for elite athletes. Seems like NU and Collins can't get a break even after a recruiting win
I don't know and not intending the above to be critical of Nance. Easy for the mental to get in the way for elite athletes. Seems like NU and Collins can't get a break even after a recruiting win
Pete played at medium sized public high school, level of competition was pretty mediocre.
For what it’s worth, the bloodlines are a blessing and a curse. I don’t think we’d be getting a thinkpiece if his name were, to choose a random example, Pete Benson. And, frankly, I don’t know that he would have been a top-100 recruit if that were his name, either.
It was a good writeup, Lou. Thanks for it.
It was a good writeup, Lou. Thanks for it.
Actually, Johns and Nance committed on the very same day. I'm not sure who committed first, but according to TheWolverine's commitment story, Michigan was still planning to host Nance for an official visit, even after they landed Johns.
the thing with Nance is his struggles are not uncommon. Sure he was a reasonably highly rated recruit, but so what? Those kids struggle all the time. He was #67 in the Rivals final rankings for that class.
#60 Brandon Johns - coming off the bench for Michigan and occasionally looking good
#61 Marcus Bingham - struggled as a starter at MSU and now off the bench
#62 Keyontae Johnson - playing well at Florida
#63 Gerald Liddell - injured and wasn't starting at Texas
#64 Noah Locke - playing alright at Florida
#65 Foster Loyer - kinda terrible at MSU
#66 Miller Kopp
#67 Pete Nance
#68 Carteare Gordon - transferred and sitting out
#69 Aaron Nesmith - injured at Vandy
#70 Luther Muhammed - plays 55% of minutes at OSU and is OK
It's easy to say "ooh it's a 4 star recruit and they are going to be awesome" but in reality a ton of kids outside the top 30 do not ever become stars let alone early in their career. A kid ranked outside the top 50 is probably no more than a 25% chance of ever being an All Big Ten level performer and many of them never even become starters at that level.
#60 Brandon Johns - coming off the bench for Michigan and occasionally looking good
#61 Marcus Bingham - struggled as a starter at MSU and now off the bench
#62 Keyontae Johnson - playing well at Florida
#63 Gerald Liddell - injured and wasn't starting at Texas
#64 Noah Locke - playing alright at Florida
#65 Foster Loyer - kinda terrible at MSU
#66 Miller Kopp
#67 Pete Nance
#68 Carteare Gordon - transferred and sitting out
#69 Aaron Nesmith - injured at Vandy
#70 Luther Muhammed - plays 55% of minutes at OSU and is OK
It's easy to say "ooh it's a 4 star recruit and they are going to be awesome" but in reality a ton of kids outside the top 30 do not ever become stars let alone early in their career. A kid ranked outside the top 50 is probably no more than a 25% chance of ever being an All Big Ten level performer and many of them never even become starters at that level.