With a new year and team, the Huskers Focus on Taking the Next Step in 2005-06

In the world of college basketball, October brings a sense of renewed optimism. Any team can be great, any team can still dream to win it all. But it's the teams that can't wait for October, and instead are working hard in June, July and August, that are still optimistic in March.

A solid class of newcomers who will complement a veteran cast leads Nebraska to believe it can be among those teams challenging for the Big 12 Conference title and a postseason bid in 2005-06. The Huskers put in the work in the weight room and on the court during the offseason and enter the year knowing the improvements they make over the four months leading up to the postseason will be key to their collective success.

Entering his sixth season guiding the Huskers, Coach Barry Collier understands the first hurdle Nebraska will have to overcome is inexperience. NU adds six newcomers who make up the Huskers' second consecutive highly regarded recruiting class and welcome back three redshirts who worked out with the team last season but have never played a minute for the Huskers.

"It’s definitely a challenge for our team because we have so many new pieces to the puzzle and we all have to become familiar with each other," Collier said. "I think it is true that we begin each season with a clean slate because you don’t know how much the returning guys have improved or how the new guys will stack up and fit in and compete. At the same time, we definitely recognize those guys with experience who have had success as ones who should lead our team."

While the inexperience factor will be addressed throughout the season, one area the newcomers will help with from the start of the season will be the Huskers' ability to play at a faster pace and increase the pressure on both sides of the court. Nebraska's overall athleticism has been greatly improved over recent seasons and will provide a starting point for implementing a more up-tempo game plan.

"We definitely have more athleticism on this team and I am very excited about our team overall," Collier said. "I do think that the possibilities are exciting this year. Everyone on this team has really applied himself in the offseason to be a better player, be a better coach and be a better teammate.

"It may be too early to tell, but I think it is somewhat obvious through our team practices that we’ve had this fall for the first time with the NCAA rule change, that our veterans are clearly ahead of the newcomers with the understanding of the physicalness of play and quickness of play, and having a poise about themselves both defensively to get position and keep it, and offensively to not force things too much. At the same time, I think our newcomers are making the kind of progress that we have hoped for. There has been a significant improvement in the understanding of what we want from our team."

The improvement on the court, along with the amount of recruiting success the coaching staff has had over the past two years, has garnered media attention about Nebraska's possible return to the NCAA Tournament.

"The perception is you will have a good team based on those kind of rankings. While we appreciate that, the reality is that we have to prove ourselves," Collier said. "Obviously those people (in the media) see something they like, as we do, but we know we have to work every day to win our first game, much less any others. That’s how we’re going to approach it. Our immediate goal is to win the next game and then we’ll take it from there. We can have that goal all season long and then stay focused on the task at hand."