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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 30, 2009 at 6:23 p.m.
Five for Friday
Even thought I'm in Waco, Texas, getting ready for tomorrow's football game, it's still basketball time now that we're only a week away from the start of the season. And to think, we're less than three weeks from our first road game. Wow.
Well, each Friday through the season we're going to try to take a few minutes to get away from the court. We're going to call it "Five for Friday" and it will be five questions that have little or nothing to do with basketball. Consider it just a small way for us to help you get to know your Huskers a little better. They could be general questions about what they like, or something completely crazy. Just nothing basketball-related.
And remember: We have an email (nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com) that you can send questions to, so if you can come up with five off-the-wall, funny questions that you want to send in for a specific player (or for all of them), fire away. Let's see what you got.
For this week, we started with freshman forward Brandon Ubel (and he said it's pronounced YOU-bell). Our media relations student Scott Pulverenti caught up with Brandon before practice the other day and Brandon was pretty excited about the start of the season saying that he wanted people to, "Come out and support us. We’re going to have a good year. We’re young, but really talented." I'd second that notion.
And now for Brandon Ubel's Five for Friday.....
What is the longest road trip you have ever taken?
“When I drove down to Dallas last summer for an AAU tournament.”
If you could choose one reality TV show to be on, which one would it be and why?
“Probably the Real World. I like watching those shows. They are pretty good.”
You sister is on the NU track team. Who would win in a 40-yard dash between you two?
“I would, for sure. Not even close.”
What is your biggest pet peeve?
“I have a few, like people driving slow in the left lane and people not turning right on red. There are a lot more though.”
What kind of music do you have on your Ipod right now?
“Country. Not really anyone in particular, just whatever is on the radio. I’ll listen to all country pretty much.”
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 29, 2009 at 4:38 p.m.
Almost Haunted Hoops
It's nearly the end of October and there's a lot going on around the Devaney Center today, so thought I'd drop in to watch a little practice. The team is going scrimmage today and I'll try to give you a few impressions later after we're done. But for right now, a couple notes:
- The amount of people coming out to watch practice this season is pretty solid. I'd say it's the best since Doc's been here, as even today, nearly two weeks into practice, and there's 30 people in the stands.
- There's a lot of energy on the court today. I've been to a lot of practices this year and it seemed to me to be as good as any point. I think they're starting to smell the start of the season coming up next week.
- Couple of guests in the house today in radio play-by-play man Kent Pavelka and TV color analyst Eric Piatkowski. That just makes me want us to tip it up right now.
- For those of you who are season ticket holders, you should be receiving your tickets any time now (many have already gotten them). If you want to buy single-game tickets, check back on Huskers.com on Monday as tickets for all single games are supposed to go on sale then.
- UPDATE: Okay, for the first time with refs, it wasn't a bad scrimmage (in my non-coaching opinion), but it was obviously early in the season. It was a bit of a struggle the first few minutes offensively, but the team's got going after a while and at the end, the Red team was continually scoring. Sek Henry looked more explosive and confident. He needs to be consistent this year and I personally believe he will. He was stroking it from mid- to long-range and attacked the basket regularly. Brandon Richardson was also on fire for a while and really showed good awareness on the court. He could be a surprise this year. As a group, our big guys have good hands and can really pass to the interior. I think it'll be exciting to watch some of the groupings with Brian Diaz, Brandon Ubel and Quincy Hankins-Cole on the floor with our taller guards. Lance Jeter is just solid, and can get to the rim. He was shooting better today, too. Overall, it was a decent start although I'm sure Doc will be able to find areas (possibly more than two) that could stand to be cleaned up. Now if we could just play for real this weekend, it'd be great. Hope to see all of you at the Devaney Center next weekend.
Thanks for checking in today. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NUhoopsblog and if you have any questions for us, email us at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 26, 2009 at 3:33 p.m.
Monday Recap
Each week during the season, we'll try to catch up with a Husker on Monday to talk a little about what's been going on in practice and games and get their thoughts about what's coming up next. For our first Q/A, we caught up with Brian Diaz before Monday's practice. Here's what he had to say:
NU Hoops Blog: How is practice going now that you’ve been competing live for a couple weeks?
Brian Diaz: Everybody is coming together. Everyone is getting all the plays and understanding better what they’re supposed to be doing, so the flow of practice is getting better each day.
NU Hoops Blog: Has it been really different for you comparing the start of this year versus coming in in the middle of the season last year? Are you more comfortable this year?
BD: Right now, I feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like I know a lot more about what I’m doing. Last year, I didn’t know at all what I was doing and I felt completely lost. This year, I feel really comfortable and I’m in the same situation with all the other guys. Everyone is basically new (each year) and everyone is learning the same style of play that Doc likes.
NU Hoops Blog: Considering the style of play, how have you adapted and what is the best part of playing Doc’s style?
BD: I like it. We move a lot (on offense) and I get a lot of isolations in the post, so I really like that. Offensively, (Doc’s system) is good for post players, but at the same time if (the guards) move a lot, it will be good for everyone, because I think they will have open shots too. You have to move the ball and just see who’s open, so that everyone benefits from this offense. Defensively, I’d say Doc likes to have help everywhere. I think it’s going to be hard to score on our defense because there is a lot of help.
NU Hoops Blog: What’s the hardest part of practices so far?
BD: I don’t know, probably just going hard for three hours. You have to stay focused for three hours. It’s not hard, but at the same time, you kind of get lost sometimes and coach has to say “Hey” and get your attention.
NU Hoops Blog: Do you like the way Doc is able to be direct with players about getting better but also still keeps things fun in practice?
BD: Yeah, he is just honest. He can make it pretty hard in practice, putting some pressure on players. I think that’s good because in games you’re going to feel a lot of pressure, especially in away games when there are a lot of people on you. So that’s good that he prepares players like that. But sometimes he makes jokes and that keeps it relaxing and you can enjoy the practice too.
NU Hoops Blog: You guys start games in less than two weeks. Are you ready to go?
BD: We still have stuff to do, and we still have things to work on. But I like what we’re doing and how the team is looking. I’m pretty excited, and I just want to start right now.
NU Hoops Blog: You want to play today, huh? Are you excited to finally put on a Nebraska jersey?
BD: I will be really excited next week. I don’t know what will go through my head, but I know I’ll be waiting for that tip. I don’t want to lose focus on the game and what we have to do, but I will be really excited.
Thanks for checking in today. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NUhoopsblog and if you have any questions for us, email us at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 21, 2009 at 11:43 a.m.
This and That
This will be a little bit all over the map today but I wanted to get some updates for you as we’re now on practice day six. And we have just over two weeks until the first exhibition game. So here we go:
? Practice is obviously up and running and there has been a lot of instruction going on as coach Doc Sadler was basically without a voice yesterday. If you’re following his tweets (www.twitter.com/Coach_Sadler) you saw Tuesday morning that he thought the players would love him since he had no voice, and then after the morning practice, he said it was the “Best practice we have had. Probably because I can't talk.” That’s a funny dude and if you’re not following him on Twitter, you should. He’s been tweeting at least once a day (and in some cases up to four times) and plans to continue to do it to reach out to the fans.
? If you haven’t seen Doc’s Twitter page in the past few days, when you go there you’ll notice a new look to it. We received a number of good designs for part of Doc’s Twitter page design contest and we’ve started posting the best ones. The fifth-place design is up now and will stay until Nov. 15. Each month we’ll change it until the winner gets his put up Feb. 15 through the end of the NCAA Tournament. The winner was Dustin Tomes, who lives in Boulder, Colo. He’ll get pair of tickets to a home game, which by his choice will be the Oklahoma game. Congrats.
? I went to a basketball preseason staging meeting Tuesday and we talked extensively about parking and traffic flow at the Devaney Center now that the Antelope Valley construction project (ie, the Big X) around the arena area is about to be complete. The Big X should be open before the first exhibition game. We’ll have more info on Huskers.com the week of the first game, but it looks like there will be a change in traffic flow pattern to help the public parking area move out more steadily. The new extension from the Big X to 27th Street should help the flow as there are two places (and more lanes) for entering and exiting from the East side of the fairgrounds, ie. soon-to-be Innovative Campus. And the Athletic Department will continue to work with the University and the city to improve traffic patterns following games and to try to ease the parking situation where ever possible.
? I also wanted to take a minute to mention some people who don’t often get mentioned for the work they do. The custodial and building services staff at the Devaney Center works hard and often extremely long hours for setting up and taking down events as well as keeping the place clean and in relatively good shape for a 33-year-old building. I was over there last week and saw the custodial staff using a steam cleaner in the lower seating areas. In talking to Custodial Supervisor Kim Brick, she said that they cleaned every seat (cushion, plastic and the benches) in the building over the past two months to get ready for the 2009-10 season. That’s a lot of work to get that job done and I wanted to say thank you for the hard work they do. The same goes for the rest of building services crew that makes sure events get set up on time and keeps the building running.
? Here’s an interesting story on ESPN.com about proposed rule changes in NCAA legislation that would allow teams to sign players from leagues that utilize pro athletes without having to receive a penalty (ie, sit out games).
? Later this week we’ll be posting information on Huskers.com about some alumni group functions that will be going on while the team is in Las Vegas for its holiday tournament. If you’re heading out there, check out the info and join other Husker fans as they get ready to root for the Big Red.
? If you’re as much of a hoops junkie as I am (when can I buy my FullCourt subscription?), you’ll love this game listing. I received it yesterday from ESPN and it’s the full ESPN family lineup ? for the season. Put your TV guide away and make a hardcopy of this PDF as it’s all you’ll need this winter. Enjoy.
? For those of you who haven’t been out to a practice, make sure to stop by. The schedule is on-line now and I’ll update it at the beginning of each month. I know someone is looking at it, as I just checked today and over the past three years since we started posting the times, we’ve had more than 11,000 hits to the page.
Thanks for checking in today. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NUhoopsblog and if you have any questions for us, email us at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 16, 2009 at 4:57 p.m.
And It Begins
As I'm writing this, I'm courtside at the Devaney Center and there's only three minutes till the official start of practice. The team is excited. So are the fans, as there are about 25 people in the stands waiting for the start.
The team's on the floor with strength coach Rusty Ruffcorng getting warmed up and stretched out. Doc is over in the tunnel talking with some gentlemen after just finishing his media interviews.
Directly at 5:00 p.m., the team meets at center court for the first time in 2009-10 and then the first drill: diving to pick up a loose ball on the sideline.
Okay, there's a ton more I could add, but I'm not going to do a live post for all of practice. But I thought I'd chime in and give you a little taste of what you could be seeing. Come on down and enjoy.
If you can't make it today, here are couple pictures as we're getting the season started. The first one is one of Doc doing his interviews, and then there's one of the team stretching and one of the team huddle before the start of the first practice. Here's another one Chris Pankonin from HuskerVision sent to me from before practice when the team did some video for the team/player lineups for games.
NOTE: Sorry I'm having some trouble with uploading the photos, but you can see them here on our Twitter page at http://twitpic.com/photos/NUhoopsblog.
UPDATE: And I spoke too soon. As of 5:49 p.m., there are now about 90 people in the standing watching Doc run the guys through drills. Great atmosphere right now.
Thanks for checking in. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NUhoopsblog and if you have any questions for us, email us at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 15, 2009 at 4:18 p.m.
Counting Down
Just under 25 hours remain until practice starts. If you’re like me, I’m sure you’ll be there early before practice actually begins. Here’s a few notes to tide you over until then:
? I wasn’t around Monday night to listen to the first Doc Sadler radio show of the year, but I listened to the archived replay and I’m pumped. If you missed it too, you can always listen to past shows here. And despite what people say, listening on Huskers.com is always free, whether live or archived. You just have to enter through the pay portal but you don’t ever put in credit card info or pay for it. If it asks for any credit card information, you are in the wrong area. Start over and go through the free end and start listening. Doc's shows are always worth the time (especially when he starts asking questions like, “Do you think Tom Osborne texts much?” Great stuff).
? For those of you wondering where to go when you get to the Devaney Center on Friday for practice, a few of the upper level doors on the North side will be open for entry along with the doors on the lower level South side by the basketball office. Get there early and get your favorite seat.
? No matter where you enter, please try to move upstairs to watch practice. There are a few other practice rules/regulations that we ask you to follow when you come out to the Devaney Center for practices. Check them out here.
? If you didn’t see it yet, the Big 12 coaches poll came out yesterday and the Huskers were picked 11th. (see the Big 12's full release here). After all the practices I’ve seen so far this year, I don’t buy it, but that’s OK. I like the idea that we’ll surprise some people (in my opinion).
? For those of you coming down to the Husker Nation Pavilion on Saturday to check out the team and get some autographs, it’ll feel like we’re already back in season as you’ll get to hear Husker Sports Network analyst Matt Davison on the mic talking about Husker Hoops as he will emcee the event. And I’m sure you’ll see the Voice of Nebraska basketball, Kent Pavelka, running around the Devaney Center Friday night or sometime this weekend. Overall, the whole team will be back to call games on radio (Kent, Matt and for a number of games, Andy Markowski as color analyst) and television (Greg Sharpe and Eric Piatkowski).
? Thanks to those of you who sent in an entry for Doc’s Twitter page design contest. We had a few really good entries and we’ll put the fifth-place design up before practice on Friday. We'll then change it each month on the 15th with the overall winner getting their page design put up for the last two weeks of February and all through the postseason.
? I heard from the Husker Alumni Association today and they’re getting a couple events together for the Huskers’ trip to Las Vegas in December. I’ll post the event information to Huskers.com next week so those of you heading out there on Dec. 20 or 21 before the tournament can join other Husker fans and get a chance to hear from Doc. If you haven’t made plans, get started. There will be some great games as Tulsa will likely be a top-25 team and BYU and Nevada are picked to win their leagues and could be near/in the rankings by then.
Thanks for checking in. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NUhoopsblog and if you have any questions for us, email us at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 12, 2009 at 11:33 a.m.
Time is Near
As I’m sure many of you are aware, this week is the one when it all starts. The 2009-10 season officially begins on Friday when the team can start practicing its full 20 hours a week in preparation for the Nov. 6 exhibition opener against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
To get you ready, here are a few tidbits for the week:
? Practices will begin on Friday, Oct. 16. The first practice of the season will begin at 5 p.m. on the Devaney Center court. Husker practices are typically open again this year and a full list of practice times will be posted here when available. There are also some rules of etiquette posted on that page that fans should adhere to and please check the Huskers.com practice schedule page often, as the few practices each year that are closed to the public will be updated that morning.
? For those of you coming down to the Devaney Center to check out the team, download a roster head shot chart here (PDF) so you can print it and bring it with you to help identify the newest Huskers by their names, faces and numbers.
? For fans from outside Lincoln who want to see the team, there will be a short event with the team and autograph session at the Husker Nation Pavilion on Saturday, Oct. 17, before the Texas Tech game, weather permitting. More details will be released later this afternoon or Tuesday morning on Huskers.com.
? Rebounders Club members should check their emails as a special note about Saturday’s event at the Pavilion is being sent early this week. If you’re not already a Rebounder’s Club member but would like to join and help the program, contact the Nebraska Athletic Development Office at 402-472-2367.
? If you want to get the low-down from the head coach himself, tune into Sports Nightly tonight (Monday, Oct. 12) as the Doc Sadler Show with Doc and host Lane Grindle premieres this evening. Doc will typically take the mic at 7 p.m. on Mondays this season. After tonight, the next show will be Nov. 16 after the first regular-season game and it will run weekly for the rest of the season, excluding two weeks over Christmas and New Year’s.
? Don’t forget that the contest to redesign Doc’s Twitter page concludes this week. Get your entries in now. As a new bonus, the next 25 people to submit an entry will receive a prize, either a media guide (15 total), a t-shirt (5 total) or a poster signed by the whole team (5 total). Hopefully this way we can get some more entries from those of you outside of Nebraska who want to join the fun with Doc on Twitter.
Thanks for checking in. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NUhoopsblog and if you have any questions for us, email us at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 7, 2009 at 9:08 a.m.
Big Al Takes On the NBA
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago after chatting with former Husker Aleks Maric, the big guy was scheduled to play with his new team from Serbia (Partizan) against two NBA teams in preseason action. On Saturday, Oct. 3, he had an outstanding statistical game against the Denver Nuggets. The big guy had 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 6-of-11 at the free throw line but more importantly he had 21 rebounds. You read that right, 21 boards including eight offensive rebounds. As a team, Partizan had 51 total rebounds. That’s impressive no matter what level you’re playing against, but even more with it being against NBA talent. He played 33 minutes as a starter and added three blocks and an assist as the team fell 102-70.
Last night (Tuesday, Oct. 6), Maric’s team played at the Phoenix Suns, and in front of a big fan of Maric’s, Nebraska coach Doc Sadler. Aleks didn’t have quite the same success as the first game this season against NBA players, as he grabbed two quick fouls in the first three minutes against Phoenix. But, like he did so many times for Sadler at Nebraska, he kept competing and finished strong with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 4-of-6 free throws and six boards in 16 minutes before fouling out.
While the team lost by about 30 each game, we’re sending out big congrats to Aleks for representing Nebraska well. Good job big guy.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 5, 2009 at 8:53 a.m.
Catching Up with Doc
This time of year is always hectic for everyone associated with the program. Whether it's in the video department, operations, academics, media relations or athletic medicine, things are going 100 mph or almost as fast as it is for the coaches who are putting the guys through workouts and planning for the start of practices less than two weeks from now.
Why do I bring all of this up? Well, I'd mentioned last week that I would post a Q/A with Doc over the weekend, which I was not able to do. For those of you who like to buy the yearly media guide, that's a good thing because I spent most of the weekend (read: football-free weekend) working on that book and we'll hopefully have it to the printer later this week.
But I guess it is better late than never, so for those of you looking to see what Doc Sadler has to say abou the season, the link can be found here. Enjoy.
** On a separate note, I'd like to say happy birthday to our elder team statesman from Minnesota, Ben Nelson, who turns 23 today.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 2, 2009 at 5:03 p.m.
Little Chat
I went over to the end of today's workout and it was pretty exciting to see the whole team out there. I haven't stayed to watch much from full-team workouts since they started this week, but I was missing out. There were some really great moments, guys working hard. It was exciting seeing that we have more talent, height and depth. Our voice of the Huskers, Kent Pavelka, keeps throwing out that word -- depth -- and he's right on the mark. Hopefully they keep working hard and getting better, as every Doc Sadler-coached team at Nebraska has.
After they were done, I grabbed newcomer Adrien Coleman for a few minutes to do a little Q/A for this blog. He's a great kid, very personable and seems to enjoy life. Here's what he had to say:
NUHoopsblog: How has the transition been since you came to Lincoln, with school, workouts, meeting new people? How is your adjustment going?
Adrien Coleman: It’s going pretty good. It was a transition from high school to college, coming to the Big 12 especially. But I’m getting used to it now. Everybody is friendly and making it easy for me, classes and school are going pretty good and Doc is a really good coach, so he’s making it easy for a transition (on the court).
NUHoopsblog: How difficult was it for you having to switch all your plans for college in the middle of July before the start of your freshman year?
AC: It was a difficult time for us. You tell everybody you’re going to one university for a long time and they’re looking for you at that school and all of a sudden it’s taken away from you. But God has amazing plans for me so He brought me here and that was a good thing. And now that I came here, I’m proud that I came. This group of guys (on the team) is a great group of people and I’m glad to be here.
NUHoopsblog: What went into the decision to choose Nebraska?
AC: The Big 12. You have to play hard, and I like to play hard and to run. It’s the Big 12. You try to play for a championship and it’s the easiest way to get to the NCAA Tournament because it’s the best conference.
NUHoopsblog: Did you know much about Nebraska and the basketball program or Doc Sadler before July?
AC: Not really, not too much. But I’ve seen a bunch of the players before. I look up players on Rivals.com a lot and I knew that Ryan (Anderson) was here and a friend of mine knew Quincy (Hankins-Cole) was coming here, so it made it easy.
NUHoopsblog: Talk about your game. What type of things do you bring to the court and maybe what areas do you want to improve on this year?
AC: I believe that I’m a scorer, a slasher who can score off the dribble. So I want to improve my shooting more so I can catch and shoot. My defense has come along every day in practice so I’m improving that too. I want to improve everything about my game so I can be the best.
NUHoopsblog: I’m sure you’ve heard you need to be able to play defense to play on Doc Sadler’s teams. Are you comfortable with that and have you concentrated on defense before?
AC: Defense, not really. In AAU we did have to play defense because we were going against some of the top people in the country. So I was used to playing defense, but not used to playing against good players all the time like this. So I need to get a good transition now.
NUHoopsblog: Who are some of the notable players you’ve played against growing up in Georgia and playing AAU ball around the country?
AC: I’ve played against Mfon Udofia, he’s going to Georgia Tech. Derrick Favors, who's also going to Georgia Tech. And Lorenzo Brown who’s (committed) to NC State, and Richard Howell at NC State. On my team I played with Glenn Rice, who’s now at Georgia Tech. I played with a lot of people who are going to Georgia area colleges and high Division I schools.
NUHoopsblog: What are you looking forward to this year playing in the Big 12?
AC: I’m looking forward to traveling because I’ve always liked to travel. And I’m looking forward to having a good season. I’m trying to do the best I can to help the team succeed. I want to see the team go pretty far, hopefully in the NCAA Tournament.
NUHoopsblog: Do you have goals for this season?
I have goals, but those are for me so that I can help better the team.
NUHoopsblog: As far as talent and ability, what have you seen from your teammates while you’re playing pickup or in practice?
AC: It’s like playing AAU again. Everybody is talented, coming from different areas together onto one team. Everybody has a special thing they can do. That’s what makes it special for Nebraska basketball because everybody can do something different for the team. Everyone can play every position, and you have to learn all the positions to be able to play here. If you are a 1, you need to learn to play the 4 and be able to do everything if you want to get on the court.
NUHoopsblog: One word, how would you describe Doc Sadler?
AC: Intense.
That's it with Adrien. Thanks to him for chatting with NUHoopsblog. Check out the blog later this weekend and we'll have a link to a full transcript of my sit-down interview with Doc Sadler for this year's season outlook.
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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Oct. 1, 2009 at 9:33 a.m.
Thursday Tidbits
Time is obviously flying by. As I've been trying to finish this year’s media guide the past couple weeks, I haven’t had as much of a chance to post things here on the blog on as regular a basis as I’d like. So it seems like it was just Sept. 1 and classes were getting started, but here we are, just two weeks until official practices start. It’s getting exciting. So, here are a few things that have been going on lately:
? There’s been plenty happening around the Devaney Center recently, with full team workouts starting in the past week. They’re still only allowed two hours per week working with a basketball, but they have started to make a progression to working with the full team so everyone knows how things will go when practice gets started.
? That day will come quick. It’s Friday, Oct. 16. The team will probably hit the court as early as is allowed by the NCAA. I should have a definite time in the next week and I’ll post it here so you can make your plans to be there.
? Another thing to plan on ? again with more details next week ? is a team event at the Husker Nation Pavilion on Saturday, Oct. 17, before the Texas Tech game. While many of you diehard hoops heads will be at the Devaney Center to see the team before then, that date will be important for a wider range of Nebraska fans to see the team up close and personal.
? The following week will be Big 12 Media Day on Oct. 22. Coach Sadler and seniors Sek Henry and Ryan Anderson are scheduled to make the trip to Kansas City to meet with the regional and national media, as well as beatwriters from all of the league schools. Huskers.com will have plenty of video of player interviews set to be posted that day. We may also try to do a live chat on Huskers.com with Sek and Ryan during that time. If you would be interested in participating, please email me at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com so I can see what kind of interest we may have. It’d be somewhere between 10:30 a.m. and Noon, and would probably be about 20-30 minutes long. Let me hear from you if you want this to happen.
? We had a few interviews from different media outlets at the Devaney Center yesterday (did you see my, albeit blurry, pic on Twitter? Check it out at www.twitter.com/NUHoopsblog), so be watching for interviews from Ray, Eshuante and Myles soon.
? One newcomer we haven’t heard much from is Adrien Coleman, the latest signee to join the Huskers after getting a scholarship offer from NU late in the summer. We’ll see what he has to say as I’m hoping to get over to do a Q/A with him on Friday and will try to post it by the end of the day.
? Also this weekend, I’ll post a full Q/A that I had with Doc last week. It’s about the upcoming season and is what I’ll use as a base for the season outlook in the media guide. Some interesting nuggets as always from Doc.
? Parking. Ah, a great way to end today’s blog. It’s difficult with the limited amount of space we have to find a way that will make it easy for everyone to get in and out of the parking areas around the Devaney Center. But if you’ve been by the Antelope Valley Project recently, you can tell that it’s getting close to turning the Big T into a Big X. That will open a wider roadway all the way through from Memorial Stadium to 27th Street and provide some better traffic flow options for people to get in and out of the East side of the fairgrounds. We’ll be putting together a short video for Huskers.com so patrons can see the new area. Will it be perfect? Well, if it is, I’m going to stay a while longer in Vegas after we play Tulsa and BYU/Nevada. Seriously though, we hope it will be an improvement and be assured that the Athletic Department is working closely with the University to improve parking and traffic flow around the Devaney Center. We strive to improve in that area every year. As for answers to a couple questions that have been emailed in, 1) no there will not be a charge for public parking this year and 2) all off the lots that were used last year will again be available. Actually, there’s a chance there may be a little more public parking, but that will not be determined until closer to the season.
Thanks for checking in. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NUhoopsblog and if you have any questions for us, email us at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com.