My question is this: How much of a factor was Craig Smith when he was an assistant under Miles? It seems like we haven't played the same as when he was here (when we went to the NCAA). I know he went to South Dakota (Vermillion) and his team has played well this yr, upsetting Minnesota I believe. Maybe Craig was part of the reason the Huskers BB excelled that yr? What say ye?
Question for those who know NU Basketball
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Good thoughts... Reminds me of when Hawkins went to Colorado and sucked while Peterson kept Boise Stste rolling.
The problem is I know nothing about basketball so can't weigh in... Sorry.
I think that losing a top assistant who you have had a lot of success with is a major factor. Those two together seemed to really click. And he has not been replaced. Molinari's defense is not a fit for a small, quicker team. If you are small and do not have a decent post player, you usually want to pressure the ball, get in the passing lanes or pressure full court. Not only does the Miles-Molinari defense not do any of those things, they are playing a style of defense that needs bigger, more physical players.
Losing the other assistant at a really bad time for recruiting probably hurt us more. Smith was a good assistant but our biggest problem right now is inconsistent play from freshmen and mostly bad play from Tai and Benny. They sucked this last game. This team looked very good against Miami then laid an egg. Ideally the freshmen we have to play now would all be redshirting.
IMO, it's not just losing coach Smith but failing to replace him, specifically with an offensive mind, and instead hiring Molinari. Hunter does a good job with scouting and brings instant cred on the recruiting trail, see Watson, White, Gill, Morrow. Curious to see how our new assistant, Beckner, works out.
Craig Smith is a very good coach and he and Miles had great chemistry from working and growing together as coaches. Losing him certainly had a negative impact on the program, particularly on the offensive end as HTO indicates.
That said, we were not as good as we played for a stretch in 13-14 and we were not as bad as we looked most of the year last year. Neither of those things is 100% attributable to the loss of Craig Smith. Lots of other things going on with the team on and off the court.
This is a rebuilding team to an extent as we are very young and dealing with the loss of our best player and several other key players. We are going to be inconsistent. I did not expect the horrible performance we had last night and I do put a lot of the blame for that on Miles in terms of game prep, failure to make adjustments and by appearances simply becoming desperate and putting some crazy lineups on the floor last night.
As bad as last night was (and I would rate it as the worst loss in Mile's tenure here) you can't overreact to one game. Deal with it and try to learn from it and move forward. This was not an NCAA tournament team this season. Hopefully we can grow enough to make that a consideration next year.
That said, we were not as good as we played for a stretch in 13-14 and we were not as bad as we looked most of the year last year. Neither of those things is 100% attributable to the loss of Craig Smith. Lots of other things going on with the team on and off the court.
This is a rebuilding team to an extent as we are very young and dealing with the loss of our best player and several other key players. We are going to be inconsistent. I did not expect the horrible performance we had last night and I do put a lot of the blame for that on Miles in terms of game prep, failure to make adjustments and by appearances simply becoming desperate and putting some crazy lineups on the floor last night.
As bad as last night was (and I would rate it as the worst loss in Mile's tenure here) you can't overreact to one game. Deal with it and try to learn from it and move forward. This was not an NCAA tournament team this season. Hopefully we can grow enough to make that a consideration next year.
Not trying to stir up an argument about bad losses, but I am still in disbelief we lost to a team named Incarnate Word.
Understood but actually that Incarnate Word team last year was pretty decent - at least as good as the Samford team we played last night (which FWIW is a good team for their level). But as bad as the Incarnate Word loss was last year it was a game that went down to the wire and took some pretty flukey things in the last minute for us to lose. Last night we pretty much got our *** handed to us in the 2nd half.
Chris Mullen just lost to them, a week or so after beating Syracuse. Not only that, he followed up the Incarante loss with a loss to NJIT, both at home. **** happens.
Coach Smith took a paycut when he became HC. Went from $206K to $185K, so buying him back isn't an option. I think if you're Miles you have to find a better assistant to replace Mo: an offensive minded coach, do a lot of research on him, and open up the checkbook.
I agree. Do you know if Beckner comes in more known as offensive or defensive minded? Or maybe neither if he has skills elsewhere that would help?
Actually South Dakota has no state income tax, has lower vehicle license fees, has lower sales tax, and Clay county has lower property taxes than Lincoln. His real disposable income ends up being about the same by living in South Dakota as it was in Lincoln at the higher salary. Now living in Vermillion isn't quite as attractive for me as Lincoln but it's a great town for a guy with small children. Terrific schools and very small town. I know at least one other guy that moved from coaching at a high level in a D-1 sport to a small college to move home to South Dakota to raise his family and hunt. The quality of life is outstanding.
I live in the county just east of Clay (Union), and I approve this message.
I can say that our offense looks extremely bad right now, and I think it ties more into the fact that we have four Freshman playing significant minutes. Also a big factor is our post defense, we are getting scorched down low and not sure how we fix that without a big.
Keep your figures crossed we land this Texas A&M transfer Elijah Thomas who is visiting on December 29th. He was the #31 overall recruit in 2014 and #8 center in the country coming out of High School
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/161990/elijah-thomas
No Miles doesn't know who number 3 is... Who do you think it is Webster or Watson?
That's what I'm hoping for. His presence could automatically make a few guys on the team better. Too bad we'll have to wait a year for him to be able to play, IF he comes here.
I think it has made a difference and if this season turns out like last year then Miles needs to fire and rehire some assistants or he should be gone. My take on the loss to Samford
1. Horrid shooting which is inexcusable, they had great looks
2. They played lazy the whole game until the last 5 min. Total BS
3. Miles did a horrible job so substituting in the last 3 minutes
4. Hammond should never see the floor. Who missed on this recruit? WOW just WOW
1. Horrid shooting which is inexcusable, they had great looks
2. They played lazy the whole game until the last 5 min. Total BS
3. Miles did a horrible job so substituting in the last 3 minutes
4. Hammond should never see the floor. Who missed on this recruit? WOW just WOW
It is my understanding that if he commits before the second semester starts he is eligible for next year. At least that is what I think I've been reading?
Would become eligible for the second semester next year. Could not play until first semester was over so would miss the early games.
Me too, but it sure doesn't seem Miles knows that... Benny Parker is still starting and getting 20+ <- not a good decision by our coach
Not sure, my guess is both with more of an emphasis on offense. Looking forward to see what he does with a season under his belt, plus recruiting.
South Dakota doesn't have lower sales taxes, just a lower sales tax rate. The overall tax burden is probably lower in South Dakota than in Nebraska, but S.D.'s sales tax burden is a lot heavier than most people think. It's one of four states with a notoriously broad sales tax base:
http://taxfoundation.org/blog/sales-tax-word-warning-hawaii-new-mexico-south-dakota-and-wyoming
I've lived in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota, where I've been for 17 yrs now, and it isn't even close. South Dakota wins by a large margin. No corporate, no personal, very reasonable real estate, vehicle license, 4 % state, 2% local sales tax. Not to mention some great walleye fishing and great pheasant hunting, deer hunting, and a healthy population of mountain kitties in the Black Hills region. (Had to throw that in there). Plus the gas right now is $1.65 in Sioux Falls area.
I didn't say the overall tax burden isn't lower in South Dakota - I'm certain that it is. I just said South Dakota's sales tax burden is much higher than the rate suggests.
Some states do the same thing with income taxes by claiming they have a low rate, but allow fewer exemptions and credits than the IRS allows.
I like Watson's upside but I think he makes so many mistakes and so often looks to break down a D for his own shot (which isn't that good).
I think he's 2 years away as is Morrow and I like the upside of Morrow more than Watson.
Hope I'm wrong.
I don't see that at all with Watson. He's the only guy on the roster that can break down a defense, so I'll take the mistakes with a true freshmen, it's valuable game experience that should have him fully ready as a sophomore.