Nebraska Basketball Blog May 2009

Posted by: Jerry Trickie
May 14, 2009 at 10:54 a.m.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

Thursday Tidbits

Hmm, so last week I thought there was a ton of news going on, and now there’s not near as much. Go figure. That probably has to do with school finishing last week, which has made campus pretty much a ghost town until summer sessions begin. But I figured we’d try to do one more blog for May and then we’ll start back up again in June. So, here we go...

?      Now that school is out, it’s quiet around the basketball offices, giving the staff some time to get ready for camps. They have a good schedule for campers of all ages and abilities. If you know of any kids looking for a good basketball learning experience, have them check out the camps here.

 

?      This week’s Did You Know came about as I was starting to update the records section in the media guide for next season. As I got into it, I found a couple little nuggets that I missed near the end of the season regarding the Huskers’ exploits at the free throw line.

 

      Did You Know? After struggling at the charity stripe early in the year, the Cornhuskers were on fire over the last month of the season. In fact, over the final seven games of the year, starting Feb. 21 at Kansas, the Huskers hit an impressive 78.0 percent at the free throw line. NU was 99-of-127 in that stretch. While they didn’t get to the line as much as they would have liked, Sek Henry (11-of-12) and Toney McCray (10-of-11) were especially strong considering their lackluster individual starts to the season. Sek even set a school single-game postseason record as he had the most free throws without a miss (7 at New Mexico). He broke the NU postseason record originally set in 1978 by, you guessed it, Curt Hedberg, who made all five of his free throw attempts against Utah State.

 

?      Another little tidbit that I found while updating the media guide was that the Huskers currently have a 398-125 record in the Devaney Center. That means, hopefully in their second game of next season, they will be gunning for their 400^th all-time win in the building. Drop me a line (email is below) and let me know your favorite Husker game at the Devaney Center and we’ll post some responses here later in the summer.

 

?      Thanks to everyone for getting it out there that Doc is on Twitter (www.twitter.com/Coach_Sadler). He’s nearly at 500 followers and growing fast.

 

And again, if you have any questions, you can always email me at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com and we’ll see what we can do to get them answered.

        

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
May 7, 2009 at 9:49 a.m.

Thursday Tidbits

I wasn't planning to post anything else this week as I had a little longer blog yesterday, but here's a couple notes and an interesting article.

?      Congrats to Ben Nelson. The senior-to-be will sit on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in his last year playing for the Huskers. The former rugby player is a great teammate and will represent his peers well within the athletic department.

 

?      Just saw a short story here on ESPN.com about a couple potential rules changes to the college game for next year. Personally, I think the change regarding free throws is a good move for the game.

 

?      Got my copy of the Basketball Times the other day. It's a little outdated (always comes about a month after the stories actually happen) but it has some good news and stories that you don't always catch in other places. One thing that caught my eye last night was the recruiting rankings, which had Nebraska's class at No. 33 in the country. NU was one of seven Big 12 teams in the top 40, although the other six were ranked ahead of the Huskers.

 

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
May 6, 2009 at 2:09 p.m.

Some news and notes on the Husker family

It seems like there has been more going on this offseason than in a long time. More than I anticipated anyway when I started this blog after the year was finished. But more info on Husker hoops is always a good thing, right? I think so too.

Anyway, this week’s blog is a few notes and tidbits on some former and future Huskers.

?      It’s official. The paperwork is in and Doc is announcing today the newest signees for next season: Lance Jeter, Quincy Hankins and Myles Holley. Between the returning size up front and on the wing, and with the size of the newcomers, fans are going to see a significantly taller team than last year at the Devaney Center.

 

?      I think it’s pretty cool that at least one former Husker will be playing in the NBA conference finals. Either Mikki Moore’s Boston Celtics or Tyronn Lue’s Orlando Magic will get a step closer to a title. Tyronn already has two rings (both with the Lakers), while Mikki is looking for his first.

 

      Did You Know?: According to the Big 12 media guide, among all players who have competed in the Big 12 Conference over the past 13 years, Tyronn Lue is the only one with more than one NBA ring. Paul Pierce, Tony Allen and Scot Pollard each won one last year with Boston; Jacque Vaughn scored one with the Spurs in 2007; Wayne Simien earned one in 2006 with the Miami Heat; and Chauncey Billups grabbed his with the Pistons in 2004. But Lue is the only player so far to compete in the Big 12 Conference era and go on to win multiple rings.

 

?      Congratulations go out to Nick Krenk, who may be having the Best Week Ever. He not only is going to graduate from UNL this weekend (alongside teammate Ade Dagunduro), but he got his first coaching gig too. Nick will be the head varsity boys coach at Johnson-Brock High School in Johnson, Neb. In talking with him this morning, Nick said the whole process went surprisingly quick and he’s excited to get started.

 

“Coaching is something I know I enjoy, although I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get started in it at the college level. I just figured maybe I could try to help at the high school at level first, but when this came along, it really peaked my interest and I knew right away it was something I wanted to jump into.”

 

Nick already has the coach’s mindset. He said he’s been thinking about what he needs to get done right away with the program to get up and running. Even sounds like a coach as he said he was contemplating all the things he needs to do while on the road driving or even just sitting around on the couch at his apartment. He’s meeting with his team next week and already getting set up for summer weight training, camps, summer league, everything you can think of.

 

This morning Coach Sadler said it was a great move on Nick’s part and thinks he’ll do great: “Nick’s been one of the hardest workers we’ve had at Nebraska and I’m sure he’ll continue that work ethic throughout his life. He’s smart, determined and understands the game which is why I think he’ll do a fine job as a coach. I wish him the best as he gets started in coaching and hope he reaches all of his goals.”

 

?      Got a text yesterday from Cary Cochran, the Huskers’ all-time 3-point leader. Cary was here as a junior the first year I got to Nebraska and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. He was on the coaching staff at Wyoming and James Madison before getting out of the business. The past year he stayed in Harrisonburg, Va., (home of JMU) and has been working as a golf pro at a nice local course. Yesterday he said he’s moving back to Nebraska (Omaha area) to work, so hopefully we’ll see more of him around the Devaney Center next winter. Welcome home.

         

?      In working on some early updates for next year’s media guide over the past couple weeks, I’ve been digging up information on some of the recruits we signed last fall. Here are a few tidbits I found interesting:

o   Congrats to Brandon Ubel. He had a great senior season and was rewarded by being named to the all-state first team. According to the stats provided by his coach, Brandon averaged 17.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, both team highs. He was impressive from the floor, hitting 51 percent inside the arc and an outstanding 80 percent (109-of-136) at the charity stripe. One other nugget: He must know how to position himself well in the post, as he had more than half of the team’s blocked shots (33 of 62) and more than a quarter of the team’s steals (32 of 116).

o   Rayes Gallegos will come to Nebraska with some added hardware as he led his West Jordan squad to the Utah 5A (largest class) state championship in March. He’s really blossomed into a player who can spark the team from the point guard or possibly shooting guard spot, and is not afraid to play defense. The Deseret News account of the title game said Rayes helped the team hold the reigning state player of the year, Tyler Haws, into one of his worst shooting nights of his career. Rayes also had four treys ? including consecutive 3s in a 64-second span ? to help his team earn the gold.