Playing catch-up: Harley gets arrested and Cookie picks a new school
June 5, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under News, Player Updates.
Last weekend Steve Harley, who finished his career with the Huskers this past season, was arrested by Lincoln police under the suspicion of driving under the influence. Harley apparently tried to run from police but was caught. It’s too bad this happened, but hopefully Steve will learn from this mistake and be a better man for it.
Nebraska has been pretty fortunate over the years not having players getting into too much trouble with the law. It’s always a concern though, as you never know how a kid away from his family and home for possibly the first time in his life will react to his new surroundings.
Next up…Cookie Miller has chosen to transfer to Miami of Ohio and become a RedHawk. Miami, 17-13 last year, plays in the Mid-American Conference and is coached by Charlie Coles. Miller, chose to transfer from Nebraska after the season in order to be closer to his family in Charleston, WV.
Miller will sit out this upcoming season and then have 2 years of eligibility remaining.
Alonzo Edwards, who also chose to transfer, has signed with Lon Morris (TX) Junior College. Edwards is a Houston, TX native and will be eligible to play immediately.
Good luck to both Cookie and Alonzo.
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Miller and Edwards to transfer
April 6, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under 2009 Recruiting Class, News, Recruiting.
Nebraska announced today that Cookie Miller and Alonzo Edwards asked for and were given their releases in order to transfer. The departure of these 2 now trims the Husker roster to meet the 13 player scholarship limit, but there may be more roster turnover to come.
Cookie Miller was a major contributor for NU over the past 2 seasons. The 5-7 point guard started 46 of 60 games during his stay and averaged 6.7 points, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game this year. Miller cited family reasons as the explanation for his departure. It was also learned that he strongly considered leaving the team after his freshman season in order to be closer to his family in Charleston, WV.
Alonzo Edwards played a limited role on this year’s squad. He played in 16 games and averaged 1.7 points per game. Edwards is looking for more playing time and appears headed to junior college in his home state of Texas.
Only a few days ago I was curious after the oral commitments of Lance Jeter and Quincy Hankins which players may be leaving in order to make room on the roster. We now have our answer and apparently Coach Sadler is still out recruiting. Possibly expecting further roster turnover. It’s been widely speculated that Chris Balham may consider ending his Husker career due to chronic knee problems and there is concern as to whether Christian Standhardinger will land in Lincoln despite the fact that he is likely to be ineligible this next season as his situation is similar to Christopher Niemann. So it was quite a surprise that Miller and Edwards have decided to transfer.
I’m sad to see both players go as I really liked Miller’s game and determination. Now with his departure there is no doubt that next year’s Nebraska team will look very different from this past season’s unit. I also thought that Edwards could have developed into a nice player by the time he was a junior.
As for Sadler’s additional efforts on the recruiting trail, he is still looking for a wing player. Reports indicate that the Huskers are looking at 2 other juco players. Jamarr Sanders, a 6-5, 205 lb. guard from Northwest Florida State is scheduled to visit Lincoln for the Spring Red-White football game on April 18. Sanders has a reputation as a scorer and averaged 18.5 points, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. It appears that he is also considering UNC-Charlotte.
Another player NU continues to pursue is Myles Holley, a 6-5 wing from Patrick Henry (Va.) Junior College, who visited the school in early March.
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Huskers pick up tough road win over Baylor
March 7, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.
Nebraska overcame Senior Day in Waco and notched their 3rd conference road win with a 66-62 victory over Baylor. The Big Red improves to 18-11 overall and 8-8 in the Big 12. The Huskers finish at .500 in the conference for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
In a game that went back and forth from start to finish, Toney McCray came off the bench to lead NU with 18 points. Baylor did a good job limiting Ade Dagunduro but was still able to join McCray in double figures with 11 points.
Turning point in the game:
- This game was not decided until the final minute when Nebraska clinched the win with strong free throw shooting. Cookie Miller hit 4-4, Paul Velander hit 2-2, Ade Dagunduro hit 3-4, and Brandon Richardson made 2-2. That’s some clutch free throws down the stretch.
Encouraging points:
- Toney McCray picked a good day to have a big game. In addition to his 18 points, he also grabbed 4 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and had 2 big steals. Nebraska could really use strong play from him in the Big 12 tourney next week.
- The Huskers had one of their better games from the free throw line hitting 19-22 for 86.4%. No doubt this was the difference today.
- How about Alonzo Edwards off the bench? The little used big guy came in and hit 2 big 3 point shots and gave the team some huge minutes with Ryan Anderson and Dagunduro in foul trouble. Not sure I like him gaining confidence in his outside shot, but we’ll take it today.
With the win over the Bears, the Big Red looks to have locked up a home game in the first round of the NIT. But, if the Huskers can put together a strong run in the Big 12 tournament they still have an outside chance at making the NCAA tournament. They’d likely need to win 2 games and more likely 3 to get a shot at an at-large bid.
Praise must be given to Doc Sadler and the job he’s done this season. He took the smallest team in college basketball and made them competitive in the Big 12. They were just a whisker away from finishing at 10-6 rather than 8-8 this year. His teams have improved their conference record every year he’s been at Nebraska. There’s no doubt the NU basketball program is on the rise under his leadership.
Up next: It’s Big 12 tourney time. Nebraska will play Baylor again in the 8 vs. 9 game on Wednesday at 11:30 p.m.
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NU recruit Joaquim will delay his arrival to Lincoln
January 17, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under 2009 Recruiting Class, 2010 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
Vander Joaquim has decided to go to the College of Eastern Utah, a junior college, before attending Nebraska. Joaquim, who had signed a letter of intent to play ball for the Huskers next season now looks to be a part of the 2010-11 recruiting class. It’s another disappointment in recruiting for Nebraska basketball. The trouble they’ve had in recruiting lately (Sallie, Diaz) could cause some to believe that someone has put a voodoo curse on them.
Joaquim, a 6-10 F/C once listed as a Top 100 recruit by ESPN.com, will redshirt one semester at Eastern Utah and play one season before attending Nebraska. He also must earn a JC degree before coming to Lincoln. While there is no guarantee that he’ll join the Huskers in 2010, odds are good since the Eastern Utah coaching staff has strong ties to the Nebraska coaching staff. The head coach and an assistant were former players under Doc Sadler and another assistant has connections to NU assistant Walter Roese.
It’s these kind of things that make me not like following the recruiting trail. It’s no lock that this kid will ever play at Nebraska. Sure the odds look good, but no one can predict how this young man’s mind might change in a year and a half. I, for one, won’t be counting on him until I see him in a Husker jersey.
This situation now opens up a scholarship for this year’s recruiting class and it appears that Doc Sadler and his staff have their eyes on 6-7, 235 lb. power forward Anthony Harris from Northeastern (Colo.) Junior College. Harris has interest from Oklahoma State, Utah, Houston, North Texas as well as Nebraska.
The absence of Joaquim from the 2009 recruiting class will continue to leave Nebraska somewhat short-handed when it comes to experienced depth with their big guys. Next season the roster looks to include 6-8 Chris Balham (Sr.), 6-7 Alonzo Edwards (So.), 6-11 Christopher Niemann (So.), 6-8 Christian Standhardinger (Fr.), 6-9 Brandon Ubel (Fr.) and possibly 7-0 Jorge Diaz (Fr.) whom the Huskers are still recruiting.
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Husker offense continues strong play in 81-56 win over Florida A&M
January 5, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.
Nebraska used strong starts in the beginning of each half to take care of Florida A&M 81-56. The Husker’s offense is starting to gel just in time for Big 12 play which will begin this upcoming weekend against Missouri. Two straight games over 80 points and 3 straight games with 77 points or more. Certainly the best stretch offensively the team has played all season.
Sek Henry led the Huskers with 19 points. This matched his season high, and he did it with 3 of 6 shooting from outside as well as some strong drives to the basket. He’s playing his best ball of the season. Joining Henry in double figures was Steve Harley with 15 points and Paul Velander with 12 points.
Nebraska shot the ball well tonight going 56.6% from the field and 47.6% from beyond the arc. They moved the ball well which led to many open looks and even some easy buckets in the paint. Free throw shooting still is not where it needs to be at 61.1% tonight. For a team full of guards and jump shooters, it’s a little puzzling as to why this team would be struggling from the charity stripe. Hopefully they’ll get this corrected before it costs them any games in the Big 12.
Florida A&M had a tough time against the Husker defense except for when they bombed away with 3 point shots. They were able to drain 12 of 24 long range shots, but only managed to hit 37.7% of their overall shots from the field. The Rattlers did a good job only committing 14 turnovers but could not keep NU off the boards. Nebraska held the edge there 37-23 with 11 of those being offensive rebounds.
Items to be encouraged by in this game:
- New starting lineup featuring Cookie Miller, Harley, Henry, Ade Dagunduro, and Toney McCray tonight. This group looked good setting up the offense and got after it on the defensive end as well. Plus, it allows Velander, Chris Balham and Ryan Anderson to come off the bench and provide a spark with their experience.
- Balham played 17 good minutes again tonight and finished with 5 points and 8 boards. His presence on the glass is just what this team needed. He did have 5 TO’s, but with his minimal playing time thus far let’s hope he got that out of his system tonight.
- In my mind, NU looks to be playing with the kind of purpose and urgency necessary for the conference season. The offensive sets looked crisp tonight save for a few and rebounding has been better these last 2 games. I’m much more optimistic about the Husker’s chances in the Big 12 than I was at this time last week.
Not much to complain about for the Huskers tonight other than the free throw shooting. There was a stretch in the second half where the Rattlers went on a run hitting several long range 3’s after we switched to a 2-1-2 zone. The Huskers were up by 25 and it looked like Coach Sadler wanted to get some zone defense work in with Balham and Alonzo Edwards both in the game. But Florida A&M forced us to get out of that with their precise distance shooting. The Husker’s bread and butter is man to man defense but there will be times where they’ll need to play some zone defense in Big 12 play to change things up. They’ll need to shore things up in that area.
Transition defense gave up a few easy baskets tonight and forced the Huskers to commit some fouls. NU can’t afford to give up any easy baskets to opponents and I expect the coaching staff to work the players hard on this point. There’s some room for improvement here.
Florida A&M did bring some full court pressure against Nebraska which was good to see as it gave the team some in-game work on it in advance of Missouri coming to town on Saturday.
Up next: Coach Mike Anderson’s Missouri Tigers will visit the Bob Devaney Center on Saturday, Jan. 10th to open Big 12 play for both teams. It’s an early afternoon matchup that will be televised by ESPN2. Missouri led by DeMarre Carroll should be 13-2 when they arrive in Lincoln. They’ve had one of the best starts in school history, ranked in the Top 25 until this week and have impressive wins over then-ranked 19th USC, California, and a big road win over Georgia. Their only losses came at the hands of Top 25 ranked Xavier and Illinois.
Missouri beat Nebraska 86-78 in OT last season in Lincoln. You can bet the Huskers remember that game and will do everything they can to avoid that result again this weekend.
Nebraska’s big guys will have their hands full as Missouri is an excellent rebounding team. Also, the Tiger’s non-conference schedule looks to have prepared them a little better for these conference road games. Can the Huskers frustrate MU with their defense and use their home court advantage to pull out the win? I believe this will be a highly competitive game as both teams know that they need to have this game to give them a shot at an NCAA Tourney bid.
I think the Huskers will fight to the end and win a close game giving them an important home win to start the conference season.
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Roundup of Husker basketball links – 122908
December 29, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under News.
Not a lot of articles this week, but here are the recent Nebraska basketball links from around the web over the past week:
- This and that – Lincoln Journal Star’s Life in the Red blog covers a few Husker related items: Ryan Anderson nursing an injured foot, Alonzo Edwards pushing for more playing time, Mike Fox joining the team, Cookie Miller is back after missing the UMBC game, and no news yet on Jorge Diaz.
- Pre-Game Talk: Alonzo Edwards – Husker Hoops Central interviews Redshirt Freshman Forward Alonzo Edwards.
- Husker video highlights – HuskersNside video *cough-cough* highlights from Nebraska’s loss to UMBC.
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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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Roundup of Husker basketball links – 121508
December 15, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under News.
Here are the recent Nebraska basketball related links over the past week (or so):
- What we’ve learned so far about the Big 12 (North Division) – Bracketography.com gives an early season status report on the Big 12 North. They project NU to finish anywhere form 7th to 10th in the conference.
- N side the Husker Locker Room with Alonzo Edwards – HuskersNside video profiles Alonzo Edwards.
- N side the Program with David Anwar – HuskersNside video takes a look inside the Husker basketball program with Assistant Coach David Anwar.
- Prep & College Recruiting – Salt Lake Tribune blog looks at recent Husker basketball signee Rayes Gallegos and also mentioning former Husker and Utahn Jaron Boone.
- Courtside View | Big 12 Power Poll – The Columbia Tribune’s college basketball blog ranks the Big 12 teams. Nebraska checks in at 8th here.
- Big 12 Rankings – Iamthe12thMan.com, a Texas A&M fan blog, offers their top to bottom ranking of the Big 12 basketball teams. They had Nebraska sitting in 7th before the loss to Oregon State.
- N side the Husker Locker Room with Chris Balham – HuskersNside video profiles Chris Balham.
- N side the Program with Walter Roese – HuskersNside video takes a look inside the Husker basketball program with Assistant Coach Walter Roese.
- Husker video highlights – HuskersNside video highlights from the Alabama State win.
