Oh God, I'm getting my hopes up for next year.

[freewillie07]

Nice win for the Cats! Back-to-back wins sure do feel good!

The fact that NU could win with Kopp shooting 0-11 and missing 8 three-pointers is not something I thought was possible. But Buie, Audige and Nance stepped up big time, Young was efficient as always and even Greer and Berry had their moments.

 

[GatoLouco]

Final four baby. Alright, let’s be realistic here. Sweet sixteen baby

 

[SimpsonElmwood]

These wins give everyone hope. Helps to keep anyone on the fence from transferring.

 

[PurpleFaze]

If they can keep the band together with the 3 incoming recruits will be a very deep squad- imo should be a tourney capable team. If they can play smart and learn to limit turnovers and bad shots.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

If they can keep the band together with the 3 incoming recruits will be a very deep squad- imo should be a tourney capable team. If they can play smart and learn to limit turnovers and bad shots.

Those 3 coming in better be very good if this is a tourney team next year.

 

[TheC]

Nice win for the Cats! Back-to-back wins sure do feel good!

The fact that NU could win with Kopp shooting 0-11 and missing 8 three-pointers is not something I thought was possible. But Buie, Audige and Nance stepped up big time, Young was efficient as always and even Greer and Berry had their moments.

It's great to get a win, but that was another ugly game last night. We made a few good plays, but that Maryland team played awful outside of Wiggins. I also don't know how they've won 9 conference games without a big man in this league. Not sure why we didn't have Nance and Young in together. One guy would get the post pass and get doubled, while the other should have been cutting to the basket. Either that cut would be open or else Boo, Audige and Kopp would have been wide open for three (of course, Kopp has to make the shot). Young passed out of the double-team nicely sometimes, but he is still just so slow in everything he does that he didn't react in time on a lot of plays. He is close to being a really effective player though.

 

[freewillie07]

If they can keep the band together with the 3 incoming recruits will be a very deep squad- imo should be a tourney capable team. If they can play smart and learn to limit turnovers and bad shots.

I think what gives me the most pause is the inexplicable shooting slumps that some of the core guys go through for long stretches of the season. Buie, then Kopp. Does this happen on other teams?

Like, I'm not expecting Buie to play like he did against Michigan State every night, but these past two wins are perfect examples of what NU needs from him. 5/12, 5/13 from the field, 3/7 from 3. Just a turnover per game, not the 18 (!!!) over a 5-game stretch earlier in the season.

And Kopp, just wow. I expected a breakout season from him, now I kind of wonder how he fits in going forward. Certainly doesn't seem like a 30+ minute player at this point, with Audige bringing a "create your own shot" dimension and Berry growing more confident on both ends.

 

[hollandnucat]

Confidence plays a big roll in shooting...when you lose it the basket can seem very small but when you have it as a shooter it seems huge. It was good to see the team gut out a win despite Kopp having the worst game I have seen him have.

 

[Catreporter]

Well, Ayala had a poor shooting night for Maryland and when he's off, they usually lose.

 

[JournCat]

I think what gives me the most pause is the inexplicable shooting slumps that some of the core guys go through for long stretches of the season. Buie, then Kopp. Does this happen on other teams?

Like, I'm not expecting Buie to play like he did against Michigan State every night, but these past two wins are perfect examples of what NU needs from him. 5/12, 5/13 from the field, 3/7 from 3. Just a turnover per game, not the 18 (!!!) over a 5-game stretch earlier in the season.

And Kopp, just wow. I expected a breakout season from him, now I kind of wonder how he fits in going forward. Certainly doesn't seem like a 30+ minute player at this point, with Audige bringing a "create your own shot" dimension and Berry growing more confident on both ends.

Buie is miscast as a starting lead guard and would be better as an uber Isiah Brown, someone who gets buckets off the bench and closes games when he's on either as a 1 or 2. I don't know that a team's offense can function around some of the shots he takes.

 

[SmellyCat]

It's great to get a win, but that was another ugly game last night.

It’s not “how,” it’s “how many”

 

[Styre]

It’s not “how,” it’s “how many”

If the answer to "how" is "win badly-played rock fights," the answer to "how many" isn't going to be high enough to get where you want to go.

 

[SmellyCat]

Yeah, but with wins few and far between this year, I’ll take whatever I can get!

 

[Sec_112]

Buie is miscast as a starting lead guard and would be better as an uber Isiah Brown, someone who gets buckets off the bench ...

Good lord!! Some of you have such a problem with Buie. Look at his last three games:

pts / TOs / Shooting %

15 / 0 / 41%
25 / 2 / 38%
19 / 3 / 53%

And you want to send him to the bench?!?!?! What more do you want?

He's not the perfect player by a long shot, and the stats above exclude issues in his entire season. His decisionmaking needs help. So does his defense.

But at least he plays a strong role in many games. And he's also a sophomore.

What blows my mind is that he repeatedly takes a beating out here, while Kopp avoids almost any criticism. Kopp has one friggin' job ... shoot three pointers to open up the offense. And he does it poorly.

Guess who takes more shots and is shooting 6% better than Kopp from 3 in the conference?

Kopp had that game yesterday and somebody out here still called him an "elite" shooter yesterday. At best, he's a good shooter ... on a given day.

Meanwhile, Kopp's a lousy rebounder for a 6-7 guy (.9 more than the 6-2 Buie) and his defense is at least as bad as Buie's.

But nobody says a word about Kopp. You guys need to get over your problems with Buie. I'm not saying he's All-B10, but if you're going to piss all over someone game after game, at least do it with some objectivity. At least, Buie shows up every once in a while.

 

[hdhntr1]

Those 3 coming in better be very good if this is a tourney team next year.

What we need is guys currently on the roster to make a step up in performance and consistency. If we get major contributions out of a Frosh or two that is a bonus.

 

[hdhntr1]

It's great to get a win, but that was another ugly game last night. We made a few good plays, but that Maryland team played awful outside of Wiggins. I also don't know how they've won 9 conference games without a big man in this league. Not sure why we didn't have Nance and Young in together. One guy would get the post pass and get doubled, while the other should have been cutting to the basket. Either that cut would be open or else Boo, Audige and Kopp would have been wide open for three (of course, Kopp has to make the shot). Young passed out of the double-team nicely sometimes, but he is still just so slow in everything he does that he didn't react in time on a lot of plays. He is close to being a really effective player though.

MD is a pretty good team. They had won 5 in a row and were the hottest team in the league. Ever think that some of their poor performance might have something to do with what we were doing? If Kopp is the normal Kopp vs what has happened to him the later stages of this year, this is a blowout.

 

[GatoLouco]

If Kopp is the normal Kopp vs what has happened to him the later stages of this year, this is a blowout.

This kind of reasoning drives me insane. It assumes that everything else in the game stays the same. Which it doesn't.

He hits 2 in a row and defensive assignments change, other players pass on shots, etc, etc. MD wakes up and doesn't play 30 minutes with the intensity of a team playing a scrimmage. So many possibilities. We won, we were better, the what ifs mean nothing. I bet MD fans are saying if Ayala played just poorly, and not flat out atrociously, they'd have won the game.

 

[hdhntr1]

This kind of reasoning drives me insane. It assumes that everything else in the game stays the same. Which it doesn't.

He hits 2 in a row and defensive assignments change, other players pass on shots, etc, etc. MD wakes up and doesn't play 30 minutes with the intensity of a team playing a scrimmage. So many possibilities. We won, we were better, the what ifs mean nothing. I bet MD fans are saying if Ayala played just poorly, and not flat out atrociously, they'd have won the game.

We won the game. We did it by holding a pretty solid team to 54 points

 

[TheC]

MD is a pretty good team. They had won 5 in a row and were the hottest team in the league. Ever think that some of their poor performance might have something to do with what we were doing? If Kopp is the normal Kopp vs what has happened to him the later stages of this year, this is a blowout.

That is my point. I can't believe they have won as many as they have in this conference. It wasn't about how good or not they looked last night. It's more the fact that they have no size and no depth. Their starters play major minutes which must wear them down. I think they had 0 bench points last night. Kudos to them for doing as well as they have under those circumstances and kudos to us for beating them.

 

[Sec_112]

... It wasn't about how good or not they looked last night. It's more the fact that they have no size and no depth ...

Yea, but they add a little something to their game. Did you see how many cheap shots Donta Scott landed last night? And they were with purpose.

I bet that throws some teams off.

 

[JournCat]

Good lord!! Some of you have such a problem with Buie. Look at his last three games:

pts / TOs / Shooting %

15 / 0 / 41%
25 / 2 / 38%
19 / 3 / 53%

And you want to send him to the bench?!?!?! What more do you want?

He's not the perfect player by a long shot, and the stats above exclude issues in his entire season. His decisionmaking needs help. So does his defense.

But at least he plays a strong role in many games. And he's also a sophomore.

What blows my mind is that he repeatedly takes a beating out here, while Kopp avoids almost any criticism. Kopp has one friggin' job ... shoot three pointers to open up the offense. And he does it poorly.

Guess who takes more shots and is shooting 6% better than Kopp from 3 in the conference?

Kopp had that game yesterday and somebody out here still called him an "elite" shooter yesterday. At best, he's a good shooter ... on a given day.

Meanwhile, Kopp's a lousy rebounder for a 6-7 guy (.9 more than the 6-2 Buie) and his defense is at least as bad as Buie's.

But nobody says a word about Kopp. You guys need to get over your problems with Buie. I'm not saying he's All-B10, but if you're going to piss all over someone game after game, at least do it with some objectivity. At least, Buie shows up every once in a while.

Couldn't agree more: Buie is one of our best players and responsible for several wins this year, and Kopp has gotten a mostly free ride. (I don't think my post was pissing on Buie and try very hard to reserve real criticism for the people paid to be there.) I just think the offense stagnates when Buie takes difficult shots in isolation, even when those prayers go in. We are at our most watchable when our bigs get their shots and create offense for the wings.

 

[ThatadultfromHolland]

Couldn't agree more: Buie is one of our best players and responsible for several wins this year, and Kopp has gotten a mostly free ride. (I don't think my post was pissing on Buie and try very hard to reserve real criticism for the people paid to be there.) I just think the offense stagnates when Buie takes difficult shots in isolation, even when those prayers go in. We are at our most watchable when our bigs get their shots and create offense for the wings.

Buie is a 1. His ability to penetrate on the dribble is how offense is created on this team. His “heat checks” you live with because it’s a scorers mentality even the best still do them. What sucks his when he lost confidence midseason and couldn’t get it going again till recently. The team goes as Buie/Audige goes this season.

 

[SmellyCat]

What blows my mind is that he repeatedly takes a beating out here, while Kopp avoids almost any criticism. Kopp has one friggin' job ... shoot three pointers to open up the offense. And he does it poorly.

I wonder if it's all about taking care of the ball and taking ill-advised shots. People are less forgiving (I know I am) when a player does something carelessly or without a lot of thought. Kopp seems like a guy who takes good shots and makes good passes. If he's missing, well, "it's just not his night." Meanwhile Audige/Buie are seemingly doing so much more (good and bad) to affect our games, so their mistakes take on a greater significance and instead of "just not his night" it's "careless," or "ball hog" or "poor shot selection" or "no confidence" (sometimes it's just the opposite of that one!) or whatever. Not fair to any of the three of them.

 

[Figrating]

CCC said early in his post game comments the team is learning how to win.

Young's drive against Wiggins and both Young and Buie making both of their FTs is a level of end-game play that NU has just not been able to reach. If you don't feel hopeful after watching that, maybe you should watch more golf.

Rocky Balboa said something like, "After you get punched in the face 100 times, it starts to sting." Like Rocky, the CATS are finally getting to the the level of the competition.

It's been a 3-D depressing season, but it's heading for a happy ending.

Big game Sunday against UNL, a team that is also improving. GO CATS!

 

[GatoLouco]

CCC said early in his post game comments the team is learning how to win.

If you don't feel hopeful after watching that, maybe you should watch more golf.

Been hearing that for at least 30 B1G games.

NU fans don't need much to get hope. We get hope after slaughtering AR Pine Bluff.

 

[freewillie07]

Good lord!! Some of you have such a problem with Buie. Look at his last three games:

pts / TOs / Shooting %

15 / 0 / 41%
25 / 2 / 38%
19 / 3 / 53%

And you want to send him to the bench?!?!?! What more do you want?

He's not the perfect player by a long shot, and the stats above exclude issues in his entire season. His decisionmaking needs help. So does his defense.

But at least he plays a strong role in many games. And he's also a sophomore.

What blows my mind is that he repeatedly takes a beating out here, while Kopp avoids almost any criticism. Kopp has one friggin' job ... shoot three pointers to open up the offense. And he does it poorly.

Guess who takes more shots and is shooting 6% better than Kopp from 3 in the conference?

Kopp had that game yesterday and somebody out here still called him an "elite" shooter yesterday. At best, he's a good shooter ... on a given day.

Meanwhile, Kopp's a lousy rebounder for a 6-7 guy (.9 more than the 6-2 Buie) and his defense is at least as bad as Buie's.

But nobody says a word about Kopp. You guys need to get over your problems with Buie. I'm not saying he's All-B10, but if you're going to piss all over someone game after game, at least do it with some objectivity. At least, Buie shows up every once in a while.

I've said plenty of times after watching last night that Kopp was horrible. I was surprised he got as much playing time as he did, to be honest. No confidence, bringing the whole team's attitude down.

Anyway, if this team sticks together NU loses no one and picks up three solid freshman. I don't know if Buie is the answer at PG -- I thought Greer did a pretty nice job last night as the "pure PG" -- but I also don't know if Berry or Roper can be that guy either. Between Nance at a small ball 5 and Ryan Young as the traditional 5, that covers the bigs, anything from Nicholson is just gravy. And then a ton of wings, take your pick.

Collins has to show something next year -- I think NCAA bubble at the bare minimum. He might have the guys to do it, but they just need that winner's mentality. Maybe they beat Nebraska and get a win or two in the BTT to get some offseason momentum. Here's hoping.

 

[jensberg]

I've said plenty of times after watching last night that Kopp was horrible. I was surprised he got as much playing time as he did, to be honest. No confidence, bringing the whole team's attitude down.

Anyway, if this team sticks together NU loses no one and picks up three solid freshman. I don't know if Buie is the answer at PG -- I thought Greer did a pretty nice job last night as the "pure PG" -- but I also don't know if Berry or Roper can be that guy either. Between Nance at a small ball 5 and Ryan Young as the traditional 5, that covers the bigs, anything from Nicholson is just gravy. And then a ton of wings, take your pick.

Collins has to show something next year -- I think NCAA bubble at the bare minimum. He might have the guys to do it, but they just need that winner's mentality. Maybe they beat Nebraska and get a win or two in the BTT to get some offseason momentum. Here's hoping.

Given the current environment in sports with transfers it would be surprising if we don't lose a few players

 

[hdhntr1]

Good lord!! Some of you have such a problem with Buie. Look at his last three games:

pts / TOs / Shooting %

15 / 0 / 41%
25 / 2 / 38%
19 / 3 / 53%

And you want to send him to the bench?!?!?! What more do you want?

He's not the perfect player by a long shot, and the stats above exclude issues in his entire season. His decisionmaking needs help. So does his defense.

But at least he plays a strong role in many games. And he's also a sophomore.

What blows my mind is that he repeatedly takes a beating out here, while Kopp avoids almost any criticism. Kopp has one friggin' job ... shoot three pointers to open up the offense. And he does it poorly.

Guess who takes more shots and is shooting 6% better than Kopp from 3 in the conference?

Kopp had that game yesterday and somebody out here still called him an "elite" shooter yesterday. At best, he's a good shooter ... on a given day.

Meanwhile, Kopp's a lousy rebounder for a 6-7 guy (.9 more than the 6-2 Buie) and his defense is at least as bad as Buie's.

But nobody says a word about Kopp. You guys need to get over your problems with Buie. I'm not saying he's All-B10, but if you're going to piss all over someone game after game, at least do it with some objectivity. At least, Buie shows up every once in a while.

Buie is hot and cold. Could point to a number of his bad games as well. Kopp is taking good open shots and missing. Buie is often taking shots that are pretty low % at best. If they go in, great but if not they often lead to break outs. That is why Buie is called out while Kopp is not. Also for a couple years, Kopp has been our most consistent player. Makes me wonder if he is dinged up. Kopp had 6 rebounds last night. And as far as D at his position, not really a lot of choices since Beran often gets in foul trouble

I felt last night that they had to get Kopp a cut to the basket to get him going. He needed to see the ball go in. But they never got it to him in that position

 

[willycat]

Given the current environment in sports with transfers it would be surprising if we don't lose a few players

I can think of a couple don't won't be missed.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Been hearing that for at least 30 B1G games.

NU fans don't need much to get hope. We get hope after slaughtering AR Pine Bluff.

You mean 30 Years.

 

[ricko6543211]

Nice win for the Cats! Back-to-back wins sure do feel good!

The fact that NU could win with Kopp shooting 0-11 and missing 8 three-pointers is not something I thought was possible. But Buie, Audige and Nance stepped up big time, Young was efficient as always and even Greer and Berry had their moments.

how long until someone does the annual exercise of running through the roster by position and pointing out that we've never had as much quality depth of talent in history as we will next year, and some of it might need some developing still, but seriously it ought to be a good season?

i think that every single year since i've started watching this board that happens, it's like a rite of passage or something.

 

[ricko6543211]

Buie is hot and cold. Could point to a number of his bad games as well. Kopp is taking good open shots and missing. Buie is often taking shots that are pretty low % at best. If they go in, great but if not they often lead to break outs. That is why Buie is called out while Kopp is not. Also for a couple years, Kopp has been our most consistent player. Makes me wonder if he is dinged up. Kopp had 6 rebounds last night. And as far as D at his position, not really a lot of choices since Beran often gets in foul trouble

I felt last night that they had to get Kopp a cut to the basket to get him going. He needed to see the ball go in. But they never got it to him in that position

i have also been wondering if Kopp is hurt. he just seems very slow and tentative with the ball the last month plus. on the other hand, it could be as simple as missing shots is hampering his confidence and making him hesitant all around on offense. whatever it is, it hasn't been good. hoping he can turn it around with a strong finish to this year, and into next year.

i've long since said that we should run better off ball action with Kopp, get him moving and set off-ball screens with plays specifically designed to get him open looks. however, he isn't helping himself right now either, doesn't seem to be making great effort to cut / get open (with the exception of in transition, though that was mostly earlier in the season and opponents seem to have figured out that he slides to the 3 pt line when we get it in transition). he is mostly relying on others to get him shots, and i suspect being static does not help mentally with his current shooting slump.

 

[GatoLouco]

how long until someone does the annual exercise of running through the roster by position and pointing out that we've never had as much quality depth of talent in history as we will next year, and some of it might need some developing still, but seriously it ought to be a good season?

i think that every single year since i've started watching this board that happens, it's like a rite of passage or something.

No need to wait for next season. The current roster already has more talent than ever before, tourney team included.

It's just my opinion and loads of folks here believe it's an illusion that the talent level was raised. I don't, I see height, weight, athleticism (even if speed is still below B1G average) as never before.

It's not next season we will have it. We have it right now, just can't translate it into wins.

 

[JournCat]

No need to wait for next season. The current roster already has more talent than ever before, tourney team included.

It's just my opinion and loads of folks here believe it's an illusion that the talent level was raised. I don't, I see height, weight, athleticism (even if speed is still below B1G average) as never before.

It's not next season we will have it. We have it right now, just can't translate it into wins.

I'm holding my Pete Nance stock until he graduates and believe in several other current players. But Vic Law, Scottie Lindsey, and Pardon would destroy this team. And the three point guards must really take it from Mac in practice.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I'm holding my Pete Nance stock until he graduates and believe in several other current players. But Vic Law, Scottie Lindsey, and Pardon would destroy this team. And the three point guards must really take it from Mac in practice.

All 4 of those guys would be the best player on this team. There are starting to improve the depth and I believe there is a legitimate argument we are stronger 5-12. However, you need that talent at the top of the roster.

 

[willycat]

These wins give everyone hope. Helps to keep anyone on the fence from transferring.

And there could be more to come in the BTT!

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

No need to wait for next season. The current roster already has more talent than ever before, tourney team included.

It's just my opinion and loads of folks here believe it's an illusion that the talent level was raised. I don't, I see height, weight, athleticism (even if speed is still below B1G average) as never before.

It's not next season we will have it. We have it right now, just can't translate it into wins.

I disagree strongly. Not only would I take Vic Law, Pardon and B-Mac over anyone on this team, I would take Crawford, Shurna and (maybe Juice) over anyone on this team as well.

 

[GatoLouco]

No need to disagree by comparing lineups. I'd take all those myself. But I still believe there is more talent 1-9 in this roster. Talent that has not been developed enough, has not matured enough, has not lived up to its potential.

 

[SDakaGordie]

Does anyone have insight as to how Carmody developed individual players? I can’t imagine he did anything but teach them his very complex offensive and defensive systems, which paid dividends in getting us more wins than our talent wound suggest we should get because they were so ingenious. Collins is known to have complex sets as well, so I’m not sure he’s lagging way far behind in that regard. If someone can help me understand who really was so much better individually as they aged in Carmody’s program, then I might start believing Collins has not done this. As of now, I don’t recall it, so I’m sticking with my opinion it’s not Collins’ fault. We still have less talent (albeit more than we used to top to bottom) than other teams. (Penn State is way more talented than us, for example). It’s just not easy to automatically start getting better recruits. It’s a long haul, so let’s not give up yet.

 

[wildcatpn]

Does anyone have insight as to how Carmody developed individual players? I can’t imagine he did anything but teach them his very complex offensive and defensive systems, which paid dividends in getting us more wins than our talent wound suggest we should get because they were so ingenious. Collins is known to have complex sets as well, so I’m not sure he’s lagging way far behind in that regard. If someone can help me understand who really was so much better individually as they aged in Carmody’s program, then I might start believing Collins has not done this. As of now, I don’t recall it, so I’m sticking with my opinion it’s not Collins’ fault. We still have less talent (albeit more than we used to top to bottom) than other teams. (Penn State is way more talented than us, for example). It’s just not easy to automatically start getting better recruits. It’s a long haul, so let’s not give up yet.

Saying Penn State is WAY more talented than NU is just asinine. We get it. You love Collins and think he’s a great coach but just stop.