2008-2009 Husker Basketball Season Recap

March 26, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under News, Season Recap.

 Coach Sadler

It’s been a little over a week since the Husker’s season ended with a loss to New Mexico in the first round of the NIT tournament. Now that I’ve had some time to sit back and reflect back on this season, I felt that a recap was in order.

Off-season struggles

The story of Nebraska’s 2008-2009 basketball season began well before any games were played. The offseason was not kind to the NU program as they learned in late May that prized recruit Roburt Sallie was denied entrance by the Big 12 Conference. Unfortunately the fact that Sallie was enrolled briefly back in 2006 led to him being denied entry by the Big 12. The loss of a key recruit was a major blow to the momentum that Sadler and the Huskers had picked up through the 2007-08 season.

NOTE: Sallie ended up playing for John Calipari and the Memphis Tigers. Sallie, who had a quiet season, suddenly became the darling of the Tigers as he led them to a first round NCAA tourney win by hitting 10 three pointers and scoring 35 points against Cal State Northridge. That kind of explosive scoring ability would have been quite helpful for NU this past year.

This lost recruit ended up summing up the tale of the off-season for Coach Sadler as Nebraska appeared to be cursed. The team was desparate to replace Sallie’s scholarship with another player to address their lack of size. They were unable to secure a big man until Brian Diaz comitted in August, little did they know at the time that he would not be admitted to Nebraska until January 2009 and after a few short weeks decided to redshirt. Shortly before the season began, 6-11 Christopher Niemann was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Which then led us to 6-9 Alex Chapman, a redshirt sophomore who waited until a few weeks into the season to leave the team and decide to transfer. Needless to say the Huskers were left with what would be the shortest team in Division I basketball.

Despite the team’s “short”comings, NU pressed on. Coach Sadler knew this team would have a difficult time but if he could get them to give maximum effort and play tough defense they had a chance. Behind the example of 4 seniors Ade Dagunduro, Steve Harley, Paul Velander and Nick Krenk, that’s just what this team did.

Let’s get the season started

The Huskers started the season 6-0 which included a nice win over Creighton before enduring their first 2 losses to Arizona State and Oregon State. After a rebound win over IPFW, the Big Red had their first devastating home loss of the season to UMBC. This was the game that showed how thin the margin for error was for Nebraska. Without an inside presence or a true go-to scorer they would continue to have a tough time scoring points all season. These weaknesses combined with the loss to UMBC foreshadowed a return trip to the NIT.

Big 12 Conference

NU reached Big 12 play with a 10-3 record and came out of the gates with a surprising upset of the Missouri Tigers. This was followed up with a rough stretch that saw the team lose 4 of their next 5 games – a tough road loss to Iowa State, a 2 point overtime loss at home to Oklahoma State, and a close loss at home to Kansas. Although they sat at 2-5 in the conference at this point, Sadler’s team was encouraged by the fact that they had played Blake Griffin and a very good Oklahoma team close on the road and were so close against OSU and KU.

Nebraska then rattled off 2 straight road wins and an impressive upset of Texas to get back to .500 in the conference. As soon as hope had returned that the Huskers could somehow manage their way to an NCAA tournament bid, they dropped 4 of the next 5 games. The most damaging loss of that stretch came when Texas A&M won with a last second shot in Lincoln. NU finished strong winning 2 of their final 3 games to reach 8-8 in the conference for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

Post-season blues

The Big Red clung to a very slim chance that they could still get an at-large NCAA bid if they could get to the championship of the Big 12 tourney. But they faced a difficult challenge having to play Baylor in the first round after having beat them in Waco only 4 days earlier. Baylor, who had underachieved the entire Big 12 season finally started to play up to their potential and sent the Huskers home after a short stay in the tournament and sealing their NIT fate.

Second-straight NIT berth

Nebraska soon learned they would play on in the NIT, earning a #6 seed and traveled to #3 seed New Mexico for a first round game. Hopes were high that NU could string together a run and possibly reach the NIT final four in New York. It wasn’t meant to be however as the Lobos used their home court advantage to eliminate the Big Red from the tournament. The loss ended the Huskers season at 18-13 overall.

The big picture

Before the season started I predicted that Nebraska would finish at 19-9 and an NIT appearance. I also figured that Coach Sadler would get them to 20 wins for the second consecutive season with at least one post-season victory. I was a little off on that, but considering that the team reached .500 in the Big 12 for the first time this decade, I feel like that was a major step forward for the program. Especially when you consider the obstacles this team had to overcome to get there. One could argue that this may have been Doc Sadler’s most impressive coaching job.

It’s hard not to look back at the season and say what could have been had the ball bounced differently for the Huskers – turn the Oregon State, UMBC, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M games into wins and Nebraska could have held a 22-7 record going into the Big 12 tourney and quite possibly a lock for an at-large NCAA berth.

Of course, college basketball doesn’t live in the imaginary “what could have been” world, but I am hopeful that what this undersized team was able to accomplish has helped to set the foundation for the future. While the Nebraska basketball future may not be so bright that we need to wear shades just yet, I believe we’re taking the necessary steps to get there.

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Roundup of Husker basketball links – 122208

December 22, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under News, Video.

Husker article roundup

Here are the recent Nebraska basketball links from around the web over the past week:

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So long Chapman, we hardly knew ya

December 17, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under News, Player Updates.

Doc Sadler announced today that Alex Chapman has decided to transfer from Nebraska. Apparently the frustration over his ongoing knee injuries was too much for Alex to take.

Chapman transferred from Sheridan (Wyoming) College to NU last season. He suffered a knee injury prior to the start of the season forcing him to redshirt last year. Another knee injury just before the start of this season prevented him playing in any of the Husker’s games. He will leave Nebraska having never played in a game.

It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Chapman and the 6-2 Husker basketball team. As the tallest member of the roster, many expected him to have a significant role in the team’s plans (including me).

The Huskers are now left with Chris Balham, Alonzo Edwards, and Ben Nelson to shore up the team’s inside presence. Another player, Jorge Diaz could be included in that group but his eligibility status is still uncertain. It seems that NU is allergic to big men this year.

This appears to be a pretty big loss for a team that has been struggling to generate a consistent offense which Coach Sadler has mentioned lately needs to have some inside presence to get it going. Unfortunately Balham has been saddled with his own injury situation, Edwards doesn’t seem to have earned the staff’s trust for more minutes, and Nelson is a situation sub at best. Diaz, if he is allowed to join the team could be thrust into playing out of necessity, which I would caution not to expect too much from him.

On the bright side, this is a situation where we don’t really know what we lost. Chapman never played in a game. Now we move forward with the guys who are committed to this team and figure out a way to be winners with the guys we’ve got.

Good luck Coach Sadler. A challenging season just got more interesting.

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Husker offense can’t stand the heat in loss to Arizona State

December 7, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.

The Arizona State Sun Devils gave Nebraska a taste of its own medicine as they defeated the Huskers 64-44. Coach Herb Sendek’s squad used a stifling 1-2-2 zone defense from start to finish that led to a poor shooting performance (29% from the floor) for NU and drops their record to 6-1.

Doc Sadler had his team ready to play and looked strong to start the game. They grabbed an early lead as Arizona State struggled to against the Husker defense. The Sun Devils soon regained their composure and started to knock down open 3 pont shots.

The Nebraska defense played well today and set the pace that the Huskers like to play. The Huskers held the Sun Devils to 41% shooting from the field and star guard, James Harden to 20 points, 6 below his average. The problems on the defensive end came when Harden would put the ball on the floor and drive. NU’s defense would collapse on the former High School All-American creating open perimeter shots for ASU, which Rihard Kuksiks and Ty Abbott took full advantage of combining to score 33 points. But all in all the defense did what they needed to do today attempting to force other ASU players to hit shots, which they did.

The offensive end of the court is where the Huskers lost this game. Poor shooting caused several extended scoring droughts. Nebraska looked confused against the Sun Devils zone and simply couldn’t figure out where to get good shots. Against a team as good as Arizona State you can’t afford stretches where you can’t score. ASU deserves credit for their defensive performance as nearly every Husker shot attempt was contested.

Nebraska’s rebounding woes continued and certainly weren’t helped by the fact that Chris Balham and Alex Chapman did not play due to their on-going injury problems. Arizona State owned the boards 37-25. With poor shooting by the Huskers you would hope that they could come up with more than 3 offensive rebounds.

Items to be encouraged by in this game:

  • Tough to find a lot of encouraging things in this loss but I’ll go with the Husker defense which did a decent job of containing James Harden. The NU defense continues to be effective and should keep them in nearly every game they play this season.
  • Steve Harley continues to be leader for this team on the offensive end. He led the team with 11 points.

Several concerning trends are developing for Coach Sadler’s team however. The Huskers have shown in nearly every game this season that they go through stretches where they cannot put the ball in the basket. These lapses need to be addressed and shored up. While the defense appears to be solid at this point in the season, the offense needs to improve considerably before the start of Big 12 play.

While NU looks to have identified Steve Harley as their go-to guy on offense, they need find someone else who can step up and create shot opportunities when Harley is struggling.

Rebounding is a definite trouble area. Nebraska’s lack of size gives them “little” presence on the boards. This team will have to learn to make up what they lose in rebounding by creating turnovers.

Up next: Nebraska heads out to Corvalis, OR to face another Pac 10 foe in Oregon State on December 13th. The Beavers are coached by Craig Robinson, who happens to be the brother-in-law of President Elect Barack Obama. OSU has had a tough start to their season sitting with a record of 1-5 including a loss to Iowa State. They are led in scoring by Daniel Deane at 10 points per game.

This game represents another opportunity for the Huskers to pick up a road win against a BCS-conference opponent. Doc will need his squad to regain their focus and bounce back from their first loss as they should win this game and their remaining 5 games before the conference slate begins. A 12-1 record heading into conference play is what NU needs to shoot for.

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Huskers dominate Alabama State to improve to 6-0

December 3, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News, Player Updates.

Doc Sadler preaches the “one game at a time” mantra to his Nebraska basketball team and his players heard him loud and clear tonight. In what could have been a game where the Huskers could have looked past Alabama State in anticipation of their upcoming road game at Arizona State, NU rolled to a 80-51 win.

This was a game that the Huskers took control of early. The first half was the best half of basketball the team has played up to this point. They shot extremely well from behind the 3 point line, dropping 9 bombs in the first 20 minutes. This combined with holding the Hornets to 30% shooting, allowed Nebraska to take a 50-25 lead at the half.

Shooting wasn’t as strong in the second half, but NU still finished with an impressive 14-25 or 56% from behind the arc for the game and 51% from the floor overall. Steve Harley led the team in scoring for the 3rd time this season with 16 points and was part of 4 players in double figures (McCray 12, Anderson 11, Henry 11). The Huskers picked up a season-high 23 assists led by Ryan Anderson’s 7.

Rebounding was good tonight with the Huskers out-rebounding the Hornets 35-28. This was very good to see as the Hornets had a height advantage and also shot poorly (36%) creating many rebounding opportunities. Paul Velander and Anderson led the way with 5 rebounds apiece.

Items to be encouraged by in this game:

  • Offensive rhythym. The Huskers had good spacing in their half court sets, this setup many drive and dish scoring opportunities which the Huskers converted into a great shooting night from behind the arc. It’s starting to look like the team is beginning understand their roles offensively and where the shots are going to come from.
  • Defensive remained strong forcing the Hornets into bad shots and holding them to 51 points. They’ve now held 6 straight opponents under 60 points for the first time since 1943-44. Before tonight’s game Nebraska ranked 6th nationally in scoring defense allowing a mere 51.6 points per game.
  • Steve Harley continues to play well. This was his 4th consecutive game scoring double figures.
  • Balanced scoring also continues for this team with 4 players in double figures for the first time this season.
  • Doc Sadler was able to experiment with some different lineups tonight. In fact Alonzo Edwards got his first career start in place of Chris Balham.
  • Nebraska has now won 9 consecutive games at home dating back to last season’s overtime loss to Missouri.

Not much to be concerned about tonight. The Huskers dominated an opponent that you hoped they would. The maintained their focus despite a big game against Arizona State coming up this Sunday.

One big concern however was the fact that Chris Balham did not play and was wearing some type of brace on the lower portion of his right leg. With Alex Chapman out due to injury and the lack of size on this team already, we cannot afford to lose any of our bigger players. Also Coach Sadler confirmed that Eshaunte Jones’s season is over. Apparently his foot injury is too much to overcome this year. He will likely take a medical redshirt this year and still have 4 years to play for the Huskers.

Up next: Arizona State at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, AZ on Sunday. The #19 ranked Sun Devils (5-1) are coached by Herb Sendek and led by James Harden who averages 30 points/game who was a McDonald’s High School All-American. Their only loss is to Baylor in the 76 Classic tournament in Anaheim, CA. Last season the Huskers beat the Sun Devils 62-47 in Lincoln. Surely, Coach Sendek will remind his troops of that game. ASU finished at 21-13 last season and lost in the third round of the NIT but return all 5 starters from that team.

Interesting note: Doc Sadler was an assistant coach at ASU from 1994-97 was a member of Bill Frieder’s staff when they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 1995.

This is going to be a tough game for Nebraska and is one of the key non-conference matchups this season. A win over a ranked Pac-10 opponent on the road would be a huge feather in the cap when at-large teams are being selected for the NCAA tournament. The Huskers will need to play strong defense, rebound well, control the ball, shoot well, and not get overwhelmed by the opposing crowd. Unfortunately I think it’s asking too much of this team at this stage of the season. I think Sadler’s group will keep the game close but not be able to push through and grab the lead late. Nebraska will pick up their first loss to a good Arizona State team that will be playing in the NCAA tournament in March.

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Roundup of Husker basketball links – 11-10-08

November 10, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under News.

Here are the recent Nebraska basketball related links over the past week with season and Big 12 conference previews dominating the news:

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Which Husker redshirt will contribute the most?

November 3, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under Player Updates, Projections.

basketball hoop

Much was written about Nebraska basketball’s group of redshirts last year and this off-season. With all the attention they received many of us Husker fans would agree that they represent the future for this program. Needless to say much will be expected of them in the next couple of seasons.

So what does that mean for Alonzo Edwards, Brandon Richardson, Toney McCray and Alex Chapman this year? Certainly all 4 of these players should see a good amount of playing time. But who will step up and be a big contributor for the Huskers this season?

Let’s take a look at each of them:

  • Alonzo Edwards is a strong 6-7 redshirt freshman forward who will be playing his first season of collegiate basketball. At this stage of his career he has the ability provide some depth on the inside for the Huskers. I expect him to come off the bench and bang with the opponent’s bigs and grab some rebounds. Alonzo should be able to clean up some garbage under the hoop and score a few points every night. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him use his 5 fouls to their full potential in most contests as well.
  • Brandon Richardson is a 6-3 redshirt freshman also preparing to play his first season of collegiate basketball. Coach Sadler loves his competetive fire. That fact alone will help him find playing time this year. Unfortunately for Brandon, the Huskers have good depth in the front court with Cookie Miller, Sek Henry, Steve Harley and Paul Velander. I expect him to come off the bench to spell those guys at the point and the 2-guard. It will be tough for him to have a big impact this season, but his limited minutes off the bench and outside shooting touch will be important as Doc has plans employ an up-tempo style of play.
  • Toney McCray is a 6-6 redshirt freshman who will join Edwards and Richardson as a first-year college player. McCray was one fo the players in the redshirt group that Coach Sadler knew could have contributed to the team last season. He has good size and used his redshirt year add some bulk to prepare for this year. I expect him to be the Husker’s 2nd option of the bench behind Sek Henry spelling Ade Dagunduro on the wing. He has a real knack for slashing to the hoop and scoring points and could be a strong force helping kickstart our offense on those nights where we’re sluggish.
  • Alex Chapman is a 6-9 redshirt sophomore who has gained some notoriety as the Husker’s tallest player. He has played one season of Juco ball and was forced to redshirt last season due to a knee injury. Chapman along with McCray could have been contributers last season for Coach Sadler. I expect Alex will be a starter for the Huskers this season. He will counted upon to be strong rebounder for the team as well as provide some scoring. He has good shooting ability from the outside and could cause some matchup problems for our opponents when we’re on offense. I envision him putting up 8-10 points and 6-7 rebounds per game.

With all of that said, I think Alex Chapman will be the biggest contributor of this group. As I’ve mentioned before Alex’s knee injuries are a cause for concern and I’m hopeful he’ll be able to put that behind him for the rest of his career here.

I’ve added a new poll to see what you think about this redshirt group. Who do you think will have the biggest impact for the Huskers this season?

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Huskers’ Starting Five

October 19, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under Projections.

There’s been quite a bit of talk recently about the Huskers’ lack of size on their roster and their syle of play. Coach Sadler himself has hinted that he may use 5 guards on the floor in some situations. I believe this is the year that we see a style of play that Doc prefers. With that said, here is my projection for the Huskers’ starting 5.

PG  Cookie Miller  5-7
SG  Steve Harley  5-11
SF  Ade Dagunduro  6-5
PF  Ryan Anderson  6-4
C  Alex Chapman  6-9

This lineup is similar to the lineup we used towards the end of last season before Miller was injured in the Texas A&M game. It gives us experience with 4 returning starters, scoring punch (Harley is the top returning scorer at 9.1 ppg), the ability to play uptempo, and some size help us grab rebounds. This lineup does make us a little short in the backcourt and obviously larger teams will cause us some issues on the glass. Keep in mind though that rebounding will be major concern for the Huskers all season long no matter what team we are facing. Our ability to rebound and defend the post will determine how successful the Huskers are this season.

I think that Sek Henry will be our top guy off the bench. He’s versatile, plays great defense and can put the ball in the bucket. I see him spelling any of the starters aside from Chapman in the post. I’ve heard some talk that he could supplant Miller and become our starting point guard, but I still think that Miller is our best option at the point with his ability to run the offense and put pressure on the opposition’s primary ball handler. The battle for this starting spot might be the most competitive position in pre-season practices.

As mentioned in a previous post, Chapman has been sidelined with a knee injury but is not expected to miss any games. If that injury becomes a lingering issue, my projected starting 5 is out the window as I could see Doc making some drastic alterations.

Link: See what Collegehoops.net is projecting for the Huskers starting lineup as well as the rest of the Big 12.

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