It had nothing to do with our amateur college players playing against professionals in foreign leagues but were classified as amateurs by the IOC?
Not that it matters....
- Thread starter ru66
- Start date
The foreign players were always professionals. The US amateur college players were much better until about 1988.
Can someone explain the meaning of this sentence from the linked article?You have to guess he hurt it strength training … he needs it.
Newest Nebraska Cornhuskers guard out for remainder of summer workouts
As the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team ramps up for its post-NCAA Tournament season, it’s going to be down one more player. Already missing Rienk Mast forhuskercorner.com
"Griffiths not missing a ton of time and expected to be back in the fall is especially because of just how much the Nebraska Cornhuskers roster has changed."
That is just a horribly written sentence. but for what its worth the next sentence clarifies what the "writer" means: "Head coach Fred Hoiberg is going to need to get as many practices together as they can possibly get in order to get back to the NCAA Tournament."
what he is TRYING to say: "Griffith's is not expected to miss much time and is expected back in the fall. That is positive news since the amount of roster turnover will require as many practices together as possible if they hope to get back to the NCAA Tournament"
Yeah, I figured "good" or "important" or "good news" could have followed especially. Earlier in the day, when my brain was not fully engaged, my eyes were burning reading that, especially _____________. 😁
Imo, Gavin gets a harsher reaction than other transfers for a couple of reasons that are both fair:
(1) He went out of his way to portray himself as this different kind of kid who would never transfer no matter what only to transfer at the first available opportunity.
(2) His stated reasons for transferring are at odds with reality in a way that reflects negatively on our program in an unfair way.
That said, I hope he heals up and gets his fair shot to compete at Nebraska. I won’t be rooting for him any more than any other random player, but I certainly am NOT rooting for him to get hurt or otherwise deprived of an opportunity to succeed.
It’ll be interesting to see who has more of an impact - PJ Hayes at RU or GG at Nebraska. I see those two as the direct swap that we made.
Hayes' impact also includes leadership and coaching up the younger guys, something that GG won't be able to do.
Even if Hayes doesn't get enough minutes to make a big impact, that doesn't mean we would've been better off with GG here no matter what he does at Nebraska. What if GG would have struggled to earn minutes over someone like Derkack because of his superior defense? It sounds like we have more depth than Nebraska this season.
that sentence was a train wreck - missing words was only 1 of the reasons you couldn't understand it.
that never occurred to me and frankly I dont agree.
based on his ranking GG was supposed to be so much more than just a shooter. he was expected to be a more dynamic scorer (or atleast develop into one). Hayes is only projected to be a sharp shooter GG was projected (by many) to come in, start, and set the world on fire. I think its easy to say that expectations for Hayes are far less.
If Hayes outperforms GG than that is REALLY telling.
I dont see the one-to-one comparison. I mean what happens if Martini lights it up and/ or Acuff and/or Derkack score major buckets. why wouldnt they qualify as the replacement for GG?
Frankly, I look at the class as a whole. The transfer class that went OUT versus the transfer class coming IN. Can anyone argue that the class coming IN doesnt appear to be FAR superior to that going out (I mean absent Cliff.......)
This.
Other than your last sentence, though. On paper, Omoruyi and Griffiths are the 2 highest ranked players of all the players leaving and coming in.
You could argue both Acuff and Derkack were better players than Griffiths, by a margin, LAST season, for each of their respective teams (including Griffiths for RU). But Griffiths still has 3-level scoring potential, is still very athletic, and has length. And we think Martini and Hayes fit particular needs, as KNOWN good 3-point shooters, and as older players.
FYI:
I'd rather still have Griffiths, but he was obviously unwilling to play the role at RU this coming season that Pikiell had for him (off the bench, for sure). And/or maybe there was NIL money involved - maybe RU was unwilling to put up the NIL $$ Griffiths may have wanted to stay (just pure speculation on my part).
What is interesting is that it appears Griffiths is not slated to start for Nebraska, a team projected to finish behind RU by most this coming season. Their starting guards would appear to be a Utah transfer as PG, Brice Williams at 2G (kind of what Griffiths was supposed to be, but is not, at least not yet), Juwan Gary at WF, and 2 post players at PF and C (Buyuktuncel from UCLA and Meah from U Wash). It is not even clear where Griffiths is on the reserve pecking order. Conor Essegian from Wisconsin transferred in, and is essentially a similar role as Griffiths, with similar skill set (though 6'4" not 6'8") ... Essegian had a terrible season as a sophomore last year for Wisconsin - though he still had better shooting percentages than did Griffiths (after a terrific season as a frosh - kind of what we RU fans were hoping for from Griffiths, FYI) - apparently his undoing at Wisconsin, why he lost so much playing time, was a combination of AJ Storr transferring in, taking his spot, and extremely poor defense ... ring a bell? The coach's son, Sam Hoiberg is back (though a PG at 6'0"). Ahron Ulis transferred in, a proven guard reserve (can play the 1, 2 and 3). And they brought in a JUCO WF, Justin Bolin - you never know with JUCO's, of course, but he did shoot 37%+ from 3 averaging 15+ PPG in JUCO ...
Sounds like Griffiths, Ulis, Bolin and Essegian (4 players) are competing for reserve minutes at the 2G and WF slots ... and you know that Brice Williams, as the best returning player, is going to average 30 mpg, and they brought in a top flight PG from Utah, who should probably average 25+ mpg ... and Juwan Gary is their best "3" and "4" defender, so barring foul trouble he should get 25 mpg. That only leaves 25 mpg for those 4 players (though Ulis may get some run at PG reserve, along with Hoiberg) ... but still even if Ulis ONLY backs up at PG, then Essegian, Griffiths and Bolin will fight for 25 mpg combined. About the role and minutes what Griffiths would have battled for with RU, eh? And Pikiell would surely have told Griffiths that with the 1 and done duo leaving, a starting slot was up for grabs for Griffiths JUNIOR season.
Anyway, we'll never really know why and how this happened.
Hayes or Derkack are the ones that aren't here if GG is. Acuff replaces Simpson, but we needed a veteran scorer either way. Martini is here because of Mag/Cliff leaving.
I can make the case that what left is superior to what came in, but it's all based on future performance. Cliff vs no Cliff is a loss. We never brought in a 3rd big. Acuff vs Simpson should be a plus but depends on what year 3 Simpson looks like. Martini vs a healthy Mag? Very different players. What does a 2nd year GG do compared to the Derkack/Hayes combo? Would it shock me if GG matches the production of the other two. No, it wouldnt. We expect Hayes will shoot well, but how much will he play to shoot? We've heard whispers Derkack may be a little behind where we expected him to be.
Is that true? I do not recall any such whispers. Unless some thought Derkack would start (which I never did).
I expected Derkack to vie for perhaps 15 mpg, and have a learning curve on defense (from a Defensive Player of the Year in a 100% zone defense scheme to RU's Man defense). IF he gets less than 15 mpg it MAY be because Hayes is such a good 3-point shooter that he has to get minutes at the 3 ... or Acuff and Davis are so good they need more minutes ... not necessarily because Derkack is "behind." I do think there is a CHANCE, depending on recruiting and transfers, Derkack could be a starter TWO years from now, especially if he can improve his 3-point shooting to at least the low 30's (22% as a frosh, 27% as a soph ... this year as a Junior ???).
They were just whispers, but I got the impression it meant he may not be in the rotation. Could be completely wrong. I seriously have no idea what to expect from Derkack.
I also am not sure what to expect ... nor from Acuff, frankly.
Unless Grant and/or Dortch move ahead of him, I find it hard to believe Derkack isn't in the rotation:
Center: Ogbole, Sommerville and 5 mpg of Martini
PF (the 4): Martini, with Hayes when Martini is not on the floor ... maybe Bailey plays some minutes here also ... Grant?
WF (the 3): Bailey ... Derkack I would expect to be the primary back-up here ... but ... RU could go with 3 guards at times also, when Bailey rests, or plays some mpg at the 4.
Guards: Harper and J. Williams, backed up by Acuff and Davis.
So ... Derkack, as well as Hayes, Grant ... Dortch (?) really have to battle it out for reserve minutes at perhaps 2 positions: WF and the 4 ... maybe only 30 mpg total between the 3 and the 4 positions (Bailey playing 30 mpg, Martini playing 20 mpg at the 4 and 5 mpg at Center).
Hey, in a really wacky world, does Bailey have enough ball handling skills for RU to go REALLY LONG, and have Harper or Williams at the 1, Bailey at the 2, Dortch at the 3, Martini at the 4 and Ogbole or Sommerville at the 5? Not often, but every once in a blue moon? I do not see it, but ... it would be interesting, eh, for sh*ts and giggles?
I’m not going by Gavin’s recruiting projection. Based on what I saw from him last year he was a sharp shooter who had lost his touch (probably temporarily) and who was starting at square one on D. He has more athletic ability than PJ but I did not see any signs of GG excelling as an offensive player other than to trust that shooters shoot and he’ll eventually find his high school touch. PJ is the polar opposite on D - athletic shortcomings but a veteran who understands where he needs to be and plays smart. I’m going to go out on a lim and say his D will be an upgrade over Gavin’s. I guess we’ll see.
We had a play where the 5 would screen down for him. We ran it like 4 times all year.
He wasn’t making shots. There was no reason to run the offense through him. The notion that we should’ve done more is ridiculous.
You really think an NEC guy was our highest ranked transfer? Sometimes you have to think for yourself and not assume someone else’s opinion is correct. He was always going to be playing behind Acuff in the rotation.
I’m not disagreeing, but Derkack potentially brings something the other recruits don’t in his defense. The fact that he played in a zone system is more the question for me than the NEC. The talent gap between the NEC, MAC and where PJ played matter more in terms of offensive productivity. Defensive mechanics will transfer - and Derek has the best fundamentals of the bunch. I think he’ll earn time when we run press. I’m not sure the other newcoming transfers will.
Yeah, I took that news as may not make the rotation unless he showed improvement between then and the season. Agree Acuff and probably Martini (despite my thoughts) were always the top two guys we brought in for real PT this year.
Martini was clearly a HUGE focus. RU was on him it seemed even before the portal opened. Pikiell obviously saw something in Martini he really wanted ... his maturity, leadership and 3-point shooting, would be my guess ... and his willingness to play second fiddle to 2 star frosh.
I think that was true of all of the portal guys RU brought in: It had to be obvious to any potential transfers in that Bailey and Harper would get their lead minutes, lead offensive roles ... and Williams probably not far behind. Meaning ANY Wings or Guards transferring in would have to be satisfied with subsidiary roles. That inherently limits who you can get, eh? You're not likely to be able to get a "star" transfer willing to be a supporting piece, I would not think. So that willingness to play 2nd fiddle, and to be a supporting role, becomes a significant factor in who Pikiell could bring in, no?
Then why did he play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can we stop with the stupidity? If the team was playing well last year, he doesn't play nearly as much as he did.
He didn't ... he lost a TON of playing time from the 1st 7-8 games of the season through most of the season until the last 4 games. And he only played in those last 4 games because the team had basically given up, the staff was desperate for any potential scoring, and Griffiths' defense finally appeared to be just a little below average rather than "ole".
I mean, there weren’t many alternatives.
We ran a few plays for him early. He didn’t execute. his playing time was reduced but it’s true he wasn’t fully eliminated from the rotation the way another player might have been while performing comparably poorly. Pike kind of hedged his bet there it seemed. He though Gavin was in it for the long haul so he was going to continue to give the kid an opportunity to check into the game and break out of his slump. He didn’t get enough PT for things to run through him though.
Noah, Hyatt, Austin, Oskar.
Our season could have been completely different if he didnt hand minutes to Gavin. Do we lose Princeton? Game 1?
You're really grasping at straws at this point.
Hyatt and Noah averaged more minutes. Austin if I recall had a nagging injury. All three players were inconsistent (peaks and valleys) from game to game. That pretty much means you are leaving it to Oskar and saying bemching Gavin in favor of an end of bench type would have turned the season around. Not buying it.
Much more likely that Gavin was a great shooter in practice and Pike was looking to catch lightning in a bottle with him during games.
I am pretty confident i have this one right…although we will never know.
If you think chemistry was good.
If you think all players were willing passers to him
then i am wrong
We have most posters saying we shouldnt have run plays for Gavin and almost everyone agrees he was terrible on D….why would he play AND why would players who were bettter that watch Gavin play over them not be upset?
Then dont stick him in the corner. Run the action you had with the 5 down screen on the wing.
Trust me I am a huge Pike fan! He screwed this one up. He set Gavin up to fail.
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