NU Hoops Blog -- December 2009

Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Dec. 17, 2009, at 11:50 a.m.

Thursday Tidbits
Just a couple random things to throw out there before everyone gets to the weekend.

• Meet Your Coach, Las Vegas... Fans who will be out in Las Vegas on Monday, Dec. 21, will get a chance to meet and mingle with coach Doc Sadler at a lunchtime event at Torino's Sports Pub. For more information on registering for the event, check the Husker Alumni Association web site here.

• Hooptv.net to Stream Games from Las Vegas.... While the Huskers will not have television coverage of their games at the Las Vegas Classic, tournament sponsor HoopTV.net will offer live video streaming avialable on the Internet for games on both days. Fans can log on to the HoopTV.net web site here and purchase streaming packages for either one day for $7 or two days for $10.

• Marketing Department Announces Weekend Events at Devaney Center.... Husker fans bringing their children to the Devaney Center on Saturday for Nebraska's game against Jackson State should plan to get there a little earlier than normal if they'd like a chance to take a picture with old St. Nick. The marketing department has arranged for a student-athlete to play the part of Santa Claus and provide a photo opportunity for youngsters. Starting when the doors open 90 minutes before the game, fans can take pictures of their children with Santa on the northwest concourse until the start of the game.

• Marketing Department, Part 2... The marketing department has also announced that tickets for Saturday's men's game against Jackson State can be turned in for a free general admission ticket on Sunday as the No. 18-ranked Husker women's team will try to "Pack the Devaney Center" for its game against No. 5 LSU.

• From the "Did you know" department... Media relations intern Brandon Gries has been digging around in the Husker media guide and will be coming up with some "Did You Know" facts that we'll throw on here from time to time. The first one... In 1900, Nebraska defeated Kansas in the first-ever meeting between the two teams, 48-8. The Jayhawks were coached by the inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith.
  
• Random Stat of the Week... Redshirt freshman Jorge Brian Diaz has already produced 15 blocked shots in nine games. His total is just three off last year's season-leading total of 18 by Toney McCray, who ranked eighth on the Husker freshman chart. Diaz, who ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference this season, is already 10th on the NU rookie chart and needs just five more blocks this season to rank third. At his current pace, Diaz will have a chance to challenge for the Nebraska freshman record, which is 39 blocked shots by Venson Hamilton (1996) and John Turek (2002).

Thanks for checking in. Feel free to email us with your questions for coach or players at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog. See you at the game Saturday.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Dec. 14, 2009, at 3:47 p.m.

Monday Recap... Finally on a Monday
With Finals Week finally here, things are starting to slow down a bit around the office and I think I'll be able to hopefully get back on a normal routine. This week, that means I was able to get over and chat with a player about what's been going on on the court the past week. Today I talked with Lance Jeter, the Husker point guard who helped NU to a 2-0 record last week, including scoring double figures in both contests.

But first, before we get to what Lance had to say, here are a couple notes I wanted to pass along:

 

• This weekend at the Jackson State game, fans who bring their children will be able to take a free picture with Santa Claus. The marketing department is working on getting a couple of student-athletes to dress up as Santa at the men's game, and again on Sunday before the game as the nationally-ranked Husker women's team as it takes on No. 5 LSU. Fans who want to join in the fun can start getting pictures of their children with Santa when the doors open, 90 minutes before the game. You will need to bring your own camera to take pictures (ie, they will not have a professional there that you will have to pay, which is nice).
• Congrats to the women's team on jumping to No. 20 in the AP poll today. They are 10-0 on the year, the best start in program history and their first 10-game win streak ever. Keep up the good work.
• The men's game on Saturday will also be an outing for Teammates mentors and the youth they work with. Athletic Director Tom Osborne and his wife, Nancy, created the Teammates program and we welcome both the childrend and their mentors, who give their personal time to make others' lives better.
• Next week, the Huskers travel to Las Vegas to play in the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic. NU faces Tulsa and either BYU or Nevada. For those of you who are traveling out there to see this event, if you're in town by Monday by lunchtime, you should try to get together with other Husker faithful and hear coach Doc Sadler as he meets with fans at Torino's Sports Pub & Restaurant. For more information on how to join the fun, check out the Nebraska Alumni Association's web site.
• I'm trying to find out television/video streaming information for the tournament for next week and I'll post in here on the blog. The games are not part of the Nebraska television package, but they may be on as part of the opponents TV package or for pay on the sponsor (HoopTV) web site. I'll get it all together in one spot and put it here for fans as soon as I can.

 

And now for a little Monday Recap with Lance Jeter.

NUhoopsblog: Tell us how things are going now that you're a month into the season. Being the point guard and the one who gets the offense started, is it flowing the way you want?
 Lance Jeter: Things are starting to flow very well. Two Sundays ago we lost at Creighton and the next few practices were much tougher. We had to get mentally right and get tougher overall. And I think that what we are doing (in practice) helps. We came back this week and got the win over Chicago State and got a good win over Oregon State. That keeps us going, but we still need to try to continually get mentally tougher in practices and hopefully that'll carry over to the next game.

NUhoopsblog: Was last week tough with the two-day turnaround between Chicago State and Oregon State? Can that help you down the road like when you're in Vegas next week with games on consecutive days?
LJ: The way we practice, we have to go hard in practice every day and I think that in itself is going to help us to not be as tired those games back to back. We go hard in practice so much, you have to be ready for anything, and you have to be in shape. I think we'll be ready for it. We're going to be tired but we have to know to get our rest when it's time to rest and be ready to go out there when it's time to play.

NUhoopsblog: Your size really helped you get into the paint against the Oregon State zone at times Saturday. How much do you have to work on that and how much if it's because of your natural size and strength?
LJ: A lot of it's just natural. It's just one way I can help the team. I'm strong and solid so I can get in there easier than most guards. Coach said I can help the team by going in there, that I needed to penetrate. That's one of my abilities, penetrating the zone and going to the hole, so that's what I was trying to do to help us get the win.

NUhoopsblog: You're shooting extremely well from outside the 3-point line. How much of that is hard work and how much is good shot selection?
LJ: Definitely it's taking good shots, but I've also worked on it throughout the summer. I needed a lot of work on it and I tried to do that and think that I've improved. I'm going to keep doing it, taking select shots, the right shots, and keep trying to control the offense and trying to get us good shots. Sometimes I may have that good shot, and I have to knock it down.

NUhoopsblog: What have you seen from the big guys recently?
LJ: After the Creighton game, coach got on them about rebounding and they took it to heart. Ever since then, they've been working hard on rebounding, being stronger and more physical in the post. It's been working. You can tell they want to get better and see it every day in practice. The sky is the limit for all of our big men because they are hard workers and have strong minds and want to get better each day.

NUhoopsblog: Oregon State's defense is unique. Have you seen a zone like that before?
LJ: That was the first zone I ever faced like that, especially the 1-3-1. Usually you see them staying back in a 1-3-1, but OSU pushed up more, trapped more. It was very difficult because we didn't really get a chance to practice it -- we only got a look at it. For the most part, our guards did a good job of penetrating the zone, and looking for open guys.

NUhoopsblog: You've seen a pretty broad range of defenses so far. Do you think that'll prepare you for the Big 12 and how has the team handled the pressure so far?
LJ: I feel like that Saint Louis game, they played a very pressure-oriented defense, a kind of high-tempo defense like we'll see in the Big 12. Creighton was a good defense but not as aggressive as Saint Louis' was, which will be more like what I think we'll see in the Big 12, so that is something we have to get used to. But I think we've handled it well. Personally, there is a lot of stuff I need to work on -- little turnovers, things I can take control over. But other than that, I think I've handed it very well.

Thanks for checking in. Feel free to email us with your questions for coach or players at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog. See you at the game Thursday.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Dec. 11, 2009, at 9:03 p.m.

The Big Guy is Taking the Euroleague by Storm
I'll try to get a little more on this next week when we have some free time, but I got an email from Aleks Maric's sister, Branka Dosen, with a tremendous little tidbit. Watch the Youtube video here where it talks about Aleks dominating the Euroleague recently as he had 34 points on 13-of-16 shooting in a big win for his Partizan Belgrade team. You have to go about 3:02 into the video (just after the top 10) and it shows our guy with a number of moves that we've all seen and hoped he'd be able to put together in a single game.

Looks like he's making a great name for himself and I, for one, hope he continues it and makes it back here to the NBA. He's worked hard to get better and better and deserves a chance.

If I can, I'll check in with Aleks next week and see if we can get a few of his thoughts on how things are going. If you want to check out his stats, you can look here. He's averaging about 18 points and 9.8 rebounds per game to lead the team.

Congrats big man.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Dec. 9, 2009, at 5:03 p.m.

Snow Daze
Well, it's been about six hours that I've been sitting in the media room at the Devaney Center. Like everyone else, my car was stuck at home, but I was lucky (is that really what this should be called???) to find a co-worker who had to come in to get ready for the women's game tonight against Creighton, and he gave me a ride.

So I figured since I'm done with my media game notes and don't have a ride home yet, I'll post a couple notes here for those of you at home enjoying your off day from work.

• If you didn't see it yet, the Nebraska-Tulsa game in Las Vegas has been moved to a different time. The game on Tuesday, Dec. 22, in Las Vegas has been changed to a 4:30 p.m. CT (2:30 p.m. PT) tip off. Organizers for the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic informed the Nebraska Athletic Department on Tuesday that the tipoff times on the first day of the tournament will be rearranged to help accommodate fans of the BYU Cougars. That day, BYU's basketball team is slated to play Nevada, while its football team was selected to play that night in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl against Oregon State. Nebraska's second game in the tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 23, against either BYU or Nevada will remain in the evening, will be played at either 7 or 9:30 p.m. CT (5 or 7:30 p.m. PT) depending on the outcome of the first game.
• I found out today that Toney McCray had his elbow surgery on Monday, Dec. 7 and he is doing well. He had the UCL fixed and is now set to start rehab this week. He will continue rehab throughout the season with hopes of being back with the team on the court later in the spring for offseason workouts.
• The Nebraska Athletic Department is seting up a little fun time for children at men's and women's basketball games next week. We'll have more on the specifics of this, but the marketing department is trying to get Santa Claus set up to come to the Husker men's game on Dec. 19 and to the women's game on Dec. 20. The hope is to have him here when the doors open and let children have their photo taken with old St. Nick.

Thanks for checking in. Feel free to email us with your questions for coach or players at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog. See you at the game Thursday.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Dec. 8, 2009, at 4:31 p.m.

And Once Again On Time Means A Day Late
Hmm, I guess this is becoming a trend. Once again, the weekly Monday Recap is presented on a Tuesday. Maybe this one day behind thing will work for everyone's benefit as we could move our game against Oregon State to Sunday instead of Saturday too, so that everyone can see the Heisman presentation this weekend. Just kidding.

I AM JUST KIDDING.

I know that everyone wants to be able to do both, as I would too. However, we'll see what we can do to keep people informed at the arena since television for this contest was already locked in months ago. Because of that, it's not possible to move a tip off time this close to the game date except in the event of drastic weather or major circumstances surrounding one of the teams. But for those of you with video on your phone, the Heisman presentation will be available on ESPN360.com, so you can see your Huskers at the Devaney Center and hopefully see Suh's name called online.

Anyway, I'm sure everyone understands that it's not a perfect situation with hoops and volleyball and Heisman stuff going on at the same time, but there will never be a perfect schedule with consecutive back-to-back times every weekend. Luckily we have good fans who will still support the team playing at home. Now, if we could get Mother Nature to cooperate as well, then....

But let's move onto the Monday Recap.

Like last week, we had Brandon the Intern head over to the Devaney Center to catch up with a player about the past two games. This time it was a freshman he talked to about the team's 1-1 split with Texas-Pan American and Creighton. Here's what he had to report:  

I caught up with freshman guard Ray Gallegos before practice on Monday, fresh off his second double-figure scoring game of the year with a 10-point showing at Creighton on Sunday afternoon. Gallegos was 4-of-5 from the field and grabbed three rebounds in just 19 minutes as each game he looks to gain a more prominent spot in the Nebraska rotation.

The Salt Lake City native did not see action in the first two regular-season games, but he has played 16 1/2 minutes per contest in the past four outings. Gallegos' performance last Wednesday and Sunday has increased his confidence to contribute in bigger ways for the Huskers, and showed his knack for playing well in front of big crowds.

NUhoopsblog: On his approach toward playing on a big stage
Ray Gallegos: "I feel like a lot of emotion comes out when the crowd is loud. I just feel like I can perform better. So far that's the best I've seen, but we're going to have some big games coming up here (in Lincoln)."

NUhoopsblog: On Sunday's game
RG: "Yeah, it was a good atmosphere. It was fun. The crowd got loud and intense, but we just need to come out and play because we really did play that well. We need to rebound better and improve on turnovers."

NUhoopsblog: On how to stay composed in that type of atmosphere
RG: "You just have to communicate with your teammates and just calm yourself. You need to take it one step at a time."

NUhoopsblog: On adjusting to the college game and life in Lincoln
RG: "At first it was a big difference, but now it's starting to come along. I'm getting used it more. I feel like I'm about even (with the competition). When I first got here I think I was behind, but now I'm getting better and adapting to it."

NUhoopsblog: On if the snow this weekend made him feel more at home
RG: "No, actually I really don't even like snow. It's not my favorite season. It's still too cold."

Thanks for checking in. If you want to contribute a couple questions to the Monday Recap (on Tuesdays), feel free to email us at NUhoopsblog@hotmail.com or tweet us at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Dec. 3, 2009, at 9:01 p.m.

Getting Ready for the Weekend
I guess I could have titled this with the Loverboy song, Working for the Weekend, but that would be cheesey. More cheesey than just mentioning it in the first sentence. Definitely. Yeah, and I'm sticking with that.

But anyway, my point is that with a big weekend coming up for football and basketball, it's going to be a busy few days for a lot of people. So before I forget, I wanted to take a second and make sure that everyone knew how they can catch the basketball game at Creighton if they're not going to be there in person.... and I'm not sure why you wouldn't be there in person, but that's for another day.

If you live in Lincoln or Omaha or the surrounding areas, the game will be on TV on KMTV Channel 3. Sports Director Travis Justice and radio show host Nick Bahe will call the game. It will not be on satellite anywhere, so if you have DirecTV or Dish Network, remember this: if you don't normally get KMTV then you will probably need to find a watering hole or friends house to go to to watch it. It will not just be on all of a sudden. Or just come to the game in person.

One other option for those of you who have a HuskersNside subscription: you will get the live video stream for this game. I had mentioned here before that there would be five games on the premium site, but Creighton is sharing this game with us. We just found out the other day, so please help us spread the word. We appreciate that they're sharing it through our JumpTV web sites and hopefully those of you who have the premium pass for HuskersNside will appreciate it as well.

Otherwise, if you're not near a computer, you can listen to Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network.

• On another note, if you haven't already checked it out before, make sure to look for the free video highlights the day after games on Huskers.com. Our video guys for the web site and in HuskerVision do a great job pulling together highlights from the game and I hope you'll take a little time viewing them so their time is worthwhile.
• If you are a fan of basketball in general, I hope you're enjoying some of these early season games. I just watched the Texas Tech vs. Washington overtime game and it made me wish we were starting conference play today. I might not be saying that if I was a coach considering how hard this league is going to be this year, but still.... it's a great time of year.
• On the Random Stat of the Day front, how about this one: Entering the weekend, Nebraska is leading the Big 12 Conference in 3-point percentage, hitting 50.0 percent (39-of-78). That's impressive. So impressive that if they were able to keep it up for another three months till the end of the season, it'd be a new school record... by nearly 12 percent. The current record is 38.9 percent shooting for a whole season by the 2003-04 squad. Let's hope it keeps up.

If you're online during the game Sunday, make sure to follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog) as we'll have updates throughout the contest. And next week we'll be back to giving away tickets to home games with contests against Chicago State and Oregon State on Thursday and Friday. Enjoy the weekend, and good luck to the football team. And obviously, the hoopsters. Go Big Red.

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Posted by: Jerry Trickie
Dec. 1, 2009, at 5:12 p.m.

My How Time Flies
I just looked at the blog and it's been a week since the last time we had an entry. It's tough this time of year with all the games and practices and everything else. Once football is out of the way (with hopefully two more wins), then maybe I can be a little more consistent. And if you want to know something, email me at nuhoopsblog@hotmail.com and I'll make sure to get that answered either there or here (or both).

In the past week we've gotten a pair of wins, including a big boost with a road victory over a BCS school, helping the league to a 1-0 lead this season in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. I'm sure most of you know this already because I'm guessing you watched it on FSN on Sunday afternoon. Marques Johnson did the color for the game and I thought he was outstanding in talking about our guys. He was fair and he brought out little tidbits that made the time we spent with him on Saturday worthwhile.

In case you don't know, a lot of what I do in media relations is putting information into the hands of the TV/radio guys and writers (newspapers, magazines, Internet, etc.) so they can talk about the team. The day before a TV game, Doc will normally sit down with the announcers and go over the team, especially if it's a national crew like Marques and play-by-play man Steve Physioc, who also called a great game. Doc sat with these guys for an hour in our hotel and the stuff he told them about the team, the little details about players and his philosphy, etc., really came out in the telecast. I thought it was one of the better "calls" I've heard on TV in a while.

Since I was courtside working the game, you might wonder how I heard the TV call, right? Well, I DVR like everyone else and I watch the game while I'm working on my game notes for the next contest. So last night I listened/watched it while I was working.

During that time I was still able to find this Random Stat of the Week, which I tweeted last night (follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nuhoopsblog... do it!): Nebraska has had just 14 total turnovers in its past two games, with seven each against UMKC and USC. The last time NU had 14 or fewer turnovers in consecutive games was 2002 when Nebraska set a school record with three miscues at Iowa State and then added seven at Texas A&M. They had eight more in the following game, so the Huskers need to have just four on Wednesday against Texas-Pan American to keep that streak alive.

Like we try to do each week, we recap the previous week with a player. Normally it's called Monday Recap, but this week we're going with a Tuesday Recap on Monday title since the team did not practice on Monday. Here's what our intern Brandon Gries heard from the players before today's practice:

I caught up with a few of the players Tuesday before practice to review Nebraska's 51-48 win at USC on Sunday. Below are some thoughts from Eshaunte Jones and Ryan Anderson, who both made huge plays down the stretch, in addition to a short Q&A with Los Angeles, Calif., native Brandon Richardson.

Eshaunte Jones
On his game-winning 3-pointer:
"It was a big confidence booster. That shot really helped me as a player, but the win was two times better than that shot. I was just glad that we could get the win in Los Angeles on the road. That was a huge win for us."

On the USC game:
"We really played as a team. We only had seven turnovers. It was under the limit that coach wants us at, which is eight. We took care of the ball really well. Our big guys did a wonderful job playing defense, Sek and Ryan led us as seniors and it was just a really good game for us."

Ryan Anderson
On if he told Eshaunte Jones to spot up in the corner:
"It's crazy. I didn't know what Bear was talking about because I did not (think) I sent him to the corner. Then I went home and watched the film and I really sent him to the corner. I set a pick on his guy and he (Bear) went baseline. I don't know why I did that. He can't give me all the credit, though. I told him 'Don't put that on me. You hit the shot.'"

On the team's play in a tight game:
"It shows we can execute under pressure, even defensively. Down the stretch we got a couple key stops, especially on their last shot attempt. They tried to get up a desperation shot and we were all over it. That shows a lot of character in our guys."

Q&A with Brandon Richardson
How important was that for you to be playing so close to home?
"It was really important, especially for my family. They don't really get to see me except for on TV. Some other family members don't get to see me as much, so for us to see each other, I couldn't be more happy."

How many people do you think you had at the Galen Center?
"I had a lot there, and I didn't even get to see some of them after the game because they had to go. I would say around 50 people."

Did that add a little spark to your game?
"Yeah, but at the same time it's nervous because you see faces that you haven't seen in a long time. I was pretty nervous, so hopefully the next time my family is there I can do much better."

Did you follow USC growing up?
"Yeah, USC was known for football though before they got good at basketball. But I was an USC and UCLA fan because I was an L.A. guy."

Brandon the Intern will contribute here more frequently during the season but you can also follow him on the Nebraska wrestling blog and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HuskerWrestling. Give a thank you to Brandon for getting us this tidbit as well in case you missed it:

Kent Pavelka's call of Eshaunte Jones's game-winning 3-pointer (.mp3 file)

That's about it for this week. Follow us on Twitter (have I said this yet?) and try to win tickets on game days... hmm, tomorrow is a game day. I wonder if we'll to a trivia contest or two and try to give some tickets away? Better follow us to find out. Last week we gave away five sets of two tickets each on game day. You could win too. Thanks for checking in and we'll be back later in the week with more.

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