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.
No Comments
Cross two potential Husker recruits off the list
March 30, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under 2009 Recruiting Class, Recruiting.
Anthony Harris apparently has decided to forego playing Division I ball and headed overseas. Harris is a 6-7, 235 lb. forward who the Huskers had hoped to woo to Lincoln. His coach at Northeastern Junior College confirmed the latest turn of events.
Nebraska is looking to bring in some junior college players in an effort to bring some experience to what figures to be a very young squad in 2009. The Lincoln Journal-Star reports the NU has offered scholarships to Lance Jeter, a 6-3 225 lb. point guard and Quincy Hankins, a 6-7 240 lb. forward. Both players were teammates at Polk (Fla.) Community College.
Melvin Goins, a 5-10 point guard can be scratched off the Huskers list as he committed to Tennessee this past weekend.
Doc Sadler and his staff also have their eyes on Myles Holley, a 6-5 small forward from Patrick Henry (Va.) Junior College. Holley would have 3 season of eligibility.
Nebraska sits at the 13 scholarship limit heading into next season so if Sadler looks to sign 2 juco players that will mean there will be some turnover on the roster. One player who has been mentioned quite often as possibly ending his career as a Husker is Chris Balham. He reportedly will be visiting with doctors to look at his chronic knee problems.
Christian Standhardinger, who signed with NU this past fall, is another player who may not count against the scholarship limit for the upcoming season. Similar to Christopher Niemann who was ineligible this season, he played on a German club team where other players were paid. Plus, there has been word that Standhardinger has been receiving quite a bit of interest from European pro clubs. Time will tell if he lands in Lincoln or not.
No Comments
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.
No Comments
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.
No Comments
Nebraska dominates Maryland Eastern Shore 88-56
January 3, 2009 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers took care of business and scored a season high in points beating a Maryland Eastern Shore team 88-56. Ade Dagunduro continued his strong play as of late leading the Huskers with 18 points and contributing to the team’s strong shooting performance. NU finished shooting 61.4% from the field and have done a much better job over the last 2 games not settling for 3 point shots as they had earlier on the season.
Back to Dagunduro though, because he has really stepped up his play over the last 5 games. He has scored double figures in every game during this stretch and at one point set a new school record with 15 consecutive made field goals. In fact, he continued his good shooting hitting 8 straight baskets in this game.
Steve Harley joined Dagunduro in double figures with 12 points and has become Mr. Reliable on the offensive end for NU and now has a 10 game stretch scoring in double figures. These 2 seniors are starting to play well and really leading this team as they head in to conference play.
The Huskers played very efficiently today only giving up 3 turnovers while handing out 18 assists, led by Cookie Miller and Steve Harley’s 4 assists. Nebraska also held an advantage on the glass 30-23.
Items to be encouraged by in this game:
- Less dependence on the 3 point shot. The Huskers are passing up early possession outside shot attempts and making an effort to work the ball into the paint. While the 3 point shot may be the offensive strength of this team, they have to develop some inside game in order to keep opponents off balance and create more space for our outside shooters.
- Defense remains the constant for Nebraska. Today they held the Hawks to 41.5% overall shooting, only 23% shooting from beyond the arc and forced 16 turnovers. They currently lead the Big 12 in scoring defense at 55.8 points per game and they are second in turnover margin at +6.6 per game.
- Chris Balham played 14 significant minutes today scoring 7 points and 3 rebounds. His presence in the lineup is important and hopefully he has put his injuries that held him out for a handful of games behind him. Consider this, the Huskers are 8-1 with Balham in the lineup and 1-2 without. Coincidence?
While everything looks pretty positive for Nebraska who improved to 9-3 today, we have to remember that this was an overmatched opponent. The big dogs are looming around the corner with Big 12 play starting on January 10th when Missouri comes to Lincoln. Hopefully some of the trends and play that the Huskers have been showing lately will carry over to conference play. The first six games are extremely important to their chances of making postseason play. A 4-2 or 5-1 start in the conference could really catapult this team for a strong finish in the Big 12.
Up next: Florida A&M Rattlers visit Lincoln on Monday, Jan. 5th completing the Husker’s 3 game stretch against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Rattlers are coached by Eugene Harris and are 2-9 on the season. They have suffered 2 road losses to Big 12 teams this season, losing 96-57 to Kansas State on 11-14 and losing 67-57 to Texas A&M on 12-15. That loss to Texas A&M will certainly catch the attention of Doc Sadler and the Nebraska coaching staff. The Huskers cannot afford to lose focus as they did against UMBC or Florida A&M will make them pay.
I believe Nebraska will continue their recent stretch of good play and beat the Rattlers. They’ll continue their stifling defense and use this game as their final opportunity to tuneup the offense for conference play. Look for the seniors – Dagunduro, Harley, and Paul Velander – to lead the way and help the Huskers pick up the win and sit at 10-3 going into the conference season.
No Comments
Huskers bounce back with win over S. Carolina St.
December 30, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.
Nebraska used balanced scoring to post a 77-63 win over South Carolina St. For only the second time this season 4 Huskers scored double figures led by Sek Henry’s 18. It was a much needed win as NU had dropped 3 of its previous 4 games and hopefully will help to restore some confidence as the team enters 2009 at 8-3.
After leading by 5 at half, the Huskers used a 15 point run early in the second half which proved to be the decisive run as NU’s lead never dipped below 11 points the rest of the way. On a night when Ryan Anderson was unable to play due to a foot injury, the rest of Nebraska’s veterans led the way. After Henry’s team leading 18 points, Ade Dagunduro had 14, Steve Harley had 13, and Paul Velander had 12.
Despite the comfortable final 14 point margin of victory, S. Carolina St. made Nebraska earn the win. The Bulldogs opened in a 2-3 zone and stayed with it for nearly the entire game. The Huskers came out a little slow and struggled most of the night with their 3 point shooting but used some new wrinkles in the offense to generate points. It’s apparent that Coach Sadler has been working the team pretty hard on the offensive end in preparation of the upcoming Big 12 season.
Items to be encouraged by in this game:
- Cookie Miller returned to the team after missing the last game due to family reasons. He started the game and finished with 7 points and 5 assists before fouling out. From my perspective, I believe this team is stronger on the offensive end when Miller is in the game. I think he should start every game from here on out as he’s the best point guard on the team.
- Toney McCray started his first game as a Husker. He finished with a meager 2 points and 4 rebounds but it’s preparation for the future getting him in the starting lineup.
- Chris Balham played 18 minutes, the most minutes he’s played all season. He played well too, with 7 points and 7 rebounds (5 on the offensive end). If he can find a way to play those kind of minutes through Big 12 play, he’ll be a big help to the team.
One area that Nebraska had trouble with again was at the free throw line. The Huskers were aggressive and got to the line 35 times but only made 22 of those attempts (63%). I will not pick on the airball that Steve Harley put up from the line late in the game as I understand he was under the weather, but he and Dagunduro combined to miss 9 freebies. That’s way too many for two seniors. For a team that struggles to score they must be efficient at the free throw line to be successful.
Up next: Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks visit the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. The Hawks are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference are coached by Frankie Allen who is in his first season with the school. They are 1-7 on the season up to this point with their lone victory coming against NJIT. They’ve really struggled to score this year hitting 60 points only once and 50 or more just 3 times.
Nebraska should dominate the game this Saturday and judging by the Hawks offensive struggles so far, the Huskers could potentially put up some impressive (near record) numbers on the defensive end. As we all know, Maryland Eastern Shore is not the only team that has struggled on the offensive end this year. With that in mind, this game should also provide NU with some opportunities to continue to work out some of the kinks and get a rhythm going on the offensive end.
3 Comments
Huskers regain winning form against IPFW
December 20, 2008 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Game Recaps, News.
Nebraska snapped a 2 game losing streak and improved to 7-2 with a 75-48 win over the IPFW Mastodons. NU rallied from a 5 point deficit at halftime and used the friendly confines of the Bob Devaney Center to rediscover their shooting touch going 61% from the floor. The win was also a tied a school record with 31 consecutive non-conference home wins.
Steve Harley was most impressive offensively as he led the Huskers with a new career high of 21 points. Joining Harley in double figures was Sek Henry with 11, Toney McCray with 11, and Ade Dagunduro with 10. In a fine all-around game off the bench Cookie Miller finished with 7 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds.
After a sluggish first half, the Nebraska defense clamped down on the Mastodons. IPFW was held to 14 points in the second half and finished shooting 34% from the floor. They also coughed up 24 turnovers.
Items to be encouraged by in this game:
- Doc Sadler’s squad had 4 players reach double digits. The offense still isn’t quite where it needs to be, but this is a step in the right direction. It’s becoming clear that this is an area of emphasis for the team as work towards Big 12 play.
- Chris Balham returned to the starting lineup after missing the past 3 games. Although he’s limited in the amount of minutes he can play, his presence is important with the lack of big guys on the Husker roster.
- NU shot very well from behind the 3-point arc finishing at 53% for the game. Paul Velander and Toney McCray led the way each hitting 3 of 5 from the outside.
Rebounding was again an area where the Huskers struggled as the Mastodons owned the glass grabbing 40 rebounds to NU’s 29. This is nothing new for this team and aside from these upcoming 4 non-conference games, I don’t think we’ll see Nebraska win the battle boards the rest of the season.
It would have been nice to see Cornhuskers come out and control this game from start to finish. They did dominate the second half and I’ll attribute the slow start to the fact that this has been finals week in Lincoln and I can only assume that the guys were a little distracted this week.
Up next: The UMBC Retrievers come to Lincoln on Tuesday night. The Retrievers, located in Baltimore, MD, won the American East Conference last season earning their first ever NCAA tournament bid. Led by Coach Randy Monroe, UMBC is sitting at 5-4 this season and is expected to finish 4th in the AEC.
The Huskers should expect a strong effort from the Retrievers but in the end I expect Coach Sadler’s group to extend their home non-conference win streak to 32 games.
2 Comments
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.
