Posted by Alex Moscoso (@AlexPMoscoso) on October 25th, 2013
Most college basketball fans haven’t been paying attention to what’s happening in Lincoln. And honestly, unless they know a Cornhusker personally, why would they? The Nebraska program has been mostly abysmal since its inception. In its 118-year history, the basketball team has only made the NCAA Tournament five times and has yet to get past the first round. It’s won only 20 games once in the last decade and hasn’t been ranked since 1994 when part of something completely foreign called the Big 8. Despite all that, fans may want to start paying attention to the team in the state not named Creighton; otherwise they may miss the story arc of a program rising from the ashes. How’s that? Well, largely because the boosters and athletic department in recent years have decided to finally start investing in basketball.
Tim Miles has another tough season ahead of him, but he has the tools around him to right the ship. (Getty)
It started four years ago with the decision to build an $18.7 million, 84,000 square feet practice facility. Next, the administration green-lit the construction of a brand new $179 million, 15,000 seat arena which will open this year. Nebraska fans have responded in kind by selling out the Cornhuskers’ first season in the shiny new building. And last year, the program hired a young and well-respected head coach in Tim Miles from Colorado State. They were able to lure him to Lincoln by offering a competitive Big Ten salary – he is set to make $1.5 million this year. But perhaps more importantly, they promised Miles he would have the resources to pay his assistant coaches competitive salaries as well. True to their word, the university has stepped up. Currently, all three assistant coaches make $200,000 or more, which, in terms of college basketball, is on the high end for an assistant coach.
Throughout the preseason, the Big Ten microsite will be rolling out the featured breakdowns of each of the 12 league schools. Today’s release is the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Where we left off: Nebraska’s inaugural year in the Big Ten was about as rough as expected. The Huskers finished 12-18 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten in a year that culminated with head coach Doc Sadler’s firing. The defining moment of the year was a one-point home win over Indiana, but there were also a number of bad losses and a general lack of talent. This year, Nebraska is in rebuilding mode with new coach Tim Miles. Miles enjoyed success at Colorado State and is joining the program just as the school is starting to invest in it. He could eventually have a bright future in Lincoln, but there’s not much to work with right now.
New Coach Tim Miles Has A Lot Of Work To Do In The Coming Months To Get Nebraska On Track (AP)
Positives: Perhaps the only positive surrounding Nebraska basketball right now is that there is a new energy with a new coach. Sadler could never get the program over the hump and Miles brings a new attitude. He’s very popular on social media and even tweeted at halftime of the Huskers’ exhibition game that they needed to improve. There isn’t much to look forward to in the lineup other than forward Brandon Ubel, who will be the face of the program this year. However, freshman Benny Parker is an unknown at point guard who could surprise some people.
Negatives: Plain and simple, this isn’t a very talented roster. Nebraska lost its best player, Bo Spencer, to graduation, and Tim McCray, Jorge Brian Diaz and Brandon Richardson are all gone as well. Dylan Talley is back, but when he and Ubel are the best returning players, that’s a serious problem for the Huskers. Andre Almeida returns after missing all of last year with an injury, but along with Ubel and Talley, he also lacks star ability. Not only will Miles’ team be inexperienced, but it also doesn’t have a go-to player or someone capable of taking over the game.
Nebraska was expected to be a bottom-feeder in the tough Big Ten in its first year as a member and, quite frankly, the Huskers didn’t disappoint. Nebraska finished the year last in the conference, tied with Penn State, and enjoyed just 12 wins overall. But plenty has changed since March. The Huskers have made improvements to their facilities and, most importantly, have made a change at the top by bringing in former Colorado State coach Tim Miles. The biggest question is: How will Nebraska adapt after one year in the conference? Can they take what they learned in their freshman season and make the necessary adjustments and improvements for their sophomore campaign? Only time will tell, but it all starts in the summer.
Can Nebraska do better than one big win this year? (J. Hannah/LJS)
Evaluating Last Year: Nebraska was a weak team in a relatively weak conference before coming to the Big Ten, where it was an equally weak team in a much stronger conference. It didn’t help that the Big Ten was at its best last season, but that means it can only get easier for the Cornhuskers the rest of the way… right? Maybe. The Huskers played a decent non-conference schedule — with USC, Oregon, Wake Forest, Creighton and Central Michigan on the slate — but really hit a wall in Big Ten play. Their best win of the year, by far, was at home against Indiana on January 18, and the Huskers dropped nine of their last 10 contests. Basically, any season in which the head coach is fired afterward can’t be considered much of a success.
State of the Program: The only place to go is up. And it seems that things are pointed in that direction, despite NU’s recent history. Doc Sadler was at the helm for six seasons (five of them in the Big 12) without leading the Huskers to the NCAA Tournament once, but Miles, who took Colorado State from 7-25 in his first season in 2007-08 to 20-12 last year, could be a difference-maker. He also has the benefit of the brand-new $18.7 million, 84,000-square foot Hendricks Training Center, which has new practice gyms, locker rooms and team rooms for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. It’s already helped to land some transfers, including Terran Petteway (Texas Tech) and Walter Pitchford (Florida), who will sit out this season but can practice with the club and should provide a lift down the road. Nebraska may not have performed well in recent years but there’s a clean slate in Lincoln and plenty for Miles to work with to attract potential recruits and fans. Read the rest of this entry »
With the completion of the NBA Draft and the annual coaching and transfer carousels nearing their ends, RTC is rolling out a new series, RTC Summer Updates, to give you a crash course on each Division I conference during the summer months. Our latest update comes courtesy of our Big Ten correspondent, Will Green.
Readers’ Take
Summer Storylines
Sully’s Back, But With Demands – In the year 2011, in the age of ‘now,’ in a profit-first educate-yourself-later society, amidst a flittering of teenage NBA draft picks, ferocious freshman phenomenon Jared Sullinger decided to stay in school. How quaint. Of course, there’s absolutely nothing quaint about Sullinger, his (rightly) assumed sense of on-court leadership, his brutally physical style of play, or that Ja Rule–esque snarl that makes him look like a squirrel who just ate a questionable nut. But seriously, it’s highly unlikely that anyone other than Jordan Taylor will stand in the way of Sullinger winning the Big Ten Player of the Year Award, and rightfully so. He has spent the better part of the off-season slimming down and getting faster. The best player on the best team in the conference simply can’t suffer a slump; he’s worked too hard and has clearly made a commitment to improving his game before leaving for the pros. The question is less about what Sullinger’s level of performance will be than it is about the effect his performance will have on other members of his team. Last year, his 17 /10 were a reflection of consistent contribution that was also part of a greater team-wide cohesion. Jon Diebler, David Lighty and even Dallas Lauderdale each had pronounced and vital roles on last year’s team. They’re all gone now. While some of the supporting cast and several new stars-in-the-making will join Sullinger, will increased reliance upon him make OSU more of a one-man show? Or will the Buckeyes continue to roll out a team-focused squad with four scorers in double figures and a core group of five guys who notch 30 minutes a game? Whatever happens, Sullinger will be back and he will be better than last year. Consider yourself warned.
Welcome, Nebraska – On July 1, Nebraska officially joined the B1G, an acronym whose ludicrousness we continue to subconsciously validate by pronouncing it ‘Bih-one-ggg’. If you’re scoring at home, UNL’s entry makes for 12 teams in the Big Ten, a conference that shouldn’t be confused with the Big 12, which only has ten teams now since Nebraska left it. Now that we’ve all scratched our heads for second, we should pause to consider how massive the amount of potential football revenue must have been to persuade the intransigent Big Ten to alter its ranks. The Cornhuskers’ inclusion marks only the second change in league makeup since the 1950s. So how will the other 11 schools adjust to the adjustment? Football-wise, they should all watch their backs. On the basketball court, though, it probably won’t have a big (or should we say, a ‘B1G’) impact. Sadly for Husker fans, their roundball team loses two of their top three scorers and has some major offensive issues to solve in a league whose tempo of play limits even the country’s very best offenses. Head coach Doc Sadler continues to recruit a healthy mix of transfers and high school players, but over his five-year tenure nine of them have left due to reasons other than matriculation or the NBA. Nebraska has had some encouraging moments in recent years, including a five game improvement in Big 12 play from 2009 to 2010 (from 2-14 to 7-9). The team’s defensive efficiency would’ve finished fourth and it’s adjusted tempo would’ve finished fourth slowest in last year’s Big Ten. In some respects, Nebraska feels like a perfect match for the conference. And yet, for many of those same reasons, it might be a little out-matched in its first few years.
Ed DeChellis Leaves For Navy – Nowadays, stories like these are rarer than that bloody slice of carpaccio you once had at a fancy restaurant: a coach leaving a higher paying, higher-infrastructure, higher strength-of-schedule situation for a middle of the pack team in a unambiguously low-major conference. Make no mistake: Ed DeChellis didn’t become the new head coach at Navy. He stopped being the head coach at Penn State. Unless they’re ousted via scandal or especially egregious results you simply don’t hear about power six coaches voluntarily leaving for a “lesser” job. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. Or is it? The answer to that question centers around just how much “less” of a job the Navy coaching position really is, and if anything DeChellis might have done warranted the move. The wink-wink nudge-nudge consensus is that while DeChellis didn’t necessarily knock anyone’s socks off, the school refuses to take basketball seriously. Some have lambasted the athletic department’s commitment to DeChellis and the program overall at a school that’s known best for intense linebackers and an 84 year-old Italian-American man. It will be interesting to observe new head coach Patrick Chambersin his first few seasons and see whether or not he runs into a similar set of struggles as DeChellis did during his tenure. If the holistic drawbacks of coaching in University Park really outweigh the benefits to the extent that someone would walk away from the position, then PSU has bigger problems to fix than figuring out how to win in the Big Ten this season. But if anyone can overcome whatever said “drawbacks” may or may not be, it’s Chambers.
The Buckeyes, led by big man Jared Sullinger, are easy favorites in the Big Ten.
Matt McKillip is the RTC correspondent for the America East Conference.
Around The America East:
A Carousel for Two:Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz jumped ship after his program took a sharp decline following a 2008 run to the AE title; he will join Penn as an assistant coach. Taking the reins is former Hartford assistant John Gallagher…who served last season as a Penn assistant.
Just a Fling:Binghamton‘s All-America East performer Greer Wright filed for a transfer waiver and flirted with the idea of attending Connecticut or Cincinnati before deciding to return to Binghamton for his senior season.
The Departed: Binghamton was less fortunate with last season’s AE Rookie of the Year, Dylan Talley, who decided to take his services elsewhere. Other notable transfers are Vermont’s All-Defensive team player Garvey Young and UMBC leading scorer Chauncey Gilliam, who packed his bags for Akron.
Big Haul: After having only three players left on Boston University‘s roster at the end of last season’s AE runner-up finish, second-year head coach Patrick Chambers hauled in a seven-man recruiting class to surround the league’s premier player, John Holland.
Break Out the Vegemite: Coach Will Brown and his Albany Great Danes have welcomed freshman Luke Devlin from Australia to campus. The 6’8 Aussie has three-point range and should quickly become a favorite among a fan base eager for something to cheer about.
Catching On With the Clippers:Vermont standout Marqus Blakely received a two-year, partially guaranteed contract with the LA Clippers and has angled himself towards a spot on the roster.
Star swingman John Holland is a powerful weapon for BU, but will he be able to power the Terriers into the Big Dance?
Power Rankings:
Boston University: The Terriers’ hopes revolve around two-time all-conference star John Holland, the heir apparent to the AE POY title. An NCAA trip is hardly guaranteed – an exodus of senior guards leaves BU with only three returning players (none of whom are guards) and many question marks. The loss of Corey Lowe especially hurts; the four-year starter carried the Terriers to last year’s title game when teams cued in on Holland, the league leader in scoring. During the AE tournament, Holland was held to an eFG of 38% and 10.3 PPG, well below his season averages of 52% and 19.9, respectively. Alongside Holland, BU returns 2009 AE ROY Jake O’Brien, who can score in volume, and hard-nosed center Jeff Pelage, who is a banger inside. Former Marquette swingman Patrick Hazel should make his presence felt immediately, but the most pressing question is which of the four incoming freshman and two transfer guards will land the role of primary ball handler.
Maine: Maine’s defense propelled them to a surprising 11-5 conference record last year, but the Black Bears were promptly upset by New Hampshire in the first round of the conference tournament. Despite the setback, they are well-positioned to build on last year’s success. They graduated Junior Bernal, an all-league defender, but the core of their lineup returns. Central to the offense is all-league guard Gerald McLemore, the league leader in three-point field goals. Last season, the offense exhibited a tendency to stall if opponents could take McLemore’s shot away (as UNH did in the tournament). Help could be on the way for the offense in the form of juco transfer Raheem Singleton, a point guard whose game and appearance is eerily reminiscent of former Pittsburgh floor general Levance Fields. Maine fans are also excited about incoming forward Alasdair Fraser, who has had a stellar summer playing for Scotland in the European under-18 championships, and could form a formidable frontcourt alongside Sean McNally.
Stony Brook: Stony Brook won the conference regular season title, but will have to defend that title without conference POY Muhammed El-Amin, who graduated in the spring. What was a very effective supporting cast will be forced into a starring role. The identity of the team will likely flow from Tommy Brenton, the best defensive big man in the league at only 6’5. Brenton personifies hustle and is a rebounding machine – he averaged nearly ten boards per game last season. The x-factor for the Seawolves is speedy guard Chris Martin. He was one of the best in the nation in drawing fouls and should continue to frustrate opposing guards, especially if he can improve his jump shot (44% from the floor last year). The emergence of Martin is essential to keeping the defense from focusing on marksman Bryan Dougher, who led the AE in three-point shooting percentage. Read the rest of this entry »
Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the America East Conference.
Standings
Stony Brook 5-2
Vermont 4-4
Maine 3-3
New Hampshire 2-3
Albany 3-5
Binghamton 3-5
Hartford 2-6
Boston University 2-6
UMBC 0-6
Hottest Team. Stony Brook
We still have to see what the Seawolves do once they start playing better competition, but they have beaten the teams they should have and lost the games we expected. Regardless, they are the only team in the conference with a winning record, and what more can you ask from a team other than that.
Stud Player. Maurice Joseph (G) Vermont – 14.8 ppg, 40% three-point. Joseph has taken the step. Vermont needed a scorer this year that could take over if Marqus Blakely was taken out of the game by the opposing team. Joseph became that and more in the past couple games. It will be interesting to see if Joseph can continue this throughout the year.
